Jedi Order/Legends

"For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times. Before the Empire."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Jedi Order, later known as the Old Jedi Order, was an ancient monastic peacekeeping organization unified by its belief and observance of the Force, specifically the light side. The Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, and became the most famous of the various groups that relied on the Force for their power. Led by a series of Jedi Councils, the Order grew over the millennia despite facing many trials, most often threats from the Sith, wielders of the dark side of the Force.

The Jedi Order faced extinction at least twice through its history; during the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War, the Order was left numbering less than one-hundred Jedi, until it was rebuilt by the Jedi Exile and the Lost Jedi. Millennia later, although eventually the Order was virtually annihilated by the Order of the Sith Lords with the culmination of the Clone Wars, its Knights lived on, and ultimately formed the New Jedi Order during the time of the New Republic.

History of the Jedi Order
"You must remember that there are over a hundred thousand inhabited worlds in the Republic, and there are now only a few thousand of us. Billions of beings have never seen a Jedi. Millions have never even heard of our Order. Or of the Force. When we do appear, we can be killers, but also healers. Thank the Force for that."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker



Founding of the Order and early Jedi
It is generally accepted that Jedi Order was formally founded at the same time as the initial incarnation of the Galactic Republic circa 25,000 BBY. Many of the specifics are still shrouded in mystery, though.

Many ancient and semi-legendary organizations have been proposed to be the forerunners of the Jedi Order, including the Order of Dai Bendu, the Followers of Palawa, and the Chatos Academy. No conclusive links have ever been demonstrated, though. Likewise, the birth planet of the order is unknown. Several worlds have been put forth as candidates, including such known worlds as Coruscant, Ossus, Utapau, Corellia, and mythic, lost planets such as Had Abbadon and Ondos.

According to a commonly accepted version, the dawn world of the Jedi was Tython. The Galaxy's best philosophers, priests, scientists, and warriors came together here long ago to discuss their discoveries involving the enigmatic and mystical Ashla. In the event historians now know as the First Great Schism, dissidents who used the Bogan eventually arose, sparking the Force Wars of Tython. The Dark Jedi General Xendor and his followers allied with the master of Teräs Käsi Arden Lyn and her Followers of Palawa from Bunduki. In a climactic battle, Xendor was slain, Jedi Master Awdrysta Pina stopped Arden's heart with morichro, and Lyn killed Pina with a Kashi Mer talisman. After the war, the rest of these dissidents&mdash;known as the Legions of Lettow&mdash;were defeated.

From the ashes of these wars arose the early Jedi, and their Jedi Forge initiation ceremony led to the invention of lightsabers after they faced threats from beyond Tython. Through the use of advanced offworld technology, the Jedi were able to "freeze" a laser beam, resulting in the birth of the lightsaber. A proactive group left Tython to liberate other worlds, becoming the Jedi Knights. They founded a philosophical school on Ossus, defining the light side and dark side of the Force (equivalent, respectively, to the ancient Ashla and Bogan) as well as the Living Force and Unifying Force.

In 25,000 BBY, the Galactic Republic formed. The Republic mapped the Perlemian Trade Route, which linked Coruscant with Ossus. The early Jedi learned morality from the Caamasi.

The Second Great Schism, the first Dark Jedi and the Hundred Year Darkness
The Republic and Jedi fortified Ossus, Falang Minor, and Haashimut to protect the Perlemian from the Tionese and Hutts.

In 10,000 BBY, the Jedi created what would later be called the Lost City of the Jedi on Yavin 4. They used the City to terraform Yavin 4 into a rain forest world. Within the next 3,000 years, the Jedi abandoned Yavin 4.

In 7,000 BBY the Jedi suffered the Second Great Schism, resulting in the Hundred-Year Darkness. This conflict ended with the Battle of Corbos 6,900 BBY. The surviving Dark Jedi fled to Ziost and founded the Sith Empire.

The Jedi, believing that they had dealt with their dark-sided brethren, turned inward, and over the next twenty centuries they forgot about their exiled members.

The Great Hyperspace War
In 5,000 BBY, the Republic discovered the Sith and the Great Hyperspace War began. Though it ended with Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow in suspended animation on Yavin 4 and his great war fleets destroyed, the Sith Empire survived.

The Sith Empire was believed to have collapsed shortly afterwards due to infighting and attacks by the Republic, but the Sith Empire had retreated into the Unknown Regions where the Lords of the Sith waited patiently for over a millennium for the right moment to return.

