Kobol
birthplace of humanity
Kobol was the ancestral homeworld of the Twelve Tribes and the Thirteenth Tribe, abandoned for over two thousand years and rediscovered by the refugee fleet during its search for Earth.
Kobol, the ancestral home of the Twelve Colonies, was a lush, life-supporting planet in the Milky Way galaxy located in sector 728. Though capable of sustaining life, it had been abandoned by all sentient life for at least two thousand years, ever since the exodus of the Thirteen Tribes. Its surface was dotted with the ruins of a once-great civilization, by then all but reclaimed by nature. Kobol was rediscovered by the refugee fleet led by the Galactica during its search for Earth.
Ancient history#
Kobol was thought to be the ancestral homeworld of humans. At the height of its power, control of the planet was split between twelve nations, known as the Twelve Tribes: Aquarius, Aries, Cancer, Capricorn, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Pisces, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Taurus and Virgo. During this era mankind advanced its understanding of robot technology to the point of developing synthetic organic machines. An unknown struggle led to these beings, the Thirteenth Tribe, leaving Kobol in search of a world of their own called Earth.
Centuries later a second catastrophe destroyed much of Kobolian society, resulting in the Exodus of the Twelve Tribes. They departed aboard the Galleon in search of a new home, Gemenon. During the voyage the colonists suffered a computer failure, much of their technology was lost, and knowledge of Kobol thereafter passed only by written hand. In the two thousand years that followed, the planet's nature and location became a mystery, the only insight coming from religious texts that spoke of a payment in blood for anyone who would return.
Rediscovery#
Following the destruction of the Colonies in the Cyrannus star system, the ragtag refugee fleet stumbled upon Kobol during its search for Earth. Commander William Adama suggested permanently settling the planet. When expedition and archaeology teams were launched aboard Raptors, however, the Cylons had already discovered Kobol and placed a basestar in orbit. Two of the three Raptors were shot down, with only one escaping back to the Fleet.
The basestar was later destroyed by a nuclear strike from one of Galactica's Raptors, which used a previously discovered Cylon transponder to get safely within range. This marked the first major victory for the Colonists. The questions of Kobol and how to interpret its existence caused a major schism within the Fleet.
Landmarks#
The Kobol Opera House and Forum, located in the City of the Gods, were a ruin in Galactica's time but had once been an important civic site, meticulously re-drawn from memory in the Scripts of Pythia. Kobol was also the location of the Tomb of Athena, situated near the Gates of Hera.
An ancient relic, the Arrow of Apollo, had been brought to the Colonies by the Twelve Tribes aboard the Galleon and was required to gain entry to the temple ruin in which clues to the way to Earth were said to be found. Within the Tomb stood statues representing each of the Twelve Tribes. When the Arrow was placed on the statue representing Sagittarius, the location of Earth was revealed. The Tomb's projection showed the twelve zodiac constellations as they would appear from Earth, along with a recognizable nebula visible from that world.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Kobol in Battlestar Galactica?
- Kobol was the lush, life-supporting ancestral home of the Twelve Colonies, located in the Milky Way galaxy in sector 728. It had been abandoned by all sentient life for at least two thousand years, ever since the exodus of the Thirteen Tribes, and its surface was dotted with the ruins of a once-great civilization.
- Why did the Thirteenth Tribe leave Kobol?
- At the height of Kobol's power, mankind advanced its understanding of robot technology to the point of developing synthetic organic machines. An unknown struggle led to these beings, the Thirteenth Tribe, leaving Kobol in search of a world of their own called Earth.
- How was Kobol's location lost?
- A second catastrophe destroyed much of Kobolian society, resulting in the Exodus of the Twelve Tribes aboard the Galleon toward a new home, Gemenon. During the voyage the colonists suffered a computer failure and much of their technology was lost, so knowledge of Kobol passed only by written hand and its location became a mystery preserved in religious texts.
- What happened when the refugee fleet rediscovered Kobol?
- Following the destruction of the Colonies, the refugee fleet stumbled upon Kobol during its search for Earth, but the Cylons had already placed a basestar in orbit, and two of three Raptors sent there were shot down. The basestar was later destroyed by a nuclear strike from one of Galactica's Raptors, marking the first major victory for the Colonists.
- What was the Tomb of Athena on Kobol?
- The Tomb of Athena was a temple ruin on Kobol, situated near the Gates of Hera, that required the Arrow of Apollo to gain entry. When the Arrow was placed on the statue representing Sagittarius, the location of Earth was revealed through a projection of the twelve zodiac constellations as they would appear from Earth.
Sources
- WikiKobol — Battlestar Wiki entry
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Related entries
Earth
Earth was a world settled by the Thirteenth Tribe roughly four thousand years before the fall of the Twelve Colonies. Once home to a flourishing Cylon civilization, it was reduced to a radioactive ruin by a nuclear holocaust, and the Colonial fleet abandoned it days after at last reaching it.
Gemenon
Gemenon was a planet of the Cyrannus star system orbiting Helios Alpha, the first world settled by the Kobol refugees and the most religious of the Twelve Colonies. Known for its extreme climate, it shared an orbit with Caprica as a double planet.
Hera: gas giant of Helios Beta
Hera was a gas giant in the Cyrannus star system, orbiting the star Helios Beta. It was the third-largest planet in the system and was named for a god of the Colonial religion, the patron deity of Gemenon.
Colonial Fleet
The Colonial Fleet was the naval arm of the military of the United Colonies of Kobol, founded during the Cylon War to unite the forces of the Twelve Worlds. At its height it numbered some 120 battlestars, yet a single Cylon exploit reduced it to two ships in the opening minutes of the Fall.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a decades long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Cyrannus star system
The Cyrannus star system was a double binary of four stars, Helios Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, that contained all Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Settled by the Kobol refugees some two thousand years before the Fall, it was the cradle of colonial civilization.
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Adrasteia
Adrasteia was a civilian ship that escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies as part of the ragtag fleet. It carried roughly 765 crew and passengers and survived into deep space about a year after the Fall.
Adriatic
Adriatic was a decommissioned Defender-class warship that escaped the Fall of the Twelve Colonies with the Fleet. One of the few armed civilian vessels, it was destroyed during the journey to the Algae planet roughly two years after the Fall.
Aerilon
Aerilon was a temperate agricultural world in the Cyrannus star system and one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Known as the "Food Basket of the Colonies", it was a rugged, working-class farming world and the birthplace of Gaius Baltar.
Amarak
Dr. Amarak was a Colonial government scientist who worked on defense research alongside Gaius Baltar. He sought to warn President Roslin of a traitor in the fleet before dying aboard the Olympic Carrier.
Aquaria
Aquaria was a cold, sparsely populated world in the Cyrannus star system and one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Known as "The Ice Colony", it grew from a research outpost into a frontier colony governed by direct democracy.
Astral Queen
The Astral Queen was a luxury liner converted into a Colonial prison transport that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. Control passed to its inmates, who rallied under Tom Zarek and made the ship a power base within the fleet.
Atlas: Lord of Kobol who bore the sky
Atlas was one of the Lords of Kobol worshipped in the Colonial polytheist faith. In myth he was a giant said to bear the sky of Kobol upon his shoulders, and he gave his name to Caprica City's Atlas Arena, where a great statue of him stood watch.
Aurora: civilian ship of the Fleet
Aurora was an FTL-capable civilian vessel that survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and joined the refugee fleet led by Galactica. It carried roughly 439 people and shared its name with the Lord of Kobol associated with the dawn.
Battlestar Valkyrie
The Valkyrie (BS-41) was a Valkyrie-class battlestar of the Colonial Fleet. A relic of the Cylon War kept in service through repeated upgrades, she was commanded by William Adama and destroyed in the opening hours of the Fall.
Canceron
Canceron was a planet of the Cyrannus star system orbiting Helios Delta, the most populous of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. A long-standing democracy of vast cities and sprawling slums, it shared an orbit with Aerilon and Hestia.
Caprica
Caprica was a planet in the Cyrannus star system and the cultural, economic and military center of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Birthplace of the first Cylons, it became the capital of the United Colonies and was devastated in the Cylon assault that ended colonial civilization.
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