Naboo

"Naboo represents the best of the Old Republic."

- Leia Organa, to Queen Sosha Soruna

Naboo was a bountiful planet in the Mid Rim, close to the border of the Outer Rim Territories. It was home to the Gungan species and to a population of humans known as the Naboo.

Description
"If I grew up here, I don't think I'd ever leave."

- Anakin Skywalker, about Naboo

Naboo was a small pastoral world in the Mid Rim, located near the border of the Outer Rim Territories. Unlike most other worlds, the ancient planet lacked a molten core, and instead comprised a conglomerate of large, rocky bodies that made up a network of tunnels and flooded caves. The native Gungans, who built their homes in the waters of Naboo, rarely ventured into the core, fearing the ravenous sea beasts which resided in areas such as the Caves of Eleuabad. Despite this, certain Gungan navigators utilized time-honored trade routes through the planet's structure, which served as the most expedient avenues to reach other areas of the planet. Naboo's interior was rich with plasma, a naturally-occurring energy unique to the planet, and this coupled with its lack of molten core gave Naboo a reputation as an enigma to astrophysicists, who regarded the world's structure as an extremely rare phenomenon in the galaxy.

Naboo's surface comprised a vast array of different landscapes, from rolling plains and grassy hills to swampy lakes caused by the water-filled network of deep-sea tunnels. Beside its natural features, Naboo was considered a world of classical beauty due to the aesthetics of its population centers. The porous crust's natural plasma was harvested for energy and building material, and was generally thought to be the key to many of the planet's secrets.

While most of Naboo's land animals were peaceful, as exemplified by the gentle shaak, the planet's oceans teemed with menacing creatures, such as the opee sea killer and the sando aqua monster.

Early history
"It is an honor to be here for this momentous occasion. The pride I feel for this planet cannot be put into words. Eight-hundred and forty-seven years ago Naboo joined the Republic. And tonight we celebrate that reunion."

- Sheev Palpatine, giving a speech during the Festival of Light

Originally, Naboo was home to the reptilian Elders and the amphibian Gungans. Eventually the Elders went extinct, and a group of human colonists from Grizmallt crashed on Naboo. Led by Kwilaan, they ventured into the Gallo Mountains, created a farming community at the Dee'ja peak, establishing their presence on the planet and eventually taking its name for themselves. The Naboo calendar based its epoch around the arrival of Kwilaan. Tensions arose between the two peoples, and they started separate and apart from that point on.

In 867 BBY, Naboo joined the Galactic Republic, the democratic union that sought to govern the galaxy. The people of Naboo celebrated this event during the Festival of Light.

Naboo Crisis
About ten years before the Clone Wars, Naboo was blockaded and invaded by the Trade Federation. The 14-year-old Padmé Amidala, who had recently been elected Queen of Naboo, guided her home planet through the invasion and sealed a new friendship with the Gungans. In an upsurge of sympathy and solidarity toward the invaded planet, the queen's emissary in the Galactic Senate, the seemingly unassuming Senator Sheev Palpatine, was made Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

The Clone Wars
Both the Naboo and the Gungans remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Senator Padmé Amidala and Representative Jar Jar Binks worked together to represent the interests of the Naboo and Gungans respectively in the Galactic Senate. During the Clone Wars, Neeyutnee served as Queen of Naboo. Amidala and Binks, with the help of the Jedi Order and the Gungan Peppi Bow, discovered the Separatist scientist Nuvo Vindi's secret laboratory in the Eastern swamps. They managed to prevent Vindi from releasing stockpiles of the Blue Shadow Virus into Naboo's surface.

During the Battle of Mon Cala, elements of the Gungan Grand Army led by Representative Binks were dispatched to the watery planet of Mon Cala to aid Senator Amidala, the Jedi, the Clone SCUBA troopers, and the Mon Calamari Prince Lee-Char's forces against the Separatist commander Riff Tamson and his Quarren allies.

Later, the Gungan Boss Lyonie came under the influence of the pro-Separatist minister Rish Loo. Under Loo's control, Lyonie ordered the Gungan Grand Army to march on the Naboo capital of Theed. Their plan was to rendezvous with a Separatist droid army led by General Grievous, who had been sent by Count Dooku himself. Rish Loo and Dooku's plot was foiled by the combined efforts of Senator Amidala, Representative Binks, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, and General Roos Tarpals. However, the Naboo and Gungans were forced to release Grievous after Dooku took Skywalker hostage.

During the Festival of Light, Dooku sent Cad Bane and his team of bounty hunters to kidnap Palpatine in order to free Separatist prisoners from Republic captivity. At first, Bane and Moralo Eval were successful in capturing Palpatine. However, they were stopped by one of their fellow bounty hunters, Rako Hardeen, who was really Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise. But, Bane planned a diversion in order to lure the Republic forces away while Dooku carried out the kidnapping. This failed, however, when he fought Kenobi and Skywalker.

