Thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, Force Sensitive individuals throughout the
galaxy gathered together and formed the Jedi Order, establishing an organization for the
study and understanding of the Force. Recognizing the tremendous power and terrible
destruction a Force user was capable of unleashing, the Order revered and worshipped the Force,
training themselves to suppress emotion and channel the energy only for noble purposes,
adhering to what became known as the Jedi Code. Observance of this code kept them from
abusing their power, or betraying what they called the light side of the force, standing
in opposition to the Dark Side, which channeled negative emotions like anger and hate to manipulate
force energy. Over the centuries and millennia the Jedi
Order travelled to many worlds, building Temples of worship and recruiting Force Sensitives,
specifically young children, to induct into the Order. Eventually, they found the Ice
world of Ilum discovering Kyber Crystals, which were attuned to the force and could
be used to craft weapons of pure energy. The Lightsaber, as it was named, became the traditional
weapon of the Jedi and the voyage to Ilum developed into a rite of passage for Jedi
younglings, so they might choose their crystal and craft their lightsaber.
Roughly 6000 years before the battle of Yavin, the Jedi Order fractured and the Sith came
to power in what came to be known as the Hundred year Darkness. It began when a Jedi Knight
started questioning the ways of the Light Side, focusing on his anger and hate to discover
the power of the Dark Side. Though his ideas were dismissed by the Jedi leadership, who
cast him out of the Order, his philosophy soon caught the attention of many more Jedi
and force-sensitives, who decided to leave their old lives behind follow the Dark Master.
Together, these Dark Side Force users formed the Sith Order, who stood in opposition to
the Jedi, using their abilities to advance their personal desires, exploiting others
and using violence for their own advantage.
The Sith Order established their homeworld on the planet of Moraband and as they grew
in number and strength, went to war with the Jedi, conquering worlds and building massive
superweapons, able to destroy entire planets. The Sith even spread to the planet of Coruscant,
building a Shrine, and imbuing it with their dark powers. Yet even as Sith influence expanded,
the Dark Lords could not press their advantage. The constant factionalism of the Order saw
Sith Masters plotting against each other and assassinating their rivals, weakening the
organization from within. As a result the Jedi were able to defeat the divided Sith
back, liberating fallen worlds, and disassembling their superweapons.
After the liberation of Coruscant, the Jedi sealed away the Dark Side Energies of the
Sith shrine, and built the Great Jedi Temple upon it’s foundation, to symbolize their
defeat of the Sith Order. Yet this action would ultimately prove a fatal mistake, as
the Dark energy of the Sith Shrine could not be fully contained. Allowing for a Sith Lord,
thousands of years later. to manipulate the energy, and blind the Jedi of the Great Temple
from sensing the Sith presence within the Galactic Senate.
Nearing the end of the Hundred Year Darkness, the Sith were defeated but not yet destroyed,
and so hid in the shadows, fighting against the Jedi wherever encountered. The Jedi in
turn, hunted down Sith where they could and did their best to keep Sith influence out
of allied worlds. Approximately 5000 years before the battle
of Yavin, the Massassi species, living on the Moon Yavin 4, built their Great Temple.
The Massassi, who were a slave race, bound to the Sith, eventually went extinct. However
their Temple survived the many years, and was eventually used as a Base of operation
by the Rebel Alliance during their war with the Galactic Empire. And would be the location
of infamous Battle of Yavin, which destroyed the Death Star and killed Grand Moff Tarkin,
one of the architects of the Empire.
The Massassi were not the only enslaved people of the time, the Slave trade flourished throughout
the Galaxy, largely encouraged and supported by the Great Zygerrian Slave Empire, which
had conquered and exploited many worlds in their rise to power. Fearing the loss of liberty
and self-governance, from hostile and aggressive powers such as the Zygerrians, several worlds
and governments united together, in what they called the Republic, later known as the Old
Republic. Uniting in their belief of equality and justice for all, they were governed by
a democratically elected Senate, and over the years flourished into a galactic power.
The Jedi Order, agreeing with their values and ideals, joined the Republic, vowing to
act as their protectors and allies. And so it was that when the Senate outlawed slavery,
the Jedi Order went to war with the Zygerrian Slave Empire, dismantling their trade networks
and spreading democracy and republic values to freed worlds. The slavers fought back but
were no match for the Jedi, forced to retreat to their homeworld. Though the Zygerrian’s
lost their mighty empire, they never forgot their war with the Jedi, and hatred for the
Order, as well as reverence for their lost glorious past, became ingrained in their culture.
As the years went on, the Republic continued to expand and flourish under the protection
of the Jedi. Yet over a thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, a new threat rose to
challenge Republic authority and dominance. The warriors of mandalor, had left their home
planet, to embrace their passion for violence, conquering neighboring worlds and slaughtering
their way to victory. Fearing the rapid and aggressive expansion of the Mandalorians,
the Jedi once again went to war on behalf of the Republic. However, since mandaloreans
fought not for conquest, but for the thrill of the fight itself, the War proved long and
draining, costing the Republic much in the way of blood and treasure. The expense and
difficulties of the war, caused Republic security to weaken significantly, eventually allowing
for a Mandalorean general to invade Coruscant, and sack the Great Jedi Temple stealing a
dark bladed lightsaber, known as the Darksaber. As the jedi and Republic fought against the
Mandalorean, a second front was opened by the Sith Order, who once again went to war
with the Jedi, hoping their weakened state would allow for the resurgence of a Sith Empire.
And while the strain of both conflicts ultimately collapsed the Old Republic government. Their
Jedi allies continued on, and were able to defeat both the Sith and Mandalorean threats.
The Mandaloreans were pushed back to their homeworld, while the Sith were destroyed both
by the Jedi and their own continued infighting. Until only 1 Sith Master survived the war,
known to history as Darth Bane. Recognizing the self-destructive nature of the Sith, and
wanting to avoid internal power struggle in the future, Darth Bane reformed the Sith Order,
creating the Rule of 2. The Sith Master declared that for the Dark Order to truly thrive and
achieve vengeance against their Jedi enemies, only 2 Sith could ever exist at any one time.
A Master to embrace the power of the Darkside, and an Apprentice to desire that power. In
this way they would work in the shadows, secretly manipulating events, working to destroy the
Jedi order and return the Sith to power throughout the Galaxy. Darth Bane was eventually tracked
down and defeated by the Jedi who became convinced he was the last of his Order. Yet the work
of Darth Bane, and the philosophy of the Rule of 2 continued, through his secret apprentice
who escaped Jedi notice. Though the Old Republic collapsed under the
strain of constant war, the defeat of the Mandalorians and Sith, allowed for a new Galactic
republic to emerge, adhering to the same values of democracy, equality and justice for all.
The Jedi once again declared themselves defenders of the Republic, this time focusing more on
diplomacy and peacekeeping, rather than destructive wars. For a thousand years the Republic flourished
and expanded their influence, stretching far across the galaxy without any need for major
wars or violent conquest. Local planetary and trade disputes were settled by negotiation
and treaty, often mediated by the Jedi and enforced by a galactic policing organization
known as the Judicials, who were more numerous than the Jedi, able settle smaller disputes
throughout the galaxy. Roughly 900 years before the battle of Yavin,
as the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order work to peacefully spread their ideals across the
galaxy, the planet of Naboo (847) opted to join the flourishing Republic. It would also
be during this time that they legendary Jedi Master known as Yoda was born.
Discovered to possess strong Force Sensitivity, Yoda was trained as a Jedi and would become
widely known as the wisest of the Jedi Order, famed for his incredible force powers, and
skill with a lightsaber. About 800 years before the Battle of Yavin, Yoda began teaching young
Jedi in the ways of the force, passing on the knowledge taught to him by his masters.
Yoda would become a foundational figure in the Order, rising to the rank of Grand Master,
even leading the Jedi through their eventual downfall and defeat by the Sith, ensuring
that the legacy of their Order would live on, through his final apprentice, Luke Skywalker.