Star Wars Empire At War Gog
Socorro Henson
The Galactic Empire, also known as the First Galactic Empire and simply as the Empire and later as the Old Empire, was the dictatorship that replaced the Galactic Republic at the end of the Clone Wars. Though the Empire rose to power by promising to bring order to the galaxy, it oversaw a period of harsh military rule and aggressive expansion. The subsequent Imperial Era would last only two decades, for it was eventually overthrown by the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the Galactic Civil War, but not before the sovereign star systems of the galaxy had been largely conquered and oppressed by the Empire's forces.
The First Galactic Empire traced its origins to a Sith conspiracy to destroy the Jedi Order and regain control over the galaxy. The Empire was secretly controlled by the Sith, for the Galactic Emperor was, in fact, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, whose reign was enforced by his apprentice, Darth Vader, who acted as Commander-in-Chief. Rising to power on a groundswell of populist support, and capitalizing on anti-Jedi and anti-droid sentiment and human-ethnocentrism manufactured by the destructive Clone Wars, Darth Sidious appointed himself Emperor at the end of the conflict by promising security and stability to the war-torn Republic. Gaining the overwhelming approval of the Galactic Senate, Darth Sidious staged a coup by the Jedi, and oversaw their subsequent purge from the galaxy, assisted by his right-hand, Darth Vader.
The Empire stood virtually unchallenged during its rise to power, with the backing of the Imperial Senate and the spreading of its massive technological military force across the galaxy and began a major expansion and encroaching into the unexplored regions. At first, the Galactic Empire was a constitutional monarchy in basic theory, however it gradually evolved into a stratocracy as the power of the Imperial Senate waned. However, numerous insurgent cells sprang up against the Empire and gradually united to initiate a growing rebellion, winning its first major victory over Mustafar in 4 BBY. These rebel groups eventually formed the Rebel Alliance in 2 BBY, and achieved its first major victory with the theft of the Death Star plans on Scarif, which, in turn, led to the destruction of the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. The following years saw initial Alliance successes until a major Imperial victory on Hoth in 3 ABY, but the Empire suffered a devastating defeat one year later at the Battle of Endor. During the battle, Darth Sidious was slain at the hands of his former disciple, the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, who himself died shortly thereafter, marking the end of Sith rule and the deterioration of the Empire and the resumption of the Galactic Republic, the New Republic.
With the deaths of the Emperor and his top lieutenant, factionalism overcame the Empire as it fractured into breakaway fiefdoms led by splinter Moffs, admirals, and generals, many of whom ignored Grand Vizier Mas Amedda's authority at the capital and became warlords as the Empire continued to fight the Republic. The Imperial Navy came to be publicly led by loyalist Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, though she was a figurehead for Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax. Ultimately, Rax seized control over the loyalist forces, removing Sloane from power and becoming Emperor-in-effect through his new position as Counselor to the Empire. Under Rax's command, the Empire made its final stand at the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, ultimately losing to the New Republic and capitulating to it with the signing of the Galactic Concordance. The New Republic then formally replaced the Galactic Empire as the galactic government.
In the years after, several Imperial holdouts continued to resist the New Republic, while the First Order derived legitimacy by claiming Imperial legacy, and that began a clandestine armament program. They were unaware, however, that they had been manipulated by a new hidden conspiracy, for secret cultists on the lost world of Exegol attended to the spirit of Darth Sidious, and constructed a fleet built to herald a new Sith Empire. The cult efforts ultimately failed, however, for they were opposed by the Resistance and Jedi Order, leading to an end of the First Order.
