Jabba's criminal empire

Jabba was known to be a demanding leader, exacting tribute from various local governments on Tatooine to ensure their compliance. These subordinate entities, driven by fear, did not dare to challenge the crime lord's authority. He would enlist smugglers for the purpose of transporting illicit goods across the galaxy. He was also known to employ bounty hunters to capture those who wronged him.

Bib Fortuna oversaw many of the day-to-day operations within Jabba's palace, often vetting visitors seeking an audience with the gangster. Tessek, the accountant, was responsible for managing Jabba's finances, although he was secretly diverting funds for his own benefit. Wooof, the pilot, was tasked with overseeing Jabba's fleet of skiffs and his sail barge, Khetanna, while Barada, a mechanic, maintained them. Ephant Mon, Jabba's only confidant, served as his head of security. The palace guard consisted of various species, including Gamorreans, as well as Humans, Niktos, and Weequays.

Some individuals were forced to serve within the criminal empire against their will. For example, Jabba acquired the human slave Malakili to care for his rancor. Others, such as Oola and Leia Organa, were enslaved for Jabba's amusement. The Hutt would also exploit debt as a means of servitude. After saving Deva Lompop's life, Jabba would occasionally summon her to pursue bounties on his behalf, often promising to release her from her debt. Similarly, the musician Jess became Jabba's servant to settle her father's debt to him.

In 22 BBY, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, together with his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, returned Jabba's son Rotta to Tatooine in an effort to secure access to the Hutt's secret hyperspace routes for the Galactic Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, despite sabotage attempts by Asajj Ventress and Sith Lord Count Dooku. As a result, the Hutt Clan became an ally of the Galactic Republic, entering into a treaty with them.

In 19 BBY, the former Sith Lord Maul established the Shadow Collective with the goal of seizing control of Mandalore. Seeking additional resources, Maul approached the Grand Hutt Council to negotiate an alliance. When the council rejected Maul's offer, the Shadow Collective launched an assault on the Hutt forces, resulting in the capture of Oruba, who revealed the location of Jabba's palace to Maul. Maul and his forces then traveled to Tatooine and attacked the stronghold, massacring many of Jabba's guards in the process. Confronting Jabba directly, Maul demanded that the Hutt submit to his demands or face the consequences. Realizing he had little choice, Jabba agreed to his request. With the assistance of the Hutts, Maul successfully took control of Mandalore. However, the Shadow Collective later dissolved following Maul's defeat by Darth Sidious.

By 0 BBY, Han Solo, Jabba's most skilled smuggler, was compelled to jettison a shipment of Kessel spice when the Millennium Falcon was boarded by a patrol of the Galactic Empire. Jabba sought compensation for the lost spice, prompting the Hutt to dispatch bounty hunters after Solo. Following the death of the Rodian Greedo at Solo's hands, the smuggler met with Jabba at Docking Bay 94 in Mos Eisley, where the crime lord granted him additional time. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, in which the Alliance to Restore the Republic, aided by Solo, successfully destroyed the Death Star, the Empire decided to negotiate with an envoy in Jabba's employ on Cymoon 1, in the Corellian Industrial Cluster. Sith Lord Darth Vader was dispatched as the Imperial negotiator with the intention of forcing Jabba's envoy into a deal favorable to the Empire.

However, the envoy's vessel was hijacked by the Rebel Alliance, and with a team of rebels including Solo, they used it to assault and destroy Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1. Emperor Palpatine sent Vader to Jabba's Palace to negotiate. Once there, Jabba was not interested in negotiating with Vader, and his Gamorrean guards were sent to eliminate the Sith, but Vader killed Jabba's guards and briefly choked Jabba in order to show what his fate will be if he didn't listened to him. The next day, Vader ended his negotiations with Jabba and left his palace.

One of the bounty hunters frequently employed by Jabba, and highly compensated for his services, was Boba Fett, widely regarded as the most notorious hunter in the galaxy. Three years following the Battle of Yavin, Fett was contracted by Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon. Pursuing the ship to Cloud City, Solo was frozen in carbonite to be delivered to Jabba by Fett. After the battle over Jekara, Jabba was left the sole ruler of the Hutt Clan, as Vader cut down the rest of the Hutt Council for attacking the Empire.

One year after Solo's capture, Solo's friend Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and his rebel party attempted to convince Jabba to liberate Solo. Skywalker sent the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 to Jabba's Palace to negotiate with Jabba via hologram. However, the Hutt was uninterested in Skywalker's proposal. After a dance of Jedi Rocks, which was watched by various individuals in the place like Ree-Yees, and the capture of Leia Organa and Chewbacca, Skywalker presented himself at his palace and after Jabba tried to execute him. However, Skywalker killed Pateesa, Jabba's pet rancor.

Enraged by the death of his pet, Jabba sought to execute Skywalker and his companions at the Great Pit of Carkoon as sustenance for the Pit's Sarlacc. Jabba and the members of his empire traveled to the Pit aboard Jabba's sail barge. Skywalker issued one final warning to Jabba, but he merely chuckled at the young Skywalker's words. This decision ultimately cost Jabba not only his empire, but also his life, as Organa, whom Jabba had enslaved following her capture, strangled him to death with a chain. In the end, members of Jabba's empire either fell into the sarlacc's mouth or were killed when Organa and Skywalker detonated Jabba's sail barge.

Following Jabba's death, his former majordomo, Bib Fortuna, returned to the palace and took over its operations as a crime lord. The crime families of Mos Espa left the syndicate and the city was divided among the Trandoshans, the Aqualish and the Klatooinians. Boba Fett's gunship, Slave I, was left inside the palace's garage. Eventually Boba Fett, who had survived and escaped the Sarlacc pit, with the help of Fennec Shand, infiltrated the palace and recovered it.

In 9 ABY, Boba Fett and Fennec Shand returned to the palace, after they helped Din Djarin rescue his foundling Grogu, they returned to Jabba's palace to finish their original mission. The two killed all the guards, followed by Fett executing Fortuna and taking the throne.

Boba Fett began establishing influence across Tatooine, demanding tribute from various local governments and factions on the planet, intended to rule with respect rather then with fear that existed under Jabba harsh reign. He found his rule opposed by Jabba's cousins "the Twins," who would then withdraw from Tatooine when they learned the Pyke Syndicate intended to take over the planet. Fett and his allies stood their ground against the Pykes in the Battle of Mos Espa, which ended in victory for the Fett gotra.