Contispex I/Legends

"Here we stand, at the extremity of our exertion, having cast behind us the idols of our fathers, to once again carry to our foe the penalties due their sacrileges. Come perdition or hard vacuum, the Republic expects that every citizen will do his duty."

- Supreme Chancellor Contispex, Fourth Inaugural Oration

Contispex was a Human Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic around 12,000 BBY, during what was known as the Pius Dea period. While a Senator, he became involved with Pius Dea, an anti-alien religious cult and conspiracy. Pius Dea eventually impeached Chancellor Pers'lya twelve thousand years prior to the Battle of Yavin, and put Contispex on the seat to act as a Pius Dea figurehead, though the Malkite Poisoners also played a role in his rise to power. After becoming the Supreme Chancellor, Contispex began the Pius Dea Crusades, approving violent, bloody jihads against other species and factions. The Hutt Empire was his first target, though myriad beings were preyed upon during the crusades.

Contispex was replaced by his descendants, who remained in power for approximately one thousand years, continuing with the crusades and opening a rift between the Core Worlds and the targeted species of the Outer Rim Territories, until Pius Dea rule ended after a famous encounter in 11,000 BBY.

Rise to power
"Approximately 12,000 BBY a theocratic conspiracy, centuries in the offing, impeached Chancellor Pers'lya and placed its own man, Contispex, in the seat."

- Gabrel Treon, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji: A Cartel of Genes

Contispex was a Human politician and Senator who lived during the first ten thousand years of the Galactic Republic. He eventually became allied with Pius Dea, a conspiratorial, theocratic sect that held many species and religions to be suspect, founded several hundred years prior. Twelve thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, Pius Dea impeached the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Pers'lya, and placed Contispex, a Pius Dea puppet and figurehead, in his stead. His rise to power was also aided by the Malkite Poisoners, one of the galaxy's most notorious secret societies. The exact role they played in proceedings was not widely known, with later historians unaware of the details. With Contispex, and by extension, Pius Dea, taking power, the Pius Dea period began.

Pius Dea wished to exploit the interspecies tensions and Humanocentric sentiment that had existed since the founding of the Republic over thirteen thousand years prior to ostracize alien species and factions, labeled "unbelievers." Supreme Chancellor Contispex made a number of inaugural orations after taking power; in his fourth, he spoke of the Republic's breaking away with tradition, and vowed to punish the Republic's "foes" for their supposed sacrilege, adding that the Republic expected every one of its citizens to perform his duty.

Contispex launched a number of jihads, known as the Pius Dea Crusades, on various non-Human species in the Republic's periphery. His first target was the Hutt Empire, which was very unpopular among the Republic's citizens, but he soon moved on to other unbelievers, which posed a much less evident threat to the Republic. The crusades, embarked upon in Contispex's name, were very violent, and marked a devastating period of galactic history.

Legacy
"These gave as good as they got, and 'cold' and 'hot' wars alternated for a thousand years&mdash;while the Republic flagellated itself with inquisitions&mdash;until Pius Dea rule met its end in that famous encounter which hardly needs retelling here."

- Gabrel Treon, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji: A Cartel of Genes

Eventually, Contispex's Chancellorship was taken up by one of his descendants, and this practice continued for nearly one thousand years, with each of his descendants succeeded by another. Pius Dea rule and practice did not end with Contispex, and until 11,000 BBY, the Republic was engaged in crusades against different factions, who fought back, leaving the galaxy in a permanent state of "hot" and "cold" war. Eventually, after a very famous encounter, Pius Dea rule was ended, the conspiracy having controlled the galaxy for a millennium. The fallout from the crusades sanctioned by Contispex and his descendants deepened tensions between the Core Worlds and the Outer Rim Territories, establishing a regional rivalry which was exploited during the Republic's last days, with the formation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

His reign was documented in a number of historical works, written millennia after his time. New Republic and Galactic Alliance historian Voren Na'al briefly mentioned it in a concise history of the galaxy, and Doctor Gabrel Treon did the same in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji: A Cartel of Genes, published in the Byblos Journal of Historical Science.

Personality and traits
Contispex was the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, but he did not get there on his own merit, and was not legitimately elected. Instead, he was placed in power by Pius Dea, after Chancellor Pers'lya was impeached, and his rise was also aided by another secretive organization, the Malkite Poisoners. Contispex supported the Humanocentric beliefs of Pius Dea, believing some alien species, factions, and religions to be "unbelievers," and persecuting them. Many bloody crusades were embarked upon in his name, and their effects were long-lasting.

Contispex was not one to put much faith in tradition, and he felt that it showed great progress that the Republic had cast behind the idols of its forefathers by embracing Pius Dea rule. He also expected the citizens of the Republic to take their duty to the Republic seriously, even if it meant eternal damnation. He was a gifted orator, and during the period of his inauguration, the Supreme Chancellor made a number of speeches.

Behind the scenes
Contispex was created by Daniel Wallace for The New Essential Chronology in 2005. Wallace later referenced the character in his The New Essential Guide to Droids in 2006, before he received an entry in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, by Wallace, Stephen J. Sansweet, Pablo Hidalgo, and Bob Vitas. In February 2009, Nathan O'Keefe referenced the character in his Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Praji, an article published on StarWars.com Hyperspace. Contispex was also mentioned in Wallace and Jason Fry's The Essential Atlas in August of that year.