Editing Kobol (RDM)

{{disline|For information on the Kobol of the {{TOS|Battlestar Galactica|Original Series}}, see [[Kobol (TOS)]]. For general information on the planet, see [[Kobol]].}}

[[File:Home_pt1-Kobol.jpg|thumb|280px|Kobol from orbit]]
'''Kobol''' is the ancestral homeworld of the people of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Colonies]], and one of [[Earth (RDM)#A New Earth|two]] known planets where humans naturally evolved. Though it is a lush, life-supporting planet, Kobol has been uninhabited since the exodus of the Thirteen Tribes. On the surface, only ruins remain as evidence of the once-great civilization that previously existed.

==Overview==
Kobol is a verdant world of seas and continents, the latter having large areas of woodland, grassland, and forests. An unexplained event or environmental catastrophe caused humanity to leave Kobol and settle on the planets that form the [[The Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Twelve Colonies of Kobol]]. However, at the time of ''Galactica''{{'|s}} discovery of Kobol, the planet appears to have recovered from such an event.

The seat of power of Kobol resided in the [[City of the Gods]] in the northern hemisphere, itself dominated by the [[Forum]], [[Temple]] and [[Opera House]] {{TRS|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I}}, structures which were duplicated on {{RDM|Caprica}} in the city of [[Delphi]]. It is said that humans lived there in harmony with the [[Religion in the Twelve Colonies#The Lords of Kobol|Lords of Kobol]], and that [[Atlas]] supported Kobol on his shoulders. The [[Messengers]] were witness to Kobol's civilization, and [[Cycle of Time|observed the same patterns]] there as they later would on the worlds settled by the descendants of Kobol's peoples&mdash;"commercialism, decadence, technology run amok."

==Great Exodus==
Some 2,000 years prior to the [[Fall of the Colonies]], the Twelve Tribes [[Galleon Meadow|departed Kobol]] for another star system in "The Great Exodus of the Twelve Tribes from Kobol".  The [[Sacred Scrolls]] also tell of a [[Thirteenth Tribe (RDM)|Thirteenth Tribe]] that departed Kobol some 2,000 years prior {{TRS|Miniseries}} to seek a planet known as [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]].<ref>[[Galen Tyrol]]'s report on the age of the [[Temple of Five]] at around 4,000 years old {{TRS|The Eye of Jupiter}} is generally accurate. The Thirteenth Tribe allegedly left approximately 4,000 years prior to the events of the [[Miniseries]]. The Twelve Tribes (which form the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol|Colonies]]) left much later, at 2,000 years prior to the Miniseries.</ref> Although the Twelve Tribes later interpret the Scrolls to record that the Thirteenth were human, they were in fact [[humanoid Cylons]] created by Kobol's humans. The Twelve Tribes suffered dreadful losses while Kobol itself was left as "a graveyard" {{TRS|Sometimes a Great Notion}}.

The Lords of Kobol also appear to have abandoned Kobol, but when is not known. Also unclear is whether they departed Kobol with the Tribes, although the Sacred Scrolls say that [[Athena, Lord of Kobol|Athena]] killed herself in sorrow at the Great Exodus, suggesting that some Lords or humans remained to record the death before [[Tomb of Athena|entombing Athena]] and leaving themselves. The Sacred Scrolls also say that Zeus warned the leaders of the tribes that any return to Kobol would carry with it a cost in blood.

==Religious Texts==
[[File:City of the Gods.jpg|right|thumb|An illustration from the [[Sacred Scrolls]] of the City of the Gods {{TRS|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I}}]]
During the time humans lived on Kobol, many texts were written, some of which have survived through time, and are regarded by some as religious artifacts, and by others as the documenting of myths and legends. These texts have been collected into a tome known as the [[Sacred Scrolls]]. These are the main source of information about Kobol for the people of the Twelve Colonies, as few hard facts remain.

Chief among these writings include the Book of [[Pythia]] who, some 1,600 years prior to the Great Exodus, foretold another exodus featuring a "caravan of the heavens" led by someone dying of a "wasting disease" {{TRS|The Hand of God (RDM)}}. This exodus would lead humanity to a new home, although the leader would die before he/she could enter the new home. 
  
Some of the writings of Pythia have apparently come true: President [[Laura Roslin]], the civil leader of the Colonial fleet is dying of cancer at the presumed fulfillment of the prophecy {{TRS|Home, Part II}}. Further, Roslin has several [[Chamalla|visions]], including one of 12 snakes {{TRS|The Hand of God (RDM)}}, a vision specifically foretold by Pythia.

The [[Messengers|spectral image of Number Six]] that appears to [[Gaius Baltar]] tells him that human sacrifice was practiced on Kobol, and that the souls of all who die there are forever lost because God has turned his back on it ("[[Valley of Darkness]]," "[[Fragged]]"). She claims that the Colonial scriptures are erroneous in their description of life on Kobol, hiding darker truths.

==Rediscovering Kobol==
Its location is unknown until it is found by the Fleet, Colonial star charts place it in [[Sector 728]] of the galaxy {{TRS|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I}}, when ''{{RDM|Galactica}}'' dispatches Raptors to locate planets which may provide materials needed to re-supply the [[The Fleet (RDM)|Fleet]], and one of them finds the planet by chance. Upon its discovery, [[William Adama|Commander Adama]] suggests considering permanent settlement on the planet. However, Cylon forces are already present in the system.

Following the discovery (as predicted by the [[humanoid Cylon]] [[Leoben Conoy]]) as well as her own [[Chamalla|prescient visions]], Roslin becomes convinced that Kobol will lead the fleet to Earth, providing the [[Tomb of Athena]] can be found. To do this, priest [[Elosha]] notes that the [[Arrow of Apollo]] must be retrieved from the [[Delphi Museum of the Colonies]] on Caprica.

Against Commander [[William Adama|Adama's]] military orders, Roslin begins a quest to retrieve the Arrow, leading to her arrest {{TRS|Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II}}. She [[Resistance|later escapes]], and leads a third of the Fleet to Kobol (with the [[The Farm|retrieved Arrow]]) to begin the search for the Tomb {{TRS|Home, Part I}}

A scouting team sent to Kobol is ambushed by Cylon forces. The survivors manage to escape further Cylon assault after a [[SAR]] mission {{TRS|Fragged}}. Both expeditions to Kobol suffer casualties, in keeping with Zeus's warning.

Commander Adama later joins Roslin's expedition, and soon finds the Tomb of Athena. They are the first people to glimpse the inside of the Tomb in centuries, and use the Arrow to activate a holographic map display, which indicates the general direction of [[Earth (RDM)|Earth]] {{TRS|Home, Part II}}.  Afterwards, the Colonials abandon Kobol again, never to return.

==Notes==

*Much of the scenic, expansive landscapes of Kobol were filmed at [http://www.spacesfornature.org/greatspaces/pinecone.html Widgeon Slough], the largest freshwater marsh in the Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, British Columbia, Port Coquitlam (Source in part: [[The Official Companion]]).
*In the original [[Miniseries]] script, the Twelve Colonies actually resided ''on'' Kobol. The final script returned Kobol to its status as birthplace of humankind, with humanity having left to other habitable worlds to match the premise of the Original Series.

==See Also==

* [[Kobol]], for similarities between the Original and Re-imagined Series and the etymology of the planet's name.

==References==
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