
For other uses, see Empire (disambiguation).
Leia holo.png







The Galactic Empire existed as a separate entity in one form or another for 157 years, until in 138 ABY, when it had been absorbed by a new organization.



Emperor Palpatine, in his Imperial Inaugural Address[src]

The Empire can be said to have begun with the scheming aspiration of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, known as his alter ego Senator Palpatine of Naboo. He was inspired by the Resurrected Sith Empire, which dominated the galaxy over three millennia earlier. In 32 BBY, he began manipulating pivotal events, such as instigating the Naboo crisis, in which he used the Trade Federation, led by Viceroy Nute Gunray as a pawn, to lead Queen Amidala into calling for a "Vote of No Confidence" in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, effectively replacing him and eventually winning the Battle of Naboo with assistance from the Gungans. When his first apprentice, Darth Maul, was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sidious took on the former Jedi Count Dooku as his new apprentice. In 24 BBY, Dooku then helped found the Confederacy of Independent Systems with the formation of the Separatist Council, led again by Nute Gunray, on Raxus Prime, igniting the Separatist Crisis. Palpatine, at the end of his second term, was allowed to stay in power until the crisis was resolved. This eventually led to the Clone Wars, which started with the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY.

Emperor Palpatine announces the beginning of the New Order.

At the beginning of the Clone Wars, Palpatine was an efficient and effective leader who quickly brought to an end the corruption in the Senate; his authority was greatly increased even more so than at the start of the Separatist Crisis, via Acting Senator Jar Jar Binks, while the Senate willingly furnished as they gave more and more emergency powers to him. Eventually, the Senate lost most of its power and became little more than a formality that Palpatine had to go through to pass his laws. Yet the Senate retained some symbolic power; Chancellor Palpatine still hid behind the pomp and circumstance of appealing to the Senate, but his power existed in his control over thousands of Senators that he had brought into his own web of corruption.

However, after the death of Count Dooku onboard the Invisible Hand above Coruscant and the death of General Grievous on Utapau, Anakin Skywalker discovered that Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and after informing Jedi Master Mace Windu of his discovery, a Jedi task force led by Windu himself attempted to arrest him. After a brief duel, Palpatine appeared to be defeated. Skywalker arrived and demanded the Sith Lord's life be spared, that he might stand trial. Deeply troubled, Skywalker nonetheless helped Palpatine kill Windu, prompting him to be held under Palpatine's sway as his new apprentice and enforcer, Darth Vader. Palpatine then proceeded to carry out the Great Jedi Purge, including the massacre of the Jedi Temple itself, which eliminated almost all of the Jedi, while simultaneously wiping out the leaders of the Confederacy on Mustafar, including the Separatist Council representative Nute Gunray, who was Anakin's last victim. The Separatists were reduced to a shadow of their former selves, thus bringing an end to the Clone Wars. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine used the so-called Jedi rebellion to issue the Declaration of a New Order and declared himself Emperor of the galaxy in 19 BBY, replacing the Galactic Republic with the Galactic Empire. Likewise, Palpatine vowed that the newly-formed Empire would reign with ten thousand years of peace.


It is important to note that not all of the Senators liked what they saw. Shortly before the start of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Loyalist Committee was formed by more democratic senators. By the eve of the empire, near the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, the Loyalist Committee was reorganised into the Petition of 2000, who sought to bring the worries of these Senators to Palpatine. This petition was led by Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Padmé Amidala. Palpatine's dismissal of their concerns was one factor that led Organa and Mothma to help found the Alliance to Restore the Republic.


Darth Vader[src]

Imperial stormtroopers set up defensive weapons on a backwater planet






The Dark Times[]


Emperor Palpatine, ruler of the galaxy.





Resistance to Imperial rule[]

Luke Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi[src]

Galactic Empire banner, circa 0 ABY.

In 2 BBY, after the true nature of the Empire became clear, three of the most influential senators, Bail Organa of Alderaan, Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia, and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, along with others, were on the brink of starting a great rebellion against the Empire. To lure the dissidents out of hiding, the Emperor and Darth Vader had Galen Marek, Vader's secret Sith apprentice, rally the Rebels. Brought together by him, they met in secret on Corellia and signed the Corellian Treaty. This officially formed the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly referred to as the Rebel Alliance. They were arrested on the spot, and taken to be executed by Palpatine himself on board the Death Star but Marek turned to the light side of the Force and freed them, sacrificing his own life. On Kashyyyk, the Alliance commemorated Marek's death and used his family crest as the new organization's symbol. Just weeks later, a full scale war broke out between the Imperials and the Rebels, which was an armed military conflict that would consume the galaxy for many years to come.

However, the threat of rebellion allowed Palpatine to endorse the Tarkin Doctrine of rule by fear of force rather than force itself. If anything, Palpatine welcomed the formation of the fledgling Rebel Alliance as a legitimate excuse to remove the last vestiges of the Republic and tighten his grip on the galaxy. To test the Death Star's power, Tarkin ordered the Destruction of Despayre, the planet which the space station was built over which took three waves and likely consumed its only moon Haroon in the process.

