Formation of the Republic
The Star Wars timeline stretches back into murky depths, long before the Skywalkers would determine the fate of the galaxy. Though the actual published stories don't, as yet, go back further than 5,000 years before the events of A New Hope, there is an even more ancient back-story about the foundation of this remarkable galactic civilization.

The history of The Pre-Republic Era is a collection of previously published facts connected by new discoveries. The Star Wars galaxy is truly ancient; a casual aside from Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope reveals that the Jedi served as guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic for "over a thousand generations." It wasn't until the Dark Empire comics series of the early 1990s that someone translated that literally into over 25,000 years of potential lore to explore.

The earliest ventures into the distant Star Wars past came in the form of back-story for more contemporary tales. The frightening of the Sharu people in the distant past was revealed in the novel Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu (1983, Del Rey Books), though at the time the story itself shed no light on just what might have frightened this ancient culture. The peculiarities of the Maw Cluster, and the hypothesis that it may be artificial, was part of the back-story of The Jedi Academy Trilogy of novels (1994-1995, Bantam Books), while the intriguing notion that the Corellian system was an artificial construct comes from The Corellian Trilogy of novels (1995, Bantam Books). The Chronology connects the dots between these prehistoric events with new speculation.

Several sourcebooks have fleeting glimpses into this era. In Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races (1989, West End Games), readers are introduced to the Columi and the Duros, who were spacefarers in this distant time. A source article in Star Wars: Adventure Journal #8 (1996, West End Games) first introduced the Gree Enclave to the expanded universe.

The saga of the Taungs and the Battalions of Zhell was first chronicled in the liner notes of the Shadows of the Empire Soundtrack CD (1996, Varèse Sarabande). Ben Burtt wrote the lyrics to the ancient Coruscant opera Dha Werda Verda, and the tale contained in the sweeping choruses describe a pre-Republic Coruscant. The connection between the Taungs and the Mandalorians was revealed in the eye-opening "The History of the Mandalorians" article published in Star Wars Insider #80 (2005, IDG Entertainment).

For those curious about the Kwa and the Infinity Gates, they were first revealed in Star Wars: Infinity's End, a story arc that ran in Star Wars #23-26 (2001-2002, Dark Horse Comics).

Perhaps the biggest players in this era were the Rakatans, nearly-forgotten founders of the ill-fated Infinite Empire. This back-story figured prominently in the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic video game (LucasArts, 2003). Newly postulated in the Chronology is the role that the Rakatans had to play with the expansion of the human presence in the galaxy -- a theory that finally points to a homeworld for humanity. Also, a connection between the Rakatans and the until-now vaguely worded notion that aliens provided the galaxy with the gift of hyperdrives -- first mentioned way back in The Star Wars Sourcebook (1987, West End Games) -- has finally been made.

The founding of Metellos and Axum stems from source material written about these worlds, specifically the Coruscant and the Core Worlds sourcebook (2003, Wizards of the Coast), while Alsakan's pre-Republic pedigree is from Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook (1993, West End Games).

The Killiks first appeared in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1996, Bantam Books), a lavish coffee table book that served as a tour of the galaxy. The Alderaan chapter included previously unpublished concept artwork by Ralph McQuarrie, identifying enormous termite-like mounds on a grassy landscape as Killik mounds, the monumental remains of a vanished race. The Killiks are hardly vanished, and have been appearing most recently in The Dark Nest Trilogy (2005, Del Rey Books).

The saga of Xim begins as back-story in the novel Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (1980, Del Rey Books). That's where fans first read about the pirate warlord who ruled the galaxy in the days before the Republic. The Chronology is the first to detail what life in that era was like, particularly the primitive use of hyperspace cannons. The battle that saw Xim's defeat was first mentioned as source material for the Nikto, Vodran and Klatooinian aliens in Galaxy Guide 11: Aliens -- Enemies and Allies (1995, West End Games).

The next section, The Republic Begins, finally ties together some early events that before had only been described as happening simultaneously: the formation of the Republic, the establishment of the Jedi order, and the development of the hyperdrive.

The notes about the ancient Jedi and their possible origins were originally collected and presented in Power of the Jedi Sourcebook (2002, Wizards of the Coast). The Followers of Palawa were first mentioned in Shadows of the Empire (1996, Bantam Books), but their pre-Republic origins is new to this book. The Jedi Forge initiation ceremonies are also new, but from an upcoming source that cannot yet be revealed.

Ossus dates back to the text pages that backed the individual issue of Dark Empire #4 (1992, Dark Horse Comics). It would later be explored as a location in subsequent comics series, but from the very start it was suggested as a possible homeworld of the Jedi.

The story of Xendor and Arden Lyn was presented as background information that was published in "The Emperor's Pawns," an article for Star Wars Gamer #5. (2001, Wizards of the Coast). Lyn herself comes from the Star Wars: Masters of Teräs-Käsi game (1997, LucasArts).

Much of the detail regarding the expansion of the Republic in the Growing Pains section is new, following the groundwork laid down in the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition rulebook (1993, West End Games) that first took a look at a slice of the galaxy between the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run and recounted its history in broad strokes. The Alsakan Conflict was first noted in Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook (1993, West End Games)

The Arkanian experimentation that led to the creation of the Xexto was told as source material in the Alien Anthology (2001, Wizards of the Coast), while the founding of the University of Coruscant was described in Coruscant and the Core Worlds sourcebook (2003, Wizards of the Coast).

The last few periods of this era, the Pius Dea period and the Rianitus period, are newly revealed facts premiering in the Chronology.

Emergence of the Sith
Dark Horse Comics was the first publisher to set stories in the ancient Star Wars past with several Tales of the Jedi mini-series. In this section, we move beyond source material and background and actually get into published stories. To set up this era, though, the Great Schism and Hundred-Year Darkness are events taken from colorful asides in the Tales of the Jedi comics, while the establishment of the Rimma Trade Route in the Tapani sector is from the Lords of the Expanse boxed campaign set (1997, West End Games).

After completing a major storyline set 4,000 years before the events of A New Hope in their first Tales of the Jedi comics, Dark Horse returned with two new series, set a thousand years earlier. The tales of Gav and Jori Daragon and their discovery of the Sith Empire were told in these series.

The Golden Age of the Sith segment describes, of course, the events of Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith. The comics series ran for five monthly issues in 1996-1997, plus an introductory 16-page issue #0. It was gathered as a trade paperback in 1997.

The Great Hyperspace War is chronicled in Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire, which ran for five monthly issues in 1997. It was gathered as a trade paperback in 1998. Interestingly enough, the impetus for the series actually dates back earlier. Mirroring the backwards-release order of the Star Wars prequels coming out after the sequels, The Fall of the Sith Empire came out after the Naga Sadow's fate was first revealed in Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith, a series that ran a year earlier.

Legacy of the Sith
The history of Freedon Nadd was first told as a back-story to the second Tales of the Jedi series, The Freedon Nadd Uprising (1994, Dark Horse Comics), while the Great Droid Revolution and the Vultar Cataclysm began as a phrase thrown into the Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith series (1994, Dark Horse Comics), but nothing much has been said about it until this newly revealed information about the Cosmic Turbine.

The events told in Trials of the Jedi are mostly from the initial Tales of the Jedi comics series, published as five monthly issues in 1993-1994. The series was first previewed in black-and-white two-page strips in issues of Dark Horse Comics Insider (1993, Dark Horse Comics). When the series was compiled in 1994 as a trade paperback, it was simply known as Tales of the Jedi: The Collection. It later bore the subtitle Knights of the Old Republic, a name it would later lend to a hit video game.

The five issues of Tales of the Jedi told two stories: the first had the pulp-inspired title "Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon" and the second was "The Saga of Nomi Sunrider." Both central Jedi characters in each arc were actually introduced a year earlier in the text pages of Dark Empire (1991-1992, Dark Horse Comics).

The Naddist Uprising was the subject of the brief Tales of the Jedi sequel, Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising. The two-issue monthly series was published in 1994 by Dark Horse Comics. It was compiled into a trade paperback in 1997.

