Mandalore

9 ABY

2 BBY

Mandalore

Region

Sector

Mandalore sector^[1]

System

Mandalore system^[3]

Grid square

O-7^[4]

Suns

Mandalore^[5]

Orbital position

5^[5]

Moons

2^[5]

Concordia^[6]
Mesumika^[7]

Rotation period

19 standard hours^[8]

Orbital period

366 standard days^[9]

Class

Terrestrial^[5]

Diameter

9,200 km (5,716 miles)^[7]

Atmosphere

Type I^[5] but Inhospitable^[10]

Climate

Hot and dry (Before the Purge)^[11]
Storms (After the Purge)^[12]

Gravity

Standard^[5]

Terrain

Forests (Historic)^[13]
Lakes (Historic)^[13]
Jungles (Historic)^[8]^[5]
Seas (Historic)^[8]^[5]
Mountains (Historic)^[14]
Deserts (Before the Purge)^[15]
Domed cities (Before the Purge)^[10]
Crystals (After the Purge)^[12]
Glass (After the Purge)^[16]^[12]
Trinitite (After the Purge)^[12]
Caverns (After the Purge)^[12]

Points of interest

Flora

Fauna

Primary language(s)

Government

Clans under the authority of the Mand'alor^[1]
Mandalorian Government Council (during the Republic Era)^[23]
Governorship (during the Imperial Era)^[24]^[25]

Population

4,000,000:^[21]
- 81% humans^[8]
- 19% other^[8]

Demonym

Mandalorian^[12]

Major cities

Keldabe (former capital)^[26]
Ronion^[8]
Sundari (capital)^[6]

Major imports

Raw materials^[8]

Major exports

Mercenaries, starships^[8]

Affiliation

For other uses, see Mandalore.

"It's Mandalore. The homeworld of our people. Every Mandalorian can trace their roots back to this planet, and the beskar mines deep within."

―Din Djarin to Grogu^[12]

Mandalore, also known as Mand'alor, was a planet located in the Outer Rim Territories. It was the homeworld of the Mandalorians, a fearsome warrior clan-based people, and the indigenous Alamite species. The Mandalorians once fought the Jedi and raided their temple during the fall of the Old Republic. Wearing distinctive armor that was often made from beskar, they were feared throughout the galaxy, and once had political influence over two thousand other star systems.

Many years of war left the planet inhospitable, forcing the Mandalorians to live within domed cities. A pacifist regime came to power at the end of these wars, led by Duchess Satine Kryze, who joined the Galactic Republic. The Mandalorian Civil War was fought between the pacifists and the martial traditionalists. The Civil War ended in a victory for the New Mandalorians, and those who refused to give up their warrior ways were exiled to the moon Concordia, and believed to have died out.

During the Clone Wars, the New Mandalorians were overthrown by the renegade Sith Lord Maul's Shadow Collective, whose forces included the Death Watch, which was formed from the exiled warriors. A new civil war soon erupted between the Mandalore resistance, which had the aid of the Republic, and the forces of the Shadow Collective. The resulting siege by a Mandalorian-Republic joint force ended Maul's rule over the planet. The Republic subsequently appointed Bo-Katan Kryze, the leader of the Mandalore resistance, as Regent of Mandalore. However, Kryze's rule was soon ended by Gar Saxon and his clan, who betrayed Kryze and pledged loyalty to the Republic's successor state, the Galactic Empire. For his loyalty, Saxon was appointed Viceroy and Governor of Mandalore, which was now under Imperial occupation.

Kryze did not accept Saxon's authority, and she became the leader of the Mandalorian resistance, and fought against Saxon and the Empire in a third Mandalorian civil war. In 1 BBY, Kryze came into possession of the Darksaber from Sabine Wren, and she united the clans of Mandalore, becoming its ruler. The planet was heavily bombed in the Night of a Thousand Tears by the Empire during the Great Purge of Mandalore, and millions of Mandalorians were killed, and the planet was thought to be uninhabitable. The fusion bombs and fusion rays used in the Purge crystallized the surface of the planet, turning the sand to glass and trinitite.

During the New Republic Era, the Mandalorians were scattered throughout the galaxy, and some believed the planet was cursed. On the surface, the native Alamites came to reside in the ruins. An Imperial remnant led by Moff Gideon established a secret base of operations on the planet. However, Kryze and Din Djarin managed to bring together their respective factions before departing for Mandalore with a sizable fleet. Upon arriving on the planet, the Mandalorians discovered Gideon's base. After a fierce battle, the Mandalorians were able to defeat the Imperial holdouts and reclaim their homeworld.

Description

The home of warriors

"Mandalore? The Empire turned that planet to glass."

―Boba Fett^[16]

Mandalore was a terrestrial planet^[5] located in the Mandalore system,^[3] a part of the Mandalore sector^[1] in the New Territories^[2] portion of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories.^[1] It was positioned at the coordinates O-7^[4] on the Standard Galactic Grid^[29] with the closest trade route to the world being the Hydian Way. Mandalore occupied the fifth orbit around its eponymous yellow sun^[5] and had a rotational period of nineteen standard hours,^[8] and its standard year lasted three hundred and sixty-six standard days.^[9] The planet possessed standard gravity and two moons,^[5] including the one time mining base and agricultural center, Concordia.^[6]

The planetary surface was once lush with jungles,^[5] forests,^[13] seas,^[5] mountains,^[14] and jewel-colored lakes,^[13] but was eventually transformed into a lifeless desert,^[5] with hot and dry climate, though was hospitable enough to hold life and let a race of people thrive.^[11] During the Great Purge of Mandalore, the Galactic Empire bombed the planet with fusion bombs^[12] and fusion rays,^[30] crystallizing and glassing the surface of the planet^[16]^[30] into trinitite. The fusion bombs also disrupted the magnetic field around the planet, making it impossible to communicate with anyone out of atmosphere. The atmosphere also became stormy.^[12]

Flora and fauna

"According to ancient folklore, the mines were once a Mythosaur lair. Mandalore the Great is said to have tamed the mythical beast. It is from these legends that the skull signet was adopted and became the symbol of our planet."

―Bo-Katan Kryze reading the description of the Living Waters to Din Djarin^[12]

The ornamental trees of Te Ani'la^[11] could be found atop the Royal Academy of Government during the Clone Wars, where two rows lined either side of the path to the academy's entrance, with further trees placed regularly around the edge of the building.^[31] The planet once was home to jungles,^[5] lush forests, grasslands, and lakes, but war turned Mandalore into a desert.^[13] Following the purge, Mandalorians were able to grow gardens in surface caves.^[32]

MythosaurCh18 — A mythosaur inhabits the Living Waters

The symbol of the planet was the gigantic mythosaur. According to ancient folklore, the Mines of Mandalore were once a mythosaur lair. Mandalore the Great is said to have tamed the mythical beast.^[12] The memory of the mythosaur lived on as a skull emblem,^[5] one of the traditional symbols of Mandalorian iconography.^[22] The mythosaur was considered extinct long before the Mandalorian cataclysm.^[5] However, after the Great Purge, one mythosaur inhabited the Living Waters.^[12]

The planet was home to many predators, including two birds of prey, the galaar^[8] and jai'galaar, also known as shriek-hawks. While the human population was able to survive the cataclysm because of technology, the wildlife of Mandalore suffered. A few species managed to survive by adapting to the changing conditions, and rare examples of others lived on in captivity. The now-extinct jai'galaar had a significant influence on Mandalorian traditions,^[5] inspiring the emblem of Clan Vizsla and Death Watch.^[21]

Before the Purge, Alamites lived in the wastelands beyond the cities. After the Purge, the Mandalorians became scattered in the galaxy and no longer lived on Mandalore. The Alamites moved to the ruins of the Civic Center of Sundari, in addition to reptavians and a scavenger cyborg, who used a Spider Tank to trap any surviving Mandalorians who explored the ruins.^[12]

History

Early history

Untamed Wilderness and the Age of the First Mandalore

AlmecReinstatementSpeech-SoR — Almec speaks to the people of Sundari above a mural of Mandalorian crusaders decapitating Jedi.

According to legend, long before the Mandalorians were established on Mandalore, gigantic horned sea beasts known as mythosaurs once ruled the planet. Tales claimed that the mythosaurs and Mandalorians co-existed while other tales claimed that the mythosaurs remained wild and free.^[33] It was said that long ago, the mines of Mandalore were once a mythosaur lair where Mandalore the Great managed to defeat and ride the mythosaur leading to the Mandalorians adopting the mythosaur skull signet as a symbol of their planet.^[12] From the Mandalorian songs of eons past, Mandalore the Great^[34] and the ancient Mandalorians^[6] led a series of battles often against the Jedi Order.^[34]

The First Mandalorian Jedi

"This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi Temple by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic."

―Pre Vizsla, to Obi-Wan Kenobi, regarding the Darksaber^[6]

No Mandalorian prior to Tarre Vizsla was accepted into the Jedi Order.^[35] During the fall of the Old Republic, these commandos raided the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, seizing Vizsla's Darksaber. Before his death, Tarre Vizsla ruled all of Mandalore.^[19] After centuries of warfare and prolonged conflict, the once beautiful surface of Mandalore was reduced to an endless desert.^[21] This ecological devastation would cause many to turn their back on violence, giving rise to the New Mandalorians.^[10] The grasslands that did survive^[13] were destroyed in subsequent wars.^[6]

Republic Era

Wars and desolation

"You and Satine have a history."
"An extended mission when I was younger. Master Qui-Gon and I spent a year on Mandalore protecting the duchess from insurgents who had threatened her world. They sent bounty hunters after us. We were always on the run, living hand-to-mouth, never sure what the next day would bring."
"Sounds romantic."

―Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi on the latter's relationship with Duchess Satine Kryze^[36]

At some point prior to the Trade Federation's illegal Invasion of Naboo,^[36] a Civil War broke out between the New Mandalorians and the martial traditionalists, who preferred the old ways of Mandalore.^[26] Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi spent a year on Mandalore for an extended mission of protecting the leader of the New Mandalorians, Duchess Satine Kryze, during the Civil War. The three were pursued by bounty hunters, and were constantly on the move. During this time, Kenobi and Kryze formed a romantic attachment. The war killed the majority of Mandalore's population. When the young Duchess returned, she was forced to rebuild her world without the Jedi's assistance, as they were reassigned shortly after the conflict's end.^[36]

Already-damaged surface of Mandalore had been decimated during the Civil War,^[8] as was the planetary capital, Keldabe.^[26] Beyond sending the group who became the "Old Mandalorians" out into the galaxy in exile,^[14] Mandalore exiled their remaining warriors to their moon Concordia, where they were believed to have died out sometime later.^[6] Meanwhile, the New Mandalorians constructed and peacefully inhabited insulated bio-cube cities on their ruined homeworld.^[10] Unknown to them, the warriors had survived and formed into the Death Watch terrorist movement under the leadership of Pre Vizsla, who was the leader of Clan Vizsla, governor of Concordia, and current wielder of the Darksaber.^[6]

Maintaining neutrality

"War is intolerable. We have been deceived into thinking that we must be a part of it. I say the moment we committed to fighting, we already lost."

―Duchess Satine Kryze, to the Galactic Senate — 20?cb=20250116042720

▶️ (file info)^[36]

Memorial Shrine bombing — The bombing of a memorial shrine on Mandalore.

While nominally associated with the Galactic Republic,^[3] the Clone Wars saw Mandalore declare neutrality between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However, the Death Watch, wishing to return Mandalore to the ways of its ancestors, attempted to take back Mandalore with Separatist assistance. After a bombing of the Peace Park in Mandalore's capital of Sundari, Duchess Satine and Master Kenobi departed to Concordia to investigate, as the bomber was from the province. There they discovered the Death Watch's secret staging ground, and that Pre Vizsla was their leader. Barely escaping with their lives, the two returned to Mandalore.^[6]

Fearing now for the stability and future of her planet, Kryze departed for Coruscant along with other representatives of the Council of Neutral Systems to plead her case to the Republic. During the voyage they were attacked by Separatist forces and Kryze herself was targeted for kidnapping and assassination by Senator Tal Merrik of Kalevala, but was rescued by Kenobi and his former apprentice Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.^[36]

Kryze's attempts to remain neutral in the War grew complicated as Death Watch assassination attempts continued on Coruscant and evidence surfaced linking the attacks to the Confederacy. Despite being framed for the murder of one of her cohorts, Satine managed to disprove the alleged evidence and in the process stalled Mandalore's involvement in the War as well as the Death Watch's attempts at conquering the planet.^[3]

Following Kryze's reaffirmation of the planet's neutrality, the Mandalorian economy began to struggle due to a lack of connection with key Republic supply routes. In order to ensure that much needed supplies continued to reach the planet, Prime Minister Almec established a black market with Moogan smugglers. In an attempt to speed up the creation and distribution process for imported tea, the Moogan smugglers unintentionally introduced a dangerously high level of the chemical slabin. This resulted in a mass poisoning of Mandalorian children. This incident coincided with a visit by Satine’s friend and Skywalker’s wife Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala. Together Amidala and Kryze uncovered the source of the incident and crippled Almec's operation.^[23]

ForcedConfession2-TA — Almec forces Satine to sign an admission of conspiracy.

Following these events, Amidala’s friend and Skywalker’s Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was assigned to Mandalore to educate the students at the Royal Academy about the dangers of political corruption. In between lessons, the students, led by Kryze's nephew Korkie, discovered evidence of food and supplies being moved unofficially. When the students raised concerns to the Duchess, Almec enlisted the Mandalorian secret service to arrest both Satine, the students, and Tano. In an attempt to keep his operation under wraps, Almec forcefully tried to coerce Kryze into signing a confession of conspiracy. The prisoners resisted and fought back and in the process Almec was arrested and sent to prison.^[31]

The resurrection

"Listen, Duchess. Do you hear the people? They cry out for change. Your weak-minded rule of Mandalore is at an end. The resurrection of our warrior past is about to begin!"

―Pre Vizsla to Satine Kryze^[27]

In the last of the War, the Death Watch once again attempted to conquer Mandalore. Now allied with the renegade Sith Lord Darth Maul and his collection of crime families, the Shadow Collective, Pre Vizsla organized a series of strikes throughout the capital city of Sundari. Black Sun, Hutt Clan, and Pyke Syndicate enforcers as well as Maul's apprentice Savage Opress conducted attacks on numerous key locations creating mass panic and loss of life. Kryze's peace keeping forces were overwhelmed and soon the frightened public of Sundari marched to the courtyard of the Royal Palace demanding action. Capitalizing on the panic, Pre Vizsla and the rest of his Death Watch forces made a public promise to the people of Sundari to protect them from further attacks. After Vizsla's men appeared to have halted further attacks, the public populace turned to Death Watch to provide new leadership and guidance. Secretly, Kryze was arrested and placed in prison.^[27]

Epguide515 — Pre Vizsla declares himself Prime Minister of Mandalore.

As Vizsla took his place as the new appointed Prime Minister and Mand'alor, disagreements developed between him and Maul, which lead to the arrest and public shaming of both the renegade Sith Lord and his apprentice. While in prison, Maul allied himself with Almec, hoping to establish him as a potential puppet leader should he regain control of the planet. Together, the three escaped from prison and Maul challenged Vizsla to single combat to determine the deserving ruler of the planet. Maul defeated Vizsla and executed him in front of his own men, now claiming the title of Mand'alor for himself. Maul then reappointed Almec to be the planet's prime minister. In order to assuage public opinion and cover for Maul's role in Vizsla's death, Almec informed the public that it was in fact, Satine Kryze who had murdered Vizsla and that the former Mand'alor's final act was to reinstate his position as prime minister.^[27]

HoldMeObiWanKenobi-TL — Satine Kryze dies in Obi-Wan Kenobi's arms after being fatally stabbed by Maul.

Despite the fact that Maul now commanded Death Watch, a portion of its forces, led by Vizsla's Lieutenant and Kryze's sister, Lady Bo-Katan, rebelled against his leadership and began to actively work towards his defeat. Bo-Katan and Korkie organized a rescue for Satine in the hopes that she could contact the Republic for aid. While Kryze was captured once again by Maul's forces, she was able to send a message to the Jedi Temple. While unable to send military or official Jedi support due to Mandalore's neutrality, Kenobi took it upon himself to personally see to Satine's rescue. Kenobi infiltrated Maul's loyal Death Watch forces and broke Satine free from prison. However, once again, Maul's forces blocked their escape from the planet and arrested both. Fulfilling his personal vendetta against Kenobi, Maul murdered Kryze and sentenced Kenobi to indefinite imprisonment.^[37]

BattleOfSundari-shippingdocks — The Battle of Sundari

In transit from the Royal Palace to his cell, Kenobi was rescued by Bo-Katan's forces. At this point, Bo-Katan's faction of Death Watch and those loyal to Maul openly began attacking one another in the streets and shipping yards of Sundari, starting a civil war. As the city erupted into chaos, Bo-Katan managed to secure Kenobi's escape from the planet in the hopes that he would bring Republic reinforcements. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious, having grown aware the situation on Mandalore, arrived on planet and personally confronted his former apprentice. The resulting conflict lead to the death of Opress and the capture of Maul, effectively ending his direct rule of Mandalore.^[37] While Maul escaped from captivity, the Shadow Collective was temporarily dissolved and he lost a number of Mandalorian commandos,^[38] along with his mother, Talzin, who was a powerful ally. With her death, Sidious believed Maul was no longer a threat to his plans.^[39] After these events, Maul and his forces returned to Mandalore, which was under the rule of Almec as Maul's puppet.^[40]

Age of the Empire

Imperial rule

Main article: Occupation of Mandalore

"Mandalore was on its knees before the Emperor. After he put Saxon in power, we had a choice. Side with him or Clan Wren would be destroyed."

―Ursa Wren, to Sabine Wren^[24]

AhsokaFacesMaul-TCWs7 — Ahsoka Tano faces Maul during the final days of the Clone Wars

Later, the Siege of Mandalore brought further conflict to the world. During the last days of the Clone Wars, the 332nd Division, which had been formed from the 501st Legion, of the Grand Army of the Republic led by advisor Tano and Clone Commander CT-7567 "Rex" laid siege to Mandalore with the help of Bo-Katan's warriors.^[40] Eventually the Republic and Mandalore resistance forces defeated Maul and his Mandalorians, giving Kryze control of Mandalore.^[41] As Tano, Rex, and the majority of the 332nd traveled to Coruscant aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer^[42] Tribunal,^[43] however, the execution of Order 66 was issued by Sidious, which caused the clone troopers to turn on the Jedi. Tano and Rex, who was freed from the control of Order 66 by Tano,^[44] managed to flee into hiding.^[45] Maul escaped after Tano released him as a diversion for the clones.^[44]

Following the Siege, the Jedi appointed Kryze as the Regent of Mandalore,^[46] and she ruled the planet for a short time.^[47] With the Republic troopers stationed on Mandalore, the peace did not last long,^[41] and Gar Saxon and Clan Saxon, who where loyal to the newly formed Galactic Empire, betrayed Kryze when she refused to obey Sidious,^[46] and the Empire besieged the planet^[48] which fell to the Empire. After the fall of Mandalore^[49] Saxon swore allegiance to the Empire,^[50] and as a reward for his loyalty, Sidious^[46] made Saxon^[50] the Imperial Governor^[24] of the now military occupied Mandalore,^[51] with the Imperial Super Commandos serving as his enforcers.^[25] The Empire turned the Royal Academy of Government into an Imperial Academy on Mandalore for training military cadets.^[28] Kryze, however, does not align herself with the occupation, and actively resists it, becoming the leader of the Mandalorian resistance.^[52]

DuchessArcGenerator — Sabine Wren's Arc Pulse Generator

One notable Imperial cadet was Sabine Wren, whose mechanical talents were used to build the Arc Pulse Generator known as the "Duchess." The "Duchess" was capable of reacting with the beskar alloy inside Mandalorian armor and incinerating Mandalorian warriors. Sabine became horrified that the weapon was being used to subjugate Mandalore and destroyed her weapon.^[15] Sabine spoke out against the Empire but her family sided with the Empire and cast her out.^[35] After a stint at bounty hunting with Ketsu Onyo, Sabine joined the Spectres, which was part of the rebel cell Phoenix Cell.^[53] As punishment for Sabine's actions, her father Alrich was made a hostage of Clan Saxon on Mandalore to ensure his family's compliance.^[24]

A second civil war

Main article: Mandalorian Civil War (Imperial Era)

"We're in the middle of a civil war. Clan Saxon has the Empire's backing, and our forces are stretched to their limit just to protect what ground we have."

―Ursa Wren^[54]

Imperial-Supercommandos — Imperial Super Commandos were Mandalorians who served the Galactic Empire.

Governor Saxon ruled Mandalore on behalf of the Empire until his death at the hands of Sabine’s mother Countess and Bo-Katan’s ally Ursa Wren^[24] in 2 BBY.^[55] Saxon's death caused a civil war between Clans Saxon and Wren, with the former backed by the Empire.^[54] By 1 BBY, Saxon was succeeded by his brother Tiber Saxon as Governor. Clan Wren's insurrection had been joined by Lady Bo-Katan's Clan Kryze, Clan Vizsla, Clan Rook, Clan Eldar, and Fenn Rau, the last surviving member of the Mandalorian Protectors.^[15]

Tiber ordered Alrich's public termination in Sundari. Before Clan Wren and rebel forces could liberate him from his prison, Saxon had Captain Hark evacuate the prisoner in a convoy. After Ursa learned that her husband was saved, she worked with Sabine, Bo-Katan, Rau, and the Spectres to trap the Imperial convoy. Ursa's forces staged a diversionary attack, causing the convoy to travel through a narrow canyon. Sabine and her allies ambushed the convoy and freed Alrich. However, this victory was overshadowed when Saxon deployed the rebuilt "Duchess" against Ursa's forces.^[15]

Bo-Katan-Darksaber — Lady Bo-Katan took on the Darksaber and role of leader.

The surviving Mandalorians and rebels retreated to Bo-Katan's camp. To atone for her role in creating the "Duchess," Sabine volunteered to lead a strike mission aboard Saxon's Star Destroyer to destroy the superweapon and the associated data. Saxon's Star Destroyer was parked above Sundari. At the advice of Grand Admiral Thrawn who was acting on the behalf of Sidious, Saxon trapped Sabine aboard the superweapon's storage chamber and tried to force her to strengthen the superweapon. However, Sabine reprogrammed the machine to target stormtrooper armor and destroyed the "Duchess." The resulting explosion destroyed Saxon's Star Destroyer, presumably killing the Governor. Clan Wren and the other Mandalorian clans then pledged allegiance to Lady Bo-Katan, who inherited the Darksaber and the mantle of Mandalorian leadership.^[15]

The Purge

"Once the Empire knew they couldn't control [Mandalore], they made sure no one else could either."

―Din Djarin^[56]

Night-of-a-Thousand-Tears — A large fleet of TIE/sa bombers laid waste to cities on Mandalore.

Realizing they would never be able to control Mandalore and wanting to make sure nobody could after Sidious got killed, the Empire launched^[56] the so-called "Great Purge of Mandalore."^[57] Kryze and her people attempted to fight the Imperial effort,^[56] but the Purge nevertheless led to the near-total destruction of their forces in what became known as the Night of a Thousand Tears.^[18] That night, gunships outfitted with heavy repeating blasters attacked fields occupied by Mandalorian recruits,^[34] while Mandalorian cities,^[58] including Sundari,^[59] were targeted. TIE bombers laid waste to the surface^[60] and destroyed whole cities^[58] with fusion bombs.^[12]

KX-series security droids and Viper probe droids killed any survivors of the Night's attacks.^[60] With most of her troops dead, Kryze decided that the only way Mandalore could survive was to take up an offer of surrender proposed by the Imperial Security Bureau. While she did not trust the Empire, she agreed to stand down her forces and disarm in a meeting with Moff Gideon,^[18] an ISB member who participated in the Purge.^[34] Kryze also surrendered the Darksaber over to Gideon. However, he betrayed the agreement, resulting in the Empire turning on the defenseless Mandalore^[18] in an attack that brought about the near-genocide of the Mandalorian people.^[61] The Empire glassed the surface with fusion bombs^[12] and fusion rays,^[30] obliterating the cities and landscapes alike.^[12] The Mines of Mandalore were thought to be destroyed.^[60]

The Empire took no prisoners during its final assault. The Empire preformed its bombing run against every surface on Mandalore twice. Any ship attempting to escape the besieged world was also intercepted.^[18] All the same, Mandalorians, including Kryze, survived the Purge and fled Mandalore, though they scattered across the galaxy.^[56] One small grouping of Mandalorians under a captain survived in the ruins of their world.^[18] As spoils of their victory, the Empire gathered Mandalorian beskar^[62] and cast the metal into Imperial ingots. The purge was what forced the Mandalorian group known as the Tribe, who were on Concordia during the purge to operate in secrecy, even after the fall of the Empire^[57] in 5 ABY.^[63] Members of the Tribe came to believe that Mandalore was a cursed world, fearing that anyone who traveled there would be killed.^[56] Some Mandalorians believed it was poisoned.^[30]

New Republic Era

"That planet is cursed. Anyone who goes there dies."

―Din Djarin^[56]

After the events of the Great Purge, Mandalore was completely abandoned, its surface crystallized into trinitite by the Imperial bombs and the cube-cities destroyed and overrun by Alamites who were previously restricted to the wastelands.^[12] Kryze planned to steal weapons from an Imperial remnant led by Gideon to help retake her homeworld, and she claimed to Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, who believed Mandalore was cursed, that a new Mand'alor would be installed on the throne in exchange for the location of Tano so he could return Grogu to the Jedi Order. Later in their mission, however, she herself stated she would rule the planet once again.^[56]

Later on, Kryze agreed to help Djarin rescue Grogu from Moff Gideon in return for Gideon's light cruiser, which she could use to help retake Mandalore, and possession of the Darksaber, which Kryze needed to rally her people. Before the mission, Kryze's companion Koska Reeves and Boba Fett, who were both joining the crew for the mission, exchanged words and briefly dueled each other after Fett expressed his disapproval for Kryze's efforts to retake Mandalore, claiming "the Empire turned that planet to glass."^[16] After Djarin won the Darksaber from Gideon and Kryze returned without it, her forces melted away, and left to make their way through the galaxy as mercenaries. Kryze abandoned her attempts to retake Mandalore and retired to her family's castle on the planet Kalevala^[30] where her house was based.^[64] Gideon, on the other hand escaped New Republic custody and established a base of operations on Mandalore in the caverns of the Great Forge, which he used to mine beskar and forge a fourth-generation design Dark Trooper. Gideon, sponsored by the Shadow Council, created a formidable TIE/IN interceptor squadron and secretly continued his cloning experiments to create a race of superhuman soldiers combining the traits of the Jedi, the Mandalorians, and the Kaminoans.^[18]

Exploration

"That planet has been ravaged, plundered, and poisoned."

―Bo-Katan Kryze^[30]

Mandalore surface after Purge — Mandalore's surface after the Imperial bombardment

Around or shortly before that time, a traveler visited Mandalore despite the widespread rumors of it being poisoned and retrieved a Mandalorian inscription from its surface before fleeing. This artifact made its way to a Jawa tribe on Tatooine, where it was discovered by Djarin, who had broken the Mandalorian Creed by removing his helmet during his attempt to rescue Grogu, becoming an apostate and exiled from his tribe. The only way of redemption according to the Creed was to bathe in the Living Waters in the Mines of Mandalore beneath the Civic Center of Sundari, even when the mines were thought to be destroyed in the Purge. Djarin, insisting to redeem himself was convinced by the artifact that the planet's surface was not poisoned, as the traveler was able to visit and leave alive.^[30]

Djarin visited Kryze on Kalevala and Kryze revealed that her forces melted away and she gave up on her efforts to retake the planet. Adamant to bathe in the Living Waters, Djarin announced his plans to go to the planet, to which Kryze replied that there was nothing magic about the Mines, and the planet has been ravaged, plundered, and poisoned, contradicting her previous claims. Kryze told Djarin the location of the Mines, and Djarin left, planning to find out if the planet was really poisoned. To explore the planetary surface, he intended to utilize assassin droid IG-11 with whom he had worked in the past, as its humanoid build and agility made it ideal for spelunking into the underground cities. The droid was also to collect samples of the air to test if it was breathable. However, neither Djarin nor Nevarro's Anzellan droidsmiths managed to repair the droid,^[30] forcing Djarin to return to Tatooine and borrow astromech droid R5-D4 from Peli Motto for the task. With the droid boarded to his ship, Djarin traveled to Mandalore and entered its atmosphere for the first time in his life.^[12]

Rediscovery

"The charts were wrong. The atmosphere is breathable. Bo-Katan was right. Mandalore is not cursed."

―Din Djarin to Grogu and R5-D4^[12]

Djarin safely navigated a massive storm which covered the upper layers of the atmosphere and landed next to the ruins of Sundari's Civic Center. R5 was deployed from the ship to perform a surface scan but was attacked by Alamites as soon as he entered the Civic Center cavern, prompting Djarin to exit the ship and step into the crystallized surface to attack them and rescue it. The droid then displayed its readings of the oxygen-rich atmosphere; Mandalore was safe for humans to inhabit once again.^[12]

With this knowledge, Djarin and Grogu descended to the Civic Center and entered the sewers through a vertical tunnel, eventually reaching an area near the fabled Mines. There, Djarin was distracted by a damaged Mandalorian helmet, allowing himself to be captured by a spider-like creature who took him to its lair to attempt and drain him of his blood. Grogu left the planet and went to Kalevala to call for help from Kryze, who agreed and took him and R5 back aboard her Kom'rk-class fighter, returning to her homeworld after years of forced exile. She was able to rescue Djarin from the creature by slashing it with the darksaber, and carried him back to the Civic Center until he felt strong enough to stand. Djarin insisted he visit the Waters, despite the danger, while Kryze mourned the destruction of her home and urged him not to be a fool and to leave the planet behind. As he insisted, Kryze eventually agreed and took Djarin to the hidden entrance of the Mines, leading him deep inside the ancient caverns to the hall of the Living Waters. There, a shaken Djarin took off his armor and entered the shallow waters as Kryze and Grogu watched, reciting the Mandalorian Creed as he finally redeemed himself. As the structure was damaged though, Djarin slipped and fell deep into the pool, prompting Kryze to jump in and rescue him. As the duo swam back up, they passed before a live mythosaur, the fabled beast of the Mand'alor, somehow still alive deep in the Living Waters.^[12]

Gathering the tribes

"Bo-Katan walks both worlds. And she can bring all tribes together. It is time to retake Mandalore."

―The Armorer to the Children of the Watch^[17]

Tie interceptors mandalorian — Moff Gideon's tight control of the Mandalore system forced Kryze and Djarin away

Fundamentally changed after the experience, Kryze returned to Kalevala, only to find her family's castle bombed by Gideon's squadron and chased away by his TIE interceptors. Djarin invited her to the Tribe's covert on a desert planet to hide away, where to her surprise the Armorer claimed that she could join the Way of the Mandalore since she had not removed her helmet ever since she bathed in the Living Waters.^[65] With herself and Djarin redeemed, Kryze decided to stay with the Tribe, rediscovering their ancient customs and becoming closer to her heritage. Eventually, Kryze revealed her encounter with a mythosaur to the Armorer. When New Republic pilot Captain Carson Teva of the Adelphi Rangers came to ask Djarin for help in liberating Nevarro, the Tribe's old covert from Pirate King Gorian Shard, Kryze saw a chance to give the Mandalorians a permanent living place. She and her companions traveled to Nevarro and successfully defeated the pirates. In return, High Magistrate Greef Karga gave them a plot of land to make permanent camp in.^[17]

Empowered by this success, the Armorer decided that Kryze "walked both ways" and was the bridge that would gap the Children of the Watch's traditions with the newer Mandalorian fractions. To that end, she allowed the princess to remove her helmet and sent her off to find her old unit, now led by Axe Woves in their missions as privateers.^[17] Kryze tracked the unit to Plazir-15 and managed to defeat Woves in single combat. Djarin subsequently revealed that Kryze had defeated the one who had defeated him back on Mandalore, making her the rightful owner of the Darksaber. Kryze accepted the blade, reclaiming her fleet and proving herself as the rightful Mand'alor. As the new leader of the privateer fleet,^[66] she took it back with her to Nevarro, where they met with the Tribe.^[18]

Resettlement attempts

"Mandalorians. It is time to retake our home world."

―Bo-Katan Kryze^[18]

Stolen fleet — The united Mandalorian fleet over Mandalore

With the Mandalorians of the galaxy united again, Kryze and the Armorer organized an expedition back to their homeworld to retake it once and for all, as the Empire's threat no longer loomed over them. Despite the initial tensions between the two groups, a grand feast brought them closer to each other and eventually the entire fleet took off from Nevarro, arriving in Mandalore orbit - the first time after the Purge that the Children of the Watch had been on their home planet. A landing party separated from the fleet and descended to the surface, making their way to the Great Forge, where they intended to set up the first settlement and begin the production of beskar anew. On their way there, they discovered a group of survivors from the Purge who had been stranded on the planet with no way out. The Armorer took the injured back to the fleet, while the others led the exploration group to the Forge.^[18]

Upon arriving, the Mandalorians unexpectedly came upon Gideon's base, and Woves left to ask for reinforcements from the fleet. The rest of the Mandalorians attacked Gideon's armored commandos and were successful in pushing them back, but their confidence led them straight into a secure antechamber in the entrance of the base where Gideon trapped them, separating Djarin who was leading the way and capturing him. However, the others bravely attacked Gideon and his guard by blasting the blast doors keeping them sealed inside while Kryze sliced the exit gates with the Darksaber. Paz Vizsla sacrificed himself in a final stand to buy them time, killing the entire unit of armored commandos but taken out by Gideon's three Imperial Praetorian Guards.^[18]

Mandalorians fight back

LeadingTheCharge-Mando24 — The Mandalorians, led by Kryze and the Armorer attack the Imperial base

By that point, Woves had reached the fleet and transmitted a distress signal to the Fleet Commander letting him know of the ambush on the ground. The fleet immediately dispatched all available troopers from the light cruiser, who boarded the Kom'rk-class transports to be taken to the ground; Woves himself took control of the cruiser to use it as a decoy for the Imperial attackers. Kryze was shown a garden in a surface cave that was grown by the captain and his survivors.^[32]

With the Kom'rk-class transports reaching the Imperial base in minutes, the warriors on board, including the Armorer, joined Kryze's escaped warriors and together they attacked the base en masse, engaging the armored commandos in the air. Meanwhile, inside the base, Djarin and Grogu -the latter using his mech IG-12- reached Moff Gideon's command center and battled against him, successfully taking out his Praetorians but struggling to take down the armored warlord himself. Having cornered him in a hangar over a cliff, the duo were joined by a Darksaber-wielding Kryze who landed in the hangar and immediately sliced through Gideon's resistant armor. However, the mechanized suit easily crushed the saber, leaving Kryze defenseless.^[32]

At the same time, Woves entered the atmosphere, flying the heavily damaged and still-burning cruiser on a collision course against the base. Despite Woves having warned the Mandalorians to retreat from the base, Kryze, Djarin, and Grogu were still caught in their duel with Gideon and unable to get out in time. However, Grogu held Gideon back with the Force, leaving him in the path of the crashing vessel, and shielded Kryze and Djarin from the flames. With Gideon meeting a fiery death, and the base completely destroyed, Mandalore was finally free of Imperial presence.^[32]

A new age for Mandalore

Main article: Liberation of Mandalore

"For Mandalore!"

―Axe Woves and the Mandalorians' chant^[32]

Ceremony in the great forge — The Great Forge is relit in the presence of the Tribe, the Loyalists, and the New Mandalorian survivors

Following the successful reconquest of their planet, the Tribe and the Loyalists resettled the land, and held the first official ceremony in the Living Waters by bathing Ragnar Vizsla in the pool and accepting Grogu -renamed Din Grogu as Din Djarin's apprentice- into the Tribe. Soon after, the Great Forge was also repaired and reactivated, being ceremoniously lit for the first time by Kryze in the presence of all their warriors.^[32]

Following the reconquest of their planet, the Mandalorians remained a secretive group, and their status was largely unknown to the wider galaxy.^[67]

Inhabitants

Main articles: Alamite and Mandalorian

"Master Kenobi, Mandalore's violent past is behind us. All of our warriors were exiled to our moon, Concordia. They died out years ago."

―Prime Minister Almec^[6]

The Alamites were the native species of Mandalore, where they once resided in the deserted wastelands between Mandalore's cities. In the aftermath of the Great Purge of Mandalore, some Alamites relocated to the ruins of Sundari. They had four eyes and tusks and made use of back spikes.^[12] In addition to Alamites, dormant species have been awakened from the bombings of the Purge. The trinitaur^[18] and Reptavians lived in the ruins beneath the surface.^[12]

Djarin-Kryze-Woves-Reeves — The Mandalorians were the people of Mandalore.

Mandalore was inhabited by a group of humans known as Mandalorians. During the period when the Old Republic ruled the galaxy, these super commandos were a martial people, living in warrior clans. They had a strong sense of honor, though some would later become mercenaries. However, centuries of war laid waste to Mandalore's surface, leading to the New Mandalorians, a faction that opposed the violent ways of their ancestors. This schism caused a civil war, which resulted in the warrior clans being exiled to Concordia, Mandalore's moon, where they were assumed to have died out. However, the conflict killed most of the planet's population.^[68] Mandalore Technologies was an arms manufacturer active on the planet.^[69]

Government

Main article: Mandalore (title)

"No outsider will ever rule Mandalore!"

―Bo-Katan Kryze, to Maul^[27]

SatineKryzeFuneralOfOnacondaFarr-SenateMurders — Satine Kryze, the Duchess of Mandalore during the Clone Wars

During most of the Clone Wars, Mandalore was led by Duchess Satine Kryze. Near the end of the war, she was overthrown and killed by Maul and his Shadow Collective which established former Prime Minister Almec as the face of Maul's rule.^[68] After the Siege of Mandalore and the Imperial occupation that followed the end of the Clone Wars, Gar Saxon led the planet as Viceroy for the Empire until his death in 2 BBY.^[24] His brother Tiber Saxon succeeded him as Governor until his death in 1 BBY.^[15]

Behind the scenes

According to Dave Filoni, Mandalore was created by George Lucas and conceived of as the world destroyed by the Death Star in A New Hope before it was changed to Alderaan.^[70] During the development of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas used the Mandalore system as the homeworld of the "Mandalorian super-commandos," which the character of Boba Fett was a member of in an early story concept.^[71] The planet first appeared in the Star Wars Legends 1983 Marvel comic Star Wars (1977) 68,^[72] and introduced in in canon in "The Mandalore Plot," the twelfth episode of the second season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which first aired on January 29, 2010.^[73]

The ruins of Mandalore after the Purge, which appeared in the series Star Wars: The Mandalorian, were designed in collaboration with Phil Tippett, who worked on the original Star Wars films.^[74] Concept arts were designed by Andrée Wallin, Benjamin Last, Christian Alzmann, Ryan Church, and Erik Tiemens.^[75]