EventOptional
The Rakatan Infinite Empire
The Rakata conquer other worlds using slave labor and technology tied to the dark side of the Force. Their state collapses around 25,200 BBY. That decline explains why later civilizations keep finding powerful artifacts whose purpose nobody remembers anymore.
- In-universe time
- ~30,000 BBY (height)
- Record type
- In-universe event
- Era
- The Ancient Galaxy
About this story
A state older than the Republic
The Infinite Empire arose long before the familiar rivalry between the Jedi and the Sith. Its builders, the Rakata of Lehon, based their power on conquering other worlds and enslaving their peoples. Here the word "empire" refers to a specific ancient state, not to Palpatine's regime. Tens of thousands of years separate the two, along with different species and different ways of holding subjugated territory. The archive's marker of around 30,000 BBY points to the height of Rakatan power, not to the exact year the state was founded.
The Force as the basis of technology
For the Rakata, the Force was more than a matter of belief. They tied it to how their machines worked, to navigation and to industry, producing technology that later generations would treat as incomprehensible relics. Some of these creations were so vast that, millennia later, the question of who can reach them is still a question of power rather than scientific curiosity. The Star Maps matter just as much: they are pieces of an ancient navigation system that make it possible to track down the remains of a lost civilization. In this way the technological history of the galaxy is directly bound up with the history of the dark side.
What remained after the fall
Civil wars, a plague and the loss of their connection to the Force undermined the Rakata's ability to run their state. Worlds slipped out of their control, and the conquerors themselves withdrew to Lehon. The empire ceased to exist around 25,200 BBY, but its structures and machines outlived their makers. That gap between the immense power of the past and the nearly forgotten origin of the artifacts is important for KOTOR: the heroes deal with the consequences of events older than the Republic itself. The detailed version of this history belongs to Legends.
Route context
Origins of the Force
The galaxy long before the familiar film saga: Rakatan domination, the rise of the Republic and wars that outlasted generations of Jedi and Sith. Ancient technology here is bound up with the Force, and political alliances do not yet look the way they will later. The events and games in this section belong to Legends. They show where Star Wars stories get their lost worlds, powerful relics and arguments about what the Jedi Order is for.
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The best-known Rakatan creation is the Star Forge - a huge automated shipyard near Lehon that draws matter and energy from the local star and can turn out ships and weapons without pause. Its workings are rooted in the dark side, so the Forge also affects those who control it. This is where the Rakatan Star Maps sought by the heroes of KOTOR ultimately lead.
Legends This record belongs to the old Expanded Universe. Read its events separately from the current canon.