Mandalorian Wars

"The Mandalorian Wars were a series of massacres that masked another war, a war of conversion. Culminating in a final atrocity that no Jedi could walk away from... save one."

- Kreia

The Mandalorian Wars erupted after two decades of relative peace following the Great Sith War. The conflict was set in motion by the ambitious Mandalore the Ultimate who reconsolidated the Mandalorian clans under the Neo-Crusader banner. Due to contradictory historical accounts from the period, the exact date of the war's beginning would remain a point of contention among historians. The wars could be said to have begun in the year 3,976 BBY as it marked the beginning of Mandalorian aggression, but many published histories tend to emphasize the time period after the Mandalorians invaded the Galactic Republic proper circa 3,963 BBY after which the Republic military and a faction of the Jedi Order entered the war. The wars concluded in 3,960 BBY with the Republic victory at Malachor V. The Mandalorian Wars were widely viewed as a violent prelude to the Jedi Civil War as the two massive conflicts were closely intertwined.

Origins
"My warriors need another crusade. The Empress Teta system is in chaos, overstretched by their many conquests. The witch Aleema and her Jedi devotee Ulic Qel-Droma will fall under the fist of Mandalore."

- Mandalore the Indomitable

The roots of the Mandalorian Wars lay buried deep in the turmoil of the Great Sith War. The restless Mandalorian Clans had roamed far from their home world of Mandalore, scouting the known galaxy for worthy foes. In 3,996 BBY, their nomadic wanderings brought them to the Empress Teta system which was, at that time, ruled by the Krath sect. Mandalore the Indomitable, the current Lord of the Clans, had heard rumors of the military exploits of the Krath's young commander, a fallen Jedi turned Sith Lord named Ulic Qel-Droma.

Mandalore challenged Ulic to single combat and on the Deep Core world of Kuar, the two great warriors fought before their arrayed forces, but though the battle was long and bitter, Mandalore was eventually defeated. After the duel, Mandalore pledged loyalty to Qel-Droma, thereby allying the Mandalorian Clans with the Sith – a decision that would forever link the two groups in history. Under orders from Ulic Qel-Droma and his Sith Master Exar Kun, they laid waste to countless worlds and earned the enmity of the Republic and its Jedi defenders.



In the waning days of the Great Sith War, as the Brotherhood of the Sith hovered on the very brink of defeat, a historic struggle known as the Fourth Battle of Onderon took place. The Mandalorians staged a surprise assault against the city dwellers of Iziz, but just as the tide of battle had turned in the Mandalorian's favor, Republic reinforcements suddenly arrived in the system. The Republic commander informed Mandalore that his master Ulic Qel-Droma had been captured and demanded the Mandalorians' immediate surrender, but Mandalore's honor would not allow him to concede the battle. Caught suddenly between the incoming Republic fleet and the native Beast Riders, the Mandalorian forces were devastated.

Mandalore ordered a rapid retreat to the moon known as Dxun, believing that he could lose the Republic pursuit in its dense jungles. Unfortunately, whilst withdrawing, a Republic frigate fired upon his droid mount and he crashed into the canopy far from friendly aid. Rising from the wreckage, Lord Mandalore was immediately set upon by a pack of the ravenous Beasts of Dxun and in mere moments, he was torn apart and devoured. Initiating a search of the moon's dangerous forests, the remaining Mandalorian Crusaders scoured the landscape for signs of their leader. In a fateful moment, one shocktrooper stumbled across Mandalore's mask hanging, snagged in a patch of nearby foliage. In accordance with the laws of his people, he placed the leader's mask upon his head and became the new Mandalore, Mandalore the Ultimate, whose legacy would affect the galaxy for years to come.

Rise of the Neo-Crusaders
"Twenty years ago the Mandalorians, aware the Republic was in a weakened state, began conquering small worlds on the Outer Rim. They were careful to choose only planets outside the Republic's Jurisdiction."

- Dorak (circa 3,956 BBY)



From his forward base of operations on Dxun, Mandalore recalled the disparate Clans, but few remained to heed his summons. Not to be deterred, he increased the recruiting of other species into the fold, thereby forming a new generation of Mandalorian warriors known as the Neo-Crusaders. In time, the Mandalorian ranks swelled with warriors from countless worlds. Humans soon made up the majority, but races as diverse as Togorians, Kerestians, and Mandallian Giants were well represented. The term 'Mandalorian' began to signify more than just a species; it now referred to a sect of warriors who defined themselves by their devotion to the Mandalorian ideal of earning honor and glory through combat.

In 3,976 BBY, after being goaded by the remnants of the Sith Empire, Mandalore led his renewed forces in a brutal campaign of conquest along the Outer Rim Territories, on the edge of Republic Space. Sacking independent worlds and colonies such as Althir, the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders were able to carve out a clan territory greater than that ruled by the Hutts in the span of little more than a decade.

The Republic Senate initially failed to respond, choosing not to act in the defense of planets outside of the government's borders. The war-weary senators were reluctant to get embroiled in another galaxy spanning conflict. They would take no part unless the Mandalorians threatened to invade the Republic itself. Meanwhile, Mandalore prepared to do just that. He reordered his conquered provinces to better serve as warehouses and foundries for his growing armadas. The Clans grew more powerful than ever before as they accumulated a huge slave labor force and conscripted subject peoples into their ever growing ranks. As world after world fell before their advancing fleets, swarms of refugees began to pour into Republic space – flocking to rich border worlds such as Taris in the hopes of escaping the Mandalorian's wrath.

Invasion
"Anyone who put up a fight – or wouldn't fight – was crushed. We razed entire worlds trying to provoke the Republic into fighting us."

- Canderous Ordo

In 3,963 BBY, the appointed day had come and Mandalore was at last prepared. The invasion of the Republic began with a rapid conquest of nearby Onderon. The Republic subsequently committed forces to combat the Mandalorian incursion, but they were unable to halt their advance. In the midst of the fighting, Mandalore unleashed his long-prepared forces. His fleets poured into Republic Space through three invasion corridors in adjacent quadrants along the Outer Rim, catching the Republic navy completely off-guard. Iridonian colonies along the Outer Rim were some of the first worlds to fall and in response many infuriated Zabrak, including a gifted tech specialist named Bao-Dur, enlisted in the Republic military seeking vengeance.

Years after, Canderous Ordo would reminisce that in the initial days of the Republic's entry into the war, the Mandalorians believed that its enemy utilized "shameful" defensive tactics, such as placing major military bases within and adjacent to major civilian population centers. The Republic felt that the Mandalorians would not use "appropriate force" against their bases in the major cities. The Mandalorians quickly proved the theory wrong as they completely annihilated such cities with nuclear devices and other weaponry of mass destruction.

The Mandalorian war machine proved to be ruthless, tenacious, and largely unscrupulous – willing to achieve victory regardless of the cost. The Mandalorians revealed their careless determination in the battles of Serroco, Duro, and Eres III, in which they shocked the galaxy with the sheer carnage they were willing to inflict upon any worlds that dared to fight back. In the opening battles of the conflict, the Republic armadas proved to be entirely outmatched by the sheer ferocity of the Mandalorian's attacks. Time and again, the Republic navy was soundly beaten, yet the Jedi Council refused the Republic's desperate pleas for aid. Though the youngest members of the Order were eager to combat the Mandalorians, the Masters would not allow it. They sensed that some unknown hand was at work behind the new war.

The Jedi intervene
"While the Jedi Council preached patience, there were many among our order who were eager for us to join the battle. Two young knights in particular demanded immediate action; Revan and Malak. They rallied many of the Jedi to their cause and, against the wishes of their masters, joined the Republic fleet battling the Mandalorians."

- Dorak



The Battle of Cathar would change everything. Under the leadership of Cassus Fett, Mandalore the Ultimate's greatest tactician, the world of Cathar was conquered and the Cathar species was enslaved and massacred. Later, it would be theorized that the flagrant attack was truly planned by the remaining Sith and calculated to draw the Jedi into the conflict. The gamble paid off. Spurred by the genocide of the Cathar, the young and charismatic Jedi Knights Revan and Malak defied the Council and led a faction of the Jedi to war.

The two Jedi proved to be extremely capable commanders in the field and they rose swiftly through the ranks. Soon, they were given direct control over one-third of the entire Republic fleet. Revan used his new-found authority to spearhead the Republic war effort and under his ingenious leadership, the all-but-defeated Republic Navy began to push the Mandalorians back. The Jedi Masters, however, believed that Malak and Revan were only offering easy solutions to the galaxy's problems and they feared that much woe would result from their recklessness.

Once Revan took control of the Republic forces, he proved himself to be one of the finest tactical minds in galactic history. In numerous desperate skirmishes, he simply out-thought and outmaneuvered the Mandalorians both on the ground and in space. Revan's keen tactical abilities completely turned the Republic's war effort around, but he did not achieve such success without paying a heavy price. As the war dragged on, Revan began to take certain moral shortcuts – committing several "unsavory" acts, such as leaving "non-strategic" planets completely undefended in order to accomplish the "greater goal" of speedily winning the war. Revan and Malak adapted to their enemies' merciless tactics by simply co-opting them; fighting fire with fire. In time, they developed a cold and calculating disposition uncharacteristic of Jedi. They grew to despise weakness and indecisiveness in all its forms. Though Revan’s tactics were flawless and Malak’s righteous fury was unmatched, the pair slowly began to mirror the callous Mandalorians they were fighting.

Revan and Malak lead the Republic to victory after victory. They pushed the Mandalorians back to Taris, off of Dxun and Onderon, and back into Mandalorian space. Even Cassus Fett's stunning victory at the Battle of Jaga's Cluster could not turn the momentum back in the Mandalorian's favor. Pursuing the roving Mandalorian fleets, Revan and Malak ventured into territories outside the Republic's borders. In an effort to draw their enemies out, their forces assaulted the Mandalorian regime on Althir and in the resulting battle, much of the remaining Mandalorian army was decimated. Yet for all their success, the Republic took enormous casualties while the two young Jedi were in command. In one engagement alone, as many as ten Republic soldiers died for every Mandalorian killed.

The war ends
"It was what we had wanted all along, in a way. We wanted to fight the best in a battle that would be remembered for centuries. And we did."

- Canderous Ordo

During the war, Revan visited the ancient Sith world of Malachor V while scouting for new outposts along the embattled Outer Rim. He had learned that the planet was anathema to the Mandalorians Clans and he wished to know the reason why. Upon landing on its surface, he was nearly destroyed by the resonance of ancient Sith power. He managed to survive the encounter only through sheer force of will yet he did not escape unscathed. The dark side beckoned and Revan fell under its influence.

In the year 3,960 BBY, Revan forced a final confrontation with the Mandalorians above Malachor V. He deployed a massive fleet to the planet consisting mostly of those whose loyalties to himself remained in doubt. In utter secrecy, Revan had prepared a superweapon known as the "Mass Shadow Generator," designed by the Zabrak engineer Bao-Dur. Overseeing the device's use was a capable and jaded Jedi General who had commanded the recent bloody campaigns on Serroco and Dxun.

The general (who would later be known as the Jedi Exile) possessed an unusual innate ability to form powerful Force bonds with those around her – especially those who were themselves strong in the Force. Her gift allowed her to, consciously or unconsciously, influence the thoughts and actions of all those who came into contact with her, but the bond flowed in both directions. While she was able to draw strength from those to which she was bonded, she was also forced to share in their pain. During the war, such talents had made the general a uniquely qualified military leader, but in the end they proved to be her undoing.

Revan lured the Mandalorians to the cursed planet of Malachor V, hoping to force a final conclusive end to the conflict, yet he himself would play only a minor role in the resulting battle. He was delayed outside the system by a Mandalorian scouting party led by Mandalore the Ultimate. As the two supreme commanders' fleets clashed in a frenzied battle, Revan and Mandalore met amidst the swirling chaos and the corrupted Jedi struck the great Mandalorian leader down in single combat. Only Revan would afterwards know the fate of the fabled helm of Mandalore.

Revan finally entered the frey, but he was late and the battle was going ill for the Republic. In that moment of doubt, he drew upon the Sith energies haunting the surface below to manipulate the Jedi fighting in orbit. One by one, he overpowered them and drew them to the dark side. With renewed vigor, his forces pressed the attack. They soon achieved a stalemate and then slowly began to push the Mandalorian fleet back towards Malachor V. Meanwhile, as the fighting grew intense, Revan's Jedi general observed that the Mandalorians had taken the bait and that her trap was set to spring. With a nod of her head, she commanded Bao-Dur to activate the secret weapon. Moments later, she watched in horror as a significant portion of both fleets was suddenly drawn from orbit into a vast gravity vortex powerful enough to crush the countless ships into the planet's crust and fracture the world to its very core.

After slaying Mandalore the Ultimate and winning the war with a sweeping victory at Malachor V, Revan and Malak were hailed as heroes and saviors of the Republic, yet at that time, Sith teachings were already sweeping through the ranks. Soon after that final battle, they led the remainder of their forces into the Unknown Regions under the pretense of tracking down the remaining Mandalorians. They did not come back and sent no word of their whereabouts. In time, the Republic feared them lost in some tragic disaster.

Aftermath
"The war we had with the Republic was supposed to be the most glorious battle of our history but... it was a very costly one. I guess we didn't think of how much we could lose in it."

- Canderous Ordo

Few ships from either fleet survived the battle of Malachor V unscathed, but the Mandalorians sustained the worst damage and the highest casualties. The few, shell-shocked survivors rapidly transmitted their unconditional surrender. After the battle, Revan had a singular opportunity to put an end to the threat of the Mandalorians, once and for all, but he chose not to take advantage of it. It may be that he had future plans in mind for the legendary warriors, but in any case, he simply disarmed and disbanded the Clans and allowed them to scatter in disheartened groups across the Outer Rim. There, devoid of leadership and honor, they degenerated.

A few Mandalorian survivors returned to the Mandalore system, but many, including Canderous Ordo, humbled their pride and became Mercenaries for hire. Other groups became outright bandits in a futile effort to relive their glory days. "Many believed the Mandalorians were defeated at Malachor V. But the Mandalorians taught the Jedi much through battle. And so it was that Malak, Revan, and the Jedi that followed them discovered their true natures in the Mandalorian Crusade."

- Kreia

The Jedi general who had brought the war to its cataclysmic conclusion proved incapable of withstanding the psychic backlash of the destructive energies that she had unleashed. Fearing that she would be destroyed by the overwhelming waves of pain and terror coursing through her Force bonds, she sealed herself away from the dying screams of friend and foe, and thereby effectively lost her connection to the Force. Thereafter, she was deafened to its call; incapable of sensing it through the interference caused by the Force echoes of the suffering she had witnessed.

After the war, she would be the only Jedi, out of all those who had followed Revan, to reject the dark side and return to the Jedi Council on Coruscant for judgement. Upon arrival, she was publicly charged with following Revan to war in an act of rebellion and for that crime the Jedi Masters exiled her from the Jedi Order, but though they were loath to later admit it, their ruling was tainted by outright fear. The Jedi Masters were disturbed by the flaws in their own teaching techniques which she exemplified and horrified by the echoes that they could sense within the young Jedi of the 'Wound in the Force' that she had created at Malachor V. But most of all, they feared that she who had felt the taint of Malachor possessed the power to influence and corrupt even they themselves should she be allowed to remain a member of the Order. In the general's presence, the Council thought that they could sense the end of the Jedi, maybe even the death of the Force itself, and they could not face such an eventuality. Upon hearing her sentence, the Exile defiantly stabbed her lightsaber into the centerstone of the Jedi Council chamber and departed from known space.

In 3,959 BBY, one year after their disappearance, the lost heroes Revan and Malak suddenly returned to the Galactic Republic at the head of a massive invasion fleet made up of stolen Republic vessels such as the Leviathan as well as numerous vessels of unknown design. The armada was crewed by a host of experienced veterans and commanded by defectors such as Admiral Saul Karath, General Derred, and Mon Halan – some of the finest officers that the Republic had produced during the Mandalorian Wars. Calling themselves the Sith, they declared war on the Republic. So began the Jedi Civil War...

Battles

 * First Battle of Althir
 * First Battle of Onderon
 * First Battle of Dxun
 * Attacks on the Zabrak Colonies
 * Battle of Flashpoint Station
 * First Battle of Suurja
 * Second Battle of Suurja
 * Third Battle of Suurja
 * Fourth Battle of Suurja
 * Battle of Vanquo
 * Battle of Cathar
 * Battle of Serroco
 * First Battle of Taris
 * Battle of Dagary Minor
 * Battle of Eres III
 * Battle of Duro
 * Second Battle of Taris
 * Battle of Jaga's Cluster
 * Second Battle of Onderon
 * Second Battle of Dxun
 * Second Battle of Althir
 * Battle of Malachor V

Galactic Republic

 * Revan
 * Malak
 * Saul Karath
 * Jedi Exile
 * Derred
 * Mon Halan
 * Cede
 * Forn Dodonna
 * Bao-Dur
 * Carth Onasi
 * Arren Kae
 * Squint
 * Vaklu
 * Xaart

Mandalorians

 * Bralor
 * Ergeron
 * Cassus Fett
 * Dhagon Ghent
 * Jagi
 * Mandalore the Ultimate
 * Canderous Ordo
 * Commander Rohlan
 * Xor

Date discrepancy
A continuity discrepancy remains concerning the exact date for the outbreak of the Mandalorian Wars. The Knights of the Old Republic video game states that "[t]wenty years ago the Mandalorians [...] began conquering small worlds on the Outer Rim" and that the "Mandalorians stockpiled resources from their conquered worlds, preparing for a massive assault. Seven years ago they launched a simultaneous attack in three separate sectors of Republic space. The Senate had no choice but to retaliate with the entire Republic fleet. The Mandalorian Wars had begun." As exemplified above, the primary source gives the date for the beginning of the war as 3,963 BBY and the historical document known as the "Chronicles of the Old Republic", which can be found on the KotOR II website, is in complete agreement.

The New Essential Chronology provides an entirely different timeline. Under the "Mandalorian Wars" heading, the reference book lists the dates 3,995 – 3,961 BBY. However, it should be noted that those dates are found nowhere else and are in doubt because that section of the NEC was heavily based on incomplete release notes from Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords which was still in development at the time of the book's publication. It can be argued that the "Mandalorian Wars" header was used in the NEC purely for organizational purposes since the section covers a lot of material that has nothing to do with the actual war itself.

The new KotOR comic book series has, perhaps erroneously, cast doubt on the credibility of the dates given in the KotOR video game franchise. The opening crawl reads: "The events of this story take place approximately 3,964 years before the Battle of Yavin [...] It is a time of upheaval for the galaxy.... the Mandalorian Wars have strained the OLD REPUBLIC's resources to the breaking point." This statement creates a major problem as it implies that the Mandalorians invaded the Republic at some point before the year 3,964 BBY – a direct contradiction of earlier sources. In response, many fans have assumed that the true date for the outbreak of war must be something like 3,965 or 3,966 BBY since dialog within the comic implies that the battle had been going on for at least a year. A retcon is obviously required, but at this point in time, there is no way to know which source will be corrected. Therefore, the only official date for the beginning of the war must stand for now.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint