Great Hyperspace War

The Great Hyperspace War was fought circa 5000 BBY.

As the galaxy recovered from the First Unification Wars, the Galactic Republic, led by the Jedi, began to explore the galactic wildspace. This marked a major period of hyperspace mapping and trade route development. Explorers were still mapping new hyperspace lanes and encountering new species. Colonies became commonplace. The Core Worlds were settled and exploration began pushing into the Inner Rim and Expansion regions of space. During this time, the Jedi Knights became the accepted peacekeepers of the galaxy. Individual Jedi Masters chose students as they pleased and use teaching methods they found most effective. The Jedi formed a loose collection of equals tied together by a sense of respect and camaraderie among different Jedi Masters.

Meanwhile, the death of the powerful Marka Ragnos created a power vacuum in the Sith Empire, resulting in a bloody war between factions. The two most prominent Sith, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, battled to final domination of the Sith at Ragnos' gravesite on Korriban. Their duel was interrupted by the arrival of two explorers from the Republic, Gav and Jori Daragon. While Kressh believed these Jedi explorers to be the harbingers of an invasion, Sadow saw an opportunity in them to discover this newfound Republic. After crushing an attack by Kressh, Sadow allowed the one of the Jedi to escape, having turned the other to the Dark Side. Unknown to her, Jori carried with her a homing beacon that would reveal the extent of the Republic and the location of its home worlds. Sadow rallied his Massassi warriors and proclaimed himself Dark Lord of the Sith and prepared to concur the Republic.

After many failed attempts to convey the dangers of the Sith Empire, Jori was able to convince Empress Teta of the threat the Sith posed to the Republic. Despite the support of Empress Teta, the Jedi and government leaders on Coruscant were unwilling to believe their Republic was in danger. As the Sith battle fleet of Sadow emerged from the depths of Sith space, it was clear that they were wrong. The Republic was ill prepared for the massive assault of the Sith, and it was first unable to stem the tide of the Sith invasion. Dozens of Jedi soon flocked to the defense of Republic worlds; the Great Hyperspace War raged across the Republic. Crude Massassi warriors swarmed Coruscant and proved too unintelligent for Jedi battle meditation to work. Empress Teta, and Jedi Masters Odan-Urr and Memit Nadill were nearly overwhelmed by the Massassi, but where spared by the sacrifice of Jedi Master Ooroo. Ooroo bravely released his cyanogen gas into the battlefield, killing the Massassi, but flooding his lungs with Celegian-deadly oxygen. Defeated, the Sith forces began to fall back. Sadow retreated to Sith space, only to find Kressh waiting for him. As the Sith adversaries' fleets engaged each other, Empress Teta and her Republic forces arrived and devastated both fleets. Sadow fled with his remaining forces to Yavin IV and entered a state of suspended animation.

Though the Republic was victorious, the conflict had not been without cost. Many Jedi turned away from their role as warriors, and sought peaceful ways to aid and protect the Republic. Jedi Master Odan-Urr, having lost his own Master in the fighting at Coruscant, built a great library and center of Jedi learning on Ossus. There he taught his interpretation of the Jedi Code, encouraging Jedi to seek nonviolent solutions to problems wherever possible. Odan-Urr believed that any emotion, even positive emotions such as love and loyalty, could blind a Jedi to the true will of the Force. His teachings would influence how Jedi acted and received instructions for eons to come.