Alderaan/Legends

"Any time is the time to visit Alderaan! How can one not enjoy a planet where peace and beauty are common preoccupations, and art and learning are the popular pastimes?"

- Lord Tion

Alderaan, located in the Core Worlds, was the second planet in the Alderaan system, and the home of many famous heroes, including Leia Organa Solo, Bail Organa, and Ulic Qel-Droma. Renowned galaxywide for its unspoiled beauty, Alderaanians worked with and around the land to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as they could.

In an attempt by Grand Moff Tarkin and the Galactic Empire to intimidate the galaxy into submission, the unarmed and peaceful planet of Alderaan was destroyed by the first Death Star in 0 BBY (35:3:7).

Terrain
Considered the "Shining Star" of the Core Worlds, wild grasslands and old mountain ranges dominated the planet's land surface. Large oceans and scattered inland seas provided the planet with ideal conditions for a large variety of flora and fauna to develop. As such, Alderaan was the homeworld of some of the galaxy's most famous animals, such as the nerf and the thranta. Alderaanian cities were often built with great care taken to protect nature. One such city, Crevasse City was built on the walls of a canyon, nearly invisible from above. Others were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital, Aldera, known for its university, was built on a small island in the center of a caldera.

In the Castle Lands, the remains of Killik mounds stood as a silent testament to the indigenous species that had disappeared for unknown reasons. Philosophers, poets, and artists often visited the Castle Lands for inspiration and meditation.

Alderaan was home to more than eight thousand subspecies of grass and an even larger number of wildflowers. Its flora also included a massive variety of spices, herbs, and grains. The planet had no major oceans, but it had a single polar ice cap. The rest of Alderaan's surface water was composed of thousands of lakes and connecting waterways.

Fauna
Alderaan had many rare species not seen anywhere else in the galaxy, as well as many common creatures. Some of the more notable ones included the:
 * Nerf
 * Grazer
 * Thranta
 * Stalking bird
 * Woolly moth
 * Oozle
 * Manka cat

Society
Alderaanian culture valued education, the performing and fine arts, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts. They placed high value in their participation in the Galactic Senate&mdash;and later, its Imperial equivalent. The Alderaanians constantly sought a harmonious existence with their surroundings, evident in their integration of their society into the natural terrain of Alderaan. Alderaanians were known for love of philosophy.

An average Alderaanian was very educated and cultured. Poets and artists thrived on Alderaan. The beauty moved the pens of poets, while the vast grasslands served as a canvas for grass paintings. Alderaan was also famous for its cuisine. The large variety of spices and herbs allowed chefs to experiment and create some of the finest dishes in the galaxy. Steamed Alderaanian spiced wine was a favored beverage among many.

Some of Alderaan's major exports included wine, art, and luxury goods.

Government
Although a democratic society, Alderaan was headed by a hereditary constitutional monarchy, with the Royal House of Organa presiding over the High Court and legislative High Council of Alderaan. Its monarchs have variously borne the titles "Prince," "First Chairman," "Queen," and "Viceroy." Traditionally, the heir of the Alderaan throne also serves in the High Council of Alderaan and a term as Senator of Alderaan. A vizier helped the monarch rule.

Alderaan's government deliberately halted itself from so much as questioning spacecraft leaving or arriving on the planet.

Several decades before the Clone Wars, a political conflict between the high houses of Alderaan arose. This conflict, known as the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention, was the result of the inability of the great families (among them the House of Organa and the House of Antilles) to choose the next Viceroy of Alderaan. Three separate votes yielded no winner, and so the Alderaanians asked for Jedi mediation to resolve the contention. The Jedi, including Jorus C'baoth, considered the intricacies of the situation, and decided that House Organa bore the rightful claim to the throne.

Bail Organa was the leader of Alderaan and was on the planet when it was destroyed, while his heir and (secretly-adopted) daughter Princess Leia served as Senator of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate.

Known Queens of Alderaan

 * Queen Mazicia Organa (pre 22 BBY - ? BBY)
 * Queen Breha Organa (pre or after 22 BBY–0 BBY)

After the Destruction of Alderaan in 0 BBY, no queen took the title officially, although Leia Organa Solo had claim to the title.

Known First Chairpersons and/or Viceroys of Alderaan

 * Senator Bail Organa

Known Senators of Alderaan

 * Senator Ravein (unknown BBY)
 * Senator Agrippa Aldrete (pre-33 BBY)
 * Senator Bail Antilles (&mdash;32 BBY)
 * Senator Bail Organa (32 BBY–1 BBY)
 * Senator Leia Organa (1 BBY–0 BBY)
 * Senator Leia Organa (5 ABY–11 ABY)
 * Senator Cal Omas (&mdash;28 ABY)

Pre-Republic
In 1,000,000 BBY the native Killiks evolved from the most intelligent Nonsentient species on the planet.

The indigenous Killiks built the Castle Lands of Oroboro circa 35,000 BBY.

At some point, the Killiks colonized nearby Alsakan. They were taken away from Alderaan 30,000 BBY by the Celestials after consuming all of Alderaan's natural resources, and long believed extinct by Humanity until re-encountered in the Unknown Regions. Human colonists came to the planet from Coruscant in 27,500 BBY and built a peaceful civilization in harmony with nature.

Old Republic
Alderaan was a Core Founder of the Galactic Republic in 25,000 BBY and one of the anchor-points for early hyperspace exploration. Alderaan was headquarters of Alderaan Royal Engineers, an early Republic shipwright. Alderaanian colonists settled Nim Drovis. During the Mandalorian Wars, the planet was threatened with invasion by the forces of Cassus Fett, but the entire invasion force was prematurely decimated, due to misuse of an ancient Sith artifact. Following the Great War against the True Sith Empire, the planet was the site of a number of border skirmishes and proxy battles between Old Republic and Sith forces during the Interstellar Cold War, around 3,656 BBY. In 27 BBY, it was personally protected by Jedi Master Eeth Koth during the Ashaar Khorda crisis.

Clone Wars
As a whole, Alderaan strongly opposed the Military Creation Act, they had their own Alderaan Security Detail, but remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Alderaan allowed Refugee Relief Movement settlement by displaced exiles from Ando and other Separatist worlds who wished to remain Republic citizens. During the Clone Wars, Alderaan was attacked personally (nearly "being destroyed") by General Grievous.

With the rise of the New Order, Queen Breha Organa and Viceroy Bail Organa adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker. The Galactic Empire violently terminated the Jedi Praxeum on the planet, though a few students escaped. Shortly afterwards, Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla led a remnant of the Caamasi people to settle on Alderaan after Palpatine desolated Caamas. Ylenic served as Trustant of the Caamasi Remnant and adviser to the Organas.

Galactic Civil War
Immediately after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Alderaan was wracked by anti-Imperial protests, mainly from alien refugees who were now forced to pay an exorbitant tax to return home. Alderaan eventually became a safe haven for rebellious elements who wished to fight the growing oppression of the Empire.

When Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, and Mon Mothma formally created the Rebel Alliance, many Alderaanians volunteered their resources and lives, despite the still fresh memories of the Clone Wars. Many of the early warriors of the Alliance, and subsequently, many of its leaders and officers, were Alderaanian.

After the horrors of the Clone Wars, Alderaan's frigates and light cruisers were dismantled and the world's weapons were placed aboard the armory warship Another Chance. The ship was programmed to continually jump though hyperspace until called home by the High Council. They would not have the opportunity.

Destruction of Alderaan
"No! Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons! You can't possibly...!" "You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!"

- Princess Leia and Wilhuff Tarkin

Alderaan was the first strategic target of the first Death Star. In a demonstration of its power to Princess Leia, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the destruction of her home. While she claimed the planet was weaponless, it is said it had some of the strongest defenses in the Empire.

When Death Star gunner Tenn Graneet threw the switch to initiate primary ignition, power was channeled from the hypermatter reactor through the superlaser, coming out at super luminal velocity. The beam pushed a large part of Alderaan's mass into hyperspace, causing the planet to explode.

The deaths of the billions of sentient people caused a massive disturbance in the Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi felt the disturbance while en route to the Alderaan system, and told Luke Skywalker that it felt like a great many voices cried out in terror before being suddenly silenced. On the Death Star, Force-sensitive stormtrooper Nova Stihl passed out from the shock of sensing all the deaths on Alderaan, and Princess Leia also felt the disturbance in the Force, although she was unaware of her sensitivity at the time.

The plan drastically backfired, driving thousands of beings to the Alliance cause and sending many planets in the Mid Rim into open rebellion. A number of Alderaanians serving in the Imperial military defected to the Rebel Alliance after learning of their homeworld's destruction – among the defectors was the TIE fighter pilot Tycho Celchu. The Imperials attempted to pin the blame for Alderaan's destruction on the Rebels, keeping a small number of people loyal to the Empire; however, it convinced few.

Post-Destruction
"The defense system on Alderaan, despite the Senators protestations to the contrary, were as strong as any in the Empire."

- Grand Moff Tarkin

The remains of Alderaan became known as the Graveyard, and many Alderaanians who were off-planet when Alderaan was destroyed performed a private ceremony called the Returning, and would shoot capsules filled with gifts for their friends and family. Some Alderaanian Exiles who called themselves the Guardians, took to patrolling the Graveyard to prevent pirates from stealing the capsules. These Alderaanians were held in rather high regard among the exiles.

In the months after the destruction of Alderaan, Imperial agents often lay in wait for ships performing a Returning ritual. They boarded the ships and arrested the passengers and crew. The Rebel Alliance considered quarantining the Graveyard, as these Imperial actions were too risky for the Alliance.

One group of Alderaanians formed a colony on Ejolus, but it was wiped out by the Empire only eight months after their homeworld's destruction. However, Alderaan was survived by the Alderaan Alliance and Alderaanians who colonized New Alderaan and didn't stop to represent themselves in the Senate.

Behind the scenes
In the treatment, rough draft, second draft, and third draft of A New Hope in 1974-1975, Alderaan was the name of the capital of the New Galactic Empire. And at that time, it was described as a giant gas planet that resembled Bespin, with a city that resembled Cloud City on it.

The original name in the second draft of A New Hope for what would become Alderaan was Organa Major. Aquilae, Utapau and Ophuchi were also considered as names for worlds partially corresponding to Alderaan.

Alderaan (Arabic al-dhirā`ain, "the two measuring-rods") is the real-world name for an obsolescent asterism incorporating stars normally assigned to the constellations Canis Major and Gemini. The real-life star known as Aldebaran also has a similar name.

It is also possible that Alderaan is a tribute to Buzz Aldrin, one of the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.

As a homage, Aldera appeared as the name of a Star Trek planet, like Aldera, capital of Alderaan.

Grindelwald in Switzerland was scouted for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, to capture plate photography for backdrops on the planet Alderaan.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Californication" says "Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement... and Alderaan's not far away, it's Californication."

Non-canon appearances

 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Tag & Bink Are Dead
 * The Princess Leia Diaries
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * Free Memory
 * The Other