In 0 BBY, the Imperial Senate was dissolved and taking what was left of the Old Republic with it, which only strengthened the Rebellion. Almost immediately afterwards, Tarkin ordered the Destruction of Alderaan, which took a single fire and was completely obliterated, despite their captive Leia's protest, who was eventually rescued by the Millennium Falcon crew.

A key instrument in the enforcement of the doctrine was intended to be the Death Star, a moon-sized space station with sufficient firepower to easily destroy a planet with a single discharge of its powerful superlaser. Whereas many planets could afford planetary deflector shields capable of warding off virtually any conventional attack, none could defend against the power of that weapon. The weapon was destroyed in the Battle of Yavin, which marked the first major space-based victory for the Rebel Alliance. At this point, Palpatine and the rest of the Empire realized that the Rebellion was a major threat to them and one that should be taken seriously, for the destruction of the Death Star was a massive blow to the Empire.

After the superweapon's destruction, the Rebels had finally found their footing. They began consistent strikes on Imperial-held territories, inciting continuing resentment against the Empire and taking them under the Rebels' banner. This included the Anti-Imperial propaganda for destroying Alderaan, which set thousands of worlds in the galaxy to protest against the empire's brutality, even in the Core Worlds. The Alliance had also cultivated renowned leaders and heroes as distinctive as Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and the Jedi-to-be Luke Skywalker. Although the Empire gained the upper hand in most campaigns against the Alliance (such as the Battle of Hoth and the construction of the second Death Star), they could not prevent the unstoppable juggernaut that the Rebels unleashed upon them and felt their grip in the galaxy slowly weakening. Thus, in the climax of the Galactic Civil War that was the Battle of Endor, where Anakin Skywalker would also aid the Rebels in fulfilling an ancient Jedi prophecy, the Empire was finally unseated from its control over the galaxy.

Fracturing and warlord era[]

The Empire, however, was too large, to be destroyed in one blow; for the next fifteen years, the Rebels (soon renamed the Alliance of Free Planets and then the New Republic) fought to free the galaxy from former Imperials styling themselves as independent warlords as well as Imperial loyalists, such as Thrawn and Ysanne Isard.

Even prior to the fall of Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, the signs of fragmentation began to slowly reveal themselves as early as 0 ABY with the rebel's propaganda of the then-recent Destruction of Alderaan. In just a matter of days after the Battle of Endor, the Empire was thrown into a power struggle and would meanwhile resume their conflict with the New Republic in a two-front war. The first incursion was that of Moff Kalast, followed by the more serious situation involving the free-selling arms dealer Admiral Harkov, and finally culminating in the major Imperial infighting with Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin. The situation became serious when Zaarin attempted a coup d'état on Emperor Palpatine, managing to miraculously capture the Sith Lord by abducting him from his flagship, in a plot later thwarted by Admiral Thrawn.



In 6 ABY the New Republic would liberate Coruscant from the local Imperial faction and thus making an official return to democracy. However, Ysanne Isard managed to hold the Empire together and stem off aggressive warlords, as well as Trioculus and the false Kadann, who also claimed the throne, for nearly two years before losing control of Imperial Center. When Ysanne Isard started to lose her grasp over the Empire, she had her scientists develop a biological virus targeting only non-humans that she later let loose in Coruscant. So when Coruscant fell under the Rebel's attack, led by Rogue Squadron, they inherited Isard's disease that caused havoc for the starting government. With the loss of Coruscant, the Empire dissolved further and, soon, Warlord Zsinj was seen as the single largest Imperial threat in the galaxy. Isard managed to evade death and escaped to her own little kingdom.



X1 had been drawing out plans for a new Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. However, his attempts were ultimately thwarted by his own brother, X2.

Imperial resurgence[]

Main articles: Thrawn campaign, Pre–Shadow Hand campaign

Grand Admiral Thrawn.




The Imperial Civil War on Coruscant.



Return of Palpatine[]

Palpatine's return.






Death throes and collapse[]


Not long after the New Republic had reclaimed Coruscant from the Dark Empire, after its fall, the New Jedi Order was created by Luke Skywalker in the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, where he became the order's first Grand Master. This had undone Palpatine's extermination of the Jedi Order, that had began with the formation of the empire in 19 BBY.

When Jax was killed by his fellow former Guardsman Kir Kanos,[13] the aristocrat Burr Nolyds took control of the Ruling Council.[14] He was soon killed by Nom Anor, an ally of Councilor Xandel Carivus who was aiding Carivus's plans to become the new head of the council.[15] Anor was secretly an advance agent of the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong species, and, unknown to even Carivus, he was targeting the council in order to hasten the Empire's collapse in advance of a massive Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy.[16] Carivus was elected the new head of the council,[17] but he soon disbanded the council and declared himself the new Emperor.[18] When the New Republic attacked his powerbase on Ord Cantrell and he was killed by Kanos,[19] utter collapse of Imperial authority followed, and the Empire ceased to exist.[5]


―An Imperial officer at the Cairn Installation[src]

Gilad Pellaeon, the "Old Man of the Empire".





Several more defeats occurred over the ensuing years, forcing the Imperial Remnant into eight backwater sectors in the Outer Rim Territories. Seeing that defeat was imminent, Pellaeon finally admitted the need to sue for peace. In 19 ABY, after a peace accord was signed on board the Chimaera with the New Republic's representative Ponc Gavrisom, the Remnant than settled into a period of stability and had finally ended the Galactic Civil War. This ended the Galactic Empire's regime over the galaxy, after thirty-eight years of Humanocentric dictatorship, as opposed to Palpatine's promising ten thousand year rule.

