Great Jedi Purge The Great Jedi Purge , later also known as the Second Jedi Purge or Palpatine ' s Purge , referred to the efforts initiated by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious , upon his creation of the Galactic Empire , in 19 BBY , to eradicate the Jedi Order . It resulted in the near - annihilation of the Jedi , as it had been with the First Jedi Purge that occurred after the Jedi Civil War . The purge officially began with Order 66 , following a botched attempt by Mace Windu and three other Jedi to arrest Sidious , who was the Supreme Chancellor . The Jedi were declared the enemies of the Republic , and the Grand Army of the Republic was ordered to turn on them . Sidious , now Emperor of the Galactic Empire , used his new apprentice , Darth Vader , and other agents of the Empire to hunt down and kill the remaining Jedi . Some Jedi fought the Empire until their deaths , like Roan Shryne , and those at the Conclave on Kessel . Others hid from the Empire , like Obi - Wan Kenobi and Yoda . In the nineteen years that followed Order 66 , many Jedi fell to Vader , Inquisitors , Emperor ' s Hand ' s , Dark Jedi , and even bounty hunters . By 1 BBY , so few Jedi remained that the Emperor , no longer considering the Jedi a threat , ended the Purge . History . The " Jedi Rebellion " . After Anakin Skywalker discovered that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was Darth Sidious , the elusive Sith Lord whom the Jedi had sought for more than a decade , Jedi Master Mace Windu led a small group of Jedi Masters , comprising himself , Agen Kolar , Kit Fisto , and Saesee Tiin , to apprehend Sidious . Sidious killed Agen Kolar immediately , followed by Saesee Tiin , and , with some greater effort , Kit Fisto , forcing Windu to face the Sith Lord alone . In the ensuing battle between Windu and Sidious , the latter was defeated and disarmed mere moments before Anakin entered the room . He then shot Force lightning at Windu , who deflected the lightning back , twisting Palpatine ' s face , making it appear yellowed and ravaged by the dark side . Windu then prepared to finish off Sidious . Anakin was driven to incapacitate Windu in order to save Palpatine , whom Anakin believed was the only one with sufficient knowledge of the dark side of the Force to save his wife , Padmé Amidala , from death . He drew his lightsaber to parry Windu ' s swipe at the Chancellor and through his action , cut off the Jedi Master ' s saber hand . Then Sidious , who had begged Anakin for help , and had pleaded with Windu not to kill him for his apparent weakness , immediately regained enough strength to blast Master Windu with Force lightning and send him out of the window to his death . Anakin was immediately horrified by what he had done , but despite his guilt , or perhaps because of it , he could not overcome the temptation of the dark side , nor could he simply allow Padmé to die when Sidious ( allegedly ) had the ability to save her . Anakin swore fealty to Sidious , becoming his new apprentice , and was given the Sith name Darth Vader . Order 66 . Palpatine wasted no time in declaring that the Jedi ' s attempt to take him into custody constituted a betrayal to the Republic by the Order , and used it to justify his ultimate goals . Palpatine ordered the Grand Army of the Republic to execute Order 66 — the total annihilation of all Jedi " traitors " throughout the entire galaxy as a sign that the age of the Jedi had ended and the New Order was now in place . In addition to the Jedi ' s attempt to arrest Palpatine , another reason cited for wiping out the Order was the argument that they were complicit in starting the Clone Wars to destabilize the galaxy and overthrow the government . Facts cited in support of this argument included the Jedi involvement in initiating the creation of the clone army without authorization from the Senate , and the role of former Jedi Count Dooku in forming the Separatist movement . Assault on the Jedi Temple . Simultaneously , Palpatine dispatched Vader and the 501st Legion to eradicate all the Jedi in their Temple on Coruscant . The newly titled Emperor justified his purge with an elaborate conspiracy tale of the Jedi ' s attempt to take control of the Republic by assassinating the head of government , usurping the clone army ' s control , and even killing all members in the Galactic Senate , using misleading audio recordings of his battle with Mace Windu as evidence . The Empire estimated that fewer than one hundred Jedi escaped the betrayal of Vader and the clone troopers that they were leading during the war . Because it was estimated that Jedi Knights were more likely to fall victim to Order 66 , it is believed that Jedi Masters were more likely to survive the genocide than Jedi Knights , with the exceptions of few survivors like Ylenic It ' kla , Rachi Sitra , Corwin Shelvay and Empatojayos Brand , among the few survivors were Jedi Masters : Obi - Wan Kenobi , Yoda , Shaak Ti , Echuu Shen - Jon , Qu Rahn , Rahm Kota , K ' Kruhk , T ' ra Saa , Tholme , A ' Sharad Hett and Quinlan Vos . Many Jedi that did survive , like Kai Hudorra and Roan Shryne , cast aside their lightsabers , realizing that their roles as keepers of the peace were over , only to be cut down by Darth Vader himself . Other Jedi , such as Olee Starstone and Dass Jennir , kept fighting the Empire , and tried to contact the other Jedi . Kenobi and Yoda secretly escaped to Tatooine and Dagobah , respectively . Rahm Kota secretly attacked many Imperial shipments and traveled all over the galaxy being a thorn in the side of the Galactic Empire . However , before hiding , Obi - Wan and Yoda altered a return call being sent from the Temple into a warning to stay away ; as a result , several other Jedi survived the immediate purge . Most survivors fell to Vader , but some others fell to Jedi hunters , including the Emperor ' s Hands , Dark Jedi , and even a handful of bounty hunters . Initial actions . About one month after Order 66 was issued , the Jedi Shadday Potkin called for a Conclave on Kessel to discuss options against the Imperial campaign to wipe out the remaining Jedi . A group of seven surviving Jedi , including Bultar Swan and Tsui Choi , gathered on Kessel . However , the conclave was a ruse to trap and kill Vader . A false rumor that his former Master , Obi - Wan Kenobi , would be among the Jedi motivated Vader to act . Despite Obi - Wan ' s absence , Vader demanded his location from the Jedi , threatening them with death . They did not cooperate with his request ( in truth , none of them knew where Kenobi was anyway ) and , although they put up a valiant fight , no Jedi survived . Potkin ' s trap for Vader resulted in nothing more than the deaths of more Jedi . Rumors spread that the conclave consisted of fifty Jedi , each easily killed by the Dark Lord . In truth , Darth Vader fought only eight with difficulty . However , to cement Vader ' s image and invoke fear in the remaining Jedi , the Emperor declared the rumors true . Official reports , fabricated by Sate Pestage , stated that some of the Jedi had either been executed for numerous crimes , or that they killed each other in duels for leadership . Immediately after Order 66 was issued , Jedi Padawan and survivor Olee Starstone began searching for any surviving Jedi . One destination she investigated was Kashyyyk , where Masters Yoda , Luminara Unduli , and Quinlan Vos had been stationed when the Order was transmitted from Coruscant . She arrived on the planet along with several other Jedi survivors — Siadem Forte , Deran Nalual , Klossi Anno , Iwo Kulka , Jambe Lu , and Nam Poorf , as well as the slicer Filli Bitters . After meeting with Tarfful and Chewbacca , the Jedi learned of Yoda ' s survival . The Wookiees offered the band of Jedi safe harbor on Kashyyyk , but a CR25 troop carrier arrived at Kachirho , interrupting their meeting . Not long after the arrival of the Jedi , the Sith Lord Darth Vader had arrived in the Kashyyyk system , along with the " Imperator " - class Star Destroyer " Exactor " , where it joined Wilhuff Tarkin and " Executrix " . The two planned their attack on Kashyyyk — Vader interested in destroying the fugitive Jedi , Tarkin interested in enslaving the Wookiees for use in the construction of the Death Star . Although the fleet commanders were eager to bombard the planet , Vader overruled them , ordering a direct assault on several cities including Kachirho , Rwookrrorro , Kepitenochan , Okikuti , and Chenachochan . At Kachirho , the landed Imperial troops ordered the Wookiees to hand over the fugitive Jedi . The enraged Wookiees attacked the troops , and Starstone and her Jedi soon joined the battle . As more Imperial forces landed , the Wookiee warriors and the Jedi covered the evacuation of Kachirho , as countless Wookiees fled the Imperial troopers , fleeing from enslavement . Imperial landers and gunships were engaged by Oevvaor jet catamarans , retrofitted with rocket launchers and other high - end military hardware , salvaged by the Wookiees from the remnants left over by the earlier Battle of Kashyyyk . Meanwhile , Lord Vader piloted a " Theta " - class shuttle . Eventually making a landing at Kachirho , Vader was confronted by Starstone and her Jedi cadre . Vader killed Forte and Kulka , and injured Lu , Poorf , and Anno , leaving only himself and Starstone in the fight . The two briefly faced off , but Jedi Master Roan Shryne and the smuggler Archyr Beil arrived and intervened . Shryne slew Appo while Archyr dealt with the rest of the stormtroopers , and Shryne moved in to engage Vader in a vicious battle , buying Starstone and Archyr more time to escape with the injured Jedi . As Shryne and Vader dueled , the main battle began to drift east of the city , moving closer to the lake , as Imperial gunships and artillery drove the Wookiees down out of the city and towards the ground . Abruptly , the Imperial gunships began to retreat from Kachirho , as the orbiting Star Destroyers began their orbital bombardment . Shryne and Vader ' s duel was interrupted by the strike , and the two moved inside one of the great wroshyr trees . Once inside , Vader used Force throw to throw planks of wood and other debris at Shryne , critically injuring the Jedi in the process and throwing him down from a high bridge . Seeing that Shryne was going to die , Vader chose not to finish off the Jedi , instead revealing his true identity to the man — Anakin Skywalker , who would be redeemed by his son , Luke Skywalker , during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY . As Shryne passed away , " Victory " - class Star Destroyers began to descend into the atmosphere , finishing the conquest of Kashyyyk . About two hundred thousand Wookiees , including Tarfful , were captured and moved to containment camps on the Wawaatt Archipelago . As a result , the Empire gained control of Kashyyyk , and gained a valuable labor source for the Death Star project . Shortly thereafter , another Jedi was discovered taking refuge on Kashyyyk , and Darth Vader led an army , cutting through the forests trying to find him . Kento Marek was found and executed in front of his own son , Galen . Vader sensed potential in the boy , for Galen had actually used his Force abilities to pull Vader ' s lightsaber out of his hand . When a stormtrooper squad arrived to execute the boy , Vader killed them all , leaving no witnesses , and secretly took the boy under his training . Imperial expansion . The monarch of Naboo , Queen Apailana , decided that the situation called for military — not diplomatic — action . She started sheltering fugitive Jedi on the run from the Empire . To crush the uprising on Palpatine ' s homeworld , the 501st Legion invaded Theed and rushed into the plaza supported by TX - 130T fighter tank s after disabling an auto - turret grid . The Jedi were killed by the stormtroopers , and Apailana was shot and killed by a sniper . With Naboo in line , the 501st gained the nickname " Vader ' s Fist . " Some years later , a surviving Separatist named Gizor Dellso found refuge on Mustafar . Dellso was the designer of the droid army deactivation signal , and using his knowledge , reactivated a dormant droid army on the planet and planned a revolution . Similarly , the Kaminoan government planned action against the Empire and had grown a clone army . The Clone Wars nearly began again , but Vader ' s Fist put down both of the revolts . Further actions . During the purge , Vader wiped out the farming colony of Talasea for harboring a Jedi . Vader and a number of stormtroopers also killed the last Curator of Records on Toola . In 10 BBY , Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne captured and tortured Jedi Master Darrin Arkanian and his apprentice , Corwin Shelvay , on Coruscant . In an escape attempt , Tremayne killed Arkanian in a lightsaber duel , only to have Shelvay seriously wound him before making it offworld . Tremayne required cybernetics to recover , and was afterward dispatched by Vader aboard " Interrogator " to scour the Outer Rim for Shelvay . Around this time , Imperial Sentinel s were sent off Byss for the first time , to capture Ashka Boda . Bringing him to Coruscant in an Imperial dungeon ship , Palpatine killed him and took the Tedryn Holocron . Rebel foundations . Around 17 years into the purge , Jedi survivor Rahm Kota organized a militia and began attacking various Imperial targets . This was an attempt to lure Darth Vader out . Eventually attacking the TIE Fighter Construction Facility over Nar Shaddaa , Vader sent his apprentice , Galen Marek , Starkiller , to eliminate him , rather than coming personally as Kota expected . Kota was presumed dead in the ensuing battle , but somehow managed to survive the duel . Starkiller , a tool of Vader ' s used in his plot to overthrow Palpatine , was sent on two further assassination missions : Kazdan Paratus on Raxus Prime and Shaak Ti on Felucia . Paratus had gone mad and built a junk replica of the Jedi Temple on Raxus Prime , complete with mock statues of each of the Jedi High Council members , but was killed by Starkiller , along with his mock statues of the Jedi Council members being destroyed . Shaak Ti prepared for a possible revolution against the Sith , with her Padawan Maris Brood . She trained the native Jungle Felucian s to use the Force and organized them . When Starkiller arrived , the two dueled on a massive Sarlacc pit . Ti warned Starkiller of the nature of the Sith Order before falling into the pit . Palpatine ' s spies had tracked Vader ' s apprentice back to the " Executor " . There , Palpatine ordered Vader to kill Starkiller . Palpatine would later find use of Vader ' s apprentice , and had Vader retrieve his body and bring him back to life , giving him a new mission : gather the enemies of the Empire into one place . Vader disguised this order as another plot to overthrow Palpatine by giving him something else to pay attention to : an army of dissidents and rebels . This new mission would lead to Starkiller tracking down an ( alive ) General Rahm Kota , who was blinded following his duel with Starkiller and became a drunk , supposedly losing his connection with the Force . Kota would lead him to rescue Princess Leia Organa and Senator Bail Organa . Him and Bail talked of rebellion , and would agree that they would need to show other possible rebels that the Empire was indeed vulnerable . This mission led him to destroy a Star Destroyer construction facility over Raxus Prime . This act would inspire senators Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis to join Rahm , Marek , Leia and Bail Organa to sign the Corellian Treaty and officially organize the Alliance to Restore the Republic . During this meeting on Corellia , Vader raided , revealing his ruse , and brought the rebel senators to be tortured , interrogated , and executed aboard the Death Star I . Marek would realize his inner Jedi self , traveling to the Death Star and nearly killing both Sith Lords , allowing the senators and Rahm to escape . He would lose his life in the process . The Galactic Civil War had officially started , which began to draw the Empire away from their Jedi hunting and toward destroying the rebellion Palpatine had accidentally created . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin , Vader tracked a female Human Dark Jedi down on the planet Dargulli . Despite the fact that she wished to become his Sith apprentice , Vader killed her . Around this time , Vader also killed the Dark Woman , who had been found on Cophrigin V by Mara Jade . Throughout the Purge , CorSec aided Vader and his agents in hunting Jedi within the Corellian sector . Aftermath . By 1 BBY , the systematic Purge had concluded , but a few of the survivors would die in the years that followed — including Echuu Shen - Jon , killed by Vader on Krant , and , most notably , Obi - Wan Kenobi , who sacrificed himself on the first Death Star to ensure the escape of his protégé , Luke Skywalker . As the Galactic Civil War turned in favor of the Rebels , surviving Jedi began to come out of hiding , becoming members of the Alliance , even sacrificing their lives for the return of the Republic and democracy . Famous examples include Echuu Shen - Jon , Rahm Kota , Qu Rahn , Corwin Shelvay and Rachi Sitra . Four years after Kenobi ' s death , Yoda died at the old age of 900 and Anakin Skywalker , formerly Darth Vader , redeemed himself by sacrificing himself to save his son from being killed by his former master , Palpatine , on the