Blood Feud: Mandalorian Civil War
Mandalorians stand alone among other beings across the entire galaxy. Descended from the ancient Taung people, great warriors who regarded peace as a sin, the Mandalorians have proudly upheld their combative culture for generation. Originally nomadic, the Mandalorians eventually settled on a planet they named Mandalore when a rare iron ore was discovered under the planet surface. Beskar proved to be a nearly indestructible tool of battle for the settlers of Mandalore. Forging legendary armor that would become recognizable across the galaxy, the Mandalorians regarded Beskar as a gift from their gods of war. There have been countless conflicts between Mandalorian clans over the centuries, including several planetwide civil wars. This article will focus on the Mandalorian Civil War that engulfed most of the planet 20 years before the onset of the Clone Wars.
Over the 7,000 years of occupying Mandalore, many wars were waged across its surface, both against foreign invaders and between the Mandalorians themselves. This constant conflict and strife eventually reduced the surface of the planet to a barren desert wasteland, decimating the once lush forests and abundant fresh water. In the city of Sundari, safe from the arid heat beneath a bio-dome, the people were tired of the constant warring between the tribes. Seeing the destruction that her people had wrought on themselves over the years, the young leader of the Sundarian New Mandalorians, Satine Kryze, sought to reforge the Mandalorian identity. In 42 BBY, the New Mandalorians challenged the ever-shrinking traditionalist party for power. However, the warmongering Mandalorians would not go out without a fight. Civil war broke out in the capital city of Keldabe and spread across the planet. The traditionalists, under the banner of House Vizsla, spread the conflict across the planet and to the rural, agricultural world of Concord Dawn in the Mandalore sector. The traditionalistts, led by Tor Vizsla and his army, the Death Watch, sought to win back the system by breaking the will and resolve of the New Mandalorians. Launching extremely violent, brutal, guerilla attacks against soft targets, the Death Watch rapidly racked up an atrociously high civilian kill count.
On Concord Dawn a group of Death Watch marauders were locked in a brutal battle for control with the Journeyman Protectors, allies of the New Mandalorians. This group of Mandalorians led by a man named Jaster Mereel and his young lieutenant Jango Fett, attempted to protect the farms and livelihoods of the local populace. However, the Death Watch mercilessly carved a brutal scorched earth campaign across the rural landscape, leaving burning homes and the blood of the innocent in their wake. Not much more is known about the conflict on Concord Dawn, as it was just recently recanonized with Boba Fett's appearance in The Mandalorian. The revelation of his chaincode not only confirmed that Jango Fett was a foundling but also that Jaster Mereel had been his mentor, finally aligning at least some of Jango's original backstory with canon.
As fighting in the capital escalated, the Death Watch became more and more desperate to bring a swift end to the war. They determined this could be accomplished with the assassination of Duchess Satine Kryze. Several attempts were made on the Duchesses life, attracting the attention of the Republic and the Jedi Council. Determining the cause of the New Mandalorians to be in the best interest of the Republic, the Supreme Chancellor requested the aid of the Jedi Council. While the Republic was unable to intervene directly due to centuries old treaties of isolation and independence, the Jedi were able to assist the Duchess as "advisors." The Jedi Council selected Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan learner Obi-Wan Kenobi for this assignment. Upon arriving in Sundari, Jinn and Kenobi went on the run with the Duchess, astutely surmising that mobility and a low-profile would give her the best odds of survival. Kenobi would later describe the experience as being "always on the run, living hand to mouth, never sure what the next day would bring."
The Death Watch, preoccupied with the fighting in Keldabe, dispatched bounty hunters to eliminate the duchess. Kenobi and Jinn successfully repelled several attacks and were able to keep the Duchess safe until the Death Watch finally surrendered and were cast out to the Mandalorian moon, Concordia. Satine was rattled by her experiences during the war, seeing the amount of death on both sides. The conflict served to solidify her pacifist beliefs. With the Death Watch exiled and the New Mandalorians reforming the identity of their people, Sundari was named the capital city. A large Memorial Shrine was built in the heart of the city, to remember the short but bloody conflict and to honor the dead on both sides. Duchess Satine chose to rejoin the Galactic Senate, representing the people of Mandalore in all Republic affairs.
While this conflict is but a microcosm of the conflicts fought between Mandalorians, it laid the groundwork for many key Galactic events. This Civil War would determine Mandalore's involvement with the Republic and the Clone Wars, as well as serving as a crucial point in the development of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jango Fett, and Duchess Satine. The fallout from this war reverberated throughout the Imperial Era (in which a second Civil War erupted on Mandalore) and beyond as the fate of the system and the Way of the Mandalore now fell to Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze.
Source(s): Wookieepedia