Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie poster

If you have spent the last 30 years in a galaxy far, far away, you may be wondering why the premiere of the movie "" - the next blockbuster of the next movie franchise - is accompanied by such an unprecedented hype. Here are some groundbreaking facts that will help those who are not Star Wars fans to, if not feel, then at least understand the greatness of the moment and keep the conversation going with fans of this epic space saga.

I. Where did Star Wars come from and what is so special about them

Poster for the first film in the Star Wars saga - Episode IV: A New Hope

original trilogy recounts the adventures of Luke Skywalker. He is an orphan from the provincial planet Tatooine, who, by the will of fate, becomes involved in an uprising against the Empire. Along the way, he destroys the Death Star - the Empire's superweapon capable of destroying entire planets, becomes an adept of the mystical Force and a student of Yoda, master of the ancient Jedi order, finds out that his father is Darth Vader, the right hand of Emperor Palpatine and the main villain of the Original trilogy, and, finally, contributes to the overthrow of the Empire and the triumph of good over evil.

Poster for the first film in the second Star Wars trilogy, The Phantom Menace

In 1999, The Phantom Menace was released, followed by Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). Those were episodes I, II, III - prequel to the original trilogy, the story of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader. The prequel trilogy mirrors the original in many ways: its main character Anakin - also an orphan from Tatooine - becomes an adept of the Force, gets involved in political intrigues, goes over to the Dark Side and eventually turns into that same Darth Vader.

In short, the Prequel Trilogy is the story of the triumph of the dark side and the transformation old republic to the Empire, and the Original Trilogy is the story of the Light Side's revenge and the Republic's rebirth.

You can consolidate what you have read or quickly remind yourself of the plot of the entire movie saga with the help of this video by a British video artist who fits the key moments of the cult epic movie into 3 minutes:

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IV. Yoda, Jabba, Obi-Wan: Who's Who in Star Wars

Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill) is a dreamy orphan from Tatooine who, over the course of the Original Trilogy, becomes a hero, a Jedi, gains friends, mentors, a sister, and even a father. Although the relationship with his father somehow did not work out right away ...

Anakin Skywalker(as a child - Jake Lloyd, in his youth - Hayden Christensen) - a dreamy orphan from Tatooine. First, he becomes a Jedi, finds friends, mentors, a lover, and after the death of the latter, he finally switches to the Dark Side. Receives terrible injuries in a battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, after which he cannot live without a frightening suit with a respirator. So he turns into Darth Vader. Father of Luke and Leia.

Obi-Wan Kenobi(in the Prequel trilogy - Ewan McGregor, in the Original trilogy - Alex Guinness) - a Jedi, Anakin's mentor, who failed to save him from the Dark Side, but managed to cripple him. In the Original Trilogy, he lives as a hermit on Tatooine, keeping an eye on Luke from afar. Instructs Luke on the true path, dies at the hands of Darth Vader.

Princess Leia(Carrie Fisher) is the leader of the Rebel Alliance. Alderan considers his homeland - the planet that Darth Vader destroys with the help of the Death Star. In the course of the Original Trilogy, he finds his brother Luke, father Darth and lover in the person of the charming scoundrel Han Solo.

Han Solo(Harrison Ford) is a smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon, the fastest starship in the world. Luke and Obi-Wan hire him to fly off Tatooine, and at first he's only interested in money in the whole story. But gradually he is imbued with revolutionary ideas, and also falls in love with Leia and eventually becomes an Alliance fighter. His best friend and constant companion is a huge Chewbacca, most similar to the Yeti.

Yoda(in the original trilogy - a doll, in the prequel - a visual effect) - a green shorty, who constructs his speech in an unusual way. The most powerful Jedi in the world. In the Prequel trilogy, he is the leader of the order. Being unable to prevent the death of the Republic, he goes into exile on a swampy planet. There he is found by Luke, who becomes his apprentice.

Palpatine(Ian McDiarmid) - Member of the Galactic Senate, representing the planet Naboo. The secret head of the Sith Order - adepts of the Dark Side of the Force, sworn enemies of the Jedi. With the help of complex intrigues, he becomes the Chancellor of the Republic, and then the Emperor. Anakin/Darth Vader's mentor on the dark side. In the finale, he dies at the hands of a student who will return to the Light Side.

Queen Amidala(Natalie Portman) - in the prequel trilogy, the ruler of the planet Naboo, trusting Palpatine for too long. Lover of Anakin, mother of Luke and Leia. Dies, after which Anakin finally passes to the Dark Side.

C-3PO and R2-D2(Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker) - fellow droids, the most touching and replicated characters in the Star Wars cinematic universe. If the first one basically chats incessantly and panics amusingly, then the second one is silent and very helpful, because. performs many technical functions.

Jar Jar Binks(visual effect) - a silly gungan, a representative of the indigenous race of the planet Naboo. The Gungans feud with the people living on Naboo, but Amidala manages to build a relationship with them. After that, Jar-Jar becomes a politician of galactic importance. But he doesn't stop being a jerk.

Jabba the Hutt(doll) - a giant slug, Tatooine's biggest crime boss. Han Solo owes him money, and the story of their confrontation is perhaps the best secondary line in the entire franchise. At the end of the episode "The Empire Strikes Back", Solo is frozen alive and sent to Jabba as a souvenir. Leia tries to rescue him, but she herself falls into slavery with Jabba. In the end, Luke saves everyone.

Boba Fett(in the Original trilogy - Jeremy Bullock, the child in the Prequel trilogy - Daniel Logan) is a taciturn bounty hunter. The character is purely auxiliary - he is on the order of Jabba to hunt down Solo. But the romantic image of the masked, restless space tramp has made him one of the most popular Star Wars characters.

New heroes

Ray() is another orphan (though not from Tatooine, but from Jakku) in the Star Wars universe, which becomes the main character of the new trilogy. The seemingly unremarkable girl suddenly discovers the Force in herself, deftly manages the Millennium Falcon, and in the finale she wields a lightsaber like a real Jedi. He meets the rather aged Leia and Luke Skywalker and becomes the main hope of the rebels to destroy the First Order and the main villain Kylo Ren. The story of her origin is the key intrigue of the entire trilogy.

Kylo Ren() is the main villain of the new Star Wars trilogy. The son of Han Solo and Princess Leia, in character, went more like the grandfather of Darth Vader, and therefore puffs and frightens everyone with sudden outbursts of anger no worse than his famous relative. He is the commander of the "First Order" - an organization generated by the fallen Empire and hatching plans to capture all the planets. He feels a special connection with Rey and tries to persuade her to the Dark Side, but he himself is constantly torn between good and evil.

Finn() - attack aircraft FN-2187, who escaped from the base of the First Order and, after meeting Rey, went over to the side of the rebels. Rescues Poe Dameron from captivity and subsequently, together with him, fights for the Light Side.

By Dameron() - a sassy, ​​daring and fearless pilot of the Resistance, serves Leia and periodically takes over all the leadership. Was captured by stormtroopers but rescued by Finn. Since then, they have been friends and go on missions together.

BB-8- Another cute mechanic droid, originally owned by Poe Dameron, but also accompanying Rey and her friends. More mobile and emotional than his older counterpart R2-D2.

V. Why did they do it, or What you need to know about the new trilogy

In 2012, George Lucas sold his Lucasfilm company, along with the Star Wars rights, to Disney. The new president of Lucasfilm is Caitlin Kennedy, longtime collaborator of Steven Spielberg, producer of "

In this article you will learn:

Timeline of the Star Wars universe over millions of years.

The countdown in the universe is based on the victory of the Rebel Alliance over the Empire in the battle of the planet Yavin IV. (BBY - before the Battle of Yavin and ABY - after the Battle of Yavin)

Before the Ruusan Reformation

over 7,500,000,000+ to me. b.

• The universe originated after the Big Bang

OK. 5,000,000,000 to i. b.

• The Star Wars galaxy was born

OK. 100,000 to i. b.

• The planet Coruscant is completely covered by the city.
• The appearance on the planet Korriban of an ancient humanoid race.

OK. 49,000 to me. b.

• Founding of the Rakata Infinite Empire

OK. 28,000 to me. b.

• After a long civil war, a plague appeared that affected only the rakah. Death of the Infinite Empire.

OK. 27,000 to me. b.

• The first human colonists settled on Alderaan.

OK. 25 200 to i. b.

• Discovery of the Force

OK. 25 130 to i. b.

• The beginning of the reign of Xim the Despot.
• Xim the Despot died fighting the Hutts on Vontor, his Tion hegemony crumbling.

OK. 25,000 to me. b.

• The opening of the hyperdrive.
• Beginning of the Unification Wars.
• The signing of the Galactic Constitution.

OK. 24 500 to me. b.

• The first war among the Jedi began with some of them turning to the dark side.

OK. 24 400 to me. b.

• The Dark Jedi, known as the "Lettow Legion", lost the war and were expelled from the Republic.
• The prophecy tells of the Chosen One who is to bring balance to the Force.

OK. 9990 to i. b.

• Invention of Lightsabers.

OK. 7000 to i. b.

• The beginning of the second great schism among the Jedi - the Hundred Years' Darkness.

OK. 6900 to i. b.

• The end of the Hundred Years of Darkness, the Dark Jedi are expelled from the borders of the Republic and created the Sith Empire.

OK. 5000 to i. b.

• Fall of the Sith Empire
• Great Hyperspace War.
• The planet Tatooine, formerly part of the Infinite Empire, has been discovered by the Republic.

OK. 4400 to i. b.

• Jedi Knight Freedon Nadd turned to the dark side after learning the secrets of Naga Sadow and seized control of the planet Onderon.

4250 to i. b.

• The third great schism is the Vultar Cataclysm.

4000 to i. b.

• Beast Wars on Onderon. The Jedi Knights who arrive to help learn that the defenders of the city of Isis are adepts of the Dark Side and take the side of the Beast Lords.

3998 to i. b.

• Rise of Freedon Nadd
• The Jedi restored order to Onderon and sealed the entrance to Nadd's tomb on Onderon's moon Dxun with Mandalorian steel. Princes from Empress Theta's system began studying Sith magic from an ancient book stolen from a museum on Coruscant. Knowledge of poetry, as well as the spirit of Fridon Nadd, completely spoiled them.

3997 to i. b.

• Two heirs seized power on seven planets in the Theta Empress system, and a civil war broke out. The Republic sent troops and Jedi to restore peace. Exar Kun discovered the tomb of Freedon Nadd, and, possessed by his spirit, fled to Korriban, where he turned to the dark side. During a meeting of the Jedi on Ossus, Satal and Alima Keto unleashed Thetan battle droids on them, killing Ulik Qel-Droma's master in the process. Qel-Droma joined Kun as an apprentice and they settled on Yavin IV.

3996 to i. b.

• Great Sith War. Exar Kun led his warriors against the Republic, but his apprentice, Ulic Qel-Droma, betrayed him. Kun died while preserving his spirit in the temples of Yavin IV.

3986 to i. b.

• Killing Ulic Qel-Droma.

OK. 3983 to i. b.

• Mandalorian "new crusaders" began to conquer worlds in the Outer Rim. The Jedi Council decides not to intervene until the situation is cleared up.

3963 to i. b.

• Beginning of the Mandalorian Wars.
• Young Jedi Revan and Malak violate the order of the Jedi Council and lead the forces of the Republic.

3960 to i. b.

• The Mandalorian Wars ended in victory for the Republic. A Jedi serving under Revan and later named the Exile, voluntarily breaks his connection to the Force in order to end the torment caused by the death of thousands of beings at the Battle of Malachor V. He was summoned to Coruscant for trial on charges of disobedience to the council, and was expelled from the order when the council learned that he had renounced the Force.
• Revan and Malak are gone. Soon after, they turned to the dark side, took on the titles of Sith Lords, and added the prefix "Darth" to their names.
• The HK-47 was built on Revan's orders.

3959 to i. b.

• Revan and Malak began hostilities against the Republic, and only Bastila Shen's battle meditation prevented them from gaining an immediate victory.

3956 to i. b.

• Revan returns to the light and redeems himself by destroying Malak and the Star Forge. The Jedi Civil War is over.

3955 to i. b.

• Revan flew to the Unknown Regions, hoping to destroy the "real Sith".

OK. 3900 to i. b.

• The planet Naboo is colonized by settlers from Griswalth.

OK. 2000 to i. b.

• An unknown Jedi renegade found the Sith holocron, and using the knowledge from it, refounded the Sith order. started New war Sith, which lasted for over a thousand years.

1031 to i. b.

• Ruusan battle. All the Sith died, except for Darth Bane. Bane reformed the Sith order, which will now consist of only two beings: a teacher and an apprentice. In addition, he established a tradition that all Sith names must begin with "Darth" (previously this was not mandatory).
• The Senate carried out the Ruusan Reformation and approved this year as the beginning of a new chronology.

From the Ruusan Reformation to the Clone Wars

OK. 1000 to i. b.

• A millennial peace has begun.

OK. 896 to i. b.

• Yoda is born - perhaps the greatest of the Jedi.

OK. 896 to i. b.

• Jabba the Hutt is born.

490 to i. b.

• The Corporate Sector Authority is founded to rid the Senate and the entrepreneurs of each other.

350 to i. b.

• Trade Federation founded.

OK. 200 to i. b.

• Chewbacca is born.

102 to i. b.

• Count Dooku was born on the planet Serenno. That same year, his powers in the Force are discovered by the Jedi, and he begins training.

92 to i. b.

• Qui-Gon Jinn is born.

82 to i. b.

• Palpatine was born on Naboo. Darth Plagius begins his training.

72 to i. b.

• Mace Windu was born on Haruun Kale.

69 to i. b.

• Bail Organa was born on Alderaan.

68 to i. b.

• Jango Fett was born on the planet Concord Dawn.

60 to i. b.

• Wilhuff Tarkin was born on Eriadu.

58 to i. b.

• Jango Fett was left an orphan after his family was massacred by the Mandalorian Deathguard.

57 to i. b.

• Obi-Wan Kenobi was born on an unknown planet.
• Darth Maul is born on Iridonia. Palpatine kidnapped him as an infant and began teaching him the art of the Sith.

54 to i. b.

• Lord Hethrir was born on the planet Firrerre.

52 to i. b.

• Palpatine is elected to the Galactic Senate.
• Zam Wesell was born on Zolan.

OK. 50 to i. b.

• Jar Jar Binks was born on Naboo.

46 to i. b.

• Padmé Amidala was born to Ruvi and Jobal Naberrie.

45 to i. b.

• The Katana Fleet was commissioned, the first major military force of the Republic since Ruusan.

44 to i. b.

• Qui-Gon Jinn does not want to take Obi-Wan as a Padawan because his previous student, Xanatos, has turned to the dark side of the Force. However, after a series of adventures, Obi-Wan becomes Qui-Gon's apprentice. Trying to help the inhabitants of the planet Melida-Daan, Obi-Wan almost quits the Order, but returns and helps Qui-Gon defeat Xanatos.

41 to i. b.

• Slave Shmi Skywalker gave birth to Anakin Skywalker - the Chosen One, who is destined to bring the Force into a state of balance.
• Firmus Piett was born on Axsil.

40 to i. b.

• Finis Valorum becomes Chancellor of the Republic.

39 to i. b.

• Shmi and Anakin Skywalker are bought by the Hattiha Gardulla and brought to Tatooine. Soon they were won by Watto cards.

38-37 to i.b.

• Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are investigating the planets Jorn Scot and Ord Mantell.

35 to i. b.

• The Great Re-Synchronization has been carried out in order to combine the various calendars of the Galaxy.

34 to i. b.

• The Mandalorians are destroyed by Jedi forces at the Battle of Galidraan. The only survivor is Jango Fett.

33.5 to i.b.

• The aggressive Yinchorri race threatens the inhabitants of peaceful planets and even the Jedi, and the Council sends several Jedi to the Yinchorr. Some of them are dying.

33 to i. b.

• Palpatine secures income from the mines of the planet Dorvalla by sending Darth Maul there on a "diplomatic" mission.
• Unrest on the planet Cerea. A native of the planet, Jedi Ki-Adi-Mundi helps to sort them out.
• Palpatine orchestrated the death of the Trade Federation's top leadership on Eriadu, making Nute Gunray Viceroy of the Federation.

32 to i. b.

• Darth Maul infiltrates the Black Sun criminal organization and kills several important people.
• Neimoidian Has Monchar tries to sell information about the impending occupation of Naboo, but Darth Maul hunts down and kills him and everyone who managed to find out too much.
• Anakin Skywalker began assembling C-3PO from parts of broken protocol droids.
• Qui-Gon Jinn found Anakin, discovered in him the talent of a future Jedi. After Jinn's death, Anakin became Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan.
• The Trade Federation took Naboo, Queen Amidala fled to Coruscant, but returned, seeing the Senate's sluggishness. She made an alliance with the Gungans and together they recaptured the planet. In battle, Darth Maul killed Qui-Gon, but he himself died at the hands of Obi-Wan. Daultay Dauphin died in the explosion of the droid control station.
• The droid R2-D2 excelled in repairing Amidala's ship under combat conditions.
• With the crisis over, Palpatine is elected Chancellor in place of Valorum.
• Count Dooku left the Jedi Order and became a student of Darth Sidious.
• Bail Organa is elected senator from Alderaan.
• On the planet Kamino, they began to grow an army of clones, believing that the order came from Jedi Master Sifo Dias. Jango Fett, from whom the genetic material was taken for cloning, demanded a clone for his personal use and raised him as his own son, Bob.
• The Jedi learn that the Tuskens of Tatooine have a lightsaber-wielding leader. It turns out that this is the missing Jedi Sharad Hett 15 years ago. Ki-Adi-Mundi leaves for Tatooine. Sharad Hett is killed by the hunter Aurra Sing, but Ki-Adi-Mundi delivers his son A'Sharad to the Temple and becomes his teacher.

31 to i. b.

• The Jedi Council becomes aware of the smuggling of dangerous predators from Nar Shaddaa for various criminal purposes. A group of Jedi are sent to investigate.
• Jedi Quinlan Vos and his apprentice, Ayla Secura, fall into a trap and lose their memory while investigating on the planet Ryloth. Possessing the Force, but having forgotten the Code, they become dangerously close to the Dark Side. The Jedi manage to track down Quinlan and convince him to return, while Aela disappears.
• Aurra Sing, a Jedi hunter, is hired to kill the Twi'lek Riss Cairn.
• Quinlan Vos is sent to Dathomir, where the witches have found an ancient temple whose energy is capable of destroying planets. After being captured by the witches, Quinlan faces the temptation of the dark side again.
• Young Jedi Yoshi Raf-Elan saves the people of a distant planet from a tyrant.

30 to i. b.

• After Aurra Sing kills Jedi Masters Pierce and J'Mikel, the Council decides to hunt down the huntress. Ki-Adi-Mundi, A'Sharad Hett and Adi Gallia set out to find them. Meanwhile, Orra is on the hunt for her former mentor, the Dark Woman. A'Sharad almost kills the hunter, but she once again manages to escape.
• After the events on Ryloth, Aela Secura falls under the influence of the Anzati Dark Jedi Wolf Karkko. Now she is attacking Vos's home planets - Kiffu and Kiffex - with hordes of Anzati, trying to find and kill her former teacher. Aela manages to get back to the Temple and becomes Tholme's apprentice.

29 to i. b.

• Tholme and Aela Secura try to prevent the murder of the Twi'lek Lon Secura and the kidnapping of his son. They encounter members of the Morgukai order of battle, backed by Count Dooku himself. Tholme is captured, and Aela is already working with Quinlan Vos to find and free him.
• Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent on a mission to the planet Zonama Sekot. The planet was attacked by the mysterious "Distant Strangers" - the vanguard of the Yuuzhan Vong. Jedi Vergere saves the planet by surrendering to the Vong.
• Wright Sinar briefed Tarkin on the plans to build the Death Star.
• Han Solo was born on Correlia.

27 to i. b.

• The Jedi launch Project Outbound Flight, which failed due to the intervention of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
• Django Fet and Zam Wesell recover an ancient artifact, a powerful source of the Force. Later it turns out that the terrorist Ashaar Horda is using this artifact to destroy Coruscant. Yarael Poof saves the planet at the cost of his life, and Django and Zam return the artifact to its place.
• Yarael Poof died saving Coruscant from a group of terrorists who were about to destroy the planet.

24 to i. b.

• Dooku shows up on Raxus One and starts spreading the idea that the Republic is mired in corruption. Under the influence of his propaganda, the planet seceded from the Republic and founded the Confederation of Independent Systems.
• Pilot Nym fights the pirate Sol Sixsa, who threatens the peace of the planet Maramer. It turns out that Sixxa is fighting the Trade Federation - and then the pirates unite to expel her from Maramer.

23 to i. b.

• Senate guard Sagoro Autumn, investigating a murder, uncovers a conspiracy against the Republic, behind which is his brother Venko. To save the Republic, he has to kill his brother, but for this he ends up in prison.

22 to i. b.

• Obi-Wan, Anakin, Luminara Unduli, and Barriss Offee are sent on a mission to the planet Ansion, which wants to secede from the Republic.
• Zam Wesell made two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Amidala and was killed by Jango Fett covering his tracks.
• Anakin Skywalker returned to his native Tatooine, where he met his half-brother Owen Lars. C-3PO and R2-D2 are back together.
• The Tuskens killed Shmi Skywalker, and this pushed Anakin to the dark side.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered that Nute Gunray had orchestrated the assassination attempts on Amidala in retaliation for a defeat ten years earlier.
• Palpatine was granted emergency powers by the Senate and assumed command of an army of clones raised on Kamino.
• The Clone Wars began with the Battle of Geonosis. Mace Windu killed Jango Fett, leaving Boba an orphan. Pogle the Younger passed on the plans for the Death Star prototype to Dooku, who in turn passed it on to Palpatine.
• Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, who fell in love with each other, got married on Naboo.

Clone Wars

22 years before me . b.

• Separatist attack on Camino. The Republic won this battle thanks to a warning from Jedi Quinlan Vos. Also in the first 6 months of the war, thanks to the efforts of the Republic and the Jedi, the battles for Mon Calamari and Dantooine were won. But in the battle for Hypori, the separatists have a new leader - General Grievous. He personally killed several Jedi. Thus, the Confederation acquires not only a good politician, but also a commander equal to the Jedi.

Day 367 The Clone Wars

• Delta Squad mission on a derelict Republic cruiser in the Seagull Star Cluster. As a result, a deal between the Trandoshin slavers and the Separatists is interrupted.

21 years before me. b.

• Mara Jade is born on an unknown planet. Future wife of Luke Skywalker.

19 year before me. b.

• General Grievous, leader of the Separatist Army, organizes an attack on Coruscant and kidnaps Chancellor Palpatine.
• The Clone Wars end with the destruction of the Confederacy during the battles on Coruscant, Mustafar, and Utapau.
• It turns out that Palpatine is Darth Sidious. The Sith Lord kills Mace Windu, Sasie Tiin, Kit Fisto, and Agen Kolar and proclaims himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire he formed. Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, the right hand of the Emperor.
• The Great Jedi Purge was orchestrated by Palpatine and Darth Vader. Nearly all of the Jedi were destroyed, including Ki-Adi Mundi, Ayala Secura, Plo Koon, Stazza Ally, Luminara Andali, and Barriss Offee; only a small number of Jedi Knights survive.
• Darth Vader massacres the Separatist Council on Mustafar in cold blood. He then gets into a fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which he loses both legs and his left arm and is burned to death. Vader is rescued by Darth Sidious and turned into a half-man, half-machine.
• Padmé Amidala gives birth to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and dies in childbirth. Yoda instructs Obi-Wan Kenobi to take Luke to Anakin's half-brother Owen Lars and Leia to Bail Organa so that the Empire cannot find and destroy the children. Then the two surviving Jedi Masters go into exile: Obi-Wan - to the deserts of Tatooine, Yoda - to the swampy planet Dagoba, waiting there for the coming of Luke Skywalker's time.
• The first of the waves of resistance of the Empire begins, which in the future will develop into a Galactic Civil War.
• At the same time, the construction of the Death Star begins in secret.

15 years before me. b.

• C-3PO and R2-D2 have new troubles with their masters Yann Tosh and Mango Baobab.

13 years before me. b.

• Firmus Piett becomes an admiral at the age of 26.

5 years before me. b.

• Han Solo, now at the military academy, rescues Chewbacca and is subsequently expelled from the Imperial Galactic Fleet. Chewbacca pledges lifelong loyalty to Han Solo and stays with him for the next thirty years.

2 years before me. b.

• The Rebel Alliance is strengthened after the signing of the Corellian Treaty and the Rebel Declaration at the Cantham House Talks on Coruscant; and at the "Meeting in the Corellia System" between Mon Mothma, Bail Organna, and Garm Bel Iblis, a unified organization is formed.

1 year before i. b.

• Bail Organa steps down as Senator of Alderaan from the Galactic/Imperial Senate at age 31, and his adopted daughter Leia is named to the post until next year's Senate elections.

0 year before i. b.

• On the instructions of Mon Mothma, the mercenary Kyle Katarn steals the documentation of the first Death Star and hands it over to the rebels.
• Tantive IV, Princess Leia's consular ship Captured by Darth Vader and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 land on Tatooine and fall into the possession of Luke Skywalker.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi finds Luke, who has passed out after a skirmish with the Tusken Rogues, and receives Princess Leia's secret message.
• A squad of Imperial stormtroopers kill Owen and Beru Lars, Luke's uncle and aunt, and, he thought, deprive him of his family.
• The Imperial Senate is disbanded, giving Palpatine absolute power. Officially it was "The Senate is suspended for the duration of the Galactic Emergency", but even Palpatine's supporters knew that the Imperial Senate would never meet again.
• After Leia refuses to reveal the location of the Secret Rebel Base, Grand Moff Tarkin orders the Death Star to destroy her home planet of Alderaan. Her adoptive father, Bail Organa, is killed in the explosion. Soon, Garm Bel Iblis leaves the Rebel Alliance due to disagreements with Mon Mothma. He takes some of his troops with him, though most remain with the Alliance. As a result, Mon Mothma becomes the leader of the Rebel Alliance.
• Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader meet in their final duel, ending in Obi-Wan's death, but his spirit lives on.
• Battle of Yavin. Luke Skywalker, with the help of Han Solo and the spirit of Obi-Wan, destroys the Death Star before it can hit the Rebel Base on Yavin IV. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo join the Rebel Alliance. Grand Moff Tarkin dies when the Death Star explodes.

After the Battle of Yavin

1 year after i. b.

• To destroy the Rebel base on Yavin, the SZR (SSD-Super Star Destroyer) "Executioner" was launched under the command of Kendal Ozzel. But Admiral Griff's mistake allows the Rebels to flee.
• Bakura joins the Empire.

2 years after i. b.

• Imperial military forces led by Darth Vader succeed in capturing a group of Rebels on Ord Mantell. Here Darth Vader learns the name of the one who destroyed the First Death Star. Meanwhile, a bounty hunter working for Jabba the Hutt nearly succeeds in capturing Han Solo.

3 years after i. b.

• Battle for Hoth. The Empire discovers the Alliance's secret base on the ice planet of Hoth and launches a successful attack. As a result, the Rebels suffer heavy losses. Admiral Ozzel is killed by Darth Vader for incompetence and Admiral Piett takes command of Vader's fleet.
• Luke Skywalker meets Yoda on Dagobah. He soon interrupts his training, but promises to return. At Cloud City, Boba Fett freezes Solo in carbonite to deliver to Jabba the Hutta. Lando Calrissian joins the Alliance. During the confrontation between the two sides, Luke learns that he is the son of Darth Vader, but cannot believe it. Luke loses his arm, which is replaced with an implant.
• Bothan spies learned that a second Death Star was under construction and informed the Rebels of its location. Prince Xizor, leader of the Black Sun criminal organization, is killed by Darth Vader because of the former's attempt to kill Luke Skywalker in order to vilify Vader before the Emperor.

4 years after i. b.

• Freed by Han Solo, Jabba the Hutt is killed by Leia Organa. The Sarlacc swallows Boba Fet, but he escapes by blowing up a rocket, after which he is rescued by the bounty hunter Dengar. Local "authorities" unleashed a war for supremacy over the criminal empire of Jabba.
• Luke returns to Dagobah to continue his training. Yoda dies after telling Luke that Vader is indeed his father and that he is not the last of the Skywalkers. Obi-Wan reveals to Luke that he has a sister. Luke learns by force that his sister is Leia Organa. Later, on Endor, Luke tells his sister about their relationship. Battle of Endor. Lando Calrissian, Wedge Antilles, and Nien Nunb destroy the second Death Star, theoretically ending Galactic War. The Ewoks help the squad fight their way through a squad of Imperial Stormtroopers to the station that powered the Death Star's force shield. The End of the Empire has come and it is falling apart. Admiral Piett dies when the Destroyer collides with the Death Star. Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker returns to the light side thanks to Luke. Anakin Skywalker destroys Palpatine, saving his son's life. By this he fulfills the Prophecy and brings balance to the Force. The Sith have been destroyed. Luke cremates his father's body on Endor. While celebrating on Endor, he sees the Spirits of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Yoda.
• The Rebel Alliance becomes the "All Galaxy Free Planets and Young Systems Alliance" to create the Republic. Battle for Bakura: The first truce between the Alliance and the Empire, for only then could they unite to drive off the Ssi-ruuvi who had invaded the habitable regions of the galaxy. Bakura secedes from the Empire. One month after the Battle of Endor, Mon Mothma declares the restoration of the Galactic Republic; The Three Planets Alliance becomes the New Republic.

5 years after i. b.

• Luke Skywalker is promoted to General. After 6 months, the Imperial troops under the command of Lord Shadowspone fight to the last against his troops, he soon retires from military service.
• Isanna Isard is trying to treacherously seize power in the Empire and become Empress.

6 year after i. b.

• Campaign to capture the worlds of the Core. Still quite inexperienced, the New Republic is moving from guerrilla warfare to open warfare and begins a campaign to hold territories that are crumbling uncontrollably under the onslaught of the Galactic Empire, which continues to take over worlds in the Core Region in order to take Coruscant, the capital of the New Republic.

7 year after i. b.

• The New Republic cleanses Coruscant of the remnants of the Empire.
• Ysanne Isard leaves an artificial virus on Coruscant to thwart the triumph of the New Republic.
• The New Republic needs bacta from Thyferra to stop the epidemic.
• Ysanne Isard fakes his own death and disappears.

8 year after i. b.

• Leia Organa marries Han Solo.
• Prince Isolder bridges the Hapi Consortium and the New Republic.
• Imperial warlord Zsinj dies.

9 year after i. b.

• Jaina and Jacen Solo are born, children of Leia Organa and Han Solo.
• Grand Admiral Thrawn's attempt to destroy the New Republic and restore the face of the Galactic Empire failed. Thrawn subsequently dies.
• Obi-Wan's spirit vanishes completely, having completely turned into the Force.
• The Noghri defect to the New Republic when they learn they have been manipulated by the Empire into artificially maintaining the pollution of their home planet, Honoghra.
• Raynar Toole is born.

10 year after i. b.

• Palpatine revives in the body of a clone and causes the fall of Luke Skywalker, but Luke returns to the Light. He and Leia soon destroy the Emperor's flagship, the Eclipse I. Palpatine, who was on board the ship, dies.
• The utter destruction of Palpatine, the First Galactic Emperor: The Emperor returns, but Empatageios Brand destroys his life force. The brand dies, and Palpatine is completely destroyed. R2-D2 had the Eclipse II ram the Galactic Cannon, one of whose missiles destroys the planet Byss, home to Palpatine's cloning devices and the entire refurbished arsenal of the Empire. Leia and Han's third son, Anakin Solo (named after Leia and Luke's father), is born.

11 years after i. b.

• Luke Skywalker establishes a Jedi academy on Yavin IV.
• The New Republic launches the Journey of the Stars tourism campaign. R2-D2 and C-3PO are sent to help protect the passengers.
• The New Republic attacks the prototype Death Star and the Maw Imperial Research Facility, built in the black hole cluster of the same name and guarded by a Star Destroyer squad under the command of Admiral Daala.

19 year after i. b.

• A plan to restore the growth of the Empire using a doppelgänger of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
• Luke Skywalker marries Mara Jade.
• The New Republic and the remnants of the Empire conclude a peace treaty, as a result of which the conflict between the Empire and the New Republic is legalized.

23 years after me. b.

• Jacen and Jaina Solo, now Jedi of Luke Skywalker's academy, are fighting against the Second Empire, which is trying to destroy the peace between the New Republic and the "Remnants of the Empire" as soon as this is known, and start another Galactic War.

24 years after me. b.

• The "Sabotage Alliance", an extremist anti-human organization, is defeated by the New Republic.

25-30 year after i. b.

• The Yuuzhan Vong are invading the galaxy. Chewbacca dies on Sernpidal when the planet collided with its de-orbited moon.
• The Battle of Yavin is taken as the beginning of time, creating the current date system.
• Ben Skywalker, son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, was born.
• The Yuuzhan Vong capture Coruscant and the New Republic ceases to exist. Anakin Solo dies.
• The Galactic Federation of Three Alliances takes the place of the New Republic.
• Coruscant is liberated from the Yuuzhan Vong. Zonama Sekot seeks peace between the Galactic Alliance and the Yuuzhan Vong. The Five Years' War ends.

35 years after me. b.

• Efforts to rebuild Galactic Civilization after the war with the Yuuzhan Vong continue, with many war-torn worlds still recovering from the devastation caused by the war.
• The Jedi, among whom there were many disagreements about their new role in the Galaxy and about the new philosophy (new understanding) of the Force, despite the desire of Luke Skywalker, are used by the galactic alliance as diplomats and policemen.
• An old enemy of the Chiss returned - a mysterious race of aliens, whose leader is very knowledgeable in the ways of the Force, and many young Jedi tried to interfere with her, and they, connected physically and mentally, became part of the "Hive" of aliens.

40 - 130 p. I. b.

• Rise of Darth Krayt
• Mara Jade Skywalker is killed during the Second Galactic Civil War by her nephew, Jacen Solo, who has turned to the dark side of the Force.

130 p. I. b.

• Fall of the New Jedi Order

137 p. I. b.

• Merge with the power (death) of Luke Skywalker. After more than 130 years, p. b. The ghost of the Jedi Grand Master returns to help his descendant, Cade Skywalker, regain his Jedi heritage.

Scientists often say that modern civilization is threatened with destruction as a result of a global war with the use of weapons of mass destruction. Curiously, ancient epics and archaeological finds sometimes testify in favor of the fact that something similar has already happened on our planet.

Ancient Egyptians - who are they?

The land of ancient Egypt is full of mysteries. And they are connected not only with the pyramids and burials in the Valley of the Kings. One of these mysteries is related to the huge fields of fossil green glass, spread over hundreds of square kilometers in the Libyan Desert, near the Saad Plateau in the border area of ​​Libya, Egypt and Sudan, where the dunes of the Great Sand Sea stretch. Some pieces of this natural glass weigh up to 26 kilograms, but most are much smaller and shaped like fragments of a giant green bottle.

For the first time, this natural glass in the form of small glass pebbles was found in the Libyan desert as early as 1816, but it became widely known after Patrick Clayton, an employee of the Egyptian Geological Bulletin, saw the glass fields themselves in 1932. And 200 kilometers from these deposits, numerous pieces of the same glass were found, along with spearheads made from it, axes and other tools that were in use among the ancient inhabitants of the area. Some of the products are about 100 thousand years old.

The ancient Egyptians also knew about these deposits. Not only knew, but also used for their own purposes, for example, for the production of jewelry. Thus, the scarab beetle, one of the elements of the famous necklace of Pharaoh Tutankhamen, discovered by Howard Carter during excavations in the Valley of the Kings, is skillfully carved from volcanic glass. Where did it come from in the desert?

Kebira Crater in the Sahara Desert

It is well known that the transformation of sand into glass occurs as a result of heat treatment. In this case, the temperature is high, the sand melts at 1700 ° C, so matches and brushwood are indispensable here. What kind of heat source would be required to turn hundreds of tons of sand into glass? There are several theories about this. According to one, for example, the whole cause of fulgurites is sand caked from a lightning strike, relics electric charge which is enough to melt it. However, it is completely incomprehensible how the dunes of the Libyan desert attracted so much lightning. According to another theory, the culprit in the formation of glass deposits is a meteorite that exploded over the desert in time immemorial. Many scientists agree that the reason for the appearance of glass in the desert was the invasion of a hundred-meter asteroid into the atmosphere, rushing at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. This would be, perhaps, an irreproachable explanation, if not for one “but”: there is neither an impact crater nor its traces on the surface of the Great Sand Sea.

Meanwhile, back in the 1940s, after testing nuclear bomb in the US state of New Mexico, the sands of the desert also turned into molten green glass. Is it possible on this basis to conclude that the vitrified sands of the Libyan desert appeared under similar circumstances, only over 100 thousand years ago, as a result of a nuclear bombardment, after which most of North Africa was occupied by the Sahara desert? To conclude, as the author of the book “Project Earth. The secret of the future is in the past” Ya.V. Zuev, perhaps, is not worth it, but no one bothers to have something like this in mind.

Medallion of Tutankhamun

Mohenjo-Daro - radioactive ruins

In 1922, the Indian archaeologist R. Banarji discovered the ruins of an ancient city in the Indus Valley. Excavations have shown that it was immaculately planned and equipped with plumbing and sewerage systems superior to those used in India and Pakistan today. The ancient city was named Mohenjo-Daro. Among its ruins, scattered fused pieces of clay were found, which at one time, under the influence of high temperature, turned into black glass. Analysis of the samples, carried out at the University of Rome, and then in the laboratory of the Italian National Research Council, showed that the fusion occurred at 1500 ° C.

Such a temperature in ancient times could be obtained in the hearth of a metallurgical workshop, but not in a vast open area. Moreover, archaeologists drew attention to one gloomy feature of the ancient city. After carefully examining the ruins, they came to the conclusion that the degree of destruction of buildings and structures decreases with distance from the city center or, rather, the epicenter of the explosion, which completely swept away individual blocks. And the skeletons found among the ruins suggested that death caught people suddenly. Finally, the bones, as it turned out over the years, were radioactive.

The mysterious and ominous picture found an explanation only after the Americans launched nuclear strikes on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. There were observed the same terrible pictures of destruction. So did Mohenjo-Daro die in a nuclear attack?

Witness the Mahabharata

The Sanskrit texts of the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, consisting of 18 books and numbering over 200,000 verses, which is seven times more than Homer's Iliad and Odyssey combined, contain information about religion, worldview, customs, history ancient india, as well as legends about its gods and heroes. A significant part of the epic is devoted to the description of hostilities involving gods, demigods and people. Researchers believe that these events refer to the semi-legendary story of the invasion of Hindustan from the north by the Aryan tribes, who pushed the indigenous inhabitants - the Dravidians - to the southern part of the peninsula. However, among the episodes of ancient battles common for those times, there are also detailed scenes in which it is easy to recognize the use of ... artillery pieces, missiles, combat aircraft, locators, smoke screens, poison gases and even nuclear weapons.

For example, Dronaparva, one of the books of the Mahabharata, tells of a battle during which explosions of shells, like huge fireballs, cause storms and storms, disable entire armies. As a result of these explosions, many enemy warriors, along with weapons, war elephants and horses, rise into the air and are carried away by a powerful whirlwind like dry leaves from trees. This text also describes the process of the appearance of a mushroom cloud characteristic of a nuclear explosion. It is compared to the opening of a giant umbrella. After these explosions, the food became poisoned, and the surviving people fell ill. The symptoms of the disease exactly corresponded to the main signs of radiation sickness - people had bouts of vomiting, hair and nails fell out, and then death occurred.

Image of Ravan on a flying machine

The Indian epics also describe in detail the ancient planes - the flying machines of the vimana. The book Samarangana Sutradharan compares different types of vimanas, mentions the advantages and disadvantages of each variety, gives flight characteristics, landing methods. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics construction materials such as wood, light metals and their alloys. It also mentions the materials used to create driving force. Among the latter, oddly enough, is mercury.

Star Wars of antiquity

A.V. Koltypin in his work “The Disappeared Inhabitants of the Earth” draws attention to the fact that in the Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana and other ancient Indian texts, space travel by airships performed by gods, demons, heroes and various mythical creatures is repeatedly described. “Chitraketu, the lord of the vidyadharas (a class of demigods, good spirits of the air. - Approx. Ed.), went on a journey through the vast expanses of the Universe ... on his dazzlingly shining airship ...”, “Flying through space, Maharaja Dhurva saw one after another all the planets of the solar system and saw on his way the demigods on celestial chariots ...”, “Thus Maharaja Dhurva passed the seven planetary systems of great their sages, known as saptarishis…”, “A descendant of the Kuru dynasty, King Vasu could travel beyond the Earth in the upper regions of our Universe, and therefore in those distant times he became famous under the name of Upari-chara, “Wandering in the higher worlds”.

One of the episodes of the Mahabharata tells how the great warrior Arjuna, after a battle with the underwater inhabitants of the Nivatakavachas, returned to heaven on his amphibious flying chariot and discovered a city flying in space: “On the way back, I saw another huge and amazing city that can move anywhere. He shone like fire or the sun." This flying city called Hiranyapur was inhabited by danava demons (daityas). Arjuna was ordered to crush them. Noticing the approach of his aircraft, the Danavas began to fly out of the city on their celestial chariots - well, just like George Lucas' Star Wars! Then Arjuna “with a powerful avalanche of weapons ... blocked this formidable stream. He made them tremble, plowing the battlefield with his chariot, and ... the danavas began to strike each other.

Being subjected to a powerful attack from Arjuna, the Danavas raised their flying city into the air. Then Arjuna "with a powerful shower of arrows ... blocked the path of the Daityas and tried to stop their movement. Thanks to the gift received [from Brahma], the Daityas directed where they wanted, this heavenly, floating through the air, wonderfully sparkling city, moving at will: it either went underground, then rose up again, then swiftly moved to the side, then plunged into the water. Ultimately, Arjuna struck down the heavenly city with iron arrows, so similar to modern kinetic munitions. And when the 60,000 surviving demons rushed at Arjuna in their flying chariots, he incinerated them with a weapon called Raudra, apparently a type of nuclear weapon.

So, the finds of archaeologists and ancient epics really testify in favor of the fact that a long time ago on our planet and even in outer space unthinkable wars raged with the use of the most advanced weapons. And it is very likely that such events have happened more than once.

...A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... Are you listening to me, young Padawan? Oh, you people are all so restless. Stop fidgeting and fidgeting, be patient and listen to your mentor. What? Yes, if need be, we'll sit here forever. Yes, and you will listen to my teachings. Enough.

... Well, now listen and remember. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

Infinite Empire

This story began in those distant times, when the secret of the hyperdrive was not yet known to the inhabitants of our galaxy. Yes, yes, padawan, there were such dense times in the history of the universe... Each race considered itself the first and only one in the entire galaxy, because the inhabitants of isolated planets did not even know about the existence of other worlds. And everything would have remained unchanged if not for the first interstellar conquerors.

The Rakata race, which came from the world of Lehon, was generally the first in everything ... The Rakata were the first to invent a way to travel between the stars, equipping ships with a hyperdrive. They were the first to consciously turn to the Force. And what is significant - the first adepts of the Force from the Rakata race worshiped the dark side. However, they are hardly responsible for this. In those primeval times, only the dark Force could find a place for itself in the souls of the conquerors. Ignorance, militancy, rudeness of morals - in a word, about other values, except for power and power, then they did not even know.

In its hubris, the Infinite Empire (as the Rakata humbly called their interstellar state) went so far as to experiment with genetics and terraforming. Those who have been in the burning sands of Tatooine and the poisonous swamps of Kashyyyk and survived can already consider themselves lucky. But both planets were paradise gardens before the arrival of the rakah. Yes, this is the work of the masters of the Infinite Empire, testing weapons (wither, Tatooine!) and genetically "modified" life forms (fester, Kashyyyk!) on virgin planets. Against this backdrop, brutal slavery and despotism were child's play.

The reasons for the power of the Infinite Empire lay in its technology. The greatest achievements of the rak'ah were created by machines working in symbiosis with the dark Force. It is not known, however, who used whom - they are the Force or their Force.

Star Forge

The Rakata have ruled the galaxy for millennia. Compared to the era of the Infinite Empire, the entire history of the Old and New Republics is just a blink of an eye. Despots ruled over hundreds of worlds, goading billions of slaves and breathing the Force into more and more new machines. And the Dark Side allowed itself to be controlled, like a devoted snake around the neck. You, Padawan, know that snakes are not devotees. One day they sting...

The beginning of the end was the construction of the Star Forge, a planet-sized space shipyard capable of endlessly turning out untold streams of machines. A living fusion of the Force and technology, the Forge embodied all the vanity of its creators. She sucked matter and energy like a leech from a star, and hid from prying eyes in the shadow of the asteroid belt.

No wonder there is a proverb among the Hutts: “If a blaster hangs on the stage, then the third act promises to be fun!” An endless source of war machines is a temptation in itself, and even more so for warlike rakats. And one day the Forge found a use for itself. War broke out among the rak'ah.

It was then that the snake showed its fangs. When the civil war was in full swing, the dark Force simply took it and refused to obey its masters. And, as if that weren't enough, it took the form of a disease that mowed down the rulers of the Infinite Empire, but did not touch the slaves. The collapse was swift and striking.

The rakat empire is gone. The old squabbles were forgotten, everything was forgotten... The remnants of the conquerors fell into barbarism, keeping their secrets on a war-ravaged planet. The descendants of the former slaves mastered the generous heritage inherited from the former owners. With the help of a hyperdrive, the first ships went to the stars (no one thought about the danger of colliding with a star or a planet in a hyperjump, so the first researchers died in ignorance). And the Star Forge went into the shadows...

Birth of the Republic

The galaxy was slowly coming to its senses. The first states of the former slaves of the Infinite Empire appeared. The criminal oligarchy of the Hutts, a race of worm-like invertebrates, spread its influence. The influence of the Tion Hegemony, a totalitarian state under the control of the now forgotten Xim Despot, grew. And on the planets of the galactic core, a force was already maturing, which would soon be reborn into the Republic, a huge confederation, the center of which would be the planet Coruscant.

I'll start from afar... Long ago, Coruscant was inhabited by two sentient species of sentient beings - humans and taungs. Usually natural selection decides which of the two evolutionary branches to live and which to cease. This did not happen on Coruscant. The planet, of course, turned out to be too close for two intelligent races, and the thousand-year war between people and taungs became a logical continuation of malicious neighborly relations. Legends say (believe it or not...) that during one of the biggest battles of this war, a volcanic eruption almost ended the army of people, but, apparently, the taungs suffered no less, because they did not take advantage of the opportunity to end the war. Volcanic ash covered the skies for many years, and the Taungs adopted the poetic self-name "da-uerda-verda" - "warriors of the shadow" - which is not surprising, militancy is in their blood. And after some time, people finally recovered from the disaster and defeated the newly-minted "shadow warriors" to smithereens. It is not known what would have become of the Taungs (and ultimately the entire galaxy), if at that very time the technology of space navigation had not developed by leaps and bounds. In general, the remnants of the taungs fled their home planet to find a new home on the nearby world of Rune. But their role didn't end there. We will return to the shadow warriors. In fact, they'll be back...

And the humanity of Coruscant really flourished after the final victory. Despite the onset of the ice age caused by the release of ash into the atmosphere, people over a hundred thousand years turned the entire surface of the planet into one huge city, the lower tiers of which were no longer seen. sunlight. Slavery in the shackles of the Rakata Infinite Empire has passed like a bad dream, and the time has come for the unification of the galaxy. Planetary civilizations coming to their senses mastered deep space and entered into inevitable conflicts with each other. The inhabitants of the galaxy wanted, if not peace, then stability. Therefore, the emergence of the Republic, a giant confederation of planets, has become a pattern. Peoples joined the alliance one by one, only a few were against the union. Wars with aggressive opponents of the unification were called the Unification Wars. These conflicts ended very indicative - the Republicans set the main separatists, the Tion hegemony, the Hutt trade cartels on the main separatists. And you would know what courage wakes up in a Hutt when big money is at stake. So, the Hutts fought with the Tions for Very big money. Soon the reign of Xim the Despot ended, and the Hutts finally set about dividing the booty, without preventing the Republic from self-determination. There was practically no competition for the title of capital of the Republic. The metropolis planet, Coruscant, has become the unspoken center of the galaxy.

Coming of the Force

Such an entity as the Force has been known to the races of the galaxy for a long time. It was thanks to her that the machines of the Infinite Empire worked. It is through sensitivity to the Force that humans have become the dominant race in the galaxy. But first, let's figure out, padawan, what it is.

So, the Force is the energy created by all living and existing things in this galaxy. I know it sounds strange and vague, but no one can say for sure. It just needs to be felt. It is believed that either special particles or creatures - midi-chlorians carry the power. They are everywhere and nowhere, they cannot be accumulated or caught unless they themselves choose you as the vessel of their concentration. Sometimes it even seems that the Force is alive and chooses when to obediently fall into the hands of others, and when to sting deadly.

You need to know, Padawan, that there are four kinds of Force. Two of them are always heard, they are probably known to you. The light side, also known as Ashla, is the sensory backbone of all living beings in the galaxy. This is a quiet harmony and unity with existence. It lies in peacefulness, nobility, reverence and tranquility. The dark side, Bogan, is unbridled emotions, impulses, impulses. Something that makes blood flow through the veins or gush from wounds, and hearts - to beat faster or not at all.

The other two aspects rarely show themselves, and many do not even get the honor of knowing about them. The so-called Potentium, or the Force of Unity, is not only a manifestation of the Force, but also a whole doctrine. Its essence lies in contemplation and detachment. To switch off from the outside world means to see it from the outside as it is. To follow the Potentium, one does not need to achieve peacefulness, as do the followers of the light side, or impulsiveness, like the followers of the dark. You just need to feel yourself ... somewhere from the outside.

The last manifestation is the Life-Giving Power. It passes through everything that exists, making it breathe and bloom. It is the very source from which all life begins. The Life-Giving Force causes the plant to stretch its leaves towards the light, and the caterpillar to be reborn into a butterfly.

So, as I said, the Force has been used since ancient times, but before the birth of the Republic, only the Rakata truly systematized this knowledge. Finally, on the planet Tethon, there was a meeting of the most revered adepts of the Force, the Jedi. The planet was not chosen by chance - the concentration of midi-chlorians on it reached anomalous values. The council and the exploratory expedition ended in a completely unexpected way. Some of the adherents of the Force professed the dark side. You already know, padawan, that the dark side is not evil, but passion, but the council of sages thought otherwise. I wonder what the acolytes of Ashla hoped for when they called on the adepts of the dark side to renounce their path? Sure enough, the quick-witted Dark Jedi broke away from the council and started a conflict. The planet at that time was almost uninhabited, and the unexpected war between the two sects was reminiscent of a battle for a desert island - only lightning flashes and swords shine. The so-called War of Power ended with Bogan's acolytes leaving the planet, naming their organization the Legions of Lettow. Followers of the light side responded by founding the Jedi Order, which became the unofficial church of the Republic. The First Great Schism took place.

Thousand years of calm

However, the defeat of the original Dark Jedi in the Force War broke the Legions of Lettow. After some time, this organization was lost in the chronicles. This is not surprising - the Dark Jedi practiced a custom according to which an apprentice must sooner or later throw a deadly challenge to his mentor. Thus, you see, only the strongest should be selected. Their pedantry killed them. The apprentice challenged the mentor, then it was the turn of the apprentice of the apprentice, then the apprentice of the apprentice of the apprentice ... In general, the Lettow Legion, expelled to the gates of the galaxy, apparently at one fine moment faced a shortage of personnel. True, this does not mean that the adherents of Bogan have disappeared - there have been and are a myriad of cults of the dark side throughout the galaxy, just none of them are strong enough to represent a serious galactic force. However, the time of Darkness will come...

In the meantime, the Republic was able to distract from external threats and plunge headlong into internal ones. After several relatively quiet millennia, the first war broke out in an incredibly long series of so-called Alsakan conflicts. The green planet of Alsakan was once inhabited by human colonists from Coruscant and has since grown into one gigantic metropolis like Coruscant itself. The success and power of the Alsakan colony led to a dangerous confrontation: both Coruscant and Alsakan wanted to be the capital of the Republic. When the diplomatic smiles were over, it was time for the cuffs. In the senatorial fight, the representative of Coruscant won (the Alsakan envoy later justified himself: "It's not fair, this unwashed Coruscant tarantek called droids for help!"). Without taking such an insult (how low it is to turn a noble squabble into a battle of droids!), Alsakan declared war on Coruscant. And with such enthusiasm, as if preparing for this for a long time.

It makes no sense to describe all seventeen wars between two superplanets. Coruscant won each of them, although at least eight times Alsakan came very close to victory.

However, while the conflicts between the two contenders for the title of the capital went on and ended in their own way (and this, by the way, is a period of 14 thousand years), the Republic managed to survive one short, but very significant period. It is associated with the cult "Pius Dea" - "Faithful to God" - and its founder, the Supreme Chancellor Contispex. The fact is that the chancellor for the first time in the history of the Republic carried out the transformation of a confederation into a totalitarian empire. Can you hear what I'm getting at, padawan? That's right, after ten thousand years, Emperor Palpatine-Sidious will try out about the same scheme ... Well, okay, we'll return to this scoundrel. And then the dominance of "Pius Dea" lasted almost a thousand years, during which there were many crusades on the planets of the Outer Rim. However, in the end, the cult chancellors could not stand the pressure of the Jedi Order and gave up their positions. It seemed that now the novices of Ashla would not lose the religious primacy in the Republic...

In vain it seemed. Do you hear the knock, padawan? These are passionate hearts. The dark side has resurfaced in the Jedi Order.

Hundred year darkness

Ayunta Pall was one of the most learned Jedi of his day. It just so happened that the followers of Ashla (not only the Jedi, but also members of other cults) often replace scholarship with wisdom. Pal was not like that. He was considered one of the best geneticists in the galaxy, but this passion for science hindered his advancement in the Jedi Order. Apparently, the adherents of the light side believed that learning is the enemy of wisdom. And as you know, ambition is the same passion. It led Pall to the dark side of the Force.

By that time, too many in the Order were leaning towards Bogan's teachings. Apparently, without an external enemy, which used to be the Lettow Legion, the Jedi teachings turned the wrong way.

So, nothing is known for sure about those times, the Jedi do not like to remember it, and the followers of the dark side speak mostly in riddles and legends. One thing is known - the Dark Jedi, led by Ayunta Pall, struck first. Pall did his best to make this blow brutal and vengeful. You didn't like my scholarship, Jedi sages? See what you can achieve with it...

The Dark Jedi used the creations of Ayunta Palla, all kinds of artificially bred monsters. When a giant leviathan steps on you, it's hard not to remember that the only person in the galaxy could create such a thing - the same one that sat next to you on the Jedi Council in the chair next to you.

The Second Great Schism was the impetus for the Hundred Years' War. However, historians have given this confrontation a more poetic name - the Hundred-Year Darkness. The battle for Korbos put an end to this turmoil. Pall and his followers were defeated, but the Jedi, in their nobility, did not execute their dark brethren, but sent the remnants of the rebels into exile in the outskirts of the galaxy. Perhaps this is the time, padawan, when even I would regret that the Jedi were so merciful.

Sith

The path of the exiles led them to the planet Ziost. Was it an accident, or did Bogan's acolytes feel the source of the dark Power?

The planet Korriban has long been inhabited by a race of red-skinned humanoids, the Sith. This people was very sensitive to the Force, and cruel customs and militancy made the Sith one of the most talented adepts of the dark side. When the Rakata armies came to Korriban, the Sith fought back fiercely - led by King Adas, perhaps one of the greatest adepts of the dark side in history. However, savages are savages - after the death of Adas in the final battle of that war, the Sith kingdom collapsed like an unfinished anthill. In courage after the victory over the army of the Infinite Empire, the Sith began to sort things out with each other, so much so that they almost killed themselves. In the end, the remnants of their race (you see, the only tribe that survived this massacre) left Korriban, leaving there the monumental tomb of the glorious king Adas and entire fields of unburied corpses of their relatives. The Sith went to the planet Ziost, covered with a gloomy cold forest that attracted dark power like a magnet. After all this, how can one not think about the fact that the Force beckons to itself when it wants to surrender into the hands of strong masters?

And now, thousands of years after the exodus of the Sith, the ships of the Jedi exiles arrive on Ziost. The Dark Force is here, they feel it by the pleasant warmth that flows through their veins. They see natives worshiping cruel spirits - and they understand that not everything is over for them yet. The Dark Acolytes are here to establish their own realm away from the gaze of the Jedi masters. To the gullible Sith, they became divine and lauded rulers for centuries to come.

After two thousand years, the very distinction between the Dark Jedi and the inhabitants of the Sith Empire was erased. The word "Sith" has become synonymous with every Bogan adept. By this point, the descendants of the exiles had not only the desire to take revenge on their longtime offenders - the Jedi Order and the Republic - but also the opportunity to do so. A powerful state prospering under the harsh and cruel laws of the dark lords has been discovered by Republican researchers...

Brother and sister

On Mount Republic, the Sith Empire was brought out of isolation by two explorers, Gav and Jori Daragon, brother and sister. The landing of the pioneer ship on Ziost coincided with the death of one of the legendary Sith rulers, Marka Ragnos. There was turmoil among the Sith: two respected leaders at once - Ludo Kresh and Naga Sadow - claimed leadership in the empire, so it is not surprising that suspicious aliens (for a Sith, a person is an alien, isn't it?) were instantly captured and taken to the council of rulers.

Ludo Kresh, not the best intriguer, but an ambitious and impulsive sorcerer, without much hesitation proposed to enslave the strangers. "You have no right! We are citizens of the Republic!” said the younger sister, Jori, stamping her foot. A sigh of hostile surprise rippled through the council of rulers, and as silence settled in the chambers, Woof realized that his sister had said something wrong. Of course, how was she to know that a few thousand years ago, exiled Jedi told the Sith about the Republic that since then they have been scaring children with this word. Jori, meanwhile, nudged her brother in the side and said with some vigor: "Well, Gav, and you said that these redskins do not understand Coruscant ... Look how they reacted to the word "Republic"..." - "Ah!" resounded through the hall. "Jori, maybe don't..." Gav remarked, smiling awkwardly and looking at the blues from the wrath of the Sith. "What? No, look, they understand us. Republic!" - "Ah!" - "Republic!" - "Ah!" “Republic, republic, republic!” - “An khurdash dugub! [Burn that witch!]"

Perhaps this would have been the end of the adventures of the Daragon brother and sister, if Kresh's rival for leadership in the Sith council of rulers, Naga Sadow, had not stood up for them. Cunning, power-hungry, smart (and a rare favorite of Fortuna), Sadow craved conquest and quickly realized that it was not so easy to persuade reclusive Sith to go to war with the Republic. Therefore... we need to set the Republic on the Sith, and only then go on the counteroffensive.

Naga Sadow played his gambit perfectly. In his fortress, he managed to earn respect among the captives, even telling them something about serving Bogan. Soon, as Sadow predicted, Ludo Kresh turned against him. At that moment, the cunning Sith simply... allowed the Coruscant prisoners to escape. “Save yourself, this war concerns only us! May the dark force be with you! he shouted at them in the end, using all his acting skills.

The ploy worked. Jori fled to warn the Republic of the threat of the Sith, and Gav, admiring Sadow's nobility, did not leave him in trouble and returned to Ziost. When Kresh's troops were finished off, Gav Daragon was already entangled in Naga's nets, becoming his apprentice. It wasn't long before the war...

Great Hyperspace War

The Republic soon went to war. Its beginning turned out to be victorious for the Sith. Naga Sadow, entering into meditation, mentally led his armies, and Gav Daragon led the armies of Massassi warriors in attacks on the position of the Republicans. And if not for the development of family drama, then, I swear, Padawan, now the face of the galaxy could be different.

The break happened suddenly. During what was to be a decisive battle, Gav led his warriors to board the Republic flagship, captained by Aarrba the Hutt, an old friend of the Daragon family and almost the only one among the Hutts. honest dealer. Unbeknownst to Gav, Sister Jori was also on board with Aarrba. And then the climax came - Gav broke into the captain's bridge to demand immediate surrender, and found Aarrba ... killed by his own Hutt subordinates. And everything would be fine, but at that very moment Jori entered the wheelhouse. She was never famous for her prudence in decision-making, and when she saw her traitor brother bending over the body of "Uncle Aarrba", she did not find anything better than to rush at him with a sword. Probably, her life would have ended there (the Massassi guards and not such fighters were put in their place), but Gav's brotherly feelings saved Jori, and with her the entire Republican fleet. In dismay, Gav left the ship along with the soldiers, after which he completely left the battle with his flagship. The Sith fleet lost the decisive battle...

It would be a mistake to say that this was a Sith war with the Republic. No, it was a war of one person - Naga Sadow - against everyone. Still, there was something ingenious in this sorcerer and intriguer (may Ashla forgive me such words). When the Republic's best squadrons hit the remnants of the Sith fleet, Sadow decided to deal with the enemy fleet in one blow, blowing up the star near which the battle was fought. The plan worked with a small tweak. Gav Daragon, learning too late that Sadow was about to sacrifice him and the fleet for the sake of victory, sent a signal to the Republicans with the coordinates of Naga's ship. Of course, this dying revenge could no longer prevent the death of both fleets (and Gav himself). Yes, and Sadow once again found a way to sneak away.

In truth, the Sith still had a chance to win. The best forces of the Republican fleet were destroyed, and the Republic could not quickly bring up new squadrons. And if not for another accident, Sadow could rightfully say that he won the war alone.

And this accident was ... Ludo Kresh. Surely someone, and this grumbler, Naga definitely did not expect to meet on his way at that moment. Kresh even personally confessed to Naga that he arranged his imaginary death on purpose so that Sadow would lose his vigilance. True, Naga was not so stupid as to believe in these inventions of the wounded Kresh (and we, Padawans, will follow his example). One way or another, but the Coruscant squadron arrived in time just in the midst of civil strife. It was then that Sadow realized that this was the end of the war and the ambitions of the Sith Empire. Cursing at the fool Kresh, Naga sacrificed the remnants of the fleet in order to withdraw his flagship from the battle. Yes, yes, he escaped undefeated ...

The ruler of the Sith was transported to the planet Yavin. On that planet's fourth moon, he and his warriors founded a temple where Naga Sadow himself fell asleep in meditative stasis for thousands of years.

Heroes of the dark side

It is difficult to argue with historians who call Naga Sadow one of the central characters of galactic history. It was he who rediscovered the dark side of power for the Republic - for good or not. The Jedi, unaware of Bogan's temptations for thousands of years, were increasingly tempted by the dark side.

Sadow's heir was one of the fallen Jedi, Freedon Nadd. Having destroyed the mortal shell of his teacher in the temple on Yavin IV (however, the spiritual essence of Naga remained in the temple and, according to rumors, seduced more than a dozen Jedi), Nadd went to Onderon, where ... followed the teacher's example and fell into stasis. Probably waiting for the right student.

Thunderclouds began to gather from seemingly insignificant events. Jedi Knight Ulic Quel-Droma arrived on Onderon to investigate the plans of a secret society of adepts of the dark force. Nadd liked the talented Jedi, but Ulic proved to be a tough nut to crack. When persuasion and subterfuge failed, Nadd could only promise that he would bring Ulic to his side one way or another. Later, this acrimonious promise (carefully disguised as a prophecy by Nadd) will come true: the krathi, the very cultists that Quel-Droma hunted, will wound him with an enchanted projectile. At least that's what Quel-Droma himself would later say.

Some time after Ulic Quel-Droma's departure from Onderon, the forgotten Freedon Nadd had a reason to grumble: “Why are you so frequent!” On the surface of the planet Dhun, a Jedi blazing with righteous anger (as well as wounded pride and ambition) landed. Freedon Nadd did not believe his luck. “I recognize myself in my youth. Surely the guy ran away from his teacher to prove to him that he deserves more. Didn't find anything better than breaking into the tomb of a Sith ruler. Now he will turn on his lightsaber and say: "Freedon Nadd, I will destroy you!"

- Freedon Nadd, I will destroy you! came the young man's voice.

How lovely, thought the Sith.

A few minutes later, the wounded Jedi was already lying on the cold floor of the temple.

- For the last time, I suggest: become my student. - With a ghostly echo, Freedon Nadd persuaded the stubborn one.

- Never! coughing up blood, the Jedi fumed with youthful courage.

- How do you know...

Sand fell from the ceiling of the temple, then large cobblestones ... and now the columns began to fall on the side, and after them the roof collapsed.

- Stop! I agree! yelled the Jedi. A huge slab hung in the air directly above him.

And was it worth it to make me ruin everything? - Nadd shook his head, - What is your name, my newly minted student?

“Exar Kun… Just me… er…”

- Now like me! Ha ha ha!

Return of the crusaders

The meeting of two ambitious fallen Jedi - Ulic Quel-Droma and Exar Kun - was inevitable. However, the old ghost rulers did not want to give the newly minted Sith much freedom - they would fight and kill each other. Maybe the ghosts of the Sith rulers decided to play their last game, who knows... Anyway, the duel between Ulic and Exar was without bloodshed. This time it was not Sadow or Nadd who played the part; Marka Ragnos himself acted as peacemaker. The old Sith ghost simply forced Ulik to become Exar's apprentice. Appeals? There was no such word in the Sith language.

Ulik Quel-Droma's path now lay on Quar, one of the worlds that had been conquered thousands of years ago by fugitives from Coruscant, the taungs. Remember, padawan, I said that they were destined to return? So, the hour of the “shadow warriors” has come when the legendary leader Mandalore the Indomitable took over the scattered tribes. Mandalore was the first to unite the ever-scattered da uerda verda clans and make the taung believe in themselves again. So great was Mandalore's unquestioned authority that the Taungs even began to call themselves "Mando-ade", the sons and daughters of Mandalore (later the Coruscans would call them Mandalorians).

Landing on Rune, Quel-Droma realized that he had found the most reliable assistants in the revival of the Sith empire. In the legends of the taungs, he recognized the old Coruscant tale of the expulsion of the "warriors of the shadow." It remained only to lure the wayward taungs to their side. Mandalore himself helped him in this. Quel-Droma, who studied the traditions of the Mando-Ade well, only challenged him, realizing that without knowledge of the dark power, Mandalore would hardly be able to win. As the slain chieftain was about to die, Ulik "showed generosity" and at the same time made an impassioned speech, telling the reclusive taungs about the intergalactic successes of their sworn enemies, the people. It didn't take long to persuade. Soon, Mandalore the Indomitable and his neo-Crusaders set out on a war that began the bloody Mandalorian Crusades.

But Exar Kun wasted no time either. Gathered across the galaxy were those who had old scores to settle with the Republic. He struck the first blows in the new war not on industrial planets, not on space shipyards. Instead, raids were made on Jedi academies whose students were turned to the dark side of the Force. The Republic, still at war with the Sith Empire and Sadow himself, was barely holding on, squeezed on one side by the fanatical Mandalorian neo-Crusaders and on the other by the resurgent Sith Order.

Imaginary victory

The Mandalorian and Sith attack on Coruscant soon followed. Ulic Quel-Droma, who led this army, obviously did not calculate his strength, his army was surrounded, and he himself was captured by the Republic. True, the Republic soon had to pay for the maintenance of such a valuable prisoner. An enraged Exar Kun with a hand-picked army literally cut a path through the Republican armies all the way to Coruscant. Not only did the Sith ruler liberate Quel Droma, but he also dealt with his former mentor and even the Republican Chancellor himself. It seemed that the war was taking on a victorious character for the Order of the Sith.

But the forces were clearly unequal. The Mandalorians, who proved to be excellent soldiers, were eventually stopped. The resources of the Sith Empire were running out, and there was practically nowhere to look for new students for the Order of the Sith. Ulic Quel-Droma himself lost his last chance to win. Having dealt with his own brother Kai in cold blood, Ulik could not do the same with his beloved Nomi. Quel-Droma did not justify the hopes of the rulers of the Sith, for which he paid with his connection with the Force - his beloved "helped" him in this. Morally broken, he surrendered to the mercy of the Republicans, leaving the army without a commander.

For Exar Kun, this was a terrible blow. Yesterday he was preparing to receive his elite army from the hands of Ulik, and today he is informed that this weakling has broken down, and the army has been defeated. When the defeat of the Sith Order became inevitable, Kun adopted the old, tried and tested Sith method of "retirement". He simply performed the ritual of liberation of his spiritual shell.

— Exar Kun? Why are you all transparent, my boy? asked Freedon Nadd like a father, sensing something was wrong. “You... uh...

“Now how are you, you old bastard!”

Knights of the Old Republic

The Republic no longer had the strength to finish off the enemies. Secretive cults of the dark side of the Force scattered across the galaxy, the Sith Empire remained intact beyond the Outer Rim, and the Mandalorian Crusaders terrorized the peaceful Republic planets time after time. The fight against the hated "sons and daughters of Mandalore the Indomitable" was led by two young and energetic Jedi - Revan and Malak (isn't it, the plot is as old as the galaxy itself?). Not satisfied with driving the Mandalorians and Sith out of Republic-controlled space, they sent their ships far beyond the Outer Rim. Soon, information about them ceased to arrive.

Forgetting about caution in the pursuit and rightly believing in their naval talent, Revan and Malak led the flotilla between systems whose inhabitants lived with different values ​​and goals than the Republic. There are many legends about how friends fell under the influence of the dark side (one is more incredible than the other, I must say), but I, Padawan, see a simple explanation - both of them met with completely different views of the world and, apparently, imbued with them. It is said that Revan believed that the power of emotions, not meditation, could give him the long-awaited victory over the Mandalorians and the Sith, so he turned to the dark side with good intentions ... and bad consequences. On the outskirts of the galaxy, he found the legendary Star Forge, the creation of the Infinite Empire. The temptation to launch the machine of destruction - for the good of the Republic, in the name of defeating the Sith and the Mandalorians - was too great ...

Many years later, the victorious fleets of Revan and Malak returned to the Inner Rim. But it was a different fleet, and it was led by other commanders - Darth Revan and his student Darth Malak (the prefix "dart" means "ruler" in Sith). Their goal was to keep the Republic safe from all threats by leading it down the path of the dark side.

Of course, few people wanted the blessing to be brought at the tips of lightsabers. The Republic fleet has lost battles over and over again. If the final defeat could be avoided, it was only thanks to the abilities of Bastila Shan, who was able to enter the so-called combat meditation, spreading a special protective aura to the allies. But it was impossible to endlessly rely on the abilities of the young Jedi. And the Jedi Order took a desperate step.

During one of the battles, a squad of Jedi teleported to Revan's ship. A barely alive Sith was captured - to the delight of Malak, who proclaimed himself the sole ruler of the Sith armies. He had no idea that this was the beginning of his end.

The Jedi knew they had only one chance to stop the endless fleets, and that chance was Revan. By bringing him back from the dead and erasing his memory, the Jedi Council hoped to get on their side the only one who could lead them to the source of the power of the Sith Order.

Revan turned out to be a magnificent puppet of the Republic - as humiliating as it was for him. Unaware of his past, the former Sith led Bastila Shan and eight of his followers on planets that were scattered with the remains of a star map - holographic complexes indicating the location of the Star Forge. The details of his wanderings are not known to anyone, rumors often contradict each other. Only one thing can be said for sure - Bastila was captured by Malak and went over to the side of the Sith. Shortly before battling her on Lehon, the homeworld of the wild rakats, Revan learned his past. Further legends diverge; The Sith claim that Revan has returned to the dark side, taking his revenge on Darth Malak already aboard the Star Forge. The Jedi say the opposite - they say, Revan returned Bastila to the light side and helped the Republicans inflict one lightning strike on the Rakata shipyard, eliminating his former comrade and student. But everyone agrees on one thing - shortly after the death of Malak and the Star Forge, Revan and his followers disappeared without a trace in their wanderings. Probably for the better. Because even after them there was someone to continue the civil war.

Triumvirate and Exile

Even the collapse of the army of Darth Malak and the disappearance of the former Darth Revan did not allow the Republic to breathe freely. Scattered Sith sects began to exterminate each other in an effort to gain supremacy among the adherents of the dark side, but with no less appetite, these same sects tore piece after piece from the Republic. The neo-crusaders of the taungs continued their endless war, albeit without the former unity.

Among all the Sith leaders, three stood out - Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion and Darth Traya. Forming a triumvirate and getting rid of rivals, they took over the remnants of the Sith Order. Barely a few years later, the triumvirate took advantage of the weakness of the Republic by launching the Great Jedi Purge. It was the time of the real hunt for the Jedi, when the Sith assassins became the scourge of all who did not swear allegiance to the trinity. From civil strife and anarchy, the Republic was saved by a woman, from whom no one had expected anything for a long time.

The history of the one who would later become known as the Exile (her true name has long been forgotten) began during the years when Revan and Malak waged their war on the Mandalorians on the outskirts of the Inner Rim. During the decisive battle, she, being a Jedi, showed an initiative unusual for the adherents of Ashla - she launched the so-called "mass shadow generator", a device that destroyed the Mandalorian squadron, but caused the death of many Republican ships. Such a strange act turned into dangerous consequences for the Jedi. So that the Force would not drive her crazy or stop her heart in response to such an act alien to Ashla, the future Exile was forced to cut off her connection with her.

But it is no coincidence that the Wookiees say - there is no silver lining. A former follower of Ashla, she was the only member of Revan's fleet not to be tempted by the dark side while traveling beyond the Outer Rim. She came alone to the Jedi Council in repentance after the return of the fallen Revan and Malak. Of course, she did not receive forgiveness, but it was not in the tradition of the Jedi to punish the repentant.

However, the Exile was not destined to retire peacefully. Fateful was the meeting with a certain Kreia, an elderly woman who considered herself entitled to instruct the fallen Jedi. Unbeknownst to the exile, Kreia had once been the same Jedi mentor, many of whose students - including Revan himself - had fallen to the dark side. Kreia was then suspected of distorting the teachings of Ashla and ... yes, that's right, they were expelled, like the heroine of our story. However, forced to devote herself to Bogan and adopt the pseudonym "Darth Traya" (yes, she became one of the Sith triumvirs), Kreia did not give up hope of "healing" the Jedi Order from the quarrelsomeness and myopia that prevented the Jedi from confronting the Sith. And her "medicine" and student was to be the Exile.

Indeed, the Exile was only a tool. When the assassins sent by Nihilus and Sion repeatedly attacked the Exile and her retinue, she did not even suspect that the assassins were hunting Kreia, who decided to leave the Triumvirate. When the Exile searched for the last surviving Jedi Masters (the same ones who had once rejected them both), she had no idea that she was helping Kreia to take revenge and purge the Order of the weak.

The outcome of this story was exactly what Darth Traya was waiting for. When the "grateful" Jedi Masters tried to finally cut off the Exile from the Force, Kreia simply incinerated them. A little later, Nihilus and Sion fell at the hands of the Exile. And the final link in the chain was the duel with Kreia herself - according to all the traditions of the Sith, the Exile had to challenge the one who was her mentor.

Voice behind the scene: as you know, in the games Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, the player can create a character of his choice (gender, worldview - to choose from). But in role-playing literature dedicated to the Star Wars universe, Revan's story is told on the basis that he was a man who switched to the light side, and the exiled Jedi was a woman who chose the path of the dark side.

The old Sith Wars were coming to an end. The devastated Republic and the bloodless Jedi Order were reborn from the ashes, the Sith cults lost their former strength for many years. The era of the Old Republic ended...

Briefly about the article: The expanded universe has been developing independently of its immediate creators for a long time. In order not to get confused in the chronology of events, the authors divided the history of Star Wars into six eras. What? Read Dmitry Zlotnitsky's article.

Ages of wars

History of a distant galaxy

You never know what time you live in: still post-war or already pre-war.

Roger Peyrefitte

Any sci-fi fan, even those unable to tell the difference between a Wookiee and a Gungan, knows that Star Wars is made up of six episodes. It is much less known that exactly the same number of periods is now divided into the history of this large-scale universe, covering a time period of 25,000 years.

Star Wars has long outgrown the scope of Lucas' films. Now the universe is developing in all time directions practically without the participation of its Creator. The number of storylines has already exceeded several dozen, and the authors, in order not to get confused themselves and not confuse fans, had to divide the history of Star Wars into eras. On this moment there are six of them and it seems that there will be no more - there is simply nothing to add.

Time of the Old Republic

The legendary state, uniting the entire civilized part of the Galaxy, existed for about 25,000 years. More than once it was on the very brink of death, but the Jedi always managed to stand in the way of any threats and protect innocent citizens. However, the knights of the Order themselves carried a certain danger to the Republic: the exiled Jedi became powerful adherents of the Dark Side of the Force and unleashed wars against their former comrades.

It is not surprising that the era of the Old Republic, including such a significant period of time, has not been worked out in great detail. At the moment, you can only learn about it from a few comic book series. At that time, the Sith Empire was born and destroyed, and the young Jedi Exar Kun went over to the Dark Side and unleashed a war that went down in history under the name of the Sith. Here, in fact, is all that is known about ancient history"Star Wars".

However, not so long ago another source of information about this period appeared - the game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its continuation The Sith Lords. The extent to which these games correspond to the spirit of Star Wars is still debated. But their wild popularity has already led to the fact that comics related to games have begun to appear, and Lucas does not deny the possibility of creating a series based on this era.

A thousand years before the events of A New Hope, the last major war between the Jedi and the Sith took place, ending in the almost complete destruction of the latter. Only one of the adepts of the Dark Side, Darth Bane, survived and began a new history of the Sith Order, in which since then there have always been only two members - a master and an apprentice.

Rise of the Empire

Obi-Wan: They won't catch up with us.

Remember in Second episode Sio Bibble says there hasn't been a single major war in a thousand years? The destruction of the Sith led to a millennium of peace, which, to the best of their considerable strength, was maintained by the Jedi. Obviously, no one is interested in reading about peaceful years and petty conflicts, so 1000 years were practically thrown out of the history of the universe. But a few decades before The Phantom Menace, it started...

Darth Sidious cynically and deliberately used every minor crisis to shake the political and military balance in the galaxy. The Jedi valiantly resisted the attempts of the Dark Lord, invariably coming out victorious and keeping the peace, but losing comrades and thus contributing to the execution of the plans of the Sith. Actually, these more or less exciting events are invited to follow all fans of the universe. The everyday life of the Council and ordinary Jedi, resolving local conflicts, such as Stark's hyperspace war or the crisis on Malester, are shown in dozens of comics that bring us closer to the Jedi Order of the era of its decline. Anyone can learn about Obi-Wan's apprenticeship, which, it turns out, was not always as perfect as it seemed in the films; or about later events, when Kenobi trained the young Anakin. Fans of the Dark Side also did not remain deprived: you want to know what Darth Maul was doing before " The Phantom Menace or how Jango Fett ended up being the last of the Mandalorians? Read the comics, there are plenty of them.

However, all the most interesting in this time period begins after the battle on Geonosis - the first battle of the Clone Wars (more on this in MF #21, May 2005). A brilliant combination of diverse media projects kept fans interested in Star Wars and even increased it in anticipation of the final episode.

The Sith managed to get revenge, and new Hope has not yet entered the galaxy. Does this mean that there was nothing interesting in Star Wars before the Fourth episode? Of course no! Still early history Empires remained a "dark spot", but this will soon change.

What would happen if...

Humor is by no means alien to the creators of Star Wars. For several years now, comics have been published under the name Tales, in which various funny stories are published that are not included in the official chronology of the saga. Vader vs. Maul, Boba Fett auditioning for the Mandalore Club, little Leia bullying Moff Tarkin, and other hilarious and sometimes absurd stories will delight all Star Wars fans. But that's not all: there are comics called Infinity that introduce the reader to three alternative options original trilogy. What would have happened if Luke hadn't blown up the first Death Star, or if he had frozen to death on Hoth before Khan could find him, or if Khan couldn't be rescued from Jabba's palace? And as a result - a duel between Leia and Luke in the Emperor's palace; Princess Leia, studying with Master Yoda, and the latter's duel with Vader; blind Khan and white (in every sense) Vader. Incredibly funny and at the same time exciting stories.

classical era

At first glance, the classical era should be limited exclusively to original trilogy. But where, then, is the twenty years between the Third and Fourth episodes to be attributed? Probably right here. Judge for yourself: the terrifying power of the Empire, the almost complete absence of Jedi, rampant criminal elements. All one to one.

Probably the most interesting thing that awaits us is the “purge of the Jedi”. Although Order No. 66 significantly reduced the number of knights, and Palpatine and Vader personally destroyed almost the entire Council (with the exception of Yoda and Obi-Wan), nevertheless, some of the knights survived. We expect a lot of great fights of the last Jedi against the new Sith. By the way, judging by the novels of the cycle " The Last of the Jedi", which now writes Jude Watson, Obi-Wan did not become an unsociable hermit at all, having given Luke to be raised by the Lars.

However, the heyday of the Empire did not bring the desired peace to the Galaxy. These times have become simply golden for smugglers, bounty hunters and pirates. Some of the early adventures of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are already known, although the novels about them do not fit well with the rest of the Expanded Universe (they were written at a time when prequels were not yet thought of). But the ascent to the heights of fame of Boba Fett will definitely become an exciting topic for more than one work.

But the times that we all know well from the good old Original Trilogy will not be left alone. It would seem that Lucas has already said everything in the films, what else can I add? The current authors of the universe think otherwise. Between Episodes Five and Six, Luke and Leia have already managed to squeeze in a clash with the Black Sun, the biggest criminal organization in the galaxy. The years between Episodes 4 and 5 are the subject of many comic books, mostly focusing on the adventures of young Luke, Han and Leia.

Already at the end of 2005, comics about the last Jedi and the "purge" began to appear, and new books on the same topic will obviously not be long in coming. Michael Reeves is working on a series of novels called Nights of Coruscant. Reader favorite Timothy Zahn promises a novel about the youth of Luke's future wife, Mara Jade. strategy game Empire at War , which takes place in the youth of the Empire, is eagerly awaited by thousands of gamers. Well, the main news: the action of the Star Wars game television series will take place precisely in this time period.

Power of the New Republic

After the Battle of Endor, the rebels quickly organized a democratic state. It cannot be said that such a feint with the ears pleased the imperial officials and military leaders, who previously rolled like cheese in butter. The newly organized Republic slowly but surely began to take over the galaxy. True, there were several unpleasant incidents. For example, the "reborn" Emperor, or rather, several of his clones almost swept away all the forces of the Alliance. But the resilient trinity stopped Palpatine again. The last clone of the ex-ruler of the Galaxy died from the gunshot of Han Solo. The military genius Grand Admiral Thrawn nearly brought the New Republic to the ground, but our heroes dealt with him as well. The rest of the giants, moffs and relatives look rather frail against the background of these two threats.

The rebirth of the Republic was marked by the restoration of the Jedi Order. From Luke, the teacher turned out, frankly, so-so. Nearly a dozen of his students have defected to the Dark Side. But even with this misfortune, they were eventually able to deal with it - about 20 years after the Battle of Yavin, peace was finally signed.

New Jedi Order

The fifth era of Star Wars is fundamentally different from all previous ones. If others were developed gradually, sometimes not even very thoughtfully and coordinated, then the "New Jedi Order" was originally planned from beginning to end (details in "MF" No. 7, March 2004).

For a long time it was believed that the last book in the series, " United Power”, sums up the development of the saga after the fall of the Empire. However, a sequel followed. Troy Denning(read the interview with him in this issue of the magazine) has already finished work on the trilogy " dark nest", which takes place five years after The New Jedi Order. A new threat was the complete split of the Galaxy due to the Killik insect race, which has a single consciousness and subjugates representatives of other races. As a result, even apparently positive heroes find themselves on opposite sides of the barricades, and many begin to practice highly controversial means to achieve their goals: Luke throws lightning bolts of the Force, and Jacen shamelessly manipulates others.

Jedi Temple

Episode III: Sky Walker - 2003, No. 3(3) Star Wars fandom in Russia - 2003, No. 3 (3) Episode III: The saga ends, the circle closes - 2003, No. 4 (4) Dilogy "Dark Tide" - 2003, No. 4 (4) Intelligent races of "Star Wars" - 2003, No. 4 (4) The Clone Wars Project - 2004, No. 1(5) Episode III: More machine than man - 2004, No. 1(5) Computer games in the Star Wars universe - 2004, No. 1(5) Episode III: Size Doesn't Matter - 2004, #2(6) Episode III: Birth of Evil - 2004, #3(7) The New Jedi Order: A Literary Cycle - 2004, No. 3(7) Episode III: General Kenobi - 2004, #4(8) Episode III: Star Wars Beauties - 2004, #5(9) Lightsaber - 2004, No. 5 (9) Episode III: General Grievous - 2004, #6(10) Star Wars Technologies - 2004, No. 6(10) Episode III: Jedi and Sith Face Death - 2004, #7(11) Strength is a powerful ally - 2004, No. 9 (13) Episode III: Between the second and fourth - 2004, No. 9(13) StarCon 2004 - 2004, #10(14) Star Wars Planets - 2005, No. 3(19) Episode III: All About "Revenge of the Sith" - 2005, No. 5(21) The Clone Wars - 2005, #5(21) StarCon 2005 - 2005, #9(25)

Era of Legacy

But that's not all. Since the era of the "New Jedi Order" is tied to the series of the same name, most recently LucasBooks announced a new era - the sixth. It starts with a book Betrayal» Aaron Allston, which will appear this summer. Thereafter, a new novel will be released every three months. In addition to Aaron, they will work on the series Troy Denning and promising British writer Karen Traviss. A total of nine novels are planned.

Good old heroes just turn into old ones. They are all over sixty, but the authors argue that both Luke and Khan and others will remain active and active. The magnificent Bob Fett, Coran Horn and Wedge Antilles will return to the stage. We also mention the Sith Lady Lumiya, Vader's student and Luke's lover from the old comics from the company Marvel , who will also play a role in Legacy. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about the plot, except for a couple common words about how the ambitions of individual planets threaten to disrupt the stability in the Galaxy, and Luke is again tormented by visions of the approaching Darkness.

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Star Wars is currently a fundamental and multifaceted project, which is being worked on by many people of various professions. The development of the saga in all chronological directions continues, and there is every reason to hope that the Expanded Universe will be with us for a very long time.