Galactic Roundel

The Galactic Roundel, also known as the Emblem of the Galactic Republic, the Republic insignia, or the Insignia of Unity, was an eight-rayed stellar symbol centered in a circle whose circumference was made up of dashed lines. The Galactic Roundel was one of many seals of the Galactic Republic.
History
The Galactic Roundel dates back thousands of generations to the Bendu monks. In their study of numerology, they believed that the number nine signified the beneficent presence of the Force in a united galaxy. The insignia was meant to represent the number nine with its eight spokes joined to one disc.[1] The Tho Yor were also decorated with symbols reminiscent of the Galactic Roundel. As the Jedi were founded from the Bendu, the Insignia of Unity was eventually adopted to become the symbol of the Galactic Republic.
During the Old Sith Wars the Republic used a nine-spoke symbol and put it on their ships.
Later on the Galactic Roundel once again had become the symbol of the Republic and unity. One was placed on the podium of the Galactic Senate Rotunda and up until Palpatine's proclamation one adorned the Hall of Justice on Alderaan.[2]
In 25 BBY the Rotunda had undergone a desperate renovation at which point the emblem that sat on the podium was replaced by a counterfeit. The counterfeit was placed by the Republic Group who believed the symbol could be used to reawaken and rouse those who had fallen under Palpatine's sway. The Republic Group had the symbol moved to Tandun III for safe keeping.
During the Clone Wars numerous Republic vehicles and vessels were marked with the Galactic Roundel. Some of these vessels included the Republic Gunship and the UT-AT.[1] The symbol was also used on the Jedi Starfighter and Jedi Interceptor. However, late in the Clone Wars Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, for unknown reasons, placed a reduced six-spoke emblem on his customized interceptor.[1]
In 19 BBY the Republic Group had started to worry about the dark direction the Republic was now taking. The group decided it was time to re-relieve the icon they had hidden on Tandun III to the galaxy, hoping it would restore Republic honor. They tasked Captain Tobb Jadak with delivering the Stellar Envoy to an Antarian Ranger named Aren Folee. Folee was then to use the Stellar Envoy to retrieve the "treasure". After a debacle with the Senate Bureau of Intelligence, Captain Jadak was critically injured and the Stellar Envoy was lost preventing the Republic Group from completing their mission. The knowledge of this mission would be locked away in Jadak's memories while he was in a coma and the truth about the insignia would only be known by Lestra Oxic for decades.
During the rise of the Empire, Palpatine would change the Galactic Roundel by the removal of two spikes; the resulting icon was the Imperial crest.
At the end of the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic reinstated the Old Republic's Galactic Roundel, but due to its similarity to the Imperial Crest, it was not widely adopted as an official symbol and the Alliance Starbird all but supplanted it.
Han, Leia, and Allana Solo in 43 ABY, during a quest to learn the history of the Millennium Falcon, had finally discovered the history of the Galactic Roundel that was removed from the Senate Rotunda decades earlier. Led to Tandun III by the Millennium Falcon and the now reawaken Tobb Jadak the Solo's found the insignia and learned its history from Lestra Oxic who followed them there. The insignia on Tandun III, much like its companion in the Rotunda, was a fake and the location of the real icon was never discovered.
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A reduced Galactic Roundel used during the Clone Wars
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symbol of the Coruscant Security Force during the Old Republic
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Symbol that appears on Republic Navy starships 4,000-3,996 BBY
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An Old Republic nine-spoked symbol
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Palpatine's defaced Galactic Roundel
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Roundel used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems
Behind the scenes
Interestingly, in Revenge of the Sith during the Battle of Coruscant, Anakin's fighter bears a six-spoke symbol instead of the eight-spoke symbol seen through-out the rest of the movie. This can be seen when R2 fights the buzz droid. In the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections it is explained that this symbol is a reduced form of the one used by the Republic during the Unification Wars, and likely the precursor to Palpatine's Imperial symbol.
In Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War, Republic Navy starships are emblazoned with a blue nine-spoke symbol. Coincidentally, the flag of the Khoonda on Dantooine (3956 BBY to 3951 BBY) which appeared 39 years later in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, had a nine-spoked blue symbol.
Appearances
- Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi — The Sith War
- Darth Plagueis
- Darth Plagueis audiobook
- Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (First appearance)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Clone Cadets"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Supply Lines"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Rising Malevolence"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Shadow of Malevolence"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Downfall of a Droid"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Duel of the Droids"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Lair of Grievous"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Gungan General"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Jedi Crash"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Defenders of Peace"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Trespass"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Blue Shadow Virus"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Mystery of a Thousand Moons"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Storm Over Ryloth"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Innocents of Ryloth"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Bounty Hunters"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Weapons Factory"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Legacy of Terror"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Brain Invaders"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Grievous Intrigue"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Deserter"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Duchess of Mandalore"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Death Trap"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "R2 Come Home"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Lethal Trackdown"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "ARC Troopers"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Hostage Crisis"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Senate Murders"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Nightsisters"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Citadel"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Counterattack"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Citadel Rescue"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Padawan Lost"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Darkness on Umbara"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The General"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Plan of Dissent"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Carnage of Krell"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Secret Weapons"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "A Sunny Day in the Void"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much"
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "The Wrong Jedi"
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars: Battlefront
- Star Wars: Battlefront II
- Millennium Falcon
- Millennium Falcon audiobook
Sources
"Rising Malevolence" Episode Guide – The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Incredible Cross-Sections
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections
- Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia