Star Wars Dating System

[Stravo]

It occurred to me as I dusted off some of my fics that I planned a dating system for one of them that woudl follow the events of the Clone Wars and I realized that I could wing the stardate system but what exactly does the Star Wars galaxy use as a dating system? Seems silly to use the BY datings system since my fic takes place before Yavin ever happens and I want it to be contemporary to the people in the story. Any guidance on this?

Also a nice chronology to the Clone Wars would be helpful in giving me a framework to work within as well would be awesome.

[Ender]

It occurred to me as I dusted off some of my fics that I planned a dating system for one of them that woudl follow the events of the Clone Wars and I realized that I could wing the stardate system but what exactly does the Star Wars galaxy use as a dating system? Seems silly to use the BY datings system since my fic takes place before Yavin ever happens and I want it to be contemporary to the people in the story. Any guidance on this?

Publis has done some stuff on dating and timeline fixes, but AFAIK it was based off the Battle of Rusaan, then Geonosis, then declatration of the Empire, then Battle of Yavin.

Also a nice chronology to the Clone Wars would be helpful in giving me a framework to work within as well would be awesome.

Get the New Essential Chronology from your local library, it goes itno a good amount of detail there.

[Crazedwraith]

THe Clone Wars books have a "months past Genosis" timeline but thats all I know. I've never heard of an in-universe dating sytem.

[Lord Revan]

It occurred to me as I dusted off some of my fics that I planned a dating system for one of them that woudl follow the events of the Clone Wars and I realized that I could wing the stardate system but what exactly does the Star Wars galaxy use as a dating system? Seems silly to use the BY datings system since my fic takes place before Yavin ever happens and I want it to be contemporary to the people in the story. Any guidance on this?

Also a nice chronology to the Clone Wars would be helpful in giving me a framework to work within as well would be awesome.

ABG(=after the Battle of Geonosis) or after the Formation/declatration of the Empire seem the best possiblities

[Noble Ire]

I believe each dominant galactic power used a different system, based on a different starting date, as time passed (as others have suggested).

For the Clone Wars, you would be using "Galactic Time", based on the Great Resynchronization.

[Old Plympto]

Here's a timeline of Clone Wars events. Check out the Battles section as well.

[000]

Prior to the Battle of Ruusan, the Republic presumably used the founding of the Republic as year zero (25,000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin).

After the Battle of Ruusan, the main dating system used the year of that battle as year zero (1,000 years before Yavin).

3 years prior to the election of Palpatine, a new system was enstated using that year, the year of the Great Resynchronization of the Galactic calendars, as year zero.

The Empire used that system as well.

The Rebels, sometime post-Endor, decided to pull a France and make a new calendar. Why they used Yavin rather than the exponentially more important year of the Battle of Endor as year zero is anyone's guess.

Dates using the GrS system go Year:Month:Day. Years prior to the Great Resynchronization are denoted BrS (such as 965 BrS, the year of the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, or 47BrS:8:11, shorthand for Palpatine's date of birth). Years following Ruusan don't seem to have any descriptor at all in the canon; some fans add one anyway when describing a year without the specific date (Publius seems to use GR, as in 35 GR, the date of the Battle of Yavin, while I prefer rS myself. Neither of course are canon).