Glory of the Empire

"Glory of the Empire," also known as The Imperial March, was a patriotic musical piece adopted as the anthem of the Galactic Empire. The upbeat Imperial anthem was played at an Empire Day parade on the planet Lothal.

During the Clone Wars leading up to the founding of the Empire in 19 BBY, in the aftermath of the Separatist victory over the Galactic Republic in the Abregado system, the piece's tune was hummed by a Separatist B1-series rocket battle droid when he and his party were preparing to intercept the life pod of Jedi Master Plo Koon. In 13 BBY, during the Imperial Era on the Core World Corellia, "Glory of the Empire" was played as part of an advertisement enticing citizens to enlist at an Imperial Military recruiting station. During the Empire's reign over the Outer Rim world Lothal, the Imperial anthem was played before official grav-ball championship matches, as well as on the fifteenth annual Empire Day in 4 BBY, which was sabotaged by the local Spectres rebel cell.

"Glory of the Empire" is a variation of the real-life John Williams composition "The Imperial March," which first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, serving as the musical theme and leitmotif for the Galactic Empire and the character Darth Vader. It was first introduced as in-universe diegetic music in the current Star Wars canon in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' 2008 episode Rising Malevolence, in the form of a few notes hummed by a battle droid, and a diegetic orchestral version arranged by composer Kevin Kiner was introduced in the Star Wars Rebels television series' 2014 episode "Empire Day." Its accompanying episode guide on StarWars.com identifies the piece's in-universe title as "Glory of the Empire," and its significance as the Imperial anthem.

Another orchestral version was rewritten in major key by composer John Powell for the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, included individually in the soundtrack's 2020 Deluxe Edition as "Empire Recruitment." A chapter title in the 2021 novel Victory's Price by Alexander Freed confirms "The Imperial March" to be an alternate title of the piece in-universe.