Tapani sector

The Tapani sector was a sector located in the Colonies. It was named after Shey Tapani, who united the sector thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, though the sector itself had been colonized 12,720 BBY. Seven provinces made up the Expanse: Barnaba Province, Cadriaan Province, Calipsa Province, Mecetti Province, Melantha Province, Pelagia Province, and Reena Province. Each province was ruled by a noble house. The sector included the Freeworlds region which was not ruled by nobility. In or around 3 ABY the Empire split off the Freeworlds into a new sector called the Shapani sector. Tapani was then converted into an oversector composed of the Tapani and Shapani sectors; although by 40 ABY at the latest, this action was reversed and the sector reunited. The sector capital was Procopia. Notable phenomena included Shindra's Veil. Ophideraan was in or near Tapani sector.

The Giju Run spurred from the Rimma Trade Route and into Tapani sector intersecting the Shapani Bypass. Other routes were the Three Ellas Run, the Procopian Shipping Lane, Cor Lane, Calipsa Run, the Leozi Route and the Caloria Run.

Astrography

The Tapani sector was located in the Colonies region on the Shapani Bypass, an offshoot of the Rimma Trade Route. Since the Dynastic Era, the sector capital was Procopia although during the Imperial Era the world of Tallaan was equally important because the main Imperial regional depot was located there. Although the Tapani sector was in the Colonies it was, by tradition, considered part of the Core worlds community.

There were approximately seventy star systems in the sector and roughly a fifth were inhabitable worlds that were heavily settled. There were also small settlements in other systems, including research stations, mining facilities and military outposts.

Tapani had an abundance of temperate worlds and a plethora of raw materials for mining, some of which were relatively rare in the rest of the galaxy. For thousands of years, the sector shipped trillions of tons annually to the Core. It was the closest source of raw materials to the Core and this gave it a competitive edge with more distant sectors that had to raise their prices to cover higher transportation costs. The Rimma Trade RouteFrom a galactic geographic perspective, the Tapani sector lies just off the Rimma Trade Route (or Rimma run). This major trade route ranged from the Core all the way to the distant Kathol Sector. Centuries before the rise of the Empire, Republic scouts blazed a large short-cut that ran through the Tapani sector and cut several days off the Rimma run. This trade route was called the Shapani Bypass and brought the sector into a major trade route, which reinvigorated the sector's economy and cultural development. The route was also called the Bacta Run or Bacta Bypass since it was established to transport Bacta from Thyferra to the Core.

Following the Federal Era, there were two distinct parts to the Tapani sector: the Expanse and the Freeworlds Region. The Expanse was an ore-rich region of space under the control of the noble houses. During the Imperial Era it consisted of seven provinces that made up the house holdings. Procopia was an independent world that was governed by a ruling coalition in the Great Council.

The Freeworlds Region was a series of systems on the border of the sector. It was once a backward fringe area but became more powerful because of its position on two major trade routes: the Shapani Bypass and the Giju Run. Because most of the ore from the Expanse had to pass through the Freeworlds Region, a tariff was placed on the shipping. This caused several tensions between the noble house of the Expanse and the Freeworlds.