Timeline · BBY/ABY · Lore
This timeline sorts Star Wars by in-universe history, not release date. BBY means “Before the Battle of Yavin,” ABY means “After the Battle of Yavin.” The Battle of Yavin from Episode IV is Year Zero.
New fans
KPI: Clicks into beginner and order guides
Marathon planners
KPI: Longer sessions on timeline and marathon pages
Lore researchers
KPI: More internal wiki pages per visit
c. 500–100 BBY
The Jedi and Republic look confident, expansive and dangerously optimistic.
c. 500–200 BBY
Great hyperspace lanes open the frontierc. 232 BBY
The Nihil threaten the Outer Rim and Starlight Beacon132 BBY
The Acolyte shows cracks in the Jedi ideal32–19 BBY
Palpatine turns crisis into war, war into emergency power and the Republic into an Empire.
19 BBY–4 ABY
Imperial control hardens, but scattered cells slowly become the Rebel Alliance.
4–28 ABY
Peace returns unevenly while Imperial remnants, syndicates and Outer Rim power vacuums grow.
34–35 ABY
Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren close the Skywalker conflict and open the path beyond Episode IX.
SEO: Captures “Star Wars timeline,” “BBY/ABY,” and battle-year queries in one evergreen hub.
Social: Every timestamp becomes a short video or carousel hook: “What happened in 19 BBY?”
Growth: Links move users into guides, wiki pages and watch-order funnels instead of dead ends.