Galactic Empire/Legends

"We are an Empire ruled by the majority! An Empire ruled by a new Constitution! An Empire of laws, not of politicians! An Empire devoted to the preservation of just society. Of a safe and secure society! We are an Empire that will stand for ten thousand years!"

- Palpatine

The Galactic Empire, also known as the New Order, the First Galactic Empire, or Palpatine's New Order, was the totalitarian galactic government established by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to replace the Galactic Republic in 19 BBY.

The Republic, which had lasted for almost 25,000 years, ended following a period of intense political turmoil and the devastation of the Clone Wars. After General Grievous was defeated at the Battle of Utapau, and shortly after the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were being killed on Mustafar by Darth Vader, Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the Galaxy and reorganized the Galactic Republic into the first Galactic Empire.

Origin
"We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years. An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life."

- Emperor Palpatine, in his Imperial Inaugural Address

The Empire can be said to have begun with the scheming aspiration of Senator Palpatine of Naboo, whose alter ego was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Using the Trade Federation as a pawn to blockade Naboo, he used manipulation of the crisis, as well as of Queen Amidala, to instigate a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum, and ultimately to become Chancellor himself. When his apprentice, Darth Maul, was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo, Sidious took on the former Jedi Count Dooku as his new apprentice. Count Dooku then joined with the Trade Federation under Viceroy Nute Gunray and others to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This group, known as the Separatists, ignited a war with the Galactic Republic known as the Clone Wars. It was named after the clone troopers used by the Republic. "Fear will keep the local systems in line."

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin



Palpatine was an efficient and effective leader who quickly brought to an end the corruption in the Senate; his power was greatly increased as a result of the Clone Wars as the Senate willingly furnished more and more emergency powers to Palpatine. Eventually, the Senate lost most of its power and became little more than a formality that Palpatine had to go through to pass his laws. Yet the Senate did have a symbolic power at least; Chancellor Palpatine still hid behind the pomp and circumstance of appealing to the Senate, but his power existed in his control over thousands of Senators that he had brought into his own web of corruption. However, Anakin Skywalker discovered that Palpatine was a Sith Lord and, after having informed Jedi Master Mace Windu of his discovery, a Jedi task force, led by Windu himself, attempted to arrest him. After a brief duel, Palpatine appeared to be defeated. Skywalker arrived and demanded Windu not kill the Sith Lord. Deeply troubled, Skywalker nonetheless helped Palpatine kill Windu, and thus became the Emperor's new apprentice, Darth Vader. Palpatine then proceeded to carry out the Great Jedi Purge, which eliminated thousands of Jedi, and had Darth Vader eliminate Viceroy Nute Gunray and the other Separatist leaders on the fiery world of Mustafar, thus bringing an end to the Clone Wars. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine used the false Jedi rebellion to issue the Declaration of a New Order and declared himself Emperor in 19 BBY.

Many people of the new Empire enthusiastically supported the vision outlined in the Declaration of a New Order, largely due to the violence that had plagued the Galaxy for so long. Many Senators wholeheartedly supported the new government while a number of more cautious senators chose to watch and wait to see how the new government would handle the affairs of state. It promised to trade frailty for strength, chaos for order, and uncertainty for decisiveness. In retrospect, the foundation of the Empire had already been set down during Palpatine's chancellorship and all potential threats eliminated; therefore, the transition from Republic to Empire was relatively smooth.

It is important to note that not all of the Senators liked what they saw. In fact, the Petition of 2000 sought to bring the worries of these Senators to Palpatine. This petition was led by Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Padmé Amidala. Palpatine's dismissal of their concerns was one factor that led Organa and Mothma to found the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Imperialization
"I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire!" "Your new Empire?"

- Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi



With the rise of the Empire, all the institutions of the old Republic found themselves either dismantled or changed beyond recognition. There was a riot of renaming all things "Imperial" to glorify the new Emperor: overnight, the Coruscant Sector was renamed the Imperial Sector, Coruscant itself was renamed Imperial Center, and Galactic City was renamed Imperial City. The Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate. The Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army, and the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy. The four decrepit intelligence agencies of the Republic were merged into Imperial Intelligence, with former SBI director Armand Isard at its head. The Palace of the Republic was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the Imperial Palace, eclipsing all other buildings on Imperial Center. The former Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR) was renamed the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Within days, there were few names left to remind the people that there had ever been a Republic. "Your Empire? It will never have peace. It was founded on treachery and innocent blood."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi to Darth Vader

During the first few years of the Empire, the Galaxy saw the single largest military buildup in history. A council of Moffs was established to more efficiently govern individual sectors and regions of the Empire. Popular support for the policies of Palpatine's administration was high.

Although this attempted totalitarian regime remained weak, it was continually strengthening until the break-up of the Empire in 4 ABY.

The Dark Times
"We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not all destroyed, it will be civil war without end."

- Palpatine, referring to the Jedi

The Emperor saw the respected Caamasi as a threat to his New Order, so he ordered the devastation of their home planet Caamas. A group of Bothan infiltrators were responsible for sabotaging Caamas's shield generators, leaving the planet vulnerable to Imperial orbital bombardment. The once beautiful world was devastated during this attack, turned into a poisoned wasteland. The peaceful Caamasi were dispersed throughout the Galaxy. In 18 BBY, the Emperor constructed the huge, asteroid-shaped superweapon Eye of Palpatine in order to use it to destroy a Jedi enclave on Belsavis. However, the deadly superweapon was sabotaged by two Jedi Knights and the Jedi on Belsavis managed to escape. "We were establishing a new era, an era of order and peace."

- Anonymous 501st stormtrooper

Around the same time, a group of beings were protesting the tyranny of the Galactic Empire on the planet Ghorman in the Sern Sector. Wilhuff Tarkin's flagship was blocked by peaceful protesters who stood on the ship's landing pad and refused to move. With implied permission from Palpatine, Tarkin landed the ship anyway, right on the protestors, injuring and killing many. This came to be known as the Ghorman Massacre. The Alliance to Restore the Republic was founded in its wake.

Many Jedi also rebelled against Palpatine's regime. Olee Starstone and group of Order 66 survivors Jedi along with Roan Shryne attempted to restart the Jedi Council but were unsuccessful. The group fled to Kashyyyk to find out if any Jedi survived there but instead launched a massive takeover of the planet. Darth Vader killed Roan Shryne and the rest of the Jedi. A Wookiee among them, named Chewbacca, fled the city to find his family. Ferus Olin along with his friends including Jedi Master Solace caused much havoc on Imperial-controlled planets including a rebellion on the planet of Bellassa, the two break-ins of the destroyed Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and the destruction of an Imperial Garrison and Weapon Munitions Center on Naboo. On Kessel, a group of Jedi including Master Tsui Choi and Jedi Knight Bultar Swan planned to draw Darth Vader into a trap and kill him. Every one of them was killed. However, Vader's suit was damaged.

In 1 BBY, the Emperor and Vader were the targets of a attempted coup by a group of treacherous Imperial officers led by Grand Moff Trachta. Trachta saw the Sith as foolish and archaic, and believed that the Empire should not be ruled by a two-man cult. They planned to use a batch of altered stormtroopers loyal only to them to destroy the two Sith Lords. However, their plot failed in part because of internal fighting between the co-conspirators.

Resistance to Imperial rule
"Listen, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate it! But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."

- Luke Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi



After the true nature of the Empire became clear, three of the most influential senators, Bail Organa of Alderaan, Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia, and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, met in secret and signed the Corellian Treaty. This officially formed the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly referred to as the Rebel Alliance. However, the threat of rebellion allowed Palpatine to endorse the Tarkin Doctrine of rule by fear of force rather than force itself. Shortly before the Battle of Yavin, Palpatine declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Imperial Senate. Thus the last institution that represented the values and ideals of the Republic was swept away.

A key instrument in the enforcement of the Doctrine was intended to be the Death Star I, a moon sized space station with sufficient firepower to easily destroy a planet with a single discharge of its powerful superlaser. Whereas many planets could afford planetary deflector shields capable of warding off virtually any conventional attack, none could defend against the power of that awesome weapon. The weapon was destroyed in the Battle of Yavin, which marked the first major space-based victory for the Rebel Alliance.

The Rebel Alliance was a guerrilla army dedicated to the defeat of the Empire and the restoration of the Galactic Republic. This goal was nominally (but significantly) achieved with the deaths of Palpatine and Darth Vader, along with the destruction of the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor.

Fracturing of the Empire


The Empire was too large, however, to be destroyed in one blow; for the next decade or so, the Rebels (soon renamed the Alliance of Free Planets and then the New Republic) fought to free the Galaxy from former Imperials styling themselves as independent warlords as well as Imperial loyalists, such as Thrawn and Ysanne Isard.

Even prior to the fall of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, the signs of fragmentation began to slowly reveal themselves. The first incursion was that of Moff Kalast, followed by the more serious situation involving the free-selling arms dealer Admiral Harkov, and finally culminating in the major Imperial infighting with Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin. The situation became serious when Zaarin attempted a coup d'état on Emperor Palpatine, managing to miraculously capture the Sith Lord by abducting him from his flagship, in a plot later thwarted by Admiral Thrawn.

Immediately following the Imperial defeat at the Battle of Endor, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage seized control of the Empire. However, he lacked the charisma, Force powers, and terrifying presence that both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader used to keep the Empire together. Admiral Harssk was the first Imperial to declare himself a warlord and set up his own mini-Empire, but he would not be the last. Others included Admiral Teradoc, Admiral Zsinj, and General Delvardus, to name a few.

Sate Pestage only managed to hold the throne for a scant six months before he was deposed by the Imperial Ruling Council composed of three Tribunes. The Ruling Council was acting on the manipulations of Imperial Intelligence Director Ysanne Isard though, and the Ruling Council's leadership of the Empire ended under brutal conditions executed by Isard.

Ysanne Isard managed to hold the Empire together and stem off aggressive warlords, as well as Trioculus and the false Kadann, who also claimed the throne, for nearly two years before losing control of Imperial Center. When Ysanne Isard started to lose her grasp over the Empire, she had her scientists develop a biological virus targeting only aliens that she later let loose in Coruscant. So when Coruscant fell under the Rebel's attack, led by Rogue Squadron, they inherited Isard's disease that caused havoc for the starting government. With the loss of Coruscant, the Empire dissolved further and, soon, Warlord Zsinj was seen as the single largest Imperial threat in the Galaxy. Isard managed to evade death and escaped to her own little kingdom.

The remnants of the Empire found themselves for the first time on the same side of the table as the New Republic. Both governments viewed Warlord Zsinj as their biggest threat. Zsinj came under the pressure of both governments, but it wasn't until Admiral Rogriss teamed up with General Solo that they managed to bring Zsinj down.

The temporary alliance was over and new fighting erupted between the Empire and the New Republic over the scraps of Zsinj's domain. However, the New Republic dealt blow after blow to the Empire, winning most of the engagements and further humiliating the Empire by pushing them off of the monstrous ship producing world of Kuat. The Empire would remain beaten back until the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was a military genius. He was the only non-Human to climb the ranks of the Imperial Navy and the last remaining Grand Admiral. Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign recaptured nearly half of the Galaxy in the name of the Empire; however, it came to an end when Thrawn was assassinated by his own bodyguard. Captain Pellaeon, Thrawn's second-in-command, knew his limitations and ordered a retreat.

