How To Understand Timelines In The 'Star Wars' Universe
Image Source: Din Djarin Diaries
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, the events of the first Star Wars film birthed a universe many have fallen in love with. But exactly how long ago were those events? Easy, they occurred in 0 BBY during the Age of Rebellion, following the Reign of the Empire, but before the beginning of The New Republic in 4 ABY. That may not sound too simple, however, with a history that spans thousands of years, the Star Wars universe timeline needed to be carved out into distinct periods. To that end, it has been divided into six eras that use the Battle of Yavin,(BBY-Before the Battle of Yavin and ABY-After the Battle of Yavin), as their epoch.
If you want to understand Star Wars time the first thing you need to understand is why Yavin? Thousands of years of galactic history are all hinging on the before and after of a single battle. What made this massive outer space skirmish so important? It was the start of it all. Not long before the Battle of Yavin, the rebellion got a new recruit by the name of Luke Skywalker. In case you’re somehow unfamiliar with this particular rebel, after joining up he would go on to blow up the Empire’s first Death Star. This feat marked the rebellion’s first true victory over the Empire and was the turning point needed to set them down a path filled with new hope. For those reasons, the Battle of Yavin has earned the right to be the centerpiece of the numerous Star Wars eras.
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A few have already been named but the whole list of Star Wars eras, in chronological order, is as follows: The High Republic, The Fall of the Jedi, The Reign of the Empire, The Age of Rebellion, The New Republic, and The Rise of the First Order. While there is book and comic content, The High Republic is the only era that does not currently have any films or shows set in its timeline. That will however change as The Acolyte has been confirmed to take place during The High Republic, a time in which the Galactic Republic was at its strongest and the danger of the Sith was but an afterthought. As for on-screen representation for the rest of the Star Wars eras the original trilogy, which is to say the Age of Rebellion, leads the way with more content than any of the others. The remaining five all have relatively equal content throughout, with Disney and Lucasfilm promising more.
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So, what do they each cover? The High Republic era spans from 300 BBY to about 82 BBY and as previously mentioned, it was a golden age for the Galactic Republic. The Fall of the Jedi, with a pretty self-explanatory name, spanned from approximately 32 BBY to 19 BBY. The Reign of the Empire of course lasted from 19 BBY to 0 BBY before shifting into the Age of Rebellion as those who resisted the Empire finally began to gain traction in their fight. The Age of Rebellion lasted until 5 ABY when Luke Skywalker and the rest of the rebellion struck a finishing blow to the evil Emperor and his forces. Their victory ushered in the era of the New Republic, as the galaxy began to try and rebuild itself from under the shadow left behind by the Empire. Unfortunately, evil was not completely stamped out of the stars; thus, in 29 ABY, the First Order began to rise.
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