Before the Republic

The earliest galaxy-spanning civilization known in the galaxy was the Infinite Empire, founded by the Rakata species. The Rakata were far more technologically advanced than any other species and used this knowledge to enslave hundreds of worlds. Their dominance began around 49,000 years BBY and lasted for over 20,000 years. Due to the limits of their hyperdrive technology they ruled a relatively small number of worlds, but their empire included Coruscant, Corellia, Duro, Tatooine, Kashykk and Korriban. Around 30,000 years BBY they created the Star Forge, a gigantic device that pulled energy from nearby stars to create ships and droids. Eventually the Rakata split into civil war and were nearly wiped out by a plague around 25,200 BBY.

The Foundations and Early Years of the Galactic Republic

Around 25,000 years BBY humans on Corellia and the Duros used the force-attuned components of the Rakata hyperdrives to develop their own hyperdrive technology. Also at this time the Unification Wars led to the signing of the Galactic Constitution, which put executive and legislative powers in the hands of the Senate and judiciary powers in the hands of the Supreme Court. It was at this time that Coruscant became capital of the galaxy spanning Republic. The Perlemian trade route was established, connecting Coruscant to Ossus in the Adega system. There the Republican representatives met the Jedi and the Knights joined the Republic. At this time the Jedi were split and the First Great Schism occurred. Dissident Jedi believed that power was achieved through emotion, not meditation as the Jedi masters taught. Eventually the Jedi succeeded in putting down the revolution.

Further Conflict

• 24,000 BBY - War with the Honorable Union of Desevro and Tion - The war lasted for many years, with capitals of both groups suffering tremendous damage. Eventually the Republic gained the support of the Hutt empire and defeated the Union. The Tionese eventually joined the Republic but Desevro remained independent.
• 17,000 BBY - 1st Alsakan Conflict - The people of Alsakan believed that their planet should be the capital of the Republic. This resulted in 17 conflicts over the coming years.
• 15,500 BBY - The Duinuogwuin Conflict against the Star Dragons - Republic scouts who were scared on discovering the Star Dragons, fifty-meter long, fire breathing serpents, caused this conflict. The Dragons followed the scouting party back to Coruscant, however the conflict ended peacefully with Supreme Chancellor Fillorean and the Star Dragon philosopher Borz'Mat'oh founding the University of Coruscant.
• 7,000 BBY - The Second Great Schism - This conflict began the Hundred-Year Darkness where a group of fallen Jedi began to create monstrous creatures, such as the serpentine Leviathans. The fallen were eventually defeated at the Battle of Corbos and fled from known space where they discovered the world of Ziost. Ziost was populated by a primitive but Force-sensitive Sith culture. After centuries of inbreeding between the two groups the term Sith began to refer to both he native Sith and the fallen Jedi.
• 5,000 BBY - The Great Hyperspace War - The Sith Empire and the Jedi battled across several Republic worlds and the Sith world of Korriban. Eventually the Republic emerged victorious and Sith Lord Naga Sadow fled in exile to Yavin 4.
• 4,250 BBY - The Third Great Schism - Fighting broke out across Coruscant as more Rogue Jedi made their presence known. The surviving Dark Jedi eventually fled to the Vultar system.
• 4,015 - The Great Droid Revolution - This conflict was lead by the assassin droid HK-01 and would be sparked by the short-lived "droid rights" movement. HK-01 was eventially captured and the Jedi under Master Arca Jeth developed a technique for disabling droids with the Force.
• 4,000 to 3,996 BBY - The Great Sith War - In this conflict the Sith and Krath led by Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma waged war on the Republic and were eventually defeated.
• 3,965 to 3,963 BBY - The Great Hunt - These were hunts by the Jedi seeking to exterminate the terentateks, a creatures from Korriban which fled off force-sensitive beings' blood.
• 3,963 to 3,960 BBY - The Mandalorian Wars - Fought against the expansionist Mandalorians from the Outer Rim.
• 3,959 to 3,956 BBY - Jedi Civil War - Fought between the renewed Sith Empire under Darth Revan and his apprentice Darth Malak. They had discovered the Star Forge as they went, against the Jedi Council's wishes, to battle the Mandalorians. Eventually the Sith were defeated and the Star Forge destroyed, but the war has been the most devastating in Republican history.
• 3,970 to 3,670 - Kanz Disorders - The Provisional Governor of the Kanz sector, Myrial, seceded from the Republic and during this conflict her forces invade and enslaved all the planets in the region which opposed her. The Republic eventually ended the problems 3 centuries after they had begun.
• 3,000 BBY - 17th Alsakan Conflict - The Alsakan conflicts were finally ended.
• 2,000 to 1,000 BBY - The Light and Darkness War - Also know as the New Sith War, this was fought once again between the Sith Empire and the Republic. At the Battle of Mizra the Sith inflicted the Republic with their biggest ever defeat and the Republic was shrunk to a small area around the Core Worlds. At this point the Jedi took control of the Republic with a Jedi Supreme Chancellor bypassing the authority of the Senate. Most of the Republican military were assimilated into the Jedi Army of Light. At the 7th Battle of Ruusan the Sith were finally defeated, but not without the complete destruction of the Army of Light forces present. This was the last full-scale conflict until the Clone Wars nearly 1,000 years later.

Other Major Events of the Republic

• 25,000 to 24,000 BBY - The Corellian Run is mapped.
• 20,000 to 17,000 BBY - The Great Manifest Period - During this time the Republic expanded mainly eastwards across the galaxy.
• 7,308 BBY - Galactic Standard Calendar fixed.
• 5,000 BBY - The Jedi Temple was built
• 4,019 BBY - The Ziggurat of the Jedi Temple was established.
• 1,000 BBY - The Ruusan Reformation - Following the Battle of Ruusan the Republic was restructured by Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum. These reforms took power away from the Chancellor and gave them back to the Senate. The bulk of the remaining military units were disbanded and the Jedi renounced their military ranks and placed themselves under the supervision of the Judicial Department. Other changes were made to the Jedi way of life. From now on children were trained from birth on Coruscant, in order to stop any Sith influences creeping into their lives.

Decline and Fall

From here the Republic continued to go downhill. The senators and politicians became more corrupt. Bureaucracy prevented the government from doing anything proactive. Things came to a head when the Trade Federation, attempting to get rid of taxation in free trade zones, began blockading the planet of Naboo. With the Senate seemingly unwilling to help the besieged planet Queen Amidala of Naboo moved for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. He was removed from office, to be replaced by the former senator of Naboo, a man named Palpatine.

The Trade Federation were not alone in their discontent. Secretly they joined forces with the Techno Union and began rebuilding their droid armies, which the Republic had ordered be downsized after Naboo. They joined with many planets and systems that wanted to separate from the Republic. Eventually they formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by the former Jedi Count Dooku and the half droid, half Kaleesh General Grievous.

It emerged not long after that an army of clone warriors had been created on the distant planet of Kamino. With Separatist uprisings happening all over the galaxy the Supreme Chancellor was given little choice but to use the army. Voted emergency powers by the Senate to deal with the Separatist crisis Palpatine immediately announced his decision to create a Grand Army of the Republic, using as its basis the cloned warriors. They engaged the Separatist armies across the Republic, winning their first engagement on Geonosis. This period is known as the Clone Wars.

The war waged for many years with the cloned troopers and the Jedi battling hard against the droids of the Confederacy. Eventually General Grievous attacked Coruscant directly and succeeded in kidnapping Chancellor Palpatine. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker rescued Palpatine and during their escape Dooku was slain by Anakin. Grievous fled with the other Confederacy leaders to the planet of Utapau where they were discovered by one of Palpatine's clone intelligence units. He was pursued their by Obi-Wan Kenobi who succeeded in killing Grievous in combat.

Meanwhile on Coruscant it had been revealed that Palpatine, under the guise of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, had orchestrated the entire Clone War since the blockade of Naboo. When Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker joined him as Darth Vader he had everything in place to keep control of the Republic forever. He contacted each of his clone commanders with these infamous words - "Execute Order 66". This order was the instruction for each clone unit to turn on their Jedi Knight allies. Darth Vader himself led Clone Troopers into the Jedi Temple, killing everyone they found there. Only Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau and Jedi Master Yoda on distant Kashyyk survived the betrayal. Following this, Palpatine spoke before the Senate of the foundation of the first Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. The Old Republic was no more.