Written by Mandalore was destroyed by the Empire during the Great Purge between 4 and 5 ABY
With the debut of Disney’s popular ‘The Mandalorian‘ television series, we now know a great deal about the mysterious armor-clad warriors that Boba Fett originally introduced long before in ‘The Empire Strikes Back‘. But before this series was released, in Legends, the books depicted Mandalore as a barren, desolate world with ruins scattered on its surface hinting of a once sophisticated culture as the home of the mighty Mandalorian warriors. In canon, the timeline describing the state of Mandalore may have been different as compared to Legends, though interestingly, the dismal resulting state of Mandalore remains largely the same.
Understanding Mandalore’s destruction requires significant knowledge of its history leading up to the event that became known as ‘The Night of a Thousand Tears’. From the animated series, ‘The Clone Wars‘ we learn that Mandalore was home to a sophisticated and industrious people – one whose political position had a great effect on the state of the Clone Wars. Dutchess Satin Kryze, as ruler of the nation, was strongly opposed to the war and held her people in stubborn neutrality in opposition to the violence and death that both the Republic and Separatists inflicted on the galaxy.
Yet despite her best efforts, rebel clans such as the Death Watch threatened to break the peace in favor of siding with the Separatists. And the Dutchess’ own romantic interests and ties to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi also threw into question if she and other Mandalorian leaders might be partial to the cause of the Republic. To make matters worse the natural warrior-like instincts of the Mandalorian people were constantly placing them in a conflicted state during the Clone Wars – their ancestral history giving them a natural inclination to combat and warfare while Dutchess Satin continually tried to steer them towards peace.
Towards the end of the War, in about 19 BBY, former Sith Lord, Maul, and his Dathomirian brother, Savage Opress, began a plan to form an entire network of crime lords. Recognizing its powerful political influence in the surrounding region, Mandalore was at the center of the scheming brothers’ plans, and through careful alliances and deceit, Maul was able to kill Pre Vizsla – gaining the Darksaber and proclaiming himself leader of the Mandalorian people.
Major Timeline of Events on Mandalore
Maul’s leadership was not liked by most Mandalorians, but their code of honor in battle required that they accept the owner of the Darksaber as the leader as long as that leader had won the weapon in true combat, which Maul indeed had. Bo-Katan, despite her strong loyalty to Death Watch and the deceased Pre Vizsla, could not accept Maul as leader of the Mandalorians. Several other Mandalorians agreed and chaos broke out. Kryze and her followers fought against those Mandalorians loyal to Maul and quickly escaped the planet, shocked that their fellow comrades could follow such a monstrous leader.
While this event may appear unrelated Mandalore’s destruction, the divide between Mandalorians that Maul caused towards the end of the Clone Wars had a major impact in weakening the Mandalorian people. Maul was ultimately defeated by the Republic with the help of Ahsoka not long after rising to power, but from that point forward, Mandalore was never quite the same – its strength crippled by the lack of unity that had formed.
With Maul’s arrest, Bo-Katan Kryze assumed leadership in place of her deceased sister, but within hours, Order 66 and the events of ‘Revenge of the Sith‘ ensued and the Republic was transformed into the Empire. Eager to control such a politically influential planet as well as harvest Mandalore for its beskar and other resources, Emperor Palpatine ordered occupation of the planet by troopers already stationed there. When Bo-Katan refused to obey Imperial rule, she was replaced by Gar Saxon – one of Maul’s former commanders.
Gar Saxon led Mandalore cruelly, motivated to please the Empire at the expense of preserving the virtues of honor and integrity that had long held Mandalore together. Part of his work included the construction of a dangerous weapon known as the Arc Pulse Generator. Sabine Wren, who is featured in ‘Star Wars: Rebels‘ and the more recent series, ‘Ahsoka‘, had helped design the weapon before realizing that the Empire would use turn on the Mandalorians and use it against them. The horror she felt at playing a role in the destruction of her own people led her to flee and eventually join a Rebel group opposed to the Imperial rule.
Sabine spent a long time fighting the Empire with her Rebel team before reuniting with members of her family – the Wren Clan – and through a series of battles, she and her family were able to defeat Gar Saxon and cause civil unrest amongst her people. Not long prior, she had also discovered the Darksaber on Dathomir where Maul previously kept it and was able to use the weapon as a symbol to unite the Mandalorians, inspiring them to revolt against the Empire.
In a move to truly unite Mandalore, Sabine gifted the Darksaber to Bo-Katan in about 1 BBY. Kryze accepted the weapon and determined to lead Mandalore and rid the planet of Imperial occupation. We don’t know a lot about what went on during the approximately 5-year period from 1 BBY to 4 ABY that Bo-Katan had resumed leadership, but it seems that Mandalorians fought fiercely and successfully drove the Empire off of their homeworld and possibly the surrounding regions.
“Once the Empire knew they couldn’t control [Mandalore], they made sure no one else could either.”
―Din Djarin
Unfortunately, Mandalore’s removal of Imperial occupation only served to enrage the Empire. Realizing that they couldn’t control the powerful Mandalorian people, Imperial leadership decided to destroy the planet and its inhabitants in an ambush aerial attack that would remove any and all opposition. The blow would serve not only to punish the Mandalorians, but also to send a warning across the galaxy. From ‘The Mandalorian: Season 3‘, we learn several key details regarding the destruction that ensued:
Sometime between 4-5 ABY, the Imperial Navy launched TIE/sa bombers that detonated fusion bombs across the surface of the planet, destroying Sundari as well as several other major metropolitan areas. During the stealth of night, the Empire sent gunships with repeating blasters to gun down Mandalorian warriors and deployed ground troopers as well as combat droids to kill any remaining survivors. All ships that attempted to leave off world were immediately destroyed, and just to be thorough, the Imperial Navy bombed the surface a second time.
Bo-Katan and her forces were pinned down near the Great Forge during much of the destruction and were unable to mobilize a counter offensive as their people had been caught off-guard and unprepared for such a planet-wide assault. As the night ended, an Imperial officer in the attack, Moff Gideon, offered Kryze a choice to surrender and disarm, promising that if she did so, the Empire would spare the remaining survivors.
Fearing utter annihilation of her people, Bo-Katan succumbed to the offer, turning over the Darksaber to Gideon only to discover that the Empire had no intention of sparing her fellow citizens. Gideon ordered the assault to continue, leading to the near total genocide of the Mandalorian people.
The few Mandalorians that managed to escape, including Bo-Katan, were scattered across the galaxy and the home they left was never the same. The intense heat from the bombings turned much of the sand into a glass-like substance known as trinitite and the planet’s magnetic field was disrupted, making scans from above the atmosphere impossible. Noxious gases filled Mandalore’s atmosphere, leading most to believe the planet was no longer habitable.
It wasn’t until several years later, in about 9 ABY, that the Mandalorian known as Din Djarin decided to attempt to enter Mandalore’s atmosphere after previously removing his helmet and realizing that the only way to reunite with his clan would be to bathe in the Waters of Mandalore. His discovery that Mandalore was still habitable would serve as the first spark toward reuniting his people and begin a plan to retake their home world once and for all.