Duras was a member of the Klingon High Council in 2366, when he led the capture of a Romulan vessel. On board the vessel, records were discovered implicating Duras' father, Ja'rod, as having betrayed the Khitomer colony to the Romulan Star Empire by giving them the codes necessary to lower the colony's deflector shields. In the resulting Khitomer Massacre, four thousand Klingons, including Ja'rod, were slaughtered.