Jabba Desilijic Tiure

"If I told you half the things I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short-circuit!"

- C-3PO to R2-D2

Jabba Desilijic Tiure was a Hutt gangster and crime lord, as well as a member of the Grand Hutt Council, who operated from his palace on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Jabba was a major figure on Tatooine, where he controlled the bulk of the trafficking in illegal goods, piracy and slavery that generated most of the planet's wealth. He was also highly influential in the entire Outer Rim as one of its most powerful crime lords.

During the Clone Wars, Jabba's influence and power over the Outer Rim, specifically its hyperlanes, was sought by both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, who both courted Jabba's approval. When Rotta, Jabba's son, was kidnapped, the crime lord promised his support to the whomever returned his son. When the Separatists were revealed to have orchastrated Rotta's kidnapping, Jabba pledged his support to the Republic.

Jabba continued to operate in the Outer Rim after the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire, preserving his power base, despite Emperor Sheev Palpatine's interference. After the destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance, the Emperor sent Darth Vader to negotiate a deal with Jabba to secure raw materials for Imperial military production. Jabba's alliance with the Empire allowed him and the Hutts to survive the Imperial crackdown against criminal elements in the Outer Rim, as well as rid the Hutt of his competitors.

After smuggler Han Solo failed to repay him for lost cargo, Jabba placed a high price on his head. Solo was eventually delivered to him by one of his bounty hunters, Boba Fett, as a gift from Darth Vader. However, this capture brought him to the attention of Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, who sought to rescue his friend from Jabba's imprisonment. As he attempted to execute the Jedi and his allies in the Great Pit of Carkoon, Jabba was killed by Leia Organa.

Tatooine crime lord
Jabba Desilijic Tiure was a Hutt who hailed from Tatooine, a desert world in the Outer Rim Territories. He became a powerful and influential crime lord, gaining him a seat on the Grand Hutt Council. He also became affiliated with the Crymorah syndicate. As a crime lord, Jabba based his illicit operation out of his palace in the Northern Dune Sea of Tatooine, from where he spread his operations and influence across the Outer Rim by employing a network of smugglers who moved his goods across the galaxy. His operations grew to include slavery, arms dealing, spice smuggling, and gambling. Gambling was a prominent feature of the Mos Espa Grand Arena, where Jabba built grandstands from which he could control the gambling and concessions during podraces.

Shortly after the start of the Invasion of Naboo, Jabba presided over the Boonta Eve Classic podrace, where his entrance in the stands was greeted with cheers from the spectators who came to watch the race from all corners of the Outer Rim Territories. Jabba signaled the start of the race and the podracers began their laps, at the end of which Anakin Skywalker, a young slave from Mos Espa, emerged victorious. Jabba had to be awoken after falling asleep during the race, as podracing did not interest him&mdash;aside from the gambling involved.

Alliance with the Republic
"Perhaps now, you will allow the Republic to use your trade routes and hostilities can come to an end.''" "''Jabba agrees. A treaty is in order."

- Senator Padmé Amidala and TC-70, the latter of whom spoke for Jabba

Ten years after the Naboo Crisis, the galaxy was plunged into the chaos of the Clone Wars, a massive galactic conflict between the Grand Army of the Republic and the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Shortly after the outbreak of the war, Jabba's infant son, Rotta, was kidnapped. Though Jabba did not know who the kidnapper was, it was carried out by his uncle, Ziro, and the Separatist Alliance, both of whom had their own schemes at play. Jabba requested the assistance of anyone could help, and the Republic and the Jedi Order answered the call. It was the hope of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine that the Republic would be able to negotiate an alliance with Jabba for use of Hutt hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim, as the Separatists controlled the major lanes.

The Jedi sent General Anakin Skywalker, who had become a Jedi Knight in the years since his victory in the Boonta Eve Classic, and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, to the Teth system to find Rotta. General Obi-Wan Kenobi, meanwhile, traveled to Tatooine to personally negotiate a treaty with Jabba. While the Jedi Master was en route, Jabba was presented with the heads of bounty hunters he had sent to Teth to find his son. Infuriated by the lack of progress, Jabba contacted Chancellor Palpatine and, through his translator droid, TC-70, demanded to know why the Jedi were not searching for his son. The chancellor assured the crime lord that the Jedi were on their way, of which Jabba said the treaty with him depended on.

Kenobi soon arrived at Jabba's Palace and was taken before the Hutt's court. Kenobi told Jabba that Skywalker, who he described as one of the Order's most powerful Jedi, was on his way to Teth to rescue Rotta and that the Jedi would not let the Hutt down. Jabba attached one additional condition to the proposed treaty&mdash;that the Jedi deliver him the kidnapper as well, dead or alive. Jabba also leveled a threat against the Jedi: if they did not succeed, the Separatist leader Count Dooku and the Separatist Droid Army would&mdash;still not knowing that Dooku himself was behind the kidnapping, in a plot to turn the Hutt Clan into an enemy of the Republic. Kenobi briefly departed the palace, which was followed by the arrival of Count Dooku himself. The Sith Lord claimed that it was the Jedi who kidnapped Rotta and that the Jedi were plotting to destroy Jabba. Jabba demanded proof, which Dooku delivered in the form of a manipulated holographic recording allegedly showing Skywalker and Tano, who had found Rotta on Teth, harming the child, when in reality they were caring for it after he had fallen ill. Dooku told the crime lord that the Separatist Droid Army was initiating a rescue mission and would soon deliver the Huttlet to his father. All Dooku asked in return was that Jabba join the Separatist cause.

Dooku's Dark Jedi acolyte, Asajj Ventress, contacted the count, who played her message in front of Jabba and his court. Ventress claimed that Skywalker killed Rotta and was on his way to Tatooine. Jabba questioned why the Jedi would come to Tatooine, to which Dooku said that the Jedi plot had become clear and that Skywalker would soon arrive to kill the crime lord and wipe out the entire Hutt Clan. Dooku promised Jabba that he would personally deal with Skywalker and, despite fighting the Jedi Knight in a lightsaber duel in the desert, Skywalker managed to reach Jabba's Palace. Once there, Skywalker found that Tano, who had Rotta and from whom he had become separated, had not yet reached the palace. Jabba's henchmen drew their weapons on Skywalker, so the Jedi Knight drew his lightsaber and pointed it at Jabba&mdash;seemingly confirming Dooku's claims. Jabba said that this was proof that Skywalker had arrived to kill him, but the Jedi said he had only come to negotiate. Just as Jabba's henchmen prepared to kill Skywalker, Tano arrived and delivered Rotta to his father.

Despite the happy reunion with his son, Jabba ordered Skywalker and Tano's execution. They were saved, however, by a message from Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, who had discovered Ziro's involvement in the plot. Ziro entered the holographic transmission and admitted to conspiring with Dooku to kidnap Rotta and frame the Jedi, so Jabba told the senator that the Hutt Clan would severely punish Ziro. Amidala asked him if the hostilities between Jabba and the Jedi could cease and if he would open his hyperspace lanes to the Republic, to which Jabba agreed. The two sides signed a treaty allowing the Grand Army of the Republic through Jabba's territories, a decision Amidala assured him he would not regret. Grand Master Yoda and clone forces soon arrived at Jabba's Palace, signaling a new era of cooperation between the Republic and Jabba the Hutt.

Eliminating Ziro
"Jabba thanks you for delivering the holo-diary."

- TC-70, to Sy Snootles

Later in the war, Jabba was visited by Baron Papanoida, the chairman of the planet Pantora, whose daughters, Che Amanwe Papanoida and Chi Eekway Papanoida, had been kidnapped by Greedo, a bounty hunter in Jabba's employ. The chairman was able to reason with the Hutt crime lord, who, like Papanoida, knew all too well what it was like to have his child be taken from him. Greedo insisted that he was not responsible, but Jabba allowed a blood sample to be taken from his bounty hunter so it could be compared to blood found at the scene of the crime. Greedo admitted to kidnapping the chairman's daughters at the behest of the Separatists, who wanted leverage against Jabba, and Papanoida was soon reunited with his children.

Shortly thereafter, the Grand Hutt Council became concerned that Ziro, who was in Galactic Republic custody, was planning on turning over incriminating evidence about the council's illicit activity, as the imprisoned Hutt had a journal secretly hidden on Teth that contained the evidence. Jabba hired bounty hunter Cad Bane to free Ziro from prison, so he could be imprisoned by the Hutt Clan instead. Bane took members of the Galactic Senate hostage inside the Senate Building, offering their safety in return for Ziro's freedom. Chancellor Palpatine refused the demands, but Palpatine soon changed his mind and allowed Ziro to be freed. Bane brought Ziro to the Grand Hutt Council on Nal Hutta where Ziro was imprisoned once more, though Jabba himself was not presented. Gardulla Besadii the Elder instead acted as a representative.

Jabba instead planned Ziro's elimination. He hired Ziro's old girlfriend, the singer Sy Snootles, to find the records and eliminate Ziro. Snootles freed Ziro from his imprisonment and tricked him into believing that she was on his side, so he brought her to Teth where he planned to recover his records. Once there, however, Snootles killed the crime lord and brought the records to Jabba, who expressed his gratitude for her work.

Forced into the Shadow Collective
Jabba later found himself roped into the schemes of Darth Maul, a renegade Sith Lord who hoped to regain the status he lost after his defeat during the Battle of Naboo over a decade earlier. As part of his plan, Maul formed the Shadow Collective, an alliance between the Mandalorian faction Death Watch and various elements from the criminal underworld, including Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate. Their goal was to takeover the planet Mandalore and, despite their combined might, the Shadow Collective still required additional resources, including muscle and supplies, to achieve their goal. To find the resources they needed, they went before the Grand Hutt Council to negotiate an alliance between the Hutt Clan and the Shadow Collective. Maul, his brother Savage Opress, and Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla met with the Hutt leaders, where Maul negotiated the terms and conditions of the alliance with Jabba himself. The Hutts wanted to know what they could offer and how much their assistance was worth. Maul proposed an exchange: in return for Hutt Space and everything in its borders, he would spare their lives. Jabba and the Council were dismissive of Maul's threats, which resulted in a skirmish between the Shadow Collective and the Grand Hutt Council's forces. Maul, Opress, and Vizla fought off various enforcers and bounty hunters, until their Death Watch reinforcements arrived. With the additional troops, Maul, Vizla and Opress were able to route the enemy forces and secure a victory.

Although the Collective was triumphant, the ensuing conflict and chaos allowed all but one Hutt to escape&mdash;Oruba, Jabba's nephew. Maul interrogated Oruba, threatening to kill him unless he revealed where the others had escaped to. Under duress, Oruba informed Maul that he could find Jabba in his palace on Tatooine. The Shadow Collective soon arrived, facing little resistance as they made their way into Jabba's court. Maul ordered Jabba and the council to submit to his demands and join the Shadow Collective, lest they suffer his wrath. With little choice in the matter, Jabba agreed to assist the Shadow Collective in its takeover of Mandalore. The resources the Hutt Clan provided aided the Shadow Collective in its successful takeover of Mandalore, with Maul declaring himself the new leader of Mandalore. However, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious&mdash;secretly Chancellor Palpatine himself &mdash;came to regard Maul as a threat and targeted the Shadow Collective. The group fractured under assault by the Sith and their Separatist puppets, and Maul's plan was resoundingly defeated by Darth Sidious.

Age of the Empire
"Jabba, you're a wonderful human being."