Shortly after the end of the Clone Wars, thousands of citizens gathered in the streets of Theed in order to assist to Amidala's funeral procession.

Galactic Empire
Following the rise of the Galactic Empire and Palpatine's self-proclamation as Emperor, Naboo hosted one of the new regime's military garrisons. Due to its status as Palpatine's homeworld, Naboo prospered during the Age of the Empire. Its economy and environment were regarded to be far healthier than most worlds which had been subject to Imperial rule. The Empire also demilitarized Naboo and dissolved the Royal Naboo Security Forces's starfighter wing. As a result, Naboo lacked any combat-trained pilots by the time of the Battle of Endor.

When news of Emperor Palpatine's death had spread across the galaxy after the Battle of Endor, an outpouring of joy occurred on Naboo, the inhabitants of which considered themselves free at last.

New Republic
Some twenty days after the Battle of Endor&mdash;which resulted in the defeat of the Empire by the Alliance to Restore the Republic&mdash;the Royal House of Naboo received a visit by Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, who had been sent by Mon Mothma, Chancellor of the Alliance. In the royal palace's throne room, Organa met the then-Queen of Naboo, Sosha Soruna, and asked for Naboo's support in the establishment of a New Republic and the restoration of the Senate. The queen heartily accepted Organa's offer, claiming that the Naboo felt great shame over Palpatine's actions.

During the meeting, gigantic storms suddenly began to rage, and Naboo's orbital sensors were all jammed. The Empire had set up a climate disruption array in orbit, as ordered by the late Emperor Palpatine. Named Operation: Cinder, the Empire's plan was to disrupt Naboo's environment and climate, and thus render the planet inhospitable. The storms caused fires and flooding across the world, and many buildings were demolished. Soruna, Organa, and Alliance pilot Shara Bey finally decided to use three old N-1 starfighters&mdash;that had been stored by Queen Neeyutnee in the Theed Hangar during the Clone Wars&mdash;and go protect Naboo by destroying the Empire's satellites. Once in space, the three women were attacked by a squadron of TIE fighters, but managed, nonetheless, to knock out all of the satellites. A Rebel fleet led by Lando Calrissian and Nien Nunb soon arrived to take care of the Imperial forces. The fleet consisted of members of Danger Squadron, which arrived in T-65B X-wing starfighters led by Danger Leader Duros Shriv Suurgav, Nunb in the Mellcrawler II, and the MC80 star cruiser Restoration. Danger Squadron temporarily included former Inferno Squad members and recent Imperial defectors Iden Versio and Del Meeko to assist the three women in the destruction of the satellites. After their destruction, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Torment was then engaged by Danger Squadron and several Y-wing bombers, and the Restoration delivered the fatal blow to the hull of the Torment. The Alliance forces then gathered up on the ground to immobilize remaining Imperials in the final ground assault to try and take control of Theed. Imperial forces were immobilized by the defense system triggered by an ion blast rendering all of their weapons and vehicles inoperable leading to the surrender of Imperial forces.

Due to the fact that Naboo had been the Emperor's homeworld, the planet became a rallying point for Imperial sympathizers. Months after the failed Operation: Cinder, the Imperial Navy deployed three attack forces to wipe out the New Republic's presence in the Naboo system. However, these attempts were successfully foiled by Corona Squadron.

Nearly thirty years later, during the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance, Senator Thadlé Berenko represented Naboo in the reconstituted Galactic Senate of the New Republic.

Society and culture
"You and the Naboo form a symbiont circle. What happens to one of you will affect the other. You must understand this."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Boss Nass

Naboo was inhabited by two societies: an indigenous species of intelligent amphibians called the Gungans, and a group of peaceful humans who were referred to as the Naboo. In the distant past, a cultural misunderstanding resulted in a serious quarrel between the Gungan and the human colonists. Both sides refused to acknowledge their responsibilities in the rift, and the two groups ostracized each other for the longest time. That situation lasted until the Invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation forced the humans and Gungans to join forces.

Behind the scenes
Naboo first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the first installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. It was later featured in 2002's Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and 2005's Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

The real-world locations for Naboo were Plaza de España, Seville in Spain and Lake Como and Caserta Palace in Italy, among others. The buildings of Naboo were based on a cathedral turned mosque then turned museum, the Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, Turkey. On the other hand, the architecture of Naboo was inspired bu the domed and scalloped roofs of the Marin County Civic Center.

The exact number of moons in Naboo is currently unknown. In Attack of the Clones, Mace Windu mentions "spice miners on the moons of Naboo". However, the 2016 reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations states that Naboo has only one moon. The 2018 novel Thrawn: Alliances confirms that Naboo has three moons.

Non-canon appearances

 * William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
 * William Shakespeare's The Clone Army Attacketh: Star Wars Part the Second
 * William Shakespeare's Tragedy of the Sith's Revenge: Star Wars Part the Third
 * Disney Infinity 3.0
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III
 * LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III