The Imperial Palace, also known as the Emperor’s palace and known formerly as the Jedi Grand Temple or simply the Jedi Temple, was the official residence of the Dark Lord of the Sith and Galactic Emperor Darth Sidious located in the Palace Court of the Federal District of Imperial City on Coruscant, the capital planet of the Galactic Empire during the Imperial Era. Though purged of its Jedi origins, the Palace retained its ziggurat form as well as its distinctive crown of four Council Towers and the central Palace spire that contained the Emperor’s throne room.
Built as a Jedi temple by the Four Masters millennia before Sidious’ rise to power, the Temple stood on the foundations of the Shrine in the Depths, serving as the home of the Jedi Order throughout the Republic Era. Over the centuries it was rebuilt and expanded several times. In addition to its role as the central hub of all Jedi activities throughout the galaxy, the Temple functioned as a monastery for Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters as well as a school for the training of Padawans and initiates. The Temple contained several key areas such as the Holocron Vault, which housed the Order’s closely guarded secrets; the Jedi Archives, the largest repository of information; and the Jedi Council Chamber, where the ruling Jedi High Council convened to discuss galactic events and determine the will of the Force.
As leaders of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Jedi coordinated the war effort from the Temple on Coruscant during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Despite the Temple’s security, it was infiltrated by the bounty hunter Cad Bane who stole a holocron at the behest of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. In 19 BBY, the Temple was damaged by a bombing attack masterminded by Padawan Barriss Offee. Following the terrorist attack, the Jedi attempted to remove Palpatine as Supreme Chancellor upon learning of his secret identity as Darth Sidious. As a result, the 501st Legion marched on the Temple under the command of Sidious’ Sith apprentice Darth Vader. Labeled as traitors under Order 66, the Jedi were attacked by clone troopers in the Temple and across the galaxy, marking the start of the Great Jedi Purge. With the Sith restored to power, the Jedi Temple became the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor’s death at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY prompted the citizens of Coruscant to celebrate in the streets of Monument Plaza while Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and his supporters barricaded themselves in the Palace. Around the same time, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker recovered fragments of the Great Tree that once stood in the heart of the Jedi Temple. In the final days of the Galactic Civil War, Amedda was placed under virtual house arrest in the Palace by soldiers who were loyal to Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, the self-proclaimed Counselor to the Empire. He later escaped from the Palace with the help of a gaggle of children by the time of the Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY.