Abhean has a long and storied history of conflict going back over twenty-four millennia. It was on the frontline of the Tionese War, as the farthest forward major world of the Galactic Republic, and was captured by Tionese forces. The planet saw conflict again during the Second Alsakan Conflict in the mid-sixteenth millennium BCGT before becoming a major Republic Navy base by the dawn of the fifteenth millennium BCGT. During the Great Sith War at the start of the fourth millennium BCGT Abhean was the target of a major, successful raid by Mandalorian forces, and also witnessed conflict in involving Darth Revan's New Sith Empire. Abhean is the site of a major shipbuilding industry and boasts shipyards rivalling those of Sluis Van, although no Sluisi will admit to this. The shipyards even built the massive Jedi Praxium star vessel in Four Hundred BCGT. The planet's prominence has been accentuated by its location along the super hyper route known as the Perlemian Trade Route, which connects major economic nodes throughout this region of space.

Its location, as well as its proximity to the Siniteen homeworld, Sinite, are the major contributors to Abhean's continued prominence. Were it a more isolated world, the planet's geography, climate and atmospheric conditions would be quite inimical to life. Due to its distance from the system's star, average temperatures hover around twenty standard degrees below freezing. Icy winds, driven by the interaction of cold air from the permanent glaciers and hot air from the large active volcano belts, constantly whip up fine particles of ice and volcanic glass, which is ejected from the permanently active volcanoes. It is this airborne glass that makes Abhean's atmosphere toxic to life. Anyone not protected with suitable environmental equipment would not be able to avoid inhaling these shards with each breath and would swiftly suffer permanent lung injury and eventually death by drowning in their own blood within twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

As recently as the last century BCGT, the planet served as a training ground for the system's armed forces. Due to the relative concentration of the planet's inhabitants into domed and sealed cities, vast areas of the surface were available for military exercises, including actual orbital bombardments from the system defense fleet, as well as weapon manufacturers field testing new or improved shipborne weapons to be mounted on ships being constructed in the orbital yards. A significant number of shuttered or abandoned military facilities dot the icy surface and have been declared off-limits to anyone without government clearance. Rumors abound of secret weapons research facilities dug into secluded areas under the ice, but as yet these have not been substantiated by any credible sources.