Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
In the fictional
Star Wars universe, the
Galactic Empire was the regime established by then
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to replace the
Galactic Republic. It consisted of over one million member worlds and fifty million colonies, protectorates and governorships.
Promoted as a "
New Order" to replace the inefficiencies and injustices of the old Galactic Republic, the Empire rapidly became a
totalitarian regime, and was overthrown after a 23-year struggle with the
Rebel Alliance.
The Galactic Empire was born out of the old
Galactic Republic. However, the seeds of change were planted during the
Clone Wars, the epic war between the Republic and the
Confederacy of Independent Systems.
When the extent of the Separatist threat became clear, the
Old Republic Senate, the
legislature of the Republic, granted Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the Separatist threat. This conflict allowed Palpatine to remain in office well past the limits set forth by the Galactic Constitution. The newly titled Supreme Chancellor Palpatine promised to step down and return his powers to the Senate once peace was restored to the galaxy.
Palpatine took advantage of the conflict to greatly increase the Chancellor's power. The
Jedi began to distrust the Chancellor's motives, fearing he had come under the influence of the dreaded
Sith. However, Palpatine was, in fact, the
Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and had been playing the Republic and the Separatists against each other.
As the war dragged on, the Chancellor's power continued to grow until he became somehow a
dictator. When it became clear that Palpatine was a Sith Lord, the Jedi tried and failed to arrest him. He used this event as enough evidence to execute
Order 66, commanding all
clone troopers to turn on their Jedi commanders. In an emergency Senate session, Palpatine declared the Jedi traitors and enemies of the Republic. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine issued the
Declaration of a New Order and declared himself Emperor almost nineteen years before the
Battle of Yavin.
"...The Republic will be reorganized into the first GALACTIC EMPIRE, for a safe and secure society!" - Palpatine, after telling the Senate of the Jedi plot to take over the Republic and the Senate.
"So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." -
Padmé Amidala to
Bail Organa after Palpatine's Speech.
Palpatine's Empire promised to trade frailty for strength, chaos for order, and uncertainty for decisiveness. The citizens of the newly formed government enthusiastically supported the vision outlined in the Declaration. Most of the Senate supported him as well, though several more cautious senators chose to watch to see how he would handle the affairs of state while only a few conscientious ones like
Padmé Amidala and
Bail Organa realized the disastrous event that had just occurred (the two were among the main founders of a rebel group that would later, after merging with a number of other groups, be renamed the
Rebel Alliance). The transition from Republic to Empire was relatively smooth; in retrospect, the foundation of the Empire had already been set down during Palpatine's chancellorship. In the latter stages of the Clone Wars, he had already appointed regional governors over the various worlds of the Republic.
Led by
Darth Vader, the Emperor's army of Clone troopers (now Stormtroopers) and other organizations of Sith/
Dark Jedi agents all but
exterminated the Jedi Order, seemingly eliminating the last threat to his power. During the first years of the Empire,
Coruscant was renamed Imperial Center and the galaxy saw the single largest military buildup in history. Initially, popular support for the policies of Palpatine's administration was high.
Emperor Palpatine ruled the Empire with absolute power, with third-in-command
Sate Pestage as Grand Vizier (the
Head of Government, who was running the Empire day to day by the Battle of Endor).
Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, was the Emperor's second-in-command as well as the Military Executor and Supreme Commander of the
Imperial Forces. Two of Palpatine's top advisors were Janus Greejatus and Sim Aloo, who accompanied Palpatine on the second
Death Star. The leadership of the Empire was called the
Imperial Inner Circle, led by Palpatine.
|
The colossal Super-class Star Destroyer Executor served as Darth Vader's flagship |
The Senate existed for 19 years after the Empire's establishment as the
Imperial Senate, but was little more than an advisory council. Palpatine dissolved it shortly before the
Battle of Yavin. Officially the Imperial Senate was "suspended for the duration of the Galactic emergency" (meaning the rebellion), but this euphemism fooled nobody, everyone knew that the Imperial Senate would never meet again. Below the Emperor, real power was in the hands of
Sector Moffs such as
Tarkin, and other regional governors. A
Council of Moffs was established to govern individual sectors and regions of the Empire more efficiently.
