Star Wars/A History of the Star Wars Universe
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Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The purpose of this text is to create a comprehensive guide to the Star Wars Universe in which all forms of media in which Star Wars exists is covered. This page gives a history of the universe for better understanding.
Six eras exist in the Star Wars Universe, two of which are covered in the the movies.
[edit] Guide to terms
- BBY-Before the Battle of Yavin (Episode IV)
- ABY-After the Battle of Yavin (Episode IV)
[edit] Timeline
[edit] The Old Republic (5,000 - 1,000 BBY)
In this era (set over 1,000 years before the films), the Jedi were large-numbered and served as guardians of peace and justice. One of the first galactic wars was the Great Hyperspace War, which pitted the Galactic Republic and the Jedi against the Sith Empire. Although the Republic was victorious and the leader of the Sith was self-exiled, 1000 years later the Republic faced the Sith again in the Great Sith War. Titanic in scale, this conflict ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Republic and the destruction of the Brotherhood of the Sith, effectively ending the Sith as a major threat to the Republic. A very brief two decades later, a nomadic, clan-based warrior group known as the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders attackeded the Galactic Republic. The Mandalorians were defeated and disbanded. Although the Sith were believed to have been defeated some time ago, the hero of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan, fell to the dark side, reinstated the Sith Order, and launched an attack upon the Jedi and the Galactic Republic in a conflict known as the Jedi Civil War. After a long and costly war, Revan was redeemed, his apprentice was killed, and the Sith were once again almost eradicated. A brief civil war among the Sith took place, and the Sith, reformed as the Sith triumvirate, attacked the Jedi in a destructive conflict known as the First Jedi Purge. Although the Jedi were nearly destroyed and many survivors were hunted down by the Sith, they were not completely destroyed. The Jedi Order was saved by one of its own, a woman known as the Jedi Exile. She trained new Jedi and eventually defeated the three Sith Lords and brought about the downfall of the Sith triumvirate. Several centuries of peace were enjoyed by the Jedi and the Galactic Republic before they were forced to fight a millenia-long war known as the New Sith Wars. The last century of the war, known as the Republic Dark Age, culminated into the Light and Darkness War, the final series of battles between the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness and the Jedi Army of Light. After the 1000 year war, the New Sith Empire collapsed and the Brotherhood of Darkness was destroyed. However, there was need for the Republic to be restructured, and in 1000 BBY, the Ruusan Reformation took place, which gave more power to the Galactic Senate and less to the Supreme Chancellor, and the Jedi's immense Army of light was downsized, converting the Jedi from a military force to peacekeepers. Covertly, one of the last Sith, Darth Bane, formed the Order of the Sith Lords. For the next 1000 years, peace reigned.
[edit] The Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)
Set in the time around the prequel trilogy this era takes place after the seemingly final defeat of the Sith. In the waning years of the Republic, the Senate was rife with corruption and scandal, and saddled with a bureaucracy so immense that effective governing was nearly impossible. Although there were two minor conflicts, the Stark Hyperspace War and the Yinchorri Uprising, the first major conflict since the New Sith Wars was the Invasion of Naboo. The huge trade alliance, the Trade Federation, invaded the peaceful world of Naboo. The plan was orchestrated by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Although the Trade Federation was forced off the planet, two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, fought the first Sith in a 1000 years--Darth Maul, the apprentice of Darth Sidious. Sidious, under the guise of Senator Palpatine, had been elected to the office of Supreme Chancellor. Although the Invasion of Naboo was only a few months long and seemed an isolated event, it was an ominous foreshadowing of the Separatist crisis and the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan Kenobi had taken it upon himself to train Anakin Skywalker, a boy whose connection to the Force was unprecedented. Over the next ten year, a shaky peace existed, until, after a series of battles between the Republic and various planets, a widespread secession movement of over a thousand planets, the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), was formed. The plan of the CIS was to subdue the Republic with a massive droid army; however, this plan was thwarted by a newly created Republic clone army. Thus, the Clone Wars began. Count Dooku, a fallen Jedi, was the new apprentice of Darth Sidious and the commander of the droid army. Effectively, Sidious was the commander of both the Republic and the CIS. The Clone Wars raged on for several years until Dooku was killed by Anakin Skywalker, now a Jedi Knight. Sidious planned to corrupt Anakin to the dark side, and, exploiting Anakin's love for his illegitamate wife, Padme, made Anakin weaker and weaker. Finally, Anakin, in a fit of rage and desperation, killed a Jedi Master and sealed his fate as Darth Vader, Sidious's new apprentice. Meanwhile, Sidious, still Supreme Chancellor, quickly reorganized the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire and apointed himself Emperor after an "assassination" attempt. Order 66, a plan to destroy the Jedi Order, was instated, and numerous Jedi around the galaxy were killed by their own clonetroopers. It was the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, in which Vader personally hunted down surviving Jedi, whom he felt were responsible for the death of his wife. Unbeknownst to him, however, was that Padme had died giving birth to his children, Luke and Leia. Vader killed nearly every Jedi left; however, two notable ones survived--Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former master and in exile, watching over Luke, and Yoda, former Grand Master of the Jedi and who would later train Luke. The Empire strengthened over the next 19 years, and eventually a rebel group, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, was formed. Luke Skywalker, now a young man, joined the Alliance and contributed to the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire's superweapon. This marked the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. Around this time, Vader managed to kill one of the last few Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi--his former master.
