Old Republic

"There have not been battles like these since the days of the Old Republic."

- Saesee Tiin, during the battle of Lola Sayu

The Old Republic was the name given to a galactic government that existed prior to the establishment of the Galactic Republic, thousands of years before the Clone Wars.

Birth of freedom
The Old Republic existed prior to the Galactic Republic, until approximately one thousand years before the Clone Wars. As it expanded throughout the galaxy, it became a more and more influential power. The Old Republic's capital was located on the urban world of Coruscant, and would remain there for years.

At some point in its history, the Sith managed to construct a shrine on Coruscant, although they were soon driven out by the Jedi Order, which then proceeded to erect their temple atop it, in order to contain its dark energy. The Jedi Order came to closely associate itself with the Old Republic, serving as guardians of the peace for many generations.

The armies of the Old Republic and the Jedi Order joined together and fought against the Zygerrian Slave Empire when slavery was declared illegal, eventually driving the practice into the underworld while exiling the remaining Zygerrians to their homeworld of Zygerria.

Fall of the Old Republic
"This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi Temple by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic."

- Pre Vizsla, to Obi-Wan Kenobi, regarding the darksaber

At some point following the war against the Zygerrians, the Old Republic began a slow decline. With the warrior culture of Mandalore and its belief of continual warfare without regard to the Jedi mandate of protecting the weak, the Jedi Order mobilized its forces in an effort to stop the aggressive expansion of the Mandalorians into Republic space. This conflict eventually strained the Old Republic, allowing the ancestors of Pre Vizsla, leader of the Mandalorian group Death Watch during the Clone Wars, to steal the darksaber from the Jedi Temple.

As the Old Republic slowly fell, the Jedi Order finally believed itself victorious from its conflict with the Sith, who they believed to have been destroyed completely. The shattered Old Republic reorganized itself into the Galactic Republic following its collapse.

Legacy
In the thousand years after the fall of the Old Republic, the Jedi Order that served it would continue its legacy and endure during the Jedi Purge, while a New Republic would be formed in reverence to the Galactic Republic of old. Nevertheless, the Zygerrians would continue to hold a grudge against both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi for the destruction of their slave empire. The story of Old Republic regent Hylemane Lightbringer and his supposed immortality would be remembered in history texts along with Old Republic music such as the Sestina of Imperator Vex, which would continue to be sung even in the months following the Battle of Endor. After the fall of the Galactic Republic and the rise of the Galactic Empire, the term "Old Republic" was used to refer to the Galactic Republic.

Astrography
With the Old Republic's Jedi allies having a Temple on Coruscant&mdash;birthplace to the human species &mdash;eventual galactic expansion would occur along pioneering hyperspace routes while the Republic would send survey teams to set up navigational beacons in outlying territories such as the Tertiary Usaita system, with colonists from the Core Worlds venturing outwards towards the Outer Rim in search of opportunity and a better life.

Behind the scenes
The term "Old Republic" was first used in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, in reference to what is now known as the Galactic Republic. The separate entity known as Old Republic was first mentioned in canon in "The Mandalore Plot," the twelfth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In Star Wars Legends, the government referenced was still the Galactic Republic, which existed in various incarnations for thousands of years, whereas Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones stated that the Galactic Republic had stood for 1,000 years.

The symbol of the Old Republic was used in "A Test of Strength," the seventh episode of the fifth season of The Clone Wars. The Crucible, the ancient Jedi ship used within the episode, was based on Corellian cruisers seen in the Legends video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. According to StarWars.com, the ancient Jedi logo seen in the cruiser is the symbol of the Old Republic, which was also used in The Old Republic video game.

Appearances

 * Tarkin
 * Aftermath
 * Tarkin
 * Aftermath
 * Aftermath