Jagged Fel, the first Fel Emperor.

In the years following the Galactic Civil War, the Imperial Remnant would ally itself with the New Republic's successor the Galactic Alliance in the Yuuzhan Vong War and the Swarm War, but were a grey area in the Second Galactic Civil War, between the Imperial Remnant, Confederation and the Galactic Alliance.


The Imperial Remnant's shift toward democracy did not last indefinitely. In 44 ABY, in the aftermath of the Lost Tribe War, the Remnant ceased to exist after its reorganization into a Fel Empire, ruled by a hereditary monarchy, possibly by merging with the Confederation. Jagged Fel, the former Head of State who had attempted to reform the Remnant into a republican style of government in the first place, was crowned as the first Emperor since Palpatine. In just over a month, the Cold War between the Galactic Alliance and the newly revived Galactic Empire had begun, which would last for several decades. Shortly after the outbreak of the Cold War, Jagged Fel created the Imperial Knights on Bastion, for the newly formed Fel Empire, who were the successors of the Imperial Royal Guards, but unlike the Imperial Royal Guards, who were a form of diehard loyalists to Emperor Palpatine and included the occasional Dark Jedi, the Imperial Knights were a form of Gray Jedi who abandoned the Sith's philosophy.

And that was just how the galaxy was for about eighty years, two superpowers divided over territory and control. It wasn't until 126 ABY, that things started to change, four years into the Ossus Project, with the Yuuzhan Vong and the Galactic Alliance, attempted to restore the worlds devastated by the Yuuzhan Vong War, the One Sith, who had been hiding for nearly a century sabotaged the project and framed the species for it. The Jedi knew that they weren't responsible but were unable to prove it, while thousands of systems showed their support for the Fel Empire. In 127 ABY, the situation worsened, when the truce between the two superpowers was broken, the One Sith came out of hiding, sided with the Fel Empire and together they declared war with the Galactic Alliance, where the Fel Empire's influence had increased significantly. In 130 ABY, the war had ended with an imperial victory and reduced the Galactic Alliance to the Galactic Alliance Remnant. However, when Fel's "allies" within One Sith, led by Darth Krayt, operated a coup to betray the Imperials and forced the emperor into exile, the Fel Empire was ruined and replaced with Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, which was ruled by the leader of the One Sith with an iron fist. With Coruscant secured, Darth Krayt usurped the Imperial throne and declared himself emperor of the New Galactic Empire, who began the Third Jedi Purge. This new Empire, however, would later fall to ruin as well after Krayt's death under the hands of Cade Skywalker.

Marasiah Fel, the first female successor to Palpatine.

Krayt's rule collapsed due to the Second Imperial Civil War, alongside his opponent, the Fel Empire in exile, after the death of the exiled Emperor Roan Fel in 138 ABY. Even though the Fel dynasty was restored later, it was later merged into the Galactic Federation Triumvirate, alongside the Galactic Alliance Remnant and the fragmented New Jedi Order and thus was no longer the sole administration of the known universe anymore. Fel's daughter, Princess Marasiah Fel, became the new ruler of the Empire, and its first full-reigning Empress. While Emperor Palpatine had promised the senate 10,000 years of Imperial rule over the galaxy, it could be argued to have ultimately lasted for a grand total of only 157 years. All that remained of the First Galactic Empire was the order and benevolence running through the Fel Empire's veins.

The Sith who created the Empire in the first place were defeated in 139 ABY. Not long after the One Sith's last stand, Marasiah Fel turned the Imperial Knights to the Light Side of the Force and presumably rounded up the remaining Sith members, which ultimately resulted in the (wrongly) presumed permanent extinction of the Sith religion itself. The last known galactic conflict, however, did not end until the secular supporters of the One Sith were defeated themselves in 140 ABY.[20] [21]After the end of all these conflicts, the galaxy had entered an era of unity and peace and was, after 172 years of Emperor Palpatine's influence, finally free of the old Emperor's evil.


The primary symbol of the Galactic Empire, owing to it being a restructured version of the Galactic Republic, was a modified version of the Galactic Roundel from the Bendu religion, or Insignia of Unity that acted as the emblem for the Old Republic. The main differences between the two logos is the removal of two spokes in the center, adding in a dark area between the edges and the center spokes, and the addition of lines between the outer segments. An earlier version of this symbol was used during the Clone Wars. The symbol has also been used in various factions of the Empire after its collapse, including the Restored Empire (which was colored crimson, and had the spokes separated from the center circle, the latter of which also had an additional circle within the center), Ante-Endor Association (which had a graphic resembling a Torpedo Sphere attached to the logo), the Dark Side Elite (Colored cyan and black, and had the spokes enlarged), and also the Fel Empire, and by extension, the Empire-in-exile and Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire (which was overall similar to the original, although the colors were inverted).

The Empire also had various banners dedicated to it. One banner, which was in use by the time of the Battle of Yavin, was primarily dark gray in color with a black quarter circle for each corner, two white lines and a black line between the two lines running down the center of the banner, and had the Imperial crest in the center. These were prominently displayed during meetings within the Imperial military. The banners also at times appear to be dark blue due to the lighting. Another banner, implied to be exclusive to the Emperor's Royal Guard, was primarily black with red linings, with the Imperial crest in the center, colored red as well. This banner could be found at the Emperor's Retreat on Naboo.

The Empire also utilized three colors: Republic Red, Sith Black, and gray/Star Destroyer White. They represented it ostensibly adhering to republican traditions, victory/sense of dread, and might, respectively.

Government and politics[]





Rulers of the Empire[]


For his part, Palpatine showed little real interest in the matter of who would succeed him. In fact, he apparently intended from the start to live and reign forever, even developing his own Sith doctrine to replace Bane's Rule of Two,[23] although he did have the Dark Empire at least run on autopilot in the event that he ended up killed temporarily.[5] However, his final death permanently put an end to his plans.

Unsuccessful claimants[]


Executive branch[]


―Imperial High Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne.[src]






Legislative branch[]



Judicial branch[]


Other Imperial organizations[]




"The Emperor seldom had only one of anything produced."
Qwi Xux[src]



The Empire also dedicated its vast economic resources and quintillions of credits to expand the Imperial Military and to fund new scientific developments in a wide variety of fields.[49] This military buildup would eventually result in the Imperial Navy fielding millions of starships, the Imperial Army being comprised of tens of trillions of soldiers, and the creation of a vast force of stormtroopers.[50]



Society and culture[]



The Galactic Empire formally outlawed slavery throughout the galaxy when it was formed. However, at the same time, it was legalized under limited circumstances via Imperial Decree A-SL-4557.607.232, which mandated enslavement as a judicial punishment for "crimes against the civil order".[51][5] As a result, many critics of the Empire were subject to enslavement for several weapon projects, including the creation of the Death Star superweapons. In addition, any enemies of the Empire that had been defeated, particularly the females and children, were often sent to Orvax IV to be processed into the slave market, especially if they served no purpose to the Empire otherwise. Palpatine himself, however, inferred that the slavery practiced by the Empire was different from the slavery used for his apprentice, Darth Vader, namely it was a way for the defeated prisoners to pay for their crimes.[52]

Arts and media[]








Any other religion, as long as it did not directly interfere with Imperial rule, was permitted to be practiced. It is said that millions of religions existed within the Galactic Empire. On a similar note, Tarkin implied in his log that Palpatine was barely tolerant of people who openly deny the existence of the Force.[53]








While the Empire was unquestionably xenophobic, there is little to suggest that the Emperor himself was. The Sith Order was in no way xenophobic, with much of its foundations in the humanoid race of Sith, and many of the greatest Sith Lords were either alien or half-breed, with Sidious' own Sith Master, Darth Plagueis, being a Muun, and his first Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, being a Dathomirian[55] Zabrak[56]. In fact, it is believed that the privy councilors and advisors that filled Palpatine's court and ran the Empire on a day-to-day basis were the xenophobes, and applied Human High Culture on their own accord. In addition, Palpatine denied the accusations of his being intolerant of species indifferences, citing that the Empire's Human population being the majority as simply being the result of circumstance.[57] He also denied being xenophobic in his entry to the Book of Sith.[23] Numerous high-ranking Imperial bureaucrats and military personnel such as Lord Crueya Vandron, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Grand Admiral Ishin-Il-Raz, Grand Admiral Danetta Pitta, and many others were known for their Humanocentric attitude. The most prominent Imperial xenophobe was Grand Vizier Sate Pestage who considered all Non-HuMans to be nothing more than worthless "animal waste". It seems likely, given the presence of Prince Xizor of the Black Sun, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and other notable aliens in the Imperial Court that Palpatine simply used xenophobia to cull loyalty from his fellow Humans, while using everyone else, regardless of species, in general. Indeed, many of the Emperor's loyal Dark Side Adepts, like Hethrir, Ja'ce Yiaso and Gwellib Ap-Llewff, were not Human. Likewise, Leia when recounting the Liberation of Coruscant and the Rebel partisans' lynching of various staff within the Imperial Palace implied that at least some of the minor servants working in the palace at the time were alien species themselves.[58] In addition, while the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide did explicitly view aliens as being primitive, it also made clear that they should not ignore them as a safeguard against being forced to put down unexpected alien uprisings, and also implied that they would need obedient alien populations for the Imperial Engineering Corps as laborers.[22]


Personnel and vehicles of the Imperial Military

"The scale of the Imperial war machine is unprecedented. Never before in the history of the galaxy has such a fighting force been assembled. Never in such numbers, never with so much variety, and never on so many worlds. There is little in the galaxy that is not under the Empire's control, and it is but a trivial act for the Empire to annex a new world when the Emperor wills it."
Admiral Wullf Yularen, Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide[src]

The Imperial Military was the primary armed forces of the Galactic Empire. Consisting of predominantly the Imperial Army, Imperial Navy, and the Stormtrooper Corps, they were respectively tasked with enforcing order, ending rebellious worlds, carrying out military operations, and maintaining galactic-wide peace. The Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) was a law enforcement and internal intelligence organization that often held a tight presence in the Imperial Military, keeping an eye out for any signs of treasonous acts. Imperial Intelligence (I.I.) was an agency dedicated to collecting data and military intelligence. It comprised of several divisions, and provided military intelligence to Imperial commanders.

Infamous symbols of the Imperial Military like the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, All Terrain Armored Transport, and TIE/LN starfighter show the valued principles of military dominance over the galaxy. Stormtroopers, elite, white-armored shock troops served as the common Imperial soldier. During the Imperial Period, many stormtroopers were former clone troopers who fought in the Clone Wars. Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn would later use clone stormtroopers in his army, adding vast numbers to the depleting Empire after the failure at Endor.

Science and technology[]


"The Empire's weapons research division manages numerous top-secret projects that have resulted in astounding new warships, armaments, and battle stations."

The Death Stars were the greatest technological weapons ever constructed by the Galactic Empire.

Numerous superweapons were constructed by the Galactic Empire, like the Superlaser Star Destroyer, a modified capital ship that had an attached superlaser array on it; the Omega Frost, a weapon that uses two conductor towers that projects an energy field across thousands of kilometers, which instantly freeze anything in its path; World Devastator, battlewagons that use powerful tractor beams to tear apart entire worlds, allowing the internal factories to produce war material; Metal-Crystal Phase Shifter, a device that projects an energy field that weakens the molecular bonds of it's target; the Torpedo Sphere, an orbital siege platform that bombards entire planets with volleys of proton torpedoes; Visual electromagnetic intensifier, a network of satellites that emit amplified electro-magnetic radiation, causing increased temperatures, catastrophic flooding, droughts, and firestorms; Orbital nightcloak, a deployment of satellites that intercept electro-magnetic radiation, causing decreased temperature, catastrophic ice buildup, mass agricultural die-off, and planetary famine;[22] the Two-wave gravshock, which manipulated gravity on a planet scale, causing earthquakes; the Hyperspace pulsemass generator, which created tiny spheres of hyperenergy and scattered it across realspace, this would destroy the deflector shields of a starship traveling near that vector.[59] The Eye of Palpatine was a asteroid based dreadnought and battlemoon that acted as a mobile weapons platform, it could bypassed through star systems undetected or enemy starships. It held enough firepower that eclipsed the Torpedo Sphere.[60] The gravitic polarization beam was a molecular weapon that disrupted matter at an atomic level, causing anything to be torn apart.[61] Baradium fission devices were nuclear bombs that were capable of destroying entire planets, the Empire had at least several of these bombs.[62] The Ionic Ring was a starship designed by Professor Renn Volz. It was originally designed to alter the destructive storms of certain planets and change them into "paradises", however, the Empire instead used the ship to destroy planets harboring rebel cells.[63] Worldcraft, were mobile artificial planetoids that could be adapted into a battlestation or a repair station for Imperial battlegroups.[64] They were also used as "gifts" to loyal officials, with the Emperor giving a worldcraft to Procurator of Justice Lord Hethrir.[65] Two more were suppose to be given to Grand Moff Ardus Kaine and Admiral Ennix Devian. However, after Endor, Devain stole both of them that were in construction above orbit in Coruscant.[64]

The Tarkin was a superlaser testbed for the Eclipse-class dreadnoughts and Sovereign-class Super Star Destroyers. At least two Eclipse-classes were in construction, the Eclipse was being constructed at Kuat Drive Yards, while the Eclipse II was undergoing construction at Byss, a fortress world located in the Deep Core.[6] None of Sovereign-class ships never finished their final construction stages, by Emperor Palpatine envisioned a fleet of over fifteen thousand Sovereign-classes.[66] The Galaxy Gun, designed by Master of Imperial Projects Umak Leth, fired particle disintegrator warheads that could wipe out entire star systems, even planets.[67] Composite Beam Superlaser[68] fired proton beams that could destroy a planet's core. It was also a prototype weapon for the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, before being developed into the Concave Dish Composite Beam Superlaser, the primary weapon for the Death Stars. Other proposed weapons for the Death Star included: the Interplanetary Ion Cannon, which targeted planets at interstellar ranges, and fired its ion beams that could vaporize a terrestrial planet's atmosphere; or the Resonance Torpedo Launcher, which fired resonance torpedoes, plasma warheads that ignited a star's core.[68] A prototype variant of the Death Star was secretly constructed in at the Maw Installation, a superweapons research facility. Also at the Maw, the Sun Crusher, a weapon that fired resonance torpedoes in a star or nova, was constructed.[69] After the destruction of the first Death Star, a second Death Star was constructed at Endor, under supervision of Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod.[70]

Trooper research[]

General Rom Mohc's Dark Trooper Project was an attempt to create advanced battle droids for the Imperial Military. The earliest known units made by the program where the Phase Zero dark trooper, and the Purge trooper. After Yavin, Mohc gained the approval to push forward the project. Using the Arc Hammer, a factory ship, Mohc manufactured various models, like Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III. However, rebel agent Kyle Katarn infiltrated the Arc Hammer, and destroyed the ship, while killing Mohc in the process. After this event, the Emperor shutdown the project. However, Imperial governors were able to keep various different models in their planetary garrisons.[71]

