What were the Mandalorian Civil Wars?

The Star Wars galaxy has plenty of diverse and intriguing alien species, but none has caught the attention of fans quite like the enigmatic Mandalorians. Ever since Boba Fett debuted with his strong silent man persona, fast blaster work, and even faster death, the Mandalorian threat has intrigued fans of all ages.

This Warrior race is said to be the most deadly in the galaxy and with feats of legendary Mandalorians like Din Djarin, it’s hard not to admit the armor-clad badasses can hold their own. But even with all of their skills and Lightsaber repelling armor that only they have the ability to make, the Mandalorians were still taken down by the Empire.

Sure, the defeat of the Mandalorians could be blamed on the massive size of the Empire, but in order to fully understand the colossal collapse of the Mandalorian civilization you have to look at the events before the arrival of the Empire: the decades-long civil war that ripped Mandalore apart.

Rise of House Kryze

Duchess Satine Kryze, first introduced in the animated Clone Wars series, is the pacifist leader of all Mandalore pre-Empire. Though a part of the Galactic Republic, Satine’s staunch belief in non-violence leads her to adopt a neutral position during the conflict. Satine’s denial of her people’s traditional murderous values is well-founded, she was only crowned after a violent power struggle that saw her people ravaged and her family murdered.

In order to avoid being assassinated like the majority of her family, Satine was forced into hiding for nearly a year with the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his young Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. A faction known as the New Mandalorians fought for the Kryze family and eventually won the war, defeating the Mandalorian traditionalists like those in the Children of the Watch, and declaring Satine the new leader of Mandalore.

She reworked the political structure to be more democratic, removing the caste system that had perpetuated clan warfare for generations. She pushed non-violent reforms, disarming clans and instituting democratic councils to prevent intimidation tactics. This was largely seen as a bad move with those outside of the New Mandalorians and even her sister Bo Katan Kryze would defect and join the terrorist cell Death Watch.

Despite the detractors, Satine’s methods did bring about a sustained period of peace. But many Mandalorians felt that the move to non-violence was erasing their culture, and as Galactic war approached, Satine’s tenuous grasp over her people was only exacerbated by this loss of identity. This coupled with various coup attempts, political espionage, and ceaseless attacks by Death Watch would prove too much and Satine would what little support she had left.

Kryze Vs Maul Vs Viszla

Pre-Viszla, whose family lineage can be traced back to the creator of the Darksaber, deposed Satine with the help of Death Watch, Darth Maul, and Bo Katan. With the Darksaber in his custody, Viszla was the rightful ruler of Mandalore and resistance was minimal. While Bo Katan managed to keep Pre Viszla from killing her sister outright, Satine did not last long in custody murdered by Maul in a bid to hurt Obi-wan Kenobi. After trying to betray and kill Maul, Viszla loses a duel with the sith and Maul claims the blade and the throne. Though most of Death Watch and Mandalore stayed loyal to the rule of the Darksaber, Bo Katan could not and a faction of Mandalorians developed resistance to Maul and his criminal empire of Mandalorians.

Maul’s time on the throne didn’t last more than a few months, but he did great damage in his time as sovereign. Bo Katan Kryze would eventually seek the help of the Republic to remove him from power. With the help of a full Republic legion, General Kenobi, and former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, Kryze would successfully siege Mandalore and dispose of Maul, but not before the Sith stole the Darksaber.

While the assault was successful, the fall of the Republic would happen days later. The result was a full invasion force in key positions across the system. Bo Katan, having been crowned regent, refused to cooperate with the Empire, but the Mandalorians had little recourse but to obey, though Bo Katan would rally detractors to her fight for independence.

Rise of House Saxon

Star Wars: Rebels gives more detail about the aftermath. House Saxon, a faction loyal to Darth Maul was placed on the throne. Academies were reformatted to push Empire propaganda and raise a new era of skilled Storm Troopers and Officers. The recently lifted cultural restrictions were reimplemented more staunchly than before, with the only exceptions coming with service to the empire. Sabine Wren, a gifted Mandalorian weapons expert would unknowingly create a weapon specifically for the destruction of Mandalorians. Code-named “Duchess”, the device would evaporate the biomatter inside of beskar shells. Though Sabine would destroy the weapon and flee after learning of the weapon’s horror, the threat against the Mandalorians by their oppressors became very clear—assimilate or die.

With little option, a rocky peace between the main Mandalorian Clans and the Empire was established though there were still frequent uprisings across the system. This lasted several years before Sabine, after reclaiming the Darksaber from Darth Maul, returned to Mandalore.  After hearing of her return (and her affiliation with those pesky Jedi) Gar Saxon, head of House Saxon, captured Sabine and challenged her to single combat for the Darksaber.

Infuriated by his inability to beat Sabine outright and humiliated by her reluctance to kill him, he resorts to attacking her from behind but is killed by Sabine’s mother, head of House Wren providing the spark needed for the third and final part of the Mandalorian civil war (so far).

House Saxon Vs Wren and Kryze

The resulting civil war prevented the Mandalorians from participating in the larger scope of rebellion against the Empire. The conflict slowly drew in other Mandalorian clans, including what was left of Bo Katan’s group of rebels. Kryze proved herself to be a capable leader, and when the Empire unveiled a new version of the “Dutchess” weapon any Mandalorians left on the sidelines joined in the fight for liberation. Sabine, after seeing how the Mandalorian people rallied behind Bo Katan Kryze, offered the former ruler the Darksaber and Kryze accepted officially ending the Mandalorian civil war.

Aftermath and potential future conflicts

Shortly after this peace was established the Empire sent Moff Gideon to finish the clean-up job started by Gar Saxon. Gideon eradicated the surface of Mandalore. With the Empire’s use of the “Duchess” in civil war just not long before it’s safe to assume that the weapon was again but anyone who survived it had to contend with carpet bombing of populated areas and the already inhospitable air outside of the bubble cities. The result was a world rendered completely toxic and unlivable. The Mandalorians that survived the Great Purge were forced to hide their existence and flee their ruined home world.

Even after all of that, there is still talk of the many different Mandalorian schools of thought. While the planet may be gone the people remain and they have some serious issues to talk about. The Children of the Watch blame Bo Katan and her willingness to accept the saber(instead of winning it) for the destruction of Mandalore. There are also differing schools of thought on what makes a Mandalorian, yet another divide to cause conflict. The Mandalorians are a contentious group, and even with so few Mandalorians left there is no doubt that the infighting is far from over.