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Jedi Temple

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located in the former Galactic City, on the planet Coruscant, this complex of spires and buildings was the base of operations for the Jedi Knights during the last forty generations of the Old Republic. Construction of the Temple was proposed by the Jedi to the Galactic Senate some time after the Great Hyperspace War, and despite the Senate's desire to recognize the efforts of the Jedi in defeating the Sith, the Temple met with many obstacles. First, the Senate feared that a Jedi stronghold on Coruscant would increase the likelihood of another Sith invasion. Second, the Senate wanted to avoid any direct association of the Jedi Order with the government. The Jedi, however, had no intention of making either mistake, and established a training and meditation center that would serve as a temporary base of operations for the Jedi Council. In the aftermath of the Great Sith War, both the Jedi and the Senate agreed that a tighter union of their forces would be required to ensure the safety of the galaxy, and the Jedi Temple was allowed to expand and become the center of the Jedi Order. The central Temple Spire rose a kilometer above the surrounding cityscape, and was surrounded by four individual Council towers. All five towers were supported by the main building, which sunk its roots deep into Coruscant's crust. The ziggurat shape of the main building, coupled with the five spires, was meant to symbolize a Padawan's path to enlightment through the Force. It was also meant to focus the energies of the Force, allowing those within to have a near-continual connection to the mystical energy field. There were several contemplation stations located on each of the four smaller towers, where a Jedi could go be alone with their thoughts. Each of the four towers faced one of the ordinal directions, and they bristled with antennae and sensors that provided the Jedi with continual information from across the galaxy. Many Jedi historians wondered at the placement of the Temple on Coruscant, where all native life had been swept from the planet by the millennia-long urbanization, and yet more than a trillion beings lived out their lifes. In the aftermath of the Jedi Purge begun by Emperor Palpatine, the Temple was allowed to remain standing, but was abandoned and left empty. Over the following decades, much of the Jedi Temple was destroyed, either by war or demolition. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker debated whether or not to build a new Temple, fearing that such a symbol of a centralized power structure may have led to the downfall of the earlier Jedi Order.