DAKARA

Dakara had once been a home of the Ancients. Millions of years later, an enormous temple, with walls covered by Ancient writings, stood on a largely barren and deserted planet, and the abandoned world became a holy site to both the Goa'uld and the Jaffa. The temple at Dakara is sacred to all Jaffa, and is rich in historical significance. Legend tells that it is the place where Anubis rose from the dead. It is also the site of the first prim'ta ritual, the rite of passage that bonded the Jaffa in servitude to the Goa'uld. For thousands of years, the Jaffa viewed Dakara as the holiest of sites, the very cradle of their existence. It was the place where the Goa'uld first gave the Jaffa their strength and longevity. As such, it was also seen by the Rebel Jaffa as a symbol of slavery to the Goa'uld.

To strengthen the cause of the Jaffa Rebellion, Teal'c and Bra'tac devised a plan to seize control of the temple at Dakara to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Goa'uld do not possess the power of the gods. The Rebel Jaffa launched an attack on the planet, deep within Ba'al's territory, and succeeded in capturing and securing the temple when the garrison on the planet surrendered almost without resistance. However Anubis was determined to retake the temple at all costs. Through his knowledge of the Ancients, Anubis knew of a powerful device on Dakara that had been built by the Ancients themselves and had been used to recreate life in the Milky Way galaxy after a plague had wiped out their race. The device remained hidden within the temple, but because it could be used to destroy as well as to create life, Anubis sought the device as a powerful weapon.

SG-1 located the device, and with Ba'al's cooperation they succeeded in modifying it to defeat the Replicators before the temple fell once again to the forces of Anubis. However, due to the intervention of Oma Desala, Anubis was eliminated before he could activate the weapon, and his forces were vanquished by the Rebel Jaffa. Many Jaffa lost their lives at Dakara, and those who survived united as never before. They agreed to destroy the weapon and replace it with a new memorial in honor of their triumph over the Goa'uld, and Dakara was chosen as the home of the new Jaffa Nation. Upon the ruins of the holy ground of Dakara, a great city was erected, a haven for all Jaffa who had chosen freedom.

In the shadow of the great mountain, the modern capital city of the Jaffa was built, with a central plaza, and temples, and grand colonnades in a Greco-Roman style of architecture. There the Jaffa selected their leaders, including Bra'tac, Teal'c, Gerak, Ka'lel, Maz'rai, Yat'Yir, and Se'tak, who would serve on the High Council and govern their nation. When a Prior visited Dakara, Gerak, the leader of the High Council, nearly succeeded in delivering the planet to the Ori, but following Gerak's death, Dakara turned instead toward democracy.

Although the Jaffa had vowed to dismantle Dakara's weapon, the device was not destroyed. Se'tak, as the new leader of the High Council, believed that the weapon offered the only means to defeat the Ori, and he used the device to annihilate several worlds that had fallen to Origin, despite the outrage of Bra'tac, Landry, and the SGC. When Adria learned the location of the weapon that threatened her dominion, she piloted an Ori warship to Dakara, and in retaliation, she fired at the city from orbit. Within moments, the weapon, the mountain, and most of the city were annihilated. A cargo ship dispatched later to Dakara reported complete and utter devastation. Dakara is no more.

Cross Reference: Adria, Ancients, Anubis, Ba'al, Bra'tac, Dakara Weapon, Gerak, Goa'uld, Jaffa, Jaffa High Council, Jaffa Nation, Ori, Prim'ta, Prior, Rebel Jaffa, Replicators, Replicator Carter, Se'tak, Teal'c, Tolok

Episode Reference: Reckoning, Threads, Avalon, Ex Deus Machina, The Fourth Horseman, Stronghold, Counterstrike