The paranoia created by this conflict led to the Jedi and Republic's attempted genocide of the Sith and Stenness Shifters.

The reign of Freedon Nadd
Peace was not easily attained as once again members of the Order began delving into the dark side of the Force. In 4,400 BBY, Jedi Freedon Nadd discovered and was corrupted by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Naga Sadow on the world of Yavin 4. Nadd would later go to the planet of planet of Onderon with hopes of rebuilding a stronger Sith Empire.

The Third Great Schism
In 4,250 BBY the Jedi underwent a civil war on Coruscant which became known as the Third Great Schism. Following their defeat, the Dark Jedi went to Vultar, where they were responsible for the Vultar Cataclysm.

The Freedon Nadd Uprising
The world of Onderon suffered through the legacy of Freedon Nadd as a cult devoted to his memory, known as the Naddists, wreaked havoc on the people of the planet until the cult was put down by the Jedi.

The Great Sith War
Only 400 years later, in 3,996 BBY, the talented Exar Kun would be corrupted by the spirit of Nadd on Dxun, causing him to give into the dark side. Kun would cause the Cron Cluster explosion that would destroy the former Jedi Archives on Ossus after he and another skilled knight, Ulic Qel-Droma, were denied the ancient Sith holocrons stored there.

The Mandalorian Wars
To prevent the return of the Sith, a mysterious Jedi, known only as the Jedi associate, dedicated herself to training Jedi seers who would be able to foresee any possible Sith threat and nip it in the bud. These seers formed the Covenant, a shadowy organization devoted to spotting and dealing with any shatterpoints that could cause the Sith to emerge again.

Forty years would go by before the Mandalorian Wars would start the downfall of the Order. They coincided with a vision by four Jedi Masters, members of the Covenant on Taris, who saw visions of chaos in the Jedi Order and the Republic and signs that the responsible could be one of their Padawans. The Masters decided to strike, but only succeeded in bringing the death of four Padawans who neared knighting, causing massive civil disorders on Taris that later made the planet easy prey for the Mandalorians, and alienating Padawan Zayne Carrick from the Order.

Another and greater rift in the Order was caused when some of their most exceptional Jedi left to aid the Republic in the fight. The most notable were Revan, Malak, and the Jedi Exile. The Jedi master Arren Kae would be exiled ten years before this but she would go on to help with aid from her lover Yusanis of the Echani. Jedi Master Kreia would also be exiled as the Jedi Council felt her 'gray' stance on the Force had lead her students (most notably, Revan) down the path of the dark side.

The Jedi Civil War
At the close of the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Revan and Malak mysteriously disappeared into the Unknown Regions, supposedly pursuing the last remnants of the Mandalorian fleet. When the two Jedi and their armies returned, they had changed dramatically. At some point during the journey, Revan encountered the teachings of the Sith, and subsequently turned to the dark side to help the galaxy from what was to come. Together with Malak, Revan assumed the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, and Malak became his Sith apprentice.

Returning to the Republic, Darth Revan and Darth Malak began waging a second war, preying on a Republic already weakened by the Mandalorians and taking full advantage of the immense number of Jedi who were still willing to serve them. This Jedi Civil War pitted masters against students, fathers against sons, and friends against best friends, making it one of the most emotionally powerful wars in all galactic history. While the early stages of the war were indecisive, it soon became apparent that Revan's Sith armada was growing at a steady rate, and in a short time the Republic was overwhelmed with the seemingly limitless forces of the enemy. World after world fell to Revan's vast fleets and masterful strategies, so determined not to make the same mistakes they had in the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Council devised a plan to eliminate the enemy at its source: Revan.

During one fateful battle, a small Jedi strike team led by Bastila Shan, a young Jedi Padawan with the remarkable gift of battle meditation, infiltrated Darth Revan's command ship to capture the Dark Lord. During the confrontation, Darth Malak, who was stationed aboard a different ship, realized that his master was in danger, and so in traditional Sith practice fired upon his own master's vessel in the hope of killing both Revan and the Jedi fighting him. The Jedi managed to escape with Revan's body, but Malak had achieved a crucial victory, for he was now the Dark Lord of the Sith and commander of the entire Sith armada.

