Jedi Temple

The Jedi Temple (also known as the Palace of the Jedi) was the headquarters of the Jedi Order from the conclusion of the Great Sith War to the Great Jedi Purge. Jointly operated by the Order and the Galactic Republic, the Temple was sealed to all but the Jedi and their allies, with very few public areas. The complex would be abandoned and largely destroyed at the time of the Declaration of a New Order when the Order was utterly routed by the Galactic Empire. Upon the rise of the Galactic Alliance, the Temple was rebuilt for the reformed Order under the leadership of Luke Skywalker.
== Layout and architecture ==
A massive structure which soared over a kilometer above the surrounding rooftops, the Jedi Temple was located in a strategically isolated area of Coruscant which neighbored the Senate District, the Temple rested on a large city block in the Temple Precinct. Concealed within the heart of the Temple ziggurat was the upper reaches of the Sacred spire, a towering mountain that jutted from the crust of the planet deep below. The upper most summit of the mountain erupted from the top of the Temple's base and formed the foundations of its central tower, Tranquility Spire. Surrounding the tallest tower's finned peak were four shorter towers located on the ordinal-oriented sides of the complex. Each contained an austere Council Chamber at its summit and served as the meeting rooms of the four Jedi Councils. The ziggurat shape of the edifice, coupled with the five spires, was designed to symbolize a Jedi's climb to enlightenment through the Force.
== History ==
=== The Old Republic ===
Constructed by the Four Masters millennia before the rise of the First Galactic Empire, the Temple was constructed over the sacred spire, which contained a Force nexus. A holy place for the local Coruscanti, the Republic hoped by granting the Order land they would build a massive fortress like those they had established on Ossus, Falang Minor, and Haashimut. However, the Order did not wish to entangle themselves with the politics of the capitol or become a symbol of war and opted to build only a small meditative enclave. It wasn't until the Old Sith Wars saw the devastation of Ossus and the Great Jedi Library located there that the Order decided to re-establish its academy at the sacred spire. At the behest of the Order's wisest thinkers, the Four Masters began the painstaking task of building the Temple Ziggurat. Growing steadily for the next thousand years, the Temple incorporated various pieces of historical works and architecture from their past, including tiles and stained-glass mosaics from the lost complex on Ossus.
=== Rise of the Empire ===
Following nearly a thousand years of peace in the aftermath of the New Sith Wars, the Order was threatened by a new darkness. The future became even more clouded than was usual, the High Council could not predict events or sense disturbances as it once could. It was during this time of uneasiness in the ranks of the Order that the Temple became prone to attack. The High Council eventually became aware of a Sith resurgence following the Invasion of Naboo.
When the Clone Wars erupted across the galaxy in 978 ARR the Temple became a major military planning center as the Jedi assumed a command role within the Grand Army of the Republic. With Jedi Command now reviewing and appraising all battle plans and major military campaigns, the High council was in near constant communications with the Office of the Supreme Chancellor.
Sometime in 980 ARR one of the hangers of the Jedi Temple was bombed, inflicting significant military and civilian casualties. A further investigation by Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano led to the arrest of Letta Turmond.
In 983 ARR following the Battle of Coruscant and the work done by Judicial Captain Dyne, the High Council came to be suspicious of the Office of the Supreme Chancellor and linking Darth Sidious to influencing the Chancellor. It was eventually discovered by Knight Anakin Skywalker, following the defeat of General Grievous on Utapau, that Chancellor Palpatine and Darth Sidious were one and the same. Moving to remove the Sith, Masters Mace Windu, Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin, left the Temple in the care of Master Shaak Ti and Gate Master Jurokk. Turning off all nav beacons and signal lights, arming all of the older Padawans, and sealing all blast doors, the Temple was prepared for a Sith attack. The duel with the Sith turned sour, however, as Jedi Knight Skywalker betrayed his masters and aided Sidious in the murder of Master Windu. Sidious ordered that Skywalker, now Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, raid the Temple with the assistance of the 501st Legion. Marching on the Temple steps, Vader slew the unsuspecting Gate Master Jurokk and began the brutal slaughter of every Jedi present. While many Jedi were dying around the galaxy as part of Order 66, many of the Order's brightest died at the Temple. Vader stormed the Archives and slew Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu as she refused access to the Temple beacon. Jedi Battlemaster Cin Drallig led a final stand of younglings and Padawans in the Room of a but was unable to defend his charges from the superior number of blaster bolts. Additionally, Three Jedi Masters attempted to retake the Archives from the 501st, but were all defeated.
Although many Jedi and Temple employees died within the Temple that night, Jedi Master Shaak Ti led a retreat of a group of several Padawans and their masters. Master Kazdan Paratus was another Jedi who escaped the Temple safely, fleeing to Raxus Prime to live in madness having failed to save the Temple. Securing the building, Vader reported to his new master before being sent to Mustafar to slaughter the Separatist Council who had gone into hiding there.
Following the Declaration of a New Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire the Sith used the Temple as a trap. Broadcasting a false signal to surviving Jedi telling them to return to the Temple as the Clone Wars were over, the Empire planned to execute the survivors of Order 66 as they returned to their home. Fortunately for the remaining Jedi, Grand Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had been rescued by Senator Bail Organa and decided to return to the Temple and deactivate the beacon. Entering through a sublevel hangar the Jedi made their way through the Temple until they reached the central security station where they were able to recalibrate the beacon to warn the survivors to run and hide.
Standing as a symbol of what happens to those who defy the Empire, the Temple would survive past the destruction of the second Death Star, 23 years after its initial abandonment. It wasn't until the New Republic drove the Empire from Coruscant that the Temple would be visited again. With the capitol in the hands of the Republic, Luke Skywalker travelled to the ancient edifice in order to learn what he could of his lost heritage. Once Skywalker decided to revive the Order he invited one of his students, Tionne, to restore the Archives to their former glory and to add information from the Galactic Civil War. Eventually the Temple's five towers crumbled during the catastrophe with the Lusankya and were cleared away, their places filled with a new enclave that served as a diplomatic way-point and a training ground for new Jedi away from the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. It was here that Skywalker held his wedding ceremony to Master Mara Jade. The facility would remain in use until the Order was forced into diaspora when the Covenant invaded.
Category:Daisy-023