Alderaan

Alderaan is also the name of a real asterism; see Alderaan (astronomy).

**Alderaan**
Distance from Core	< 5000 light years
Region	Core Worlds
Sector	Alderaan Sector
System	Alderaan system
Number of suns	1
Number of moons	0
Major species	Humans, Killiks (c. 1000 BBY)
Population	2 billion (before its destruction; roughly 60,000 residents not on the planet at the time of its destruction)
Official language	Basic
Primary terrain	Mountains, Seas, Forests, Plains
Surface water	Unknown (planet is mostly water)
Points of interest	Aldera (capital), Crevasse City, Castle Lands
Length of Day	24 standard hours
Length Of Year	364 standard days
Government	Representative Democracy
Affiliation	Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance

In the fictional Star Wars universe, Alderaan is the home of Princess Leia, Bail Organa and also, in 4000 BBY, Ulic Qel Droma who fought in the Great Sith War. Its name may have been taken from the real star name Aldebaran; or it may have come from the disused real star name Alderaan.

Description

There are three contradictory descriptions or depictions of Alderaan:

In the established Expanded Universe descriptions

Considered a "Shining Star" of the Core Worlds, wild grasslands and old mountain ranges dominated the planet's surface. Ice-rimmed polar seas were the only large bodies of water, though thousands of freshwater and saltwater lakes provided habitats for a large variety of flora and fauna. Alderaan was also the home-world of some of the galaxy's most famous animals, such as the nerf and the Thranta. Cities of Alderaan were often built with great care taken to protect nature. One city was built on the walls of a canyon, nearly invisible from above. Other cities were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital, Aldera, known for its university, was built on a small island in the center of a caldera.

In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

The terrain of Alderaan appears to be mountainous and the planet surface bears no resemblance to established Expanded Universe descriptions; however, only a small fraction of the planet is actually seen.

In Episode IV: A New Hope

Alderaan is a mountainous planet covered almost entirely in water.

Culture

The Alderaanian people highly valued education, arts, architecture, poetry, the performing arts, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts. They placed high value in their participation in the Galactic (and then) the Imperial Senate.

Though largely a democratic society, Alderaan was headed by a hereditary constitutional monarchy, with the Royal House of Organa presiding over the High Court and legislative High Council of Alderaan. Its monarchs have variously borne the titles "Prince", "First Chairman", and "Viceroy". Traditionally, the heir of the Alderaan throne also serves in the legislative High Council of Alderaan and a term as Senator of Alderaan. Bail Organa was the leader of Alderaan and was on the planet when it was destroyed, while his heir and (secretly adopted) daughter Princess Leia served as Senator of Alderaan in the Imperial Senate.

History and destruction

After the horrors of the Clone Wars, Alderaan's massive war machine was dismantled and the weapons were placed aboard an armory warship called Another Chance. The ship was programmed to continually jump through hyperspace until called home by the Alderaanian Council.

Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star in Episode IV: A New Hope at Grand Moff Tarkin's order as a demonstration of its power to Princess Leia. Approximately 60,000 natives survived because they were off-world, and many of them relocated to the planet of New Alderaan, hoping to recreate the beauty that had been Alderaan.

Alderaan was destroyed by order of Tarkin and Emperor Palpatine. Tarkin felt the Rebels were growing bolder, and only a very public demonstration of the Death Star's power against a Rebel target would succeed in frightening the Alliance into submission. His argument convinced Palpatine (although he may not have needed much convincing anyway.) So Palpatine approved in advance the destruction of a planet—and thereby the genocide of its entire population. Palpatine publicly adopted his benevolent persona, announcing that he was saddened by the loss of such a noble world, and adding that, had Alderaan entrusted itself to Imperial protection, it would still be thriving. In other words, the destruction of Alderaan might not have been necessary had Bail Organa simply bowed under as he was supposed to. He then made an apparently magnanimous offer to resettle the sixty thousand surviving Alderaanians who were away when their homeworld was destroyed, on his "private resort world."

"These people have lost a homeworld through no fault of their own. Offering them a new homeworld is the least I can do to compensate them for their loss."

Exactly how many Alderaanian survivors took Palpatine up on his offer and moved to Byss is unknown. It may have been better for them to have died in the disaster, considering what really happened to those hopefuls who came to the Deep Core stronghold; many were simply rendered mindless slaves, going about their lives in a deadened bliss while Palpatine and his dark side confidants fed from their life energies.

Many of Alderaan's survivors became the most dedicated soldiers of the Alliance, vowing never to let the Empire destroy another world. A tiny handful of Alderaanians become the most fanatical supporters of the Empire, blaming Bail Organa for opposing the Emperor and thereby destroying everything they loved.

Survivors of Alderaan and their descendants practiced a ritual of "returning" to the Alderaan system. Returners would fill memorial capsules with gifts for departed relatives and friends and jettison them into the asteroid field (known as the Graveyard), which was all that remained of the planet after its destruction. Some survivors, such as Tycho Celchu had made known their desires to be buried amongst the remains of their former homeworld after their deaths.

With Alderaan destroyed, Princess Leia led her people to New Alderaan, which was founded after the Galactic Civil War died down somewhat. The Royal House of Alderaan, in the person of Leia Organa-Solo and her children, continue to hold sovereignty of both New Alderaan and the Alderaan system. The government on New Alderaan administers both systems.

Known senators of Alderaan

Senator Bail Antilles (? BBY – 32 BBY)
Senator Bail Organa (69 BBY – 0 BBY)
Senator Leia Organa (19 BBY – ? ABY)

Popular culture references to Alderaan

In the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Californication" a reference to Alderaan is made with the line, "Alderaan is not far away, it's Californication," in reference to the Star Wars opening tag setting the places and events in the movie "in a galaxy far far way."

In Star Trek Deep Space 9's episode A Man Alone, when Odo checks Ibudan's log the screen shows that the ship has recently been at "Alderaan Spaceport"

References

A Guide to the Star Wars Universe 3rd Edition, by Bill Slavicsek, Del Rey Books
The Essential guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars), 1st edition, by Daniel Wallace, Scott Kolins. 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3
Star Wars: Rebel Dawn (Book 3 of "The Han Solo Trilogy"), by A. C. Crispin. 1998. ISBN 0-553-57417-5
Star Wars, X-Wing: The Bacta War, (Book 4 of The X-Wing series), 1sp paperback printing, 1997. Michael A. Stackpole, ISBN 0-553-56804-3
Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
Star Wars: Roleplaying Game- Coruscant and the Core Worlds, hardcover 2003, by Craig R. Carey, Chris Doyle, Jason Fry, Paul Sudlow, John Terra, Daniel Wallace, ISBN 0-786-92879-4

External links

Star Wars Databank entry

Star Wars planets | Fictional disasters