BBY in Star Wars stands for "Before the Battle of Yavin." It is part of a dating system used to mark time relative to the Battle of Yavin, a pivotal event in the Star Wars universe when the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star in the original 1977 film, later titled A New Hope
. This system divides the timeline into BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) and ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). The Battle of Yavin serves as the zero point, similar to how BCE and CE work in real-world calendars. Events occurring before this battle are labeled with BBY, and those after with ABY
. The BBY/ABY system originated among fans and was later officially adopted by Lucasfilm in 2014. It helps organize the vast Star Wars timeline, which spans thousands of years but focuses mainly on the era around the Galactic Civil War and the rise and fall of the Empire
. In summary, BBY is a chronological marker meaning "Before the Battle of Yavin," used to date events in the Star Wars universe relative to the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope
