Siege of Mandalore The siege of Mandalore , which engulfed the Outer Rim world of Mandalore , was one of the final battles of the Clone Wars . Former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Clone Captain Rex led a Galactic Republic battalion of clone trooper s to apprehend the ex – Sith Lord Darth Maul , who controlled Mandalore by proxy via a puppet leader , Prime Minister Almec . Although Rex and Tano nearly succeeded in their mission , Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine ' s issuance of Order 66 disrupted their efforts . Instead of murdering Maul , Tano elected to save Rex ' s life , and both they and Maul escaped from Mandalore as the planet descended into chaos . The Republic ' s successor state , the Galactic Empire , seized control of Mandalore and occupied the world , establishing an Imperial Academy there . Prelude . Mandalore ' s neutrality during the pan - galactic Clone Wars ultimately failed to stem the violent history of the Outer Rim world . In 19 BBY , the Sith Lord Darth Maul utilized his criminal organization known as the Shadow Collective to conquer Mandalore , ousting Duchess Satine Kryze and her pacifistic regime of the New Mandalorians . Yet , Maul ' s takeover of the Mandalorian Death Watch led one of the splinter group ' s lieutenant s , Bo - Katan Kryze , to form the Mandalorian Resistance , a rebel cell that opposed Maul ' s leadership . Maul further deepened his enmity with Kryze after he murdered her sister , Satine . As part of a campaign against Maul ' s super commandos , Kryze rescued Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi from Maul ' s captivity . Before Kenobi left Mandalore , Kryze told him to inform the Galactic Republic of the state of the embattled planet , since she hoped that a Republic invasion would result in Maul ' s demise . Yet , the Jedi High Council believed that the Republic Senate would refuse to intervene in the affairs of a neutral star system like the Mandalore system . Maul , meanwhile , was defeated and captured by his former Sith Master , Darth Sidious . Even though Maul later escaped from Sidious ' s custody , he remained absent from Mandalore . Still , the Mandalorian Resistance kept the Republic apprised with intelligence regarding the world , including the fact that Prime Minister Almec , the puppet leader whom Maul had installed during his coup , maintained ties to the Shadow Collective . For their part , Jedi General s like Kenobi and Mace Windu were determined not to let Mandalore fall to the Confederacy of Independent Systems . To that end , Kenobi and Windu led a Republic offensive against Maul and his Shadow Collective ; however , Maul remained at large . In the end , Sidious and the Confederacy quashed the Shadow Collective , robbing Maul of his criminal power base . Kryze ' s desire for a Republic invasion of Mandalore was fulfilled . While the Grand Army of the Republic was focused on other battlefronts as part of the Outer Rim Sieges , former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano undertook a mission to target Maul , who had returned to Mandalore . Tano ' s former Master , Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker , was unable to assist her because he and Kenobi were sent to rescue Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine , whom General Grievous had abducted as part of the ongoing Battle of Coruscant . In his absence , Skywalker allocated Tano a Republic battalion of clone trooper s under the command of an old friend of Tano ' s : Clone Captain CT - 7567 , nicknamed " Rex , " of the Grand Army ' s 501st Legion . The siege . Rex and Tano ' s battalion of clone troop s laid siege to Maul ' s holdings on Mandalore , causing Maul to respond with an army of his loyal forces . As entire regions of Mandalore erupted into battle zones , Tano and some of her allies baited Maul into a trap . Tano briefly crossed lightsaber s with Maul , luring him into a plaza where her comrades snared him in a ray shield . Afterwards , Bo - Katan Kryze , who was Tano ' s ally , was appointed the regent of Mandalore . Nevertheless , the Republic ' s success did not last long . Chancellor Palpatine , who was in fact Darth Sidious , issued Order 66 , which forced the Grand Army ' s clone troopers to execute their Jedi commanding officer s . During the ensuing chaos on Mandalore , Tano was presented with the opportunity to kill Maul , but she instead chose to save Rex . Unlike the rest of the clone troopers , Rex was not forced to attack Tano , as he had removed his inhibitor chip , an inorganic brain implant that compelled each clone trooper to comply with Order 66 , some time prior . Both Rex and Tano escaped from Mandalore , as did Maul , while a fresh wave of violence gripped the Mandalorian homeworld . Aftermath . The siege of Mandalore , as it came to be known , further disrupted the balance of power on the Outer Rim world . The Galactic Empire , which replaced the Republic thanks to the machinations of the newly christened Emperor Palpatine , gained control of Mandalore and occupied the planet . The Empire also transformed the New Mandalorians ' Royal Academy of Government into a local Imperial Academy to train cadets for its nascent military . Furthermore , the Empire outlawed the Mandalorians ' mercenary practices , though it paid off certain groups like the Journeyman Protector s of Concord Dawn in exchange for their loyalty . Kryze ' s position as regent did not last long , as she refused to do the Empire ' s bidding and was swiftly forced out of power by Clan Saxon . As Palpatine initiated a galaxy - wide Jedi Purge to expunge the Jedi Order , Rex and Tano parted ways and separately went into hiding in the Outer Rim . To ensure that the Empire presumed they were dead , Rex and Tano made a false grave for the former using the corpse of another clone trooper , inscribing on the headstone that both of them had killed each other . Tano also left behind her lightsaber and shoto at the burial site to facilitate their deception . Tano nonetheless suffered from guilt due to her failure to capture Maul on Mandalore , especially since the Jedi Order was no longer around to protect the galaxy from his wrath . Maul , for his part , eventually became stranded on the Sith wasteland planet of Malachor after his starship crash - landed there . Sixteen years after the Clone Wars , Tano and Maul engaged in a rematch during an encounter on Malachor . Behind the scenes . The siege of Mandalore was first mentioned in " The Lost Commanders " , the premiere episode of the " Star Wars Rebels " television series ' second season . The episode , which was written by Matt Michnovetz , aired on October 14 , 2015 . Michnovetz included the mention of the event as a reference to the unreleased series finale of , the television series that preceded " Star Wars Rebels " . Previously , as the head writer for " The Clone Wars " , Michnovetz detailed the siege of Mandalore for a story arc that would have concluded the series ' eighth and final season . According to Supervising Director Dave Filoni , the story arc revolved around the possibility that Ahsoka Tano would rejoin the Jedi Order . However , the episodes were not completed prior to the series ' cancellation in 2013 . The siege of Mandalore first appeared in author E . K . Johnston ' s young adult novel " Ahsoka " , which was released on October 11 , 2016 . For her novel , Johnston drew upon plot points that Michnovetz had mapped out with Filoni . Prior to then , Filoni had released a number of details about the siege of Mandalore in various forms , including concept art as well as a panel presentation entitled " Ahsoka ' s Untold Tales " at Celebration Europe in July 2016 . Notably , Johnston ' s " Ahsoka " explained how the siege of Mandalore tied into the events of the 2005 film . The novel also confirmed that Tano confronted Darth Maul on Mandalore , an encounter that was first referred to in " Twilight of the Apprentice " , the second season finale of " Star Wars Rebels " .