The Empire was at least far more efficient than the Republic. Much power was sent into the hands of the regional moffs and governors, in contrast to the Republic's structure, which had no intermediary between low-level planetary affairs and those of the Senate.This power was backed up by the use of
state terrorism which threatened any defiance to the government with military retaliation. The basis was the "
Tarkin Doctrine," which theorized that it was more efficient to use massive displays of force than to spend the large amounts of money thought necessary to rein in opposition to Palpatine's will. The instrument of this power was the military, which included the
Imperial Stormtroopers; a large fleet of intimidating war vehicles such as the
Imperial Navy's Star Destroyers and the
Imperial Army's (AT-ATs or imperial walkers) which were intended in part to spread fear as well as destroy the enemy. This policy reached its zenith with the construction of the planet-destroying
Death Star.
There seems to be a deeper reason elaborate titles and hierarchies were such a common feature of Palpatine's Empire — however high and however much a man might serve the Empire, they always had something to aspire to: a soldier might aspire to be selected to be a storm trooper, and storm troopers could strive for entry into the various specialized special forces; special forces operatives could hope to one day enter the Royal Guard; even Royal Guardsmen could advance further, by impressing the Emperor and being promoted to Sovereign Protectors, or by triumphing against fellow Guardsmen in "brutal two-man duels, fought for the Emperor [and the Court]'s decree." Officers in the
Imperial Starfleet had Grand Admirals to look up to, and civil servants Grand Moffs. These goals, impossibly out of reach for nearly all, served to spur competition, harden and strengthen the competitors, distract them from the system they were competing in (thus propping up) and its leader. Indeed, there are distinct resemblances between how the Emperor cultivated Force-sensitives and how
Lord Kaan managed his Sith forces.
In the
Expanded Universe, the
Imperial Interim Ruling Council was formed following the Emperor's death to organize and maintain the Galactic Empire from final collapse. However, its foundation was destroyed by infighting and warlordism.
Emperor Palpatine's rule was unique in galactic history; while the centralization and utter dependence on Palpatine was not unprecedented (in its time, the empire of
Xim the Despot was as powerful, and collapsed even more rapidly than did the Empire after Xim's death at the Third Battle of Vontor), the all-embracing reach, the heights of dark side power and pre-eminence of the Sith, and the military developments reached during Palpatine's era were. Equally unprecedented was the destruction of the Jedi Order.
His rule to most observers was impresive: Palpatine "judged the universe on his own terms, with a clear sense of right and wrong" and "looked to no other guide than himself".
[Cloak of Deception, 1st edition, 2002. James Luceno, ISBN 0-345-44297-0] Palpatine had little trouble ordering military retaliations or any actions who threatens his power, such as the incineration of
Caamas, the systematic extermination of the Jedi, or killing millions of Coruscanti when the
Super Star Destroyer Lusankya was buried in the surface of Coruscant to serve as an escape vehicle
[Wedge's Gamble, 1st paperback printing, 1996. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56802-7] (an illuminating example of how Palpatine sought to outdo all previous Sith and Jedi; where the Sith Lord
Naga Sadow was content to bury a Sith Battleship on the deserted surface of
Yavin 4, Palpatine buried an entire kilometers-long
Super Star Destroyer on the
most inhabited planet in the galaxy). Neither did he lose any sleep over the retaliations his various lieutenants might engage in. Indeed, he even condoned them with the endorsement of the Tarkin Doctrine as official policy.
Unwilling to have any limits placed on his power, Palpatine eventually sought to control all other galaxies virtually forever. His clones tied into the first step of the plan. Palpatine planned to grow a number of clones of himself so he could inject his spirit into a fresh clone body when the one before it grew too old. Sometime after the Outbound Flight Project, Palpatine hastily grew a clone of his former Jedi advisor, the Jedi Master
Jorus C'Baoth. The experiment failed, however, when the clone went insane and challenged his power, necessitating its destruction. Nevertheless, Palpatine learned that Force-potential could be passed to clone bodies, and filed the information away for future use.
During the Great Jedi Purge, Palpatine captured the wise Jedi Master
Ashka Boda and ripped a number of Jedi secrets out of his mind, including how to transfer one's spirit to another body. Palpatine experimented with his novel procedure at his leisure during the Galactic Civil War, practicing on underlings that were too valuable to lose permanently. One notable example was
Bevel Lemelisk, an scientist charged with the creation of the
Death Star battlestation.
Palpatine pursued another road towards immortality. He made contact with the
Ssi-ruuk Imperium; Palpatine had learned of their unusual system of powering machinery — they literally channelled the spirit out of living beings and stored them in the machines. He died at Endor before he followed the possibilities this opened up
[The Truce at Bakura, 1st paperback printing, 1994. Kathy Tyers, ISBN 0-553-56872-8]Disturbed by Palpatine's new dictatorship, three of the most influential senators -
Bail Organa of
Alderaan,
Garm Bel Iblis of
Corellia, and
Mon Mothma of
Chandrila - met in secret to sign the Corellian Treaty, forming the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly referred to as the
Rebel Alliance. The threat of Rebellion allowed Palpatine to resort to more executive powers and more military retaliations. During the long period of time that took place between Episodes III and IV, the Rebellion was all but crushed by the Empire, and its leaders were constantly forced into hiding while others were killed.
The
Death Star, a moon-sized space station (whose construction began at the end of Episode III) with sufficient firepower to destroy a planet was designed to be the supreme tool of the Empire's irresistible power. While most planets could afford planetary deflector shields capable of warding off virtually any conventional attack, there was no defense against the Death Star, a reality that promised unassailable power for the Empire. The station's commander,
Grand Moff Tarkin demonstrated that power when he destroyed the populated planet of Alderaan merely as a show of force. However soon after this, the station was assaulted by a small force of Rebel
starfighters in an engagement called the
Battle of Yavin which ended with the Death Star's destruction at the hands of
Luke Skywalker. The victory was the Rebel Alliance's first major success against the Empire, and sympathy for the rebellion started growing. Furthermore, the threat of Skywalker himself became evident to the Emperor when he learned that in addition to being Darth Vader's son, Skywalker showed tremendous potential to become the first of a new generation of Jedi Knights to oppose the Empire.
Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader died during the
Battle of Endor, shortly before the destruction of the second Death Star and a great portion of the Imperial Navy's highest ranking officers. Although the Empire was too large and well-organized to be destroyed with one blow, it became corrupt following Palpatine's death; for the next decade and more the Rebels, renamed the
New Republic, fought to free the galaxy from remnant Imperials styling themselves as independent warlords, as well as Imperial loyalists such as
Grand Admiral Thrawn and
Ysanne Isard. These battles are chronicled in the many novels licensed by
Lucasfilm. See
Expanded Universe.
In the first three released
Star Wars movies, almost all members of the Empire are portrayed as white
British males speaking with a
Received Pronunciation accent. This was done for both logistical reasons (much of the filming was done in Britain), and for dramatic reasons (as attested to by director
Irvin Kershner, who even overdubbed a rebel who was played by a British actor to fit with this scheme). The exceptions are the stormtroopers, who all have much the same intonation (non-British), and some Imperial officers in
A New Hope who were played by Americans. In contrast, most, though not all, of the main protagonists of the Rebel Alliance have American accents. This is similar to many historical pictures featuring
Romans as the villains, such as
Masada, in which all of the Romans are British and all of the
Jews are American.
The Rebel Alliance as shown in the movies seems to be comprised of a variety of human races and alien species. The reason for this is never revealed in the movies, but it led many fans and authors writing derivative works to assume that the Empire was
xenophobic. On the other hand, with the exception of
Chewbacca, no non-human member of the Rebel Alliance was shown until
Return of the Jedi.
Theories suggest that perhaps the human species is the most numerous species in the galaxy and would account for so many being shown within the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. A second explanation is that perhaps only humans care enough about administration of the galaxy to risk their lives in military organizations contesting the privilege. When shown on screen to American audiences, this polarity of accents and ideals between a mighty empire and a determined group of rebels reflects past American history, specifically the
Revolutionary War. It may be that those from the core of the galaxy tended to have British accents, and core connections were what got one to high positions, with some notable exceptions such as
Admiral Piett. It should also be noted that in various sources from the expanded universe, this "British accent" has been called a "Coruscanti accent", as in an accent of someone from the planet Coruscant.
