Outer Rim Territories

Following the establishment of the Galactic Republic, and with the vibrant Core planet of Coruscant serving as the original homeworld for the pioneering human species, the galaxy's expansion unfolded along newly discovered hyperspace routes that radiated outward from the Core Worlds. Colonists journeyed towards the Outer Rim, seeking opportunities and improved living conditions. Due to economic and legal limitations, along with political oppression, many individuals chose to reside beyond the controlling influence of the Core. Navigational beacons, installed by Republic survey teams such as in the Tertiary Usaita system, aided travelers heading towards the galaxy's outer reaches.

Situated on the Coreward side of the Outer Rim, the planet Anaxes played a role in protecting the Core Worlds from potential attacks. Eventually, tensions emerged between the Republic and its Jedi allies regarding the warrior culture of Mandalore, an Outer Rim world. This led to a destructive conflict that resulted in the theft of the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple. While the Sith order eventually dissolved due to internal conflicts, [Darth Bane](/article/darth_bane] secretly survived and established the Rule of Two. He and other Sith Lords were entombed in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Moraband.

For a millennium, the Galactic Republic stood as one of the galaxy's most powerful entities. Although trade and galactic commerce eventually flourished between the Core and Outer Rim Territories, the Outer Rim presented navigational challenges and dangers during the High Republic Era. A rush to discover new hyperspace routes ensued, with both private entities and the Republic actively seeking new lanes. Simultaneously, the planets Eiram and E'ronoh were embroiled in a forever war that brought turmoil to the Outer Rim. Refugees fled across the Eiram system's side of the Rim, while food and fuel shortages impacted the entire region. In venturing into the Rim to aid the Republic's expansion, the Jedi Order also aimed to connect with new communities and present themselves as a source of assistance. However, their exploration led the Jedi into contact with the Path of the Open Hand cult on Dalna, resulting in the Great Leveler being unleashed against them.

Supreme Chancellor Orlen Mollo, having originated from the Rim, possessed a deeper understanding of its challenges and cultures compared to his fellow Chancellor Kyong Greylark. Consequently, he traveled across the Rim, providing direct assistance, while Greylark remained with the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. Despite the Jedi Order and Mollo's collaborative efforts to broker peace between the two planets, the Battle of Jedha led to the failure of the Eiram-E'ronoh peace initiative. The rivalry between the two worlds would not be resolved until the Eiram–E'ronoh crisis. Later, Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh sought to integrate the outer worlds into the Republic, following the example of Mollo and Greylark. To achieve this, she launched outreach programs. She also requested the Jedi Order to expand its outreach, and Senator Izzet Noor of Serenno articulated the needs of the majority of the Outer Rim in the Galactic Senate. Traveling to the Outer Rim through hyperspace aboard transport ships like the Legacy Run, numerous settlers departed from the overpopulated Core and Colonies in pursuit of new lives, hoping to earn credits and secure a prosperous future.

A portion of the Outer Rim became known as the Galactic Frontier, which housed a guiding station called Starlight Beacon. Even during Starlight's construction, the Outer Rim was regarded as a place of challenges, which proved to be more perilous than exciting. Republic Judicial Forces and the Jedi Order maintained order throughout the galaxy, averting a major galactic war for centuries. During the High Republic Era, the Republic Defense Coalition also assisted in patrolling the Rim. Following the Great Hyperspace Disaster, the Outer Rim was affected by the Emergences, prompting Soh to blockade hyperspace routes into the Rim, which impacted numerous worlds in the region. She only lifted the blockade after the Nihil were presumed defeated in the Battle of Kur.

Under the leadership of the Eye of the Nihil, Marchion Ro, the Nihil opposed the expanding Republic, viewing themselves as genuinely free. Following their presumed defeat, the Nihil initiated raids on a galaxy-wide scale, rather than remaining solely within the Outer Rim. Simultaneously, the Republic confronted the Drengir crisis, in which the Drengir species began to proliferate and destroy everything in their path. After the destruction of Starlight Beacon and the deployment of the stormseeds, Ro declared ten sectors of the Outer Rim to be under Nihil control, establishing the Occlusion Zone, which he referred to as "Nihil space." Sometime after a Nihil invasion of the Republic, the High Republic Era concluded around 100 BBY.

In the years leading up to the Clone Wars, inhabitants of the Outer Rim increasingly perceived themselves as victims of economic and social injustices, as Judicials often refrained from intervening in Outer Rim matters after many distant worlds declined to offer profitable deals to the Core. Plagued by numerous pirates and lacking protection from a federal military, the Outer Rim world of Eriadu established the Outland Regions Security Force to safeguard the Seswenna sector. Financed by off-world loans and comprised of a mix of ships, it acquired weapons from arms merchants who had disregarded a Republic ban on weapon sales to member worlds for centuries. Initially lacking significant success, it gained prominence after Wilhuff Tarkin joined its anti-piracy task force, enabling him to substantially reduce pirate raids throughout neighboring systems.

With the monolithic Trade Federation gradually encroaching on the Outer Rim and the perceived weakness of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, who was already entangled in numerous scandals and unable to control the growing corruption within the Galactic Senate, Governor Tarkin of Eriadu diverted Valorum from investigating a trade summit in an attempt to diminish his authority. The summit's disastrous outcome expedited the Trade Federation's Invasion of Naboo over the recently proposed taxation of Free Trade Zones and disputes over plasma exports.

Amid growing discontent stemming from years of neglect by the Core Worlds, the charismatic political idealist Count Dooku successfully incited political unrest on worlds such as Kashyyyk, Sullust, and Onderon. He eventually commandeered a HoloNet station in the Raxus system to express his views. This precipitated the Separatist Crisis, which resulted in thousands of worlds seceding from the Galactic Republic and joining the burgeoning Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Following the First Battle of Geonosis, the devastating three-year Clone Wars engulfed the galaxy, resulting in billions of casualties on both sides of the conflict. The Republic was compelled to raise the Grand Army of the Republic to counter the Separatist threat, with the war culminating in the Outer Rim Sieges. At one point during the sieges, the Separatists invaded Anaxes, which housed a major shipyard for the Republic Navy. Subsequently, Skywalker, the Clone Captain Rex, and the elite Clone Force 99 discovered that the Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor was exploiting the captured clone trooper Echo to unconsciously provide strategies to the Separatist commander Admiral Trench. After rescuing Echo, Skywalker and the clones devised a successful counter-strategy, leading to the defeat of Separatist forces on Anaxes. This victory allowed Anaxes to continue producing warships for the Republic war effort.

The war persisted until the death of the Separatist Council on Mustafar. Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine transformed the Republic into the First Galactic Empire, eradicating the thousand-year-old democracy—and the Jedi Order—in an instant.

The nascent Galactic Empire increasingly sought dominion over the Outer Rim, yet numerous planets never fully succumbed to Imperial control. Instead, these worlds were often governed by nefarious criminal enterprises such as the Hutt Cartel, the Pyke Syndicate, the Black Sun, or Zygerrian slavers. Galactic Emperor Palpatine, convinced that securing the galaxy's outer systems would bolster the stability of the galactic core, oversaw the expansion of the Imperial Military and the merciless suppression of dissent and remaining Separatist holdouts throughout the Outer Rim. Planets like Jelucan and Lothal experienced Imperial occupation and development, frequently resulting in widespread pollution and industrial expansion to fuel the Imperial war effort. Simultaneously, men and women were drafted into the Imperial Army and Navy. An "Imperial five-year plan" was put into action for many Imperial-controlled planets by the Imperial Outer Rim High Command. The Empire rarely bothered to patrol the furthest reaches of the Outer Rim, instead relying on local citizens' militias to safeguard friendly convoys.

The Empire could not achieve complete dominance over the Outer Rim, but it frequently used its planets as testing grounds for new biological weapons and as a source of labor. This included the brutal wiping out of the Lasat species from the Outer Rim world of Lasan, exploiting the native Twi'lek species of Ryloth by rounding up native villagers for slave labor, and murdering nearly all the Geonosians.

Embracing the principles of the Tarkin Doctrine, the Empire supervised the construction of the initial Death Star above Geonosis and exterminated the native Geonosian population. Grand Moff Tarkin was assigned the task of imposing order in the Outer Rim Territories, receiving a promotion to Governor of the Outer Rim. After restricting the HoloNet access of various Outer Rim planets to Imperial use five years after the establishment of the New Order, many disgruntled systems interpreted the embargo as the de facto beginning of the Imperial conquest of the Outer Systems.

In 10 BBY, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Qi'ra, Tobias Beckett, and the droid L3-37 disrupted a spice mining operation run by the Pyke Syndicate on Kessel during a mission to acquire coaxium for the Crimson Dawn crime lord Dryden Vos. While escaping Imperial forces, Solo piloted the Millennium Falcon to complete the Kessel Run in less than thirteen parsecs, surpassing all previous records. Subsequently, Solo, Qi'ra, and Chewbacca allied with Enfys Nest's Cloud-Riders to defeat Vos' Pyke Syndicate forces on Savareen. Vos and Beckett also perished, killed by Qi'ra and Solo respectively.

At some point, Anaxes suffered destroyed in a catastrophic event. The planet was reduced to an asteroid field that included the former Republic Military base Fort Anaxes. Fort Anaxes was located on the asteroid PM-1203. In time, Fort Anaxes became a supply station for members of the rebellion. The following year, Great Jedi Purge survivor Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Ezra Bridger were involved in a skirmish with the Grand Inquisitor at PM-1203.

During the Imperial Era, numerous rebel cells arose throughout the Outer Rim, including Hera Syndulla's Spectres, the Phoenix Cell, and General Jan Dodonna's Massassi Group. Following the suppression of the Batonn insurgency, Grand Admiral Thrawn was charged with eliminating rebel forces in the Lothal sector. Despite inflicting significant losses on rebel forces during the Battle of Atollon, the Spectres and Lothal resistance group successfully liberated the planet Lothal from Imperial control.

By 2 BBY, various rebel cells had merged into the Alliance to Restore the Republic under the leadership of Mon Mothma in response to the Ghorman Massacre. This rebel network posed a significant threat to Empire and established bases on the worlds of Dantooine and Yavin 4. The Rebellion achieved its first victory against the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Scarif, which resulted in the theft of the Death Star plans.

After the Emperor dissolved the Imperial Senate, regional governors were granted direct authority over their respective territories. Luke Skywalker, a native of Tatooine, ultimately destroyed the Empire's planet-killing battle station at the Battle of Yavin. The Death Star's destruction ushered in an era of instability and a surge in skepticism towards Imperial rule. Consequently, the newly-promoted Grand General Cassio Tagge and Vader took steps to safeguard the Empire, with Vader assuring the Hutt Sutha that the Empire no longer desired to permit the Outer Rim to operate without restraint. Having recently crippled the Son-tuul syndicate for its excessive disruptiveness, Vader informed Sutha that the only active powers in the Outer Rim should be entities like the Hutts, as they maintained a mutual understanding with the Empire.

The Outer Rim Territories became deeply involved in the Galactic Civil War, with the Alliance Fleet scattered throughout the region and the Empire reinforcing the border of the Mid Rim against the perceived lawlessness of the outlying systems. Due to its remoteness from the Core, unauthorized holofeeds were abundant in the Outer Rim, partly due to the Empire's tenuous control over the area. During this period, the Empire initiated a crackdown on the Outer Rim to eliminate criminal syndicates, except for those allied with the Empire, such as the Hutts, with whom Darth Vader had negotiated for resources. This included an assault on the Cymorah syndicate, which had been stealing from the Empire. Vader led forces to attack a station, resulting in its destruction.

The Empire's attack on the Son-tuul Pride resulted in the seizure of its credit hoards and the death of the leader, Yonak's father. The Son-tuul-Pride would later be briefly reorganized under 0-0-0 before being dissolved after the Empire launched another attack led by Lieutenant-Inspector Magna Tolvan that decimated them. Much of the Empire's funding was allocated to the construction of Super Star Destroyers. Some of it also helped enrich the Hutts although this was simply a side effect.

Numerous criminal incidents occurred in the Anthan system, leading to conflicts between criminals and the Empire. Following the Son-tuul robbery, Vader and Thanoth collaborated to identify those responsible, although Vader was secretly culpable and worked to conceal his involvement. On Anthan Prime, a droid fighting den was raided by the Empire, where Vader and Inspector Thanoth apprehended Doowan, who revealed the location of the Dragons den on Anthan 13 before Vader killed him. They utilized his data to locate the Ante, a prominent figure who sold information. Vader and Thanoth led a raid that resulted in the death of the Ante. Vader and Thanoth subsequently attacked a rebel group on Anthan 1 and destroyed them.

After the Mid Rim Retreat, the Empire discovered the Rebellion's new base on Hoth, destroying it in the Battle of Hoth and scattering the Rebellion into fragments dispersed across the Outer Rim. Following Operation Ringbreaker, approximately six months after the Battle of Hoth, Operation Yellow Moon enabled the scattered Rebel Fleet to converge over Sullust to strike on the Empire's new Death Star under construction over Endor. Its destruction in the Battle of Endor, along with the deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader, led to the disintegration of Imperial authority, resulting in the gradual withdrawal of Imperial control from the Outer Rim.

The New Republic, the government established by the Rebel Alliance, recognized Akiva as the first Outer Rim planet to officially join the Republic in the months following Endor. The Criigo insurrection and battle above Desevro both took place in the Outer Rim. After the Battle of Endor, the Alliance had feared the Empire would heavily cement itself in the Outer Rim. However, by 5 ABY, the Empire had lost control of much of the Outer Rim, with the Exterior the only sector that really remained under its control. Zhadalene, Korrus, and Belladoon also remained under Imperial control. Many crime groups took advantage of this chaos to rise. Under the orders of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, the Empire nationalized the Imperial weapons and vehicular factories there for the war effort. In coordination with Imperial fleets hidden in the Vulpinus Nebula, the Almagest, the Recluse's Nebula, the Queluhan Nebula, the Ro-Loo Triangle, and the Inamorata, Rax planned to use the three Outer Rim holdouts as a cord to strangle the New Republic.

Shortly before the Battle of Jakku, Princess Leia Organa reported that Tatooine and Horuz were under the control of some Imperial remnant, criminal syndicates or gangsters. The Red Key Raiders attempted to seize control of Tatooine but were opposed by Cobb Vanth, the elusive Mayor and Sheriff of Freetown. The Empire launched a final attempt at a counter-offensive one year after Endor, but was defeated at the Battle of Jakku by the New Republic. The Empire was pushed back to a handful of sectors in the fringe of the Outer Rim, and although they only contained a small fraction of the galaxy's population and industrial base, they were nevertheless a heavily fortified final redoubt. As a result, the New Republic deemed that they posed too minor of a threat to justify the high cost in life that liberating them would require, and the Empire surrendered to the New Republic and signed a treaty ending the war. The Republic then began arriving in the remaining Imperial sectors to announce the signing of the treaty.

After the Battle of Jakku, the Outer Rim was very lawless as the New Republic did not do much to control it. Due to this it was common a place for Imperial remnants like Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant to hide, with bases on planets like Nevarro. The world of Tatooine remained a hotbed for crime but did see some changes, such as the withdraw of the Bounty Hunter's Guild. The Mos Eisley cantina, formerly known for not allowing droids, now featured droid employees. Ousting the Pyke Syndicate from the world with the Battle of Mos Espa, former bounty hunter Boba Fett established his own criminal empire on Tatooine with the goal of ruling by respect.

In 28 ABY, New Republic member worlds included Arkanis and Daxam IV, which were aligned with the Centrist faction in the Galactic Senate on Hosnian Prime. The Outer Rim planet Ryloth chose not to join the new galactic government. The planet Pamarthe was known for producing pilots.

The New Republic took steps to control organized crime by introducing new financial regulations and patrolling the major shipping lines. However, organized crime later returned to the Gaulus sector and adversely affected the economy of Ryloth due to the indecisiveness of the Galactic Senate. One major crime syndicate was the Nikto crime lord Rinnrivin Di's cartel, which was based on Bastatha. Rinnrivin's smuggling activities took a toll on Ryloth's economy and precipitated a New Republic senatorial investigation led by Organa and Ransolm Casterfo. In truth, Rinnrivin's cartel was a criminal front organization set up by several Centrist senators including Lady Carise Sindian to bankroll the Amaxine warriors and the First Order's fleet. The planet Daxam IV was the site of an Amaxine base which housed a thousand Amaxine warriors. The Amaxines were a militia that was led by former Imperial officers like Arliz Hadrassian, who admired the Old Empire and sought to overthrow the New Republic. The organization was largely destroyed when an explosion destroyed their main base on the Expansion Region world of Sibensko.

The First Order formed around a string of industrialized worlds, which stretched from Bastion to the planet Yaga Minor. During the Cold War, the planet D'Qar in the Ileenium system hosted the Resistance's base of operations. Shortly before the attack on Tuanul, the First Order operated a mining operation in Pressy's Tumble, an artificial asteroid field in the Pressylla system. The former stormtrooper Finn and his commanding officer Captain Phasma took part in suppressing a strike at Pressy's Tumble.

Following the events of the Hosnian Cataclysm and the Battle of Takodana, the First Order's Starkiller Base was deployed in an attempt to obliterate D'Qar. However, the Resistance intervened, destroying the Starkiller Base before its superlaser could be brought to bear.

Before the Resistance could finalize their evacuation from D'Qar, the First Order Navy launched an assault. Despite taking down a Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought, the Resistance suffered losses to their bombers and starfighters. As they jumped into hyperspace to escape, the First Order Navy, including Supreme Leader Snoke's flagship, the Supremacy, gave chase, utilizing a hyperspace tracker. Resistance members Finn and Rose Tico ventured to Cantonica in an attempt to enlist the aid of the Master Codebreaker to disable the First Order's tracking technology. However, their mission failed, and they were only able to secure the help of DJ, a criminal slicer.

After abandoning their flagship, the Raddus, the Resistance forces evacuated to Crait using U-55 orbital loadlifters. However, DJ betrayed the Resistance, divulging their plans to the First Order. Despite enduring significant losses, five Resistance loadlifters successfully regrouped on Crait, a consequence of Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo's sacrifice in ramming the Supremacy with the Raddus. Following Snoke's demise, Kylo Ren assumed the position of Supreme Leader and initiated an assault against the Resistance forces on Crait. Ultimately, the Resistance managed to escape offworld thanks to Luke Skywalker's confrontation with Ren.

By the year 35 ABY, the Resistance had established a new base on Ajan Kloss, a world located in the Outer Rim. In that same year, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren spearheaded a raid against Alazmec colonists residing on the volcanic planet Mustafar, seeking a Sith wayfinder. This artifact guided him to Exegol, a hidden Sith world, where he forged an alliance with the resurrected Darth Sidious, who had secretly manipulated the First Order through Snoke. Sidious offered Ren the Sith Eternal's fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, known as the Final Order, in exchange for hunting down his granddaughter, Rey.

During their search for the second Sith wayfinder, Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, and D-O journeyed to Kef Bir, a moon within the Endor system, which housed the remains of the Death Star ruins. There, they encountered members of Company 77, a First Order stormtrooper unit led by Jannah, who had deserted after refusing to harm civilians. Although Kylo Ren destroyed the second Sith wayfinder during a duel at the Death Star ruins, his mother, Princess Leia, sacrificed herself in an attempt to redeem him. After being healed by Rey and speaking with a memory of his late father, Han Solo, Ren returned to his former identity as Ben Solo, rejecting the dark side.

Following the passing of General Organa, Ajan Kloss became the staging area for a Resistance assault against the Sith Eternal forces on Exegol. With Sidious defeated, uprisings erupted against the First Order on the Outer Rim worlds of Bespin and Endor. Subsequently, Rey, having rejected her Sith lineage and embraced the Skywalker family, traveled to the Lars homestead on Tatooine where she buried the Skywalker and Leia's lightsabers.

The Outer Rim, being far removed from the Core Worlds, historically lacked a strong, centralized authority to maintain order across its vast space. By the High Republic Era, it had gained a reputation as a haven for those seeking to evade Republic law, becoming a region populated by anti-Republic individuals, even as Chancellor Lina Soh sought to integrate it into the Republic. Numerous crime syndicates, such as the Hutt Clan and the Pyke Syndicate, operated freely in the region, engaging in practices like slavery despite the Republic's prohibition.

Consequently, many planets, including Dathomir, Nal Hutta, and Zygerria, chose to remain neutral and unaligned during the Republic era. While Mandalore maintained a nominal association with the Galactic Republic, it was not formally a part of it. The Fett Gotra emerged as a new type of crime family, emphasizing respect rather than fear.

The Outer Rim Territories were comprised of various political entities, including:

• The Corporate Sector Authority—the governing body of the Corporate Sector, [188] a sector functioning as a "fiefdom" where corporations were granted autonomy to govern their territories. [189]
• The First Order—an autocratic and militaristic state that emerged from remnants of the Galactic Empire—specifically, the New Republic Centrists [84] [27]—and held territory within the Outer Rim Territories. [175]
• The government of Ryloth—a planetary government representing the near-human Twi'lek species, which opted to remain independent rather than join the New Republic following the Galactic Civil War. [71]
• The Noble Court—an aristocracy of the Nothoiin species residing in the Anoat sector, with roots predating the rise of the Galactic Republic. It faced near eradication under the Galactic Empire and continued as a government in exile through a secret society. [33]
• The Utapaun Committee—the governing body of the planet Utapau. [190]

The Outer Rim encompassed the Tingel Arm, a section of the galaxy. The astronomical entity X3-299-11, located beyond the Outer Rim, housed an ancient temple inhabited by a Shadowfang Beast dating back to the Hundred-Year Darkness during the Imperial Era. Some areas of the Outer Rim overlapped with the Western Reaches.