The Galactic Empire, also known simply as the Empire, is a fictional autocracy featured in the Star Wars franchise. Introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars, it is the main antagonistic faction of the original trilogy, which also includes The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
The Galactic Empire is portrayed as an anthropocentric, imperialist, and bureaucratic dictatorship which seeks absolute rule and social control over every planet and civilization within the Star Wars galaxy ("the Galaxy"). The Empire pursues these goals by various means, including intimidation, coercion, expropriation, power projection, state terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
The Galactic Empire's rise was not the result of a revolution or coup, but rather the culmination of gradual erosion of galactic institutions through the end of the Clone Wars, when Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, launched a self-coup. At its peak, the Galactic Empire sprawls over much of the Galaxy, which consists of millions of planetary systems and billions more fringe colonies, shipyards, fortress worlds, and outer territories.
In an attempt to destroy the Jedi and gain political power, Palpatine—secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious—falsely accuses the Jedi of inciting the secessionist Clone Wars. After manipulating the Galactic Senate into using clone troopers created during the conflict to purge the Jedi, Palpatine reorganizes the Republic into a state meant to "ensure the security and continuing stability, and a safe and secure society": the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor. The Senate overwhelmingly supports this decision and lauds his apparent resolve, bravery, and selflessness.
With Emperor Palpatine keeping mostly to the shadows, his Sith apprentice Darth Vader maintains a more public presence and leads the Imperial forces as a personification of the Galactic Empire's power. The completed construction of the Death Star, a planet-destroying battle station, ultimately empowers Emperor Palpatine to dissolve the Imperial Senate and transfer power to Praetor-officers called Imperial Moffs, such as Grand Moff Tarkin. But by the time of Episode IV – A New Hope, revolutionary insurgents organized the Rebel Alliance as a united front to overthrow what had become a totalitarian regime.
The Galactic Empire largely collapses following the events of Return of the Jedi, with its remnants forming a rump state as the First Order in the sequel trilogy, set 30 years later.
Contents
Appearances in chronological order
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2020) (Briefly)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021–2024)
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord (2026–present)
Tales of the Empire (2024)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)
Andor (2022–2025)
Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) (First appearance)
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Mandalorian (2019–2023) (Remnants)
Ahsoka (2023–present) (Remnants)
The Mandalorian and Grogu (2026) (Remnants)
Star Wars Resistance (2018–2020) (Reunited into the First Order)
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) (As the First Order)
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) (As the First Order)
Historical influences
Nazi Germany
Star Wars creator George Lucas sought to make the First Galactic Empire evoke aesthetic and thematic parallels to Nazi Germany and European fascism.
Similar to Nazi Germany, the Galactic Empire is a dictatorship based on rigid control of society, which dissolved a previous imperfect democratic republic, and is led by an all-powerful supreme ruler. The Empire, like the Nazis, desires the creation of a supremacist totalitarian order and engages in state terrorism and crimes against humanity to achieve such ends.
The uniforms of Imperial officers take partial inspiration from Nazi uniforms. The title of the Empire's main soldiers, the stormtroopers, is somewhat similar to the name given to the Sturmabteilung (SA, "storm department") paramilitary bodyguards. Further, the flag of the Galactic Empire closely resembles the Nazi German flag, with a black symbol placed within a white circle, on a red background.
The visual appearance of Darth Vader in his all-black uniform combined with his fanatical obedience to Palpatine alludes to the Schutzstaffel (SS), and particularly Heinrich Himmler's loyalty to Adolf Hitler. According to a Lucasfilm-authorized source, Darth Vader's relationship with Palpatine is akin to SS leader Heinrich Himmler's relationship with Hitler.
United States
Lucas has also indicated that the Galactic Empire's struggle against a smaller guerrilla force was inspired by American imperialism in the Vietnam War and his surprise at the relative lack of anti-war voices in the United States.
Roman Empire
Palpatine has been compared to various political strongmen, but especially Augustus Caesar. Many key events in the Star Wars universe mirror the consolidation of power and imperial expansion of the Roman Empire under Augustus:
Soviet Union
The various military personnel and TIE Fighters that are flying in formation as Palpatine arrives on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi. According to Lucas, the ceremony for the Emperor's arrival was inspired by October Revolution Day military parades in the Soviet Union.
British Empire
Many Imperial officers speak with the Received Pronunciation accent (known in-universe as Coruscanti), which is associated with social prestige in British English. This is partly because Irvin Kershner "deliberately cast British actors as the high-rank imperials for The Empire Strikes Back to mirror the composition of the American [R]evolution [against the British Empire], with the rebels mostly Americans".
Others
The uniforms of Imperial military officers bear resemblance to those of 19th century Polish ulans (mounted lancers)—who wore tunics, riding breeches, and boots like the Empire's officers wear.
The Imperial officers' cap resembles the field caps historically worn by troops of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Depiction
Origins
Note: All dates in this article are in the BBY/ABY format. This is a fictional in-universe dating system centred on the Battle of Yavin in Episode IV: A New Hope in which the first Death Star is destroyed. BBY is Before the Battle of Yavin; ABY is After the Battle of Yavin.
The Galactic Empire is born out of the collapsing Galactic Republic; the rise of the empire wasn't sudden but instead unfolded gradually, step by step with one power grab after the next. However, its seeds are planted and nurtured by the Sith over a period of centuries. The Clone Wars, the epic war between the Republic and the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) depicted in Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith represents the fruit of those labors. The traditional checks and balances failed completely because the Sith systematically dismantled the legal guardrails of the government. Palpatine's ascension came with the final layer of poison instilled into a governmental system on the brink of collapse. The hubristic Jedi, corrupt senate and civil war led many to see Palpatine as a savior; he is easily able to take near-complete control of the Republic.
In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, amid a trade dispute and invasion of his homeworld of Naboo, Senator Palpatine convinces Queen Padmé Amidala to call for a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Finis Valorum. Palpatine is elected Supreme Chancellor in Valorum's place.
As the Separatists Crisis fighting intensifies into a galactic conventional war with the Battle of Genonosis, in Episode II, the Galactic Senate, the legislature of the Republic, grants Palpatine emergency powers to deal with the crisis. Palpatine promises safety at the cost of individual freedoms, all while tightening his own control over every facet of society; he promises to relinquish his powers once peace and order is restored. His first emergency order creates a massive army of clone troopers. His second emergency order conscripts the Jedi as commissioned officers of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) armed forces; by seizing influence over the Jedi Council, Palpatine indirectly takes command of the GAR. His third emergency order nationalizes the military-industrial and financial sectors to finance the war effort. He intentionally prolongs and exploits the Clone Wars to amass unprecedented political power, using his apprentice Darth Tyranus, Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, as a pawn to keep everyone distracted and focused on ending the war.
Government
The Senate, known as the Imperial Senate, nominally continues to exist following Palpatine's establishment of the Empire, though it is virtually powerless. Palpatine dissolves the Senate (off-camera) in A New Hope after discovering that several members helped found the Rebel Alliance, a guerrilla army dedicated to overthrowing the Empire and restoring the Republic.
With the end of the Clone Wars, the purge of the Jedi Order, and the formation of the First Galactic Empire, Palpatine rules with absolute power as Emperor. Between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Palpatine rules the galaxy from the confines of his heavily guarded Imperial Palace on Coruscant. Coruscant was introduced in Timothy Zahn's then-canon novel Heir to the Empire. It made its film debut in the special edition of Return of the Jedi. Inspiration for the world-spanning city came from 1940s science fiction works, especially Isaac Asimov's Trantor. Visually, it resembles the Art Deco skyscrapers of Manhattan.
Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) depicts Palpatine as intentionally having no clear line of succession, desiring either immortality or the destruction of the Empire.
Unwilling to embroil himself in the day-to-day running of the Galactic Empire, the Emperor leaves the mundane work to the Imperial Ruling Council (IRC), an advisory body with whom he confers on vital affairs of state. The group is made up of Imperial Advisors, "yes-men" who serve as ministers and counselors. The spokesman of the Imperial Ruling Council is the Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, who attends most of the Imperial Senate's sessions. Amedda functions as an intermediary for Palpatine, managing his schedule, screening his calls and contacting other Imperial dignitaries and officers on his behalf. The Imperial Ruling Council also keeps tabs on the progress of the Imperial Military and delivers news from Imperial High Command to the Emperor.
The Emperor leaves the actual martial management to Imperial High Command (IHC), a central command structure that notably coordinates the Galactic Empire's war effort. The cabinet enjoys much power within the government's hierarchy, being responsible for sanctioning weapons programs (such as the TIE Defender project), supervising the armed forces, forming strategies and organizing expansionary or pacification campaigns. Despite this, the IHC was unable to take any serious action against rebel sympathizers with allies in the Imperial Senate. The group works closely with the Council of Moffs and notifies the IHC on important developments. The Imperial High Command's overseer is Darth Vader, who relentlessly pursues the fledgling Rebel Alliance, in addition to quelling insurgencies and purging the last of the Jedi Order. As Emperor Palpatine's second-in-command, Vader is treated with almost the same deference as his master and has his personal battalion and armada—the 501st Legion and "Death Squadron", respectively—at his beck and call.
Military
Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith, thus Palpatine's second-in-command, until his death in the Battle of Endor.
Mas Amedda – Grand Vizier of the Imperial Ruling Council and vice-chair of the Imperial Senate, later installed by Gallius Rax as puppet leader following Palpatine's death in Aftermath: Life Debt. Amedda formally surrenders the Galactic Empire to the New Republic in Aftermath: Empire's End.
Wilhuff Tarkin – Grand Moff of the Oversector Outer and commander of the Death Star, until his death in the Battle of Yavin.
Thrawn – Grand Admiral of the 7th Fleet of the Imperial Navy, until being MIA upon his defeat in the liberation of Lothal. Thrawn was stranded on the extragalactic planet of Peridea, where he remained until 9 ABY and escaped with the help of Morgan Elsbeth.
Orson Krennic – Head of Imperial Weapons Division and director of the Death Star, until his death in the Battle of Scarif. Krennic was also the Director of Advanced Weapons research.
The Tarkin doctrine, named after Grand Moff Tarkin, is a military doctrine of using fear through overt displays of overwhelming power to keep control over the galaxy. The plan presented by Tarkin himself to Palpatine in 18 BBY that outlined the Empire's goal and structure: bringing order to the galaxy and restoring rule of law to sectors overtaken by piracy and organized crime, ending destructive conflicts through grand strategy, a plan for maximizing social control and propaganda, maintaining economic order and increasing security in the Galactic Empire. Tarkin believed the chief factor that contributed most to the demise of the Republic was not, in fact, the war, but rampant self-interest, which left the body politic feckless and corrupt.
Consider the self-interest of the Core Worlds, unwavering in their exploitation of the Outer Systems for their resources; the Outer Systems themselves, undermined, by their permissive disregard of smuggling and slavery; those ambitious members of the Senate who sought only status and opportunity. By partitioning the galaxy into regions, we, The Empire, actually achieve a unity previously absent; where once our loyalties and allegiances were divided, they now serve one being, with one goal: a cohesive galaxy in which everyone prospers. For the first time in one thousand generations our sector governors will not be working solely to enrich Coruscant and the Core Worlds, but to advance the quality of life in the star systems that make up each sector — keeping the spaceways safe, maintaining open and accessible communications, assuring that tax revenues are properly levied and allocated to improving the infrastructure.
Galactic Civil War
After the formation of the Empire and the purge of the Jedi, Palpatine declares martial law throughout the galaxy. Those in hiding or attempting to either flee from or oppose the New Imperial Order, are subject to persecution or death.
As portrayed in the live-action series Andor, one single moment in Galactic history completely changed the Empire's policy towards its citizens and therefore changed its relationship with them. In 5 BBY, on the relatively unremarkable planet of Aldhani, a small rebel team managed to infiltrate the local Imperial depository, stealing a decent portion of the sector payroll. This created a massive Imperial overreaction, increasing their security spending and draconian law enforcement policies, making all future rebellious activity even more costly and difficult, which is exactly what the mastermind of the heist Luthen Rael wanted.
As early as 19 BBY, what started as isolated resistance against the Empire, however with the Battle of Scarif in 0 BBY, tensions had evolved into another galactic conventual war for the first time in nearly two decades. This is the start of the bloody Galactic Civil War fought between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance.
As portrayed in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and The Bad Batch, the Empire explores ways to weaponize Force-sensitive kyber crystals, which are sacred to the Jedi and are at the core of every lightsaber. They mine for kyber crystals across worlds, but are thwarted twice in securing massive crystal reserves by the Ghost crew and Saw Gerrera. On Jedha, however, the Empire uncovers a surplus of kyber, with which they power the Death Star.
The Death Star, a moon-sized battle station with sufficient firepower to destroy an entire planet, is designed to be the ultimate weapon of the Empire's power. The threat of this weapon provoked a desperate suicidal raid, the Battle of Scarif, by the Rebel Alliance. The engagement and loss of the classified Death Star blueprint plans were seen as a complete embarrassment for the Imperial forces, in addition to the loss of two Star Destroyers and the destruction of the Scarif base.
Tarkin, the station's commander, demonstrates that power in A New Hope when he destroys Alderaan as a show of force. In the film's climactic scene, however, the station is attacked by rebel starfighters who have come into possession of the station's blueprints. The battle ends with the Death Star's destruction at the hands of Luke Skywalker, which is the Rebel Alliance's first major military success against the Empire. Politically, Alderaan's destruction was a watershed moment for most Imperial loyalists, many whom would later defect to the Alliance; it revealed the Empire's willingness to kill loyalists on Alderaan, along with millions of innocents, just to prove a point to a rebellious Senator. Tarkin's Doctrine, meant to perpetually "tighten the noose" and instill fear of annihilation for engaging in rebellion, is eventually undermined by the collective societal realization that no one was truly safe.
