Tatooine/Legends

''This article is about the planet Tatooine. You may be looking for the starship,Tatooine.''


 * "Well, if there's a bright center in the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from."
 * &mdash; Luke Skywalker

Tatooine was a desert world in a binary star system, inhabited by poor locals who mostly farmed moisture for a living. The planet was on the 5709-DC Shipping Lane, a spur of the Triellus Trade Route, which itself connected to the Sisar Run. The planet was not far from the Corellian Run.

History
Tatooine was once a subject world of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. It once had large oceans and a world-spanning jungle. This biosphere was destroyed by an orbital bombardment by the Rakata that "glassed" (that is, fused the silica in the soil into glass, which then broke up over time into sand) the planet and boiled its oceans away. This drastic climatic change split the indigenous Kumumgah into two races: the Ghorfas and the Jawas.

Tatooine was first discovered by the Republic in 5,000 BBY by spacers. Anchorhead was first established 4,200 BBY. The human settlers disrupted the Ghorfa culture, causing the Ghorfa culture to evolve into that of the Sandpeople. The planet was represented in the Galactic Senate by Sidrona Diath, whom was eventually elected Supreme Chancellor. Sidrona was also a Jedi, and founder of the long-lived Diath family of Jedi which survived until the Clone Wars. At the time of the Jedi Civil War, the planet was practically controlled by Czerka Corporation.

The Anchorhead settlement failed and the planet was forgotten until rediscovered by the Republic 1,100 BBY. The B'omarr Monks built a monastery on the planet 700 BBY. The bandit Alkhara used the monastery as a hideout 550 BBY.

In 100 BBY, the Dowager Queen crashed on the planet at the site where Mos Eisley was later built. The crash survivors were humans from Bestine IV and 99 BBY established Bestine Settlement, the capital of Tatooine, and made first contact with the Jawas.

Three years later, a Droid Uprising occurred on Tatooine.

Shortly thereafter, in 96 BBY, colonists founded Fort Tusken, which was wiped out by Sandpeople a year after its establishment. From that point on the humans referred to the Sandpeople as "Tusken Raiders." 93 BBY, Anchorhead was inhabited again. 85 BBY, Mos Eisley was settled by humans and Rodians. 80 BBY, Humans and Rodians established Mos Espa.

Corellian Mining brought many digger crawlers to the planet, but abandoned the planet--as did the Republic for all intents and purposes--70 BBY, when the orbital station Tatoo III crashed, revealing the unstable nature of the local ores from which it had been constructed. Although the planet was thereafter considered technically part of the Republic's Arkanis Sector, it was de facto part of Hutt Space. The abandoned crawlers, referred to as sandcrawlers, radically changed Jawa civilization, serving as mobile fortresses for Jawa tribes searching the deserts for materials to scavenge.

65 BBY, the Hutts arrived on Tatooine. 60 BBY, Merl Tosche established Tosche Station on the outskirts of Anchorhead. Rival Hutt kajidics vied for control of the planet, notably Besadii (represented by Gardulla the Elder) and Desilijic (represented by Jabba). The notorious Jabba made the B'omarr Monastery into his personal palace.

32 BBY, Anakin Skywalker became a local legend in Mos Espa by being the only human ever to win a podrace, and none other than the famous Boonta Eve Classic itself. After winning the race, he left Tatooine to join the Jedi Order.

Later that year, Jango Fett came to Tatooine and, on behalf of Jabba, disposed of Gardulla, giving Jabba a virtual monopoly on the rule of Tatooine's criminal underworld. However, Jabba's monopoly was eventually challenged by Whiphid crime queen, Lady Valarian.

In 22 BBY, Anakin Skywalker returned to Tatooine, sensing his mother, Shmi Skywalker, was in terrible pain. Shmi had been captured by Tusken Raiders whom had tortured her. After Shmi died in Anakin's arms, Anakin gave into the Dark Side and murdered an entire Tusken village.

Early in the Clone Wars, the Republic tried to reestablish a presence on the world by constructing a Republic spaceport, but Confederacy General Sev'rance Tann, allied with the minor Hutt crimelord Boorka, wiped it out and established her own fortress. Jabba protested Boorka's direct involvement in the Clone Wars, and betrayed the fortress's location to Echuu Shen-Jon, whom wiped it out.

In truth, helping Echuu was simply Jabba's way of eliminating Boorka, since Jabba himself got directly involved in the Clone Wars: he shipped cortosis ore through Tatooine to Metalorn for the Techno Union to build cortosis droids. This operation was ended by Anakin Skywalker.

In 19 BBY, following the Jedi Purge, Obi-Wan Kenobi went into hiding on Tatooine, keeping a close eye on young Luke Skywalker, whom Kenobi entrusted to be raised by Shmi's step-son Owen Lars and his wife Beru Lars, moisture farmers.

Shortly before the destruction of Alderaan, the Star Destroyer Devastator captured Leia Organa aboard the Tantive IV above Tatooine. Leia had been trying to contact Kenobi, asking him to help the Alliance with the crisis of the Death Star I, as she had been instructed by her foster father Bail Organa, a former compatriot of Kenobi. Leia did not realize the secret Bail and Obi-Wan shared: she was Anakin Skywalker's daughter. She gave the recently received plans for the Death Star I to R2-D2, whom with counterpart C-3PO escaped to the surface of Tatooine. Darth Vader had Leia captured alive, not realizing she was his daughter. Vader, the former Anakin Skywalker, had Commander Praji's Stormtroopers, placed under the command of Brenn Tantor and Grand General Malcor Brashin, scour the planet for the droids, ignoring the protests of local Governor Tour Aryon. The droids were captured by Jawas and purchased by Owen Lars, but R2-D2 ran away seeking Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke Skywalker and C-3PO gave chase. They were attacked by Tuskens, but rescued by Kenobi, whom began to teach Luke about the Jedi, although deceiving him into thinking that Anakin Skywalker had been murdered by Darth Vader. He gave Luke a lightsaber he claimed had belonged to Anakin.

Meanwhile, the Imperial search party, following the droids' trail, had slaughtered the Tuskens whom had attacked Luke and used their banthas to disguise their tracks as those of a Tusken raiding party. They attacked the sandcrawler which had rescued R2-D2 and C-3PO, interrogating and murdering the Jawas. They proceeded to Lars' Homestead, where they interrogated and murdered Owen and Beru. The Imperials also ran into a local Rebel cell, which they decimated. The Imperials blockaded Tatooine to prevent the droids from escaping, and began a thorough search of Mos Eisley.

In Mos Eisley, however, Kenobi and Luke hired Han Solo to take them to Alderaan with the droids. Solo's Millennium Falcon "blasted its way out of Mos Eisley" and broke the Imperial blockade.

Following this disaster, the Empire increased its presence on Tatooine. The Empire introduced Bledsoe's Disease to Tatooine. However, Luke Skywalker, now a Jedi in training and member of the Rebel Alliance, returned to the planet and blew up the Imperial garrison after kidnapping Dr. Bledsoe himself, from whom Luke acquired the antidote to the disease.

4 ABY, Boba Fett brought Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, to Jabba's Palace. Luke returned to Tatooine to build a new lightsaber, after the one Kenobi gave him was lost on Bespin. Luke, Leia, and other Rebels infiltrated Jabba's Palace and freed Han Solo from carbonite. Jabba tried to feed Luke and Han to the Sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but they turned the tables on him. Han accidentally sent Boba Fett into the Pit (which was just one of the Almighty Sarlacc's many mouths) and Leia strangled Jabba to death with a chain.

After the Battle of Endor, Emperor Sate Pestage built a redoubt on Tatooine called Eidolon Base, although he never used it. Eidolon Base was later discovered by the New Republic's Rogue Squadron. Commander Wedge Antilles gave Elscol Loro many of the weapons stored in Eidolon Base. Elscol left Rogue Squadron and used the weapons to create an independent guerilla movement which liberated worlds from the Imperial Remnant.

As the homeworld of Luke Skywalker, Tatooine became something of a tourist trap under New Republic rule.

The Eye of Palpatine stopped at the planet and, failing to find the stormtroopers it was looking for, took onboard a number of Tusken Raiders and Jawas whom it tried (with no success) to brainwash into being Imperials.

After the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed all life on Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa, the Hutts adopted Tatooine as their new homeworld.

Nature


Notable geological features included the Dune Sea, an enormous desert, and the Jundland Wastes, a rocky region. Despite the planet's extreme aridity, many forms of life thrived on Tatooine.

See also Locations on Tatooine.

Intelligent Life Forms

 * Humans - Settlers
 * Jawas - Scavengers
 * Sandpeople - Scavengers
 * Cliffborer worm-like species - Little-known

Flora
Though it may have looked like a desert wasteland, Tatooine had very interesting flora, that includes:
 * Razor moss
 * Funnel flower
 * Hubba gourd

Fauna

 * Banthas
 * Dewbacks
 * Eopies
 * Krayt dragons
 * Rontos
 * Sandjiggers
 * Sarlacci
 * Womp rats
 * Wraids
 * Cliffborer worms

Behind the Scenes
In George Lucas's Star Wars saga, Tatooine is the home planet of the Skywalker family and the setting for much of the action in the saga's films (as well as several of the novels and other pieces of written fiction). The planet is not actually named in ANH; according to Lucas he used the name Utapau in the script, but eventually named it retrospectively after the movie's desert location, Tataouine (French spelling) in Tunisia.

Some critics have seen Lucas's use of a desert planet as excessively derivative of Frank Herbert's Arrakis in the Dune series of novels.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * The Ghostling Children
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Boba Fett: Hunted
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
 * Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
 * Marvel Star Wars 31: Return to Tatooine
 * Marvel Star Wars 32: The Jawa Express
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Tales from Jabba's Palace
 * The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy
 * Marvel Star Wars 81: Jawas of Doom
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Darksaber
 * X-wing: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (website)
 * Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy