The Massassi were a species who lived on Yavin 4, the fourth moon of Yavin Prime. Thousands of years before the Imperial Era, they built enormous stone temples on the moon for unknown purposes. It was believed that the Massassi may have been a slave race in thrall to the Sith, who brought them to the moon. The Massassi went extinct millennia before 0 ABY, sometime after finishing their temples.
The Massassi were a mysterious species that built enormous stone temples of unknown purpose on the fourth moon of Yavin some five thousand years before the rise of the Galactic Empire. Whether the Massassi had evolved on Yavin 4 or were a slave race in thrall of the Sith and brought to that moon was unknown, although the latter seemed more likely.
The ancient Massassi warriors built the Great Temple on Yavin 4.
Five thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, the ancient Massassi warriors lived on Yavin 4 and constructed the Great Temple. The Great Temple was alleged to have been built under the leadership of the Sith Lord Naga Sadow. The Massassi admired Sadow as a god despite being poorly treated by him, and the Temple was raised in Sadow's honor. Archeologists later proposed that the Great Temple may have functioned as a large-scale communications device to contact other Sith Lords throughout the galaxy. The species went extinct millennia before 0 ABY, sometime after finishing their temples.
An ancient Massassi temple on Yavin 4.
At some point, either as part of the original intent of the building or through ulterior additions, the Jedi splinter group known as the Ordu Aspectu used one of the Massassi temples, the Great Temple, to store information, including a map room that gave directions to their hidden space station-fortress base, the Citadel of Rur. The Massassi piece crystals were associated with the Massassi and were used as activation keys at the Great Temple, and at the headquarters of the Ordu Aspectu. They were almost identical in shape to the Massassi temples on Yavin 4.
The purple-barked Massassi trees found on Yavin 4 were named after the species.
Sometime before the Battle of Coruscant, an archaeological dig on the moon of Yavin 4 uncovered the Great Sith Wars Bas-Relief in one of the enormous stone temples built by the Massassi.
After setting up a rebel cell on Yavin 4, General Jan Dodonna decided to honor the Massassi by naming his cell after them.
After their extinction, the Massassi warriors were mentioned in a travel advertisement written by a Special Galaxy Reporter who had investigated the Great Temple ruins after the Alliance to Restore the Republic abandoned the jungle moon.
Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 23 established that the Great Temple on Yavin 4 was built around 5000 BBY. However, Doctor Aphra (2016) 3 and Star Wars Helmet Collection 76 establish that Ordu Aspectu, which according to Star Wars: Timelines existed around 20,000 BBY before their defeat, used the Great Temple to store data.
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