The Galactic Republic | The Galactic Senate | The Jedi Order | The Republic Military
The Separatist Alliance | The Confederate Military | The Clone Wars




The Galactic Republic was a federal and democratic interstellar political order which claimed jurisdiction over all organized sectors of the known
galaxy. The first Galactic Republic was formed around 25,000 years before the 'modern' era of the SW films, and subsequently rose and declined,
divided and reunified, and at most times steadily expanded during eras usually referenced as the Old Republic period, in the galactic middle ages.
The Galactic Republic seen in the prequel trilogy was reestablished in 6977 (1000 BBY), 968 years before Episode I. The Republic in this era is at
its greatest extent, containing 24,372 member worlds and holding a varying degree of sovereignty over millions of smaller or uninhabited worlds.

CIVILIZATION
The interstellar civilization of the Republic was an extension of that of the Core, and its Human-dominated civilization based around the city planet
of Coruscant, believed to be the ancient homeworld of the Humans. The Republic had always been a political extension of the culture, economic
influence, and priorities of the heavily populated Core, and those races which had been part of interstellar civilization since the early eras of
Human colonization. Republic civilization had historically seen itself as the center and source of the civilized galaxy, and had viewed the peripheral
regions of the galaxy as having been settled, colonized, and tamed by their efforts, culture, and wealth. Conversely, many homeworlds located in
the Rim had cultures which were advanced before their regions became increasingly woven into the fabric of the Republic, and many worlds
and regions were colonized by Humans and others in the early days of interstellar exploration, and had formed populous regional states which
were only later absorbed when the Old Republic began to extend its influence towards the Rim. Like any civilization, the Republic's many worlds
were united by language, commerce, currency, communication systems, record keeping, and historical memory.

Language
The people of the Republic used an unknown multitude of unique languages, however the most commonly used language is called Basic, which
is of course in reality English or which ever language you are watching it in. Basic is a trade language developed near the birth of the Republic,
which is primarily the old Human language Coruscanti, with words from numerous other languages, including the language of the Duros and
other prominent species in the Inner Core. Other languages were regionally important, such as Bocce, which is also a language of trade, or
Huttese, which is widely used by non-Hutts. While several other alphabets have been seen, especially those used to write languages other
than Basic, the most widely used alphabet was Aurebesh, named for its first two letters. It is believed to be a derivation of the script used by
the Rakatan Infinite Empire, a significant pre-Republic empire which held some important regions of the Core.


Interstellar Commerce
Interstellar trade and commerce was the lifeblood of the Republic, and was the primary reason why the other elements which held the Republic together
existed in the first place. The daily volume of interstellar trade in the Republic was astronomical, due to the needs of the galaxy's massive population,
and the incredible number of industrial and commercial interests of all sizes in the galaxy which must source materials off-world. This complex
network of producers, exporters, transporters, importers, and distributors developed organically, and inevitably gave rise to large interstellar
conglomerates, corporations, and trade interests, who overtime marginalized smaller competitors. In the peaceful era of the last millennia
these large economic interests eventually became streamlined into even larger galactic trade guilds, which formed around shared industries or
priorities. The most prominent of these guilds were the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Trade Federation, and the Techno Union, as well as
the Commerce Guild, which itself is primarily made up of slightly smaller guilds. Along with other less prominent guilds like the Retail Caucus, these
organizations all had legal license as galactic trade franchises by the Senate, which held oversight over these organizations. The Corporate Alliance
was the other most significant commercial interest in the galaxy, a massive organization that included many of the largest and most powerful
corporations in the galaxy, as well as a huge number of less substantial members ranging from the very large to the relatively small. It served as
a legal and political arm of these corporations, and had become so powerful and omnipresent that the vast majority of companies which did
interstellar business of any kind operated under the auspices of the Alliance for their own benefit.


Currency
Republic currency was known as the Datary or the Credit, which was both a digital currency and a hard currency. It was fiat backed by the authority
and legitimacy of the Republic, and was all but universally accepted in the Core and established Republic regions, but was less well received in remote
or unincorporated regions. It was used alongside numerous other forms of currency due to the diverse nature of trade and commerce in the galaxy.
The hard currency was issued in credit chips and larger credit ingots, with a range of denominations and values.


HoloNet
Republic HoloNet was the primary interstellar communications and data transfer system utilized by the galaxy. In addition to its use as a communications
system, HoloNet carried live broadcasts which could be viewed with private holo receivers or presented on large screens. It was a decentralized network
of local and planetary transmitters which was augmented by regional and local transmission and relay stations maintained by the Republic.


Information Retrieval
Information Retrieval was a massive central database allowing Republic officials access to a wide variety of records from various levels of Republic
bureaucracy and planetary governments. It also allowed officials to scan things in the field, and have them analyzed and cross-referenced remotely.


LEADERSHIP

The Republic was led by a congress known as the Galactic Senate, which had the legislative and executive authority over the galaxy within the framework
of interstellar law as defined by the Republic's constitution. The Senate was advised and served by the Jedi Order, who were an independent religious
organization that functioned as the Republic's ambassadors and federal police force, and when needed as its military. Each sector's Senate delegate
served as the highest official over semi-autonomous regional bureaucracies, with local planetary governments enjoying their own limited autonomy.
The Galactic Courts were also autonomous of the Senate, but were subordinate to its legislative directives.

The federal structure of the Republic was developed piecemeal over its very long history, usually becoming more centralized and uniform over time.
Its legal framework was a patchwork of treaties, conventions, and sovereignty arrangements which were ultimately subject to an official constitution.
Main Article: The Galactic Republic and the Neutral Systems

MEMBERSHIP
The Republic was made up of 24,372 member worlds, with over a million more inhabited or habitable planets considered to be under its jurisdiction.
Those planets formed the political centers of the 1024 sectors which comprised the principle subdivisions of Republic space. The planet Coruscant was
the capital for nearly all 25,000 years of the Republic.
Capital

Known Member Worlds

Member Worlds Which Joined During the Clone Wars


UNDERWORLD
Due to the scale of galacitic civilization and the immense population of the galaxy, the Republic had an extensive criminal underworld. In most eras
the Jedi and other legal authorities were largely successful in mitigating the efforts and power of the larger criminal organizations, meaning that
smaller criminal organizations and gangs composed the greater part of this underworld. Nevertheless, organizations involved in highly profitable
businesses like the Pyke Syndicate, or those able to operate largely outside of Republic jurisdiction, like the Hutt Cartel, were relatively influential.

The power of the underworld grew most significantly during the decline of the Republic, and began to grow to unprecedented levels of influence
during the Clone Wars. It was at that time that some of these increasingly powerful crime organizations were united into the Shadow Collective,
a crime syndicate that would persist into the Imperial era. The Hutts were only a member of the Collective during the Republic era.