Iridonia

Iridonia was an arid Mid Rim planet home to the Zabrak species. Wide colonization efforts resulted in some Zabraks considering the worlds they grew up on their homeworlds; however, the subspecies of Zabrak that hailed from Iridonia itself were known as Iridonian Zabraks. During the High Republic Era, the Zabrak pirate Saya Keem lived on the world but ultimately chose to leave to avoid the strict rules she had followed living there.
The world was also the homeworld of several other Zabraks, including Jedi Master Eeth Koth, who served on the Jedi High Council; the bounty hunter Sugi; Sugi's niece, the bounty hunter Jas Emari; and the assassin Nox, who participated in the Hunters of the Outer Rim competition. Though Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi mistakenly believed that the Zabrak Darth Maul hailed from Iridonia as well, he instead came from a colony—the Nightbrothers—of the species and had been raised on the planet Dathomir.
==Description==
Iridonia was a terrestrial planet located in Mid Rim Territories and New Territories regions of the galaxy. The world was situated in grid square J-7 on the Standard Galactic Grid. It was the homeworld of the near-human Zabrak species, with the Zabrak subspecies hailing from Iridonia being known as Iridonian Zabraks. The planet had an arid climate and an environment considered tough and brutalAftermath by some Zabraks, thus promoting the creation of resilient natives.
==History==
===Colonization and High Republic Era===
Though Iridonia was the homeworld of the Zabraks, they engaged in wide colonization efforts, resulting in many members of the species being raised on different colony worlds. For this reason, even though many Zabraks hailed from Iridonia, others only associated themselves with the colonized world they grew up on. Some such Zabraks included a small colonyStar Wars Battlefront II called the Nightbrothers, who were raised on the planet Dathomir, which they considered their homeworldStar Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy instead of Iridonia.
Iridonian Zabraks were active in the wider galaxy by the time of the High Republic Era, with the Zabrak pirate Saya Keem living on the world. However, she was unhappy with how strict the rules were while residing there and eventually left the planet to operate as part of the Dank Graks crew. In 382 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of The High Republic Adventures (2022) 5 to 382 BBY. Keem told the undercover Jedi Padawan Savina Besatrix Malagán—who was operating under the alias Bazrip Ratht—about why she had departed Iridonia.
===Republic times and beyond===
The Iridonian Zabrak Jedi Master Eeth Koth—who served on the Jedi High Council by 40 BBYStar Wars: Timelines dates the events of Master & Apprentice, which depicts Eeth Koth as a member of the Jedi High Council, to 40 BBY.—hailed from Iridonia. In 20 BBY, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke to Jedi Master Mace Windu about his belief that the Zabrak Darth Maul's homeworld was Iridonia. However, Windu corrected Kenobi, noting that while other males of the species lived on Iridonia, Maul—who was a member of the Dathomirian subspecies of Zabraks—had been raised on Dathomir.
Iridonia was the homeworld of the Zabrak bounty hunter Sugi, who operated by the time of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the conflict, Sugi earned credits from her jobs and, after paying the rest of her expenses, sent her remaining money to her sister on Iridonia. However, due to her penchant for taking jobs that prioritized morality over profit, she ultimately accumulated steep debts. Sugi kept contact with her niece—the bounty hunter Jas Emari—who was also from Iridonia, on at least one occasion giving her sage advice of when to walk away from a situation. Weeks after receiving the message, Emari fled from the planet, having long considered it a strange, brutal, and unforgiving place to reside. Later, in 4 ABY,Star Wars: Timelines places the events of Aftermath in 4 ABY. Emari reflected on fleeing her homeworld, reminded of her aunt's advice. The Zabrak Mira, who hailed from Iridonia, lived during the reign of the Galactic Empire. During the Galactic Civil War, some Zabraks from Iridonia fought with the Alliance to Restore the Republic against the Empire rather than allow the latter to subvert them.
===New Republic times and beyond===
The Zabrak Nox hailed from a remote village on Iridonia. While there, she was forced to flee her home after assailants attacked her family and kidnapped her sister. After some time surviving in Iridonia's wilds, training in combat with her bow,Star Wars: Hunters she became an assassin of the Order of the Night Wind and later left to participate in the Hunters of the Outer Rim competition on the planet Vespaara in 9 ABY. After defeating fellow Hunter Rieve in a Clash match, Nox was interviewed by the arena announcer Boz Vega. When Nox expressed that she had no want or need for friends, having survived Iridonia's wilds and the Order of the Night Wind on her own, Vega opted not to contest the statement and only noted that the experience sounded lonely.
