I love good questions. Something that makes me think for a few minutes before I realize what the correct answer should be.
@apostropheS asked me on twitter today, "what were the years called during the time of BBY?"
If we look at the concept of time in our own world, and the fictional worlds we all come to love, we can see many similarities in the way time is calculated. All great eras of time are divided by events, usually singular, in which something drastic happens. In our world we all seem to come together and agree, at least until the last few years where science has decided otherwise, that the birth and subsequent death of Jesus Christ was such an event. The era wasn't called BC until many years after his death, but we divided the time before him and after him as BC and AD.
Another such example occurs four separate times the world of Middle-Earth where "The Lord of the Rings" takes place. When Frodo dropped the Ring of Power into Mount Doom and Sauron was finally defeated, his tyrannical reign over Middle-Earth ended and the people there saw the end of an Age dominated by fear of him. Thus the Third Age ended and the Fourth began.
In Star Wars it works similarly. The people of the Galaxy have, for the most of its history, been involved in a Republic form of government. The Old Republic was dominated by a war with the Sith, but they never destroyed the Republic in the sense that Palpatine did when he overthrew it and began the Imperial reign. All of the sudden the people of the Galaxy found themselves outcasted if they did not accept Palpatine's total control. Some did, some didn't. Those who didn't became the Rebels and formed their Alliance. For nearly 18 years they survived under the worst threat the Galaxy had ever known. Therefore when the foundations of the Empire were rocked by the destruction of Death Star I at the Battle of Yavin, the tide of battle began to turn and the Rebels knew that they finally had a chance.
Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY) symbolizes all of the events that occured from the beginning of recorded history with the Rakata and continues until Luke Skywalker's fateful flight down the narrow tunnel that allowed for the destruction of the Death Star I. After the events of that day, empowered by their victory in battle, the people of the Alliance finally knew that they had a chance, and when Palpatine fell for good they refered to everything afterward as After the Battle of Yavin (ABY). So when you read that something happened 4 ABY it simply means that it occured four years after the destruction of the Death Star I. The same goes with BBY, an event happening 5,000 BBY was 5,000 years before Luke took his shot.
Now time itself was divided into eras as well. They all follow the rules of BBY and ABY.
Old Republic (25,000 - 1,000 BBY)
Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)
Rebellion (0 - 5 ABY)
New Republic (5 - 25 ABY)
New Jedi Order (25 - 40 ABY)
Legacy (40 ABY -)
Thanks for the question! It was definitely one of the better ones that have been asked. If you want to read more on the actual eras and the major works that they are made up of check out:
http://cuthut.com/BhM
And don't forget to follow @swfacts for all the things the Empire doesn't want you to know!
@apostropheS asked me on twitter today, "what were the years called during the time of BBY?"
If we look at the concept of time in our own world, and the fictional worlds we all come to love, we can see many similarities in the way time is calculated. All great eras of time are divided by events, usually singular, in which something drastic happens. In our world we all seem to come together and agree, at least until the last few years where science has decided otherwise, that the birth and subsequent death of Jesus Christ was such an event. The era wasn't called BC until many years after his death, but we divided the time before him and after him as BC and AD.
Another such example occurs four separate times the world of Middle-Earth where "The Lord of the Rings" takes place. When Frodo dropped the Ring of Power into Mount Doom and Sauron was finally defeated, his tyrannical reign over Middle-Earth ended and the people there saw the end of an Age dominated by fear of him. Thus the Third Age ended and the Fourth began.
In Star Wars it works similarly. The people of the Galaxy have, for the most of its history, been involved in a Republic form of government. The Old Republic was dominated by a war with the Sith, but they never destroyed the Republic in the sense that Palpatine did when he overthrew it and began the Imperial reign. All of the sudden the people of the Galaxy found themselves outcasted if they did not accept Palpatine's total control. Some did, some didn't. Those who didn't became the Rebels and formed their Alliance. For nearly 18 years they survived under the worst threat the Galaxy had ever known. Therefore when the foundations of the Empire were rocked by the destruction of Death Star I at the Battle of Yavin, the tide of battle began to turn and the Rebels knew that they finally had a chance.
Before the Battle of Yavin (BBY) symbolizes all of the events that occured from the beginning of recorded history with the Rakata and continues until Luke Skywalker's fateful flight down the narrow tunnel that allowed for the destruction of the Death Star I. After the events of that day, empowered by their victory in battle, the people of the Alliance finally knew that they had a chance, and when Palpatine fell for good they refered to everything afterward as After the Battle of Yavin (ABY). So when you read that something happened 4 ABY it simply means that it occured four years after the destruction of the Death Star I. The same goes with BBY, an event happening 5,000 BBY was 5,000 years before Luke took his shot.
Now time itself was divided into eras as well. They all follow the rules of BBY and ABY.
Old Republic (25,000 - 1,000 BBY)
Rise of the Empire (1,000 - 0 BBY)
Rebellion (0 - 5 ABY)
New Republic (5 - 25 ABY)
New Jedi Order (25 - 40 ABY)
Legacy (40 ABY -)
Thanks for the question! It was definitely one of the better ones that have been asked. If you want to read more on the actual eras and the major works that they are made up of check out:
http://cuthut.com/BhM
And don't forget to follow @swfacts for all the things the Empire doesn't want you to know!
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