What do we really know about the history of the Old Republic from Star Wars?

For thousands of years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic was one of the de facto major powers in the socio-political makeup of Star Wars‘ galaxy. But while some flashpoints are explored—especially the closer you get to the time of the fall of the Republic in the prequel trilogy—for the most part, the ongoing Star Wars continuity has preserved the Republic’s past within legend. But as the franchise becomes more inclined to delve into its distant past, from James Mangold’s Ancient Jedi Movie yes even Skeleton Crewstudy of of the Old Republic, how much do we really know about what the Republic was like longer a long time ago?

The Ages of the Galactic Republic

The governance of the Galactic Republic can largely be divided into four distinct periods— each shorter than the preceding, and the last two are essentially subdivisions of the second period. The largest are the two fundamental broad epochs of galactic history: one begins with the formal establishment of the Republic approximately 25,000 years before the events of the primary Star Wars film saga and the creation of the “modern” Republic – the galactic entity as we largely know it Star Wars‘ backstory material—roughly a thousand years before these films. The last two subdivisions are eras with which we are most familiar through the primary material: the period of the High Republic, running for about 400 years during the last era of the Republic after the Reformation, and its decline, as seen in The Acolyte and on Star Wars prequel trilogy with its eventual dissolution into the Galactic Empire.

The first of these periods remains the least studied at present Star Wars continuity, but is considerably more detailed in the old “Expanded Universe” franchise. While many of these stories remain expressly outside of current continuity, modern canon has made obscure slanders, some of these EU stories still remain canonically true in some form – but only in the broadest sense, with very little official material establishing lore of how the Republic was governed and existed in its oldest periods.

The actual “Old” Republic

Now, 24,000 years is a a lot of history, and for the most part, our current knowledge of what is most often referred to as the “Old Republic” by name (it has always been the Galactic Republic throughout its history) is deliberately vague. While the Expanded Universe thrives on exploring this period through things like Tales of the Jedi comics and most famously BioWare and Obsidian’s world building in Knights of the Old Republic seriescontemporary Star Wars canon treats this era as little more than myth, beyond hinting at elements of stories and characters from this period in the EU that still have some canon influence. This, of course, could change as we approach projects like Mangold’s aforementioned Dawn of the Jedi film, which will be set around a similar time to the formation of the Republic in approximately 25,000 BBY.

What we know about the Old Republic still bears some similarities to the more modern Republic in Star Wars movies. Coruscant has always been its seat of power, with the galactic core forming some of the oldest members of the Republic’s worlds and seats of power. The Jedi Order, also created at the same time, has also long had ties to the Republic, both spiritually and militarily. The appearance of more widespread hyperspace travelas well as financial support from other ruling planetary powers, allowed the nascent republic to expand its borders over thousands of years, accepting more member worlds and inevitably also facing conflict when other galactic powers crossed paths. The conflict defines much of what we know about this period of galactic history: we know that at one point the Republic clashed with the Zygerian Empire and bristled at its sanction of slavery, leading to a war between the Republic and the Jedi forces, who eventually destroying much of the Zigerian force base. We also know that the Mandalorians also went on numerous crusades against the Old Republic and the Jedi in this era, leading to all-out war on multiple occasions.

The rise of the breakaway Jedi faction that would eventually become the Sith—roughly 20,000 years after the founding of the Order—also created another major military front for the Jedi and the Republic. During their existence, the Sith fought numerous wars against the Jedi, bringing the Order itself into closer alliance with the Republic after the establishment of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Early conflict between The Jedi and the Sith after the schism saw the last faction driven from Republic space before the Sith reborn with their own galactic power, the Sith Empire rising from the planet Moraband. Collectively known as the Sith Wars, these engagements pushed the Republic into alliances with the Jedi as well as the Chish Empire, throwing the last millennia of Old Republic rule largely into the chaos of perpetual war, on multiple fronts against Sith and Mandalorian hostility.

The final Jedi-Sith war of this period saw the dominant Sith Empire effectively conquer much of the Republic’s holdings throughout the galaxy. Coruscant itself was sacked and occupied, and although it was eventually liberated by the Jedi, much of what was the Republic was still ravaged by interstellar conflict. The resurgent Jedi Order, along with the remnants of the Republic Army, went on the offensive that would pave the way for full-scale reform of the galactic institution.