The New Republic immediately took advantage of the Imperial power vacuum and moved to cut off future Imperial threats from allies in the form of the remaining warlords. Using the pretext of pursuing Imperials who had committed various crimes the New Republic began their push against Prince-Admiral Krennel. Despite Krennel's new ally in a clone of Ysanne Isard and the real Isard's machinations to steal back her Super Star Destroyer the New Republic emerged victorious and began pressing their advantage even more; leaving the Core worlds with minimal protection.

In 10 ABY, the various Imperial warlords, encouraged by what Grand Admiral Thrawn had recently accomplished with so little in such a short amount of time, agreed to organize under the Imperial Ruling Council for an attack into the Galactic Core. The New Republic was no match for the military might of the once-more-unified Empire, and after a short and decisive campaign, the Empire had retaken Imperial Center in the Fourth Battle of Coruscant.

However, after Coruscant had been retaken, the Council decided that it was time to elect a new Galactic Emperor. The various admirals, generals, and Moffs disagreed, and an armed conflict soon broke out amongst the various Imperial factions on Coruscant. It laid much of the planet to waste, and was only ended when, several months after the retaking of Coruscant, Emperor Palpatine announced that he had returned. While most of the rank and file troops returned to loyal service, few of the warlords did, while most fled for their lives.

Return of Palpatine
Following the death of Thrawn, however, a new leader of the Empire emerged&mdash;Palpatine himself. Returning in fresh clone bodies imbued with the dead despot's spirit, he proceeded to rebuild his Empire and six years later had finally regained the strength to again challenge the New Republic. Palpatine regrouped the fragmented Empire's many warlords and loyal forces into a single unified force, headquartered at Byss in the Deep Core. He led a major Imperial offensive originating from the Deep Core. Faced with superior forces, including a number of superweapons, the New Republic was forced to fall back. Ultimately the campaign was ended by the death of the Emperor during a skirmish on Onderon, due to the efforts of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker.

Transformation
Following the disastrous collapse of the campaign spearheaded by "reborn" Palpatine, the Empire once again fell into chaos and disarray. High-ranking officials and military commanders gathered their own forces and retreated to the Deep Core, establishing their own dominions of power and fighting amongst themselves for control of what remained. These warlords were self-absorbed beyond anything seen in the post-Endor years, with each commander wasting precious resources in order to advance their individual positions. The Imperial Ruling Council tried to provide some kind of leadership to what remained of the Empire, but the council was overthrown by Xandel Carivus and declared himself Emperor.

The reign of Xandel lasted mere hours, as Baron D'Asta, Kir Kanos, and the New Republic Star Dreadnought Lusankya arrived at Ord Cantrell. Kanos executed Carivus, and in the aftermath, the D'Astas withdrew from the Empire, while New Republic troops seized most or all of the imprisoned Councilors.

Although Imperial officers and administrators were still the only effective source of authority in large areas of both the Deep Core and the Outer Rim, there was no unifying authority, and the resurgent New Republic was consequently able to claim that the Empire had effectively ceased to exist as a state.

But its death would not last. Soon afterward, Admiral Daala gathered thirteen of the militarily most powerful warlords together and executed them, bringing their military forces together under the banner of the Empire. This new Empire, often referred to as the Imperial Remnant, soon faced its first defeat, and Daala turned its reins over to Gilad Pellaeon.

Several more defeats occurred over the ensuing years, forcing the Imperial Remnant into eight backwater sectors in the Outer Rim Territories. Seeing that defeat was imminent, Pellaeon finally admitted the need to sue for peace. After a peace accord was signed with the New Republic, the Remnant settled into a period of stability that was not punctuated until the Yuuzhan Vong War, where the Imperial Remnant allied with the New Republic and its successor-state, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong.

Return of power
Between 40 ABY and 130 ABY, the Imperial Remnant began gaining more control over the Galaxy. During this time, the Galactic Alliance started the Ossus Project, a terraforming experiment using Yuuzhan Vong technology. While the initial effects were great, the plan soon became sabotaged, causing painful growths on the planets' inhabitants' skins.

Furious at this, the growing Imperial Remnant invoked the Treaty of Anaxes and went to war with the Alliance. Eventually, the Remnant seized control of Coruscant and the rest of the Galaxy and proclaimed itself once again the Galactic Empire. During this time, it was led by Emperors of the Fel dynasty. Eventually, Darth Krayt, leader of the new Sith Order, gained control of the Empire.

Government and politics
"Yeah, he says the Empire is the worst thing that ever happened to the Galaxy. Dismantling every vestige of democracy, seizing assets, killing whole populations. He thinks I'm joining the bad guys."

- Biggs Darklighter to Luke Skywalker, speaking of Huff Darklighter



The Empire was ruled with absolute power by Emperor Palpatine, with Sate Pestage as Grand Vizier, and Darth Vader as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy and Military Executor.

The Galactic Empire was actually more decentralized than the Galactic Republic. Systems were grouped in sectors and sectors in turn into oversectors. These were controlled by the Moffs and Grand Moffs, who exercised power in the disparate regions of the Galaxy. This was in contrast to the structure of the Galactic Republic, which placed senators in control of their respective sectors. The planets of the Empire were no longer given a say in the government, but were now kept in line through fear of force.

Executive branch
While Palpatine was Emperor, it was the Imperial Inner Circle, a group of Imperial advisors, that ran the Empire day to day and carried out Palpatine's will. The real power below the Emperor and his Advisers was in the hands of the Grand Moffs, like Wilhuff Tarkin, and the regional governors who were eventually granted direct control of their regions.



This exercise of power was backed up by the use of state terrorism in the form of the Tarkin Doctrine, named for Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. The Doctrine threatened force rather than the use of force to control dissent; the Ghorman Massacre was an example. The justification for the Tarkin Doctrine was the excessive cost and impracticality of the use of pure terror in the form of billions upon billions of troops and spaceships to maintain order. The instrument of enforcing the Doctrine was the Imperial Military, which included the stormtroopers and a large fleet of intimidating warships like the Star Destroyers of the Imperial Navy and the All Terrain Armored Transports of the Imperial Army, all of which were intended in part to spread fear as well as destroy the enemy. This policy reached its zenith with the construction of the world-destroying Death Star.

Legislative branch
After the formation of Galactic Empire, Galactic Senate was reorganized into Imperial Senate. But unlike the Galactic Senate, which had held both legislative and executive power, the Imperial Senate held only legislative power (and even with much of that held by the Galactic Senate now in the hands of the Emperor) by orders of the Senate Constitution. The Senate could advise the Emperor and work on the Imperial budget. However, the Emperor could both introduce and veto Senate legislation, and both called and dismissed the Senate to meeting. So Senate was practically powerless and was dissolved by Emperor Palpatine to remove the lost constitutional limit to his power.

It was succeeded as the Imperial legislature by various councils, most composed of Moffs: the Central Committee of Grand Moffs, the Interim Ruling Council, and finally, the Council of Moffs.

Judicial branch
Due to the centralization of government power into the executive branch under the Galactic Empire, it seems likely that the Supreme Court and other Regional Court was disbanded at some point, presumably before the Senate's dissolution in 0 BBY. So the Imperial criminal justice system was headed by a Procurator of Justice. The Procurator of Justice was charged with prosecuting political prisoners and administering sentences on entire worlds.

Other Imperial organizations
To strengthen his hold on power, Palpatine created various organizations that were loyal to him. Foremost among this organizations were COMPNOR and the Dark Side Adepts. Palpatine also had the Emperor's Hands, his private assassins. One notable Emperor's Hand was Mara Jade.

Palpatine allowed these organizations and their leaders to build up power bases of their own. Palpatine encouraged this system, often giving overlapping responsibilities. This made administration of the Empire less efficient, but benefited Palpatine by ensuring that he continued to be the source of all political power in the Empire.