- Han Solo, after Jabba extended the time he had to repay his debts

At the end of the Clone Wars, the Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire, and the chancellor declared himself emperor. Jabba continued his illicit operations during the Age of the Empire, continuing to hold influence as a crime lord. One smuggler he hired for his operations was Han Solo, who became the best smuggler on Jabba's payroll. Solo's standing was jeopardized, however, when his ship, the Millennium Falcon, was boarded by Imperial authorities, forcing Solo to jettison his cargo. Jabba demanded compensation for the lost cargo and, when Solo did not pay, the crime lord sent bounty hunters after him. One such hunter was Greedo, who confronted Solo in a cantina in Mos Eisley, but Solo killed the Rodian bounty hunter before he could kill Solo. Jabba learned of this and found Solo in Docking Bay 94, where the smuggler said that he had no choice but to dump his cargo. Jabba agreed to give Solo an extension on the payment in exchange for additional interest. Solo accepted the offer, but he soon became involved in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and once again failed to pay Jabba. When Jabba learned that Solo had joined the Rebellion, Jabba placed a large bounty on the smuggler's head.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, in which the Alliance&mdash;with Solo's help&mdash;destroyed the Imperial, planet-destroying battle station known as the Death Star, the Empire was left in dire need of additional military resources. To increase its supply of weapons, the Empire planned to negotiate with an envoy in Jabba's employ on Cymoon 1, in the Corellian Industrial Cluster. The Sith Lord Darth Vader&mdash;formerly Anakin Skywalker &mdash;was tasked as the Imperial negotiator, with the intent of forcing Jabba's envoy in a deal favorable to the Empire. The envoy's vessel was hijacked by the Rebel Alliance, however, and a team of Rebels, including Solo, used it to assault and destroy Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1, leveling another critical defeat against the Empire.

The Emperor ordered Vader to travel to Tatooine and negotiate with Jabba personally. The Sith Lord arrived a day ahead of schedule, using his early arrival to carry out a personal mission in Jabba's Palace. Vader told Jabba that he would return on official Imperial business the next day but, for that moment, he wanted to discuss his own mission. Jabba believed that Vader would attempt to use a mind trick to force him into doing the Dark Lord's will, but Vader said he would not, as mind tricks were not the way of the Sith. Jabba briefly considered collecting the bounty that the Rebel Alliance placed on Vader's head and throwing him into a rancor pit beneath his court, but he opted not to once he realized Vader was aware of the trap. Jabba continued his discussions with Vader and incorrectly referred to the Sith Lord as a Jedi, resulting in Vader igniting his lightsaber and becoming a target of Jabba's henchmen. The Dark Lord wiped many of the guards out before using the Force to choke Jabba, an attack that left the crime lord more amenable to Vader's demands. With Jabba ready to comply, Vader explained that he needed two of Jabba's best bounty hunters to work on a personal mission. Jabba agreed to the demands and provided him with Boba Fett and the Wookiee Black Krrsantan.

As promised, Vader returned to Jabba's court the next day to continue the official negotiations on behalf of the Empire. The negotiations concluded with Jabba agreeing to provide the Imperial war machine with whatever resources it required. Jabba requested only that the Emperor pay him well, to which Vader said that the Empire would pay him whatever they felt was appropriate. Additionally, as long as Jabba complied with Imperial demands, the Empire would allow Jabba to continue operating his criminal empire. Jabba convinced Vader to briefly stay on Tatooine for a feast and entertainment in the Sith Lord's honor, and the entertainment proved to be the hunting of wild bantha. Jabba hosted the Sith Lord on his sail barge, where Jabba inquired as to whether the two bounty hunters had proven themselves useful thus far. Vader stated that their missions would be simple enough: capture an Imperial agent working for the Emperor, and locate the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Vader also demanded to know everything that Jabba knew about Obi-Wan Kenobi, who lived in exile on Tatooine for nearly two decades. Jabba told him only that Kenobi had proven to be a thorn in his side in those years.

Slaying of the Hutt
"Jabba, this is your last chance. Free us or die."

- Luke Skywalker

Three years after the Battle of Yavin, Fett was once again hired by Darth Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon, which Vader used in his hunt for Luke Skywalker&mdash;whom he had discovered was the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. The resulting capture of the Rebel vessel led to Solo's capture, and he was frozen in carbonite as a test to ensure the process would work on Skywalker. Fett was given the frozen smuggler and brought him to Tatooine, where he collected the bounty Jabba placed on Solo's head. Solo was kept encased in carbonite and put on display in Jabba's court, as Jabba believed it was his favorite decoration. Unknown to Jabba at the time was that Solo's friends were plotting his rescue, and that one of his friends, Lando Calrissian, had already infiltrated Jabba's Palace and disguised himself as a guard.

The plan was put in place upon the arrival of the protocol droid C-3PO and astromech droid R2-D2. Artoo carried with him a message from Skywalker, who declared himself a Jedi Knight and announced his intention to bargain for Solo's life. The young Jedi said he would arrive soon, and he offered the two droids as a gift for the crime lord. Jabba boasted that there would be no bargain, however, and conscripted the two droids into his service. Threepio became his new translator, while Artoo would serve drinks on Jabba's sail barge. Later, during a performance of the song "Jedi Rocks" by the Max Rebo Band, Jabba's personal danger, Oola, attempted to resist his advances toward her, and the Hutt activated the trapdoor and sent her to her death in the rancor pit. The chaotic moment was followed by the arrival of Princess Leia Organa, who, as part of the rescue plan, came disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh and brought with her Chewbacca, Solo's Wookiee companion, as her "prisoner." She demanded the bounty on the Wookiee's head and insisted on 50,000 credits, which Jabba balked at. Organa threatened him with a detatonor and the two came to an agreement of 35,000 credits. Chewbacca was imprisoned in Jabba's dungeons, while Organa waited in the palace so she could free Solo after the court had gone to sleep.

Organa successfully freed Solo from carbonite that evening, but Jabba and his court discovered them. Solo tried to bargain with the crime lord, saying he was on his way to pay Jabba when Fett captured him, but Jabba said it was too late to pay him. The gangster imprisoned Solo and took Organa as his new companion, replacing the deceased Oola. Shortly thereafter, Skywalker finally arrived at the palace and was able to gain entry through the use of a mind trick, despite Jabba's order not to allow the Jedi to enter. Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, presented the Jedi to his master and Skywalker demanded that Jabba free Solo and his friends, or else face his destruction. Jabba refused and Skywalker pulled a gun on him, at which point Jabba activated the trapdoor and sent Skywaker and a Gamorrean guard into the rancor pit. The rancor ate the guard but Skywalker was able to kill the beast, infuriating the gangster. As punishment for the outrage, Jabba ordered that Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca be executed by being fed to the sarlacc, a creature that dwelled in the Great Pit of Carkoon.

Jabba and his court traveled to the Great Pit of Carkoon for the execution. As the proceedings were about to begin, Skywalker offered one last opportunity to free them and threatened to kill Jabba if he did not. The crime lord refused and ordered the prisoners into the pit, but Artoo revealed Skywalker's hidden lightsaber and the Jedi attacked Jabba's henchmen. The ensuing battle led to chaos on Jabba's sail barge, as his enforcers attempted to kill the Jedi and the Rebels. In the ensuing panic, Organa wrapped the chain she was bound in around Jabba's neck and strangled him to death, bringing an end to the criminal reign of Jabba the Hutt. After his death, Solo and his friends were able to successfully escape, and Jabba's sail barge exploded over the sarlacc pit. After Jabba's death, the Grand Hutt Council was left to determine who would fill Jabba's seat. Several months after his death, a decision had yet to be made, suggesting the possibility of a new Hutt-less era for Tatooine.

Behind the scenes
Jabba the Hutt was first mentioned in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and was mentioned again in the 1980 sequel Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. He made his first appearance in 1983 in the final film of the original trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, and he was later added into Episode IV when a previously-deleted scene was restored to the film. In 1999, he appeared in the first chapter of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, and made several appearances in the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Non-canon appearances

 * William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
 * William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return
 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi