The old EU isn’t a monolithic whole*. By my reckoning, it consists of five phases:

PHASE 1 (1976-1992)

The OT novelizations; the radio dramas; Splinter of the Mind’s Eye; the Marvel comic books; the newspaper comic strip; The Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley; The Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith, etc. These works existed in their own separate bubbles; there was no indication they made up a collective shared universe.

PHASE 2 (1992-1998)

The Expanded Universe proper, introduced in Heir to the Empire. This was the first time an attempt was made to create a cohesive shared universe, though continuity details were constantly in flux. Ben Kenobi was born in 60 BBY. Anakin Skywalker was born in 55 BBY. The Clone Wars were set roughly 42-35 BBY, with the aggressors being the enigmatic “Clonemasters” who possibly commanded a Mandalorian clone army. Jedi up to the time of the Great Jedi Purge were allowed to form romantic connections and have children. Jedi, dark Jedi, and Sith all wielded lightsabers of various & sundry colours/hues. Darth Vader was the Dark Lord of the Sith (“Dark Lord” was a singular title reserved for the reigning Sith Lord alone). Palpatine was Vader’s master, but he wasn’t a Sith.

PHASE 3 (1998-2002)

The EU after the release of TPM but before the release of AOTC. I like to call this the “interregnum” phase. The prequel-era Jedi were depicted wielding lightsabers of multiple colours, though dark Jedi were frequently limited to red. These same Jedi also were shown as being allowed to marry, as evidenced by Ki-Adi-Mundi’s multiple wives and children.

PHASE 4 (2002-2008)

The EU after the release of AOTC. Best exemplified by the Clone Wars multimedia project.

PHASE 5 (2008-2015)

The EU after the release of The Clone Wars series. It blatantly contradicted the aforementioned multimedia project on multiple fronts, effectively rendering it a separate continuity.

*I know I’m preaching to the choir on this site. Regardless, it felt nice to hash this out.