The Imperial ideals of the Galactic Empire could be dated back to the Sith Empire of the Old Republic's time period.[23] Following the defeat of the Sith during their final war with the Jedi Order,[5] for at least a thousand years, the dominant governing body of the galaxy was the unicameral, parliamentary, and democratic Galactic Republic, which was governed by the Galactic Senate and led by an elected Supreme Chancellor.[22][24]
In the last decades of its existence, the Republic Senate became embroiled in bureaucracy, rendering it woefully ineffectual as a governing body. Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith known publicly as Senator Sheev Palpatine of Naboo, privately lamented the declining state of the Senate, noting that the Republic was "not what it once was."[24][25]
In the decade that followed, Sidious secretly manipulated galactic events to the extent that war became inevitable. Besides persuading a dead Jedi Master, Sifo-Dyas, to create a secret clone army, he also tasked his Sith apprentice, Darth Tyranus, with exacerbating political tensions in the Republic and engineering a Separatist Crisis. These actions would culminate in the outbreak of the Clone Wars held on Geonosis, the last conflict of the Republic, while Sidious himself "reluctantly" accepted emergency powers from the Senate.[22][3] The Clone Wars, Sidious planned, would further make people in the galaxy grow bitter with the Republic[26] while he centralized his power to sweep away the Republic and Jedi.[3]
Since the onset of the Clone Wars[6] in 22 BBY,[27] the Republic endeavored to strengthen its security and stability through the creation of new organizations such as the Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR), which utilized propaganda to increase public morale, promote patriotism, and foster anti-Separatist sentiment within the general population.[6] As the Republic became increasingly centralized, however, Chancellor Palpatine's powers continued to grow through additional assets ceded to the Office of the Chancellor, including the galactic banking system that was placed under his direct oversight.[28] This gave Sidious the finance he needed to build his empire.[29]
The Chancellor remained a popular leader for the duration of the war, having managed to stay in office at the will of the Senate for longer than his term permitted. As he consolidated and centralized his own power, his influence expanded to an unprecedented level while the Republic shifted from a democratic government to an increasingly militarized and authoritarian regime on the grounds of security and stability. In addition to his authority as Commander-in-Chief of the Republic Military, the Chancellor exerted more control over the Senate, the courts,[3] and even the media, with HoloNet News becoming a state-run program in order to ensure that information would not be compromised by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.[30] Sidious' hold over the Republic further expanded with additional amendments to the Galactic Constitution[3] while public support for the Jedi weakened as the war carried on,[31] paving the way for his ultimate ascension as Emperor of the galaxy.[3]
As the war neared its end[3] in 19 BBY,[27] the Jedi Order had grown skeptical about the Chancellor after his accumulation of emergency power. They began to suspect that a plot to destroy the Jedi was close to fruition. The ruling council started discussing forcibly removing Palpatine from office and temporarily overseeing the Senate in order to maintain political stability during the transition period. However, the Jedi learned of Palpatine's true identity as Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Following an attempt to arrest him, a brief but vicious fight ensued in which Sidious killed several Jedi and was himself injured and visibly disfigured. The intercession of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who was a personal friend of Chancellor Palpatine and already disillusioned with both the Order and the war, ensured Sidious' victory. The prodigal Jedi was turned to the dark side of the Force, while Sidious had a pretext upon which to turn the Republic against the Jedi.[3]
Despite their Order being wiped out, certain Jedi survived the initial purge. Many of them went into hiding after Grand Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi fought their way into the Temple and transmitted a holographic message warning the other Jedi about the Republic trap waiting for them there, right before the two Masters failed to destroy the Sith and headed into exile themselves.[3] Some of them, however, were initially hunted down and either killed, taken prisoner or turned to the dark side as part of an agency of dark side adepts known as the Inquisitorius.[34]
Existing government bodies were renamed to reflect the change in authority as civil and military superstructure of the Old Republic were overhauled immediately under the personal direction of the Emperor. With vast portions of the galaxy still unconquered, the Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army,[36][6] while the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy and the Galactic Senate was rechristened the Imperial Senate.[2] The renowned Senate Plaza, with its name reminding residents of the Old Republic, was promptly changed to the Imperial Plaza, while an enormous statue of the Emperor was erected there.[6] Ultimately, the mechanisms created for the Republic during the war were twisted to fit Sidious' use, with even the systems built with help from the Jedi benefiting the new Emperor.[37]
Happy for the peace and the end to the fighting the rise of the Empire brought[40] after the Clone Wars had killed billions,[41] the new government was welcomed by people[40] all throughout a galaxy[41] that was tired of the bloodshed; on the planet Pantora, citizens cheered as clone stormtroopers marched past them near a Imperial Informational Station, where a message played announcing personal chain codes and new currency.[40]
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