Later, Iridonians joined the Rebel Alliance's successor, the Resistance, to fight the the Empire's successor, the First Order, following the New Republic's fall. In 34 ABY, historian and author Eloc Throno included a map depicting the location of Iridonia in his book Traveler's Guide to Batuu, which detailed the planet Batuu.Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu Iridonia was mentioned in an artist's journal, which was restored, expanded, and displayed at the Graf ArchiveStar Wars: Alien Archive at some point no earlier than 34 ABY.
==Inhabitants==
The planet was home to the Zabraks, and many members of the species lived on the world, which became known to the wider galaxy at least by the High Republic Era. Iridonian Zabraks from the world were physically similar to those of the Dathomirian Zabrak subspecies, with some individuals finding them visually indistinguishable. Though its arid climate was not the most pleasant, its inhospitable environment resulted in many Iridonia natives being tough and enjoying challenging pursuits such as pursuing criminals, with some natives of the planet becoming bounty hunters or pirates. Iridonian Zabraks were known for having great mental discipline, giving them a high tolerance for physical pain.
However, some residents of Iridonia, such as Saya Keem and Jas Emari, did not enjoy residing on the world and ultimately chose to leave and pursue paths in life with more freedom, having felt choked by the rigidity of their lives. Despite Keem's departure from Iridonia, descendants of her family, including her grandchild Zyle Keem, still partook in some elements of their species' culture in their Iridonian Zabrak family gatherings.The High Republic: Escape from Valo
==Behind the scenes==
===Publication milestones===
In the current Star Wars canon, Iridonia was first mentioned in "Witches of the Mist," the fourteenth episode of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars third season, which first aired on January 21, 2011.Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the planet Iridonia was first mentioned in the 2000 young-readers novel Star Wars Journal: Darth Maul, written by Jude Watson.Star Wars Journal: Darth Maul
The world then made its first appearance in the comic story "Phantom Menaces," published in the seventeenth issue of Star Wars Tales. The story was written by Joe Casey, illustrated by Francisco Paronzini, and released by Dark Horse Comics on October 1, 2003. Though the content of the comic was initially ambiguously canon within the Legends continuity, 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia referenced the material, thus bringing its events into a higher tier of canon. The mention of Iridonia in "Witches of the Mist" was meant to highlight Maul's connections to the world within the Expanded Universe —the earlier designation of the Star Wars Legends continuity—while also clarifying that he had been raised on Dathomir.
===Contradictions===
The Encyclopedia on StarWars.com established that Maul was born on Dathomir. Conversely, the 2014 reference book Star Wars: A Galaxy at War—a compilation of three previously released titles—claims that Darth Maul was born on Iridonia.Star Wars: A Galaxy at War The section of A Galaxy at War mentioning Iridonia was written by Simon Beecroft and was originally released as the 2007 Legends young-readers title Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side.Star Wars: A Galaxy at War is a direct re-release of three titles—Star Wars: Epic Battles, Star Wars: Ultimate Duels, and Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side. As the section mentioning Iridonia is in the 2007 release Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side, it must have been written by that work's author, Simon Beecroft. Star Wars: Beware the Dark Side claim that Maul's birthplace was Iridonia was also contradicted by other Legends sources, which consistently stated he was born on Dathomir instead.Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the ForceThe Wrath of Darth Maul This article assumes that the information in A Galaxy at War is incorrect and that Maul was born on Dathomir in the current canon continuity as well.
The first issue of the Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine,Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine 1 published on November 16, 2015, claims that Eeth Koth was from the moon Nar Shaddaa. However, more recent sources instead state that he was from Iridonia,Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition including the 2019 reference book Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, which updated Koth's homeworld to Iridonia from its first edition, Ultimate Star Wars,Ultimate Star Wars published on April 28, 2015.
==Appearances==
*The High Republic Adventures (2022) 5 
*Star Wars Battlefront II 
* 
*Star Wars: Uprising 
*Aftermath 
*Star Wars: Hunters 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Mid Rim planets
Category:New Territories planets
Category:Terrestrial planets