Alderaan

From the vantage point of space, Alderaan, a planet within the star system of the same name, resembled a blue-green sphere encased in a network of white clouds. Its terrain featured expansive water bodies and was dotted with snow-capped mountains, along with stretches of verdant grassy hills. In the galaxy, Alderaan was widely known as "the planet of beauty." The Alderaanians, with their artistic inclinations, held this beauty in high regard, yet the planet also concealed treacherous cliffs and forgotten chasms. Notable natural landmarks on Alderaan included the Cloudshape Falls, the Glarus Lagoons, and the Isatabith rain forest.

Alderaan was home to various grapevines, which were used to produce the well-known Toniray and emerald wine. The local wildlife consisted of creatures such as the Alderaanian wolf-cat, nerfs, and a species of white-winged bird.

The design of Alderaan's cities was carefully considered to ensure harmony with the surrounding natural environment. For instance, the palace of the royal family, a project spanning over a millennium, and the adjacent city were integrated into the snow-covered peaks. Alderaanian architectural designs utilized white synthstone, which served as inspiration for the architectural styles of certain mining economies in the Outer Rim Territories, including the floating colony of Cloud City and the planets Lothal and Garel.

Despite the lyrics of the traditional Alderaanian lullaby "Mirrorbright" mentioning a moon, the planet itself never had any natural moons.

Alderaan, a peaceful world, was among the original founders and long-standing members of the Galactic Republic, the democratic alliance that governed much of the galaxy. Upon the establishment of its monarchy, it was mandated that the designated heir to Alderaan must successfully complete a Challenge of the Heart, Challenge of the Mind and Challenge of the Body, which would be announced on their Day of Demand. Upon completion, they would be officially invested as heir. In ancient times, Alderaanian heirs participating in their Day of Demand were required to fight their way into the palace throne room. The Jedi High Council had a council on Alderaan before they permanently settled on Coruscant.

Yana Ro, believing she would enjoy the world, expressed a desire to visit Alderaan after the Night of Sorrow and severing her ties with the Path of the Open Hand cult. She proposed this to Shea Ganandra, with whom she intended to start a hauling business. During the High Republic Era, Alderaan thrived and, as a signatory of the Republic Defense Coalition treaties, was obligated to provide starships and personnel under the command of Republic military officers during times of crisis. These resources would be returned to Alderaan once the crisis had passed. Alderaan was called upon to fulfill this obligation around 232 BBY to assist the Republic in its fight against the Nihil, a group of marauders responsible for the Great Hyperspace Disaster.

Sometime between 40 BBY and 28 BBY, Princess [Breha Organa](/article/breha_organa], the sixteen-year-old heir apparent of Alderaan, participated in her Day of Demand, announcing her challenges of the heart, mind, and body. However, during her Challenge of the Body, Breha fell from the famous Alderaanian mountain Appenza Peak and would have perished if not for the swift action of the guards watching from a distance. Although the princess survived, she required the replacement of her heart and lungs with pulmonodes. Following her fall, Breha was officially invested as crown princess and heir to the throne of Alderaan. Years later, people would still recount Breha's accident.

Eventually, Breha Organa succeeded her mother as queen of Alderaan.

By the time of the Invasion of Naboo, Alderaan had enjoyed peace for generations. Senator Bail Antilles represented the planet in the Galactic Senate. In that year, Finis Valorum, the then-Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, was removed from office, and Antilles was nominated for the position in the subsequent election. However, Senator Sheev Palpatine, representing the sovereign system of Naboo, defeated the Alderaanian senator.

In 28 BBY, Padmé Amidala, the former queen of Naboo and now a senator, was invited to Alderaan by Queen Breha, and she and her entourage stayed at the royal palace for a week before returning to Naboo.

Ten years later, Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa, the prince consort to Queen Breha Organa, represented Alderaan in the Senate. At that time, the Republic faced a secessionist crisis due to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by Count Dooku, which pushed the galaxy to the brink of war. Through Organa, Alderaan was a member of Chancellor Palpatine's Loyalist Committee, which focused on maintaining the Republic's stability during the Separatist crisis and later worked to limit Palpatine's growing executive power. That year, an army of clones was discovered on Kamino, which the Senate would use to fight the Separatists. To protect the Republic from the impending threat, the Supreme Chancellor was granted emergency powers, a decision that went against Alderaan's pacifist values and its representative, ultimately leading to the Clone Wars. During the Clone Wars, Viceroy Bail Organa took on the role of Alderaan's military leader.

During the Clone Wars, Alderaan hosted a conference dedicated to assisting war refugees. Aurra Sing, a bounty hunter hired by the Hutt crime lord Ziro to seek revenge on Padmé Amidala for sending him to prison, nearly assassinated Padmé Amidala, then senator of Naboo, during the conference. However, Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi apprentice, foiled the plot. Many refugees from across the Republic sought refuge on Alderaan during the war, hoping to rebuild their lives or find a safe haven.

Queen Breha and Viceroy Bail extended aid to worlds devastated by the Separatists, providing not only money and supplies but also doctors, teachers, architects, builders, medics, and droids.

Around the time of the Battle of Kadavo, two Alderaanian tourists died in a speeder-bike accident on Tatooine. The Zygerrian News suggested that the accident occurred because the two had become intoxicated in the cantina of Mos Eisley.

The Clone Wars brought about changes on Alderaan. While it remained a peaceful planet without significant weaponry, the Royal Alderaan Civil Fleet became more formidable, its officers experienced greater hardships, the planet produced more practical goods in larger quantities, and its population quietly increased due to the influx of refugees.

Following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Viceroy Bail and Queen Breha adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker, the daughter of the deceased Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi Knight who became a Sith Lord. They renamed her Leia Organa and made her princess of Alderaan. Leia's adoption was announced on her Name Day three or four days after her birth and was celebrated publicly on Alderaan.

In 3 BBY, Leia Organa participated in her Day of Demand and, after completing her three challenges, was invested as crown princess and future queen of Alderaan.

As the Clone Wars ended, Chancellor Palpatine dissolved the Republic and established the Galactic Empire in its place. However, a small number of systems rebelled against the new regime, leading to the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic by Bail Organa and Mon Mothma of Chandrila, his former colleague in the Galactic Senate. During this period, Alderaan became the Alliance's primary source of munitions. Princess Leia Organa, the planet's crown princess and representative in the Imperial Senate, used her diplomatic immunity as an Imperial senator to conduct Rebel missions in restricted Imperial systems.

During the Galactic Civil War, Alderaan was designated as an Alliance safe world. It was included on a map of the galaxy that identified various Alliance safe worlds, starfighter hubs at level five or higher, rebel operations sectors and regional headquarters, and shadow planets with deep space caches. This map was later incorporated into The Rebel Files.

Approximately three years before the Battle of Yavin, Senator Bail Organa sent three Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvettes to the Phoenix Cell, which had suffered losses while fleeing Garel. To avoid direct support of the rebels, Senator Organa arranged for his adopted daughter Leia to deliver the vessels to Lothal. The Alderaanians risked losing their seat in the Imperial Senate, among other Imperial sanctions. Senator Organa arranged for the crew of the Ghost to "steal" the ships from an Imperial depot on Lothal to absolve Alderaan of blame for the "theft." Leia, with the assistance of the crew of the Ghost and former Governor Ryder Azadi, successfully delivered the three Hammerhead corvettes to the Phoenix rebels following a skirmish at the Imperial depot.

In 1 BBY, shortly before the Battle of Scarif and three weeks before the equinox festivities, Senator Bail Organa traveled to Alderaan to inform its people that "there would be no peace" after the discovery of plans for the Death Star, a planet-destroying Imperial superlaser. These plans were later stolen from the data vault on Scarif and transferred to the Tantive IV. Princess Leia of Alderaan, Bail's adopted daughter and a member of the Elder Houses, was captured by the Imperial Navy while smuggling the plans to the Alliance base. Organa was taken prisoner by Vader, the Emperor's second-in-command, and brought before Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, the Death Star's commanding officer.

Under the threat of her planet's destruction, Leia provided Tarkin with a false location for the rebel base. Despite this, Tarkin destroyed Alderaan, stating that Dantooine was too remote for an "effective demonstration." His aim was to punish the world for supporting the Rebellion, hoping that the annihilation would deter the rest of the galaxy from supporting the Rebels. The Imperials forced the princess to witness the obliteration of her home planet. The planet's destruction left behind only an asteroid field, which the Empire blockaded.

On Coruscant, the Empire's planetary capital, the numerous Alderaanian residents of Level 3204 began holding vigils for those who had perished in what they termed "the Disaster." As more information emerged about the Empire's role in Alderaan's destruction, the vigils evolved into riots, which were swiftly suppressed with force. The Empire defended its actions to its military, asserting that the planet's population had chosen its fate by supporting anarchy. Shortly after Alderaan's destruction, the Death Star was destroyed in the Battle of Yavin, claiming the lives of Tarkin and many other high-ranking Imperials.

Under Vader's orders, the Imperial Military was to "complete" the destruction of Alderaan by hunting down any remaining Alderaanians. Almost immediately after the Death Star's destruction, Leia Organa embarked on a mission to rescue Alderaanian survivors from Imperial reprisals. Following the Battle of Yavin, Vader used the remains of Alderaan as a reminder to worlds considering resistance against the Emperor. After an assassination attempt on himself at Shu-Torun, Vader gave Trios, the new Queen of that planet, one of these reminders. Rabael Dir Glorio, the last of House Glorio and 26th in line to the throne, attempted to avenge his house against the Empire but was abandoned and left for dead by a crew working for the Son-tuul Pride.

In 4 ABY, Leia married Han Solo on the forest moon of Endor. Due to Alderaan's destruction, Breha Organa could not attach the Rhindon Sword to Leia's waist before she met her husband. However, during the ceremony, Leia felt as if her mother was attaching the sword and her father, Bail Organa, was kissing her cheek. After the ceremony, Leia reflected that, had Alderaan not been destroyed, she would have been married at the cathedral in Aldera, wearing a customary lace dress, with an hour dedicated to the bell service, three different traditional meals with guests of rank, and more.

By 5 ABY, a flotilla of starships orbited the Alderaanian Graveyard, the new name for the debris left behind by the planet. Princess Leia used her political connections to divert scrap from the Death Star, initially slated for incineration, to construct a new space station around the planet.

By the time of the New Republic, Alderaan's destruction served as a stark reminder of the Galactic Empire's terrors for future generations and was often a sensitive topic. Surviving Alderaanians were treated with great respect for their lost world and people. For collectors, rare bottles of Toniray became highly prized commodities.

Alderaan was inhabited by humans, known as Alderaanians, who were renowned for their pacifist philosophy. Even during galactic conflicts, Alderaanians avoided weapons. However, they were not without courage, as many chose to join the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Their society was governed by the House of Organa, along with an individual holding the titles of Viceroy and First Chairman. The royal couple's female child was referred to as a princess. The Royal Family used streamlined cruisers for diplomatic missions.

According to Nash Windrider, Alderaan encouraged learning and growth among its people. Education was free, and people volunteered to teach various skills or crafts purely for enjoyment. Queen Breha herself served as the minister of education and personally mentored select young Alderaanians, including Evaan Verlaine, teaching them about their homeworld's culture and heritage.

Alderaan also had numerous traditions involving braids, with variations in who wore them, when, and why, depending on the continent and age. The Alderaanian monarch was expected to wear braids.

Every child on Alderaan owned a keepsake chest with designs carved by the child's parents and grandparents, although the child chose what went inside. Placing an item inside the chest indicated that the owner had outgrown it while still recognizing its personal, sentimental value. In adulthood, Alderaanians could open their chests, reflect on their past, and see how they had chosen to tell their own stories. It was traditional, though not mandatory, for the owner of the chest to give it to their parents upon coming of age as a sign of adulthood. Many Alderaanian heirs relinquished their keepsake chests before their investiture as crown prince or princess, although the ritual did not require it.

Alderaan made its debut in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the foundational film of the Star Wars saga. The planet was only seen from space during its destruction in that movie. In the treatment, rough draft, second draft, and third draft of what would become A New Hope, Alderaan was the name for the capital of the "New Galactic Empire." It was described as a giant gas planet resembling Bespin, with a city similar to Cloud City. In the second draft of A New Hope, Princess Leia's home planet was named Ogana Major. Aquilae, Utapau, and Ophuchi were also considered as names for worlds partially corresponding to Alderaan.

Following the success of A New Hope, a comprehensive ancillary world was developed around the movie. To ensure consistency, George Lucas created background stories and ideas. In these notes, Alderaan was described as an Earth-like planet, four or five million years old, with high snowcapped mountains and green pastures. The planet was also described as the capital of its star system and possessing its own Senate. In canon, the surface of Alderaan first appeared in the 2005 movie Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The planet's mountainous landscape was modeled after a location in the Swiss Alps.

In the 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Rebel Files, Alderaan was incorrectly placed in the Colonies instead of the Core Worlds.