HISTORY
Growth"Taris was once a magnificent planet-wide metropolis of towering skyscrapers. But that was a long time ago."
―Carth Onasi[src]
Circa 4,300 BBY, Taris was situated on a major hyperspace transport hub not far from the Hyperlane known as the Perlemian Trade Route, and was called the "Coruscant of the Outer Rim." Taris became an ecumenopolis, with all landmasses eclipsed with a world-spanning city. The city's grandeur was once said to rival the galactic capital, Coruscant, itself. However, the planet wasn't truly a planet-wide city, since much of it was actually a large ocean,[1] thus differentiating Taris from both Coruscant and Nar Shaddaa, another city-planet.[5]
Civil war and anti-alien prejudice"A century ago rising levels of toxic pollution poisoned the oceans and famine swept the planet. The rich hoarded food for their own use, and the poor were left to starve and die. But the poor rose up against this tyranny and civil war engulfed the planet."
―Rukil
Since there were no land areas dedicated to agriculture, the native populace harvested kelp and sea life from the ocean. However, industrial waste polluted this once pristine ocean, destroying the kelp farms and killing off the marine life. Famine swept the planet. Panicking, the greedy Tarisian nobles hoarded the remaining food for themselves. In 4,056 BBY, the starving lower-class, largely composed of alien species, engaged the nobles in a massive civil war. Ultimately, the human nobles triumphed, yet the Tarisian prisons couldn't hold all the rebels, so the nobles began the tradition of banishing criminals to the Under City. Also, because the rebels had largely consisted of aliens, the human nobles became prejudiced against non-Humans, and banished them from the Upper City, punishing any that dared to enter the upper levels. Thus began the long oppression by the Humanocentric Tarisian nobility of the non-human lower class.[1]
It was believed that the swoop bike first originated on Taris.[4] It was here that swoop racing captured the imagination of the galaxy around 4,000 BBY. Using an intricate system of hyperspace beacons, Tarisian race organizers broadcast the results of their swoop races throughout the galaxy which eventually gave rise to a huge and profitable gambling operation. Taris remained a hub for swoop racing for decades, becoming the center of the Galactic Swoop Racing Circuit.[1]
Decay"They say Taris is the Coruscant of the Outer Rim. But this world is nothing but crumbling buildings and urban waste!"
―An outraged Quarren
In 4,086 BBY Taris also received an extremely harsh review in Trampeta's Star Guide, as it was given the lowest possible recommendation. According to the author, T3 droids working in one of Taris' starports stole his baggage.[6] While probably not having any influence on the development of the planet itself, it was nonetheless a reflection of the decay that Taris was undergoing. Soon, new hyperspace routes rendered Taris largely obsolete in terms of its relevance to intragalactic trade.[1]
Mandalorian Wars"Taris, this planet so close to the stalemated Mandalorian front—"
―A Tarisian broadcaster
Taris skyline during the Mandalorian Wars.Around the year 3,964 BBY, Captain Saul Karath commanded the Republic fleet that protected Taris during the Mandalorian Wars. Due to Taris' close proximity to the Mandalorian War front, it had been granted Republic membership in 3,966 BBY and it became the heart of the Republic's defense for the region. The planet served as a staging point for dissident Jedi and their allies for campaigns against the Mandalorians.[3]
Meanwhile, Taris had compensated economically for its decaying importance to trade routes by negotiating with Lhosan Industries, which employed over half of the Lower City residents in its mining activities. However, due to increasing swoop gang activity, Lhosan was considering pulling it out, and going to a world that was safer domestically. The local authorities assured Lhosan Industries that they had the swoop gangs fully under control, and would take care of them with the assistance from the local Jedi. However, after a fugitive Jedi Padawan named Zayne Carrick was accused of murdering the entire graduating class of new Jedi Knights and escaped twice from Jedi custody in the Jedi Tower, Lhosan made its decision, and abandoned Taris.[3]
This left a massive amount of Tarisians unemployed, and angry citizens began rioting all over Taris, setting entire sections of skyline on fire. The riots soon spilled out into the Middle City, and the local senator that represented Taris in the Galactic Senate disappeared, and the planet's constable and her family were kidnapped. Due to the political anarchy, the Jedi based on Taris also abandoned the Tarisians to their fates. Taris was also largely abandoned by the Republic military, maintaining only a small military base on the planet's surface. It was made largely apparent that neither the Jedi nor the Republic cared whether the Mandalorians invaded Taris or not.[3]
The Mandalorians did invade and made their first actual strike at the Republic. The planet managed to form a small resistance movement under Senator Goravvus and the swoop gangs such as the Hidden Beks made their own hit-and-runs.
The chancellor on Coruscant became suspicious as to how Taris entered the Republic so quickly and sent Jedi Master Raana Tey to retrieve Goravvus. Jervo Thalien, head of Lhosan, became frantic as Goravvus installed Lhosan on the planet and Jervo gave him a Senate seat. He hired Marn Hierogryph and the Moomo Brothers to get him, promising the former a reprieve of the Massacre charges and most of the bounties lifted, but also ordered the latter to kill Goravvus, as he had become a liability.
Gryph met up with the Beks and was soon reunited with Carrick, his "henchman". The Beks wished to hook up with the Resistance but had nothing of value to give. Luckily, Carrick found the constable's children, who were being held hostage by Brejik. The Bek then took the kids to the Resistance, where their mother was part of. Together, they thought to take out the Mandalorian commander, Cassus Fett, who was using the Jedi Tower as his base. But he had abandoned it to take the fight to the Resistance, driving them into the Undercity. Elsewhere, a squad of Mandalorians, led by Pulsipher, the new doctor in place of Demagol, who located the Muur Talisman.
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