Kaleesh / Legends Kaleesh were reptilian humanoids from the planet Kalee . They had scaly skin , tusks , and long nostrils , though few outsiders ever saw a Kaleesh face that wasn ' t obscured behind a traditional mask . Kaleesh culture was deeply spiritual and warlike . War was seen as an essential part of life , and wars between tribes were common . Biology and appearance . Kaleesh had reddish - brown scaly skin , four - clawed hands , and five - clawed feet . Each Kaleesh hand featured two opposable thumbs . Because of the thermal pits under their eyes , Kaleesh could see in the dark . Tusks protruded from their , and shorter ones jutted from their chins . Kaleesh had large pointed ears and long nostrils that stretched close to their eyes . They had very keen olfactory sense and were able to produce pheromones . Most of their facial features were obscured behind the traditional masks they wore , and outsiders rarely saw Kaleesh unmasked . They were known to practice polygyny , a form of polygamy , where a male courts multiple wives . Grievous , a cyborg Kaleesh , had a digitigrade stance , but this does not appear to have been representative of the Kaleesh as a whole and may derive from his reconstruction based on a Krath war droid . Society and culture . The Kaleesh were a spiritual people , believing that those who performed great deeds in life became gods in death . Therefore , burial places were sacred to them . A large number of temples were devoted to their ancestor gods , the holiest of which was called Shrupak . Abesmi , a great monolith of stone in the Jenuwaa Sea , was the place the Kaleesh believed the gods ascended to the heavens . Pilgrims took the perilous voyage to Abesmi to beseech the gods . As of the New Republic era , the late General Grievous , former Kaleesh warrior Qymaen jai Sheelal , had joined his species ' pantheon of religious deities . Their society was divided into numerous tribes , including the Lig , and the Kaleesh were known to take multiple wives and have many children . War was viewed as an essential and sacred practice , and the culture ' s large emphasis on honor was known to spur many acts of vengeance among the various tribes . However , when necessary , the tribes would put aside their differences and bond to fend off a common enemy . Typical Kaleesh weaponry included a Czerka Arms Outland rifle , a Lig sword , and a Shoni spear . History . The Old Republic . During the time of the Old Republic , the Kaleesh were known slaves of the Sith Empire and were occasionally trained when seen to have Force abilities . An example of this is a Kaleesh known as Xalek who became apprenticed to a prominent Sith Lord on the Dark Council . Kaleesh also trained as Jedi , such as Cin Tykan , a Jedi Master . They were also known prisoners of the infamous prison planet Belsavis and played lesser roles across the galaxy at the time . Despite segregation within the Sith Empire , one of them , Razer , gained a Sith Lord title . The Bitthevrian threat . Around 65 BBY , the Republic had been having strained relations with Guiteica , homeworld of the Bitthævrian s , due to their non - membership . After a few years of failed negotiations , a Republic - backed soldier attempted to stage a coup against Guiteica ' s leader in order to force the planet to join the Republic . The attempt failed , however , and caused a surge of violence and hostility toward all Republic stations within the surrounding Kadok Regions . Kalee , near the edge of Bitthævrian space , though a mostly unnoticed planet considered backwater by the Republic , would have had nothing to fear from the m ' Yalfor ' ac Order , as the Bitthævrian military was known . However , Republic administration wished to keep the rebellion a secret , and rather than making noise by having their own forces terminate it , convinced the Kaleesh that they were indeed in danger . Quietly sending a group of military instructors to the planet , the Republic trained and armed the Kaleesh military force — Kolkpravis . Armed with projectile - firing Czerka Outland rifle and backed by a small group of Knights sent by the Jedi Council , the Kolkpravis were able to end the perceived threat of the Bitthævrian to the Republic . Notably , the grandmother of Qymaen jai Sheelal participated in the Kaleesh assault . The Huk War . The Huk War was a long conflict prior to the Clone Wars , beginning when the Yam ' rii of the neighboring planet Huk , having overpopulated their own planet , began taking over and colonizing nearby worlds , eventually arriving at Kalee . They captured millions of Kaleesh and sold them into slavery . The Kaleesh , led by Sheelal and Ronderu lij Kummar , rebelled against their invaders in a bloody series of battles that would leave multitudes dead on both sides . After obliterating the Yam ' rii presence on Kalee , Sheelal led his warriors back to the Yam ' rii colony worlds , massacring civilians as well as soldiers . The Yam ' rii petitioned in the Senate for Republic intervention , and received as much when a dispatch of Jedi arrived to end the war . The Senate imposed harsh sanctions on Kalee , plunging the world into an economic crisis . However , this crisis eventually came to an end when the InterGalactic Banking Clan helped the planet in economic repairs in exchange for the services of Grievous . Following the Huk War , the Yam ' rii desecrated the burial grounds of the Kaleesh on the planet Oben , prompting Kaleesh warlord Qymaen jai Sheelal to return from working for the Banking Clan to again lead the Kolkpravis . The IBC sabotaged Sheelal ' s shuttle , nearly killing him and killing seven of the eight Izvoshra , elite warriors who protected him and carried out his will . Qymaen was later resurrected as the Separatist cyborg General Grievous ; who played a pivotal role in the Clone Wars . The Kaleesh supported the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars until its defeat in 19 BBY and the death of General Grievous at the Battle of Utapau . Years afterwards , Grievous would be worshiped as a deity on Kalee . The sole surviving Izvoshra , a tyrant of Kalee ' s western hemisphere named Bentilais san Sk ' ar , rallied the Kolkpravis and led the slaughter of the Yam ' rii on Oben , where he subsequently moved his people . Galactic Empire . Due to their ties to the Separatist movement and their role in the Clone Wars , the species was presumably targeted for retribution by the newly risen Galactic Empire . For nearly a decade , the Kaleesh under General Bentilais san Sk ' ar held out against the Imperials until they were finally routed on Oben by Captain Thrawn , who was usually able to study his adversaries ' art and devise a strategy to defeat them from there . In the case of the Kaleesh , Thrawn was unable to comprehend the works of art , and so leveled Oben with his Star Destroyers ; presumably inflicting heavy casualties and bringing an end to the insurrection . Given the species ' cultural focus on valor and honor in combat , Sk ' ar recognized the Empire ' s superior technology and tactics and held no ill will against the victors since his people had died with honor . Thus when approached by Captain Rel Bentin , Sk ' ar offered his life or his services . Bentin , intimidated by the towering figure of Sk ' ar , brought the Kaleesh before Emperor Palpatine . Despite the Empire ' s xenophobia towards Non - Humans , the Emperor was impressed enough by the Kaleesh ' s courage and potential to accept Sk ' ar into the ranks of his Imperial armies . Thus , Sk ' ar went down in galactic history as one of the few Non - Humans to reach an important position within the humanocentric Galactic Empire besides Grand Admiral Thrawn , Fleet Admiral Krieg , Procurator of Justice Hethrir , and a few others . With an Imperial strike force under his command , Sk ' ar embarked on a campaign across the Jahilid Drift , conquering several worlds and making a name for himself in the Imperial military . Preferring to use divide and conquer tactics rather than flat out bombardment , Sk ' ar ' s plans put his troops at lessened risk while putting the worlds he overran under stronger Imperial control . His campaigns eventually brought him to Shiva IV ; however , there he was thwarted by agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Attempting to evade defeat , he was killed when the Wookiee Chewbacca threw a solid steel gun mount at his starship , causing Sk ' ar ' s aircraft to explode . Meanwhile , the Kolkpravis was taken over by a female Kaleesh believed to be the second coming of Grievous ' s dead soulmate , Ronderu lij Kummar . Darth Krayt ' s Sith Empire . By the time of the Second Imperial Civil War , 137 ABY , Imperial discriminatory policies had been eliminated , several Non - Humans served within the Imperial military . Such was the case of a Kaleesh stormtrooper , stationed aboard the " Relentless " , a ship that served as transport for the Galactic Emperor Darth Krayt . Behind the scenes . The Kaleesh first appeared in " Chapter 20 " , an episode of the Clone Wars animated television series on Cartoon Network . The species was later retconned to be mentioned in multiple other sources , including " Heir to the Empire " by Timothy Zahn . According to Dan Wallace in his endnotes for the " Galaxy at War " RPG book , the concept of the Old Republic supplying the Kaleesh with advanced weapons to fight off a threat only to create an enemy with the Kaleesh in the process was analogous to the arming of various natives of Afghanistan , most notably the Mujhadeen during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan , only for its successor group , the Taliban , alongside Al - Qaeda , to become hostile towards the United States . Inconsistencies . Although General Grievous was shown to have digitigrade stance , possibly because his cyborg body was constructed based upon the Krath War droid ; most other images of Kaleesh show a standard plantigrade stance , much like most humanoid species . However , the statues of Grievous as a Kaleesh warrior shown in " " episode " Lair of Grievous " show a digitigrade stance even before he was a cyborg , as do the prequel comic on Starwars . com , " " and the " Galaxy at War " sourcebook . Another inconsistency is the leg structure of the species . The image from Galaxy at War sourcebook , showing the Kaleesh Kolkpravis shows them having splayed four toed , reptilian feet which are quite tall giving the appearance of digitigrade stance . However , the picture from " The New Essential Guide to Alien Species " reveals them to have five toed feet and normal plantigrade stance .