Also in 1996, West End Games published The Tales of the Jedi Companion that fleshed out the events of these first two series into source material suitable for a roleplaying game campaign set 4,000 years before the Battle of Yavin.

The Coming Ruin describes the events told in the subsequent Tales of the Jedi series. Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith was published as six monthly issues in 1994-1995. It was compiled as a trade paperback in 1996. The Sith War and The Devastation of Ossus cover the events first told in Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War #1-6, published monthly in 1995-1996. It was compiled as a trade paperback in 1996. The Dark Reaper project, mentioned in this section, actually comes from the Star Wars: Clone Wars video game (2002, LucasArts).

The Great Hunt describes a piece of background history told in the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic video game (2003, LucasArts). It was recently dramatized in "Shadows and Light," one of the stories found in Star Wars Tales #23 (2005, Dark Horse Comics).

The Redemption of Ulic Qel-Droma section condenses the storyline of Tales of the Jedi: Redemption #1-5, published monthly in 1998 by Dark Horse Comics. The series was compiled into a trade paperback in 2001.

Moving ahead to the events of the The Mandalorian Wars and The Second Sith War, the original stories here aren't found in comic books but rather video games. This background and these events are told in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic (2003, LucasArts). The section The Sith Civil War covers the sequel to the game, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

More backstories from a variety of sources fill out the section entitled Repercussions Through the Republic. It was Secrets of Naboo (2001, Wizards of the Coast) and Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (2001, LucasArts) that told of Naboo's colonization. It was Han Solo's Revenge (1979, Del Rey Books) that first introduced the Kanz disorders, but it was Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook (1993, West End Games) that explained what they were. The history of Hapan space is from The Courtship of Princess Leia (1995, Bantam Books). The blazing of the Hydian Way comes from Star Wars Adventure Journal #7 (1995, West End Games).

In The New Sith is the set-up for the next set of comics exploring this ancient era of epic battles between Jedi and Sith. The Battle of Mizra is new information. For those wondering where the Sith Lords mentioned in this section come from, Qordis is from Star Wars Gamer #3 (2001, Wizards of the Coast), Seviss Vaa from Star Wars Gamer #4 (2001, Wizards of the Coast), and Kaox Krul is from Star Wars Gamer #5 (2001, Wizards of the Coast).

The Battle of Ruusan is another tale that spans multiple media and was published in a peculiar order. Ruusan and the Valley of the Jedi were introduced in a post-Battle of Yavin source, namely Star Wars Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight (1997, LucasArts). The game's story was expanded and dramatized in a series of graphic novels, Star Wars: Dark Forces -- Soldier for the Empire, Star Wars: Dark Forces -- Rebel Agent, and Star Wars: Dark Forces -- Jedi Knight (1997,1998, Dark Horse Comics/Boulevard Books).

But the events of Ruusan were still just ancient history until the Jedi vs. Sith comic. It consisted of six issues published monthly in 2001 from Dark Horse Comics. The fall-out from the battle continued in a short story titled "Bane of the Sith," published in Star Wars Gamer magazine #3 (2001, Wizards of the Coast), which dramatizes Darth Bane's arrival on Dxun. The character of Bane and his secret reformation of the Sith order actually come from George Lucas' back-story to Episode I.

The Ruusan Reformations contains much new information to transition the Republic from its ancient state to the state that would eventually produce the prequel trilogy. A fleeting reference to calendar reform in the online incarnation of HoloNet News (2002, Lucas Online) suggested that this era was full of reform. Tarsus Valorum was first revealed in The New Essential Guide to Characters (2002, Del Rey Books).

The final section in this chapter, Jedi Valiancy, again contains mostly bridging material as no stories have yet to be told in a narrative fashion in this era. Back-story sources include The Courtship of Princess Leia (1995, Bantam Books) for the Dathomir story, HoloNet News (2002, Lucas Online) for the Corellian isolationism, Planet of Twilight (1997, Bantam Books) for the story of Beldorian, The Golden Globe (1995, Boulevard Books) for Ikrit's story, Keiran Halcyon's vanquishing of the Afarathu sect is from I, Jedi (1998, Bantam Books), and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (1995, Bantam Books) for the Mandalorian's domination of the Ithullan species.