Galactic Empire

The **Galactic Empire**, also known as the **New Order** or just **the Empire**, was the dominant government of the galaxy following the Clone Wars. Founded by Palpatine, the former Supreme Chancellor of the Old Republic, the Empire was initially met enthusiasm from the galactic populace, hoping for stability after the devastation of the Clone Wars. However, while being a de jure constitutional monarchy, the Imperial regime quickly devolved into an absolute one, with the Galactic Emperor holding unchecked authority. The Empire dominated the galaxy for over two decades before being defeated by the Rebel Alliance.

While the central authority was in the hands of the Emperor, the Empire was also administered by the Imperial Ruling Council (the Emperor's advisors), led by the Grand Vizier. Dark Side Adepts who served the Emperor also held considerable authority. Sectors were governed by Moffs and Grand Moffs, while the Imperial Armed Forces were led by Imperial High Command. The Imperial Senate, reformed from the Senate of the Old Republic, existed for nineteen years before being dissolved, but held very little power under the reign of Emperor Palpatine. The judiciary consisted of the Imperial Constitutional Court, which usually ruled in favor of the government.

An alliance of dissidents, known as the Rebel Alliance, was eventually formed. After fighting a civil war against the Imperial regime, the Alliance destroyed the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor, killing the Emperor and his right hand man Darth Vader. This began a power struggle within the Empire and led to the rise of the New Republic.

## History

### Imperial period (19–2 BBY)

For the duration of the Clone Wars, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine held emergency powers granted to him by the Galactic Senate. During this time, Palpatine continued to centralize and consolidate his power, making his ascension to Emperor inevitable. As the conflict came to close, the Jedi Order learned of his identity as a Dark Lord of the Sith and attempted to fight him, only to be defeated and betrayed by their clone troopers. With clone soldiers executing many of the Jedi throughout the galaxy, and with his apprentice Darth Vader's execution of the Separatist Council on Mustafar, there was now no one who could challenge his power. Giving a speech to the Senate, Palpatine proclaimed himself Galactic Emperor and the establishment of a New Order.

The founding of the Empire was initially greeted with enthusiasm by many citizens, who looked forward to a period of stability following the death and destruction caused by the Clone Wars and the corruption of the Galactic Republic. The Empire began a period of Imperialization, vast cultural and political changes throughout the galaxy, with all evidence of the Republic's existence being swept away. The New Order was drilled into the everyday lives of the average Imperial citizen, helped by the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR), an Imperial organization which would accumulate much power during the next several years. At first, dissent was virtually nonexistent. The Galactic Senate had unanimously approved of Palpatine's great transformation and the average citizen was more than willing to grant Palpatine supreme authority if it meant the security provided by such a regime.

Meanwhile, remnants of the secessionist Confederacy, which had fought the Republic, were eliminated. In a series of campaigns, Darth Vader led the Imperial Armed Forces to victory over the remaining pockets of Separatist resistance against Imperial rule. Much of the Separatist Droid Army had been deactivated following the slaughter of the Separatist Council, making the Imperial military's task of mopping up remaining Separatists significantly easier. The Empire also sought retribution against former Separatist worlds, causing some atrocities. However, they were looked over by the majority of the population due to the fact that the Imperial propaganda machine was able to cover it up.

Imperialization was largely effective. Remnants of the Republic were steadily swept away, the Imperial Senate which had been relegated to a mere advisory body was finally dissolved in 0 BBY and the galaxy at large had all but forgotten the freedoms of the Old Republic and the Jedi Order. The Empire also promoted Human High Culture, presenting humans as the pinnacle of biological and cultural achievement took hold, considering aliens to be inferior. The Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army, the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy, and various other agencies and branches of government were renamed and reorganized in order to be more compatible with the New Order. At the forefront of these reforms was COMPNOR, an agency which gained much power due to its role.

The heavy-handedness and cruelty of the Imperial regime did not go unopposed. Early resistance movements, such as the Alderaanian Resistance, Corellian Resistance, and Chandrilan resistance, took form in the early years of Emperor Palpatine's reign. However, they were small and largely unorganized, not being able to pose much of a threat to the byzantine Imperial war machine. In addition, there were some minor Separatist holdouts that continued to survive in remote corners of the galaxy, such as in the interior of the Tingle Arm region. Some planetary governments, such as the Naboo monarchy, attempted to resist the Empire, but were quickly crushed by Imperial forces. Overall, the various anti-Imperial movements had little influence or ability to effectively challenge the Empire.

### War with the Rebellion (2 BBY–4 ABY)

In 2 BBY, several prominent leaders of resistance movements from throughout the galaxy were brought together by an enigmatic individual known as Galen Marek. Unbeknownst to them, he was actually the secret apprentice of Darth Vader, tasked with rounding up the top opponents of the Emperor so that the Empire could capture all of them in one strike. However, Marek ended up turning to the light side of the Force and rescued the Rebel leaders from Imperial captivity aboard the Death Star, a large battle station with a superlaser capable of destroying entire planets. He died in the process, but the resistance leaders were able to get away, and proclaimed the creation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Galactic Civil War had begun.

For the next couple of years, their alliance made only minor gains before establishing a base on Yavin 4, a moon of a gas giant. Princess Leia Organa, one of the Rebellion's leaders, was captured in 0 BBY and interrogated about the location of the Rebel base. To get her to give it away, Grand Moff Tarkin, the Death Star's ambitious commander, threatened to destroy her home world of Alderaan. He ended up doing so, but the princess was rescued by an agent of the Rebellion and his companions. The Imperials tracked them to the Yavin system, where the Rebel Alliance sent several fighter squadrons against the Death Star. Although most of them were destroyed, a young pilot named Luke Skywalker managed to fire proton torpedos into the station's thermal exhaust port, causing it to explode.

The victory at Yavin showed the galaxy that the Empire was not invincible, and that the Rebellion should not be estimated. The loss of the Death Star, with hundreds of thousands of men aboard, shocked Imperial supporters. The Imperial Navy began a blockade of Yavin. The siege was ended with a final assault on the Rebel base, however, most of the Rebel leadership and troops were able to evacuate. For the next two years, the Rebellion continued to grow in size and strength. It also established a main base on Hoth, a remote ice planet. However, in 3 ABY, the planet was discovered by Imperial forces and attacked. The base was destroyed and the Rebel Alliance took heavy casualties, forced to lead the fight against the Empire from a motley fleet that was constantly traveling to avoid detection.

Not long after that, the Rebel Alliance received intelligence that a freighter carrying the computer core of a second Death Star would be leaving the Core Worlds soon. The Rebels ambushed the freighter, capturing the computer core, which gave them the location of the new battle station. They launched an attack on the station (unbeknownst to them, the Emperor had intended for them to do so), in orbit of Endor. A team on the ground managed to destroy the shield generator protecting the battle station while the Alliance Fleet engaged the Imperial Navy in orbit. Although they took heavy losses from the trap, the Rebels were able to take down the shield and destroy the battle station. The Emperor was killed by Darth Vader, who was redeemed by Luke Skywalker, and died of his wounds. The deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader marked a major victory for the Alliance and the beginning of a new era.

## Government and politics

With the rise of the New Order, many previous governmental agencies were re-named and re-purposed, with many official buildings remodeled to fit a darker and more angular aesthetic. One such agency was the Republic-era COMPOR, newly dubbed COMPNOR, the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order. It was the Empire's umbrella agency dedicated to ensuring order and stability for the countless worlds under the Emperor's rule by supporting the new regime through propaganda and intelligence services. Organizations such as the Imperial Security Bureau and Imperial Intelligence worked under its oversight, with the ISB helping to stamp out potential dissident actions along with Imperial Intelligence's vast information and data gathering operations on the countless citizens in the galaxy. Also working under the auspices of COMPNOR was the Ministry of Propaganda, designated under the Coalition for Progress. The Ministry was primarily tasked with broadcasting Imperial propaganda on the HoloNet, covering up atrocities, and managing the necessary infrastructure for the vast communications systems within the Empire. It also worked to monitor the Imperial Press Corps at the grand COMPNOR arcology, located in the Imperial City of Coruscant.

