Are you confused by the meaning of BBY and ABY in Star Wars? These two popular acronyms are frequently used to date the different Star Wars movies, shows, and books. While they are canon, they are rarely used within the Star Wars universe. As such, they can be a little confusing.
Basically, the entire Star Wars timeline is relative to the first film, A New Hope. BBY and ABY stand for before or after the Battle of Yavin, the space battle at the end of that film. Since the early 90s, it has been officially used to place characters, events, and stories on the Star Wars timeline.
Let’s explore the origins of ABY and BBY in Star Wars.
What Is the Meaning of ABY and BBY in Star Wars?
The meaning of BBY is “before the Battle of Yavin,” while ABY is “after the Battle of Yavin.” Within the Star Wars universe, the Battle of Yavin is the space battle at the end of the original Star Wars.
In the battle, Luke Skywalker destroys the Death Star, saving the Rebels from the Galactic Empire. Not only does it play a significant role in the Star Wars galaxy, but it is an important plot point in the first film.
Despite being the fourth chapter of the saga, Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope is the first movie. As such, fans and Lucasfilm have used it as the basis for the timeline since at least the mid-90s.
Star Wars stories that take before the Battle of Yavin include the Prequel trilogy, Rogue One, Solo, and many others. This also includes the popular novels Queen’s Shadow, Master & Apprentice, and all of the High Republic series.
Also, the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and The Acolyte are before the Battle of Yavin.
Any Star Wars story released after the original movie in 1977 falls after the Battle of Yavin. This includes the other two movies in the Original Trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the Sequel Trilogy.
The Disney+ series The Mandalorian and the subsequent Mandoverse shows, including Ahsoka, take place after the Battle of Yavin.
Popular novels set after the Battle of Yavin include the Aftermath trilogy, Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, and Resistance Reborn.
How Do They Use BBY and ABY in Star Wars?
The phrases “before the Battle of Yavin” and “after the Battle of Yavin” date characters and events in the Star Wars universe relative to A New Hope.
Anakin Skywalker is born in 41 BBY and he becomes Darth Vader in 19 BBY. Qui-Gon Jinn is born in 80 BBY and dies in 32 ABY. Obi-Wan Kenobi is born in 57 BBY, dying aboard the Death Star just before the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY.
Leia and Luke are born in 19 BBY, with Luke dying in 34 ABY and Leia dying in 35 ABY. Han Solo is born in 32 BBY and dies in 34 ABY.
Rey is born in 15 ABY, briefly dying in 35 ABY before being resurrected. Kylo Ren is born in 5 ABY and dies in 35 ABY. Poe Dameron is born in 2 ABY and Finn is born in 11 ABY.
Jyn Erso in born in 21 BBY and Cassian Andor is born in 33 BBY. They both died in 0 BBY. Ahsoka Tano is born in 36 BBY and is still alive in 9 ABY.
Here are other important Star Wars events relative to the Battle of Yavin:
- 232 BBY – Starlight Beacon is constructed (The High Republic era)
- 32 BBY – Invasion of Naboo (The Phantom Menace)
- 22 – 19 BBY – Clone Wars (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
- 19 BBY – Palpatine reorganizes the Republic as the Galactic Empire (Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: The Bad Batch)
- 1 BBY – Liberation of Lothal (Star Wars: Rebels)
- 0 BBY – Battle of Scariff and Battle of Yavin (Rogue One, A New Hope)
- 3 ABY – Battle of Hoth (The Empire Strikes Back)
- 4 ABY – Luke and Leia rescue Han, the Battle of Endor (Return of the Jedi)
- 9 ABY – Din Djarin rescues Gorgu, Ahsoka hunts Grand Admiral Thrawn (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka)
- 34 ABY – Battle of Starkiller Base and Battle of Crait (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi)
- 35 ABY – Battle of Exegol (The Rise of Skywalker)
Is the ABY-BBY Dating Sytem Canon?
BBY and ABY are technically canon, but they only date Star Wars events in relation to our world. With few exceptions, they rarely appear within the Star Wars universe.
For example, 5 BBY appears on the screen in the first episode of the Andor series. However, this is only seen by the viewer. Furthermore, the Andor episode “Rix Road” uses the in-universe Coruscant reckoning calendar (C.R.C.) to date Maarva Andor’s death. And this makes sense since the Battle of Yavin doesn’t happen for another five years.
In what is now Legends, the New Republic set a new zero date for the Galactic Standard Calendar based on the Battle of Yavin. While they did not use BBY and ABY specifically, it was the same for intents and purposes.
The Battle of Yavin was just one of the many different epochs used within the Galactic Standard Calendar in Legends. An epoch is a specific way of tracking time based on a notable event.
Other popular epochs used during Legends include the Treaty of Coruscant of 3653 BBY and the Ruusan Reformation of 1000 BBY.
The Galactic Standard Calendar exists within the current Star Wars canon. However, it is unclear if the Battle of Yavin was used as an epoch by the New Republic.
When Did They Begin Using the BBY-ABY Dating System?
Some of the earliest uses of the Battle of Yavin as a reference point come from the 1987 Star Wars The Roleplaying Game by West End Games. While it doesn’t give a specific timeline, the different source books and guides between 1987 and 1994 frequently use the phrases “before the Battle of Yavin” and “after the battle of Yavin.”
The 1994 reference book A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Bill Slavicsek is the first official source that presents a timeline of the entire Star Wars universe.
While it uses Episode IV as the zero point in the Star Wars timeline, dates are listed as BSW4 and ASW4, referring to before and after Star Wars Episode IV. As the Expanded Universe continued to grow, other guides and books used BSW4 and ASW4 throughout the mid-90s.
The first official use of BBY and ABY is the 1998 Star Wars Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Sansweet. It includes the following note explaining the timeline:
The Timeline is based on the Battle of Yavin being Standard Year Zero (the film Star Wars: A New Hope). Events take place BBY (before the Battle of Yavin) and ABY (after the Battle of Yavin).
Although never explicitly stated, the change from B/ASW4 to B/ABY was likely to make it sound a little more in-universe. However, it could also be because it is easier to say and looks more visually appealing.
The meaning of BBY and ABY did not change when the Expanded Universe was changed to Star Wars Legends in 2014. However, the 2014 book Star Wars Workbook: 2nd Grade Reading is canonically the first use of ABY and BBY in the new timeline.
What Was Used To Track the Star Wars Universe Before BBY and ABY?
Before using BBY and ABY to track time within Star Wars, there really wasn’t a need to date the stories.
The movies were clearly in order, with the Han Solo and Lando Calrissian novels taking place years before A New Hope and Splinter of the Mind’s Eye sometime before The Empire Strikes Back.
It wasn’t until the Expanded Universe content started coming out in the early 90s that dating stories relative to the movies became important.
As mentioned above, The Roleplaying Game started using the phrases before and after the Battle of Yavin in the late 1980s. The 1994 reference guide A Guide to the Star Wars Universe used terms before and after Star Wars Episode 4.
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