The Galactic Empire is a fictional autocracy featured in the Star Wars franchise. It was first introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars and also appears in its two sequels: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and is the main antagonist faction of the original trilogy. By the time of the sequel trilogy, which starts three decades following the events of the original trilogy, the government has collapsed.
The Empire's origins are depicted in the prequel Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), where it replaces the Galactic Republic at the end of the Clone Wars orchestrated by Palpatine, who was 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 identity is only known by a small few throughout his life. Palpatine claims that the Jedi attempted to assassinate him and overthrow the Galactic Senate and declares the Jedi to have committed treason. Palpatine declares that the civil war with the separatists in combination with the Jedi coup d'état require the reorganization of the Republic into a state that can provide stability, and a safe and secure society, a Galactic Empire with himself as Emperor. The Senate that he has manipulated overwhelmingly applauds Palpatine's decision.
Emperor Palpatine proceeds to purge the Jedi, who had been the upholders of peace and justice in the Republic, and replaces them by redeeming the Sith. Though Palpatine's Sith identity remains a secret to most, his apprentice Darth Vader is the Sith Lord who is publicly known to the galaxy as the ally of Palpatine who is serving the Empire to purge the galaxy of the Jedi. By the time of Episode IV: A New Hope, the Empire has transformed into a fully totalitarian regime, opposed by the Alliance To Restore The Republic.
The Galactic Empire is described and portrayed in various Star Wars media as a brutal dictatorship, one based on "state terrorism, xenophobic hatred, enslavement and genocide of nonhumans, power projection, threat of lethal force, and, above all else, constant fear".
Video Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
Depiction
Origins
- Twilight of the Republic
The Galactic Empire was born out of the collapsing Old Republic. However, its seeds are planted during the Clone Wars, the epic war between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems depicted in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, amid a trade dispute, blockade and invasion of Naboo in the Mid Rim Territories by the Trade Federation, then-Senator Palpatine convinces Naboo's Queen Padmé Amidala to address the Galactic Senate, in order to call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor of the Republic Finis Valorum's leadership, due to his alleged inability to act quickly to end the occupation of Naboo. The crisis on Naboo allows Palpatine to be elected Chancellor.
When the extent of the Separatist threat becomes clear in Episode II, the Old Republic Senate, the legislature of the Republic, grants Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the crisis. This conflict allows Palpatine to remain in office long after his term as Chancellor officially expires. Palpatine promises to return his powers to the Senate once peace and order is restored to the galaxy. His first order is to create an army of clone troopers resulting in the construction of a massive military. He takes advantage of the conflict to increase his political power, and by the time of Episode III, he is effectively a dictator.
The Jedi begin to distrust the Chancellor's motives, fearing he has come under the influence of a Dark Lord of the Sith named Darth Sidious. Palpatine insists to the Jedi that the war, and thus his emergency powers, will continue until Separatist leader General Grievous is killed. Their concerns are shared by several Senators, who suspect Palpatine may not return his emergency powers to the Senate as promised. Among them are two who had long supported Palpatine, Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa. The film eventually reveals that Palpatine and Sidious are one and the same, and that he has been manipulating the Republic and the Separatists against each other.
- The Great Jedi Purge
When the Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker discovers Palpatine is actually the mysterious Sith lord Darth Sidious, he returns to the Jedi Temple to inform Jedi Master Mace Windu what he has learned. Windu then leaves with three other Masters to arrest Palpatine, instructing Anakin to remain at the temple. Anakin ignores Mace Windu's directive and returns to the Chancellor's office to prevent the Jedi from killing him; Palpatine has manipulated him into believing that he has the power to save Anakin's pregnant wife, Padmé Amidala, from dying in childbirth. Mace Windu, with a cadre of Jedi, enters Palpatine's office and declares that he is under arrest for crimes against the Republic, and that the Senate will determine his fate. Palpatine dispenses with his false modest persona and reveals his power-hungry nature, retorting "I am the Senate!". Palpatine produces a lightsaber and quickly dispatches all but Windu. When Anakin arrives, Windu is standing over the disarmed Palpatine, prepared to strike. Anakin intervenes on Palpatine's behalf by cutting off Windu's lower arm, disarming Windu and allowing Palpatine to send Windu plunging to his death with a blast of Force lightning. Anakin then submits to the dark side of the Force, becoming Palpatine's third Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.
Palpatine declares the Jedi to be traitors and enemies of the Republic, and issues Order 66: Operation Knightfall. During the creation of the Clone Army, Palpatine ordered Jedi Master Syfo-Dyas to instruct the Kaminoans to implant a fail-safe chip into the clones, with a code embedded that allowed them to turn on their Jedi commanders, allowing for the commencement of Operation Knightfall. Led by Darth Vader, the Grand Army of the Republic, who once took orders from the Jedi, all but exterminate the Jedi Order in a massive galaxy-wide slaughter. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor for life. The Senate enthusiastically supports Palpatine, although a few senators, like Padmé and Bail Organa, realize that the freedom enshrined by the Republic has been destroyed in the name of a "safe and secure society." A deleted scene in the film establishes that the two are among the main founders of the Rebel Alliance, which later arises in A New Hope.
Two remaining Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, attempt to attack and destroy the Sith once and for all. Yoda confronts Palpatine, and Obi-Wan duels his former apprentice, now Darth Vader. Obi-Wan defeats Vader and leaves him for dead, but Yoda's duel with Palpatine ends in a stalemate and he is forced to flee for his life; both Jedi are forced to go into exile. Grievously wounded, Vader is rescued by Palpatine and fitted with cybernetics and a black suit of armor with a life support system, which he will wear for the rest of his life. Padme's children, with their mother dead and their father a Sith Lord, are placed into adoptive families until the time is right for the Jedi to reappear in the galaxy and overthrow the Empire.
Organization of power
Imperial Government
- Imperial Palace
With the end of the Clone Wars, the purging of the Jedi Order and the formation of the First Galactic Empire, Palpatine rules with absolute power as Emperor. He retains the emergency powers that had been voted to him in Attack of the Clones, allowing him to rule for decades under what amounts to martial law. Lord Darth Vader is the Emperor's second-in-command and his ruthless chief enforcer, greatly feared throughout the galaxy; a command from Vader is to be considered a command from Palpatine. In the 19 years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Palpatine rules the galaxy from the confines of his heavily guarded Imperial Palace on Coruscant. During that same time, Vader travels extensively to most of the galactic regions to enforce the Emperor's rule.
The Imperial Palace, once known as the Jedi Temple when it was the home of the Jedi Order, was a complex on Coruscant that served as the seat of power for Darth Sidious during his reign.
- Imperial Senate and Grand Moffs
The Senate, now known as the Imperial Senate, nominally continues to exist, though it is virtually powerless. Palpatine dissolves the Senate (off-camera) in A New Hope after discovering that several members of the Senate are founding members of the Rebellion. Aside from Palpatine, the real power in the Empire is in the hands of planetary system-administrators (regional governors), the "Moffs" (sector governors) and the "Grand Moffs" (quadrant governors) who oversee collections of sectors such as the "Outer Rim". After Palpatine dissolves the Senate, he commissioned the regional governors with a Star Destroyer, a division of soldiers and are formally granted direct control over their planet territories; each reports directly to their respective Moffs and Grand Moffs. The Grand Moffs themselves held such prestige that they outranked Darth Vader's authority de facto. Though this chain of command, Palatine dictates direct control over all population centers.
Imperial Military
In A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin explains the Empire's military doctrine of peacekeeping, internal security, and counter-insurgency; describing its state terrorism-philosophy as rule through fear of force rather than force itself. The instrument of this power is the military, which includes the Imperial Stormtroopers, a massive fleet of Star Destroyers, and the Death Star, a moon-sized superweapon capable of destroying entire planets. Plans for the Death Star first appear (in universe chronology) in Attack of the Clones and construction begins at the end of Revenge of the Sith.
- Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard (or Red Guard) were elite, red-helmeted and red-cloaked stormtroopers who serve as Emperor Palpatine's personal bodyguards. In addition to strict requirements of height, strength, intelligence, and loyalty, only the most capable soldiers in the Imperial Military qualified for duty in the ranks of the Royal Guard. On occasion if needed or ordered by Palpatine, they could take orders from his apprentice, Darth Vader.
In the waning days of the Republic, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine formed a personnel security detail of red-robed guards whom he favored over the Senate Guard. He additionally began to phase out the Senate Guard with the clone shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard. Eventually, as Galactic Emperor, Palpatine disbanded the Senate Guard altogether and replaced them with his Royal Guard and the stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire.
- Imperial Army
The Imperial Army is the main ground force of the Galactic Empire. It operates massive ground combat vehicles and maintains garrisons across the galaxy. It also cooperates with other branches of the Empire in a variety of operations. The Imperial Army consists of a considerable number of legions, enough to project power throughout the galaxy. Some of the legions are stationed on the capital planet Coruscant as part of the Emperor's personal security, while others are scattered in the Imperial Navy and planetary garrisons across the galaxy. Imperial Army officers and crew typically wear the Imperial standard green uniforms when not clad in armor.
- Imperial Navy
The Imperial Navy, also referred to as the Imperial Starfleet, was the military arm of the Galactic Empire in charge of maintaining security, peace and order in the galaxy. Commanded by Darth Vader, it absorbed the military forces of the Galactic Republic after Palpatine's declaration of the New Order. Organization of the Imperial Navy was assigned to the Moffs.
At its peak, the Imperial Navy fielded millions of warships, including an estimated 25,000 Star Destroyers, fulfilling the Emperor's will throughout the galaxy. The Empire's central warship cadre is well structured and uniformed, but the Imperial Navy suffers against strike craft, largely due to the inadequacies of its own starfighters and point defense. The Empires focus on size, firepower, and terror came at the expense of a well-balanced fleet. After its defeat at the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire split up into warring factions and the Imperial Starfleet along with it. While much of the remnants of the Imperial Navy were later reunited under impressive Imperial commanders, the military organization covered in this article ceased to exist shortly after the death of the Emperor.
Specific responsibilities of the Imperial Navy included defending Imperial citizens from space-based threats (such as pirates, smugglers and rebel contingents), enforcing Imperial will, and overseeing commerce through customs and blockade operations. The Imperial Navy also performed orbital bombardments and transported major ground force deployments, supporting them with space, orbital, and aerial support.
Imperial Navy officers wore the same standard uniform that their Army counterparts used but was colored grey, and both services used colored chest plaques to denote rank.
After the Battle Of Endor (4 ABY), the navy was scattered.
- Imperial Starfighter Corps
The Imperial Starfighter Corps was the starfighter pilot branch of the Galactic Empire. Although the Corps was a component of the Navy, most pilots were assigned to ground operations with the Imperial Army.Some Imperial starfighters include TIE (Twin Ion Engine) fighters, TIE Intercepters, TIE Strikers, TIE Silencers (by the First Order), and TIE Bombers.
- Imperial Stormtrooper Corps
Contrary to popular belief, Stormtroopers are not in fact the army, but rather an elite corps that works as a ground force for the Navy--similar to a Marine Corps. The Stormtroopers operate in conjunction with the Army and Navy, but in practice are organized like marines with their own separate divisions. When not in their signature white armor, Stormtrooper officers wear black uniforms.
- Imperial Security Bureau
The Imperial Security Bureau are the military law enforcement and intelligence agency of the Galactic Empire that was charged with matters of state security and ensuring the loyalty of citizens to the Empire. It functions autonomously as a secret police organization (ISB officers are often found as political officers in Army and Navy units). Officers of the ISB wear white uniforms. Aside from that, it happened to be one of the many umbrella organizations under the greater Commission for the Preservation of the New Order, and was larger than its sister agency Imperial Intelligence.
- Imperial Intelligence
The Imperial Intelligence was an espionage organization of the Galactic Empire that provided services to the Imperial Military, the Joint Chiefs, and Emperor Sheev Palpatine. It had oversight of the operations of the Naval Intelligence Agency which was briefly made its own separate organization before being folded back under Imperial Intelligence. The Imperial Security Bureau was a sister agency and rival to Imperial Intelligence over resources, abilities, and areas of responsibility.
Galactic Civil War
In a deleted scene in Revenge of the Sith, several influential senators including Bail Organa of Alderaan, Padme Amidala of Naboo, and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, meet in secret to form what will later become the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly referred to as the Rebel Alliance. During the two decades that take place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the Rebellion grows and becomes a formidable enemy of the Empire.
