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Alderaan is a fictional planet in the Star Wars universe. It 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 is thought to be derived from that of the star Aldebaran.
(source material supplied by "A Guide to the Star Wars Universe" third edition, by Bill Slavicsek, Dell Ray Books)
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 fresh- and salt-water lakes provided habitats for a large variety of flora and fauna. The planet was also the homeworld 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.
The Alderaanii 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". 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.
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 though hyperspace until called home by the Alderaanian Council.
Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star in Star Wars 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 offworld, and many of them relocated to the planet of New Alderaan, hoping to recreate the beauty that had been Alderaan.
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.
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