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Princess Leia, C3PO and a Rebel General watching the attack on the Death Star in Star Wars A New Hope
Category:
Movies & TV

What Do BBY and ABY Mean in Star Wars?

Image of Chris McMullen
Chris McMullen
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Published: May 21, 2024 07:34 am

If you’re getting into Star Wars, particularly if you’re exploring the various wikis, you might have come across the acronyms BBY and ABY. So, to instruct you in the ways of the Force, here’s an explanation of what BBY and ABY mean in Star Wars.

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What Do BBY and ABY Mean in Star Wars?

BBY means Before Battle of Yavin, and ABY means After Battle of Yavin. The Battle of Yavin takes place at the end of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when the Rebel Alliance successfully blows up the Death Star. BBY and ABY are not generally used in the movies, books, or shows, but fans and official sources use them to place events on a time. 

So, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is 19 BBY, 19 years before the Battle of Yavin; Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker is around 35 ABY, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is roughly 4,000 BBY. 

Why the Battle of Yavin? Mainly because A New Hope was the first Star Wars movie, despite the whole “Episode 4” subtitle. However, while BBY and ABY have been used for years, it appears that Disney is trying to make things a little clearer.

Related: Is Yoda in Star Wars: The Acolyte?

The book Star Wars: Timelines, published in 2022, still uses BBY and ABY. However, it also groups events into various eras. You can find all these eras cataloged on the official Star Wars website as follows:

  • Dawn of the Jedi
  • The Old Republic
  • The High Republic
  • Fall of the Jedi
  • Reign of the Empire
  • Age of Rebellion
  • The New Republic
  • Rise of the First Order
  • New Jedi Order

So, the answer to what BBY and ABY mean in Star Wars is that BBY stands for Before Battle of Yavin, while ABY stands for After Battle of Yavin.

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Star Wars
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Image of Chris McMullen
Chris McMullen
Chris McMullen is a freelance contributor at The Escapist and has been with the site since 2020. He returned to writing about games following several career changes, with his most recent stint lasting five-plus years. He hopes that, through his writing work, he settles the karmic debt he incurred by persuading his parents to buy a Mega CD. Outside of The Escapist, Chris covers news and more for GameSpew. He's also been published at such sites as VG247, Space, and more. His tastes run to horror, the post-apocalyptic, and beyond, though he'll tackle most things that aren't exclusively sports-based. At Escapist, he's covered such games as Infinite Craft, Lies of P, Starfield, and numerous other major titles.
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