Reformation, Rise and Fall

The liberation of Coruscant marked a significant turning point for the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Emboldened, the Jedi attacked the Mandalorians, leaving theirs the homeworld of Mandalore in a state of ecological devastation as well as the Mandalorian clans humbled to end their crusades against the Republic. This revival also heralded the beginning of the perceived end of the Sith Empire as a galactic power, as Jedi and Republic forces clashed with Imperial and Sith forces on the planet Ruusan around 1032 BBY. The near total extermination of the Sith forced the handful of survivors to abandon Moraband and go into hiding, leading to the establishment of Darth Bane’s “Rule of Two” which kept the Sith in shadow for centuries. But the victory also allowed the Republic to look into itself after millennia of perpetual warfare had nearly destroyed it in its turn.

The end of the Jedi-Sith War led to the formal reform of the Republic, including the first establishment of a democratic union with the creation of the Galactic Senate. Part of the process of ushering in a new era of peace also saw the Republic undergo a widespread demilitarization process –what a little conflict who came during this era were largely involved with the Jedi Order, assisting the Republic’s law enforcement branch, Judiciary peacekeepers in disputes, and internal affairs. This peace would eventually usher in a period seen as the height of the Galactic Republic’s reach and power in the wider galaxy, known as the Era of the High Republic. Beginning in approximately 500 BBY, the High Republic was a period through an expansionist policy throughout the Galactic Republic, from greater efforts to map out safe hyperspace travel routes on the Central Worlds and the Middle Ring, resulting in a push of Republic influence even further into the Outer Ring territories. This effort was also supported by the Republic Tracking Force, which worked alongside the Jedi Order to establish connected communication networks throughout the Republic’s advance into the Outer Rim, spawning the Holonet as one of the de facto communications and media networks across most of Republic space.

But although the High Republic was considered to be at the height of its influence and reach, much like the expansionist policies of the Old Republic before it, this was a period in which the Republic and the Jedi Order were once again embroiled in wider conflicts, particularly against pirate forces of Nihil encountered on the fringes of republican space during this period. The light of the High Republic would fade by about 100 BBY as the massive expansion of the galactic entity brought with it a growing sense of stagnation. As the Republic spread further into the Outer Ring, absorbing worlds in its path, trade found itself increasingly drawn from the lucrative fringes of Republic space and directly back to the cosmopolitan center of power of the Core Worlds. Corruption became widespread as the increasingly unwieldy senatorial body consolidated power toward the center of the Republic, and the limited reach of the judiciary and Jedi peacekeepers left crime and piracy rampant throughout much of the Republic’s most expansive regions. Corporate power in these regions is becoming more common, leading to the growing influence of financial blocs and institutions such as the Trade Federation or banking clans.

It was with the rise of these economic powers—given political power and influence in the Senate, both through backroom deals and their own delegated representation in the governance of the Republic—that the Republic laid the foundations for its own destruction. The Trade Federation invasion of the Middle Rim world of Naboo, aided by the shadowy machinations of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, led to an upheaval in the Senate and the removal of Chancellor Finis Valorum, the latest scion of a family whose ruling power in the Republic had merged over the generations. From there, Sidious, acting under his guise as Nabuccan Senator Shieve Palpatine, rose to power as the newest Supreme Chancellor, further manipulating the growing discontent of worlds outside the galactic core, along with his latest apprentice – former Jedi Master and Count of Sereno, Dooku – to organize an official separatist movement in the Confederation of Independent Systems.

The Separatist Crisis and the galactic conflict that resulted in the Clone Wars—bringing with it the creation of the first standing army the Galactic Republic had seen in thousands of years—was the culminating act of Palpatine’s manipulation of galactic events to bring conformity at the same time as a usurper of political power within the republic (encouraged through a series of dictatorial powers granted through emergency acts in support of the war effort) and the architect of the Sith’s Revenge against the Jedi Order. Nearly 25,000 years after its founding, the discord that had once defined and then reformed the Republic shattered it completely with the culmination of the Clone Wars, the destruction of the Jedi Order in response to an alleged coup d’état, giving Palpatine the opportunity to dissolve the Republic and to rebirth it as the first Galactic Empire. His rule may have been short – and replaced by the New Republic, which still carries many of them burdens and errors from his immediate past—but Palpatine accomplished the unthinkable by ending tens and thousands of years of spiritual and political influence with the end of the Jedi Order and the Republic.

Want more io9 news? See when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek releases, what’s next for DC Universe on film and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.