Sumria

The Sumrias were a sentient species hailing from the Lol system,^[1] a part of the Lol sector of the Outer Rim Territories.^[2] Members of the Sumrian thought-caste had hands with four digits, and as a result the species developed a base-eight measuring system that went on to serve as the basis for the development of Df, a parameter characterizing the combat performance of military artillery. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, the contribution of the Sumrias to the development of Df was mentioned in a compilation of Imperial documents made by Rebel Alliance historian Major Arhul Hextrophon for Alliance Supreme Commander Mon Mothma and other Rebel officers.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Publication history and development

The Sumrias were first mentioned in the 1989 Imperial Sourcebook, written by Greg Gorden and published by West End Games for use with Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game.^[3] In 2018, Gorden revealed in social media correspondence with a fan the development notes for the species, which the author referred to as the "Sumrians." The concept of the Sumrian society emerged from Gorden basing the Galactic Empire on the economically interconnected empires of the real-world Bronze Age historical period and additionally drawing parallels between the institutions of stable real-world human societies and those of hypothetical alien ones.^[4]

According to Gorden's notes, the Sumrias were one of the most ancient cultures to be part of the Empire. More specifically, they considered themselves one of the eight most ancient societies in the galaxy, and consequently developed a base-eight numeral system and a society that was based on eight castes. Those included: the "starfarer-caste," which was based on the real-world concept of economy; the thought-caste, based on education; the "enlightenment-caste," the Sumrias' variation on religion; and the "Ancients-caste" and the "Xeno-caste," which had no direct real-world analogues. The Sumrias had no castes corresponding to the human institutions of family and government, and in lieu of a military the species employed mercenary companies the mandate of which was protecting the interests of the starfarer-caste.^[4]

Gorden further described the Sumrias' castes as exhibiting strict hierarchy between members of the same caste, which was contrasted with the interactions between different castes that were free from such restrictions. As an example, the author highlighted a junior scholar of the thought-caste, whose dialogue with a senior researcher of the same caste would be governed by ritual, but who could freely converse about a wide variety of topics with a merchant-prince of the starfarer-caste whom they had randomly encountered.^[4]

Ancients-caste and Xeno-caste

In describing the Sumrias' Ancients-caste, Gorden summarized the species' theology, which claimed that the Sumrias were destined to become "vessels" for extinct species who had "made significant impact" on the Force. Members of the Ancients-caste accordingly searched for planetary systems inhabited by such species and informed the other castes when a new planet was to be "reclaimed" or "revived." The reclaiming process led to the Sumrias controlling several star systems and also involved natal Sumrias being genetically engineered to have, upon birth, as many characteristics of one of the extinct species as possible. As a result, the Sumrias no longer possessed an original physical appearance as a species, with individual Sumrias instead resembling the inhabitants of the reclaimed worlds.^[4]

Finally, Gorden's notes characterized the Xeno-caste as the Sumrian term for all other extant sentient species. The caste was expected to resolve all of the issues of all of its member species, which was an unrealistic scenario that led to a variety of non-Sumrias' criminal operations being established in the species' systems.^[4]

Sources

• Imperial Sourcebook (First mentioned)
• Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition

Notes and references