Coruscant/Legends

"Coruscant... the entire planet is one big city."

- Ric Olié

Coruscant, also known as Coruscanta in Mando'a, Imperial Center during the reign of the Galactic Empire, and Yuuzhan'tar after it's conquest by the Yuuzhan Vong, was the political center of the Galaxy for millennia.

The actual planet-wide city of Coruscant was known as Galactic City or Republic City under the Galactic Republic, Imperial City during the rule of the Galactic Empire and New Republic City under the New Republic.

Coruscant was the capital of the Galactic Republic, the Galactic Empire, the New Republic, the Yuuzhan Vong occupation at various times, and, finally, the Galactic Alliance. It was generally agreed that Coruscant was the most important world in the Galaxy, evidenced by the fact that its hyperspace coordinates were (0,0,0).

A large number of the Galaxy's trade routes&mdash;including the Perlemian Trade Route, the Corellian Run, the Metellos Trade Route, the Koros Trunk Line, and the Leisure Corridor&mdash;went through Coruscant, making it one of the richest worlds in the Galaxy.

Overview
The entire surface of Coruscant had been covered over throughout the thousands of generations of galactic history by sprawling skyscrapers and cities, some of which reach up into the lower levels of Coruscant's atmosphere. The planet's oceans had all been drained and kept in vast underground caverns for future reuse. The only body of water visible was the artificial Western Sea, with many artificially-created islands floating on it, used by tourists on holidays. The only pieces of Coruscant landmass that were left untouched were the Manarai Mountains, twin peaks that stuck up out of the ground near the famous Imperial Palace. Many floating restaurants revolved around the Mountains, giving patrons a unique view of the natural wonders.

Since there were no bodies of water available to feed and water its trillion inhabitants, Coruscant's architects, along with many others from around the Galaxy, worked together to build a self-contained eco-system in the massive buildings set all over the planet. Engineers also developed a complex series of huge pipes that polar ice was pumped through to the cities of Coruscant. Almost everything on the planet, from clothes to packaging and machinery, was recyclable. Another problem for a world like Coruscant was the unimaginable amounts of carbon dioxide that its trillion-being population generated each day, so atmospheric dampeners were put into place in orbit to remove it. Galactic Standard Time was developed on Coruscant and revolved around the hours Coruscant had in a single day, which was 24 hours, with 368 local days a year.

Galactic City was divided into several thousand quadrants, with each quadrant subdivided into numbered sectors. Some of these numbered sectors received colloquial names. For example, H-46 was also called Sah'c Town, named for the family that owned much of it. Some areas were specifically designated senatorial, governmental, financial (including banking zones), commercial, and residential. Larger areas of the planet were designated for industrial or manufacturing use only. The largest of these areas was known colloquially as "The Works". The Works had manufactured spacecraft parts, droids, and building materials at an astonishing rate for hundreds of years, but as construction in space became more efficient, The Works fell in disrepair. It gained the reputation as a hub of high criminal activity and many locals stayed away from it. Another area of Coruscant was CoCo Town (short for "collective commerce"). Many diverse species lived here and worked in manufacturing.

Pre-Republic
Coruscant was considered by many to be the Human homeworld. Millennia ago, the Celestials could have removed Humans from Coruscant with which to populate Corellia.

Around 200,000 BBY, the near-Human Taungs attempted to conquer the 13 baseline Human nations of the Battalions of Zhell. A volcano decimated the Zhell, the ash filling the skies for two years, so that the Taungs adopted the name Dha Werda Verda (Warriors of Shadow) for themselves. The Human Zhell eventually recovered and drove the Taungs offworld&mdash;the Taungs fled to Roon.

In 100,000 BBY, Coruscant was surveyed by the Columi, who dismissed the planet as a primitive disappointment, despite the planet-spanning ecumenopolis of Galactic City. New buildings were built on the old. As a result, there was virtually no exposed land. In the forgotten underlevels of the city, there was darkness, pollution and crime. Higher up, there were government offices and penthouses owned by the elite. The lower 50 levels of the ecumenopolis last saw sunlight around 95,000 BBY.



Coruscant was one of many worlds conquered by the Infinite Empire of the Rakata, who used human slaves to build the Star Forge in 30,000 BBY. Under Rakatan domination, the humans of Coruscant's colonization attempts were limited to sleeper ships, which ended up on Alderaan (27,500 BBY), in the Tion Cluster (c. 27,000 BBY), Seoul 5, Kuat, Alsakan (c. 26,000 BBY), Axum, Atrisia, Metellos, Corulag, and many other worlds.

In 25,200 BBY a plague decimated the Rakata, leading to slave revolutions on Coruscant and other subjected worlds.

Over the next two centuries, Coruscant was linked to other Core Worlds, including Corellia and Duro, by hyperspace cannons. It was during this time that the Coruscant government peacefully absorbed the nearby Azure Imperium. During these pre-Republic years, the languages of Coruscant and its neighbors meshed to become Old Galactic Standard.

Early Republic
In 25,000 BBY, the Corellians and Duros invented the hyperdrive proper, allowing Coruscant to become the capital of a democratic union&mdash;the Galactic Republic. The planet remained the Republic's capital for twenty five thousand years. Shortly after the formation of the Republic, the Perlemian Trade Route was mapped, linking Coruscant to Ossus and bringing the Jedi Knights into the Republic. Over the next millennium, the Corellian Run was mapped, linking Coruscant to Corellia and beyond. Blasters were invented on Coruscant.

In 24,000 BBY, the Republic entered into a war with the Honorable Union of Desevro and Tion. The war travelled up and down the Perlemian, and the respective capitals of Coruscant and Desevro both suffered volleys of pressure bombs. The Republic eventually won the war by stirring up the Hutts against the Tionese.

From 17,000 BBY to 3,000 BBY, Coruscant and Alsakan vied for control of the Republic in seventeen Alsakan Conflicts, actually fought between their holdings in the Expansion Region rather than in the Core itself. Needless to say, Coruscant won every Conflict.

In 15,500 BBY, after a disastrous first contact, Coruscant was assaulted by Star Dragons in the Duinuogwuin Contention, which was ended in a peace by Supreme Chancellor Fillorean and philosopher Borz'Mat'oh, whom together founded the University of Coruscant.

Prior to 12,000 BBY, the Galactic Museum was established on Coruscant. The Galactic Standard Calendar was fixed by at least 7,308 BBY.

During the Great Hyperspace War in 5,000 BBY, a Sith fleet assaulted Coruscant. During the battle, the capital world was successfully defended by a team of Jedi Knights led by Memit Nadill. At the end of the War, the Senate granted the Jedi land on Coruscant over a sacred mountain which contained a Force nexus.

The Third Great Schism was a Jedi civil war fought on Coruscant 4,250 BBY. The Dark Jedi were eventually forced to flee to Vultar.

In 4,019 BBY, four Jedi Masters (two Warrior Masters and two Sage Masters) established the ziggurat of the Jedi Temple over the Force nexus on Coruscant.

In 4,015 BBY saw the Great Droid Revolution on Coruscant, led by HK-01, whom was eventually defeated by Arca Jeth and the Jedi. During the conflict, Arca Jeth discovered techniques for disabling machines through the use of the Force.

During the Sith War in 3,996 BBY, a Krath force under the command of the former Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma, Aleema Keto, and Mandalore the Indomitable invaded the capital in an attempt to overthrow the Republic and install a new Sith Empire. During the battle, Ulic Qel-Droma succeeded in capturing the Republic command center. However, a team of Jedi including Nomi Sunrider and Cay Qel-Droma combined their Force powers to overwhelm the Sith Lord. With the capture of Ulic, the Krath forces retreated from the capital world.

During Ulic's trial in the Republic Senate Hall, the former Jedi Knight was sentenced to death for his crimes against the Republic. However, Ulic was rescued by Exar Kun. Using the powers of the Dark Side of the Force, the Sith Lord hypnotized the senators and manipulated and killed Supreme Chancellor Netus. The Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas was also killed by Exar Kun.

Following the devastation of Ossus, the Jedi Council took up residence in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, to which many Jedi relics from Ossus were taken. The Temple was greatly expanded, including the building of the original Jedi Council Chamber. The Temple was repeatedly expanded including in 3,519 BBY, 2,519 BBY (when the Jedi Archives were built), 2,019 BBY, and 1,000 BBY (when the Temple spires were built).

In 2,973 BBY, the Senate Rotunda was founded, replacing the previous assembly place. The exterior of this massive structure would survive the planet's transformation into the new Yuuzhan'tar.

The year 2,032 BBY marked Coruscant's last major earthquake.

In 192 BBY Bankurd Corporation developed recycling bacteria that revolutionzied waste management on Coruscant.

In 52 BBY, Coruscant was the location of an important assassination: Senator Vidar Kim of Naboo. This murder was arranged by Palpatine, whom was thus able to replace Kim in the Senate, catalyzing his rise to Galactic power.

Following a staged attempt on her life on Coruscant in 37 BBY, Baroness Omnino of Vena kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, a Coruscant native himself. Valorum was saved from Omnino by Qui-Gon Jinn.

End of the Republic


In 32 BBY, on Coruscant, Valorum was replaced as Supreme Chancellor by Palpatine: few knew the new ruler of the Republic was the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. That same year, Palpatine's prospective apprentice Anakin Skywalker was brought to Coruscant to train as the Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

In 31 BBY, Coruscant was almost destroyed by Ashaar Khorda using the Destroyer of Worlds. Jango Fett, Zam Wesell, and Yarael Poof saved Coruscant, although Poof sacrificed himself to do so.

In 23 BBY, Senator Jheramahd Greyshade was assassinated on Coruscant by Venco Autem. His successor (complicit in the murder_, Simon Greyshade, was obliged by Venco to vote in favor of the Financial Reform Act. Venco tried to assassinate the treacherous Simon, but was killed by his brother Sagoro Autem, a Senate Guard.  This allowed Palpatine to delay the vote on the Financial Reform Act, prompting many systems to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems.  The secession of Ando and Sy Myrth from the Republic led to a mass exodus of Aqualish and Sy Myrthians from Coruscant.

In 22 BBY, the University of Coruscant protested the refusal of the Jedi to return Aris-Del Wari to her mother, creating a scandal that even resulted in University students entering the Jedi Temple in a mob. Causing further contention (including RRM criticism), immigration was restricted by Tannon Praji of the Coruscant Ministry of Ingress. The Separatist Crisis came to a head when agents of Count Dooku failure to assassinate Senator Amidala prior to the Military Creation Act vote, just prior to the eruption of the Clone Wars.

During most of the Clone Wars, Coruscant was subject to frequent Separatist terrorist acts and assassinations of leading Republic figures. These included the holding of Senator Meena Tills hostage by Korunnai terrorists in 22 BBY (actually cover for an attempt to turn the Corporate Sector against the Republic). 21 BBY saw a wave of such disasters, including the Coruscant Insurrection and the assassinations of Finis Valorum and Senator Viento. In 20 BBY, CIS Commander Asajj Ventress herself infiltrated Coruscant.

Such incidents prompted the Republic to implement numerous changes on Coruscant in the name of increased security. Huge stretches of the cityscape were transformed into military staging areas, and clone troopers were seen everywhere. The fanatical pro-human COMPOR was founded, the local SAGroup led by Nenevanth Tion marching in a patriotism parade. COMPOR pressured Tannon Praji into deporting from the capital all members of species whose homeworld had joined the CIS. Vice-Admiral Terrinald Screed was placed in charge of Coruscant Planetary Defense.

Yet in 19 BBY, the Confederacy of Independent Systems succeeded in making a raid on Coruscant. Using secret hyperspace routes through the Deep Core provided by Darth Sidious, a Separatist fleet under the command of the dreaded General Grievous made a raid on the city planet. While the Separatist fleet engaged the Republic fleet, an army of battle droids landed on Galactic City. The invasion distracted the defending Jedi and clone forces while General Grievous and a squad of his elite MagnaGuards captured the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. However, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi succeeded in rescuing the Supreme Chancellor from the infamous Separatist flagship Invisible Hand. The Battle of Coruscant eventually turned to the Republic's favour and most of the Separatist fleet was destroyed.

Galactic Empire
Under the Galactic Empire, Coruscant was renamed Imperial Center and Galactic City was also renamed Imperial City. As part of the Humanocentric policies of the Galactic, non-Human species were also compelled to live in segregated parts (also known as "ethnic neighborhoods") of Imperial City, such as Invisec.

Emperor Palpatine also began to shape Coruscant with his own designs, and this included the installment of thousands of surveillance systems throughout the ecumenopolis. Massive shield generators were placed all over Coruscant, and where they overlapped, powerful storms took place, giving the planet a gothic look, which mirrored the utter desperation of many of its inhabitants as they choked under Palpatine's iron rule.

The Emperor also had the Palace of the Republic rebuilt and renamed the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace was a massive pyramidal structure and was the largest construction project in Coruscant. Other distinctive structures of the Galactic Republic, such as the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Temple, were either destroyed or eclipsed by newer buildings. The Emperor also commissioned top Imperial engineers to design and manufacture massive Construction Droids that were the size of skyscrapers. These gigantic automatons would "eat" an old, decrepit building by using its many smelters, conveyor belts and mechanical arms. From the recycled parts of that old building, they would construct a new building.

The Emperor also had the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Lusankya placed in a repulsorlift cradle and buried beneath that planet's surface following its completion. The cityscape was rebuilt over the ship so as to hide its location. It is not known exactly how the Empire kept this massive project a secret, but it is assumed that either all witnesses were executed, or Emperor Palpatine used the Force to command witnesses to forget what they saw. It has been theorized that the Lusankya was initially placed on Imperial Center in order to provide the Emperor a secure means of escape. Its location, use, and existence was known by only a select few. A good portion of the ship would be used by the Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard as her private prison.



Following the death of Palpatine at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, an uprising took place on Coruscant. Billions of Coruscanti revelled in their new-found freedom, and an armed uprising sprang out from the non-Human-dominated sectors. Imperial patrols were attacked in the streets, statues of Palpatine were toppled and other Imperial symbols were desecrated.

In the midst of all the celebrating and rioting, Imperial authorities ordered a massive crackdown on the rebellious elements in the city-planet's population and gave full power to the local military force to end the uprising and restore order to the system. The military retaliation was horrendous and the death-tolls rose as the Empire struck down the insurrectionists and brought the populace back under its control.

Following that, the Grand Vizier Sate Pestage assaumed control of Imperial Center. Unfortunately, he was opposed by Palaptine's former advisors who formed the Ruling Circle. The Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard operated as a netural intermediary between the two opposing factions. Unfortunately for them, she had been secretly pitting them against each other so that she could become Empress though neither sides realized her true plans until it was far too late. She eventually assumed control of Imperial Center in 5 ABY though her reign was plagued by the threat of rival warlords and the expanding New Republic.

Before she left the Imperial Center, she contaminated the city's water supply with the deadly Krytos virus that only affected non-human species. Eventually the New Republic destroyed the virus and liberated Imperial Center, returning it to its original name of Coruscant. Then Ysanne Isard used her Super Star Destroyer Lusankya to tear off a large part of the cityscape and escape into hyperspace in the process killing millions.

New Republic
Eventually the New Republic rebuilt the planet and made Coruscant once again the ruling planet for their government. In 9 ABY, Leia Organa Solo gave birth to her and Han's first two children, Jaina and Jacen Solo. However on that same year, Coruscant was again under attack by the dreaded Grand Admiral Thrawn who bombarded Coruscant with about twenty asteroids during the Second Battle of Coruscant. This was part of his campaign to create chaos among the New Republic and retake the Core Worlds for the Galactic Empire, but his plan was thwarted.

In 10 ABY, the remaining members of the Imperial Inner Circle succeeded in recapturing Coruscant from the New Republic. Prior to the assault, the Chief of State Mon Mothma ordered an evacuation of the planet's population. After defeating the New Republic forces, the Imperial warlords began fighting among themselves. Coruscant was devastated during the conflict, with half of the Imperial Palace destroyed, many toppled buildings and billions of deaths. The space around Coruscant was littered with countless starship wreckage that would not be cleared for years. Little did they know that they were being manipulated by the reborn Palpatine to achieve his everlasting rule over the galaxy.

After Palpatine's final death in 11 ABY at the Battle of Onderon, the New Republic retook the planet and made a massive effort to clean up the world and restore it to its original beauty. Billions more flocked to live at the bright center of the galaxy, replacing those that were lost in the bloodshed surrounding the horror of the reborn Palpatine. On that same year, Admiral Daala planned to crash one of her Star Destroyers into the planet in an attempt to rip it apart, but was stopped by Kyp Durron and the Sun Crusher. Also, Leia Organa Solo became Chief of State, thus succeedin Mon Mothma.

In 17 ABY, following the Black Fleet Crisis, the Senate Hall was bombed when Leia Organa Solo was about to make a speech. Luckily, she survived though the building was badly damaged. Thus, the Senate was relocated to the Grand Convocation Chamber. The bombing had been engineered by Brakiss (Imperial agent and former Jedi student) and Dolph (another former Jedi student who had assumed the name Kueller and hidden his form behind a terrifying suit of armour.

Yuuzhan Vong


No doubt, Coruscant's darkest hour was at the peak of the Yuuzhan Vong War. During the Fall of Coruscant, the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong overwhelmed the Republic defenses in three attack waves and conquered the planet. Coruscant, which had been completely covered in city sprawl for millenia, was devastated during the assault. Billions of lives were also lost during the battle.

Also, many of the landmarks that made Coruscant unique met their end. The Imperial Palace was destroyed when Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya detonated a suicide bomb in his office; the Manarai Mountains, the last part of the planet untouched by cityscape, were blasted into giant craters; the Western Sea, the planet's sole body of water, was turned into a giant Succession Pool.

The Yuuzhan Vong designated it "Yuuzhan'tar", after the name of their species and their chief deity Yun-Yuuzhan, and terraformed it to overwhelm the city covering its surface and restore a natural ecology. In order to get Coruscant to match their homeworld, large dovin basals pulled the planet closer to Coruscant Prime and biological processes were set forth to create the jungle. One of the moons was also destroyed, creating an asteroid belt, known as "The Bridge", that they were familiar with. The Senate Building became the location of the World Brain, which was in charge of the terraforming of the planet.

The vast majority of the planet's non-Yuuzhan Vong population was shipped offworld in massive refugee ships, though some people did stay behind in the substructure of the city. The Galactic Alliance eventually retook Coruscant from the Yuuzhan Vong during the Battle of Coruscant.

Galactic Alliance
The Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong then signed a peace treaty, thus ending the Yuuzhan Vong War. It was decided that Coruscant would be rebuilt as the capital of the Galactic Alliance. However, the World Brain would still remain in the Senate Building. A new Jedi Temple was also constructed. A large park called Unity Green was also constructed to symbolize the treaty between the Yuuzhan Vong and the Galactic Alliance.

Fauna

 * Conduit worm
 * Coruscanti ogre
 * Cthon
 * Duracrete slug
 * Gartro
 * Granite slug
 * Hawk-bat
 * Stratt
 * Hive rat
 * Dianoga

Behind the scenes


The name "Coruscant" comes from the English word "coruscate" meaning "to sparkle" or "to glitter", probably referring to the night side of the planetwide city. Traditionally pronounced with a hard 'c' - ko'-rus-kant' - the word is pronounced Ko'-ru-sant in the Star Wars Universe.

Originally the planet, which was then called "Alderaan", was to appear in the first released Star Wars film, but the budget wouldn't allow, so a lot of action on Alderaan was moved to the Death Star and Alderaan became the name of Princess Leia's home planet which is destroyed. The concept of seeing the Empire's home world, renamed "Had Abbadon", came up again in the Return of the Jedi, and the concept of the entire planet being a city came up for the first time. However, realizing such a city on screen was impossible at the time so the idea was abandoned.

The planet first appeared in the Expanded Universe and was called "Coruscant" for the first time in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. Coruscant wasn't seen on screen until the 1997 Special Edition release of Return of the Jedi. It then makes its first chronological appearances in The Phantom Menace. There is a speeder chase through the skies of Coruscant in Attack of the Clones that eventually leads to a nightclub in the bowels of Coruscant's Uscru Entertainment District. Coruscant is yet again seen in Revenge of the Sith as part of the Battle of Coruscant near the end of the Clone Wars.

In various novels, characters aligned with the Empire refer to Coruscant as "Imperial Center". Within the stories, this is explained as an administrative renaming undertaken to emphasize the differences between the Old Republic and the Empire.

Some fans, despite the use of the words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" in the opening of each Star Wars film, have imagined that the Star Wars saga takes place in the far future, and speculated that Coruscant is a futuristic Earth. However, Coruscant has five or six moons to Earth's one, and is the sixth planet rather than the third from its sun. Moreover, Earth is much farther from the core of the Milky Way galaxy than Coruscant is supposed to be (25,000 to 28,000 light years to Coruscant's 10,000 light years.) The question of how Humans ended up in the Star Wars galaxy has never really been asked or answered in any canonical source.

Inconsistencies
In the large volume of material that exists relating to Coruscant, there are conflicting statements about the ecumenopolis.

The population is variously stated as 176 billion, 1 trillion, or 1 quadrillion. The smaller figures are illogical, but usually stated. The official figure in the Inside the Worlds of The Phantom Menace is 1 trillion.

Most sources, including all illustrations, show Coruscant as having negligible surface water. However, the Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy states that Coruscant has two continents, a large one that contains Imperial City and a smaller one. More than half of this version of Coruscant is ocean. No other source follows this version.

The intro of the 1994 game Star Wars: TIE Fighter shows an orbital view of Coruscant, very faithful to the appearance of the planet in the prequel movies as will be seen five years later. However the Collector's edition, which features a remade intro, shows an Earth-like Coruscant, blue with clouds.

Inspiration
The concept of a city covering an entire planet is not entirely new. The planet Trantor in Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels is probably the first fictional planet to be totally urbanized, but it was not the last. Indeed, one of the draft names of Coruscant was "Jhantor", in homage to Asimov's work. Later, Expanded Universe sources even used the name Trantor for a planet much like Coruscant.

It has also been speculated that certain aspects of Coruscant were inspired from the look of 2019 Los Angeles in the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade Runner.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (flashback)
 * ''Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Republic: Outlander
 * Star Wars Republic: Emissaries to Malastare
 * Star Wars Republic: Twilight
 * Star Wars Republic: Infinity's End
 * Star Wars Republic: The Hunt for Aurra Sing
 * Star Wars Republic: Darkness
 * HoloNet News
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Honor Bound
 * Shatterpoint
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Evasive Action: Recruitment
 * Star Wars: Rebellion
 * Star Wars Empire 14: The Savage Heart
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Marvel Star Wars 60: Shira's Story
 * Marvel Star Wars 61: Screams in the Void
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Dark Force Rising
 * The Last Command
 * Dark Empire
 * Jedi Search
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * ''Darksaber
 * New Jedi Order
 * Mission to Myrkr
 * The Joiner King
 * The Unseen Queen