Alderaan

This world, abundant with lush mountains, saw the evolution of the native Killiks from the most intelligent non-sentient species on the planet around 1,000,000 BBY. They constructed immense hives, such as those found in the Castle Lands close to Oroboro, and governed the planet until their departure. They colonized nearby Alsakan before venturing into deep space after depleting Alderaan's natural resources. Human colonists arrived on the planet from Coruscant via the Herglic Trade Empire in 27,500 BBY, establishing a harmonious and peaceful civilization. Settlers were attracted from across the Core Worlds, drawn by Alderaan's natural beauty. The Alderaanian monarchy eventually emerged, bringing with it numerous laws crafted to safeguard the environment.

Alderaan played a role as a founding member of the Galactic Republic.

During the Mandalorian Wars, Cassus Fett's forces threatened the planet with invasion, but the entire invading force was prematurely destroyed due to the misuse of the Muur Talisman, an ancient Sith artifact, which transformed the Mandalorians into rakghouls.

At the height of the Great Galactic War, the planet's tranquility was disrupted by a full-scale Sith Empire invasion. The Sith swiftly overpowered the local defenses and seized the entire royal family as hostages. Consequently, a Republic and Jedi task force launched a rapid counter-offensive against the Sith, successfully reclaiming the planet and inflicting a substantial defeat on the Sith forces.

Because of the Sith invasion, the Alderaanian leadership took a strong militaristic position against the Sith Empire in the Galactic Senate. In 3653 BBY, the Treaty of Coruscant brought the decades-long conflict to an end in favor of the Sith Empire, which had previously launched a devastating attack on the galactic capital Coruscant. As a sign of protest, Senator Gaul Panteer, the Alderaanian Crown Prince, left the Senate and withdrew Alderaan from the Republic.

The crown prince's actions caused a lot of disagreement on Alderaan. While many people agreed with what he did, others were angry about the secession from the Republic. The crisis got worse when the prince was killed and his mother died a few days later. The Alderaanian Parliament was quickly divided by fighting between different houses. A violent civil war started when one of these houses tried to take over by force.

During the following Interstellar Cold War between the Republic and the Sith, the planet became a battleground for border skirmishes and proxy battles between Republic and Sith forces. The Republic supported the House of Organa, while the Sith supported the previously exiled House of Thul, which wanted to take back the throne. Neither side had military forces on Alderaan. Around the same time, the Museum of Antiquities ordered a shipment of rare artworks which was however intercepted and replaced with worthless copies of the paintings made by the famous commercial artist Ornas Lodin.

During the conflict with the Eternal Empire, Malika Sturm hosted the cenntenial thranta race in the upper atmosphere of Alderaan. Alderaan was also one of the worlds where there was a Star Fortress put in orbit, but it was destroyed in 3631 BBY.

During the last five centuries of the Old Republic, Alderaan nobility was known to enjoy the seafood from Lamaredd distributed by Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies.

In 27 BBY, Alderaan was personally protected by Jedi Master Eeth Koth during the Ashaar Khorda crisis.

Generally, Alderaan was strongly against the Military Creation Act; they had their own security forces, but they stayed loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Alderaan allowed Refugee Relief Movement settlement by displaced exiles from Ando (including Orogor Binn and Sandi Maba and her family) and other Separatist worlds who wanted to remain Republic citizens. Because it helped these exiles, Alderaan was attacked directly—almost "being destroyed"—by General Grievous.

With the rise of the New Order, Queen Breha Organa and Viceroy Bail Prestor Organa adopted Leia Amidala Skywalker. The Galactic Empire violently ended the Jedi Praxeum on the planet, but some students managed to escape. Shortly after that, Jedi Knight Ylenic It'kla led a group of the Caamasi people to settle on Alderaan after Palpatine destroyed Caamas. Ylenic worked as Trustant of the Caamasi Remnant and adviser to the Organas.

Right after the Galactic Empire was formed, Alderaan was shaken by protests against the Empire, mainly from alien refugees who were now forced to pay a very high tax to go back home. Alderaan eventually became a safe place for rebels who wanted to fight against the Empire's growing oppression, which led to the planet's downfall. Because of this, the Alliance was so popular on the planet that the Alderaan Guards often visited families to tell them about any deaths in the service to the Alliance, with Kissek Doran being one example.

When Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, and Mon Mothma officially created the Rebel Alliance, many Alderaanians offered their resources and lives, even though they still remembered the Clone Wars. Many of the early warriors of the Alliance, and later many of its leaders and officers, were from Alderaan.

After the terrible events of the Clone Wars, Alderaan's frigates and light cruisers were taken apart, and the world's defensive weapons and superweapons were put on the armory warship Another Chance. The ship was programmed to keep jumping through hyperspace until the High Council called it home. They wouldn't get the chance.

Shortly after the (three-shot) destruction of Despayre, Alderaan was the first strategic target of the first Death Star. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin showed Princess Leia the Death Star's power by ordering the destruction of her home, even though Leia protested. While she said the planet had no weapons, it is believed to have had some of the strongest defenses in the Empire. When Death Star gunner Tenn Graneet flipped the switch to start the primary ignition, power was sent from the hypermatter reactor through the Superlaser, coming out at superluminal velocity. This was the first time the superlaser had fired a beam at full power.

The deaths of billions of sentient beings caused a huge disturbance in the Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi felt the disturbance while on his way to the Alderaan system and told Luke Skywalker that it felt "as if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced." On the Death Star, Force-sensitive stormtrooper Nova Stihl fainted from the shock of sensing all the deaths on Alderaan.

