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No one should be shocked to learn that there are a variety of major wars throughout the Star Wars franchise. The massive series may most often focus on the Clone Wars or the Rebellion when it comes to all-out warfare, but Star Wars has seen plenty of conflicts that were even bigger in scale. Long before the movie series began, a variety of high-impact wars took place pitting the Jedi against one of the series' other most famous peoples: the Mandalorians.
The Mandalorian-Jedi War is a thing of legend by the time the main Star Wars series has begun, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have lasting effects. The reasons behind why there are so few Mandalorians, and why they are often hostile to the Jedi, stem directly from this massive war. Without the Mandalorian-Jedi War, the Star Wars galaxy might have been a drastically different place.
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What Was The Mandalorian-Jedi War?
The Mandalorian-Jedi War | |
|---|---|
Conflict Type | All-out war |
Location | Mandalorian-controlled space |
Factions | The Mandalorians, the Jedi Council |
Notable Warriors | Mandalore the Great |
Outcome | Jedi victory, the destruction of much of Mandalore |
Conflict End | 738 BBY (Legends Canon) |
The Mandalorian-Jedi War was a massive conflict that pitted two of the strongest forces in the galaxy against one another, until one could no longer continue to fight. With the Mandalorian's existence centering around war and conflict, it was really only a matter of time before they butted heads with the Jedi Order. It seems that the warriors who rely on honor and traditional ways of combat couldn't comprehend the force of nature (no pun intended) that the Jedi were. Eventually, the tension between the two resulted in battles, likely started by the aggressive Mandalorian people.
Being brilliant and adaptive, the Mandalorians were able to come up with technology that allowed them to rival the Jedi in power despite not having their own strong connection to the Force. This meant that a race typically viewed as a collection of mercenaries and bounty hunters was suddenly capable of taking out some of the strongest beings in the galaxy. The increased success of the Mandalorians in conflict with the Jedi, notably the sacking of the Jedi Temple, only enraged the Jedi to the point that they decided it was time to take decisive action against Mandalore.
The Mandalorians may have been able to reclaim the Darksaber, but that was essentially the only notable victory for their people in the war. It seems that in Legends Canon at least, the Mandalorians were considering creating friendly ties with the wider Republic, only to have things go sour when they realized their true nature. In the book Star Wars: The Essential Guide To Warfare, Vilnau Teupt briefly describes the history of the Mandalorians turning from a potentially peaceful future:
[Some clan leaders] argued that Mandalore should join the Republic, immediately becoming one of its most powerful and influential sectors. But the peacemakers were shouted down: If Mandalorians weren't warriors, they weren't Mandalorians at all.
Who Fought In The Mandalorian-Jedi War?
Unsurprisingly, the Mandalorian-Jedi War was primarily fought between the people of Mandalore and the Jedi Order. While specific numbers aren’t easy to come by, it can be assumed that the Jedi Order was required to throw a mass of Jedi at the conflict if they were not backed up by Galactic Republic forces (which isn’t confirmed in the current canon). The reason for this is that the ever-changing Mandalorians were far from simple foes. In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for Mandalorians to beat Jedi in fights throughout the war. Even Obi-Wan is aware of their combat prowess in Star Wars: The Clone Wars:
"I know these commandos fought in many wars, often against the Jedi."
The Mandalorians were skilled, and there was a whole planet of them. A planet (potentially multiple planets) filled with people outfitted with technology capable of defeating the Jedi made for a dangerous opponent. The unfortunate nature of the end of the conflict made it clear that a significant portion of all Mandalorians capable of fighting would have stood against the Jedi. There aren’t any named Jedi in the canon who are known to have fought in the Mandalorian-Jedi War. However, one important figure said to have participated is Mandalore the Great, a legendary Mandalorian warrior who is mentioned in passing throughout Star Wars lore.
How Did The Mandalorian-Jedi War End?
Unfortunately for the people of Mandalore (and in Legends canon, other Mandalorian colonies), they were essentially wiped out by the Jedi Order. There’s no telling whether the Jedi intended to wipe out the Mandalorians once and for all, but during the final battle of the Mandalorian-Jedi War, the two forces would meet on the surface of Mandalore. There aren’t many details in canon about the specific destruction of the planet, but whatever civilizations existed there were ultimately destroyed, leaving nearly the entire planet left in ruin. Whatever weapon was used, Mandalore would be reduced to a desert planet, void of most life. The only groups capable of surviving were forced to remain inside sealed domes, in order to thrive on their once-great home world.
From there, the remaining Mandalorians would be forced to rebuild their society, all while fostering their hatred for the Jedi. The Jedi would view their role in the conflict as a victorious one against an enemy intent on damaging them, leaving them in the moral right. Sadly, the Republic (and even Darth Maul at one point) would continue to occupy Mandalore, likely to make sure that whatever people from the planet survived the decimation would not get it in their minds to stand up against the galaxy again.
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Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
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