Even when evil seems to win, it's like a dog that caught the car. Now, what happens? A villain like Emporer Palpatine from Star Wars gets to the top, but then what do they do? After how many decades of planning, it's not impressive that the Senator otherwise known as Sheev couldn't keep his own empire together for a scant two decades. However, he wasn't exactly the first person to try.

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Some of these other empires in Star Wars were small, only including a few planets and not much of a government, but they were still more successful than Emporer Palpatine's Sith Empire. It's also safe to say that none of them were defeated by small furry critters or fumbling rebel scum.

6 The Gossam Courivers

Star Wars Gossam Shu Mai

The Gossam originally came from the planet Castell, and they were some of the first species to embark on interstellar travel and colonization because of their knowledge of the tumbledrive, an early form of hyperspace travel. In the years before the Galactic Republic, they left their home planet and colonized Felucia, which was called Galush back then.

Instead of using military force to build their trade empire, the Gossam tricked the local people into helping them harvest a handy plant they were already growing by making up a story that said the two races had a common ancestor. The Gossam weren't interested in imperial rule, but in trade and power on a galactic scale in a bloodless conquest. By the time of the Galactic Republic and Palpatine's Empire, Felucia was the headquarters of the powerful Commerce Guild, run by the Gossam Shu Mai.

5 The Dai Bendu

fortress inquisitorius

This is an empire of thought, knowledge, and spiritual influence as opposed to military power. The Dai Bendu was the earliest incarnation of what would eventually evolve into the Jedi Order, and they drew kingdoms, empires, and star systems into their fold. They constructed the first Holocrons and had temples and orders on the planets of both Coruscant and Kijimi.

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This society of Bendu Monks was already ancient when they became the Jedi, and their symbols and signs were common in the galaxy by the time of the Old Galactic Republic. The 8-spoked wheel that comes to be used as a decal on the Republic fighter's starships came from the Bendu monk's study of Numerology. Emporer Palpatine removed two spokes to form an Imperial crest.

4 The Humans Of Empress Teta

Empress Teta illustrated image from the TTRPG

There's no "earth" in this galaxy far, far away, so where did the humans come from? According to the lore, humans of this galaxy originated on a planet near the Deep Core named after a mythical figure from an old legend. For most of the planet's history, the Mining Guild controlled its government, which was in turn controlled by the Commerce Guild.

Aside from some commercial entanglements because of spice mining, Empress Teta was home to successful human empires and was located at the intersection of several intergalactic highways. This is another one of the reasons that so many humans were able to export their culture and colonists during their dominance of this planet. The Galactic Empire took advantage of this transportation system and made Empress Teta a checkpoint for both public traffic and intelligence gathering.

3 The Zygerrian Slave Empire

AgrussWelcomesKenobi-SotR Zygerrian Slave Empire

One of the most successful empires in the history of the galaxy, it seems that pain and suffering always sell. The Empire was based on the home planet, Zygerria, but the slave colonies and the trade that followed extended to the Outer Rim territories and an uncharted part of the galaxy called Wild Space.

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The Zygerrian Slave Empire lasted for hundreds of years before being routed by the Jedi Knights. During the period of the Clone Wars, they attempted to return in the hopes that Palpatine's Galactic Empire would be more tolerant of slavers. They were right, but notorious Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker foiled their plans.

2 The Sith Empire

Planet Star Wars

This refers to the empire that arose in the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War and is also known as the True Sith or the Reconstituted Sith Empire. The Sith seemed to learn their lesson after the failed military campaign of Naga Sadow and built their next empire in secret instead of openly challenging their rivals, the Galactic Republic.

The rediscovery of the planet Drommand Kass gave the remains of the former Sith a place to rebuild. Lord Vitiate declared himself Emporer and ruled with a council of Dark Sith Lords, and their plans were more about guile than open war. Even when the empire was discovered by the Jedi Knights Revan and Malak, they were seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and became part of the Empire instead of fighting it.

1 The Old Republic

Star-Wars-Old-Republic-Alderaan-City

Led by the Jedi and the benevolent royal houses of Coruscant and Alderaan, the Old Republic was the longest-lasting and most successful empire in the galaxy until the rise of Emporer Palpatine. It lasted for thousands of years before it collapsed in on itself, crushed by the weight of internal corruption and blind loyalty at the highest level, even within the Jedi Order.

Most people are familiar with the historic period known as the Fall of the Old Republic since many Star Wars stories take place during this period. However, the Republic had existed in many forms before this, dating from about the same time as the Jedi Order. That's a pretty good track record, especially compared to the amount of time Emporer Palpatine ruled before things blew up.

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