Project Phlutdroid oversaw the creation of the IG-series assassin droids, a powerful combat/assassin droid. But, the project resulted in a massacre of the Holowan scientists. As a result, the Empire had bounties placed on the rogue assassin droids.[72]

Darth Vader oversaw a experimental programs that created new trooper variations of the stormtrooper, which was at Timara City, located on Kamino. The Terror Trooper were created as cyborg experiments that specialized in direct combat with sharpened, durasteel talons on their hands and feet. The cybernetic limbs gave them enhanced strength, speed, and agility. Other variants included Terror Droids, Terror Biodroids, and Terror Walkers. Other projects on Kamino included the Saber Program, which oversaw the training of the Imperial Saber Guard, or the Acolyte Program, which oversaw the Imperial Sith Acolytes.[73] Other Imperial attempts to create Force-using soldiers included: in 11 ABY, when the Dark Empire created "dark troopers", an elite group of stormtroopers infused with the Force.[74] Or in 12 ABY, an Imperial splinter faction known as "Empire Reborn" experimented with artusian crystals, which were powered by the Force. Admiral Galak Fyyar infused these crystals to create a stormtrooper-Dark Jedi hybrids called "shadowtroopers".[75]

Moff Jesco Comark believed that the Empire couldn't rely on bounty hunters for its 'dirty work'. Thus, Comark began Operation Death-Hunter, a program designed to create skilled hunters. The project ended when Comark's base was destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.[76]

Starfighter research[]

Starfighter development projects weren't uncommon in the Empire, examples of these include: Director Lenzer's TIE Experimental Project which oversaw innovative, new remote-piloted starfighters based upon TIE technology. Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin was the creator of the TIE/ad starfighter and TIE/D Defender, respectively. Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo engineered the Missile Boat, a hybrid of a scout fighter, long-range bomber, and a space superiority starfighter.[77]

Cloaking technology[]

Imperial engineers were successful in experimenting with cloaking technology, and they notably used it in special projects. Like when Grand Admiral Martio Batch created the TIE/ph phantom, a TIE line starfighter equipped with a cloaking device. Emperor Palpatine had a protoype dreadnought equipped with a cloaking device undergoing at Fondor shipyards, it was destroyed by Rogue Squadron[78]. The Executor-class Star Dreadnought Terror was modified with cloaking technology, under Grand Admiral Batch's orders.[79] Cloaking technology proved useful when Grand Admiral Thrawn returned to take command of the Empire. Thrawn was able to fine a fully-working cloaking device on Wayland, located in Mount Tantiss.[4] Thrawn was able equipped several of his ships with the technology, while also creating new tactical strategies in taking on the New Republic. One tactic he did was when he captured Ukio, Thrawn had cloaked cruisers slip past the planetary shield, when the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Chimaera opened fired on the shield, the cloaked cruisers would open fire on the planet as well, this tricked the natives into believing the Empire developed a new superweapon, however, it was just a ruse to fool them. Another example was when Thrawn had twenty two asteroids installed with cloaking technology deployed in orbit over Coruscant, in return, it made it appear that there was over three hundred asteroids in orbit, which forced the New Republic to keep their planetary shield up.[80] In 19 ABY, the innovation for cloaking technology resulted in the Imperial Remnant installing the Computerized Combat Predictor aboard the Chimaera under Admiral Gilad Pellaeon's supervision. It analyzed the data of starfighter movements, predicting the attack vector course, and how to handle the situation.[81]


Various biological agents were created, and deployed by the Empire. The early known use was in 19 ABY, when the Emperor authorized the deployment of FG36 nanovirus on Gibad for resisting Imperial authority. The origins of FG36 link back Separatist Doctor Ovolot Qail Uthan, she created it specifically to target the Clone DNA. However, her plot was foiled by Omega Squad, who later gave several samples of the nanovirus to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.[82]

In 7 BBY, Darth Vader ordered an orbital bombardment on Falleen after flesh-eating bacteria broke out from an Imperial research outpost. An estimated two hundred thousand Falleen perished.[83]

General Evir Derricote developed the Emperor's Plague, a deadly virus that the Emperor himself feared, he would later keep it in a asteroid storehouse located in the Deep Core. Derricote would later develop the Krytos virus underneath the orders of Director Ysanne Isard who unleashed the virus in an effort to cripple the New Republic.[84]

Crix Madine's storm commandos deployed the Candorian plague on the rebellious world of Dentaal. This event would later see the defection of Crix Madine to the Alliance to Restore the Republic.[85]

Imperial research also employed weaponized gases, notably the cryseefa gas was an acidic poison that proved to be lethal to oxygen-using species and corrosive.[86]

Project Starscream oversaw the attempts to create super-soldiers by reanimating the dead. Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine personally oversaw the project. Doctor Cornelius Evazan was hired by the Empire, with his expertise lying in reanimation.[87]

Imperial bioweapons Project I71A code named "Project Blackwing" was a infectious viral agent being developed on the Imperial Star Destroyer Vector.[88]

In 11 ABY, Imperial scientists at Carida successfully created nano-destroyers, artificial viruses keyed to a target's genetic makeup that were not only incurable but also completely undetectable by conventional medical means.[69]

Decades later, the Imperial Remnant began experimenting with nanoviruses. They made one to specifically target Boba Fett, preventing him from returning to Mandalore.[89]


Imperial Advisor Ars Dangor.[src]

The Galactic Empire's territory at its peak consisted of some one and a half million member and conquered worlds, as well as sixty-nine million colonies, protectorates and puppet states spread throughout the entire galaxy, stretching from the borders of the Deep Core to at least Wild Space.[5] Emperor Palpatine sent Grand Admiral Thrawn on a mission to bring the rule of the Empire to the Unknown Regions. The Grand Admiral set up a command post at a fortress on Nirauan and from there brought the rule of the Empire to the uncharted regions of the galaxy, creating the Empire of the Hand. Grand Moff Tarkin right before destroying Alderaan also implied that the Empire spanned over millions of worlds during that time.[90] Although not directly under the Empire's control, they also had access to at least five of the seven satellite galaxies via Intergalactic Passports.[91]






Behind the scenes[]


This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.

Please help Wookieepedia by adding references.



According to George Lucas, the empire from Star Wars was largely based on the Galactic Empire in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, although Asimov's empire was depicted as a benign, if collapsing government. In addition, Coruscant was based on the planet Trantor, the capital of Asimov's empire. The Galactic Empire has been also influenced by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany[92]; for example, the Imperial stormtroopers share a similar name to the German stormtroopers, and red, black and white, the most recognized colors of the Empire, are also the colors of the Nazi Blutfahne. Palpatine's promise of an Empire that would last for ten thousand years, and the Empire falling far short of that goal, also echoes Adolf Hitler's promise of a "Thousand Year Reich". The Moffs/Grand Moffs were also mentioned to be regional governors, with Tarkin mentioning that would have direct control over the sectors once the Imperial Senate was dissolved at one point in A New Hope, which mirrored that of the gauleiters, which were Hitler-appointed regional governors who had direct control of various segments of Nazi Germany.

The Galactic Republic's transformation into the Empire is perhaps modeled after the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire; the Roman Republic was transformed because of war, infighting, and two of its leaders, Julius and Augustus Caesar. Other reasons for the transition were based on the transformation of the First French Republic into the French Empire by Napoleon (after a coup), and the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich. Lucas, during the 2005 Cannes film festival, implied that the similarities between these historical elements, and to a lesser extent America's fighting in the 2003 Iraq war, were deliberate as part of Lucas' philosophy that democracies tend to be turned into dictatorships at the people's willing support, a philosophy that he implied had stemmed from American involvement in the Vietnam War.[93][94] Portions of the Empires' philosophy, such as the anti-Jedism policies/anti-Force belief policies, among other things, were also similar to Nazi Germany's Nuremberg Laws.


Lucas himself was quoted in an interview conducted in 2005 on Skywalker Ranch that: "It was really about the Vietnam War, and that was the period where Nixon was trying to run for a [second] term, which got me to thinking historically about how do democracies get turned into dictatorships? Because the democracies aren't overthrown; they're given away". He further opined in the interview that "no matter who you look at in history, the story is always the same, that's what's eerie. It was a little eerie that things have developed the way they have."[97] He also had envisioned the Empire as being based on Vietnam War-era America (and by extension, the Rebel Alliance being based on the Viet Cong) as early as when he penned the storyline back in 1973, in part due to Star Wars itself being a continuation of a thematic trilogy decrying American involvement in Vietnam, claiming that his intended story draft when pitching it that the story was about "a technological empire going after a small band of freedom fighters", which had stemmed from his role in the development of the film Apocalypse Now earlier.[98][99][100][101][102][96] In an interview for TIME magazine regarding the then-upcoming Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones regarding the connection of the Empire and the Republic, Lucas also implied that, besides Nixon, another influence on the Empire had been the Kennedy family.[103]


I find your lack of faith disturbing.png

I find your lack of sources disturbing.


Non-canon appearances[]


Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  2. Star Wars Encyclopedia
  3. X-Wing: Rogue Squadron
  4. 4.0 4.1 Heir to the Empire
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Essential Guide to Warfare
  8. Dark Times 1
  9. 9.0 9.1 The Essential Guide to Warfare
  10. SWInsider.png "The Guns of Kelrodo-Ai"—Star Wars Insider 132
  11. Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 The New Essential Chronology
  13. Crimson Empire 6
  14. Star Wars Handbook 2: Crimson Empire (under "The Imperial Interim Ruling Council")
  15. Star Wars Handbook 2: Crimson Empire (under "Nom Anor")
  16. The New Essential Guide to Characters (under "Nom Anor")
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 1
  18. Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 5
  19. 19.0 19.1 Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood 6
  20. Legacy—War 6
  21. Legacy (2013) 18
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
  23. 23.0 23.1 Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
  24. The New Essential Chronology, p. 84
  25. The New Essential Chronology, p. 126
  26. The New Essential Chronology, p. 132
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron Volume 3
  28. X-Wing Rogue Squadron 34
  29. X-Wing Rogue Squadron 35
  30. The New Essential Chronology, p. 134
  31. The New Essential Chronology, p. 139
  32. The New Essential Chronology, p. 141
  33. The Essential Guide to Warfare, p. 192
  34. 34.0 34.1 The New Essential Chronology, p. 148
  36. 36.0 36.1 The New Essential Chronology, p. 153
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 The New Essential Chronology, p. 155
  38. Star Wars Handbook 2: Crimson Empire (under "Burr Nolyds")
  39. Attempted to replace Palpatine with a military coup in 19 BBY
  40. Attempted to replace Palpatine with a coup in 1 BBY
  41. Attempted to replace Palpatine in a coup in 3 ABY
  43. In 7 ABY
  44. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  45. Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241
  46. The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide
  47. 47.0 47.1 Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook
  48. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
  49. Dark Empire Sourcebook
  50. Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
  51. Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim
  52. Dark Times 2
  53. Death Star Technical Companion
  54. Star Wars (1977) 56
  55. StarWars.com Encyclopedia Darth Maul in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
  56. Darth Plagueis
  57. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
  58. Children of the Jedi
  59. Imperial Sourcebook
  60. Children of the Jedi
  61. Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Phantom Affair
  62. Millennium Falcon (novel)
  63. The Second Kessel Run
  64. 64.0 64.1 StarWars.com The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
  65. The Crystal Star
  66. Dark Empire Sourcebook
  67. Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire
  68. 68.0 68.1 Death Star Designer
  69. 69.0 69.1 Champions of the Force
  70. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  71. Star Wars: Dark Forces
  72. Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
  73. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
  74. Dark Empire II 3
  75. Star Wars: Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
  76. Death-Hunter
  77. Star Wars: TIE Fighter
  78. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
  79. Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire
  80. The Last Command
  81. Specter of the Past
  82. Imperial Commando: 501st
  83. The Lesser Evil
  84. X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble
  85. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
  86. Allegiance (novel)
  87. Galaxy of Fear: Planet Plague
  88. Death Troopers
  89. Crucible (novel)
  90. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization
  91. Intergalactic Passport
  92. Star Wars: The Magic of Myth
  93. Revenge of the Sith invites Bush Comparisons, page 2. CBSNews.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. "Lucas said he patterned his story after historical transformations from freedom to fascism, never figuring when he started his prequel trilogy in the late 1990s that current events might parallel his space fantasy. "As you go through history, I didn't think it was going to get quite this close. So it's just one of those recurring things," Lucas said at a Cannes news conference. "I hope this doesn't come true in our country." […] "Maybe the film will waken people to the situation," Lucas joked. […] "When I wrote it, [the 2003 Iraq war] didn't exist," Lucas said, laughing. "We were just funding Saddam Hussein and giving him weapons of mass destruction. We didn't think of him as an enemy at that time. We were going after Iran and using him as our surrogate, just as we were doing in Vietnam. […] The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." The prequel trilogy is based on a back-story outline Lucas created in the mid-1970s for the original three "Star Wars" movies, so the themes percolated out of the Vietnam War and the Nixon-Watergate era, he said. Lucas began researching how democracies can turn into dictatorships with full consent of the electorate.In ancient Rome, "why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew?" Lucas said. "Why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler. "You sort of see these recurring themes where a democracy turns itself into a dictatorship, and it always seems to happen kind of in the same way, with the same kinds of issues, and threats from the outside, needing more control. A democratic body, a senate, not being able to function properly because everybody's squabbling, there's corruption.""
  94. Lucas: 'Star Wars' isn't Iraq wars. USATODAY.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021.
  96. 96.0 96.1 The Making of Star Wars, pages 7-8; 17
    "I started to work on Star Wars rather than continue on Apocalypse Now. I had worked on Apocalypse Now for about four years and I had very strong feelings about it. I wanted to do it, but could not get it off the ground... A lot of my interest in Apocalypse Now was carried over into Star Wars. I figured I couldn't make that film because it was about the Vietnam War, so I would essentially deal with some of the same interesting concepts that I was going to use and convert them into space fantasy, so you'd have essentially a large technological empire going after a small group of freedom fighters or human beings [...] a small independent country like North Vietnam threatened by a neighbor or provincial rebellion, instigated by gangsters aided by empire. [...] The Empire is like America ten years from now, after Nixonian gangsters assassinated the Emperor and were elevated to power in a rigged election; created civil disorder by instigating race riots aiding rebel groups and allowing the crime rate to rise to the point where a 'total control' police state was welcomed by the people. Then the people were exploited with high taxes, utility and transport costs. Gangsters, a cartel made up of power companies, transport companies & crime organizations. Other companies had to pay bribes to stay in business.
    They increased the crime rate by slowing down the system of justice and punishment."
  97. 'Star Wars' inadvertently hits too close to U.S.'s role. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020.
  100. 'Star Wars' is a Metaphor for the Vietcong Kicking American Ass in the Vietnam War? (2015-12-16). yomyomf.com. Yomyomf. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016.
  103. Dark Victory. Time Magazine. Archived from the original on April 23, 2002. "I'm more on the liberal side of things," [George Lucas] says. "I grew up in San Francisco in the '60s, and my positions are sort of shaped by that … If you look back 30 years ago, there were certain issues with the Kennedys, with Richard Nixon, that focused my interest." Lucas' own geopolitics can sound pretty bleak: "All democracies turn into dictatorships—but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea … What kinds of things push people and institutions into this direction?"

External links[]