Gallifrey, the home planet of the Time Lords, had a long and storied history, up until its destruction.
- Due to the time travelling nature of the Time Lords and no points of reference, not all historical events can be properly dated.
The Dark Time
The Dark Time (also known as the Old Times or the Age of the Pythias) was the earliest known point in the history of Gallifrey. It was split into two sections, the Time of Empires and the Time of Chaos. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
The Time of Empire
The Gallifreyans are an ancient species, being one of the first humanoid species to evolve in the universe. (NA: Lucifer Rising) One Time Lord stated that they had perfected the transmat beam when the Universe was less than half its present size. (DW: Genesis of the Daleks) Even before the Sol system formed, the Gallifreyans were able to lead an interstellar war against the Racnoss Empire. (DW: The Runaway Bride)
This early empire was massive, with colonies across the galaxy. Slave trading was a common practice, even though there was protesting against it. The early order was was under the rule of the Pythia, a line of female seers who controlled Gallifrey. They could predict the future and controlled all aspect of power on Gallifrey. They also perpetuated the mystical aspect of Gallifrey, being against the use of reason. After an event called the Intuitive Revalation, telepathy started to be used instead of speaking. All communication was done telepathically and only special individuals could retain their own personality or secrets. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
Early research into time travel was done at this point. This first time machine, the Time Scaphe, was powered psychically rather than technologically. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
The Time of Chaos
The Time of Chaos was when the power the Pythia started to weaken and the Neo-Technologists, led by Rassilon, started to taken power. The last of the Pythia started to lose her power of prediction and committed suicide, cursing Gallifrey in her last breath with sterility. The surviving members of the Pythian order fled to Karn, where they evolved into the Sisterhood. After the collapse in the power of Pythia, there were threats of war and chaos throughout the empire. Another Ice Age began and the colonies of Gallifrey started to demand their freedom. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
The early days of the Time Lords
The Time Lords had six founders, consisting of Rassilon, Omega, the Other and a further three. (PDA: The Infinity Doctors)
- This might explain the cultural significance of hexagonal objects in later Time Lord society.
The Age of Rassilon
In order to deal with the problems facing the empire, Rassilon instituted several changes. Rasslion instituted the creation of genetic looms to enable the Gallifreyan race to reproduce. The Great Houses were formed to stabilise society. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
Following these early changes, the Time Lords began the research of black holes. One of Rassilon's early attempts to create a black hole accidentally punched a hole through space into the Yssgaroth's Universe. The Yssgaroth escaped and caused mass destruction. The Time Lords, led by Kopyion Liall a Mahajetsu, tried to stop them, leading to the thousand year Eternal War. They were eventually able to push the Yssgaroth back into their own universe, while Kopyion Liall a Mahajetsu guarded the final opening. (NA: The Pit)
Later, Omega utilized a stellar manipulator named after him, the Hand of Omega, to detonate a star (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks) known as Qqaba and created a black hole from which the Time Lords drew the power they would require for time travel. Omega was himself cast through the black hole into an anti-matter universe and was presumed dead. (DW: The Three Doctors, DWM: Star Death, BFA: Omega) Rassilon eventually retrieved the Eye of Harmony and stored it in a vault beneath the Time Lord capitol as a source of power. (source?)
- The Eye of Harmony was a different black hole than the one created by Omega.
At this point, the Non-interference policy was instituted, after the damaged that had been done by the Time Lords to other species. (DW: Underworld, PDA: The Quantum Archangel)
Rassilon's reign also saw the war with the Great Vampires (DW: State of Decay) and the end of the games in the Death Zone, blood sports where combatants from time and space fought for the amusement of onlookers. (DW: The Five Doctors) During the Millennium War 150 million years ago, Rassilon went against the non-interference policy and led the Time Lords against the Mad Mind of Bophemeral. (PDA: The Quantum Archangel)
One legend says that despite from his great achievements, the Time Lords, with good reason, rebelled against Rassilon and imprisoned him in the Dark Tower in the Death Zone. (DW: The Five Doctors)
Later history
Era of decadence
Centuries of isolation had induced a complacency among Time Lords which caused their technology and power to stagnate, even as other races became more powerful and dangerous.
During the Doctor's lifetime several crises occurred which brought to light the vulnerabilities of the once-omnipotent Time Lords. Testimony at the Doctor's malfeasance tribunal revealed the many marauding races which had emerged in the Universe after the Time Lords adopted their isolationist policy. (DW: The War Games)
The Time Lords were easily rendered helpless while Omega began to drain energy from Gallifrey, and were only saved by the intervention of the Doctor's first three incarnations. (DW: The Three Doctors) The ease with which the Master was able to alter records contained within the Archives and manipulate the Matrix was due largely to the fact that the technology behind the Matrix's APC Net had been surpassed on other worlds, such that on those worlds the technology would, according to the Doctor, be considered "prehistoric junk". (DW: The Deadly Assassin)
The Vardan invasion, itself a front for an invasion by the Sontarans, exposed chinks in Gallifrey's defences. (DW: The Invasion of Time) Later the High Council decided to move Earth in order to preserve secrets stolen from the Matrix. (DW: The Mysterious Planet)
These revelations caused a revolution to occur on Gallifrey. (DW: The Ultimate Foe)
Destruction of Gallifrey
The Time Lords finally met their end in the Last Great Time War, as the Dalek Imperial fleet attacked their world. The Doctor succeeded in destroying the Daleks, - or so he believed at the time - but Gallifrey and the Time Lords were caught in the conflagration and were destroyed as well. The guilt and trauma resulting from this haunted the Doctor throughout his ninth incarnation. (DW: The End of the World, Dalek et al)