Malak continued to wage war against the Republic, relying exclusively on brute force as opposed to subtle strategies. As the situation for the Republic and the Jedi became more desperate, they began to rely more and more on the battle meditation of Bastila Shan to gain an advantage over the ever-growing Sith Empire. Consequently, Darth Malak began to target Bastila specifically, hoping to crush the Republic's last chance of standing against his armies. During one battle in orbit above the world of Taris, Bastila's vessel, the Endar Spire, was crippled beyond recovery, and the young Jedi was forced to evacuate to the planet below. As fate would have it, two other important survivors eventually caught up with Bastila on Taris: Carth Onasi, a decorated soldier and war hero of the Republic, and another lowly officer who Bastila had recently had transferred to her command. The key to the rest of the war, however, lied in the identity of this single, insignificant foot soldier.

Carth and Bastila continued to gain more companions and managed to escape the destruction of Taris and fled to Dantooine, where in addition to learning that their third companion was Force sensitive discovered the existence of the Star Forge. The Jedi Council then commissioned their small band to seek out Star Maps from various planets in order to discover the location of the Star Forge, which they believed was the key to Malak's power. During their quest, the group was captured by one of the Sith fleet's command ships, where after a frantic escape attempt, Carth, Bastila, and the new Jedi Padawan encountered Darth Malak himself. This confrontation revealed a startling truth: that Darth Revan had not been killed, but had instead been rendered amnesiac by Malak's attack and saved by the Jedi, specifically Bastila. The Jedi Council had inserted over his destroyed mind a new identity, that of a lowly officer who was now a Jedi Padawan. Darth Revan had been traveling with Carth and Bastila the entire time.

Upon escaping Malak, Revan was determined to complete his mission and destroy his old apprentice. Eventually, he and his companions discovered the location of the Star Forge and launched an attack with the Republic against it. Revan managed to infiltrate the giant factory, which was the source of the Sith's limitless armada, and defeat his old apprentice Malak once and for all. However, even with Malak's death, Revan soon disappeared for reasons unknown, and new Sith Lords rose to take his place. Thus, the Sith continued to annihilate the Jedi and Republic, even without Revan or Malak.

First Jedi Purge and Aftermath
The Jedi Civil War and other dramatic events to follow it, such as the Jedi Conclave of Katarr, would see the near destruction and death of the order. About a hundred individuals survived throughout the Galaxy. The Jedi Council was disbanded, with the remaining Jedi Masters going in hiding across planets, hoping that this would allow them to discover the true origins of the new Sith threat without endangering everyone around them. The Jedi Temple on Coruscant was completely abandoned, and the badly damaged Jedi Enclave on Dantooine was nothing but a hollow shell.

Eventually, the Jedi Exile trained a new generation of Force users, the Lost Jedi, who, as Darth Traya prophesied, would come together to re-establish another Jedi Order. Apart from them, who were yet to become true Jedi, there were only four known Jedi left in the Republic space by the end of the Battle of Telos IV—Bastila Shan, Jolee Bindo, Juhani, and Atris.

The New Sith Wars
The horrors of the Old Sith Wars and the near extinction of the Jedi Order that had resulted from the conflict were remembered in the Republic for generations. Few could have guessed, however, that a much larger conflict would soon engulf the galaxy.

Phanius was one of the order's brightest stars, a Jedi Master no less. He became entranced with the forbidden knowledge of the Sith and, defying the council, absconded into deep space with a Sith holocron stolen from the Jedi Archives.

Like Exar Kun and Darth Revan before him, Phanius was seduced by the Dark Side. He took up the long vacant title of Dark Lord of the Sith as well as a new name and identity: Darth Ruin.

In the ensuing years, Ruin gathered together a large number of dark side followers, who he dubbed the Brotherhood of Darkness. With this army Ruin planned to bring the Republic, and the Jedi who served it, to their knees.

The Brotherhood attacked the Republic, and conquered vast swathes of the galaxy from a crumbling Republic; however, when total victory was in their grasp, they fell amongst themselves.

Treachery is the way of the Sith. The Brotherhood splintered, and various high-ranking Sith Lords claimed the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith and began to prosecute vast and cruel campaigns against each other, giving the beleaguered Republic and its Jedi protectors time to recover.

The Jedi regrouped and formed a vast army to oppose the Brotherhood&mdash;the Army of Light. Ably led by Lord Hoth, the Jedi took the fight to the Brotherhood's central systems in the Cloak of the Sith. As the decades ground on, the Jedi slowly gained the initiative over their foes&mdash;but the Sith would not give in.

Eventually the surviving Sith, after several long and bitter campaigns, regrouped on the world of Ruusan under the leadership of Kaan.

Hoth followed the Sith there, and the Army of Light and Brotherhood of Darkness engaged in seven fierce battles. At the conclusion of the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, Kaan&mdash;near defeat and driven insane by the power of the dark side&mdash;unleashed the thought bomb and killed every single Force user on the world.

The New Sith Wars were over. The Jedi Order had survived once again, and the Sith were presumed wiped out to the last individual.

One, however, had survived: Darth Bane. He and his successors would hide from the Republic and the Jedi, planning revenge. This revenge would take a thousand years to come to fruition, but the new Sith had patience.

Post-Ruusan Reformation
With the Sith thought extinct, the Jedi believed that they had at last forged a long-lasting peace in the galaxy. With the Ruusan Reformation, both the Jedi and the Republic renounced militarism, disbanding their vast armies and navies. From that point on, the Galaxy would rely on smaller Judicial forces to help the Jedi keep the peace.

The Jedi were determined that the Sith would not be reborn. Mindful of their own history, the Jedi set about enforcing strict guidelines that the Council hoped would avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. They would renounce all ties to the outside world&mdash;to wealth, material possessions and even family. Training would now be undertaken on a strict one-to-one basis and centralized on Coruscant. With the far-flung academies of the past, the temptation of delving into forbidden knowledge was just too great for members of the order.

The Revenge of the Sith


In 32 BBY, the presence of the Sith once again became known to the Jedi. The Sith Lord, Darth Sidious had secretly contacted members of the Trade Federation, including Nute Gunray and Daultay Dofine, and saw to it that Gunray was made Viceroy of the Trade Federation by using a special battle droid to kill the members of the Federation Ruling Council. He then suggested that Gunray show the Republic that they could not bully him with trade embargos by blockading the remote planet of Naboo. The Supreme Chancellor dispatched Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate a Trade Federation withdrawal. However, the Neimoidians attempted to murder the Jedi, and they were forced to hide on an invasion craft which carried them down to the planet. There Qui-Gon met, and rescued a Gungan called Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar led them to the Gungan city of Otoh Gunga. The Gungan High Council, while rather difficult at first, at last allowed them to take a Bongo to the Naboo capital city, Theed. There the Jedi rescued the Queen, Padmé Amidala from a droid escort. They then fled to Tatooine, where they repaired their ship, and then to Coruscant. When Amidala realized that the Senate could not solve her problem, she returned to Naboo. There, with the help of the Gungan Grand Army, and a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, they defeated the Federation's Droid Army; however, in a climactic lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Sidious' apprentice, Darth Maul, Qui-Gon was killed. Stung by his master's death, Obi-Wan leapt at the Sith, and cut him cleanly in half. After Darth Maul was killed, the Jedi knew that there was still one member of the Sith active, but they were unaware of the identity of Sidious.

The Clone Wars
During the next ten years, former Jedi Count Dooku left the Jedi Order. The reason, unknown to the Jedi, was that Dooku had been found by Darth Sidious and had become his apprentice, Darth Tyranus. Tyranus and Sidious arranged the Clone Wars as a way of consolidating Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's (who also held the identity of Darth Sidious) hold on the galaxy. In actuality, Sidious secretly governed both sides of the Clone Wars, effectively assuring his rise to power.

Last stand of the Jedi Order
After the Second Battle of Coruscant, the Jedi learned from Anakin Skywalker that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, and had been responsible for the war to begin with. Mace Windu lead a group of Jedi Masters to arrest Sidious, but Sidious managed to kill all four with the help of Anakin Skywalker, who fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader. This was later propagandized by Palpatine as an attempted coup by the Jedi and provided the reason for the start of the Great Jedi Purge in which most of the Jedi were killed. Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, two of the most notable survivors of Order 66, went on a desperate attempt to destroy the Sith and save the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan went to fight Anakin while Yoda went after Darth Sidious. Anakin undeniably came off worse as he lost about half of his power after suffering grievous injuries necessitating the majority of Anakin's body being kept in a mobile life support system to keep him alive. Yoda and Sidious however ended in a stalemate, but with clone troopers on the way Yoda was forced to flee and the Sith had risen again.

