Alderaan

"Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons. You can't possibly&mdash;"

- Leia Organa to Grand Moff Tarkin

Alderaan was a terrestrial planet covered with mountains. During the waning decades of the Galactic Republic, it was ruled by Queen Breha and represented in the Galactic Senate by her husband, Senator Bail Organa. Following the rise of Palpatine's Galactic Empire, Alderaan played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Rebel Alliance, a movement that sought to restore the Old Republic's values. Because of its ties with the Alliance, the planet was destroyed when Grand Moff Tarkin decided to test the superlaser of the Death Star, a moon-sized battlestation developed by the Empire. Among the few survivors of that disaster was Princess Leia Organa, adopted daughter and heiress to Bail and Breha Organa.

Description
From space, the planet of Alderaan, located in the star system of the same name, appeared as a small-sized, blue-green orb envelopped in a white web of clouds. Its surface had vast bodies of water and was covered in snow-capped mountains, with patches of green grassy hills that made it resemble an emerald. Expansive goods such as kriin-wood and marble were produced on the planet. The planet was home to many creatures, including the walking barnacles and the marine predators that ate them.

History
"Our position is correct, except&hellip; no Alderaan!"

- Han Solo

By 32 BBY, shortly before the Invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation, Alderaan was part of the Galactic Republic, the democratic union that governed most of the galaxy. The planet was represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Bail Antilles. That year, the then-Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, Valorum, was housted of office, and Antilles ran for the position in the impending election. However, the Alderaanian senator was beaten by Palpatine, who represented the sovereign system of Naboo.

Ten years later, in 22 BBY, Alderaan was represented in the Senate by Bail Organa, the Prince Consort of the planet's ruler, Queen Breha. At that time, the Republic was facing a crisis due to the existence of the Separatist Alliance led by Count Dooku, pushing the galaxy to the brink of war. Through Organa, Alderaan was part of Chancellor Palpatine's Loyalist Committee, which concerned with the stability of the Republic during the Separatist crisis and strived to prevent Palpatine's grabs for power. That year, an army of clones was discovered on the planet Kamino, the Senate took ownership of it to fight the Separatists. To save the Republic from the incoming threat, the Chancellor was granted emergency powers. That decision, which led to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, was contrary to the pacific values of Alderaan and its representative.

At some point during the Clone Wars, Alderaan hosted a conference about helping war refugees. Padmé Amidala, then senator of Naboo, was nearly assassinated during the conference when the Hutt crime lord Ziro, whom Amidala had sent to jail, hired the bounty hunter Aurra Sing to take revenge. The plot, however, was thwarted by the Jedi apprentice named Ahsoka Tano. During the war, the senator of Alderaan led a number of crucial missions of diplomacy and relief. Despite the ongoing conflict, Alderaan had remained faithful to its non-violent policies. While the Clone Wars were drawing to a close, Alderaan still had no armed forces and not even a planetary defense system. There existed, however, a Royal Alderaan Civil Fleet, in which Captain Raymus Antilles served.

When the Clone Wars ended in 19 BBY, Chancellor Palpatine revealed his true colors and abolished the Republic, establishing his Galactic Empire instead. However, a small number of systems rebelled against the new regime, and the Rebel Alliance was ultimately formed by Bail Organa and his former colleague in the Republic Senate Mon Mothma. Alderaan became the Alliance's main source of munitions. The planet's crown princess Leia Organa, the adopted daughter of Bail and Breha Organa, also started using her diplomatic immunity to carry out Rebel missions in restricted Imperial systems. The princess, however, was caught by the Imperials while on a mission to recruit the former Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi into the Alliance to help face the Death Star, a secret battlestation built by the Empire. Organa was taken prisoner by Lord Darth Vader, the Emperor's second-in-command, and brought before the Death Star's commanding officer, Grand Moff Tarkin. The Imperials forced the princess to witness the obliteration of her home planet, an act that Tarkin ordered in hopes that fear would keep the secessionist systems in line. The destruction of Alderaan, with its many cities, towns, factories, and farms, caused a slight reduction in its star system's spatial mass, leaving only an asteroid field behind.

Inhabitants
Alderaan hosted a population of Humans who were known for their philosophy of paciﬁsm. Even in time of galactic conflicts, the Alderaanians shunned weapons. They were not, however, bereft of spirit, as many of them chose to join the rebellion against Palpatine's Empire. Their society was ruled by a royal family known as the Royal House of Alderaan, in conjunction with an individual bearing the titles of Viceroy and First Chairman of the Alderaan system. The husband of a reigning female sovereign bore the title of Prince Consort, and the female child of the royal couple was referred to as a princess. For diplomatic missions, the Royal House used streamlined cruisers that carried the system crest of Alderaan.

Locations
The planet's capital was the city of Aldera, which was home to the Royal House's palace.

Behind the scenes
"The Alderaan system actually consists of seven planets. Alderaan was the capital planet of that system. There was a Senate and my father was the president of that Senate."

- George Lucas, assuming Leia Organa's character

Alderaan first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the seminal movie of the Star Wars saga. In that movie, the planet was only seen from space during the scene depicting its destruction. In the treatment, rough draft, second draft, and third draft of what would become A New Hope, the name of Alderaan was used for the capital of the "New Galactic Empire." At that time, it was described as a giant gas planet that resembled Bespin, with a city that resembled Cloud City on it. In the second draft of A New Hope, the home planet of Princess Leia was called Organa Major. Aquilae, Utapau and Ophuchi were also considered as names for worlds partially corresponding to Alderaan.

Following the success of A New Hope, a full ancillary world was being built around the movie. In order to get everyone on the same page, George Lucas decided to create a few background stories and ideas. In those notes, Alderaan was described as a four or five million years old Earth-like planet, covered with high snowcapped mountains and green pastures. The same notes also described the planet as being the capital of its star system and possessing its own Senate. In canon, the surface of Alderaan only made its first appearance in the 2005 movie Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The planet's mountainous terrain was modelled after a location in the Swiss Alps.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novel