Imperial Crest

The Imperial Crest was the symbol the Galactic Empire and Imperial Remnant. The crest was usually adorned on anything the Empire controlled or made such as their uniforms, vehicles, and banners. The crest itself is actually a defaced/modified version of the Republic roundel. The Republic roundel made by the Bendu monks which signified the nine sides of the force: eight spokes jutting out of a circle. The Imperial Crest was made by Palpatine during the waning days of the Old Republic where he simply removed two spokes. The crest was also worn as an armband for the Republic made Imperial Action Party.

Old Republic History
The crest first started out as the Bendu crest. The Bendu were an ancient order of Monks that existed in the early hyper-space age. They were one of the first practitioners and scholars of the force. The order itslef originated on the world of Thepe but thrived on Ando Prime. The Republic or Bendu crest was also called the symbol of unity. The Bendu believed that the number nine represented the true power of the force from their study in numerology. As such this symbol was made with the with spokes being the different outpourings of the force and the circle in the middle from which they all come out of as the Force itself or the beginning of creation.



Some time later the Republic later adopted it as it's own sigil. Anything of or relating to the Republic was signified via this symbol. Like the symbols and flags of other organizations and nations it was used on uniforms, vehicles, banners, etc. The cause of why the Republic made this their sigil is mostly because the Bendu monks would go on to become the Jedi, keeping the symbol. Because the Jedi are the protectors of the Republic it made sense to follow suit and use the symbol.



The last time of its wide usage was during the Clone Wars. Though it was the last time it was to be used it was also the time it was used most in the Galaxy. All vehicles and army personnel of the Republic had the crest engraved on them somewhere.As something interesting to note Anakin Skywalker had a six pointed crest similar to the one of the future empire on his interceptor for unknown reasons.

Embracing the Spirit of Change- Imperial Rebirth.


During the waning days of the Old Republic Palpatine's rule seemed inevitable. He was always controlling both sides of the war so he knew the exact outcome and who the victor would be. However before he would usher in the new and orderly Empire he needed to do away with a few key symbols of the Republic. One of which was the obvious sigil the Republic was currently using. The Imperial crest is just Palpatine's modified version of Bendu crest. The difference being two of the spokes have been removed making the total six instead of eight.

At the end of the Clone Wars this new symbol was adopted without question by most like many over New Order policies. The transition was almost seamless given how closely related the two were. This did have unfortunate side effects later. At the fall of the Empire at the Battle of Endor 5 ABY the Republic attempted to reinstall the Bendu crest as the Republic sigil again. Sadly many detested it for reminded them to much of the Imperial crest. As such the Republic Star bird became the default and new sigil of the New Republic.

Trivia

 * The crest itself has a real world comparison to the swastika. Both originally stood for a symbol of peace and good luck and were looked fondly upon by many. Then they were both changed to to become a symbol of a regime (I.E Nazi Germany/Galactic Empire) by altering a minor feature to their appearance. And then afterwards they both became symbols reviled by most of the population given the association of the regimes.