The Empire also maintained the Imperial Information Office which employed civilians to help the Imperial government and its massive data operations in the galaxy. The Ministry of Agriculture oversaw the horticultural aspect of Imperial dominion, with officials on many worlds across the galaxy, including Lothal. The Ministries of Finance, Education, and Energy, and the Imperial Survey Corps also employed numerous citizens across the Empire. The Imperial Mining Corps also existed under the New Order, while the Imperial Department of Military Research helped to boost the combat forces of the Empire, developing the widely used stormtrooper armor and the IT-O Interrogation Unit, along with the 9D9-s54 Spy Droid.

The Empire's executive body under the Emperor was the Imperial Ruling Council, consisting of close advisors that helped administer the Empire. Individual sectors were governed by Moffs and Grand Moffs, as well as planetary governors.

#### COMPNOR

The Commission for the Preservation of the New Order was an umbrella organization of various agencies that oversaw and managed different aspects of life under the Empire. Imperial citizens were encouraged to join COMPNOR and send their children to its patriotic youth branch, the Sub-Adult Group. COMPNOR included the Coalition for Progress, which managed the Empire's information sphere along with the propaganda ministry, the Coalition for Improvements, which oversaw the "improving" of the Imperial system. It also had a military arm, CompForce, which provided very fanatical (but poorly trained) troops to supplement the Imperial armed forces. The Imperial Security Bureau (ISB), the Empire's secret police, was also subordinated to COMPNOR. The organization (specifically, the ISB) was a rival of Imperial Intelligence.

#### Ministries

The Imperial cabinet had little authority in the bureaucracy and rarely convened after the Battle of Yavin, but was nonetheless important in the day-to-day administration of the vast Galactic Empire. Known government ministries included:

* Ministry of Finance
* Ministry of Propaganda
* Ministry of Education
* Ministry of Agriculture
* Ministry of Energy

#### Rulers of the Galactic Empire

Emperor Palpatine was the head of state of the Empire and held absolute power prior to his death at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Following the deaths of Palpatine and Darth Vader, many different warlords fought for power in the post-Endor Empire, while the Imperial Ruling Council secured control over the central government. The known leaders included:

* 19 BBY–4 ABY: Emperor Palpatine
* 4 ABY

## Society and culture

Culture within the Galactic Empire was closely monitored and carefully engineered by state organisations such as the Imperial Security Bureau and COMPNOR's Coalition for Progress.

Military service was widely respected and enlistment encouraged across all levels of society, rewarded by elevated social status, lionization in propaganda and numerous economic concessions. It was a virtual requirement for entry into public life and the vast majority of the political class serve at least one term in the Imperial Armed Forces.

Human High Culture was initiated by the Empire's Ruling Council during the reign of Palpatine. It emphasizes the social, political and biological supremacy of humans, encouraging emulation and assimilation and severely curtailing the expression of other, non-Imperial, identities. Non-humans, although Imperial subjects under law, were widely discriminated against as a result of these cultural policies; some suffer outright persecution including the systematic enslavement under legal pretenses for use as forced labor, such as the Wookiees of Kashyyyk.

Male chauvinism, although never enforced by law, was also prevalent throughout the early Empire. Women were idealized as home-makers, wives and mothers, charged with safeguarding the future of the Empire.

## Economy

After the Clone Wars, the Empire stabilized and expanded the economy. Imperialization of the various trade agencies and businesses brought the economy under state control. There was no inflation during the days of Palpatine's regime. The principle form of currency used by the Empire was the Imperial Credit, although other forms of currency still continued to exist. Due to the frequent shifts in galactic power and the resultant fluctuation of value, most intergalactic commerce was conducted using the Standard Galactic Credit, implemented by the New Republic.

## Astrography

At its height, the Empire consisted of over one million member worlds and fifty million colonies, protectorates, and governorships. Its capital was Coruscant, renamed Imperial Center. Imperial territory was divided into regions, which in turn were divided into sectors, consisting of numerous star systems.