[edit] The Rebellion (0 BBY - 5 ABY)
The rebellion had become an outright war, with Luke Skywalker training as a Jedi under Yoda, while his sister Leia was a head commander of the Alliance. The rebellion suffered several crushing defeats but planned to make a daring move to destroy the second Death Star. Luke encountered Vader and as they fought, Luke learned that Vader was his father. Luke escaped with his life but was convinced Vader still had some good in him. Shortly after, Yoda died of old age, leaving Luke the last of the Jedi. Meanwhile, Vader became obsessed with finding his son and corrupting him to the dark side. After finishing his training, Luke met his father again, this time aboard the Death Star. The Alliance had launched a surprise attack on the Death Star, but the opportunity became a trap when they realized Emperor Palpatine was expecting them. Although they were outnumbered and outgunned, the rebels still managed to break through the Empire's defences. Meanwhile, Vader and Luke dueled aboard the Death Star, with Luke defeating, but not killing, his father. After seeing his refusal to come to the dark side, Palpatine began torturing Luke. Seeing his son in agony, Vader made his choice--he sacrificed himself to kill Palpatine. Vader became Anakin Skywalker again moments before his death, and Luke made it off the Death Star shortly before it was destroyed. With the Emperor gone, the Empire became severely weakened.
[edit] The New Republic (5 ABY - 25 ABY)
The New Republic was formed as the dominant galactic government. Although the Emperor was killed, the Galactic Civil War was far from over, with the Imperial remnant still fighting fiercely. The Republic captured the capital but was severely weakened by a plague, which led the Republic to fight the Bacta War with a former Imperial and her planet in order to secure the cure. Although victorious, after only a few years, the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Army, Thrawn, attempted to rally the remnant of the Empire and destroy the New Republic; however, he failed in his quest. The Imperial Remnant then splintered and began infighting. The same year, Emperor Palpatine was reborn in a clone body and again attempted to corrupt Luke Skywalker, now a general. Although Luke fell briefly to the dark side, with the help of his sister Leia, he turned back to the light side and killed the reborn Emperor. Leia and her husband, Han Solo, a hero from the Rebel Alliance, then had children named Jacen, Jaina, and, later, Anakin. Palpatine rose again, but he was ultimately killed and his clones destroyed. Luke established a new Jedi academy while Leia became head of state of the New Republic. After several more years of fighting, the New Republic and the fragments of the Empire signed a peace treaty ending all conflict. Luke Skywalker married a fellow Jedi named Mara Jade, although he does it legitimately, unlike his father. A new Imperial remnant, the Second Imperium, attempted to disrupt the peace between the Empire and the Republic, but the remnant was defeated by Jacen and Jaina Solo, now Jedi. Leia resigned her post as head of state as a new crisis threatened the galaxy.
[edit] The New Jedi Order (25 - 40 ABY)
After traveling for thousands of years, the Yuuzhan Vong, an extragalactic species, invaded the galaxy. Conquering many planets and even going so far as to completely destroy some, the Yuuzhan Vong eventually reached the capital and took over. During this time, Anakin Solo, the Jedi son of Han and Leia, was killed. Near the same time, the Jedi Order was driven off its planet by the Yuuzhan Vong. However, in the midst of these tragedies, a birth also took place, with Ben Skywalker being born to Luke and Mara Jade. With the New Republic almost at the breaking point, a government reorganization occurred, with the Republic becoming the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. After several years, the Galactic Alliance began gaining more victories, and the capital was liberated. A peace treaty between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong was subsequently signed. However, peace for the entire galaxy was not to be, as a conflict between two species, the Chiss Ascendancy and the Colony, eventually dragged the Galactic Alliance in, and the resulting three way war became known as the Swarm War. Although brief, the war was devestating and led Luke Skywalker, now Grand Master of the Jedi Order, to create a new Jedi council, in an attempt to make the Jedi less connected with the politics of the Galactic Alliance (as the old Jedi Order had been) and centered back to being protecters of truth and justice.
[edit] Legacy of the Force (40 - unknown date ABY)
In an effort to silence malcontent among some of its members, the Galactic Alliance took violent deterrent methods, which not only failed but alienated more of its members. Meanwhile, the first Sith in decades emerged--Lumiya, the self-porclaimed Dark Lady of the Sith. Jacen Solo fell to the dark side and became her apprentice. At the same time, friends and family members were forced to fight each other as secession was finally realized, pitting the Galactic Alliance and the Confederation against each other in the Second Galactic Civil War. Jacen Solo murdered his aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker, turning him into Darth Caedus. Caedus became one of the commanders of the Galactic Alliance. The war raged on, with casualties on both sides, including Lumiya, who was killed by Luke Skywalker; Skywalker thought Lumiya was responsible for the death of his wife. The Second Galactic Civil War came to a close when Caedus was killed by his Jedi sister, Jaina. Decades of time passed, until Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Ben, Luke, and Anakin, was born. The Imperial Remnant, which had been strengthening over time, declared its secession from and war against the Galactic Alliance. Moreover, the Imperials also formed an alliance with the New Sith Order, formed by Darth Krayt, beginning the Sith-Imperial War. Several years of fighting passed until the Galactic Alliance was defeated at the capital and the New Jedi Order was massacred, including Kol Skywalker, Cade's father. The Galactic Empire was once again the dominant galactic government. However, Emperor Roan Fel's throne was usurped by Darth Krayt, although Fel escaped death. Cade Skywalker began his self-exiled training as a Jedi, although he began to have doubts and tried to reject his famous lineage. However, he finally embraced his destiny to become a Jedi and defeat the Sith, as two rebel groups formed, the Anti-Sith Insurgency, still loyal to deposed Emperor Fel, and the Galactic Alliance remnant.
