   the galactic empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of star wars. it is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, palpatine, to replace the galactic republic in star wars episode iii: revenge of the sith. the galactic empire is introduced in star wars episode iv: a new hope. the empire also appears in star wars episode v: the empire strikes back, and in star wars episode vi: return of the jedi and are the main antagonist of the original trilogy. the empire's origins are explained in episode iii, where it replaces the galactic republic in the midst of a galactic civil war orchestrated by palpatine, then the republic's supreme chancellor. palpatine is also secretly the sith lord darth sidious who intends to purge the jedi and restore the sith to power in the galaxy. palpatine's sith ide
Fictional_empires Galactic_empires Star_Wars_governments