Star Wars BBY timeline – From the dawn of the Jedi to Cassian’s covert ops, here’s how every saga milestone pivots around one climactic battle.
Open almost any Star Wars databank entry and you’ll see a date like 19 BBY or 9 ABY.
Those four letters — BBY and ABY — form the spine of the official chronology, but casual fans still ask what the abbreviations represent and why every Disney+ show keeps citing them.
Below is a plain-language guide to the Star Wars BBY timeline, the logic behind its zero-hour, and a breakdown of exactly where Andor Season 2 lands in relation to Luke’s trench-run moment.
1. BBY & ABY: The Galactic BC / AD
- BBY stands for Before the Battle of Yavin.
- ABY stands for After the Battle of Yavin.
Star Wars BBY
The Battle of Yavin is the 1977 A New Hope climax where Luke Skywalker destroys the first Death Star and saves the Rebel base on Yavin 4. In-universe historians treat that victory as Year 0, mirroring how many Earth calendars pivot around a single epoch. There is no “0 BBY” or “0 ABY.” Events just before the assault are dated 1 BBY, and events just after are 1 ABY.
2. Why Yavin, Not Endor?
Two reasons:
- Narrative origin. A New Hope is Star Wars’ foundational story; everything else riffs on that first film.
- Galactic psychology. Destroying an “invincible” planet-killer instantly proved the Empire could be beaten, galvanizing Rebellion recruiting across thousands of systems. It’s the saga’s genuine turning point.
3. The Nine Canon Eras & Their Bookends
| Era | Approximate Range | Key Screen Stories |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn of the Jedi | 25,000 BBY–? | Upcoming film (TBD) |
| Old Republic | 5,000-1,000 BBY (Legends) | Knights of the Old Republic (Legends) |
| High Republic | 350-100 BBY | The Acolyte (2024), HR novels/comics |
| Fall of the Jedi | 50-19 BBY | Prequel trilogy, Clone Wars |
| Reign of the Empire | 19-5 BBY | Solo, Bad Batch, Andor S1 |
| Age of Rebellion | 5 BBY-5 ABY | Andor S2, Rebels, OT films |
| New Republic | 5-25 ABY | The Mandalorian, Ahsoka |
| Rise of the First Order | 25-35 ABY | Sequel trilogy |
| New Jedi Order | 35 ABY onward | Upcoming Rey film |
4. Pinpointing Andor: 5 BBY to 1 BBY
- Season 1 takes place entirely in 5 BBY. Its three-episode arcs (Ferrix, Aldhani, Narkina 5) all unfold within that single calendar year.
- Season 2 jumps forward in one-year increments:
- Episodes 1-3: 4 BBY
- Episodes 4-6: 3 BBY
- Episodes 7-9: 2 BBY
- Episodes 10-12: 1 BBY, ending days before Rogue One (which itself bridges 1 BBY to mere hours before the Yavin assault).
The format turns the spy thriller into a countdown: every three episodes advance Cassian Andor and Mon Mothma toward open rebellion, culminating in the theft of the Death Star plans.
5. Other Benchmark Dates Every Fan Should Know
| Year | Event | Screen Source |
|---|---|---|
| 32 BBY | Naboo blockade, Darth Maul duel | The Phantom Menace |
| 22 BBY | Clone Wars erupt at Geonosis | Attack of the Clones |
| 19 BBY | Order 66, birth of Luke & Leia | Revenge of the Sith |
| 9 BBY | Obi-Wan vs. Vader rematch | Obi-Wan Kenobi |
| 4 ABY | Death Star II destroyed at Endor | Return of the Jedi |
| 9 ABY | Din Djarin meets Grogu | The Mandalorian S1 |
| 34 ABY | Starkiller Base destroyed | The Force Awakens |
| 35 ABY | Palpatine’s final defeat | The Rise of Skywalker |
6. Why There’s Still No Consensus on Ancient Dates
Pre-High-Republic millennia rely on scattered lore (Holocrons, Jedi archives). Lucasfilm treats anything before 1,000 BBY as “flexible,” allowing future films or series to drop earlier bombshells without contradicting canon.
Think of 350 BBY–present as the hard-number zone; anything older is malleable prehistory.
7. How to Date Future Shows
- Look for Yavin references. If a trailer name-drops the Death Star blueprint raid, you’re in the 1-0 BBY pocket.
- Check character ages. Luke at 19 = 0 BBY/ABY baseline; Grogu’s 50 years old in Mando Season 1 => 41 BBY birth.
- Note Imperial tech. Star Destroyers are scarce pre-19 BBY but ubiquitous up to 4 ABY.
8. Bottom Line
The Star Wars BBY timeline anchors every TV arc, comic flashback, and videogame cutscene to one dogfight over Yavin 4.
Once you lock that zero point, Cassian’s sacrifices, Din Djarin’s bounty quests, and Rey’s scavenger origins all snap into place like hyperdrive coordinates.
As Andor marches from 5 BBY to 1 BBY, each three-episode block isn’t just plot progression—it’s a literal countdown to the moment the Rebellion announces itself with a planet-shattering boom.