second Death Star during the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY . In 5 ABY , one year after the Battle of Endor , Jedi Master Qu Rahn was captured by the Seven Dark Jedi , and after a short but fercious duel , he was cut down by the former Jedi turned inquistor Jerec aboard his flagship . The known surviving Jedi would even join the New Jedi Order ; in addition , six years after the Battle , Empatojayos Brand sacrificed himself to destroy the spirit of Palpatine on Onderon . The Purge was intended not only to symbolically and literally exterminate the entire Jedi Order , but also to consolidate the Jedi ' s history , knowledge , and technology into Palpatine ' s possession . Many holocrons , ancient techniques , training materials , and Jedi antiquities were lost . This was primarily due to the efforts of Darth Vader ; the Inquisitorius , Dark Jedi whose specific purpose was to seek out and destroy the vestiges of the Jedi Order ; and the Imperial Security Bureau , which was responsible for erasing the Order ' s memories . During his efforts to reestablish the order , Luke Skywalker and his relic hunters did intensive research to locate even the smallest scraps of information pertaining to the old Order , most notably on Onderon where the Jedi artifacts were located during the reign of the reborn Palpatine in 10 ABY . However , not all of the Jedi ' s writings and teachings were lost forever ; in the years after the Second Jedi Purge even up to the events after the Third Jedi Purge , anicent Jedi artifacts were rediscovered by the New Jedi Order across the galaxy , most notably on homeworlds that played a strong role in the history of the Jedi Order , like Tython , Ossus , Ilum , Dantooine , etc . Casualties . Later casualties . Many Jedi survived the initial execution of Order 66 and went into hiding . Some succeeded in avoiding the Empire ; however , others were eventually tracked down and destroyed . Known survivors or unaccounted Jedi as of the end of the Purge ; 1 BBY . As of 1 BBY , it was generally accepted that the Great Jedi Purge had concluded after nearly nineteen years of systematic Jedi slaughter . While any surviving Jedi were still to be executed on sight , the Empire was no longer assigning active searches . The Emperor knew there were still survivors , yet they were deemed too few to pose a threat . Though dozens of Jedi were unaccounted for , only around thirty Jedi Masters , Knights , Padawans and Initiates who still followed the Jedi way were definitively known to be alive by this point . Behind the scenes . In the Battle of Shumari , perhaps the most devastating event of the Great Jedi Purge , legions of Imperial troops under Vader ' s command clashed with a considerable number of Order 66 Jedi survivors . At the end of the battle , all Jedi but one had been killed , many by Vader himself . Shumari had been subjected to heavy orbital bombardment by orbiting Star Destroyers while the planetside battle raged , which devastated the planet completely , rendering it uninhabitable and wiping out all planetside residents . Vader took the lone surviving Jedi as another secret apprentice but was later forced by the Emperor to kill him . The details of the Purge are explained in the Expanded Universe . In contrast , the movies show only Yoda and Obi - Wan as survivors while others are either killed or just not mentioned . Some think that this is what George Lucas actually intended , that according to G - canon , the actual survivors were only two , which is supported by Yoda ' s line to Luke " The last of the Jedi you will be . " This statement seems inaccurate if other Jedi were alive as late as after " " , although it could simply refer to Jedi who are still following the teachings of the Order . Many of the survivors ceased to identify themselves as Jedi , despite having Jedi training , in order to exist in the changing galaxy and continue to evade the perpetrators of the Purge — so from a certain point of view , Yoda and Obi - Wan were the last of the open Jedi . Alternately , it could be that Yoda was simply unaware of other Jedi , or that the other Jedi had either already been hunted down or passed away . It is also important to note that during the events of " " , Obi - Wan changes the beacon in the Jedi Temple to warn any surviving members of the Order away , thus giving them a chance to escape the Purge .