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Ryloth was a hot and humid planet that was the homeworld of the Twi'leks. The Twi'leks lived in caves carved in the mountains there.
Land battle map
Space battle map
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History[]
Ryloth was originally discovered by Old Republic explorers approximately 10,000 years before the onset of the Clone Wars and was one of the first worlds discovered in the Outer Rim. Located at one end of the Corellian Run, it was one of the worlds of the galaxy further from the Galactic Core than Tatooine.
Civilization on Ryloth at the time of its discovery was not particularly advanced. Twi'leks integrated windmills and turbines to power their homes and industries carved out of the mountains. The cultivation of fungi and molds provided nourishment for the populace, as did the rearing of the domesticated herd animals rycrits for meat. Twi'leks never developed space travel, but instead expanded throughout the galaxy by trading with the Republic, variously negotiating, charming, or seducing their way to the stars.
Life of Enslavement[]
The slave trade had been an everyday part of life on Ryloth since 12,500 BBY and persisted long after its contact with the Republic. Dancing girls were especially prized, and as Twi'lek communities were established throughout the Republic and elsewhere, they found numerous eager markets. The slaves were often sold by 'contract,' as a feeble way of evading antislavery laws.
Female Twi'lek consorts and companions soon became a status symbol among the rich and the decadent throughout the Galactic Republic and eventually the Galactic Empire. The slave trade remained profitable all throughout Ryloth's history, and though the early slavers were Twi'leks, over the years many alien crime lords migrated to Ryloth for a piece of the action.
Twi'leks of all professions eventually became a common, even ubiquitous, sight all over the galaxy, as businesspeople, servants, bodyguards, majordomos and slaves. Their near-Human appearance made them less the target of anti-alien prejudice than others during the Imperial era.
The Anx crime lord Graxol Kelvyyn had his headquarters on Ryloth shortly before the onset of the Clone Wars. He was known for having a vast slave-trading network that covered the Outer Rim and even reached Kidiet Olgo in the Galactic Core.
A prominent example of a Twi'lek slave during the last days of the Republic and the Empire would be Oola, owned by Jabba the Hutt, among many others.
Clone Wars[]
During the Clone Wars, Ryloth was claimed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and used to house a large droid reclamation facility under the eye of Wat Tambor. The Twi'leks were taken captive and some were used as Human shields for the droid army. The seizure was officially protested by Senator Orn Free Taa, and public opinion on Ryloth itself was bitterly divided. Eventually, the planet became the site of a battle in 19 BBY during the Outer Rim Sieges. The battle was short, but Ryloth's towns were left heavily damaged by droid bombers.
Galactic Empire[]
The anti-alien prejudice of the Galactic Empire was clear to the inhabitants of Ryloth. Human High Culture thought little of aliens, but Ryloth shrewdly played the role of loyal servant to the Empire, while quietly and unobtrusively aiding the Rebel Alliance. These were dark times for the Twi'leks, however, as even members of the most influential clans were enslaved, losing all their property and influence to entertain and see to the needs of Imperial bureaucrats and governors.
For a time, roughly the same year as the Battle of Yavin, the Rebellion operated a base on Ryloth. It was located by Viper probe droids, prompting an attack by an Imperial task force, which infiltrated and wiped out the installation, despite strong resistance from the Rebels and even from immigrant Jawas.
During this time, the Zann Consortium owned a secret Consortium palace on Ryloth.
In 5 BBY Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin established a refueling outpost on Ryloth, using Twi'lek slave labor, and recruited native Twi'lek Tol Sivron to administer the outpost now called Maw Installation.
In 3 ABY, Tyneir Renz, Padija Anjeri, Nikaede, and Drake Paulsen brought the crystal skull of Twi'lek Jedi New'arforrth to the Rebel base on Derora. Renz presented the skull to the Nercathi clan on Ryloth to persuade them to join the Alliance.