Free Men of Dune

Expanded Dune

This article or section refers to elements from Expanded Dune.

The term Free Men of Arrakis is one of the earliest names of the Zensunni desert-dwelling people, who would eventually become known as the Fremen. The term was coined by Ishmael, who became Naib of the Zensunni outlaws after the death of Selim Wormrider.

Decades later, the Free Men Zensunni splintered following the disagreement and Sandworm duel between Ishmael and his stepson El'hiim. This splintering lead to Ishmael gathering the Free Men loyal to him, and taking them into the Deep desert (where they would eventually become known as the Freemen, and later the Fremen), while El'hiim's Free Men eventually moved into Arrakis City, and lost their unique cultural identity.

Behind the Scenes

Over the millennia spanning story of the Dune universe, the name was eventually shortened to "Fremen" by the time of the Frank Herbert's Classic Dune novels.