In the
Expanded Universe, the Empire emphasized human and, to a lesser extent,
humanoid supremacy, with other alien species like
Wookiees subject to
slavery. (The Emperor did appreciate some talented aliens, such as
Darth Maul and
Grand Admiral Thrawn.) Antislavery laws were repealed and legislation legalizing the persecution of nonhumans was passed. Peaceful demonstrations were dispersed using extreme force, often killing and maiming thousands, as during the Ghorman Massacre in which Grand Moff Tarkin ordered his ship to land on a platform full of protesters. The planets of the Empire were no longer given a say in the government, but were now kept in line by the thousands of sector groups of the
Imperial Starfleet, each containing at least twenty-four
Imperial-class
Star Destroyers and several thousand lesser ships. Disillusioned senators who had tried unsuccessfully to use legal means, and the time-honored system of checks and balances, now sought to end Palpatine's rule through rebellion. Several corrupt supporters also allied themselves with the Empire in order to maintain a secure money flow for their own profit while secretly supporting the Rebellion.
This explains why almost every Imperial in Episodes IV, V, and VI is human. It is believed by some that non-humans like
Darth Maul with whom Palpatine interacts in
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace fall within the spectrum of humanoid. It so follows that while the Empire was unquestionably specist, there is little to suggest that the Emperor himself was. For example, he elevated
Thrawn, who was a
Chiss, to
Grand Admiral. In fact, some facts of the
Expanded Universe imply that the privy councilors and advisors that filled Palpatine's court and ran the Empire on a day-to-day basis were the specists, and applied "High Human Culture" on their own accord. (Various accounts say that Emperor Palpatine declared a "thousand year empire", paralleling the
Third Reich. This similarly racist regime also claimed to last for a thousand years, but crumbled in a short time, just like the Galactic Empire.)
After a peace treaty was signed with the
New Republic, what remained of the Empire was the
Imperial Remnant, a shadow of its former glory. It consisted of 8 backwater sectors in the Outer Rim and its capital world was
Bastion. Its head of state was Grand Admiral
Gilad Pellaeon. During the
Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the
Imperial Remnant allied with the New Republic and its successor-state the
Galactic Federation of Free Alliances (or for short, Galactic Alliance, or GFFA). It appears that the Remnant will play an increasingly important role in galactic affairs all out of proportion to its small economy and military while restoring order and glory to the Empire.
To counter this treachery, Imperial loyalists founded the Second Imperium (most likely renaming the former empire as the First Empire). Though weaker than its predecessor, the Second Imperium was bolstered by the Shadow Academy, a Dark Jedi training institute built to counter Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum. This new empire never succeeded, and more than once it came into hostile contact with elements of the Imperial Remnant, which had renounced its Sith origins.
In the new "
Legacy" series from
Dark Horse Comics (set some 140 years after the fall of Palpatine at the Battle of Endor) the Empire has regained control of the galaxy under the leadership of Emporer
Roan Fel. However, the Sith Lord
Darth Krayt forces him off the throne.
While to some it may seem incredible, in recent years a debate has arisen as to whether the Galactic Empire was truly as evil as Lucas portrayed it. While it isn't a very serious or large debate, it is growing, having even been the topic of essays by noted intellectuals such as
Jonathan V Last and
Glenn Lamont, who each wrote on opposing sides (Jonathan for the empire, Glenn against). The debate has also inspired the creation of many fan websites, works of fan-fiction, and has occupied a significant amount of board space on internet forums. Opinions are as numerous as there are Star Wars fans, but generally the debate can be narrowed down to three competing philosophies.
#The Empire is unquestionably good, à la "The Case For The Empire" by Last.#The Empire is unquestionably evil, à la "No Case For The Empire" by Lamont.#Star Wars is a
Greek tragedy with no definite villain.
While for all intents and purposes Lucas is the "God" of Star Wars (hence if he says the Empire is evil, it is) all three of these competing arguments tend to reject this theory as unimaginative.
Proponents of the first argument, that the Empire is good, tend to focus only on the films, claiming them to be the only true works of the canon, whereas their critics claim that they are only avoiding the Expanded Universe because it contains more proof of the Empire's evil. Empire proponents, however, say that the only reason Lucas even made an Expanded Universe was because he realized he had made the film Empire too benign (or at least not obviously evil enough), and had to manufacture an evil background for it.
There are, however, some pro-Empire debaters who, after doing a considerable amount of "homework", have come up with their own evidence from the Expanded Universe; supposedly proving the Empire to be good. A good example of this is the characters of
Grand Admiral Thrawn and
Gilad Pellaeon, two Imperial characters portrayed in a largely positive light. There are even hints that Thrawn was attempting to unify the galaxy in order to stage a defence against the
Yuuzhan Vong, a relatively benevolent goal. It could very well have proven fruitfull had it succeeded, as the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to consider the Empire the most deadly threat to their designs, and might not have attacked at all if they thought they'd be facing its full strength and undivided attention.
