Alderaan/Legends

Alderaan was the second planet in the Alderaan system, and the home of many famous heroes, including Princess Leia, Bail Organa and Ulic Qel-Droma.

Terrain
Considered a "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. Cities of Alderaan were often built with great care taken to protect nature. One city was built on the walls of a canyon, nearly invisible from above. Other cities 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.

Society
The 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, and its short-lived Imperial equivalent. The Alderaanians constantly sought a harmonious existence with their surroundings, evident their integration of their society into the natural terrain of Alderaan.

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", and "Viceroy". Traditionally, the heir of the Alderaan throne also serves in the legislative High Council of Alderaan and a term as Senator of Alderaan.

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 houses' inability 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.

History
Ruins scattered across the planet indicate that an advanced alien civilization once lived here. It is unknown how long ago this was, and it is unknown what happened to this long-lost civilization. Human settlers came to the planet thousands of years BBY, and created a peaceful civilization in harmony with nature with a sophisticated culture.

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

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.

Alderaan was the first strategic target of the first Death Star. In a demonstration of its power to Princess Leia, Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the destruction of her home. While having no weapons, Alderaan was not defenseless. The planet was protected by a powerful deflector shield. This shield made Alderaan almost invincible to attack by any conventional fleet; however, it could only block the Death Star's superlaser for a fraction of a second.

Approximately 60,000 offworld-natives survived the destruction of Alderaan. Many of them relocated to the planet of New Alderaan, hoping to recreate the beauty that had been Alderaan. The Royal House of Alderaan, in the person of Leia Organa-Solo and her children, continued to hold sovereignty of both New Alderaan and the Alderaan system. The government on New Alderaan administered both systems. Survivors of Alderaan and their descendants practiced a ritual of "returning" to the Alderaan system. Returnees would fill memorial capsules with gifts for departed relatives and friends and jettison them into the asteroid field (known as the Graveyard), which was all that remained of the planet after its destruction.

A particularly aggressive group of survivors, the Alderaan Alliance, lobbied the Rebel Alliance, and later the New Republic, to apprehend and hold responsible the known designers and developers of the Death Star project. Other survivors banded together to finance and staff the Alderaan Expatriate Network, which became a respected news source for its thorough reporting and high integrity.

Known Senators of Alderaan

 * Senator Bail Antilles (? BBY - 32 BBY)
 * Senator Bail Organa (32 BBY - 1 BBY)
 * Senator Leia Organa (1 BBY - 0 BBY)

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * The Paradise Snare