The galaxy

Spanning 100,000 to 120,000 light-years in diameter, or 37,000 parsecs (where one parsec equals 3.258 light years), the galaxy's age was estimated at roughly 13 billion years. Within the galaxy's luminous disk resided around four hundred billion stars, with approximately a quarter having undergone proper surveying by the galactic community by the Galactic Empire's time. The luminous disk revolved around the Galactic Center, a supermassive black hole whose mass was equivalent to four million suns. Even as late as the Declaration of a New Order, only probe droids had ventured to the black hole situated at the Galactic Center. The known galaxy encompassed close to a billion inhabited star systems, ranging from uncharted smugglers' settlements to planet-encompassing ecumenopoleis where virtually every meter of ground was developed. During the Galactic Empire's rule, nearly seventy million of these systems possessed sufficient population to warrant some form of representation.

The galaxy featured a bulge around the Galactic Center, forming a luminous sphere referred to as the Deep Core. This region, spanning around seven thousand light-years, contained approximately thirty billion densely packed stars. Toward the center, the stars of the Deep Core were separated by only about a hundredth of a light-year, resulting in frequent collisions and the stripping of stellar cores. The majority of stars within the luminous galaxy were situated in a disk of spiral arms that rotated around the Deep Core. Galactic civilization designated four spiral arms: the Bakchou Arm, the Ettarue Arm, the South Arm, and the Tingel Arm. The most radiant supergiant stars were concentrated within the spiral arms, alongside glowing clouds of gas and dust, which contributed to the perceived gaps between the arms, despite those areas being abundant with stars.

Most stars resided within a thousand light-years above or below the luminous disk's plane, forming a two thousand-light-year region known as the "thin disk." Extending three thousand, five hundred light-years on either side was the "thick disk," which contained fewer stars compared to the thin disk, with even fewer possessing systems of planets.

Extending beyond the thick disk was the stellar halo, a vast sphere that enveloped the entire galaxy and contained a few billion stars in highly elliptical orbits. Approximately two hundred globular clusters orbited within this region. These globular clusters were generally lifeless, packing hundreds of thousands of extremely old, inhospitable stars into a space of only a hundred light-years. Nevertheless, many of these globular clusters were considered sights of exceptional beauty, such as Cosm's Well.

Seven dwarf satellite galaxies orbited the primary galaxy, some containing as many as twenty billion stars. They were categorized based on their distance. The closest, Companion Aurek, also known as the Rishi Maze, was a tangled network of stars located high above the galactic plane. Companion Besh, also known as Firefist, was situated approximately 150,000 light-years away from the galaxy and had only been surveyed by probots. The remaining satellite galaxies, from Companions Cresh through Grek, were located much further out. Most of the Companions were characterized by ancient, metal-poor remnants of stars and limited signs of life.

A circumferential hyperspace barrier significantly complicated hyperspace travel beyond the disk, generally discouraging extra-galactic exploration. This band of rapidly spinning whorls and eddies, impossible to traverse at faster-than-light speeds, was believed by some astrophysicists to be the creation of a mysterious ancient race known as the Celestials. Beyond the galaxy's edge, separating it from other galaxies, lay a vast expanse of starless space referred to as the Intergalactic Void.

Despite the presence of a hyperspace disturbance beyond the galaxy, hyperspace within the galaxy enabled the existence of an expansive and diverse civilization. Among the galaxy's 400 billion stars, approximately 180 billion were orbited by a system of planets. The majority, 90%, of the galaxy's stars fell within the Main Sequence, while the remaining 10% consisted of protostars or stellar remnants like white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. The larger blue and white stars of the sequence, such as O-, B-, and A-type stars like Garnib, Kessa, and Colu, had lifespans of only a few million years and rarely hosted systems with intelligent life due to insufficient time for evolution. The most habitable stars were G- and K-type yellow and orange dwarfs, such as Corell and Yavin, which possessed lifespans of tens of billions of years, providing ample time for life to evolve. G- and K-types together constituted 19% of the galaxy's stars, with 75% of them being habitable. However, the most prevalent stars in the galaxy were M-type red dwarfs, comprising 70% of the galaxy's stars, but only 1% of them, such as Barab, were habitable. Few red dwarfs were settled; most were surveyed by probe droids during the early years of the Galactic Republic and typically abandoned unless they contained mineable resources.

Considering the heat and light output necessary for the formation of an advanced civilization, there were approximately 7.1 billion truly habitable stars within the galaxy, equating to about 3.2 billion habitable star systems. It was estimated that approximately one billion of these systems were actively populated or had been settled by sentient beings.

The galaxy was divided into numerous regions, primarily cultural rather than political entities, generally corresponding to the stages of galactic exploration and settlement. The nine most well-known regions included the Deep Core, the Core Worlds, the Colonies, the Inner Rim, the Expansion Region, the Mid Rim, the Outer Rim Territories, and beyond the galactic frontier, Wild Space, the Unknown Regions, and the Galactic Rim. Common parlance often divided the galaxy into "the Core" and "the Rim," with the latter encompassing the Expansion Region and areas beyond.

Located at the galaxy's very center, the Deep Core (also referred to as the Core Systems) spanned seven thousand light-years and contained approximately 30 billion stars. The immense gravitational forces exerted by the vast number of stars, in addition to a massive black hole at the center, caused severe warping of local space-time, rendering hyperspace travel extremely challenging. For millennia, only the fringes of the Deep Core nearest the Core Worlds, within a mathematically defined boundary known as the Horizon, had been settled. These worlds included Khomm, Thoadeye, Vulpter, and the dominant planet of the Deep Core, Empress Teta. The heart of the region was considered almost inaccessible until Emperor Palpatine discovered several safe hyperlanes into the region. The area remained fiercely loyal to the New Order and served as an Imperial stronghold until nearly twenty years after the Battle of Endor.

The Core Worlds, an ancient region bordering the outer reaches of the Deep Core, contained some of the galaxy's most prestigious, developed, well-known, and densely populated planets. The Galactic Republic, and subsequently all galaxy-wide governments, originated in the Core Worlds and expanded outward. During both the Republic and Empire eras, Coruscant, a major core world, served as the Galactic Capital. The region of the Core Worlds known as the Tetrahedron became the birthplace of the early Republic, while scouts simultaneously discovered the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run emanating from Coruscant, creating a region known as the Arrowhead that encompassed the ancient worlds of Alsakan, Anaxes, Basilisk and Ixtlar. Colonization led to a semi-circular ring extending south to Abregado-rae, often regarded as the pinnacle of the Core Worlds, while subsequent centuries saw the creation of a second ring to the galactic west. However, these worlds, disparagingly referred to as "the Negs" due to their negative-digit galactic coordinates, were viewed unfavorably by the rest of the Core. The Core's natural wealth was supplemented by the farming worlds of the Agricultural Circuit, the semi-independent colonies of the Illodia sector, the Bormea/Darpa Corridor, the manufacturing planets of the Humbarine sector, and the military shipyards of the Kuat sector.

The Colonies, named for being among the first areas colonized outside the Core, contained many of the galaxy's wealthiest worlds and took pride in serving as the galaxy's economic engine. Worlds in this region were typically heavily populated, industrialized, and cultured, and the region was considered the meeting point of Core wealth and Rim raw materials. The Colonies, forming the tip of the Slice, came to include many of the galaxy's oldest manufacturing worlds, including Balmorra, Commenor, and Neimoidia. Subsequent colonization resulted in the shipyards of Loronar, the urbanized worlds of the Pencael system, and the young worlds of Yabol Opa with its renowned university, the fortress world of Raithal, and the farm worlds of the Delle system.

The Inner Rim was a region of the galaxy situated between the Colonies and the Expansion Region. It was originally known simply as "The Rim," as it was expected to be the furthest extent of the known galaxy for centuries. However, the Expanded Rim (later renamed the Expansion Region) was opened within a hundred years of the Inner Rim's settlement during the Great Manifest Period. Inhabitants of the Inner Rim tended to view themselves as part of the Core and looked down upon the "outer galaxy," while also resenting and envying the greater wealth and history of the Core Worlds. The region had limited cultural influence and few truly notable planets beyond the ecumenopolis of Denon and the medical worlds of Manaan and Thyferra. Serving as the bridge between the Core and the Rim, the Inner Rim held significant strategic value, and brutal battles were fought over the region during both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War.

The Expansion Region originated as an experiment in corporate-controlled worlds, known as the Exploitation Region, where powerful corporations heavily exploited and profited from the planets' raw materials, metals, and ores. Inhabitants were oppressed as corporations stripped entire stellar systems along the Corellian Run of their resources. The damage was so severe that colonization shifted spinward to the Perlemian Trade Route, resulting in the conspicuous northern "bulge" of the modern Inner Rim's border. Colonization resumed during the Great Manifest Period, but the Alsakan Conflicts destroyed many of the Expansion Region's worlds in the Slice, shifting colonization west of the Corellian Run and creating a stretch of space known as the 77 Sectors that was dominated by Corellians for millennia. This part of the Expansion Region flourished, with the Rimma, Hydia, and Corellian Trade Spine Routes opening up the region and linking worlds like Tynna, the Gran homeworld of Kinyen, and trading planets of the Harrin Trade Corridor. Citizens of this region often preferred to consider themselves separate from the rest of the unfortunate Expansion Region, which continued to suffer during the Republic's final millennium. A second, disastrous experiment in corporate control known as the Outer Expansion Zone ravaged the region, and the resulting scandal forced the Senate to disband the Expansionist Oligarchy. However, the final centuries of the Republic saw the Slice sectors of the Region fall into economic ruin. The region's trade routes reflected this: unlike the dense webs of tangled hyperlanes in the Core, Colonies, and Inner Rim, the Expansion Region was poorly served by routes, leading casual observers to believe it had never been settled. Expansion Region worlds continued to produce raw materials and ores, but most natural resources were exhausted by the Imperial Period, leaving Gyndine, Bacrana, and Cyrillia among the few remaining viable ports.

Lacking the natural resources and population of many neighboring regions, the Mid Rim was a territory where residents worked diligently for everything they possessed. Colonization began concurrently with the settlement of the Expansion Region, but while corporations continued to favor exploiting that region, homesteading incentives and development grants from Coruscant were instead utilized by religious communes or local political confederations. The Slice in the Mid Rim was colonized gradually over several millennia, following a crosshatching pattern dictated by Coruscant, giving rise to an orderly region with ample room for residents to spread out. Corporate exploitation remained concentrated in the Expansion Region, while lawlessness gravitated toward the less-governed Outer Rim Territories, which were opened for colonization simultaneously. As a result, the Mid Rim developed a successful economy based on low-cost manufacturing and agriculture, and following the blazing of the Hydian War in 3693 BBY, the northern and southern arcs of the Mid Rim took shape. Historic Republic outposts like Malastare and lost colonies like Naboo found themselves at the heart of new, orderly, government-zoned settlement districts, some of which retained their alphanumeric identifications for centuries. Few of the Mid Rim's worlds became famous, but among those that did were the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk and the Zabrak homeworld of Iridonia, the ocean planet of Glee Anselm, the Order of the Sacred Circle's retreat of Monastery, and Ansion, the nexus of several hyperlanes linked by the Keitumite Mutual Military Treaty.

The Outer Rim Territories constituted the largest region of the galaxy and the last widely settled expanse before Wild Space and the Unknown Regions. It was characterized by a scattering of obscure worlds and rugged, primitive frontier planets. Due to its distance from the Core, government control was historically weakest in the Outer Rim Territories, making it a traditional refuge for dissidents, pilgrims, and freedom-seekers, but also a haven for lawlessness, oppression, and violence. Consequently, the worlds of the Outer Rim were immensely varied: Eriadu was a prosperous, industrialized megalopolis, and Entralla was a vibrant, Human-dominated spaceport world, while Terminus and Aduba-3 were criminal-run shadowports, and Tatooine was a Hutt-controlled trade depot. The Outer Rim also featured sparsely inhabited worlds like Dagobah, Hoth, Tund, and Muskree. Worlds closest to the major super-hyperroutes tended to be the most civilized, while those far from these trade links were often dominated by the Hutts. Mass settlement of large portions of the Outer Rim did not commence until after 5500 BBY, when colonists took advantage of the new trade routes of the Hydian, the Rimma, and the Corellian Trade Spine. Settlement in the southern quadrant was rapid, but expansion in the northern quadrant was hindered by the Great Galactic War and the horrors of the Kanz Disorders. Reversing the galaxy's usual pattern, colonization was slowest in the Slice, which was dominated by Hutt Space. Republic authority in the region effectively collapsed during the New Sith Wars, arguably never fully recovering, with the Hutts filling the power vacuum and piracy, slavery, and anarchy prevailing. In 124 BBY, the Senate declared the entire region a Free Trade Zone in an attempt to stimulate economic development, but this was exploited by the Trade Federation. The Senate's re-imposition of taxation in 33 BBY triggered the Invasion of Naboo and the Separatist Crisis. The Galactic Empire oppressed much of the Outer Rim, leading to increased sympathy for the Alliance to Restore the Republic in the region. However, both the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance failed to establish central control in the area, leaving the Outer Rim largely unchanged for centuries.

The areas beyond direct surveying by either the Republic or the Empire were known as the "Unknown Regions." This label was most frequently used for the galaxy's lesser-known western disk, an expanse situated approximately between Bakura and the Imperial Remnant. The term also encompassed the galactic halo, which includes gas, dust, and stars, along with the satellite galaxies. When these areas are combined, the Unknown Regions are almost three times larger than the settled parts of the galaxy; however, some calculations suggest that only about 15% of the galactic disk's total stellar mass is located within the Unknown Regions. This portion of the Unknown Regions inside the galaxy resulted from the absence of western equivalents to the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run. Early Republic scouts were satisfied with expanding into the more accessible territories of the Slice. It later became apparent that the westward route was blocked by a tangle of hyperspace disturbances, effectively dividing the galaxy in two and forming the central line of the galactic barrier that surrounded it. However, this barrier to the Unknown Regions was not impenetrable. Tales from spacers spoke of unusual ships visiting remote Outer Rim ports like Terminus, hyperdrive malfunctions sending ships through the divide, or ancient alien paths providing access to the region.

One of the first formal attempts to venture into the Unknown Regions was the unfortunate Outbound Flight Project. Additionally, Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Galactic Empire dedicated several years to mapping sections of this area. The Chiss were the dominant species in the Unknown Regions. Unlike known space, where many amoral or expansionist species were subdued or eliminated by the early Republic, the Unknown Regions remained a lawless and untamed area. Other influential species in this region included the Vagaari' slaver empire, the illusion-weaving mollusks known as Crokes, the religiously zealous Ssi-ruuk, and the blind berserkers of the Leech Legion. In the satellite galaxy of Companion Besh, beyond the disk, resided the Nagai and their oppressors, the Tofs. In 4 ABY, the Nagai invaded known space, pursued by the Tofs. They then allied with the Alliance of Free Planets to defeat their oppressors and returned to Firefist to liberate it.

Following the Yuuzhan Vong War, the normalization of relations with the Chiss Ascendancy led to the establishment of reliable hyperroutes into the Unknown Regions through the Utegetu Nebula, such as the Rago Run. By 44 ABY, the name "Unknown Regions" had become largely inaccurate, at least when referring to the galactic disk. However, the galactic halo and the satellite galaxies remained largely unexplored and mysterious.

The galactic frontier, known as Wild Space, was not an official designation but rather a term applied to the unsettled fringes of the galaxy and other areas with minimal colonization or development. During the Imperial Period, Wild Space typically referred to the sparse edge of the galaxy's eastern disk, as well as the narrow, winding band separating the civilized galaxy from the Unknown Regions. One of Emperor Palpatine's final actions was to permit more extensive exploration of much of this region. Wild Space differed from the Unknown Regions in that some parts of Wild Space had been explored, though not thoroughly, and the findings were recorded in official logs, whereas the Unknown Regions remained largely enigmatic. The worlds of Wild Space generally disregarded the central government and were mostly peaceful, but many served as havens for criminals.

The Galactic Rim, situated at the galaxy's edge, was distant from most civilization and largely unexplored. Its luminosity was slightly diminished as the stars faded out. The Galactic Republic knew that the Yuuzhan Vong had established a foothold at the galaxy's edge. The Galactic Empire possessed a vast shipyard there, which was later used by the Dark Empire.

The ten primary regions of the galaxy did not fully represent its political and cultural complexities. Within the territorial zones between the Core and the Outer Rim existed numerous groupings and prefectures, some with their own regional governments and others with only shared cultural stereotypes. The largest of these was the Slice, a vast area between the Perlemian and Corellian Run, generally regarded as the center of galactic civilization and commerce. At its apex was the Arrowhead, encompassing the Core Worlds portion of the Slice, with Coruscant at its tip. The Arrowhead's other two points traditionally rested on Vento on the Perlemian and Corellia itself on the Run. The Arrowhead, home to the Core Worlds' elite, evolved from the ancient pre-Republic Tetrahedron, the birthplace of galactic civilization. Sometimes referred to as the Inner Core, the Arrowhead included Ixtlar, Alsakan, Grizmallt, and Anaxes, which grew in prestige the closer they were to Coruscant.

Colonists from the Arrowhead settled the Slice, venturing into what became known as the Colonies and beyond. The worlds along the Perlemian and Corellian Run were settled for millennia, and colonization gradually extended from both to unite the Slice. The Core, Colonies, and Inner Rim portions of the Slice were densely populated and crisscrossed by thousands of hyperlanes and praediums. The Expansion Region was heavily colonized near the Corellian Run (and dominated by Corellian interests) but more sparsely settled south of the Perlemian due to the long-lasting Alsakan Conflicts. The Slice's prominence had begun to wane by the time colonists moved beyond the Expansion Region in the central Slice. The Mid Rim reaches were well-surveyed but sparsely populated, and the Hutts dominated the Outer Rim precincts, even beyond Hutt Space. Although new industries and businesses had largely relocated beyond the Slice by the time of the Clone Wars, the region was still considered the heart of galactic civilization, a distinction its citizens took pride in.

The Southern Core was settled from the Arrowhead and expanded through contact with several advanced ancient civilizations, including the Devaronians, the Herglics, and the Atrisian Commonwealth. This resulted in a diverse and complex region that defied easy categorization. The western quadrant of the Core Worlds long resisted exploration due to the absence of super-hyperroutes, which limited progress along hyperlanes like the Metellos Trade Route to short jumps. Worlds settled along this western frontier received a negative first digit in their galactic coordinates due to their location west of Coruscant, earning them the label "the Negs," which relegated areas like the Farlax sector to a perpetually inferior status within the Core.

The Northern Dependencies, a long-settled region north of Coruscant, generally looked outward, whether to Nouane, the worlds of the Hydian Way, or the New Territories beyond. Some of the galaxy's most accomplished traders, explorers, and entrepreneurs originated from the Northern Dependencies, and the region included some of the galaxy's oldest worlds, rarely concerning itself with Core World politics. To its northeast, the region north of the Perlemian Trade Route, was the Trans-Hydian, an area dotted with worlds with ancient histories, such as Mandalore or the planets of the Sith Worlds and the Tion Cluster, but largely sidelined economically until late in galactic history. Economic development shifted from the Slice to the Trailing Sectors further south, and then followed the Hydian Way into the New Territories. For millennia, the threat of the Mandalorians, rumors of the ancient Sith, and geographic anomalies such as the vast Radama Void encouraged more profitable enterprises elsewhere. The Trans-Hydian owed its name to traders from Ord Mantell and Celanon, who braved the threat of Mandalorian raiders to pioneer new trade routes like the Listehol Run, the Shaltin Tunnels, and the Gordian Reach to connect the Hydian and the Perlemian. After the Battle of Endor, the region's loyalties were divided between the Empire and the New Republic, earning it the name of the Borderland Regions.

The Trailing Sectors were settled during the Alsakan Conflicts, which resulted in the ruin, enslavement, or depopulation of many colonies in the Slice, driving colonization west of the Corellian Run. Here, enterprising traders had long conducted business with the Herglics, Givin, and Tynnans, and the Expansion Region's Trailing Sectors soon surpassed the Slice sectors, spurring expansion into the Mid Rim. The rise of the Rimma Trade Route in 5500 BBY and the Hydian Way two thousand years later further propelled this long-term boom, uniting the region for traders from across the galaxy. Residents of the Trailing Sectors tended to view their region as building upon the successes and traditions of the Slice while avoiding its mistakes, valuing entrepreneurship and hard work.

The Western Reaches developed around the Corellian Trade Spine and the Hydian Way, with settlement flowing in from the Southern Core and the Trailing Sectors, inheriting those regions' diversity and sense of independence. Explorers and settlers continued to expand the region as late as the period of the New Republic, pushing further west into the Unknown Regions. The Reaches' independence and distance from Coruscant historically made them a hotbed of rebellion, serving as a refuge for the last holdouts of the Confederacy of Independent Systems after the Clone Wars. The Galactic Empire launched a massive campaign to pacify the Western Reaches, but the area remained a refuge for the Alliance to Restore the Republic throughout the Galactic Civil War and was the site of many Imperial atrocities.

The New Territories lay beyond the Northern Dependencies in a region that had developed slowly compared to much of the galaxy. Worlds such as Ithor, Ord Mantell, and Iridonia were well-known, but they were isolated outposts. Numerous large-scale efforts to promote settlement in the northern quadrant repeatedly failed, leading to disasters like the Kanz Disorders and the Outer Expansion Zone. The region was finally properly settled in the final years of the Republic, with the D'Asta merchant family of Serenno establishing markets along the Braxant Run while the Nalroni Merchant Council expanded along the Celanon Spur. These economic successes encouraged Coruscant to invest heavily in the region, soon dubbed the New Territories, and between Republic spending on programs like the Planetary Pioneers and the influence of the D'Asta family, the region was strongly Loyalist during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. The New Territories formed the core of many Imperial successor states after the Battle of Endor and became the contested frontier between the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant. The New Territories were devastated during the Yuuzhan Vong War and struggled to recover afterward.

Approximately thirteen billion years prior to the Battle of Yavin, the galaxy came into being when a vast cloud composed of gas and dust underwent gravitational collapse. This collapse resulted in the formation of a spinning disk. Over countless millennia, stars and planets began to take shape. By 5,000,000,000 BBY, life had started its evolutionary journey within the galaxy, with some of the earliest instances of non-sentient life appearing on Goroth Prime.

Around 2,000,000 BBY, several of the galaxy's best-known species were undergoing their evolutionary processes. For example, the Wookiees originated on Kashyyyk as tree-dwelling creatures. The Oracle of Pelgrin, potentially the galaxy's oldest artifact, is thought to date back to this era. By 200,000 BBY, the Zhell, the ancestors of Humans, had attained intelligence and were engaged in war with the Taungs for control of their shared homeworld of Notron, which would later become known as Coruscant.

By 100,000 BBY, the galaxy was dominated by a mysterious race called the Celestials. Also known as the Architects, this extraordinarily powerful race was believed to have possessed the ability to manipulate and move stars. Surviving Celestial machinery, such as Centerpoint Station and the Cosmic Turbine, could manipulate gravity on a massive scale using repulsor pulses, tractor beams, and hyperspace wormholes. Using this technology, the Celestials were thought to have constructed the Corellian system, the Vultar system, and 15 other star systems, as well as the Hapes Cluster, the Kathol Rift, and the Maw black hole cluster. Specialists of the pre-Republic era believed that the Celestials were also responsible for the circumferential hyperspace barrier, possibly as a defense against external threats. They were also thought to have created the chain of hyperspace anomalies west of the Core, which bisected the galaxy and prevented travel into the Unknown Regions. It is speculated that the Celestials crafted these hyperspace anomalies to contain the Rakata.

During this period, several other spacefaring races became clients of the Celestials. The insectoid Killiks of Alderaan were exploited as laborers and spread across the galaxy until around 30,000 BBY, when they disappeared into the west of the galaxy and into the Unknown Regions, presumably relocated by the Celestials. The Kwa and the Gree used structures known as the Infinity Gates and hypergates, respectively, to travel between planets, leading to territorial disputes. Other species fled to escape the Celestials. The Sharu of the Rafa system in the far galactic east experienced a brief period of expansion, spreading their distinctive plastic pyramid cities as far into the Core as Aargau. However, this may have attracted the Celestials' attention, prompting the Sharu to bury their cities and seek refuge in primitivism. Similarly, the Columi of Columus surveyed both the Humans and the Duros in the Core and were unimpressed by what they found, but also retreated to their homeworld, possibly to avoid retribution from the Celestials.

At some point in the galaxy's past, a cosmic war took place. Around 35,000 BBY, the Rakata slave race revolted and usurped the domain of the Celestials. By stealing technology from the Kwa, they initiated war against the other servant races. They breached the barrier surrounding the Unknown Regions, entered the galaxy proper, and waged a war of extermination against the Celestials. The ultimate fate of the Celestials remains unclear. They may have been trapped within the galaxy by their barrier and destroyed by the Rakatan revolt, or they may have escaped through the barrier. By 30,000 BBY, the Celestials had vanished, and the Rakatan Infinite Empire had risen to prominence.

The Rakata expanded from their homeworld of Lehon in the Tempered Wastes of the Unknown Regions, utilizing hyperdrives that harnessed the power of the Force to guide them to worlds with strong Force signatures. The Infinite Empire occupied scattered systems across the galaxy, leaving vast stretches of territory untouched, which allowed smaller interstellar confederations to thrive. The Devaronians and the Gossam experimented with the tumble hyperdrive. While worlds like Coruscant, Corellia, and Duro were occupied by the Rakata, Humans, Duros, Selonians, and Drall were able to study the principles of the Rakatan hyperdrive. The Rakata proved to be brutal overlords, subjecting entire populations to slavery. After nearly five millennia of dominance, the Rakatan Empire collapsed due to a devastating plague that robbed the Rakata of their ability to use the Force. A colonial slave uprising completed the empire's downfall by 25,200 BBY.

