Gungan Empire (ASWS)

The Gungan Empire was a government that ruled over the Gungan people on Utapau. It was formed roughly eight hundred years after the Great Sovereign Crusades and lasted well into the time of the Invasion of Utapau as a peaceful band of noble undersea warriors. The government was formed out of the ashes of the War of the Gungan Tribes and the capital was placed over the site of the capital of Boss Rogoe, the warlord who caused the war to begin. Notable members of the Gungan Empire included High Councilor Rugor Nass and Crowned Prince Jar Binks.

Origins
The Gungans were an indigenous species to Utapau, the capital of the Chommel Sector in the Mid Rim. There were many early Gungan habitations, but none of them were united together. Many had records of battles of survival with other violent species, albeit non-sentient ones. The early Gungans developed technology for warfare and trained themselves as warriors due to the threats posed by the bursas, a violent beast that lived on the planet that attacked Gungan settlements.

There was one point in the early history where the Gungans did unify together. During the worst of the bursa attacks, the Gungans assembled a large army to meet it and they were eventually able to drive the bursas into near extinction, though they did not destroy them completely as they did not want to greatly upset the habitat. The technology was interesting in that it was not constructed, but rather it was grown making each tool and weapon organically unique.

Some ancient shamans and starfarers told tales of large Gungan migrations across the plains of Utapau prior to their shift to more aquatic environments, because up until that time the Gungans were primarily land-based. They were forced to move into the water due to an alien civilization of reptilian humanoids called the “Elders” that colonized the planet. They engaged in warfare with the Gungans, forcing them to retreat underwater and create large civilizations for their people. The Ankura and Otolla branches of Gungans did decide to unite and form a symbiotic relationship, though they were still not unified together. Regardless, these two branches of Gungans dominated Utapau for centuries until the Humans arrived and became the dominant power.

During the Great Sovereign Crusades, the Mandalorian Clans attacked a nearly-defenseless Utapau in what was believed to be an attempt to kidnap the queen, though it later turned out that it was merely an attempt to kidnap Isabella Dashin who was on the planet with Kalel Esunkit and Ussej Padric Bac III. The Gungans initially decided to not become involved, but when they realized that the Mandalorians could potentially take over the entire planet they mobilized their armies and made their way to Theed. The battle was short-lived, however, as the Mandalorians had no intention of capturing the planet at that time.

Unification
Eight hundred years after the Great Sovereign Crusades, a Gungan Boss named Rogoe began a campaign to enslave the weaker and more minor tribes. Boss Gallo, the strongest of the various Gungan leaders, refused to fight and many of the other leaders worried about whose side he would take if he did join, knowing that his eventual inclusion would decide the fate of the war. Sometime later, Gallo was gathering animals for his village of Otoh Sancture for the Sacred Feast, but soon after he departed his village was completely destroyed by bursas. This left him completely alone, as the majority of his people had been killed.

Gallo wandered the planet until he met the rogue Marsune who gave him Gungan Glurrg workers to be used in rebuilding Otoh Sancture in exchange for Gallo’s five nerf animals. While searching for a new area to colonize, Gallo found Gungans with the bursas and learned that Rogoe had sent them to kill him. This caused Gallo to change his mind about entering the war, and therefore he decided to fight with the other Gungan tribes. This officially began the War of the Gungan Tribes.

Gallo sent Rogoe’s men to tell their boss that he was preparing to strike back. As they were returning to Rogoe, Gallo and his workers built a small settlement and wasted no time in recruiting a small army to drive the bursas out of the remains of the old Otoh Sancture. After the bursas were defeated, Marsune appeared to Gallo and decided to take a position against Rogoe as well. Together with a small band of soldiers, they went to each of the important Gungan cities to form an alliance. Gallo discovered that each city had its own major problems and decided to help them, knowing that by doing so he would be able to defeat Rogoe.

Boss Tenko of Otoh Jahai had lost his sacred staff and suspected that the nearby settlement of Otoh Langua had stolen it from him. Boss Hantis of Otoh Langua denied knowing anything about its theft, and his city had its own problems as well. They had depleted their treasury from fighting and would continue to fight in order to steal wealth until it earned enough back. Gallo then found Tenko’s sacred staff in the wilderness and was able to raid one of Rogoe’s camps that had stored the currency stolen from the other Gungans. Because of this, the Gungan leaders decided to send their forces with Gallo.

After they became allied, they quickly saved Otoh Urs from a clan of bursas and then rescued Boss Hoxie of Otoh Raban from Rogoe’s prison camp. Finally, they put together plans for one final battle. When they were finished, they invaded Rogoe’s fortified stronghold of Spearhead using Bongo vehicles from the Bongomeken Collective. By the end of the battle, Rogoe had been killed by Gallo’s forces when they destroyed his underwater High Tower Board Room. After many months of fighting, the war was finally over.

In the days after the war, the Gungan tribes decided to remain unified under one banner, that banner belonging to what they decided to call the Gungan Empire. To have one central home for his people, Gallo built the large underwater city of Otoh Gunga on the site of Spearhead. Thousands of Gungans moved there once the Gungan Empire was officially founded and the city was completed, and it remained the central capital of the government, which was originally led by High Councilor Gallo and other members on a Gungan Council, for thousands of years.

Behind the scenes
During the planning of Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One, author Brandon Rhea wanted to make the Gungan people more of a noble group of undersea warriors rather than the comical species that Jar Jar Binks showed. He felt that creating a Gungan Empire would help this, and thus it was created. Much of it is still inspired by canon, mainly from the Galactic Battlegrounds video game saga. The Mandalorian invasion of Utapau was also an actual role-playing event at TheStarWarsRP.Com, though the Gungans were not involved and because it was in-line with canon the planet that was invaded was Naboo.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One