Kobol (TOS)

The tombs of the Lords of Kobol ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II")}.

Kobol is the ancestral homeworld for humanity located in the Cyrannus galaxy. An unexplained event or environmental catastrophe causes humanity to leave Kobol and settle on the planets that form their new homeworlds known as the Twelve Colonies. During the migration, twelve tribes set out for the stars and became lost in a starless void before stumbling upon the worlds that would become The Twelve Colonies of Man, while the Thirteenth Tribe headed for a world called "Earth."

Kobol is located in a quadrant of space known to the Colonials as Epsilon Quadrant ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part I")}, approximately one to three parsecs from its star, according to Commander Adama of Galactica ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II")}).

Kobol is rediscovered by chance during the exodus from the Twelve Colonies, following reports of a magnetic void that Adama recalls from the Book of the Word. A team from the battlestar arrives among the ruins of Eden, the planet's largest city, seeking to enter the tomb of the Ninth Lord of Kobol in order to find clues as to the route taken by the Thirteenth Tribe. A Cylon attack ultimately prevents them from doing so ^{(TOS: "Lost Planet of the Gods, Part II")}.

Tie-in Material Information

• According to Encyclopedia Galactica (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):

The planet from which humankind came to the Twelve Colonies was remembered as Kobol, long after its location was lost and its very existence was forgotten. Hidden behind a vast sea of vapor, it was rediscovered only when the Battlestar Galactica was in desperate flight from the Cylons. Little is known of the original culture of this long-dead world. The ruins that survive speak of an early, prehistoric time. Legend has it that on Kobol humans lived lives of five, six and seven hundred yahren, instead of the two hundred yahren lifespans common today. Near the ancient capital city of Eden lie the pyramid shaped tombs of the Lords of Kobol where the ancient rulers of humankind were buried amid rich treasures.

• In attempting to prove the truth behind the Book of the Word, a holy scripture in Colonial society, many Colonials have attempted to link the sudden appearance of the pyramids on Kobol to the contact of a superior civilization (i.e. Beings of Light). However, the weight of evidence to the contrary supports a belief that Kobol's humans had been "fully capable of achieving their high civilization" without external aid.

Notes

• Possibly because the series-bible was not fully planned during script-writing, during Saga of a Star World, Serina mentions that the Armistice talks are happening, "at this very moment on the Star Kobol," which implies specific knowledge of where Kobol is, rather than stumbling upon it.

See Also

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