Invasion of Saleucami

Despite being a quiet, backwater planet in the Outer Rim Territories without much strategic value, in part due to its lack of natural resources, the world of Saleucami came to be of great importance in the Clone Wars between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Republic, even though the small community of settlers on Saleucami wanted to avoid the conflict. In fact, those who moved to the isolated planet often wanted to avoid the attention of the Confederacy or the Republic. Although it would remain untouched through most of the war, the Separatist General Grievous sought to take over the world in 21 BBY, beginning a battle between Republic and Separatist forces above and on the surface of the planet.

Although Jedi Master Eeth Koth was rescued from Grievous's custody, the cyborg general himself managed to escape after a chase on the world. Following the event, it seemed as though Saleucami would return to its peaceful status, but Separatist officers had other plans; Grievous's journey on Saleucami had convinced him that the planet would be decent, but successful, as an outpost and staging area. Indeed, as the Perlemian Trade Route grew increasingly contested, Separatist convoys needed a safer hyperspace route for travel. As Saleucami happened to be close to the regional Salin Corridor, Separatist commanders realized Saleucami could be useful as a stockpile for materiel produced in the Foundry of the Confederacy, a grouping of factory worlds in the Mid and Outer Rims. Between 21 BBY and 20 BBY, the Republic was involved in another battle on Saleucami.

After realizing the planet's usefulness as a potential trans-shipment point, the Confederacy launched a massive invasion of Saleucami with a large military force under the command of Grievous at some point between 21 BBY and 19 BBY. As the Separatist force was large enough to confront a fleet of starships blockading the planet and landed on Saleucami, the invasion of Saleucami brought widespread fighting to the planet.

Escalating the fighting for Saleucami, the invasion brought the Clone Wars back to the planet, where the Confederacy would station its large force with the support of a blockade fleet. Dressellian smuggler Has Obitt, whose missions with Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic of the Republic Special Weapons Group had left him unwelcome in Separatist territory, narrowly missed the invasion, but he later found himself amid the sneak attack on Roche. Sometime after the Separatists took control of Saleucami and made it into a factory world, the Republic, fearing the secrets the Separatist-controlled world held, besieged the world in the final months of the Clone Wars during the Outer Rim Sieges campaign. Like the Separatist invasion before it, the Republic siege brought widespread conflict to the world. Following the war, the Galactic Empire, successor state of the Republic, remained interested in Saleucami and attempted to bring Imperial order to the previously peaceful planet.

The invasion of Saleucami was first mentioned in James Luceno's 2016 novel, Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel. The invasion was further expanded upon in the French release of the booklet "Mustafar and Other Planets in the Outer Rim," which was released in France on April 8, 2022 as part of De Agostini's Star Wars Encyclopedia line. However, when the booklet was released in English in 2023, the section on Saleucami was removed. It had been moved to the booklet "Scarif and Other Planets in the Outer Rim," which released in 2022. Instead, the English Mustafar encyclopedia contains two pages on the Fortress Inquisitorius. Additionally, mentions of the invasion of Saleucami were removed from and alerted in the English release of the Saleucami passage. This article assumes both language releases can be taken as canon, but cites information found only in one release to that specific language version.

• Collapse of the Republic
• Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy