Jedha City

Jedha City, also known as the Holy City, NiJedha or simply Jedha, was an ancient walled city located on the desert moon of Jedha. In the city was the ancient Temple of the Kyber, a great temple held sacred by those who followed the teachings of the Church of the Force. For some time before the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire had occupied the city, an action that was met with firm resistance by Saw Gerrera's Partisans. Jedha City was destroyed by a single-reactor superlaser blast from the newly-operational Death Star.

Description
Jedha was an ancient city located on the cold, desert Mid Rim moon of Jedha. Standing atop a rocky mesa, the city was surrounded by a large wall and contained various temples and adorned buildings. The most notable structure in the Holy City was the ancient Temple of the Kyber&mdash;a great temple protruding high above the city wall that was held sacred by those who followed the teachings of the Church of the Force. Considered a holy site for followers of the mystical energy field known as the Force, the Holy City's streets were filled with priests, scholars, and holy men and women, many of them pilgrims, who could be recognized by their distinctive and often ornate robes.

History
Sometime before the Battle of Yavin, Jedha City, along with the rest of the moon, was occupied by the Galactic Empire, with Imperial stormtroopers, TX-225 GAVw "Occupier" combat assault tanks, TIE/LN starfighters, cargo shuttles and an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer being deployed to the city. However, the occupation was met with firm resistance by rebel extremist Saw Gerrera &mdash;leader of the Partisans &mdash;who coordinated the insurgency from his hideout.

During the Alliance to Restore the Republic's mission to find the location of Imperial scientist Galen Erso, Captain Cassian Andor, Sergeant Jyn Erso, and reprogrammed Imperial KX-series security droid K-2SO traveled to the Holy City to meet with Gerrera. While there, the trio became involved in a firefight with Imperial and Partisan forces.

Hours later, all Imperial forces were ordered to withdraw from the city immediately. Unknown to many of them, Director Orson Krennic and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin had decided to test the capability of the Empire's new superweapon-equipped battlestation, the Death Star, by firing its superlaser at the city using a single-reactor ignition. The test was a success, resulting in the complete destruction of the Holy City and its inhabitants, as well as the surrounding area.

In order to prevent the public from finding out about the weapon and Jedha City's destruction, the event was labeled by the Empire as a mining catastrophe. The act of destroying the holy city also had a secondary effect; not only had it demonstrated to Tarkin and the Empire that the Death Star project had been a success, it also severed what was virtually the last connection the wider galaxy had to the Jedi and to the Force, a major blow to the spirituality of the galaxy.

Behind the scenes
Jedha City is a location created and developed for the 2016 Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The city was inspired by real life holy cities such as Mecca and Jerusalem and has Middle Eastern influences with its narrow market alleyways, desert sands, and Ottoman-inspired architecture. First footage of the holy city was released with the teaser trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on April 7, 2016. The city was first identified as the holy city in Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, a reference book released on November 3, 2016.

Appearances

 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
 * Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novel