The plan went very wrong, pushing thousands of beings to join the Alliance, even in the Core Worlds, and causing many planets in the Mid Rim to openly rebel. Many Alderaanians in the Imperial military left to join the Rebel Alliance after finding out about their homeworld's destruction; one of these defectors was Tycho Celchu, a TIE fighter pilot. The Imperials tried to blame the Rebels for Alderaan's destruction, keeping a small number of people loyal to the Empire; however, very few people believed the lie.

The remains of Alderaan became known as the Graveyard, and many Alderaanians who were off-planet when Alderaan was destroyed held a private ceremony called the Returning, shooting capsules full of gifts for their friends and family. Some Alderaanian Exiles who called themselves the Guardians, patrolled the Graveyard to stop pirates from stealing the capsules. These Alderaanians were highly respected among the exiles. Han Solo and his crew of the Millennium Falcon were among the first to visit it to bring R2-D2 to Bail Organa, before the Falcon's navicomputer even showed Alderaan as destroyed.

In the months after Alderaan was destroyed, Imperial agents often waited for ships doing a Returning ritual. They boarded the ships and arrested the passengers and crew. The Rebel Alliance thought about quarantining the Graveyard because these Imperial actions were too risky for the Alliance.

In 0 ABY, a group of Alderaanians started a colony on Ejolus, but the Empire wiped it out only eight months after their homeworld's destruction. However, soon after the Ejolus colony was destroyed, the remaining refugees were taken in by the Alderaan Alliance, who gave them a place to live on New Alderaan discovered by the Rebel Alliance.

Even in 24 ABY, Force-sensitive people like Tenel Ka Djo could still feel echoes of the Force disturbance caused by the deaths of the planet's population. It was also at this time that Jacen and Jaina Solo got a piece of the planet's core, removed with a lightsaber, as a birthday gift for their mother, Leia.

Alderaan was the home of some of the galaxy's most well-known animals, such as the nerf, the grazer and the thranta. Alderaanian cities were often built very carefully to protect nature. One of these cities, Crevasse City was built on the walls of a canyon, making it almost invisible from above. Other cities were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital, Aldera, known for its university, was built on a small island in the middle of a caldera.

In the Castle Lands, the remains of Killik mounds stood silently, showing that the native species had disappeared for unknown reasons. Philosophers, poets, and artists often visited the Castle Lands to find inspiration and meditate.

Alderaan had eight thousand species of grass and even more wildflowers. Its plant life also included a large variety of spices, herbs, and grains. The planet didn't have any major oceans, but it did have a single polar ice cap. The rest of Alderaan's surface water was made up of thousands of lakes and connecting waterways.

Alderaanian culture valued education, the performing and fine arts, and peaceful ways to solve problems. They thought it was very important to be part of the Galactic Senate and later, its Imperial version. The Alderaanians always tried to live in harmony with their surroundings, which is clear in how they integrated their society into Alderaan's natural terrain. Alderaanians were known for their love of philosophy.

The average Alderaanian was very educated and cultured. Poets and artists did well on Alderaan. The beauty inspired poets, while the large grasslands were used as a canvas for grass paintings. Alderaan was also famous for its food. The wide variety of spices and herbs allowed chefs to experiment and create some of the best dishes in the galaxy. Steamed Alderaanian spiced wine was a popular drink among many.

Some of the planet's main exports included wine, art, and luxury goods. Alderaan was known as "Planet of Beauty."

Even though it was a democratic society, Alderaan was led by a hereditary constitutional monarchy, with the House of Organa in charge of the High Court and legislative High Council of Alderaan. Its monarchs have used the titles "Prince," "First Chairman," "Queen," "King" and "Viceroy." Usually, the heir to the Alderaan throne also served on the High Council of Alderaan and as Senator of Alderaan. A vizier helped the monarch govern, and many different Noble Houses had a lot of influence in the government.

Alderaan's government intentionally stopped itself from even questioning spacecraft leaving or arriving on the planet.

Three separate votes didn't produce a winner, so the Alderaanians contacted the Galactic Senate, which sent a committee including Jorus C'baoth to settle the dispute. The participants thought about the details of the situation and decided that House Organa had the rightful claim to the throne in a month.

Bail Organa was the leader of Alderaan and was on the planet when it was destroyed, while his heir and (secretly-adopted) daughter Princess Leia served as Senator of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate.

In the treatment, rough draft, second draft, and third draft of A New Hope in 1973-1975, Alderaan was the name of the capital of the New Galactic Empire. At that time, it was described as a giant gas planet that looked like Bespin, with a city that resembled Cloud City on it.

The original name in the second draft of A New Hope for what would become Alderaan was Ogana Major. Aquilae, Utapau and Ophuchi were also considered as names for worlds partially corresponding to Alderaan.

Grindelwald in Switzerland was scouted for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, to capture plate photography for backdrops on the planet Alderaan.

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, during the part where Revan, Carth Onasi and Bastila Shan are captured on the Leviathan, there is a dialog option to cite Alderaan as the location for the Dantooine Jedi Enclave. This was likely done as a joke, similar to how Princess Leia of Alderaan cites Dantooine as the location of the Rebel Base.

In Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Alderaan is featured in the queue's "advertisements" for various Star Tours packages, where it is referred to as "the safest planet in the galaxy."

The song "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers includes the lyrics "Space may be the final frontier/But it's made in a Hollywood basement/And Cobain can you hear the sphere/Singing songs of Station to Station/And Alderaan's not far away, it's Californication."