Lothal was only a short hyperspace journey from Garel, a more populated and urbanized world. Shuttle traffic moved frequently between the two planets, with Imperial ministers and regular citizens alike making the routine trip.

In Capital City, older landmarks such as the former Senate Building sat empty and forlorn, while the hulking, mushroom-shaped Imperial headquarters dominated the transformed skyline.

The low-tech markets and bazaars of Old City remained, but merchants found themselves harassed by Imperials who sought a hammerlock on commerce.

The old, disused Republic Senate Building was a reminder of quieter times on Lothal – and served as an Imperial trap engineered to ensnare the rebel band led by Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla.

The home Ezra Bridger had once shared with his parents was in Capital City, shuttered and forlorn.

The march of progress left obsolete technology scattered across Lothal, such as communication towers originally used to guide ships descending from space. After his parents died, Ezra Bridger made one abandoned tower into his home, using it as a refuge from the Empire.

The planet’s old frontier spirit still survived in places. Old Jho’s Pit Stop, for example, was a bar located hours from Capital City, adorned by the nose of a Clone Wars-era Republic gunship and run by a crusty Ithorian bartender. But the hand of the Empire rested heavily even here – TIE pilots and other Imperials could be found at Old Jho’s, and the Empire mandated that its HoloNet broadcasts be played in the bar.

Though a little-known planet, Lothal was the site of an ancient Jedi Temple. There, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger both faced trials in their progress along the Jedi path.

Eager to transform Lothal into an industrial world, the Empire purchased many farms from their owners. Some farmers, such as Beck Ollet’s parents, sold willingly. But others had to be compelled to sell – and some had their property confiscated at blasterpoint.

Lothalites displaced by the Empire’s acquisition or seizure of farms dwelled in ramshackle slums such as Tarkintown, eking out a miserable existence.

Modern Imperial highways now connected Capital City with outlying towns and the growing number of factories and mines. These new roadways were increasingly thronged by Imperial convoys and military vehicles.

Patriotic young Lothalites attended the Imperial Academy, hoping a successful term as a cadet would put them on path to become Imperial officers. Ezra Bridger infiltrated the Academy on a secret mission, only to discover a fellow enemy of the Empire in Zare Leonis.

On the anniversary of the Empire’s founding, Lothalites assembled for a salute to the Emperor and his military might – a pageant that was interrupted by an audacious act of sabotage by Kanan’s rebel cell.

A single communications tower controlled by the Empire connected Lothal with the rest of the galaxy. Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the tower destroyed to stop a rebel broadcast, cutting off the planet. This drastic step meant information could only move to and from the planet in the memory banks of courier droids.

Intent on crushing all resistance, the Empire increased its military presence on Lothal and further restricted freedoms, while accelerating the planet’s industrial transformation.