Mandalore the Lesser Mandalore the Lesser was the title bestowed upon the Human male leader of the Mandalorian warrior clans during the Great Galactic War and the Cold War . Before becoming Mandalore , the man was a young member of the then - scattered warrior clans . He lived on Geonosis as one of the many Mandalorian gladiators who participated in arena fights for prestige . Although he was a proficient fighter in his own right , his rise to fame was dramatically accelerated by the intervention of Imperial Intelligence , an espionage agency of the reconstituted Sith Empire . Agents of Imperial Intelligence identified the young man as a possible pawn they could use to reunite the Mandalorian clans and direct them into an alliance with the Sith . The agents fast - tracked his path to infamy by rigging his gladiatorial matches and spreading the word that he was to become the new warrior - king of his people , Mandalore . He accepted the title and the power it carried , but became subservient to the Empire that built him . As an act of loyalty , the new Mandalore directed his followers to blockade the Hydian Way . The blockade crippled the Galactic Republic against whom the Empire was fighting and placed the Sith as the apparent victors of the Great Galactic War . Although the blockade on the Hydian Way lasted for a year , it was eventually broken by intrepid smugglers led by the Mirialan Hylo Visz . After the conflict , Mandalore needed to re - energize his people , and so organized the Great Hunt — a galaxy - wide competition for glory . The Hunt ' s victor challenged the Mandalore to a duel and won , killing the warrior - king and claiming the title for himself ; becoming Mandalore the Vindicated . It was later revealed to the galaxy that the Mandalore who had risen to fame on Geonosis was nothing more than an Imperial puppet , and history remember him as " the lesser " of the Mandalores . Biography . Ascension . During the Great Galactic War , the Sith Empire tried to recruit the Mandalorians to fight for them . But only a small number of them chose to join . In an attempt to gain all the Mandalorians , Imperial Intelligence decided to find a new Mandalore to reunite the scattered warriors . The individual who would become this new Mandalore was initially a gladiator fighting in the arenas of Geonosis . Aside from his incredible skills , Imperial Intelligence would sabotage his opponents so he would always win . After rising to prominence there , he took the title of Mandalore and called for the scattered Mandalorians to reunite . The Mandalorians answered , and he promised to lead them to great glory . In reality , the new Mandalore was a Sith puppet . Serving the Sith . The Sith ' s new alliance with the Mandalore brought the stalemate in the war to a swift end as he led the Mandalorians to blockade the Hydian Way . The blockade rendered the Hydian inaccessible , hindering the Republic war effort and causing a major economic depression in the Core Worlds . The Knights of the Jedi Order , fighting on behalf of the Republic , attempted to break the blockade ; however , the Mandalorians soundly defeated them . Seeing a profit to be made in victory against the Mandalorians , the Mirialan smuggler Hylo Visz later led her fellow smugglers in a battle against the blockade which resulted in the defeat of the Mandalore ' s warriors and the opening of the Rimma Trade Route . The Great Hunt . Some time after the Treaty of Coruscant was signed , Mandalore the Lesser attempted to re - energize the Mandalorians and restore his support among them by reviving a several centuries old competition that spanned the galaxy , known as the Great Hunt . The victor of this " new " Great Hunt , however , challenged Mandalore the Lesser to a duel in which he killed Mandalore the Lesser by shooting him to death , and then proclaimed himself the new Mandalore .