New Republic Era
By the time of The Mandalorian, set five years after the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire no longer exists as an official government or a major power and is essentially a failed state. Its former leaders who are now warlords that represent several different rump states, are competing with each other, as well as the New Republic over the power vacuum left behind. One Imperial remnant established a base on the planet Nevarro, where Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin was hired to acquire an asset, later revealed to be a Force-sensitive infant named Grogu. Djarin abandoned his job and decided to protect the child, making him an enemy of the Imperial warlord Moff Gideon and his army of mercenary stormtroopers.
Djarin later returned to Nevarro, reuniting with his allies Greef Karga and Cara Dune, as well as an unnamed Mythrol, to take down an Imperial facility to eradicate the Empire's presence on the planet. The group soon discovered that it was housing Imperial experiments, using blood rich in midichlorians obtained from Grogu. The group succeeded in taking down the base. Gideon was informed of the developments while overseeing a unit of enhanced droids known as darktroopers, who would later help him capture Grogu. Djarin led a mission to rescue Grogu, assisted by several allies including Dune, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, and Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze. The group boarded Gideon's command ship and subdued him. Djarin turned Grogu over to Luke Skywalker, who took down the Moff's darktroopers.
Successor
The most successful remnants of the Empire reformed as the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke and former Imperial officers. They become a major faction in the galaxy in The Force Awakens and face a reformed Rebel Alliance called the Resistance. The First Order rises to power through the use of Starkiller Base, a planet-converted superweapon that later destroys the Hosnian system, the location of the New Republic's capital and therefore the empire reclaim authority over the galaxy. Starkiller Base is destroyed by the Resistance in The Force Awakens. In the sequel The Last Jedi, however, First Order forces draw the Resistance out of hiding and wipe out a majority of their fleet. During the battle, Snoke is killed by his apprentice Kylo Ren, who assumes the title of Supreme Leader.
In The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in the sequel trilogy, the First Order allies itself with the Sith Eternal, a cult led by Palpatine, who had transferred his essence into a cloned body and formerly positioned himself to control the First Order over Snoke, a puppet ruler. The cult is stationed on the isolated Sith planet of Exegol. Palpatine offers Ren, who had tracked him to the planet, control of the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order, in exchange for killing the young Jedi Rey, Palpatine's own granddaughter. Ren initially accepts the assignment, but later forsakes the dark side after a duel with Rey in the wreckage of the second Death Star. With Ren's defection, Palpatine turns command over to Allegiant General Enric Pryde, previously an Imperial officer.
With help from the spirit of Luke Skywalker, Rey eventually makes her way to Exegol, guiding the Resistance away to the planet to take down the Sith Eternal forces, including the Sith fleet. With help from a redeemed Ren and the spirits of Jedi past, she resists Palpatine's promises of power and turns his own Force lightning against him, destroying the Sith Lord once and for all. The Resistance, with help from their allies across the galaxy, destroy the remaining Sith forces and prevents the establishment of a new Sith Empire. Without the reinforcements of the Sith, people across the galaxy overthrow the First Order for good.
Legends
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material was rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise on April 25, 2014.
In Timothy Zahn's "Thrawn trilogy" of novels – Heir to the Empire (1991), Dark Force Rising (1992), and The Last Command (1993) – an army of former Imperials, led by Grand Admiral Thrawn, attempt to overthrow the New Republic and install a dictatorship known as the Empire of the Hand. The backstory of the series explains that following their defeat at the Battle of Endor, the galactic sectors that are still under Imperial control were now governed by several different military juntas that fight each other in a conflict known as the Imperial Civil War. All the while resuming the Galactic Civil War with the Rebellion's successor, the New Republic, for control of the galaxy for years, until mostly uniting under Grand Admiral Thrawn. By the time of The Last Command, Thrawn has nearly defeated the New Republic, but they claim victory in a last-ditch effort, and Thrawn is killed by his own bodyguard, shattering the Empire's unity.
Agent of the Empire is a 10-issue comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It was written by John Ostrander and illustrated by Stephane Roux, and is set three years before the original Star Wars film. Two five-issue story arcs follow an Imperial secret agent, and feature characters such as Han Solo, Princess Leia and Boba Fett. Both arcs were collected in trade paperback volumes.
In the Jedi Prince novel series, a group of impostors calling themselves the Prophets of the Dark Side install a three-eyed mutant named Trioculus as Emperor by claiming that he is Palpatine's son, reforming the Empire (as Trioculus's Empire). By the end of the series, Palpatine's true son, Triclops, helps the New Republic defeat this new enemy.
In the Dark Empire comic book series, Palpatine is reborn in a clone body and unites most of the scattered remnants of the Empire (forming the Dark Empire), hoping to retake control of the galaxy. By the sequel, Empire's End, he is defeated and destroyed once and for all. Following the final death of Palpatine, Luke Skywalker, influenced by the force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, starts the New Jedi Order in an ancient temple on Yavin 4, which had undone the Emperor's purge of the Old Jedi Order 28 years earlier at the rise of the Galactic Empire.