The decline of the Infinite Empire coincided with the reverse engineering and refinement of Rakatan hyperdrive technology by other species in the galaxy. By developing technological substitutes for its Force-based components, various species ventured out from their homeworlds, initially with slower-than-light sleeper ship colonies, followed by the invention of the hyperspace cannon. Through this repurposing of Rakatan castoffs, several civilizations rose to prominence. The Humans and Duros dominated the Core, while the cetacean Herglics established their own trade empire to the south. On the Rim, Human sleeper ship colonies formed the Tionese civilization, which was unified into an empire by Xim the Despot, before entering into conflict with the empire of the Hutts.

This era marked the beginning of the Jedi Order on Tython, with its study of the Force, as well as the religious rivalry between understandings of the light and dark sides of the Force. Conflict between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi would repeatedly manifest throughout galactic history, a cycle that persisted beyond the Yuuzhan Vong War.

In the year 25,000 BBY, following the conclusion of the Unification Wars, the various polities of the Core region convened on Coruscant. There, they formalized their union by signing the Galactic Constitution, thereby giving rise to a unified civilization. This new order was based on shared legal principles, a common language, and a single currency, and it was known as the Galactic Republic. This Republic brought together the predominantly Human Core Worlds, and the Core Founders featured influential political entities such as Coruscant, Alsakan, Corellia, Duro, Kuat, and Alderaan. Military powers like the Azure Imperium of Axum and Anaxes were also included, in addition to Esseles and Rendili. Furthermore, burgeoning commercial centers such as Tepasi, Brentaal IV, and Humbarine were part of the Republic, along with planets significant for their contributions to medicine, diplomacy, and philosophy, like Chandrila, Caamas, Rhinnal, and Shawken.

The era of the Expansionist Era began concurrently with the Republic's establishment. This period marked the initial stages of systematically mapping and colonizing much of the galactic spiral. From Coruscant, scouts ventured eastward, utilizing two primary trade routes: the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run. These routes defined the borders of a substantial spatial region referred to as "the Slice." At the termination of the Corellian Run was Kalarba, a trading center operated by merchants from Paqwepori. The Perlemian Route, on the other hand, led to the trading worlds of Tirahnn, Nouane, and Roche. No comparable pathways were discovered to the west of the galaxy, which resulted in a large part of that galactic quadrant remaining unexplored and shrouded in mystery, eventually being called the Unknown Regions. This expansion brought the Republic into conflict with the Human civilizations residing in the Tion Cluster. Following its victory in 24,000 BBY, the Republic expanded to encompass a larger area than it could effectively govern at first, as numerous systems sought protection from the predatory actions of the Hutts.

The Great Manifest Period commenced in 20,000 BBY with the extensive colonization of the Slice. The closely interconnected systems at its apex became known as the Arrowhead. Coruscant exerted significant influence over this region, while Corellia dominated the settlements along the Corellian Run. The First Alsakan Conflict, which erupted in 17,000 BBY due to policy disputes between Coruscant and Alsakan concerning the Perlemian route, marked the beginning of the Indecta Era. Although a truce was eventually negotiated, the Alsakan Conflicts persisted, albeit in a less intense form, for approximately 14,000 years. The initial five Alsakan Conflicts also hindered colonization efforts along the Perlemian, prompting settlers to move towards the Corellian Hegemony in the Trailing Sectors along the Corellian Run and the developing Corellian Trade Spine.

The Kymoodon Era, which began in 15,000 BBY, initiated another major wave of colonization, comparable to the Great Manifest Period. Advancements in hyperdrive technology facilitated the establishment of scattered settlements in the previously unexplored northern and southern quadrants. The Herglics joined the Republic, leading to a rapid expansion around the Hidakai Pool, which would later become the Rimma Trade Route. However, this era also sowed the seeds of future disputes, as the Republic's territorial boundaries increasingly bordered those of Hutt Space, leaving isolated colonies vulnerable to raids by Hutt slavers. Contispex I and the Humanocentric Pius Dea religious order capitalized on widespread resentment towards the Hutts in the Rim, initiating a series of Crusades against them in 12,000 BBY. The Pius Dea Era, which lasted for millennia, witnessed the subjugation, persecution, or extermination of numerous non-Human species, until the Contispex dynasty was overthrown by the Jedi Order. This era also fostered deep resentment among the species residing in the Rim. The subsequent Ductavis Era and Rianitus Period, spanning from 11,000 to 8000 BBY, were characterized by consolidation and reconstruction efforts following the Crusades.

During the Subterra Period, which lasted from 8000 to 7000 BBY, the southern quadrant of the galaxy was newly mapped. Colonies like Malastare served as focal points for the network of praediums connecting the region. Around this time, scouts also ventured into the Rishi Maze. However, the absence of a super-hyperroute into the southern quadrant, coupled with the general inaccessibility of the new colonies, fostered lawlessness in the Rim and limited Coruscant's authority. This is believed to have contributed to the Second Great Schism within the Jedi Order in 7003 BBY, which triggered a galaxy-wide rebellion of Dark Jedi known as the Hundred-Year Darkness. In the aftermath of the war, the defeated Dark Jedi were banished beyond the Rim into the uncharted space north of the Perlemian. There, the Exiles established settlements on the planets of Korriban and Ziost within the Stygian Caldera, where they subjugated the indigenous Sith species and established an empire.

During the Manderon Period, the Corellian Trade Spine and the Rimma Trade Route were established in 5500 BBY. This was achieved after the Herglics, Givin, and Corellians connected hundreds of existing praediums, thereby improving accessibility to the southern quadrant. In 5000 BBY, the Republic rediscovered the Sith Empire, which initiated the Great Hyperspace War when the Sith Lord Naga Sadow attempted to conquer the Republic. The Sith were defeated and once again forced into exile, but this marked the beginning of a threat that would plague the Republic for the remainder of its existence. A millennium later, in 4000 BBY, Sith teachings uncovered on Korriban and Onderon seduced the Jedi Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma to embrace the dark side, thus commencing the Great Sith War. The Sith's alliance with the Mandalorians, a nomadic warrior group descended from the Taungs, during that war laid the groundwork for another threat to the Republic: the Mandalorian Wars. As a result of Exar Kun, the Republic endured nearly five decades of continuous conflict, known as the Old Sith Wars, until the Sith Empire was destroyed in 3950 BBY by Revan, the redeemed Sith Lord.

By 3700 BBY, the galaxy had been mapped and settled as far as Farana in the north and Malastare in the south, but large portions of the northern and southern quadrants beyond the trade routes remained unsettled. Around this time, Freia Kallea, an explorer born on Brentaal, extended the ancient Brentaal–Denon Route and connected several existing praediums. By 3693 BBY, she had expanded the trade routes south of Denon to Imynusoph, mapping the entire length of the Hydian Way, the only super-hyperroute to traverse the entire galaxy. The ease with which vessels could now access the northern and southern quadrants significantly expanded the Republic's presence in the New Territories and the Western Reaches, opening up numerous new sources of minerals, crystals, and gases. However, from 3681 to 3642 BBY, the Republic endured decades of war and tension with a resurgent Sith Empire formed by exiles from the Great Hyperspace War and led by the Sith Emperor Vitiate. A second Galactic War erupted between the two in 3642 BBY, and chaos prevailed until the Sith Emperor's stronghold, the Eternal Empire, was defeated.

In the aftermath of these conflicts, the galaxy experienced several centuries of relative stability, which ended in 2000 BBY with the beginning of the Draggulch Period and the start of the New Sith Wars, when Phanius, a Jedi Master, declared himself Darth Ruin. During the ensuing millennium of conflict between the Republic and the New Sith, the Republic nearly collapsed, culminating in the Republic Dark Age in the final century. During this time, the Republic's authority effectively ceased to exist beyond the major trade routes, and the HoloNet communications network ceased to function. The New Sith Wars finally concluded when the Army of Light, led by the Jedi Lord Hoth, defeated Skere Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. Darth Bane, a single Sith Lord, escaped to establish a new Sith order, while Tarsus Valorum, the Supreme Chancellor, proclaimed the Ruusan Reformations, which completely restructured the Republic.

The Republic's last millennium was largely characterized by peace, but the Ruusan Reformations' provisions led to increased lawlessness in the Outer Rim Territories. Eventually, the Outer Rim Territories were largely controlled by megacorporations or criminal syndicates. The Sith, who had remained hidden for a thousand years, manipulated this discontent into a Separatist movement. By orchestrating the Clone Wars, the Order of the Sith Lords succeeded in destroying the Jedi Order and restoring their Empire under Darth Sidious. Sidious dissolved the Republic, replacing it with the short-lived Galactic Empire, and ultimately eliminated all vestiges of the Republic. A lasting consequence of Imperial rule was the opening and widespread settlement of the Deep Core, as well as the mapping and exploration of much of the Unknown Regions. The Empire was a tyrannical regime that lasted for two decades. However, following the Galactic Civil War and the death of Darth Sidious at the hands of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, a New Republic was established by an alliance of free worlds. Despite this, the remnants of the Empire continued to resist the new government for more than a decade before finally signing a peace treaty.

The Yuuzhan Vong War represented a pivotal event in galactic history, marking the first instance of an extra-galactic power invading the galaxy. The war's brutality would shape galactic politics for over a century. Shortly after the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, the Yuuzhan Vong, an extra-galactic species, launched an invasion of the galaxy. The Yuuzhan Vong War inflicted widespread devastation throughout the galaxy, including Coruscant, and resulted in the deaths of approximately 365 trillion beings. Ultimately, the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated by a new Galactic Alliance comprising the Imperial Remnant, the remnants of the New Republic, and numerous lesser powers within the galaxy. Another consequence of the war was the normalization of relations between the main part of the galaxy and the Chiss Ascendancy, the dominant power in the Unknown Regions. Within a few decades, stable hyperroutes and colonies had been established in the region, dispelling much of its mystery.

While some Yuuzhan Vong were integrated into the galactic community, governing the post-Yuuzhan Vong War galaxy proved exceedingly challenging, leading to a Second Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Alliance and a Confederation led by Corellia. Within a century, the Galactic Empire had been restored under the Fel dynasty, although this time without the support of the Sith. However, the Fel Empire was ultimately manipulated by the One Sith, led by Darth Krayt, to declare war on the Galactic Alliance. The Sith exploited lingering animosity towards the Yuuzhan Vong, falsely portraying them as planning to reconquer the galaxy. Shortly thereafter, the One Sith seized the Imperial throne, establishing a new Sith empire. However, the resulting war between the Sith and the Galactic Alliance Remnant, as well as the Fel-loyalist Empire-in-exile, led to the Sith's defeat. Subsequently, the Galactic Alliance once again became the dominant governing body in the galaxy.

The very foundation of any galactic civilization rested upon clear and stable paths through hyperspace. These routes, also known as hyperlanes or hyperroutes, allowed starships to safely navigate around the perilous gravitic "mass shadows" created in hyperspace by objects in realspace. Individuals known as spacers, specifically hyperspace explorers like Aitro Koornacht, Jori, and Gav Daragon, charted and established these crucial pathways. The following are some significant routes that played a role in shaping galactic history.

The galaxy's largest, longest, and fastest hyperlanes were the super-hyperroutes. A number of them stretched from the Core Worlds all the way to the Outer Rim's edge. The Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run were the two oldest, both established after the invention of the hyperdrive in 25,000 BBY. The Perlemian acted as the northern boundary of the Slice, connecting the galactic capital of Coruscant with the Jedi training world of Ossus and the Tion Hegemony's civilizations. In the early days of the Republic, populations and colonies along the Perlemian's length requested protection from the Hutts or Tionese, which fueled the Republic's rapid expansion. Known poetically as "the Axis," the Perlemian was initially dominated by Alsakan, which led to the socio-economic divide that sparked the Alsakan Conflicts. Beyond Quermia, the Perlemian emptied into Wild Space at the galaxy's edge.

The Corellian Run secured Corellia's economic prominence within the burgeoning Republic and served as the Slice's southern border. The portion of the Run that was Coreward of Corellia, known as "the Spin," was initially under Coruscant's control, which created a division between the Spin and Alsakan. However, Corellians and humans of Corellian descent dominated the area Rimward of Corellia, maintaining significant economic influence in the sectors surrounding the Run for millennia. The swift establishment of the two oldest hyperroutes made exploration in and around the Slice much simpler, which resulted in a population boom that influenced the galaxy's settlement patterns.

The Corellian Trade Spine was created in 5500 BBY, though its initial path existed as far back as 25,000 BBY, connecting Duro and Corellia. At Yag'Dhul, the Trade Spine intersected the Rimma Trade Route before extending Rimward past Terminus to the Greater Javin. Although it offered quick passage into the galaxy's southern quadrant, the Corellian Trade Spine never provided the same economic advantages as the Rimma Trade Route. Around the same time, Givin hyperspatial cartographers plotted the Rimma, and Sullustan scouts blazed it from Herglic Space. The Rimma facilitated the widespread colonization of the southern quadrant and enriched the Tapani sector's worlds in the Colonies. Key planets along the Rimma included the prosperous industrialized world of Eriadu at the junction with the Hydian Way, the Bith homeworld of Clak'dor VII, and the shipyards of Sluis Van.

The Hydian Way, the last super-hyperroute to be established, uniquely spanned the galaxy's entire length. Primarily due to the efforts of Freia Kallea, a scout based on Brentaal, she expanded the ancient Brentaal–Denon Route eastward around 3700 BBY, connecting several obscure routes into a single passage that reached the northern quadrant's galactic edge. She then traveled south of Denon, charting new routes to the galaxy's Rim in the southern quadrant and opening vast areas for new colonization.

As a failed attempt to discover a western equivalent to the Perlemian Trade Route, the Metellos Trade Route was oriented west of Coruscant into the Negs. Despite an encouraging start, its expansion was hampered by hyperspace eddies near the Unknown Regions. Explorers could only extend its length by a few light-years per century, until it eventually ended in the Farlax sector. The Koros Trunk Line, an ancient pre-Republic route connecting Coruscant to the carbonite mines of the Koros system, was a more successful hyperroute in the Core Worlds. Because carbonite was vital for keeping sleeper ships' passengers in suspended animation, the route transported so much ore after the hyperdrive's development that it became known as the Carbonite Pipeline.

The Salin Corridor, one of the Outer Rim's oldest hyperlanes, was initially created by Xim the Despot's empire as the Warrior's Trace to support his wars against the Hutts. It was maintained by a "lighthouse network" of jump beacons. Although many beacons from the Xim era had disappeared, the Salin Corridor's unusual stability intrigued hyperspace theorists for millennia. One of the longest routes in the Outer Rim, it began among the Hutt-controlled Rim worlds near Aduba, meandered Coreward around Hutt Space's tip, and then turned north into the edges of the Tion Cluster. From there, it skirted the Radama Void, intersected the Hydian Way at Botajef, and ended in the northern quadrant.

The Braxant Run, the northern quadrant's most important route, started at Bandomeer on the Hydian Way and twisted across the New Territories via Muunilinst to Bastion. The Triellus Trade Route, the third of the Outer Rim's three most important routes, spanned over 75,000 light-years from Centares to Enarc, forming one side of the "Spice Triangle." However, travel along the "Hutt Highway" was often slow and dangerous due to smugglers, slavers, and pirates operating from Hutt Space.

The Ootmian Pabol connected the Expansion Region's financial centers with the heart of Hutt Space. A corruption of the Huttese Ootmian Pankapolla, it was established around 12,000 BBY by Republic scouts from Gyndine to Nal Hutta. Thriving trade turned Nal Hutta's moon, Nar Shaddaa, into a boomworld. However, the supernova of the Kyyr system's star in 4000 BBY made the route impassable. The Ootmian was eventually restored, but the Corellian Run's rise ended Nar Shaddaa's status as a respectable tradeworld. Legitimate business moved elsewhere, and the moon became one of the galaxy's most infamous shadowports. It was speculated that the Kyyr supernova was responsible for the Hutt kajidics' shift towards criminal activities.

Some routes were used for illicit activities, particularly smuggling. The Kessel Run, an 18.5 parsec route with three stops between Kessel and an area south of the Si'Klaata Cluster, was one of the most well known examples. During the Galactic Empire's reign, smugglers used it to transport Glitterstim spice without being caught by Imperial ships. It also connected to the Kessel Trade Corridor, the Triellus Trade Route, and the Pabol Sleheyron routes. Han Solo, a notorious smuggler, claimed to have completed the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs with his ship, the Millennium Falcon, by navigating close to the black holes that formed part of the route.

The Ison Corridor was a small route within the Corellian Trade Spine, featuring five system stops before rejoining the Spine, connecting the coreward and rimward regions.

Originating in the Tharin sector, the Sisar Run was a hyperspace trade route that passed through the heart of the Periphery, traversed Hutt Space and Srillur, bypassed the Si'Klatta Cluster, and split at Sispe. It connects with the Salin Corridor, the Pabol Hutta, the Pabol Sleheyron, and the Ac'fren Spur routes.

Myto's Arrow, named after its discoverer, the Galactic Republic scout Keos Myto, was an Outer Rim route used for travel between the Raioballo sector via Dantooine and the Obtrexta sector. This route was linked to the Veragi Trade Route and the Braxant Run.

The Daragon Trail, renowned as the longest successful blind jump in galactic history, connected Korriban in the Outer Rim with Empress Teta (then known as Koros Major) in the Deep Core. It was named after Gav and Jori Daragon, the couple who discovered it in 5000 BBY. Sections of it were incorporated into the smuggling route Carbonite Run.

Under the Galactic Republic, the peoples of the galaxy were represented in the legislative body known as the Galactic Senate. Initially, any sufficiently-populated star system would return a senator, but this was soon rejected as a recipe for gridlock as the Republic expanded massively and thousands of delegates attended Senate meetings. The Planetary Senate gave way to sectorial representation: the Republic was divided into sectors containing no more than fifty inhabited systems - it was feared that larger sectors would form the seeds of breakaway empires - which were each represented by a single sectorial senator. However, the price of passing this amendment was additional legislation that allowed many of the Republic's Core Founders to retain their planetary seats, giving extra votes to the most powerful Core and Colonies sectors.

To strict Galactic Constitutionalists, this was the Republic's "founding tyranny", a cynical scheme to preserve the power of the Core systems. Indeed, the awarding of single-system votes caused such an outcry that a compromise was reached: anyone recognized as a representative of a single system had the right to petition the full Senate, a right still occasionally invoked under the New Republic Senate.

Sectors grew to include thousands of star systems, but even with the "rule of fifty" widely ignored, the Republic expanded to include millions of sectors by 17,000 BBY, once again rendering the galaxy ungovernable. In the aftermath of the First Alsakan Conflict, the Challat Compromise was adopted, which split the legislature into a seated Senate, whose members had full rights of address, and an unseated Senate, whose members had to petition for such rights. Predictably, the seated senators became power-brokers, and corruption thrived, with unseated senators having to trade the vast majority of their votes for the chance to be heard in the Senate.

The Ruusan Reformations of 1000 BBY saw a remarkable dismantling of central authority and reorganized the Republic into 1,024 regional sectors, each represented by a single senator, though once again a series of exceptions favored planets in the Core and Colonies. Additionally, the right of representation was extended to so-called functional constituencies representing discreet cultural and species enclaves. While the galaxy was once again governable, the Reformations inevitably placed power into the hands of a very few, especially when the definition of functional constituencies was extended in 124 BBY to the galaxy's mightiest guilds and corporations, chief among them the Trade Federation. The Trade Federation bought up vast blocs of votes from poor sectors and gained control of key appointments in the bureaucracy, and by the time of the Separatist Crisis was the Senate's greatest power and paralyzed the Senate in the face of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Palpatine stripped the Senate of most of its power during the Clone Wars and dissolved the Imperial Senate entirely in 0 BBY. The New Republic restored the body, but it inevitably again became mired in gridlock, archaic tradition, and corruption. When the New Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances during the Yuuzhan Vong War, the very name of the new state seemed to be an acceptance of the need for decentralization of power. However, efforts to rehabilitate the galaxy after the Yuuzhan Vong War depended heavily on centralized power, leading to the rebellion of independent-minded systems in a Confederation led by Corellia, and so the ancient problem of galactic democracy begun a Second Galactic Civil War.

Throughout much of galactic history, the sector served as the fundamental political division. These were generally artificial spatial regions created for reasons related to politics, the military, and the economy. In the Galactic Republic's early years, its star systems were grouped into sectors, each limited to fifty significantly populated systems. As the Republic expanded, the large number of sectors caused gridlock in the Galactic Senate. Some sectors grew to encompass thousands of inhabited worlds, and the galaxy eventually contained millions of sectors as civilization continued to spread.

The Ruusan Reformations of 1000 BBY addressed this issue by reorganizing the galaxy into 1,024 regional sectors, each with constituent subsectors. For instance, the Chommell sector in the Mid Rim, though sparsely populated, included around forty thousand inhabited worlds. By 0 BBY, sectors included cultural groups like the Tapani sector and the Senex-Juvex, as well as business-controlled economic areas like the Corporate Sector. However, they were generally arbitrary groupings of planets and colonies with diverse cultures and histories, such as the Gordian Reach, the Arkanis sector, and the Anoat sector.

The Ruusan Reformations introduced several issues related to sectorial representation that persisted until the Republic's end. A moratorium was placed on the creation of new sectors, but settlers continued to move beyond the Republic's borders, reclaiming systems lost during the New Sith Wars and establishing new worlds. Some of these systems were annexed by existing sectors, causing them to grow to immense sizes. Others became de facto corporate possessions or were directly administered by the Republic bureaucracy without Senate representation, though it was claimed that they were "virtually represented" by other senators. The old Core sectors viewed the rimward megasectors as a threat to their power and prestige, while the directly-administered systems argued that their "virtual representation" was a sham. The reforms of 124 BBY aimed to address these problems by incorporating many settled areas outside the Republic's borders as freestanding subsectors, with their representatives reporting to the senator of an associated sector.

Until the Galactic Republic's final years, sectors were governed by their senators. The Supreme Chancellor had the authority to appoint a Governor-General to coordinate military actions within a sector during emergencies. Palpatine frequently used this law during the Clone Wars, culminating in the Sector Governance Decree, which created a permanent class of military governors for the regional sectors – the Galactic Empire's Moffs. The Galactic Empire also created or carved out new sectors, overturning the Ruusan Reformations' moratorium, including the Indrexu sector in the Greater Tion, and combined several freestanding subsectors to form the Baxel and Zuma sectors.

Initially, in the Galactic Republic's early years, any planet with a sufficient population was granted a seat in the Galactic Senate. But, even before the Republic expanded beyond the Core Worlds, this system proved unworkable: the Senate's size made debate endless and consensus nearly impossible. Consequently, the Planetary Senate was reorganized, forming sectors of up to fifty star systems to serve as new constituencies, while recognized representatives from individual planets or species retained the right to petition the full Senate. A notable example towards the Republic's end was Jar Jar Binks, representing the Gungan people of Naboo.

Planetary Governors represented the central government on a single planet. Their authority typically extended to the entire star system, with exceptions for systems containing multiple planets with large populations or distinct cultures, like the Corellian system. In the Core Worlds' oldest regions, systems and even individual planets were centers of political power, a legacy of the Galactic Republic's origins. Elsewhere, systems were subordinate in representation to subsectors, sectors, and regions.

The Allied Regions were independent states that voluntarily joined the Galactic Republic as it expanded early on. Their rulers received the honorary title of Moff. By the Clone Wars, most Allied Regions had been divided into sectors, but some persisted as regions with distinct cultural identities, like the Trailing Sectors or the New Territories; or as sectors dominated by a single species, such as Trianii Space. Several of these governments survived as client states under the Galactic Empire, maintaining some independence, and were recognized by the New Republic afterward.

Hutt Space was the name for the large portion of the Rimward Slice controlled by the Hutt Ruling Council, the governing body of the Hutt species. Originally powerful warriors, the Hutt Empire overthrew the empire of Xim the Despot. However, a devastating civil war around 15,000 BBY, known as the Hutt Cataclysms, forced a cultural reformation. This led to a new philosophy called kajidic, which emphasized economic dominance over conquest. Hutt Space's borders fluctuated over the centuries, but the Hutts' power in both economics and crime endured, extending as far Coreward as Gyndine as the Galactic Republic declined during the Separatist Crisis. Hutt Space was nominally part of the Galactic Empire, but the New Order largely tolerated the Hutts' criminal activities, as the Hutt Ruling Council was a known entity compared to the potential chaos of numerous feuding Hutt crime lords. Hutt Space was devastated during the Yuuzhan Vong War, but it recovered quickly, leading to a renewed Hutt militarism that manifested when the region sided with the Confederation during the Second Galactic Civil War.

The Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) functioned as the governing body for the Corporate Sector, a cluster of approximately thirty thousand star systems situated on the periphery of the Tingel Arm. This region was administered from Etti IV by a consortium of businesses and corporations, which held exclusive rights to all resources within the territory. This experiment in corporate governance, while safeguarding worker rights, was initiated following the lessons derived from the Outer Expansion Zone scandal. Baron Orman Tagge suggested a significant expansion of the Corporate Sector during the reign of the Galactic Empire, transforming it into a formally recognized haven for Loyalist corporations seeking to evade nationalization. The CSA effectively became the region's sole owner, employer, governmental body, and military force, with corporations investing in the Authority receiving proportional shares of the generated profits.

Established in 3350 BBY as a libertarian independent state, the Centrality was a lengthy territorial strip located to the north of Hutt Space. Predominantly populated by Humans, its capital, Erilnar, frequently fell under the sway of the Hutt kajidics, who often benefited from the profits generated by the Centrality's primary export: the life-crystals originating from Rafa V. Although officially an Imperial territory, Imperial Center generally left the Centrality undisturbed. Emperor Palpatine's sole intervention in the region occurred several years before the Battle of Yavin, when he granted de facto control of the Centrality to Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund. Gepta was later killed by Lando Calrissian in defense of the native Oswaft population during the Battle of ThonBoka.

Situated in the Inner Rim, the Hapes Consortium was the monarchical government that presided over the Hapes Cluster. The Hapans, known for their isolationist and matriarchal society, gained renown for their fabled wealth, beauty, pride, and internecine aristocratic conflicts. Many were surprised by Emperor Palpatine's tolerance of the region's autonomy, with some suggesting that the Emperor maintained Hapes as a cautionary example to the galaxy, illustrating the perils of insularity and decadence. Following the Declaration of a New Republic, the Hapes Consortium chose to open its borders.

Located in the Core Worlds, near the Unknown Regions, the Atrisian Commonwealth comprised a region of two hundred planets. The political, military, and diplomatic writings originating from Atrisia, particularly the Sayings of Uueg Tching, had been the subject of study for millennia. After Emperor Palpatine's death at Endor, this insular territory declared its independence, subsequently accepting Allied Region status within the New Republic. Similarly, Nouane, initially a prosperous Inner Rim empire situated beyond the Slice, was celebrated for its philosophers and thinkers, most notably the controversial Four Sages of Dwartii. Nouanese ministers were commonly found in the nascent Republic, and the territory sought Allied Region status after being devastated by the Mandalorian Crusaders in 3963 BBY. This region, encompassing 212 planets, remained a steadfast supporter of the Empire and declared its independence under the New Republic.

Bothan Space included approximately 150 settled systems in the Mid Rim, primarily inhabited by Bothan colonists and governed by the Bothan Council. As one of the few species in proximity to Hutt Space to maintain their independence, the Bothans were recognized for their diplomatic and espionage skills, which contributed to the stability of much of the Mid Rim. In 4 ABY, Bothan Space was among the first regions to announce its support for the New Republic.

The Botor Enclave and the Daupherm Planet States were two adjacent territories situated on the edge of the Core. The ursine Botori controlled two dozen star systems within a nebula, while the Human Dawferim governed slightly over thirty systems. Despite accepting Allied Region status under the Galactic Republic, these two states engaged in no fewer than forty wars. Both declared their independence following the Declaration of a New Republic.

Herglic Space represented the diminished remains of the once-vast Herglic Trade Empire. It consisted of roughly forty star systems positioned around the Rimma Trade Route, but numerous worlds located along the Rimma, outside of Herglic Space, maintained significant Herglic populations. Herglic Space endured brutal suppression under the Empire but regained Allied Region status under both the New Republic and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

The Ktilac Regions formed a confederacy situated off the Perlemian Trade Route in the Inner Rim, governed by three distinct species: the Ktilacs, the Murachaun, and the Tocoyans. Characterized by religious fundamentalism, the region had cultivated a shared culture where each species was perceived as complementary to the other two, while the rest of the galaxy was regarded as unholy. Each species governed sixty-three star systems, with an additional three open to outsiders under stringent regulations. The Regions maintained Allied Region status under the Galactic Alliance.

Paqwepori was a small collection of ninety wealthy star systems located just off the Corellian Run in the Mid Rim. The bazaars of Paqwepor Major were favored destinations for Republic traders who had been expanding the Corellian Run for countless years. The Paqwepori were known for their entrepreneurial spirit and ambition, while they held a strong aversion to any law that might restrict individual expression or initiative.

The advancement of technology and the spread of civilization throughout the galaxy gave rise to the galactic economy, which is the system encompassing the production, distribution, trade, and consumption of goods. Few planets could achieve complete self-sufficiency. Some, such as the factory worlds of Telti and Mechis III, dedicated their economies exclusively to the manufacturing of high-tech products, while depending on agriworlds for their food supply. Conversely, these agriworlds relied on manufacturing planets to provide the heavy equipment needed for harvesting and processing foodstuffs, as well as chemical industries for the production of fertilizers and pesticides.

The significance of the galactic economy allowed numerous megacorporations to accumulate substantial economic and political influence. In the years leading up to the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation, a conglomerate of shipping and merchant cartels, exerted control over the votes of hundreds of star systems in the Galactic Senate by making their commerce reliant on its Merchant Fleet and enforcing agreements through the Trade Defense Force. Corporations like the SoroSuub Corporation, which directly governed the planet Sullust under the Empire, produced goods for a wide range of industries. TaggeCo controlled hundreds of star systems and numerous subsidiaries, establishing itself as one of the most influential organizations in the galaxy. Even relatively smaller enterprises, such as the Figg conglomerate in the Greater Javin region, wielded considerable influence within their homeworlds and sectors.

The standard currency employed within the Galactic Republic was the Galactic Credit Standard, which was divided into ten decicreds.

Out of the galaxy's one billion inhabited systems, the majority consisted of sparsely populated colonies that were often insignificant and not even marked on sector maps. For example, the Chommell sector included thirty-six worlds with sufficient populations to warrant representation in the Galactic Republic, but it also encompassed 40,000 settled dependencies, in addition to 300,000,000 barren, uninhabited stars.

During the era of the Galactic Empire, over 69 million systems satisfied the criteria for Imperial representation, and 1.75 million planets were recognized as full member worlds. The total population of the nearly 70 million systems under the Empire's jurisdiction exceeded 100 quadrillion individuals.

Given that only approximately a quarter of the galaxy's four hundred billion stars had undergone comprehensive surveying, scientists remained uncertain about the precise number of intelligent species. The Galactic Empire formally recognized five million intelligent species, although it was mathematically accepted that galactic civilization had yet to discover a substantial number of species, and the total could potentially reach as high as twenty million.

In the context of classical history, Humans were the dominant species. Originating from the Core Worlds, Humans were the most numerous species in the galaxy and, therefore, tended to form the foundation of the major governments. Sentient beings other than Humans were sometimes referred to as "aliens," although the term "non-Human" was considered less offensive. Nevertheless, the Humanocentric definition of races was deemed unacceptable by some, and simply another manifestation of unwarranted Human dominance. Other notable spacefaring species included the Baragwin, who had long forgotten their homeworld and traversed the galaxy as merchants; the Duros, a founding species of the Republic and the inventors of the modern hyperdrive; the Herglics of Giju, the originators of the Rimma Trade Route; the Gran of Kinyen, who had established numerous colonies, including Malastare; and the Ithorians, who had long maintained extensive networks of Herdships for galactic trade, and relocated their civilization there after Ithor was devastated during the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Although not considered a race for obvious reasons, droids constituted a significant component of society, providing assistance and coexisting with the population. On Naboo, higher-level droids were regarded as equals, akin to fellow sentient beings.

Travel beyond the galaxy was challenging due to the presence of a circumferential hyperspace barrier that restricted hyperspace routes far beyond the galactic disk, as well as the vast emptiness of the Intergalactic Void. However, by the time of the Clone Wars, contact had been established with two smaller galaxies orbiting the main galaxy: the Rishi Maze, also known as Companion Aurek, and Firefist, also known as Companion Besh. The InterGalactic Banking Clan had influence extending to these distant locations.

The Extragalactic Society was an organization dedicated to the search for life beyond the galaxy. Around the time of the Clone Wars, two major expeditions were launched with the aim of exploring beyond the galaxy: the Outbound Flight Project sought to establish a settlement in another galaxy but was destroyed by the Chiss after inadvertently entering their territory in the Unknown Regions. In 19 BBY, during the final days of the Republic, Senator Grebleips, the leader of the Brodo Asogi, dispatched an expedition to another galaxy, but the outcome of this endeavor remains unknown.

Shortly after the Battle of Endor, the Nagai and the Tofs, species originating from the companion galaxy of Firefist, invaded the main galaxy. The Nagai sought to escape the Tofs, who had oppressed them for centuries. With the assistance of the Alliance of Free Planets and the Mandalorians, the Nagai defeated the Tofs and returned to liberate their home galaxy, bringing the Nagai–Tof War to a conclusion.

Among the most well-known extra-galactic aliens were those who had fled from the Yuuzhan Vong galaxy: the droid races of the Abominor and the Silentium, as well as the Yuuzhan Vong themselves and their slave soldiers, the Chazrach. The Abominor and the Silentium engaged in a devastating war before the Yuuzhan Vong rose up against both and drove them from their galaxy. Of the Silentium and Abominor that survived, two individuals, the Great Heep and Vuffi Raa, established themselves in the main galaxy around the time of the Galactic Civil War. The former was destroyed on Biitu, while the latter was recovered by the Silentium after the Battle of ThonBoka.

After expelling the Silentium and the Abominor from their galaxy, the Yuuzhan Vong turned inward and engaged in their own civil war, the Cremlevian War, which decimated much of their galaxy's life. Seeking a new home, the Yuuzhan Vong and the Chazrach traversed the Intergalactic Void for millennia until they arrived in the main galaxy, initiating a religious war that nearly destroyed galactic civilization while it was still recovering from the Galactic Civil War.

The galaxy's lingua franca was Galactic Basic Standard, which originated as a Human language from Coruscant known as Old Galactic Standard. As the Galactic Republic expanded, Old Galactic Standard incorporated influences from Durese, Bothese, and Olys Corellisi, evolving into Mid-Galactic Standard by 15,000 BBY. Following the Vultans' entry into the Galactic Republic around 14,000 BBY, influence from the Dromnyr language further shaped Mid-Galactic Standard into modern Basic. Given that Humans were the dominant species in the galaxy, Basic was adopted by numerous non-Human species as well.

The second most prevalent language was Huttese, which expanded due to the criminal and financial activities of the Hutts. Consequently, it was adopted throughout the Outer Rim Territories by other species that maintained close cooperation with them over the ages, such as the Rodians and the Toydarians.

The predominant writing system in the galaxy was Aurebesh, which was derived from the script of the Rakatan Infinite Empire by its former subject species after the Empire's collapse, although the symbols themselves may have been much older. Aurebesh spread throughout the galaxy during the Tionese War between the nascent Galactic Republic and the Honorable Union of Desevro & Tion. During this conflict, the new Republic Military recognized the need to standardize its communications and, therefore, adopted the writing system of Coruscant. The second most common writing system was the High Galactic alphabet, which was promoted by Alsakan after 17,000 BBY during the Alsakan Conflicts as part of its efforts to be recognized as the galactic capital. Derived from Tionese characters, the High Galactic alphabet was popular among the upper class. As late as 22 BBY, one-third of Republic citizens who spoke Basic used the High Galactic alphabet. Consequently, notices were often written in both Aurebesh and High Galactic.

There has been no serious attempt to provide the galaxy with an official astronomical designation. It is generally referred to by the out-of-universe descriptive phrase "the Star Wars galaxy". According to The Essential Atlas, the Nagai of Firefist refer to the main galaxy as Skyriver, which is the closest any official material has come to giving the galaxy an in-universe name. However, we do not know whether or how members of the galactic community refer to their own home galaxy (in the same way that we call ours the "Milky Way").

"The Galaxy Far, Far Away", often abbreviated GFFA, is the informal name given by many fans to the galaxy that serves as the setting for the Star Wars films and their related works. In the films, this galaxy is simply referred to as "the galaxy." This designation originates from the introductory text that appears at the beginning of each of the films, many of the video games, and even some fan films and novels:

The use of the acronym GFFA became so widespread that Del Rey chose to name the post-New Jedi Order government, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, in honor of the term.

The opening words of each Star Wars film establish that the galaxy exists within the same plane of existence as our own, indicating that it is a finite distance—"far, far away"—from us, but no further details about its location have been revealed. Humans exist in both galaxies, and Galactic Basic is essentially equivalent to modern-day English, including (but not limited to) its British, American, New Zealander, Caribbean, and Indian variants. Furthermore, numerous cultural traditions (ranging from the handshake to marriage) exhibit similarities or are identical in both galaxies, although these parallels remain unexplained.

Similarly, the time frame in which the galaxy and the events within it occurred, relative to Earth, is not explicitly stated, other than the opening words declaring that they took place "A long time ago." The teaser trailer for A New Hope began with the line "Somewhere in space, this may all be happening right now..." It is worth noting that, initially, when George Lucas was writing the first film in its initial treatment, he intended for the galaxy to not only exist within the same galaxy as our own, but the time frame would have been specifically cited as occurring within the thirty-third century. Walter Murch, an associate of Lucas' since his days working at American Zoetrope, suggested that part of the reason for the decision to change the setting to a galaxy "far, far away" from our own was so that Lucas could both make the movie and simultaneously convey anti-Vietnam War messaging in the film as a transformed remake of Apocalypse Now, as he could not directly express the message due to the ongoing events of Vietnam at the time Lucas began making Star Wars. George Lucas provided a similar explanation for the change in The Making of Star Wars.

At the conclusion of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, characters present on vessels of the Rebel fleet observe a distant astronomical object. Certain fans have posited that its rotational speed is unrealistically high for a galaxy, and its luminosity at that distance would be less than depicted in the movie.

Some accounts suggest the fleet concealed itself outside the galactic disk for a period, presumably referencing the aforementioned scene. However, in the Tales of the Bounty Hunters story Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM, published in 1996, it's stated that the object seen in the film is the galaxy itself, and the Rebel fleet had traveled to a location far from the galactic plane. This location was situated above, rather than outside, the galactic plane. Since the publication of Tales of the Bounty Hunters, the identification of the object has been inconsistent. The Complete Star Wars Trilogy Scrapbook, initially released in 1997, describes the object as a rotating star formation. The Episode II DVD-ROM Exclusive Content from 2002 proposed that the luminous object might be the star cluster called the Rishi Maze. In 2003, Leland Chee verified on the StarWars.com Message Boards that the object was indeed the Star Wars galaxy, a fact further supported by the release of The Essential Atlas in 2009, which confirmed the Rebel fleet's regrouping point as being above the galactic plane.

Numerous publications have featured "maps" of the galaxy, which are essentially two-dimensional projections of a galaxy that is actually three-dimensional. The initial cartographic representations of the Star Wars galaxy appeared in roleplaying game sourcebooks created by West End Games, and they included detailed maps of specific regions and sectors. Examples include the mapping of the Elrood sector in Planets of the Galaxy, Volume Three, the Brak sector in Flashpoint! Brak Sector, the Kathol sector in The DarkStryder Campaign, and the Tapani sector along with the Rimma Trade Route in Lords of the Expanse.

Despite these sectional maps, a complete, official galactic map was not available until 1998 with the release of the CD-ROM digital encyclopedia Star Wars: Behind the Magic. This map illustrated the locations of significant planets from both the films and the Expanded Universe. Presenting a top-down perspective of the Star Wars galaxy, the map used concentric rings to delineate various regions ranging from the Deep Core to the Outer Rim Territories, and also pinpointed the location of Naboo, which was set to appear in the then-upcoming Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

The year 1999 saw the debut of The New Jedi Order series, with each novel containing a comprehensive galactic map tracking the progress of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. These maps employed an isometric projection of the galaxy, showcasing the spiral arms and the largely unexplored western region known as the Unknown Regions. Each novel featured the same core map, which plotted planets from established lore as well as newly introduced worlds from the New Jedi Order narratives. The Essential Chronology from 2000 incorporated the same map as endpapers.

Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Episode I, also released in 2000, reverted to a map utilizing concentric circles, akin to the Behind the Magic map, but with generally similar planet placements as the The New Jedi Order map. However, subsequent maps, starting with Star Wars Gamer 5, expanded upon the concept of The New Jedi Order map, with increasingly detailed color maps appearing in certain issues of The Official Star Wars Fact File (1, 56, 139). A sizable poster map was included in Star Wars Insider 65 in 2003, and The New Essential Chronology of 2005 also featured a spread with an updated galactic map highlighting key systems, and was the first to indicate the locations of planets featured in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

In 2009, The Essential Atlas was published, abandoning isometric projections in favor of a top-down chart while largely maintaining the same regional borders and planet placements. Beyond a large galaxy map, The Essential Atlas also presented numerous historical, regional, and sectoral maps and introduced a coordinate system and galactic compass. Furthermore, The Essential Atlas contained an index of 4,387 star systems, assigning each a coordinate, sector, and region. The Essential Atlas has since been augmented with an Online Companion, which includes an updated index listing 5,085 star systems, believed to encompass every system mentioned in Star Wars Legends, along with maps of the Outer Rim, Mid Rim, and Expansion Region sectors.

The chapter selection screen of Star Wars: TIE Fighter (1995) marked the initial appearance of what could be interpreted as a galaxy map. It consisted of a generic galactic shape highlighting the supposed location of the current mission, though these highlights did not align with canonical coordinates (e.g., selecting the Greater Javin campaign incorrectly highlighted the Galactic Core). The 1998 video game Star Wars: Rebellion featured a galaxy map interface divided into 20 sectors and 200 systems; however, these positions served solely as a game mechanic and have been contradicted by later official sources.