The Galactic Empire, also known as the Old Empire, the First Galactic Empire, Palpatine's New Order, the Imperium or simply the Empire, was the galactic government established by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to replace the Galactic Republic in 19 BBY and bring Sith rule to the galaxy.
The Republic, which had lasted for at least 25,034 years, ended following a period of intense political turmoil and the subsequent devastation of the Clone Wars. After the death of Count Dooku above Coruscant, the death of General Grievous on Utapau and finally the massacre of the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Mustafar, Chancellor Palpatine (by then ruling with near-absolute power) began a purge of the Jedi Order, and then proclaimed himself Emperor of the galaxy and reorganized the Galactic Republic into "the first Galactic Empire" on the galactic capital, Coruscant.
The Galactic Empire existed as a separate entity in one form or another for 157 years, until in 138 ABY, when it had been absorbed by a new organization.
The Empire can be said to have begun with the scheming aspiration of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, known as his alter ego Senator Palpatine of Naboo. He was inspired by the Resurrected Sith Empire, which dominated the galaxy over three millennia earlier. In 32 BBY, he began manipulating pivotal events, such as instigating the Naboo crisis, in which he used the Trade Federation, led by Viceroy Nute Gunray as a pawn, to lead Queen Amidala into calling for a "Vote of No Confidence" in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, effectively replacing him and eventually winning the Battle of Naboo with assistance from the Gungans. When his first apprentice, Darth Maul, was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sidious took on the former Jedi Count Dooku as his new apprentice. In 24 BBY, Dooku then helped found the Confederacy of Independent Systems with the formation of the Separatist Council, led again by Nute Gunray, on Raxus Prime, igniting the Separatist Crisis. Palpatine, at the end of his second term, was allowed to stay in power until the crisis was resolved. This eventually led to the Clone Wars, which started with the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY.
At the beginning of the Clone Wars, Palpatine was an efficient and effective leader who quickly brought to an end the corruption in the Senate; his authority was greatly increased even more so than at the start of the Separatist Crisis, via Acting Senator Jar Jar Binks, while the Senate willingly furnished as they gave more and more emergency powers to him. Eventually, the Senate lost most of its power and became little more than a formality that Palpatine had to go through to pass his laws. Yet the Senate retained some symbolic power; Chancellor Palpatine still hid behind the pomp and circumstance of appealing to the Senate, but his power existed in his control over thousands of Senators that he had brought into his own web of corruption.
However, after the death of Count Dooku onboard the Invisible Hand above Coruscant and the death of General Grievous on Utapau, Anakin Skywalker discovered that Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and after informing Jedi Master Mace Windu of his discovery, a Jedi task force led by Windu himself attempted to arrest him. After a brief duel, Palpatine appeared to be defeated. Skywalker arrived and demanded the Sith Lord's life be spared, that he might stand trial. Deeply troubled, Skywalker nonetheless helped Palpatine kill Windu, prompting him to be held under Palpatine's sway as his new apprentice and enforcer, Darth Vader. Palpatine then proceeded to carry out the Great Jedi Purge, including the massacre of the Jedi Temple itself, which eliminated almost all of the Jedi, while simultaneously wiping out the leaders of the Confederacy on Mustafar, including the Separatist Council representative Nute Gunray, who was Anakin's last victim. The Separatists were reduced to a shadow of their former selves, thus bringing an end to the Clone Wars. Secure in his power and position, Palpatine used the so-called Jedi rebellion to issue the Declaration of a New Order and declared himself Emperor of the galaxy in 19 BBY, replacing the Galactic Republic with the Galactic Empire. Likewise, Palpatine vowed that the newly-formed Empire would reign with ten thousand years of peace.
Many people under the new Empire enthusiastically supported the vision outlined in the Declaration of a New Order, largely due to the violence that had plagued the galaxy for so long. Many Senators wholeheartedly supported the new government while a number of more cautious senators chose to watch and wait to see how the new government would handle the affairs of state. It promised to trade frailty for strength, chaos for order, and uncertainty for decisiveness. In retrospect, the foundation of the Empire had already been set down during Palpatine's chancellorship and all potential threats eliminated; therefore, the transition from Republic to Empire was relatively smooth.
It is important to note that not all of the Senators liked what they saw. Shortly before the start of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Loyalist Committee was formed by more demographic senators. By the eve of the empire, near the end of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, the Loyalist Committee was reorganised into the Petition of 2000, who sought to bring the worries of these Senators to Palpatine. This petition was led by Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Padmé Amidala. Palpatine's dismissal of their concerns was one factor that led Organa and Mothma to help found the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
With the rise of the Empire, all the institutions of the old Republic found themselves either dismantled or modified beyond recognition. There was a riot of renaming all things "Imperial" to glorify the new Emperor: overnight, the Coruscant sector was renamed the Imperial Sector, Coruscant itself was renamed Imperial Center, and Galactic City was renamed Imperial City. The Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate, the Grand Army of the Republic became the Imperial Army with the clone troopers, which made up the majority of the GAR, reorganized into the Stormtrooper Corps, and the Republic Navy became the Imperial Navy. The four decrepit intelligence agencies of the Republic were merged into Imperial Intelligence, with former Senate Bureau of Intelligence (SBI) director Armand Isard at its head. The Palace of the Republic was rebuilt and expanded, becoming the Imperial Palace, eclipsing all other buildings on Imperial Center. The former Commission for the Protection of the Republic (COMPOR) was renamed the Commission for the Preservation of the New Order (COMPNOR). Within days, there were few names left to remind the people that there had ever been a Galactic Republic.
Palpatine consolidated his power by launching Purges against his opponents, most notably the Old Republic officers, whom he had not been able to seduce to his side. Any officers who held anti-Imperial sentiments were arrested and executed by Admiral Mulleen, under Palpatine's orders. Palpatine's first purge of the Imperial Navy occurred within just two weeks into the Empire's rule.
In addition, many former Separatist worlds had their assets confiscated by Finance Minister Gahg under Palpatine's orders.[11]
During the first few years of the Empire, the galaxy saw the single largest military buildup in history. A permanent class of Moffs and regional governors was established to more efficiently govern individual sectors and regions of the Empire. Popular support for the policies of Palpatine's administration was high. In addition, the Empire also pursued a reconquest of the Middle and Outer Rims of the Galaxy, which included getting rid of any and all remaining Separatist influence.[12] During the time of the Battle of Kelrodo-Ai during the Western Reaches Operation in 17 BBY, the Empire restored order and rule of law in eight sectors, and liberated 95 worlds.[13] For many this was a period of celebration: the Separatists had at last been defeated and order and the rule of law had been returned to sectors that had long been given over to piracy and crime. Citizens who had become disillusioned with their senators found a new voice through organizations like COMPNOR, and the Outer Rim was reconciled to Imperial rule through conciliatory gestures like the pardoning and early release of certain Separatist prisoners.
Nonetheless, many members of the Imperial Military were unhappy about Palpatine's plans for imperialization: One Imperial officer, in particular, the headmaster of the Imperial Academy Gentis, who lost all but one of his sons to Palpatine's warmongering ways during the imperialization effort, formed a military coup against Palpatine and poisoned him with Aorth-6 as a means to bring peace to the Empire, something he realized that Palpatine would never pursue. The coup, while initially successful, ultimately failed.
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