The Infinite Empire (36,463 BBY - 25,200 BBY)

 "Long ago the Rakata ruled all the known galaxy; all species bowed down to us."

- Keeper Orsaa

Origins
Many years before 36,453 BBY, the Kwa - a Force-sensitive reptilian species from the planet Dathomir - arrived on Lehon, the homeworld of the Rakata species, via their Infinity Gate technology that allowed the Kwa to travel instantaneously across the galaxy. As they had done on many worlds before, the Kwa became the Rakata's benefactors, teaching them about the Force and giving them advanced technology. However, the Kwa were horrified to realize that the Rakata were a cannibalistic race that ignored the Kwa teachings of balance, drawning only on the Dark side of the Force. Pairing their aggression and desire for conquest with the Kwa technology, the Rakata expanded out from Lehon and began to conquer other worlds in the Unknown Regions.

The Infinite Empire, as the Rakata called themselves, targeted worlds that were rich with the Force, which they conquered and then enslaved their populations. The Rakata developed technology that allowed them to induce fear and hatred in Force-sensitive beings, and they used the Force-sensitives as slaves among the populations they conquered to fuel their warships and technology  by placing them in machines that converted the slaves' dark side emotions into energy. Desiring the Kwa's Infinity Gate technology, they turned on their benefactors when the Kwa refused - and in the resultant battle on Lehon, many Kwa died holding off the Rakatan warriors so that they could destroy the gate on Lehon.

However, the Rakata were not to be stopped. Building an enormous space station known as the Star Forge over the star Abo in the Lehon system - a factory powered by the dark side that produced warships and technology for the Empire - the Rakata spread out over the Unknown Regions and into the western galaxy by 35,000 BBY. The forest world of Kashyyk was one world captured by the Empire, and the Rakata installed a terraforming computer on the planet to manipulate Kashyyk's Wroshyr trees. However, the computer lost contact with the Rakata in 33,598 BBY, and over two hundred years later it malfunctioned, casuing a hyper-acceleration in the growth of the Wroshyrs.

Era of Conquest
By 30,000 BBY, the Infinite Empire had reached its zenith, linking over five hundred Force-rich worlds all across the galaxy. When the Rakata encountered Dathomir, the homeworld of the Kwa, they brutally subjugated the world in revenge for the Kwa's destruction of their Infinity Gates across the galaxy, and as a result the Kwa eventually devolved inot the simple-minded Kwi lizards. Intrigued by the enormous Rancors native to Dathomir, the Infinite Empire transported a number of them back to Lehon as curiosities, and they also succeeded in driving the Gree - another space-faring species at the time - all the way back to their home cluster. The Infinite Empire introduced a rancor to the planet Gamorr, where it became a mythological creature in the culture of the native Gamorreans.

The Infinite Empire turned the planet Belsavis into a prison world, suing stasis technology to entomb monsters, warlords, and other powerful entities. The first prisoner of Belsavis - and the reason the prison was constructed - was the World Razer, a mysterious being whose hunger supposedly consumed a thousand worlds. According to inscriptions in the Tomb, which was the Galactic Republic's term for the primary Rakatan prison complex, it took the entire Infinite Empire to subdue the World Razer.

Around 27,700 BBY, the Rakata discovered the planet Korriban and the Sith species. The Rakata showed the Sith king Adas the technology of holocrons, but Adas soon realized the Empire's intentions of conquest and led his people in driving the Rakata off of Korriban. The Rakata conquered a number of worlds in the region that was later known as the Core Worlds, including the planet Coruscant, which was home to the Human species. Despite their enslavement by the Rakata, however, the Humans experimented with sleeper ships around 27,500 BBY, seeding a number of planets in the Core Worlds and the Tion Cluster - many of which were also conquered by the Rakata.

During the Infinite Empire's reign, the Esh-kha species began to overrun a number of Rakatan slave worlds, leading the Empire to attack the Esh-kha. One Esh-kha named Hallow Voice appealed to the Rakata to spare his species, but the Rakata strung out negotiations until they had contained the Esh-kha and then captured Hallow Voice. The Esh-kha were all imprisoned on Belsavis, locked in stasis vaults. The Rakatans warlord Soa, also known as the Infernal One, was one ot the rulers of the Infinite Empire, though he was ultimately imprisoned on Belsavis in what became known as the Eternity Vault.

Collapse
The Force-based technology of the Rakata had profound consequences which led to the total collapse of the Infinite Empire. The Star Forge began feeding off its Rakatan masters' aggressive tendencies and created dark side energies that further corrupted its creators. After generations of galactic supremacy and control, the Infinite Empire began to fracture. Huge slave revolts erupted throughout the borders of the Empire along with various factions vying for control. This led to a civil war throughout Rakatan-controlled space. Already weakened by warfare, the Rakata were suddenly struck by a deadly plague in 25,200 BBY (possibly created by one of the slave species) that spread rapidly through their ranks due to their self-crafted genetic uniformity. The virulent disease nearly extermintated the Rakata and brought the Infinite Empire to its knees, but the worst was yet to come.

A mutation in the disease caused the Rakata to lose their connection and power in the Force. As the Force Adepts were culled from the overall population, the Rakata lost their ability to manipulate their own advanced technology. The Rakatans were forced to adapt to using inferior technology. With their slave master thus weakened, the populaces of many enslaved worlds rebelled. The Infinite Empire began to collapse as member worlds such as Korriban began to expel their Rakatan masters. The all-but-destroyed Rakata could do nothing but abandon their conquests and retreat to the safety of their homeworld, Lehon.

Various factions on the Rakatan homeworld vied for dominance over what was left of the Empire and so began a devastating civil war that destroyed all the cities and transformed the surface of the planet into chains of islands. The war almost led to the extinction of the Rakatan species and drove most of the surviving Rakata underground where they devolved into primitive tribal groups. Only a faction known as The Elders, wo were descended from the priest caste of the Infinite Empire, recalled the true history and subsequent fall of their people. In the following centuries, the defunct Infinite Empire was erased from the records of its former labor forces. It was lost from the pages of galactic history until its rediscovery during the Jedi Civil War, a few thousand years after the Rakata's alleged extinction.