The decades-long Cardassian military occupation of Bajor, which ended in 2369 and shaped Deep Space Nine.
Bajor had been a spiritual and artistic world for thousands of years, but it was poor in resources, and the Cardassian Union, short of resources of its own, moved in. The occupation began in the early 2300s, and the Cardassians soon turned the world into a mining and labor colony, building the Terok Nor station to process ore from the planet.
Over several decades Bajorans were enslaved, forced into labor camps, and subjected to brutal repression. A resistance movement grew, and cells led by people like Kira Nerys and Shakaar Edon harried the occupiers with sabotage and ambushes. Gul Dukat, as prefect of the station, became the face of the occupation, while many Bajorans, including Kai Opaka, kept their culture alive through faith.
The Cardassians withdrew in 2369, partly because the resistance and a worsening economy made holding Bajor too costly. The Federation was invited to help, and Commander Sisko took command of the station, renamed Deep Space Nine, where he discovered the stable wormhole and was hailed as the Emissary. The legacy of the occupation shaped Bajoran politics and Cardassian guilt for years.