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Tarkin Massacre

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This article covers the Canon version of this subject.  Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject. 

For other uses, see Ghorman Massacre.

"Sixteen years ago, Grand Moff Tarkin killed 500 peaceful, unarmed Ghormans in the middle of that plaza."
―Carro Rylanz in 3 BBY[3]

The Tarkin Massacre was a violent incident that took place in 19 BBY on the planet Ghorman, shortly after the rise of the Galactic Empire. During a protest in the capital city of Palmo, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin attempted to land his cruiser in a crowded plaza. Despite the presence of peaceful demonstrators attempting to block the landing, Tarkin landed his cruiser on top of the crowd and killed five hundred unarmed civilians. The atrocity contributed to a public outcry against Moff Tarkin, and the somber event was memorialized by the Ghorman people with the Monument to the Fallen at the massacre site.

The massacre was felt deeply on Ghorman throughout the Imperial Era. The Ghorman Front emerged in opposition to the Empire, eventually aligning with the wider Axis network of rebel cells. Tensions escalated, particularly as the Empire reneged on its promise not to build a facility that would overshadow the memorial, until erupting in 2 BBY into a full-blown slaughter of hundreds if not thousands more protestors. The Ghorman Massacre became a galvanizing event for rebel cells across the galaxy, sparking the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Prelude[]

Declaration

The Galactic Empire was established in 19 BBY at the decree of Sheev Palpatine.

At the end of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems in 19 BBY,[4] Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine declared himself Galactic Emperor and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, bringing countless star systems under his rule on the promise that he would bring peace and secruity.[5] That same year,[2] on the planet Ghorman, protests broke out in the capital city of Palmo.[6]

The massacre[]

During the protests, Moff Wilhuff Tarkin arrived at Ghorman and attempted to land in a plaza in Palmo. Protestors flooded the landing zone, hoping to prevent his landing, but Tarkin was undeterred. He landed his cruiser on top of the protestors,[6] resulting in the deaths of five-hundred unarmed Ghorman citizens.[3] One of those citizens was the father of a Ghor named Thela, who later worked in a hotel within walking distance of the site of the massacre.[6]

Aftermath[]

GrandMoffTarkin-Masterwork2021

The Tarkin Massacre was one of several atrocities perpetrated by Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.

After the massacre, the Ghor built the Monument to the Fallen at the site of the Tarkin Massacre[3] while Tarkin himself faced public outcry. In fact, his massacre on Ghorman was only one of several atrocities he carried out during the early days of the Empire that resulted in public blowback,[1] culminating in the public outcry against the Antar Atrocity ordered by Tarkin on the moon Antar 4.[7] In response to the public outcry against Tarkin's atrocities[1] and particularly due to the response towards the Antar Atrocity, which he hoped to separate Tarkin from so as to protect the Moff's career, Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine reassigned Tarkin to the Western Reaches of the galaxy,[7] where he was tasked with overseeing pacification operations against rebel groups in the region.[1] Afterward, Tarkin took command over Sentinel Base in the Outer Rim Territories as part of Project Stardust, largely remaining out of public sight until his grand return to the scene[7] in 14 BBY.[8] Having never lost his influence despite his reassignment, Tarkin instead found himself elevated to the new position of Grand Moff in that year by the Emperor, who granted Tarkin governorship over the Outer Rim Territories.[7]

Meanwhile, the quashed protests on Ghorman became only the first signs of unrest on the planet. In the years that followed, the Ghorman Front was established and sought to cause unrest and rebellion against the Imperial forces on Ghorman.[6] By 3 BBY,[3] they were actively working with the Axis network of rebel cells and became suspicious of a new Imperial armory that was being built in the city[6]—a building that the Empire initially promised would not cast a shadow over the Monument to the Fallen, a promise they reneged on.[3] In 2 BBY,[4] unrest on Ghorman erupted into a full-blown slaughter, with hundreds if not thousands of peaceful protestors killed by Imperial forces during the Ghorman Massacre. This event galvanized rebel cells throughout the galaxy to formally band together as the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which ultimately toppled the Empire during the ensuing Galactic Civil War.[9]

Behind the scenes[]

The Tarkin Massacre was first mentioned in the 2024 reference book Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy.[1] In Star Wars Legends media, the Ghorman Massacre was created by writer Paul Murphy for The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, a supplement for West End Games Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game published in 1990.[10] The massacre took place in approximately 19 BBY[11] and involved Captain Wilhuff Tarkin landing his warship on top of a crowd of peaceful protestors at the planet's spaceport,[10] killing hundreds. The 2005 reference book The New Essential Chronology placed the massacre at the capital square instead of the spaceport.[12] Murphy's creation of the Ghorman Massacre was inspired by the real-world Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, in which the British Indian Army surrounded hundreds of peaceful protestors at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in Punjab, India and fired, killing many of them.[13]

The full Ghorman Massacre was canonically depicted in the second season of Andor, with showrunner Tony Gilroy stating that the season straightens out the story of its events.[14] In the second episode of the behind the scenes web series Andor Declassified, Gilroy claimed that the massacre had taken place "thirteen years earlier," thus in around 16 BBY relative to episodes 4-6 or in around 18 BBY relative to the start of the series.[15] The 3 BBY-set episode "Ever Been to Ghorman?," however, establishes the massacre occurred in 19 BBY through its mention of it happening sixteen years before 3 BBY.[2]

Appearances[]

This article has an associated index page with page numbers and/or timestamps.

Sources[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Ever Been to Ghorman?" dates itself to 3 BBY and establishes the Tarkin Massacre occurred sixteen years prior, putting that event in 19 BBY.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Star Wars: Andor — "Ever Been to Ghorman?"
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: Timelines
  5. ↑ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Star Wars: Andor — "I Have Friends Everywhere"
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Tarkin
  8. ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of the novel Tarkin, in which Moff Wilhuff Tarkin is promoted to Grand Moff and Governor of the Outer Rim Territories, to 14 BBY.
  9. ↑ Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
  11. ↑ The Official Star Wars Fact File 31 TAR 1-4: Grand Moff Tarkin states that the Ghorman Massacre took place shortly after Palpatine declared himself Emperor, which The New Essential Chronology dates to 19 BBY.
  12. ↑ The New Essential Chronology
  13. ↑ The Roots of ‘Andor’ Lore Run Deep by Lindbergh, Ben on The Ringer (May 9, 2025) (backup link archived on June 9, 2025)
  14. ↑ “I Want To Make the Show Timeless”: Tony Gilroy Previews ’Andor Season 2 and the “Collateral Damage” Ahead by Maggie Lovitt on Collider.com (March 10, 2025) (backup link archived on March 10, 2025)
  15. ↑ Andor Season 2 Declassified: World Building | Contains Spoilers Eps 4-6 on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
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