Jedi

A Jedi was a devotee to the ways of the Jedi Order, an ancient order of protectors united by their ability to harness the power of the Force. Adhering to a doctrine that favored the light side of the Force, the Jedi aspired to attain a state of inner tranquility through calmness and meditation while avoiding emotions affiliated with the dark side of the Force, such as anger and hatred. Nevertheless, Jedi philosophy did not forbid a Jedi from acting in self-defense or in the defense of others, and they were colloquially known as Space Wizards to citizens of the galaxy. To that end, a Jedi's only possession was their lightsaber, a symbol of their role as guardians of peace and justice.
Before the time of the Galactic Empire, Jedi worked with the Galactic Republic with a commitment to freedom and democracy. The Jedi and the Republic's ideals brought them into conflict with an order of dark side wielders known as the Sith, who sought power and dominion over the galaxy. Emerging victorious from their wars with the ancient Sith, the Jedi carried on in their duty as peacekeepers for over a millennium until the advent of the Clone Wars twenty-two years before the Battle of Yavin. Faced with a pan-galactic civil war between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Jedi adopted the mantle of generals and soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic. After three years of conflict, the Jedi discovered that the Sith had deceived them and engineered the war to restore them back to power. However, just before the Sith were defeated, the Jedi were betrayed by one of their own—the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker, who had been seduced to the dark side and anointed Darth Vader by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Using the Jedi's own clone troopers to initiate a systematic purge of the Jedi Order, the Lords of the Sith all but eradicated the Jedi in one fell swoop, reducing the order from thousands of Jedi Knights guarding the galaxy, to a handful of survivors cast into exile across the galaxy.
The Sith ruled the galaxy through the Empire for a generation, but did not succeed in completely wiping out the Jedi Order. As a result, Ezra Bridger and Luke Skywalker were, in turn, trained as new Jedi by Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, respectively. Skywalker, the son of Vader, was also taught the ways of the Jedi by Grand Master Yoda and fought for the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. On his death bed, Yoda gave his final apprentice the mandate of passing on his lessons to a new generation of Jedi. Shortly afterward, Skywalker succeeded in redeeming his father, who sacrificed himself to save his son by killing his Sith Master, Emperor Sidious, thereby destroying the Sith and fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One.
During the era of the New Republic, Skywalker worked to rebuild the Jedi Order by training a dozen apprentices, including his young but powerful nephew, Ben Solo, but Solo fell to the dark side and became Kylo Ren, apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke, master of the Knights of Ren, and a warlord of the First Order, while Skywalker's training temple and students were destroyed. As the First Order rose to power, Ren and Snoke sought to destroy Skywalker, who, in self-exile, briefly trained Rey in the ways of the Jedi until he sacrificed himself to save the Resistance, after which time Skywalker's sister, Leia Organa, continued her training. When a reborn Darth Sidious—Rey's grandfather—revealed himself to the galaxy, Ben Solo, the opposite in a dyad in the Force with Rey, was redeemed, and Rey sacrificed herself to destroy the phantom Sith Lord, preventing the rebirth of the Sith Order. Rey was saved from death by Solo, who gave his life for hers, allowing the Jedi to live on.
==Description==
===Philosophy===
The Jedi Knights focused on calmness and peace to channel their powers in the Force, using the light side of the Force to serve in the capacity of guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. Even so, the Jedi sought to preserve balance in the Force; the ancient prophecy of the Chosen One foretold of a being who would restore balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. In combat, whereas an enemy may grow impatient and rely on their overwhelming strength, a Jedi would meditate and find serenity in their mind to focus. A Jedi used the Force for defense and knowledge rather than use it to gain power over others. Their chosen weapon the lightsaber, a weapon with limitations, likewise symbolized the care a Jedi took wielding their gifts and that when a Jedi fights it is with intention and precision, ending conflict while injuring no more, or taking no more life, than the lightsaber's wielder chooses. “The Lesson” - Star Wars (2020) 25 Always supposed to put the needs of others before their own,The High Republic: Path of Vengeance a Jedi was supposed to be selfless and work to save others above themselves.The High Republic: Light of the Jedi Like all people, Jedi were imperfect and always needed to strive to better themselves, meaning it was impossible to be a "perfect Jedi."The High Republic: Convergence
Because of their ability in the Force, a Jedi, even if they lacked a physical weapon, was never defenseless,Ahsoka and some Jedi were capable of appearing after death as Force spirits. The Jedi considered themselves instruments of the Force, and during the time of the Galactic Republic, peacekeepers instead of soldiers. Striving to be majestic yet simple, knowledge, the Force, and self-discipline were considered the three pillars of Jedi strength.Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition Instead of acting for selfish aims, such as securing wealth or power, the Jedi focused their pursuits on learning, reaching enlightenment, helping others in a just fashion, and finding balance.Age of Republic - Qui-Gon Jinn 1 The Jedi believed that—no matter one's physical appearance—everyone was internally made up of light. Individuals who did not understand the Force took to calling Jedi "space wizards."
Through the Jedi Order all Jedi belonged to, a Jedi was connected to the entire galaxy. As part of the Order, a single Jedi had the advantage of a structured community to rely on and gain confidence from. In the opinion of Padawan Matthea Cathley, the Jedi were better as a group than on their own. Similarly, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi thought of the Order as something that proved that, in being a Jedi, he was part of something bigger than himself.Obi-Wan and Anakin 5 Indeed, the Jedi could rely on their Order in tough times, enabling an individual Jedi to act in a bold fashion and make large scale choices about spreading light. One enemy of the Jedi, Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro, thus regarded the Jedi Order as something the Jedi would tap into, much like their ability to tap into the Force itself.
The life of a Jedi was full of hardships. Training to become a Jedi was difficult, according to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and those who succeeded were faced with a hard life ahead. Adherence to the Jedi way required a disciplined mind and a strong sense of commitment, and it was considered unbecoming of a Jedi to seek adventure or excitement. The Jedi Code therefore regulated the lives of individual Jedi, their actions and beliefs, and the policies of the Jedi Order. While the Code permitted compassion, attachment and possession were forbidden to the Jedi. The Jedi believed that attachment led to jealousy, and greed in turn, and ultimately the fear of loss which was a pathway to the dark side of the Force. Through the Force, the Jedi hoped to direct themselves through their passions, instead of acting in an impulsive manner.The High Republic: Path of Deceit Forgoing attachment was also considered essential to a Jedi's progress in mastering their Force powers, as their training could last from years to a lifetime. Despite the importance of non-attachment in the Jedi vow, there was disagreement on what that specifically meant.The High Republic: Midnight Horizon
Some Jedi took it to mean they needed to suppress their emotions, such as vanquishing love and discomfort from themselves, whereas others believed trying to master emotion went against the ideals of the Order. For the latter group of Jedi, emotions like love were centered upon the idea of letting go. Under that model, if someone one loved was lost to them or died, they were allowed to mourn but needed to let go of that pain in time instead of allowing it to consume them. Indeed, the Jedi accepted death as a part of the natural course of life, believing that the deceased should be celebrated instead of mourned for becoming one with the Force. Detachment was nonetheless one of the most difficult lessons for Jedi to learn, as it took practice and repetition to master. Learning the lesson—that, to be a Jedi, one needed to "let go"—multiple times over his long life, Grand Master Yoda was able to carry the belief to his deathbed after a lifespan of nine centuries, even accepting his death—the death of all life—as the way of the Force.
Indeed, the Jedi understood feelings like love to be natural; Jedi were allowed to feel these emotions, but their task was to balance their strong feelings. With an understanding of their strongest emotions, it was hoped a Jedi would analyze what, deep down, made them feel the way they did. Able to then address their underlining motivations, the Jedi could formulate the best possible path forward instead of allowing themself to act without thinking. Attachments like romance were understood to be distractions from the Jedi mission of spreading justice and the light side: it represented a person tying themself down to one attachment, rather than opening themself up to the galaxy as a whole. Bound only to the Force and the Jedi Temple, relationships to a Jedi needed to be carefully handled in the name of their service to the Force. Close friendships still existed and were valued, but a Jedi needed to understand their friends could be lost and need to be let go of at any given time.
===Galactic sentiments===
Throughout the history of the galaxy, Jedi were often seen as a noble order that protected the galaxy and the Galactic Republic as the guardians of peace and justice. In some cases, like Onderonians, having the backing of a Jedi inspired confidence. The skills associated with a Jedi Knight were revered and as such, their warrior prowess was known and respected to varies degrees from warrior-like cultures such as Mandalorians. Some outsiders had exaggerated views of the sheer power an average Jedi possessed and attributed them with being able to do things the Jedi themselves considered more to be like divine action.
However, anti-Jedi sentiment was also present throughout their history, stronger in some periods than others. The Sith aimed to purge the galaxy of the Jedi and their ways. Other groups and factions emerged with anti-Jedi sentiments; various Mandalorians, like those of Death Watch, held a grudge against the Jedi for their perceived crimes against Mandalore during the Mandalorian-Jedi War. The Dagoyan Order also had a chilly relation with up until the later years of the Galactic Republic; early in its history, the Jedi Order had attempted to take in Bardottan children, causing them to cease most contact. The E'roni spread stories of the Jedi, with some claiming the Jedi were miracle workers who used the power of levitation and "laser swords." Other E'roni, however, looked down on the Jedi as outsiders. Their rivals, the Eirami, did not have stories of the Jedi but spoke of their "first god" in a similar way to how the Jedi described the Force.
A cult known as the Path of the Open Hand believed the Jedi abused the Force by using it, and thus promoted anti-Jedi sentiment and the belief that the order was the reason for much of the galaxy's suffering. They rose to prominence on the planet Dalna during the early High Republic Era, during which time they began to spread their influence and beliefs across the Dalnan sector and the greater galaxy. The Path declared that the Force did not belong to the Jedi, which was a claim the Jedi had never actually made.
As the Jedi Order evolved and changed to face the challenges that were current to the galaxy, the way its members acted also had a habit of changing and evolving with time,Star Wars (2020) 20 which often could have an impact on their relationship with the public. During the High Republic Era, the Jedi maintained the ideals of avoiding attachment but made sure to show great acts of compassion towards those who were suffering, such as offering hugs to those who were grieving.The High Republic (2021) 3 However, many Jedi active in the late Republic Era gave into their need to avoid attachments to a detrimental extent, resulting in them instead offering proclamations of the Force and the greater good to those who were grieving, which often left those who were suffering with bitterness and the feeling that the Force users did not truly care.
When a Jedi Knight of the High Republic Era had acted in such a way to the young Axel Greylark, as he was forced to leave his father behind so she could save him and the rest of a starship crew, it generated a lifelong hate for the Jedi in Greylark's heart. Rather than properly comfort the boy, the Jedi Knight had said his father's demise was the will of the Force before moving on with her duties. As he started to grow close to Jedi Knight Gella Nattai, he explained the story to her. While she understood what the Jedi Knight had meant, she knew it would not help Greylark to repeat it and instead affirmed to him that caring for grieving children was important to the Jedi, despite the other Knight's poor word choice. As the Republic Era reached its end, however, the more distant approach won out, with many Jedi adopting a more detached persona that, unknowingly, created public dislike towards them. Whereas the Jedi of the High Republic did not believe qualities like the age someone came to the Order at or their midi-chlorian count to be determining factors in whether someone could be a Jedi, the later Jedi did overwhelmingly value these factors.
The High Republic Era also saw greater variance in Jedi lightsabers, with differing hilt designs and blade colors seeing greater useThe High Republic (2021) 8 when compared to their late Republic counterparts. A shift in lightsaber design culture came during the High Republic Era's Nihil conflict, where the Guardian Protocols-minded Jedi Order gave the order to only create simple battle saber hilts: if there was to be great conflict, the Council reasoned that lightsabers would be lost and then replaced. As such, the Council ordered Jedi to only create the basic hilt design instead of more unique looks because basic battle sabers were faster to create and maintain in excess.The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight 1 The hilts of late Republic lightsaber were largely the same and basic in design, much like the lightsabers created under the battle saber order. All the same, the later period of the High Republic Era had continued to see variance in lightsaber color. The High Republic Jedi also acknowledged a Jedi needed to be more than their lightsaber,The High Republic: Cataclysm whereas the late Republic Jedi declared a lightsaber was "[their] life."
Jedi of the High Republic Era each developed their own understanding of the Force and how to understand it, with Jedi being allowed to take on the position of "Wayseeker" to avoid the orders of the High Council and follow only the will of the Force. One Wayseeker went as far to become an Alderaanian singing sensation.The High Republic: Into the Dark Beyond establishing temples across the galaxy and working those temples into each planet's culture and environment, Jedi of the High Republic Era also made a true effort to live amongst the cultures they tried to protect. Instead of simply living in their temples most of the time and only leaving when a mission called, the Jedi of the High Republic called the galaxy overall their home, establishing new temples and new missions across the galaxy as they traveled to meet and help the galaxy's cultures.
==History==
===Guardians of the Republic===
The Jedi were an order of ancient origins, having been present in the galaxy for over one thousand generations. Originally established at the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To by the Prime Jedi, the Jedi Order built temples and outposts on numerous worlds throughout the galaxy, including Coruscant, Ossus, Tython, and Jedha. The Jedi eventually came to align with the democratic Galactic Republic and owed their allegiance to the Galactic Senate. For a time, the Jedi were addressed using the honorary title of "Lord Jedi," but the title fell out of use in the millennium before the High Republic Era, with only the Togrutas keeping use of the title.The High Republic: The Rising Storm
===Wars of the Old Republic===
When a rogue Jedi was exiled from the order after advocating the use of the dark side of the Force, they gained followers which led to the creation of the Sith during the Hundred-Year Darkness.Star Wars (2015) 9 The Jedi and Sith became bitter enemies, engaging in a number of battles and wars like the Sith war, the Battle of Takodana,Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary the Great Hyperspace War, the Great Sith War, the Great Scourge of Malachor, the resurgence of the Sith,Knights of Fate and the defeat of Darth Momin.Darth Vader (2017) 22
Another splinter group of Jedi emerged, calling themselves the Ordu Aspectu. Some records suggested they had hoped to give immortality to everyone in the galaxy, yet others believed that they may have killed Jedi Padawans to try to achieve their goals. The Ordu Aspectu and the "orthodox" JediDoctor Aphra (2016) 5 came to fight against each other in the Entruvia Conflict, which ended with a peace treaty. The treaty allowed the Ordu to continue their research into immortality, but gave the Jedi Order the right to inspect the research. The doom of the Ordu Aspectu, however, would result in the destruction of the splinter order and the Jedi inspectors: the leader of the Aspectu—a man named Rur—was able to download his mind into a computer, creating the Eternal Rur, which wiped out everyone present.Doctor Aphra (2016) 6 At another point in the Jedi Order's history, in the aftermath of the Corsair Wars, Jedi Master Oo'ob broke from doctrine to create the Farkiller.Doctor Aphra (2016) 33
The Great Jedi Library on Ossus was destroyed at some point prior to the Clone Wars. At some point before the construction of the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant, the Jedi evacuated a few of the holobooks and artifacts from the lost Great Library which made it to the Jedi Archives on Coruscant. At some point, the mosaic floor of the First Temple on Ossus was salvaged and transported to the Order's newer headquarters on Coruscant. In the quasi-historical Qel-Droma Epics, Ossus was decimated during the Cron Supernova around 4000 BBY,According to Nexus of Power, the Qel-Droma Epics dates the destruction of Ossus to approximately 4000 years before the Imperial Era. when the Sith Lord Naga Sadow triggered stars in the Cron Cluster to become supernovae. The Jedi had little warning of the coming cataclysm and prioritized the artifacts from the Chamber of Antiquities of the Great Jedi Library. Despite the efforts, they only managed to save a fraction of the artifacts housed on the planet, which made it to the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant via nearby Exis Station, leaving the Great Library in ruins.
Also during the reign of the Old Republic, the Mandalorians, the warrior people of the planet Mandalore, launched a number of wars, often coming into conflict with the Jedi. Battles between the Mandalorians and Jedi dated back to the time of the Mandalorian crusaders. According to legend, Mandalore the Great led the Mandalorians against the Jedi in a number of battles. Eventually, the Mandalorians developed their distinctive armor in order to combat their Force-sensitive enemies.
The war against the Mandalorians ended in a decisive Jedi victory. In the process, the surface of Mandalore was devastatedStar Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Two Featurette: "Creating Mandalore" during the final battle between Mandalorian warlords and the Jedi Order. Also at some point, as recounted in legend, a Force-sensitive Mandalorian named Tarre Vizsla was inducted into the Jedi Order. His lightsaber, the Darksaber, was stored in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant after his death until members of House Vizsla broke in and stole the blade during the fall of the Old Republic. The Darksaber went on to be used to cut down many Jedi and unite the Mandalorian people as a symbol of leadership.
The Old Republic crumbled as a result of the Jedi-Sith wars, but its remnants and the Jedi still waged the final war against the Sith.Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy Ultimately, the Sith's greed for power caused them to turn on each other, which helped the Jedi defeat and decimate the weakened Sith. However, one Sith Lord, Darth Bane, secretly survived the destruction and continued the Sith by creating the Rule of Two and initiating the Great Plan. The Jedi would discover and then think they destroyed Bane's rule,Star Wars (2020) 20 but the Sith continued to survive in secret under the Rule of Two.
===The Great Peace===
====Jedi of the Republic====
=====Across the galaxy=====
After the defeat and assumed destruction of the Sith, the Jedi Order enjoyed a political ascension and saw an increase in recruitment. During the so-called "Great Peace" enjoyed by the Galactic Republic,Rise of the Separatists which had reinvented itself after the defeat of the Sith, the Jedi maintained a reputation and role of being peacekeepers despite their limited numbers. The Jedi took part inThe High Republic (2022) 1 the Republic-Togruta conflict. The High Republic Era in particular was the height of the Jedi Order's power,The High Republic: Light of the Jedi hardcover dust jacket write up being a time of greatly expanded Jedi activity throughout the galaxy that even allowed them to stretch out far from the Core Worlds.The Rise of Kylo Ren 2 During the era, the Jedi worked closely with the Republic. In the days of the Great Hyperspace Rush, the Jedi worked with Outer Rim Exploration Teams sent out by Supreme Chancellors Orlen Mollo and Kyong Greylark, who both hoped to unite the galaxy. Even Jedi who were not currently working with Republic Pathfinders were expected to perform similar work, introducing themselves to and learning from local cultures, as well as looking for possible temple locations and Force-sensitive children. The Jedi hoped to prove themselves to the people of the Outer Rim Territories as defenders they could rely on.
However, the Republic and Jedi's expansion into the Outer Rim brought them into conflict with the Path of the Open Hand cult, which believed the Jedi were actively hurting the galaxy by using the Force. As part of their campaign to root out the supposed abusers of the Force, the Path unleashed a NamelessThe High Republic: Trail of Shadows 5 later known as the Great Leveler, which feasted upon Force users. Jedi Sav Malagán fought alongside a pirate crew led by Maz Kanata during the Battle of Jedha.The High Republic Adventures (2021) 9 The defeat of the Path would come with the Night of Sorrow, during which the Path unleashed a number of Nameless against the Jedi. After the battle, Yoda and Jedi Master Creighton Sun decided to cover up the existence of the Nameless until more could be learned about the mysterious threat, reasoning that details about the beings getting out would be a danger to the Order. However, the decision left later Jedi vulnerable to an enemy they were not prepared for. Victory over the Path was seen as proof of how well the Jedi-Republic partnership worked out for the galaxy. However, later in the High Republic Era, some Jedi, such as Master Cohmac Vitus, came to question whether it was right for the Jedi to work so closely with the Republic. In particular, Vitus pointed to the Night of Sorrow as a tragic event that had come about due to a joint Republic-Jedi effort.The High Republic: Out of the Shadows
Nevertheless, with the Republic seeking to bring the Outer Rim into its domain through projects like Starlight Beacon, the Order agreed to establish outposts in the Outer Rim, establishing these outposts to provide help to people in the galaxy's wilder locations and to help explore these places. Prior to the dedication of Starlight, these outposts and their three to seven Jedi occupants—operating separately from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant—became the only force for justice on the Galactic Frontier. During the High Republic, the foremost Jedi Master of the era, Avar Kriss, held a rare Force power amongst the Jedi; able to detect the natural Force-bonds among Force-sensitives, she could strengthen them into a network of many Jedi. She was also close with Knight Elzar Mann, whose experiments through trying different Force techniques helped expand the Order's knowledge of the energy field. Under the leadership of Kriss, Mann and her were among the hundred Jedi dispatched to the Hetzal system in response to the sudden Great Hyperspace Disaster, which began when fragments of the transport Legacy Run began to fall upon the star system thanks to the machinations of the Eye of the Nihil Marchion Ro, whose family had a history with the Jedi: their ancestors, Yana Ro and Marda Ro, had been part of the Path of the Open Hand. The Ro family would later remember "the faithful" as waging war with the Jedi because of their differing belief systems, believing the Jedi were unable to fulfill "balance" and were leading the galaxy to death.
To Marchion himself, the Jedi were not merely dangerous because they could use the Force; he believed their united Order gave them a structure to rely on, confidence, and a willingness to make large scale decisions, all in the name of spreading their light. Faced with an enemy who were therefore bold and strong, Ro, while not afraid of the Jedi, understood they would be a serious threat to his goals, which involved wiping them out. With Kriss using her network to inform her fellow Force-sensitives that the fragments contained living beings, the Jedi led the Republic Defense Coalition to rescue the star system and those trapped aboard the starship remains before turning their combined attention towards a fragment containing liquid Tibanna. Despite the failure of their first attempt and the loss of several Jedi, the Force users—joined in focus by Jedi in other locations in the galaxy—ultimately ensured the fragment did not collide with an R-class sun, saving the system. Additionally, the effort was broadcasted to various other worlds; only those who hated the Jedi were angered by their success.
=====Conflict with the Nihil=====
As the galaxy was faced with the Emergences, forcing the Republic to blockade a growing number of hyperspace routes into the Outer Rim, the Jedi Council believed the Jedi were going to be heavily needed in the region. Additionally, Nihil became known, leading to conflict between the pirates and the Jedi. Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm was captured by the Nihil during the raid on Elphrona, playing into Ro's plans. During the Nihil conflict, the Republic began to push the Jedi to more closely work alongside them, with Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh and her aides moving to insert themselves into the Jedi Council's affairs. Torturing Greatstorm for a year, Ro also came to collect all pieces to a family artifact he could use to unleash the Great Leveler. After the massive Nihil raid on the Valo Republic Fair, the Jedi tracked the Nihil to the planet Grizal, only for Ro to unleash the Leveler during the enusing battle; Greatstorm was killed, with his body left to turn to stone that soon crumbled, Padawan Bell Zettifar and Jedi Master Elzar Mann were left in states of shock, and Council member Stellan Gios was left to feel afraid.
Ro struck a further blow to the Jedi and Republic with the destruction of Starlight Beacon, during which he deployed more Nameless. Unable to fight the creatures, the Jedi Order recalled all its members to Coruscant to strategize, only for Ro to claim a portion of the Outer Rim as Nihil space.The High Republic: Eye of the Storm 2 Eventually, the Nihil were destroyed.Star Wars (2020) 7
=====Continued "Great Peace" era=====
As time went by, the Jedi continued to be involved in a number of the conflicts that sectors and planets faced throughout the so-called "Great Peace." Though these conflicts could at times force them to act as military officers, the Jedi did not view themselves as soldiers. The Jedi would also work as warriors, troubleshooters, and diplomats for the Republic but claimed to be impartial judges. However, given that they were working for the Republic, trust in the Jedi was not the same for everyone. The citizens closer to the Core Worlds trusted them more than those in the Outer Rim Territories. The Jedi became involved in conflicts like the Mandalorian Civil War, the battle for Ontotho,Jedi Fallen Order - Dark Temple 5 and the Stark Hyperspace War.
====Return of the Sith====
Although the Jedi believed their sworn enemies to be extinct, the Sith had survived under the Rule of Two, influencing the galaxy from the shadows instead of battlefields. After around a thousand years of Sith Masters and Sith apprentices, the Sith Lord who held the rank of Master was Darth Sidious, a Naboo who had been trained by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis.Ultimate Star Wars After betraying Plagueis by killing him in his sleep, Sidious sought to accomplish the Sith plan to bring the galaxy under his control as its Galactic Emperor. Sidious also had his own Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. Due to his desire to kill Jedi, Maul killed Padawan Eldra Kaitis on the moon of Drazkel, but her death did not satisfy his bloodlust.Darth Maul (2017) 5 Thus, establishing a fake cartel under Kaitis's name, Maul continued his hunt and killed the Force-sensitive thief Zek Peiro. Not wanting the Jedi to learn of his plans, Sidious brought Maul to the ancient Sith world of Malachor to teach him about patience. Maul experienced a Force vision of a life where he was a Jedi before being surrounded by dozens of them, teaching him that their light side rivals had numbers and the respect of the Republic for the time being.
Sidious' public identity was Sheev Palpatine, the senator of his homeworld of Naboo. Living a double life allowed him to pursue political power in the Senate while conspiring to overthrow the Republic and its Jedi protectors as Sidious.Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith He planned to become Supreme Chancellor of the Republic to bring about his rule, so he ordered his pawns in the Trade Federation to blockade his own home planet to generate sympathy in the SenateStar Wars: On the Front Lines and make Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum look weak. When Valorum sent two ambassadors, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate an end to the blockade, Sidious ordered them killed, but the two Jedi escaped to Naboo's surface and rescued Queen Padmé Amidala and her entourage.
Due to the damage sustained during their escape, the Naboo Royal Starship needed to land on the desert planet of Tatooine. On Tatooine, Jinn met Anakin Skywalker, a young Force-sensitive human who he came to believe was the Chosen One. In fact, thanks to his power in the Force, Skywalker won the Boonta Eve Classic, which won him freedom from his slavery under Watto the junk dealer, albeit without freeing his mother, Shmi, and a new T-14 hyperdrive generator for the Royal Starship. Before leaving the planet, Jinn was suddenly attacked by Maul, who had been sent to Tatooine by Sidious. Jinn escaped, marking the first time a Jedi had contact with a Sith and survived to warn the Order in a thousand years.
On the Republic capital of Coruscant, the Jedi High Council were disturbed by the potential return of the Sith and unwilling to begin Skywalker's training, citing his fear and believing it could lead to the dark side. They then dispatched Jinn and Kenobi back to Naboo when Amidala chose to return, as she had only managed to call for an election after being deceived by Palpatine, which would soon lead to Palpatine's victory. During the ensuing Battle of Naboo, Jinn and Kenobi engaged Maul in yet another duel, while Skywalker, joined by astromech droid R2-D2, joined the space battle against the Lucrehulk-class Battleship Vuutun Palaa in a N-1 starfighter. Skywalker eventually crashed aboard the warship and, in an attempt to take out advancing OOM-series security droids, fired two proton torpedoes that instead collided with a reactor. The ensuing explosion rippled throughout the battleship, destroying the craft and therefore shutting down the entire Trade Federation Droid Army below.
Elsewhere, Maul managed to kill Jinn while he was separated from Kenobi, though the Padawan then engaged Maul and cut the Sith Lord in half, ending the duel. In his dying breaths, Jinn asked Kenobi to train Skywalker, which the Jedi Council agreed to. Additionally, at the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu spoke about the Sith, unsure whether it was the Sith Master or Sith apprentice who had been defeated. Kenobi was promoted to be a Jedi Knight with Skywalker as his Padawan. Though presumed dead, Maul had survived the duel. Sustained by his newfound hatred of Kenobi, he was left in exile on the garbage world of Lotho Minor for years to come.
===Fall of the Republic===
====The Clone Wars====
From 24 BBYStar Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide states that the Separatist Crisis as beginning twenty-four years before the Battle of Scarif, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates to 0 BBY. Therefore, the Separatist Crisis must have begun in 24 BBY. to 22 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas the galaxy was faced with the Separatist Crisis, a plot manufactured by the Sith. Several thousand star systems sought to secede to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a breakaway government led by its Head of State, Dooku, the latter of whom was following Sidious's command. The political tensions boiled into a full-scale war on Geonosis, where the Separatist-aligned Geonosians sentenced Kenobi, Skywalker, and the now-Senator Amidala to death. They were rescued by the arrival of a Jedi assault team led by Windu and then a force of clone troopers, an army of cloned soldiers recently discovered by Kenobi on the planet Kamino, led by Yoda. In the subsequent actions of the Battle of Geonosis, the Jedi led the clones into battle against the Separatist Droid Army, but Dooku managed to escape from Kenobi, Skywalker, and Yoda. Thus, the battle had served to launch the Clone Wars, the first pan-galactic war since the alleged extinction of the Sith. Dooku informed his master that the war had begun, which satisfied Sidious, who said everything was going as planned.
