We are an Empire ruled by the majority! An Empire ruled by a new Constitution! An Empire of laws, not of politicians! An Empire devoted to the preservation of a just society. Of a safe and secure society! We are an Empire that will stand for ten thousand years!
—Galactic Emperor Palpatine
The Galactic Empire, also known as the New Order, the Galactic Imperium, Palpatine's Empire, or more simply, the Empire, was a galactic government founded in 19 BBY by the last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, Palpatine. Declaring himself the Galactic Emperor, he reformed the old Republic into the Empire following the political turmoil caused by the Clone Wars. Officially, Palpatine formed it to eliminate the corruption and bureaucracy of the old Republic, and to provide further security, in order to prevent another Separatist movement. However, in actuality, it was part of a thousand year-old grand plan executed by the Sith to take over the galaxy.
After the deaths of Count Dooku over Coruscant, General Grievous at Utapau, and the Separatist Council on Mustafar, the Confederacy was dissolved, and it's droid armies deactivated. Palpatine issued Order 66, a contingency order for the Grand Army of the Republic, which tasked all clone troopers with executing their Jedi leaders. That, combined with the massacre of Jedi at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant by the 501st Legion and Palpatine's apprentice, Darth Vader, led to the near extinction of the Jedi Order. Palpatine declared himself Emperor shortly afterwards, ending the Republic that had existed for 25,034 years. A galaxy-spanning hunt was issued against any surviving Jedi.
Over the next several years, the true authoritarian nature of the Empire became known, leading to several uprisings and rebellions springing up across the galaxy against Imperial rule. Darth Vader's apprentice, Galen Marek, rounded up the top dissidents and they were arrested, imprisoned on the Death Star. However, he turned to the light side of the Force and sacrificed himself for them to escape, and the Alliance to Restore the Republic was founded. Beginning in 2 BBY, a war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance occurred, with the Alliance scoring their first major blow against the Empire at the Battle of Yavin, destroying the Death Star. The Alliance scored further victories for the next four years, but fell for a trap set up by the Emperor over Endor in 4 ABY. The Rebels amounted an attack against the incomplete Death Star II; which resulted in the deaths of Han Solo and Leia Organa on the ground, while aboard the station, Vader was slain by his son Luke Skywalker, who took his place by the Emperor.
With the Alliance in defeat, Emperor Palpatine and his apprentice, Luke Skywalker, who succeeded Vader in the rank of Supreme Commander, finished off the Alliance Remnant by 6 ABY. The Empire went on to see several other conflicts, such as the Yuuzhan Vong War in 18 ABY, which ended quickly due to the Empire being at full strength at the time.
History
Origin
The foundations for the Empire's creation were originally laid down by the scheming of Darth Sidious. As a young senator of Naboo, he began plotting to take the rank of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, and orchestrated the creation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Separatist Crisis. After the death of his apprentice Darth Maul at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he took on Count Dooku, a former Jedi, as his new apprentice. Using Dooku, he created the Separatist movement, and had him coerce Sifo-Dyas, a Jedi Master, into placing in order for clone troopers on Kamino in 32 BBY. That ultimately led to the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic in 22 BBY. Palpatine had the Queen of Naboo request a vote of no confidence in Finis Valorum, the current Chancellor. After the vote, Valorum was ousted and Palpatine was voted in to take his place.
Palpatine, during his rise to power in the Senate.
As the Clone Wars broke out, Palpatine proved to be an effective leader, ending corruption in the Galactic Senate. During the conflict, under the guise of 'security', he had the Senate give him more and more dictatorial powers. Of course, he acted as if he did not want them and appeared to accept them after much reluctance, when it was all orchestrated by him. In the final year of the Clone Wars, he revealed to Anakin Skywalker that he was a Sith Lord, and Skywalker informed Jedi Master Mace Windu. The Master led a strike team of three others to Palpatine's office. There, they had a conversation, and a following duel. The Sith slew all of the Jedi except Windu, and Skywalker arrived to see Windu on the verge of killing the Sith. However, Palpatine persuaded him to help him live, saying he could help him save Padme Amidala, his lover. Skywalker listened to him, and killed Windu. Palpatine then declared him "Darth Vader", and then ordered the Grand Army to initiate Order 66, as Vader led the 501st Legion on an attack on the Jedi Temple. Over the next several hours, most Jedi were killed, with only less than one percent of the Order surviving.
Shortly afterwards, he went to the Senate and announced that there was a 'Jedi rebellion', and promised further security by reforming the Republic into the "first-ever" Galactic Empire. As the Separatist Council was massacred by Vader on Mustafar, the Confederacy was dissolved, and their droid armies deactivated. The Clone Wars was brought to an end. Palpatine vowed a reign of ten thousand years of peace.
Many of the Republic's citizens were enthusiastic about the ideals highlighted in Palpatine's Declaration of a New Order, due to the violence that plagued the galaxy for years. Many senators also supported it, for that reason, though a number were more cautious and did not meet it's creation with enthusiasm. The transition from Republic to Empire was relatively smooth, as Palpatine had eliminated his political opponents and gave himself virtually absolute power as the Chancellor. However, not all senators supported the new government. Those included Mon Mothma of Chandrila and Bail Organa of Alderaan, who voiced their concerns to him. Palpatine ignored them, something which was a driving factor behind the creation of the Rebel Alliance years later.
Imperialization
I have brought, peace, justice, and security to my new Empire!
—Darth Vader
An Imperial stormtrooper, the successor of clone troopers. They went on to become a feared symbol of Imperial might.
Almost overnight, the Empire had changed every Republic institution, "Imperializing" them. The capitol Coruscant became Imperial Center, Galactic City became Imperial City. The Galactic Senate became the Imperial Senate. The Republic Navy was reformed into the Imperial Navy. The Grand Army of the Republic was renamed the Imperial Army, though the clone troopers actually became part of the Stormtrooper Corps. The four intelligence services of the Republic were all united into Imperial Intelligence, and the Presidential Palace was renamed the Imperial Palace. The Internal Security Bureau became the Imperial Security Bureau. The Commission for Preservation of the Republic became the Commission for Preservation of the New Order. Overnight, the signs that a Republic ever existed were swept away.
In the first few months of the Emperor's reign, Palpatine conducted purges through the Imperial Navy, mainly targeting Old Republic officers. Many former Navy officers of the Republic did not like the new Empire, and any of them with anti-Imperial views were arrested and executed by Admiral Mulleen, acting on Palpatine's orders. The assets of the corporations of the defunct Confederacy were seized by the Empire, by Finance Minister Gahg.
The Empire went on to form the largest military in galactic history. Meanwhile, a council of Moffs and Planetary Governors was set up to govern individual sectors and planets more efficiently and directly. Support for Palpatine's policies was high. At the same time, Darth Vader led a campaign to reconquer the Mid Rim and Outer Rim Territories, eliminating the last vestiges of the Separatist holdouts. By the Battle of Kelrodo-Ai of the operation in 17 BBY, the Empire liberated some 95 worlds. However, not all members of the Imperial Military were supportive of Palpatine. One in particular, the headmaster of the Raithal Academy, attempted a coup against the Emperor. He was tired of his warmongering, and lost all but one of his sons to warfare. Though the coup was initially successfully, it ultimately failed.
The Dark Times
We must move quickly. The Jedi are relentless. If they are not destroyed, it will be civil war without end.
—Palpatine
The Imperial Palace on Coruscant loomed over Imperial City.
In 18 BBY, the Emperor saw the Caamasi as a threat to the New Order. He ordered the devastation of their planet, using a group of Bothan infiltrators, which turned off their planetary shield and allowed a carpet bombing of the planet. The once beautiful world was devastated, and the natives were forced to disperse throughout the galaxy. Around that time, he also ordered the construction of the Eye of Palpatine, a superweapon which he wanted to use to destroy a Jedi enclave on Belsavis. However, the weapon was sabotaged by two Jedi Knights and the ones on Belsavis managed to escape.
The tyranny of the Empire was being protested on Ghormann by hundreds of protesters, who blocked the landing pad of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. With permission from Palpatine, he landed his vessel anyway, right on top of the protesters, killing many of them. The Rebel Alliance was founded in it's wake.
Many of the Jedi who survived the initial purge and Order 66 fought back against the Empire. Two former Jedi, Olee Starstone and Roan Shryne, attempted to reestablish the Jedi Council, but failed. They fled to Kashyyyk, but it was taken over by Vader's forces shortly afterwards. Vader killed Shryne and some of the other Jedi, and Starstone barely managed to escape with her life. A Wookiee among them named Chewbacca fled the city to see his family. A Jedi named Ferus Olin caused havoc on Imperial worlds, including the destruction of an entire garrison and weapons center on Naboo, the resistance on Belassa, and two infiltrations of the Jedi Temple ruins on Imperial Center. On Kessel, two Jedi Masters made an plot to trap Darth Vader and kill, however, due to very poor tactics and planning, they failed. Vader's suit was slightly damaged, though.
In 1 BBY, there was another coup attempt by Grand Moff Trachta. He believed the Empire did not need to be ruled by a two-man cult, and planned on overthrowing the Emperor using a specially modified batch of stormtroopers loyal only to them. It failed, due to internal fighting among the conspirators.
Armed resistance
The occupation of Naboo.
As the true nature of the Empire became clearer, several influential senators became tired of Palpatine's tyranny. Specifically, they were Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis. Darth Vader drew them out of hiding and rounded them up by using his secret apprentice, Galen Marek. The apprentice carried out several missions as an anonymous assassin, having to kill both Imperials and insurgents alike so that no one would know of his identity. The would-be Rebel leaders were all arrested, but the apprentice turned to the light side of the Force, sacrificing himself for them to escape. In his honor, the senators decided to use his family crest as the insignia of the new Alliance to Restore the Republic.
The threat of the Rebellion allowed Palpatine to tighten his control on the galaxy, using the Tarkin Doctrine ideal of ruling by fear of force rather than force itself. If anything, he welcomed the Rebellion as it gave him an excuse to disband and get rid of the last signs of the old Republic's existence within the Empire. In 0 BBY, shortly before the Battle of Yavin, he declared a state of emergency and disbanded the Imperial Senate. The last vestiges of the old Republic were swept away.
Government and politics
Rulers and leaders
Executive branch
Legislative branch
Judicial branch
Economy
Military
With the Grand Army of the Republic reformed into the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps, and the Republic Navy into the Imperial Navy, the Empire begun the largest amassing of military forces in galactic history, having trillions of personnel. The Army operated hundreds of thousands of vehicles, while the Navy had over a million warships of various classes.
Imperial Army
Stormtrooper Corps
Other branches
Society and culture
Behind the scenes
The author decided to create the article, being pro-Imperial and wishing to change the result of the Battle of Endor, and create a history for the Empire after it's victory in the Galactic Civil War.