Introduction to the Galaxy

The Galactic Republic, also known as the Grand Republic or simply as the Republic, was a democratic union comprising thousands of star systems spread across the galaxy. Old Republic was a term affixed to the pre-modern Republic that existed until 1032 BBY, and the modern Republic that was supplanted by the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. In addition, the term High Republic denoted the era in which the Republic reached the zenith of its power from 300 BBY to 82 BBY. The Republic was founded many millennia before the Battle of Yavin, approximately 25,000 BBY, around the same time as the Jedi Order. The Galactic Senate governed the Republic under the Galactic Constitution, and comprised thousands of senators representing the Republic's member worlds. The Supreme Chancellor was the title of the Republic head of state, elected from ranks of the Senate to lead the government on Coruscant. An ecumenopolis or city-covered planet, referred to as Galactic City, Coruscant was the capital of the Republic and therefore the seat of the Senate. The Republic governed the galaxy from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim Territories, uniting various sentient species, human and alien alike, under one banner. As its power grew, the Republic fought many wars against various opponents such as Mandalorians, the Zygerrian Slave Empire, the Nihil and several Sith Empires. The Jedi Order, a religious group of Force-sensitives dedicated to the light side of the Force, was sworn to the service of the Senate, and as such the Jedi Knights were hailed as the guardians of peace and justice within the Republic. After centuries of conflict, culminating in the fall of the Old Republic, the last war between the ancient Jedi and Sith concluded with the restoration and rise of the modern Galactic Republic, ushering in the Republic Era which was an age of peace that lasted for a thousand years. The Republic's history was officially reset, and the ages before this event were merged into a collective whole known as the Old Republic-era.
The Republic entered a period of decline after centuries of expansion and prosperity. Aided by the resurgent Sith Lords, the Separatist Crisis divided the galaxy between the Republic Loyalists and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Grand Army of the Republic was organized under the leadership of Jedi Generals who led the Republic Military against the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars. However, the conflict had been orchestrated to allow Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine—the alter ego of Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith—to control the Republic in a dictatorial manner. With the war's end and the extermination of the Jedi through Order 66, Sidious transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire by declaring himself Galactic Emperor. The Imperial Senate stood as the last remnant of the Old Republic until it was disbanded by the Emperor at the height of the Imperial Era. In the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was fully reorganized into the New Republic, restoring the democratic system of its predecessor after a generation of Imperial rule.

Legends  The Galactic Republic (25,053 BBY–19 BBY) was the ruling government of the galaxy that existed for more than twenty-five thousand years, until its reformation into the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. Throughout its existence, the state was commonly known as the Republic. In the post-Republic era and beyond, it was remembered as the Old Republic; it was also rarely known as the Old Galactic Republic or the First Galactic Republic. At times, the term Old Order was used to describe the Republic but was not common. The Galactic Republic was a representative democracy, composed of various star systems, sectors and member worlds throughout most of the known galaxy. Its central government consisted of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The first was the Galactic Senate, a body of elected or appointed representatives. Its main duties included mediating disputes over issues ranging from planetary to galactic-scale, regulating trade routes between star systems, and in theory, represented the interests of Republic citizens. The Office of the Supreme Chancellor was the Senate's executive counterpart. The Supreme Chancellor was elected from the ranks of the Senate by its members. As the leader of the Senate and the overall representative of the Republic, the Chancellor also held the titles Head of State and President. The judicial branch consisted of the Supreme Court and the lower Regional Courts. The Supreme Court was composed of twelve justices, one of whom held the leadership position of Chief Justice.
Throughout most of its history as the dominant galactic power, the Republic did not style itself as a strong centralized government, but rather as a union of sovereign planets for the purposes of collective security and economic prosperity. It was said that its complete history could "fill a thousand libraries." In the last decades that preceded the rise of Emperor Palpatine's New Order, the Republic was a benevolent—though ineffectual—government tied up in layers of bureaucracy, hampered by political and corporate corruption. The Galactic Republic, which had existed for at least 25,034 years, was brought down by the Sith when they transformed it into the Galactic Empire. This, however, was just the first of seven regime changes that replaced the Old Republic over the next 157 years.