Political organization
"Once you embrace the Republic, the power of all Jedi is ready to serve you."

- Ulic Qel-Droma



Eventually the Jedi formed a central political entity called the Jedi Council. The High Council was a gathering of great minds that acted as a governing body for the Order, as well as an advisory board for the Old Republic Senate. The Jedi Council could only have 12 members at a time.

Among other tasks, the Jedi eventually became responsible for law enforcement and peacekeeping in the Galactic Republic. Many Jedi held different opinions on peacekeeping; while some favored diplomacy at all costs, others advocated a more direct approach, such as issuing "aggressive negotiations," with the majority striking a balance between the two extremes.

The Jedi Council of 4,000 BBY refused to enter the Mandalorian Wars until they felt the "threat had been assessed", taking a more passive stance on the issue. Later, perhaps due to the Order's near extinction as a result of that decision, the Jedi that rebuilt the order took a slightly more aggressive stance, culminating in the New Sith Wars where they actively ruled the Republic as a quasi-military dictatorship. During the Clone Wars, in the twilight years of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi acted as Generals, soldiers and military advisers in the conflict.

Jedi Ranks
As the Jedi were instructed in the ways of the Jedi and of the Force, each member progressed through several different ranks.

Hierarchy

 * Jedi Initiate (or Youngling or "Jedi Hopeful") –a force sensitive child who were removed from their families at a very young age to be taught by older Jedi in groups called clans.
 * Jedi Padawan –a young Jedi who was apprenticed to a single Jedi Knight or Master. Padawans were chosen by their masters at a young age, and wore a long braid of hair behind their right ear to signify their rank.
 * Jedi Knight – a disciplined Padawan could become a fully trained Jedi once they completed "the trials." The known trials were, but weren't limited to: the Trial of Flesh, the Trial of Courage, the Trial of Skill and the Trial of Self (also known as "facing the mirror").
 * Jedi Master – a Jedi Knight who showed great understanding of the Force and managed to instruct a Padawan and train them successfully to the level of a Jedi Knight. This title could also be achieved through the performance of extraordinary deeds.
 * Councilor (or Council Member) – A very few Jedi were invited to serve on the Jedi Council, the governing body of the Order. The Council was made up almost exclusively of wise, experienced Masters (in the waning days of the Order, one Knight, Ki-Adi-Mundi, served as a Councilor, but was undergoing the process of becoming a Master at the time of his invitation). Another Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker was appointed to the Council by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, although he was not granted the rank of Master simply because of this. The Council was made up of 12 masters, five of them with life terms (two of them designated as "senior"), four as long-term, and three limited-term.
 * Grand Master – The highest rank of the Jedi Order was that of Grand Master. Yoda and Nomi Sunrider were both Grand Masters. Luke Skywalker became the Grand master of the New Jedi Order.

Notable Knights

 * Revan


 * Malak

Notable Knights

 * Barriss Offee


 * Aayla Secura

Locations
The Jedi Order had outposts on many worlds, and possibly even controlled a few throughout its history. These outposts included, the Ilum Crystal Caves, the Chu'unthor, The Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, the Enclave on Bespin, and the Jedi Temple.



Jedi Service Corps
The Jedi Service Corps were a place for Jedi students who were never selected by a Master to become a Padawan. Younglings would enter one of the Corps if they had not been chosen by a Master by age 13.

Agricultural Corps The Agricultural Corps was one of these organizations, the members of the AgriCorps would use their Force powers to care for crops. The function of the Corps was to aid in tending to and harvesting crops for the Republic. It is possible that Jedi geologists served under the Corps.

Medical Corps In the Medical Corps young Jedi learners and former younglings who were not chosen as Padawans used their healing powers to tend for sick beings in the galaxy. Unlike the AgriCorps, the MedCorps maintained only a few dozen students and their instructors at any given time.

Educational Corps This groups of Jedi Knights consisted of students who were still in training, their mission was to provide educational needs to the underprivileged children of the galaxy.

Exploration Corps This organization was responsible for exploring the Unknown Regions and they studied the past of the Jedi and the galaxy. Members were usually former younglings that had not been chosen as Padawans, though ExplorCorps also included Jedi such as Jocasta Nu.

Appearances
''Most other works in which Jedi before the Galactic Civil War appear.
 * Tales of the Jedi
 * Cloak of Deception
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Jedi Quest series
 * ''Jedi Apprentice series