Timelines
The Challenges of Timelines
The challenges of timelines come in two categories: the first is contradictions or alterations in the canon. This occurs when a book or comic was written before either the television series or the movies were complete. It's happening right now, due to The Clone Wars TV series. The most noticable difference being that Anakin's knighthood originally was some months into the war and numerous stories were written on this basis. Then the powers that be (AKA George Lucas) decided that he really needed an earlier knighthood for the show to work. This leaves events 'squeezed' into a narrower timeframe. What once was weeks can now only span days or hours. A contradiction on the other hand would be the difference between Anakin's visit to Nelvaan slamming atop his mission to Tythe, both set right before Revenge of the Sith. One occurs via the Clone Wars animated mini series, the other Labyrinth of Evil by Matthew Stover. They can still work together: but only if you rearrage Nelvaan in the timeline. Nelvaan being rearranged because the Tythe mission is mentioned elsewhere.
The second challenge is simply the nature of time. On planet Earth, time is measured by the rotation of the Earth around the sun. But crossing into different time zones can cause travelers a bit of confusion, as it's one time in America, another time in Europe, and which direction you travel (east or west) affects when you get there. Imagine then trying to narrow down time in galaxy terms. Whose timeline are we to use? Coruscant? Tattooine? Naboo? Crossing a galaxy can make earth travel look easy. This is, in a way, a good thing. It means that it's easier to suspend disbelief in all the events that happen.
History in the Galaxy
Galactic History changes according to the victor. Currently the 'Galactic Standard' uses 'The Battle of Yavin', the first decisive victory of the Alliance over the Empire, as a starting point. The abbreviation ABY stands for 'After the Battle of Yavin'. The abbreviation BBY stands for 'Before the Battle of Yavin'.
Links to the Timelines
This is History beginning millenia ago, starting with the Rakatan Empire and ending with the Battle of Ruusan.