Short answer: The series spans 2258–2262 .
Spoiler-safe context: The five-year arc tracks shifting alliances, ancient enemies, and the creation of the Interstellar Alliance.
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Historical Record
From 2258 to 2262 Babylon 5 matures from a fragile experiment into the working center of a new diplomacy. Daily life aboard the station—customs inspections, dock assignments, food shipments, and cultural festivals—unfolds alongside urgent council sessions and sudden alerts from the frontier. Ambassadors trade rhetoric and concessions; traders bring rumors that later prove to be warnings. Patrol wings practice intercepts while medics prepare for everything from radiation exposure to unknown pathogens.
The record of these five years is a lattice of policy debates, border incidents, and hard‑won compromises. It charts the rise of the Interstellar Alliance, the stress tests that nearly break it, and the procedures that let Babylon 5 act quickly without becoming a military base. Read year by year, the log shows a community learning how to hold together under pressure—professionalism sharpening into trust, and trust into the framework for peace that outlives any one crew.
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FAQ
Q: When does the Babylon 5 series take place?
A: Across 2258–2262 (Seasons 1–5).