The Galactic Empire is the most iconic faction in all of Star Wars, with its first appearance dating back to the very first film. As Star Wars has such expansive lore, more experienced fans tend to know more about the various factions, planets, races, and events across the galaxy than less-experienced fans.

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There are many details about the Galactic Empire that have been revealed in both Legends and Canon, and help to embellish and expand upon the fearsome dictatorship and add context to certain events. The Empire saw massive changes to the way that life was in the galaxy, and went on to be succeeded by the New Republic. One of the best Star Wars video games, Jedi: Fallen Order, helped to expand upon the Empire's grip over the galaxy and the extent it would go to kill those it deemed a threat.

7 It Had Long Been Desired

Star Wars Neyo Clones

Despite the power of Palpatine's status as Supreme Chancellor, he still had to rely on the Senate to approve most of the changes to the law that he wanted to make. Over the years, a lot of the galaxy's inhabitants had become disenfranchised with the Republic and desired something new. This only magnified when the Republic was shown to be ineffective during the Clone Wars.

This overall dissent with the Republic led to the formation of the Empire being, ultimately, easy for Palpatine to have passed. Politicians had long wanted reformation to the Republic, so even if they weren't entirely convinced with the idea of an Empire, they voted for it anyway, rather than being stuck in the Republic for another thousand years.

6 It Had A Sith Shrine At The Heart Of It

Star Wars Battlefront Palpatine

Thousands of years ago, a Sith shrine was built on Coruscant for the Dark Side heroes to worship and gain energy from. When the Jedi Order managed to purge the Sith away from the planet, they built their Jedi Temple on top of it.

However, the Sith proved to have the last laugh with this, as they purged the Jedi from the galaxy during the final day of the Clone Wars and overtook the Jedi Temple as well as Coruscant to be their Empire's capital planet.

5 It Was Extremely Xenophobic

Star Wars Rebels Hera Syndulla

If the Republic was characterized by its inclusiveness of all races around the galaxy, then the Empire was characterized for the opposite. The Empire was extremely xenophobic, focusing entirely on humans having the most powerful roles within the Empire.

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While there were minor exceptions, as in the case of Grand Admiral Thrawn, other races just mostly weren't welcome and were treated as second-tier citizens. Whether it was races like Twi'Leks or the Pantorans, non-humans were treated with perpetual contempt. Other races would be treated even less favorably than humans by the Storm Troopers, and this lasted throughout the Empire's entire history.

4 They Expanded Massively Into The Outer Rim

Star Wars Rebels Grand Admiral Thrawn

The Outer Rim planets had long been disenfranchised with the Republic, but it's hard to say whether they were treated any better during the Empire. The Empire was a time of massive expansion into the Outer Rim territories, which the Republic had largely stayed away from.

Some planets, such as Lothal, joined the Empire as part of a plan to grow their economy and offer work to their people. While a handful of planets gladly joined the Empire and contributed to its power, many planets were used as testing grounds for new biological weapons and machines, leading to the deaths of thousands of lives over the course of its reign.

3 They Banned Anti-Empire Media

Star Wars Rogue One Darth Vader

As with most dictatorial organizations, the Empire banned any media that shared negative messages about it across the HoloNet, as shown in both canon and legends. There was even a case of a band that had written songs that joked about Darth Vader having their songs completely removed from the HoloNet, banned, and the bandmembers were never seen again (as detailed in the Aftermath novel). Presumably, they were killed by Darth Vader as a result of their songs mocking him.

This disallowing of anti-Empire media, as well as the constant monitoring of the HoloNet and even in-person conversations, led to most inhabitants simply electing to never criticize the Empire, not even in their own mind, in order to keep themselves and their families safe.

2 They Became Fragmented After Palpatine's Death

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After the death of both Darth Sidious and Darth Vader during Return of the Jedi, the Empire fragmented massively. As the months went on, it was fragmented even more. This inevitably lead to the Republic easily being able to take them down for good, as they had become weak due to their disorganization and the resurgence of light side heroes.

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Different high-ranking Imperials had differing views for the Empire and most of the more stubborn ones were unwilling to secede their control over Imperial fleets to the other Admirals. Admiral Sloane, for instance, was very headstrong and was determined to succeed in keeping the Empire afloat. She attempted to unite the differing Imperial factions back into one Empire but ultimately failed as the result of Rax Gallus' mission to cripple the Empire from within.

1 It Was Never Supposed To Survive The Emperor

star wars The Phantom Menace Darth Sidious Palpatine Darth Maul

Despite working his entire life to set up the Empire and rule over the galaxy, Darth Sidious, one of the original trilogy's best characters never intended for the Empire to succeed him. He believed that the idea of the Empire fell second-place to the legacy of him as the Emperor, and as such never formed any plans for the Empire to follow should he die.

It became apparent in the Aftermath trilogy of novels that he had trained Rax Gallus from a young age to rise up through the ranks of the Empire and then secretly take it apart from within in the event of the Emperor's death. Gallus eventually succeeded with this, indirectly assisting the New Republic in taking down the Empire for good.

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