Galactic Empire
The Galactic Empire was formerly the Old Republic, a democratic interplanetary government based on the planet Coruscant. The Republic was subverted and twisted over years by then-Senator Palpatine, who, following the Clone Wars, eventually managed to install himself as Emperor and change the representative democracy into a dictatorship. The Senate of the Republic was dissolved, and the Galactic Empire was born.
The Rebel Alliance, with such heroes as Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Lando Calrissian on their side, battled the Empire, sparking the Galactic Civil War with the Battle of Yavin. More and more star systems were liberated over the years, until, finally, the Empire was shattered at the Battle of Endor, where Palpatine and his lieutenant, Darth Vader, both died.
During the collapse of the Empire, the Rebel Alliance came to form the New Republic. In the aftermath, the remnants of the Imperial forces regrouped in the Unknown Regions where they established the First Order.
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Overview
Leadership of the government lay in the complete authority of the Galactic Empire.
Governors of entire regions of space had the title of Grand Moff.
Command over large fleets were given to skilled officers that held the rank of Grand Admiral.
The Empire established the Imperial Security Bureau for the duty of maintaining security, silencing sedition and apprehending traitors.
They made use of a variety of Walker designs that included:
- AT-DP Walker :
- AT-ST Walker :
- AT-AT Walker :
- AT-ACT Walker :
Within their fleets, they utilised:
- Raider II-class corvette : these agile ships had a sizable crew that manned its turbolasers and hyperdrives with it being a dangerous enemy to Starfighters.
- Gozanti-Class Cruiser : the Imperial included heavier shields, faster engines and enhanced weapons with them being used for transporting walkers to a planetary surface or deploying several TIE Fighters.
- Arquitens-class light cruiser : these Imperial Light Cruisers
- Imperial Interdictor : these massive ships were initially experimental vessels that were equipped with gravity well generators which could be used to pull ships out of hyperspace.
Members
- Palpatine :
- Darth Vader :
- Grand Moff Tarkin :
- Thrawn :
- Orson Krennic :
Notes
- The Galactic Empire first appeared in the Original Trilogy where they appeared as antagonists.
Alternate Versions
- In the Star Wars: Legends continuity, the Empire was replaced by the New Republic, though some pockets remained under Empire control for years to come and battled the burgeoning new government.
In other media
Video games
- In Star Wars Galaxies, the Galactic Empire appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront, the Empire appeared in the setting of the video game.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront II, the Empire appeared in the setting of the video game. In the campaign mode, the player took the role of the 501st Legion of the clone army of the Galactic Republic and continued service from being Clone Troopers to being Stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire.
- In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the Empire featured heavily in the setting of the video game. It was shown that they had conquered the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk which was where Darth Vader found a young boy able to use the Force and adopted the child as his secret apprentice named Starkiller.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront, the Empire appeared as a playable faction in the setting of the video game. An elite unit of Imperial Special Forces known as Inferno Squad were shown to be used by the Empire.
Appearances
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope:
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back:
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi:
- Star Wars: Rebels:
- Rogue One:
