Jedi Temple (Ilum)
The Jedi Temple, also known as the Ilum Temple, was an ancient structure on Ilum. The early Jedi Order built it as they expanded from Tython and created training locations across the galaxy. Its remote location was a key factor in its selection, and it was positioned above a vast underground network of caves where the Order's unique lightsaber crystals developed. Although the training facilities were eventually abandoned, the temple on Ilum became a destination for Jedi seeking to construct their personal lightsabers.
History
Construction
Around 22,800 BBY, during the Jedi Order's early years, scouts using hyperspace discovered the frozen planet Ilum. They found a hidden treasure trove of crystals there, which were highly valued for their use as focusing lenses in the Order's symbolic weapon, the lightsaber. Before this discovery, the crystals of Adega were the main source, so the kathracite, mephite, and pontite crystals from Ilum greatly increased the Order's supply of these rare materials. The Jedi High Council decided to build a temple and training center on this harsh world, embracing the cold and isolation it offered. To maintain their privacy, the Order kept the hyperlane and the planet's coordinates secret, following Galactic Republic law that granted the Order exclusive rights to all planetary discoveries.
Old Sith Wars
The path to Ilum was not only dangerous but also required Force-sensitivity to navigate. This challenging journey served as the initial test for students aspiring to train there. Ilum's training grounds were most active before the rise of Exar Kun during the Great Hyperspace War. The devastation of war led to a significant reduction in the facility's size. As the number of Jedi stationed on the planet decreased, the Temple was maintained by an honor guard while still welcoming visitors who sought to construct their lightsabers. Journeys on Ilum were known to be perilous throughout history. One of the earliest visitors, Jedi Master Seta-Le, fell through thin ice into a dark cavern. After breaking her lightsaber in the fall, Seta-Le used her knowledge of the lightsaber's internal mechanisms to activate a large crystal formation in the cave. The resulting beam melted the ice, allowing her to escape.
During the Great Galactic War, a conflict between the re-emerging Sith Empire and the Republic, the Temple faced another threat. The Empire quickly attacked Ilum, overwhelming the few Jedi stationed there and swiftly killing them. As the Empire began to station troops on the planet, the Temple became inaccessible. Due to limited resources, the Order could not reclaim it for over a decade. In 3640 BBY, during the Galactic War, Republic and Imperial forces clashed on the planet. During the Battle of Ilum, Republic and Jedi forces fought Imperial troops in the Temple and defeated Darth Arho.
After the Sith Empire was destroyed, the Order restored their Temple on Ilum. They once again maintained a small group of Jedi on the planet to protect their valuable crystals.
Golden Age of the Old Republic
During the Golden Age of the Old Republic, the Temple and the caves beneath it were frequently visited by members of the Order. Because the caves primarily produced blue and green crystals, the Order's members often wielded weapons of these colors, as Ilum possessed the largest supply of these crystals. In the final decades of the Republic, the young Anakin Skywalker, Padawan to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, ventured into the Temple's caves to create his first lightsaber. Like many before him, the Force-rich grottoes induced Force visions or hallucinations, leading him into combat with a manifestation of the mysterious Zabrak Sith Lord his master had defeated on Naboo. After defeating the manifestation, Skywalker realized his lightsaber was complete and departed the Temple with his new weapon.
Years later, during the Clone Wars, a deadly conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli brought her Padawan Barriss Offee to the Temple to guide her in crafting her lightsaber. Upon completing the ancient ritual, they were attacked by Confederate probe droids sent by Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatist movement, to destroy the caves. During the skirmish, the caves suffered extensive damage from the droids' bombs, trapping the Master and Padawan under rubble. Sensing the disturbance, Grand Master Yoda, the leader of the Order, arrived on Ilum and entered the Temple in time to rescue Unduli and her student.
Following the attack, the Jedi High Council concluded that the coordinates to the secret Jedi world had been compromised by Dooku, a former member of the Order who had fallen to the dark side of the Force and become a Dark Lord of the Sith. Fearing that the Confederacy would exploit the caves' resources against the Order or prevent Jedi from creating new lightsabers, the Council ordered all crystals to be harvested and transported to the Coruscant Jedi Temple for safekeeping. Reconstruction of the Temple would take a year before it was safe for students to re-enter, and all treks were suspended.
The Gathering
In 20 BBY, a group of Jedi Initiates including Petro, Ganodi, Zatt, Byph, Katooni, and Gungi arrived to collect their Lightsaber crystals for the construction of their Lightsabers.
Rise of the Empire
When the war ended with the overthrow of the Galactic Republic and the disbandment of the Jedi Order, the newly established Galactic Empire seized control of Ilum's coordinates. Several Jedi returned to Ilum, believing it to be safe, and hid in the Temple's caves. Among the survivors were Masters Fy-Tor-Ana and Garen Muln. Master Ana soon departed for Coruscant, while Muln deteriorated within the caverns. Within months of the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, former Jedi Padawan Ferus Olin searched the caves and found Muln sick and near death. After rescuing the Jedi Master, Olin escaped offworld before the Imperials secretly stationed on the planet could capture the fugitive Jedi.
Layout
The Jedi Temple, built into the icy face of a frozen mountain cliff on Ilum, was covered in snow and appeared barren. The large entrance was concealed behind thick sheets of ice that accumulated on the Temple's exterior during prolonged periods of disuse. Large transparisteel windows allowed the dim light from the snow-covered landscape to enter, illuminating the cave-like interior of the Temple. Inside the main tower, the Jedi Order carved tall, elegant pillars into the walls of the circular chambers and decorated the room with large statues of Jedi. Circular windows along the upper walls of the chamber could be opened using the Force to let in natural light. When the light entered, it refracted through a series of massive crystals suspended in the chamber. When focused with the Force, this light would melt the ice that covered the entrance to the Crystal Caves. This crystal array was originally used by the trapped Jedi Master Seta-Le millennia before the rise of the Galactic Empire. As the ice wall melted, it flowed down like a waterfall, revealing the large gates leading into the darkness. Beyond these gates, tall and slender black rock formations stood like pillars in the main hall, each embedded with hundreds of small crystals that seemed to shimmer in the dim light. Spiraling ramps extended into the darkness, leading to rarely used rooms and construction galleries.
Deeper within the Temple were other paths into the caves, which were caverns made of natural, shiny black stone that absorbed light instead of reflecting it. Over time, as the Jedi Order grew, many Jedi who visited the cave recorded their histories on its walls. These extensive cave etchings seemed to come to life during the Force-induced hallucinations that many Jedi experienced while constructing their weapons. The Temple's caves held many secrets, including a hidden entrance that led into the subterranean grottoes. In later centuries, gorgodons began to nest in this area, turning the entrance into a hazard rather than a shortcut.