Economy
"The Emperor seldom had only one of anything built."

- Qwi Xux

The Galactic Empire had a very complex and diverse economy. Following the Clone Wars, the Empire started a process of stabilization and expansion of the economy. While the Imperial Era saw dramatic increases in socialist-esque state control and centralization of economic procedures, it had little effect on the galactic economy, as witnessed in the virtual non-existence of inflation.

The Imperialization of Trade Federation by the Galactic Empire created a void filled by smugglers to address strong demand for shipping created by the Imperial controls. Smugglers flourished in the Imperial era as independent operators or as part of larger organizations like those of Jorj Car'das, Quelev Tapper, Talon Karrde, or Booster Terrik.

After the fracturing of the Empire at the Battle of Endor, many different currencies came into existence, and exchange rates fluctuated wildly. At that time, the credit was backed by the immense wealth of the planet Muunilinst.

Society and culture
The culture of the Galactic Empire was ascetic and minimalist. These aesthetics were encouraged throughout the Galaxy by the Coalition for Progress, an arm of COMPNOR. During its short existence, the Empire was not particularly brutal in the suppression of artistic culture, as it was primarily interested in military and political dominance. However, pressures from the New Order left their mark on the art of the Imperial period.

The Empire's New Order emphasized Human and, to a lesser extent, humanoid supremacy, with other alien species like Wookiees, Mon Calamari, and Lurrians subjected to slavery. Antislavery laws were repealed and legislation legalizing the persecution of aliens was passed. As a result, the vast majority of the government officials were composed of Humans, with only rare exceptions like Grand Admiral Thrawn climbing in the ranks of the military. A high degree of male chauvinism was also seen in the Empire's military and government. Combining this with the alien persecution, the Empire was often referred to as having "NonHuMan policies". Exceptions to this male chauvinism included Ysanne Isard, Admiral Daala, and Tessala Corvae. Some argue that while the Empire was unquestionably xenophobic, there is little to suggest that the Emperor himself was. In fact, some believe that the privy councilors and advisors that filled Palpatine's court and ran the Empire on a day-to-day basis were the xenophobes, and applied "Human High Culture" on their own accord.

Military
"Halt! In the name of the Empire, identify yourselves!"

- Scout trooper to Luke Skywalker



The Imperial Military was the military arm of the Galactic Empire. It was responsible for carrying out military operations throughout the Galaxy, as well as maintaining order on Imperial member worlds, governorships, colonies, and protectorates. Since, the Empire's New Order was based on fear of force, the Imperial Military formed a very important part of the Imperial government. Even so, the fleet would prove somewhat insubordinate, and a tension between the Coruscant government and the fleet admirals existed throughout this period, creating the need for the ISB to install political officers throughout the military as minders.

During the early years of the Empire, most stormtroopers were clones from the Clone Wars. However, by the mid to late parts of the Empire, most stormtroopers were recruited Humans. This was probably a cost cutting and time saving measure, as clones required time and money to grow. Those Humans recruited would be trained mainly at Carida and were subject to the most rigorous training that the Empire could offer. During the rule of Grand Admiral Thrawn, stormtroopers were again cloned and used as the bulk of the Imperial force.

Astrography
The Galactic Empire's territory consisted of over one million member worlds and fifty million colonies, protectorates, and governorships throughout the Galaxy stretching from the borders of the Deep Core to Wild Space at its peak.

The original name of the Empire's capital world was Coruscant; however, it was renamed Imperial Center by the Empire. Few outside the Empire's government used this name, and upon the capture of the planet by the New Republic, the name "Coruscant" was readopted.

Behind the scenes

 * The Galactic Republic's transformation into the Empire is perhaps modeled after the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; the Roman Republic was transformed because of war, infighting, and two of its leaders, Julius and Augustus Caesar. Other reasons for the transition were based off of Nazi Germany and the controversial security measures of the United States.