The difference between Pro-Empire and Pro-Alliance revolves largely around personal preferences. For instance, when Last discusses the murder of Luke Skywalker's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, he states that "They are not given
due process, but they are
traitors." Since Last is Pro-Empire, he focused on the idea that Luke's aunt and uncle were traitors and therefore, getting their comeuppance. A Pro-Alliance person, however, would probably find the words "...Not given due process..." more important. These personal differences may be a reflection of fans' veiws on similar real-world topics. While both sides have merit to their arguments, Pro-Alliance is the "more" commonly held belief among fans.
Ultimately, the third argument was born out of an attempt to compromise. Instead of either side being truly good or evil, they are both seen as "human", with strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, as "humans" Star Wars characters are capable of overreacting/correcting. Thus when debators like Last say that the Empire had good reason to destroy Alderaan, followers of the third philosophy may agree with him, but argue that the destruction was probably not the best or most rational option for dealing with the wayward planet. Even if Alderaan was a clear and present danger, the ramifications of its destruction stirred anti-Empire sentiment, and provided a just reason for the Rebels to destroy it. Alternatively, they would agree with Last's statement that Skywalker's aunt and uncle were traitors, but would also prefer that they were brought to trial. The majority of those who take this third view don't really support the Empire per se, but believe the Alliance to be no better (pointing out that the Alliance's methods were really just as brutal and unmerciful as the Empire's); and that by trying to "swat flies with a sledgehammer", the Empire was essentially asking for it.
Another argument (though it can be said to be more of a thought experiment than the others) that the Empire is good comes from the prequel trilogy. In episodes II and III, the
Confederacy of Independent Systems is a confederacy of systems that want to break away from the
Galactic Republic. The CIS, therefore, can be related to the
Rebel Alliance from episodes IV, V and VI. However, in episodes II and III, the CIS are portrayed as evil and the Republic as good, despite the CIS-Rebel and Republic-Empire connections. This therefore means, that, if the prequel perspective was applied to the original trilogy, the Empire would be good and the Rebels bad. The only reason, though, that the Empire is portrayed as bad versus the good Republic is that the Empire is ruled by a Sith, versus the Republic by a (supposedly) non-Force-using being.
*
Palpatine 19
BBY - 4
ABY (Note: The Empire factionalized after Palpatine's death, and heavy in-fighting between various fleet commanders jockeying for position ensued. Only on rare occasions was one leader able to assert themselves as unquestioned leader of all Imperial forces after this)
*
Sate Pestage 4 - 5
ABY*
Paltr Carvin 5
ABY*
Trioculus 5
ABY (in opposition to Pestage and Isard)
*
Kadann 5
ABY (in opposition to Pestage and Isard)
*
Ysanne Isard 5 - 8
ABY*
Thrawn 8 - 9
ABY (Note: Re-unified most Imperial factions)
*
Palpatine (clone) 10 - 11
ABY (Note: Re-unified all Imperial factions, after they broke up again upon Thrawn's death)
*
Carnor Jax 11
ABY*
Burr Nolyds 11
ABY*
Xandel Carivus 11
ABY*
Daala 12
ABY (Note: Re-unifed all Imperial factions, by assassinating the leaders of all other factions at a gathering. Voluntarily resigned and passed on leadership to Pellaeon).
*
Gilad Pellaeon +
Moffs 13-30
ABY*
Roan Fel circa 130 ABY
*
Darth Krayt (usurper) 130 ABY -
*
Isaac Asimov's Galactic Empire*
Rank insignia of the Galactic Empire*
Galactic Republic (Star Wars)*
Rebel Alliance*
New Republic (Star Wars)*
Galactic Alliance*
Imperium Of Man*
List of Star Wars Imperial personnel*
Domus Publica*
The Case for the Empire*
No Case for the Empire*
Galactic Empire DatabankFan Societies / Clubs
*
The Empire Reborn - Roleplaying & gaming society (PC Games)
*
The Dark Sith Lords - Roleplay society for a new Galactic Empire.
*
The Galactic Empire - Roleplaying game with strong emphasis on political and military training.