The Death Star, a moon-sized space station with sufficient firepower to destroy an entire planet, is designed to be the supreme weapon of the Empire's power. Grand Moff Willhuff Tarkin, the station's commander, shortly after informing the heads of the Imperial Military that Palpatine has dissolved the Senate, demonstrates that power in A New Hope, when he destroys Alderaan merely as a show of force. In the film's climactic scene, however, the station is assaulted by a small force of Rebel starfighters who have come into possession of the station's blueprints. The battle ends with the Death Star's destruction at the hands of Luke Skywalker, which is the Rebel Alliance's first major success against the Empire.
After several more years of conflict, the Alliance finally overthrows the Empire in Return of the Jedi. In the film's climactic battle, the Rebellion destroys the second Death Star and a number of capital ships that contain a great portion of the Imperial Navy's highest-ranking officers. During this battle, Vader redeems himself by killing Palpatine in order to save his son Luke Skywalker, but is himself mortally wounded in the process.
Successor
After the destruction of the second Death Star, the remnants of the Empire fractured into several splinter factions. The First Order is one of these groups, led by former Imperial officers who adhere to the principles of the Empire's government. They become a major faction in the galaxy in The Force Awakens and face a reformed Rebel Alliance called the Resistance.
Expanded universe
In the Star Wars expanded universe, the Rebels, renamed the New Republic, fight to claim the galaxy from remaining Imperials styling themselves as independent controllers of portions of the galaxy.
- Jedi Prince series
In the Jedi Prince novel series, a group of impostors calling themselves the Prophets of the Dark Side install a three-eyed mutant named Trioculus as Emperor by claiming that he is Palpatine's son. By the end of the series, Palpatine's true son, Triclops, helps the Rebels defeat this new enemy.
- Thrawn Trilogy
In the Thrawn trilogy book series, the New Republic is almost brought to its knees by Grand Admiral Thrawn, the new leader of the remnants of the Empire and a military genius. By the time of the third book in the series, Thrawn has nearly defeated the New Republic, but they claim victory in a last-ditch effort, and Thrawn is killed by his own bodyguard, shattering the Empire's unity.
- Dark Empire
In the Dark Empire comic book series, Palpatine is reborn in a clone body and unites most of the scattered remnants of the Empire (forming the Dark Empire), hoping to retake control of the galaxy. By the sequel, Empire's End, he is defeated and destroyed once and for all.
- Jedi Academy Trilogy
In the Jedi Academy Trilogy, an Imperial admiral named Daala commandeers the remainder of the Imperial Navy and mounts a ferocious assault on the New Republic. She nearly succeeds in taking over the galaxy, but is foiled by New Republic pilots Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian in the final entry, Champions of the Force.
- Darksaber
In the novel Darksaber, Admiral Daala, frustrated with the Imperial warlords in the Core fighting and bickering amongst themselves, orchestrates the warlords' deaths and unites and becomes the leader of the remaining Imperial forces. After being defeated in battle once again by the New Republic, she resigns and selects Gilad Pellaeon (originally in the Thrawn Trilogy) as the new leader, where he becomes Grand Admiral Pellaeon.
- New Jedi Order
By the time of the New Jedi Order series, the remaining Imperial military factions sign a truce with the New Republic, becoming the Imperial Remnant. The former enemies then become allies against the invading Yuuzhan Vong. A few years later, the Remnant help the Galactic Alliance fight an assimilating insect species known as the Killiks, and in the early Legacy era they are a third party in the Second Galactic Civil War but made peace with the Alliance and Confederation. All three of these were represented by former Imperial commanders.
- Legacy (series)
The Star Wars: Legacy comic book series, set 130 years after the original Star Wars film, explains that, during a civil war, the New Galactic Empire known as the Fel Empire declares war on the Galactic Federation Of Free Alliances (Galactic Alliance), the successor state of the New Republic. This conflict begins the Sith-Imperial War, which after three years leads to the eventual defeat of the Galactic Alliance and the Galactic Empire asserting its domination over the galaxy once again. Another split occurs as the Sith Lord Darth Krayt the leader of the One Sith, usurps the throne and forces Emperor Roan Fel to take refuge in the fortress planet of Bastion. The Galactic Alliance Remnant led by Admiral Gar Stazi, Fel's forces known as the Empire-in-exile led by Empress Marasiah Fel and the New Jedi Order led by Jedi Master K'Krukk united against Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire and successfully destroy it and the three united factions formed a new galactic government out of their organizations called the Galactic Federation Triumvirate but the former Empire-in-exile still technically carried on the New Order that Palpatine had created. The One Sith however, led by Darth Wredd, remain at large and wage a war against the GFT known as the Darth Wredd's insurgency but two years later in 140 ABY, the former Empire-in-exile works with the other two factions and kill Wredd, dissolve the One Sith, which defeats the Sith once and for all and allows the Galaxy to enter an era of peace.
- Successors
In the Expanded Universe the successor to the Empire was Trioculus's Empire (ruled by Trioculus) whose successor was Thrawn's Empire (led by Grand Admiral Thrawn from Wayland in the Wayland System of the Ojoster Sector of the Outer Rim Territories) whose successor was the Dark Empire (ruled by Emperor Palpatine from Byss in the Byss System of the Deep Core) which successor was the Crimson Empire (by Carnor Jax from Ord Cantrell of the Ord Cantrell system of the Fath Sector of the Outer Rim Territories) whose successor was the Imperial Remmant whose successor was the Fel Empire.
Maps Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
Themes
Star Wars creator George Lucas sought to make the Galactic Empire aesthetically and thematically similar to Nazi Germany and to appear to be fascist. Like Nazi Germany, the Galactic Empire is a dictatorship based on rigid control of society that dissolved a previous democracy and is led by an all-powerful supreme ruler. The Empire, like the Nazis, desires the creation of totalitarian order and utilizes excessive force and violence to achieve their ends. The name of the Empire's main soldiers, the Stormtroopers, is somewhat similar to the name given to Hitler's Sturmabteilung (SA, "storm detachment") paramilitary bodyguards. The visual appearance of Darth Vader in his all-black uniform combined with his devout obedience to the Emperor has allusion to the black-uniformed Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS). The uniforms of Imperial military officers also bear resemblance to uniforms used in Nazi Germany as well as nineteenth-century Germany's ulans (mounted lancers)--who wore a tunic, riding breeches, and boots like the Empire's officers wear--as well as the Imperial officers' cap resembling the field caps historically worn by German and Austrian troops. In addition to Nazi Germany, there was also at least one portion of the Galactic Empire that was based on the Soviet Union, which is the various military personnel and TIE Fighters are flying in formation as Palpatine arrives on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. In the commentary track for the film's DVD release, Lucas admitted that the ceremony for the Emperor's arrival was inspired by May Day military parades in the Soviet Union. Lucas has also indicated in various sources that the Galactic Empire was largely derived from America during the time of the Vietnam War, and more specifically Richard Nixon's time as President, with it dating back as early as 1973 when he first started working on the first film, with his friend Walter Murch also verifying this to be the case.
Palpatine's rise to power, and transforming a democracy into a dictatorship has been related to those of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.
Palpatine's consolidation of power and declaring himself emperor is like the Roman political figure Octavian (later renamed Augustus), in that Octavian manipulated the Roman Senate as Palpatine did with the Galactic Senate; he legitimized authoritarian rule by saying that corruption in the Senate was hampering the powers of the head of state; he pressured the Roman Senate to give him extraordinary powers as Consul of the Republic to deal with a crisis and he falsely claimed that he would rescind those powers once the crisis was over; and, like the transition of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, Octavian, like Palpatine, relied on his strong control over military force.
The power relationship in the Galactic Empire between Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader has been likened to that within Nazi Germany between Hitler and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, as well as that between Joseph Stalin and the head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria, in that Darth Vader is a dictator's main henchman who is completely ruthless in serving his master.
See also
- Isaac Asimov's Galactic Empire
- Imperium of Mankind
- List of Star Wars characters
- Utopian and dystopian fiction
- State terrorism
References
External links
- Galactic Empire in the StarWars.com Databank
- Galactic Empire on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
- DomusPublica.net (No longer active, this archive as of September 27, 2005 has at least some of the essays intact)
- The Case for the Empire, The Weekly Standard
- Web.Archive.org, "No Case for the Empire"
- GalacticEmpireDatabank.com
- Why did The Galactic Empire Hate Aliens?
Fan societies / clubs
- The Empire Reborn - Roleplaying and gaming society (PC Games)
- The Galactic Empire - Roleplaying game with strong emphasis on political and military training.
- The Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet - PC Gaming club for all Star Wars games and Star Conflict.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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