There were ten thousand Jedi in the galaxy before the Clone Wars, but many were killed during the conflict, with one Separatist leader, General Grievous, even being a Jedi hunter who took the lightsabers of his victims as trophies. Another one of Dooku's agents was the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, who had been a Padawan to Jedi Knight Ky Narec in the years before the Clone Wars. During the war, Jedi Knights and Masters became the Jedi Generals in the Grand Army of the Republic, while their Padawans became lower ranking Jedi Commanders.Star Wars: The Clone Wars film The war against the Separatists was fought across the galaxy for three years,Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel during which the Jedi inspired creative thinking and independence in the clones. Jedi like Plo Koon, Kenobi,Star Wars Adventures: The Clone Wars – Battle Tales 5 Yoda, and Skywalker respected the clones as individuals.
By fighting the Clone Wars, the Jedi, particularly younger members of the Order, ran the risk of losing their way by focusing on power to win. Their new role as battlefield generals also made some people cast doubt on their role as "peacekeepers," with one Padawan, Barriss Offee, and other Republic citizens even coming to view the Jedi to be responsible for the war. Falling to the dark side and thinking her Order had fallen from the light to be an army that only benefitted the dark side, Offee arranged for a bombing of the Jedi Temple hangar and framed her friend, fellow Padawan Ahsoka Tano, to take the fall. One of the few people to stand with Tano was Skywalker, who was Tano's master and friend. He uncovered and exposed Offee as the true culprit during Tano's trial. Nevertheless, with her faith in the Order shaken, Tano left the Jedi to go on her own path, but she remained on the light side and acted, according to Rafa Martez, in the way the Jedi should have been. Meanwhile, Skywalker greatly missed his Padawan and was frustrated with the Jedi Council, feeling they had betrayed his friend.Darth Vader: Sith Lord
====The End of the Jedi====
In the Battle of Coruscant, which was staged by Sidious, in order to lure Anakin to the dark side and eventually make the young Jedi his apprentice, Dooku was betrayed by his master who had him killed by Skywalker. Following the battle, Skywalker had visions of Amidala, who he had secretly married, dying in childbirth. Shortly thereafter, Palpatine, who had long since befriended Skywalker to manipulate him, informed the Jedi Knight that he was in fact Darth Sidious, the Sith Master behind the war and the target the Jedi had been searching for. After Skywalker informed Windu of Palpatine's identity and deception, the Jedi Master led Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin to arrest the Supreme Chancellor. The mission ended in failure, with Sidious cutting down all but Windu, and Skywalker himself arriving just as Windu gained the upper hand on Sidious. Believing that the Sith possessed the power to save Amidala, Skywalker betrayed Windu by helping Sidious take him out, before betraying the Jedi as a whole and kneeling before the Sith Master. Thus, Sidious had used Skywalker's anger with the Council and fear of losing Amidala to turn him to the dark side of the Force, making the Jedi's own Chosen One into his new Sith apprentice, Darth Vader.
To launch the Great Jedi Purge, Sidious ordered the clone troopers across the galaxy to execute Order 66, which branded the Jedi and any clone who tried to help them as traitors who needed to be executed. Many of the clone troopers had befriended their Jedi leadership, but their loyalty was forcibly erased due to their biochips, which Sidious and Dooku had implanted in the clones during their youth. With Sidious issuing the order, this activated the clones' biochips, which brainwashed them into believing that the Jedi were traitors to the Republic, leading to them turning on their Jedi commanders. Jedi across the galaxy were therefore betrayed and gunned down by their own soldiers. Additionally, Vader led his eliteStar Wars Battlefront II 501st Legion into the Jedi Temple itself, murdering everyone, even the younglings, they found inside. Though Order 66 only explicitly targeted the Jedi, other Force-sensitives would find themselves in its crosshairs; Maul and Tano were both targeted aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tribunal by the 332nd Division, though Maul escaped aboard a Nu-class transport, while Tano and Clone Captain CT-7567 "Rex," whose control chip had been removed by the former Padawan, fled aboard a BTL-B Y-wing starfighter/bomber as the Tribunal crashed.
As Vader cut down the Separatist Council on the volcanic world of Mustafar, as per the command of Sidious, who betrayed and orchestrated the Council's death, Sidious used Windu's strike against him as an excuse to brand the Jedi as traitors before vowing to hunt down the surviving members of the Order and transforming the Republic into his Galactic Empire. Yoda tried to rescue the galaxy from the new Sith Emperor, but he was not able to kill Sidious, and went into exile. When Amidala confronted her husband on Mustafar, he was enraged to see Kenobi, who had secretly stowed away aboard her J-type Naboo star skiff. After encasing Amidala in a Force choke, Kenobi and Vader engaged in a lightsaber duel, which ended when Kenobi left Vader to die near a lava river. A short time later, Amidala died in childbirth, with her two children, Luke and Leia, separated to keep them safe. Leia was taken to live with the House of Organa on Alderaan, while Luke was taken to Tatooine to live with his aunt and uncle, Beru and Owen Lars, while being watched over by Kenobi. Meanwhile, Vader had survived as well and was given a suit of life support armor to survive. Immediately after his reconstruction, Sidious tasked Vader with taking a kyber crystal from a Jedi to bleed it to be his own.Darth Vader (2017) 1
Needing to find a Jedi who had survived the purge, Vader used the database on the Jedi space station Brighthome to locate a Jedi who had taken the Barash Vow, pointing him to Jedi Master Kirak Infil'aDarth Vader (2017) 2 on the Mid Rim river moon of Al'doleem. After arriving,Darth Vader (2017) 3 Vader and Infil'a began a duel that ended with the Sith Lord killing the Jedi Master and flooding the city below. Vader also successfully stole his lightsaber for its kyber crystal.Darth Vader (2017) 4 Thus, as Sidious ordered, Vader went to Mustafar to bleed the crystal to his will. Though it presented the Sith Lord with a vision where he returned to the light side of the Force, Vader rejected this and twisted the crystal to the dark side.Darth Vader (2017) 5 Meanwhile, word spread throughout the galaxy's population that the Jedi had apparently betrayed the Republic and that their Order had been destroyed for it.Kanan 2
===The Jedi Purge===
The Empire's official explanation for the end of the Clone Wars correctly stated that the Jedi had been killed in massive numbers, with the Empire stating it was by the thousands, that the Jedi Temple had been the site of a battle, and that the few survivors had fled throughout space. However, they also claimed the Force had dispersed. Though this explanation was not universally accepted, most people in the galaxy accepted the destruction of the Jedi, just as they had accepted the sacrifices of the clones, if it meant the war was over. To Lyra Erso, it seemed as though mere weeks passed before, without much grief or mourning, the Jedi Order had almost entirely been reduced to a myth. In fact, many celebrated the destruction of the Jedi, having believed Sidious's claims of a Jedi rebellion and other Imperial propaganda.
Using fear, new laws, and its vast military, the Empire worked to crush surviving Jedi and their remaining supporters, creating such a fear about even discussing the Jedi that knowledge of them died off, as it was not passed down. It was illegal to help Jedi during the Imperial Era; the parents of Dak Ralter were given lifelong sentences for smuggling surviving Jedi Knights to safety. Due to the Empire's interest in eliminating the Jedi, rewards were offered to those who surrendered them. Surviving Jedi who tried to uphold the Order's ways became known as Jedi Arbiters,Disciples of Harmony with those they trained out in the galaxy described as Bokken Jedi by the fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll. Vanzell Mar-Klar and their Padawan, Nedriss Narr, tried to train a new generation of Knights in a hidden temple.Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple However, other survivors were mentally beaten and decided to simply survive in the new era, rather than use their abilities for the common good.
With Order 66 still in effect,Star Wars (2020) 5 the Empire continued to hunt Jedi who had survived the protocol, with Sidious establishing the Inquisitorius to seek out and kill the survivors.Darth Vader (2017) 6 The next survivor Vader encountered was former Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu,Darth Vader (2017) 8 who had recorded her knowledge in holocrons in a secret collection away from Imperial eyes. She returned to Coruscant to prevent the Empire from discovering a Kyber memory crystal list of Force-sensitive children,Darth Vader (2017) 7 leading to her conflict with Vader and the Inquisitors. After her capture, she revealed the Emperor wanted her alive to access the list of children, whom he would turn into more dark side servants. Vader arranged for her death and destroyed the crystal, preventing such a future.Darth Vader (2017) 10 Over the years, Vader and the Inquisitorius hunted down what remained of the Jedi Order. Additionally, a Force-sensitive criminal named Kilmera Skale, who allied with ISB Special Agent Malor Phiatt, pretended to be a Jedi to entrap those who survived the execution of Order 66.Endless Vigil
A year into the Empire's reign in 18 BBY,According to Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, the invasion of Mon Cala took place a year into the Emperor's rule. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates the beginning of Imperial rule to 19 BBY, the occupation of Mon Cala took place in 18 BBY. the eighty-third King of Mon Cala, Lee-Char, was manipulated by Ferren Barr,Darth Vader (2017) 17 a surviving Padawan who had turned away from the path of the Jedi in order to destroy the Sith.The Star Wars Book Although he and the majority of his disciples were killed by Vader and his forces during the Imperial invasion of Mon Cala, Barr died having ensured Mon Calamari starships would rebel against the Empire. Barr had also recruited the Force-sensitive Verla as his apprentice, but, even though she survived the invasion, she would eventually give up on the Jedi path, choosing to go into hiding instead.Star Wars (2020) 6
In 14 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to 14 BBY. the Padawan Cal Kestis, after being discovered by the Empire and escaping the Inquisitors at Bracca, joined former Jedi Knight Cere Junda on a quest to restore the Jedi Order. Both searched for a holocron containing a list of Force-sensitive youth across the galaxy, which was hidden by Jedi Master Eno Cordova. Although they both obtained the holocron after a few clashes with the Inquisitors and one with Darth Vader, Kestis decided to destroy it to keep the young men on the list safe from the Empire.
Over the five years following the holocron's destruction, Kestis has become an extremely important target for the Empire, having attracted the attention of not only the Inquisitorius, but the ISB as well. In 9 BBY, on the planet Koboh, Kestis encountered something from the Jedi's golden age. Kestis encountered the Jedi Dagan Gera, who has been preserved in bacta since the days of the High Republic. Kestis freed the old Jedi and asked for his help in his fight against the Empire. However, Gera fell out with the Jedi Order, who he believed had betrayed him because the Jedi had given up on Tanalorr, a hard-to-reach world Dagan had become obsessed with, after an attack by the Nihil. Gera fell to the dark side and bled the kyber crystal from his lightsaber, starting a duel with Kestis afterwards. Dagan escaped with the help of his old ally, the Gen'Dai Rayvis, and intended to return to Tanalorr and create an army led by Force users trained by himself to fight the Empire. However, due to the clouded view of Gera by the dark side, Kestis opposed his plan. Along with Bode Akuna, Kestis killed Dagan and obtained the compass that would guide them to Tanalorr, a place that Kestis intended to transform into a refuge for those persecuted by the Empire.Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
However, the compass was stolen by Akuna, who was an ISB's spy and a survivor of the Jedi Purge. Akuna intended to flee to Tanalorr with his daughter so that they could live free from the Empire forever, which, in his opinion, Kestis' intentions for Tanalorr jeopardized. Kestis followed Akuna to Tanalorr, and along with his ally, the Nightsister Merrin, slew him. Kestis and his friends took in Bode's daughter and held a Jedi funeral for Akuna, Cere Junda, and Eno Cordova, who were trying to restore knowledge from the Jedi archives and were killed due to Akuna stealing the compass. Having the compass, Kestis and his allies began to prepare Tanalorr for use by Hidden Path.Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
In 5 BBY,Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the events of Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion in 5 BBY. one survivor, Kanan Jarrus, formerly known as the Padawan Caleb Dume,Kanan 1 took on a Padawan of his own, Ezra Bridger. Both of them worked as part of the Spectres, a rebel crew based out of the VCX-100 light freighter Ghost that often struck at the Empire on Lothal.Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion During the action at Mustafar, Jarrus and Bridger confronted the Grand Inquisitor, who chose to take his own life instead of facing the wrath of his masters for failing to defeat them. The Spectres then joined up with the larger Phoenix Cell, which let Jarrus and Bridger work with Ahsoka Tano, who had become a Fulcrum agent for Bail Organa's resistance movement and the overall growing rebellion. These rebel cells entered into a Galactic Civil War against the Empire.
Master Yoda had also survived the purge, having survived both Order 66 and a duel in the Galactic Senate against Sidious. He based himself on the remote planet of Dagobah to avoid Imperial hunters, though he was able to connect with the Lothal Jedi on two occasions through the World Between Worlds. On the second occasion, Tano learned Vader was in fact her former mentor Skywalker, Yoda told Bridger to go to Malachor when he asked for advice on fighting the Sith, and Jarrus was knighted by a vision of the Grand Inquisitor. During the Mission to Malachor, Tano finally encountered Vader. She again affirmed she was not a Jedi in order to seek revenge for her mentor's demise, as Skywalker had effectively died when he became Vader. At the end of their duel, Tano was presumed dead at Vader's hands, but she had actually been saved by Bridger sometime later using the World Between Worlds.
Before he reached the point in his life where he rescued Tano, Bridger and the other rebels lived through much. In 2 BBY,Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide establishes that the mission to investigate Geonosis, seen in Ghosts of Geonosis, occurred 2 years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the events of Rogue One in 0 BBY, the same year it places the Battle of Yavin. Therefore the mission to Geonosis occurred two years before Yavin, so it took place in 2 BBY. Star Wars: On the Front Lines states that the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance, seen in Secret Cargo, took place two years before the Battle of Yavin. Since the Battle of Yavin occurred in 0 BBY according to Galactic Atlas, it can be deduced that the Declaration of the Rebel Alliance took place in 2 BBY. As Operation Handoff occurred between these two events, it must also have been in 2 BBY.According to Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded, Maul's final confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Twin Suns" happened thirty years after Kenobi first saw him on Tatooine. Since Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates that event to 32 BBY, Kenobi and Maul's final confrontation happened in 2 BBY. the Spectres and other rebel cells officially formed into the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and the former Sith Lord Maul was struck down on Tatooine by his old nemesis, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before dying in his enemy's arms, Maul asked if the individual Kenobi was guarding on the desert world was the Chosen One. Believing Luke Skywalker was, Kenobi said as such, giving Maul hope that they would be avenged.
In 1 BBY, Jarrus's lover, General Hera Syndulla, was captured after a failed Rebel Alliance assault on the heavily-occupied Lothal. Jarrus was able to rescue her, but he soon had to give his life to protect Bridger, Syndulla, and the Mandalorian Sabine Wren. A short time later, Bridger entered the World Between Worlds and rescued Tano. While making sure Sidious would be unable to secure the power of the World Between Worlds, Tano and Bridger again parted ways, with Tano promising to find him when the time came. Bridger then led the effort to liberate his homeworld of Lothal. During the battle, Bridger spoke with Grand Admiral Thrawn, who stated the Jedi had been reduced to those who were beaten, hidden away, or inexpertly trained Padawans. After again denying Sidious entrance into the World Between Worlds and having had a pod of purrgil summoned to Lothal, Bridger used beast control to have the creatures take him, Thrawn, and the Star Destroyer Chimaera away to deep space.Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition Though Bridger's disappearance took another Jedi out of galactic affairs, the purrgil had taken out the 7th Fleet, and the Padawan's effort against Thrawn had successfully liberated Lothal.
===Rebirth of the Jedi===
====Luke Skywalker joins the Rebellion====
When it seemed as though the Jedi had been destroyed, the Imperial Inquisitors vanished as well. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, a member of the Empire's leading triumvirate along with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine,Tarkin considered Vader the last remnant of the Jedi faith, although four of the Rebellion's guiding principles were near-quotations of Jedi texts. Additionally, Imperial officer Arvira of the logistics corps believed even saying the word "Jedi" in Imperial territory was unadvisable.
In 0 BBY, in the midst of the Galactic Civil War and after the Battle of Scarif, Luke Skywalker finally became a part of the wider galaxy when protocol droid C-3PO and astromech droid R2-D2 arrived on Tatooine. Both droids had known his father, Anakin Skywalker, before his fall, but C-3PO's memory of such events had been wiped. R2-D2 was in possession of the plans to the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station, an Imperial superweapon powerful enough to destroy an entire planet. The plans had been entrusted to him by Skywalker's sister, Princess Leia Organa. Both siblings remained unaware of each other thanks to their separate upbringings, and Skywalker first saw her when R2 projected a hologram of her.
Organa also gave the droid orders to find Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine, whom Skywalker had met over his years on the desert world. Meeting with him, Kenobi presented Skywalker with Anakin's lightsaber and avoided telling the complete truth about Anakin by claiming Vader had killed him. After a stormtrooper execution squad killed Owen and Beru Lars, Skywalker joined Kenobi on his journey to return R2-D2 and C-3PO to Alderaan, hiring Captain Han Solo and his First Mate, the Wookiee Chewbacca, to transport them aboard their YT-1300 light freighter, the Millennium Falcon.
Skywalker began his Jedi training during their journey, though Solo was outspoken in his belief that the Force did not exist. However, before they reached the planet, Tarkin ordered the Death Star to destroy Alderaan, sending out a disturbance in the Force made up of the millions of screaming Alderaanians killed in the explosion. Upon arriving at the planet's remains, the crew of the Millennium Falcon were taken aboard the Death Star by a tractor beam. Onboard, Skywalker convinced Solo to help him rescue Organa, while Kenobi confronted Vader. To give Skywalker and the others a chance to escape, Kenobi sacrificed himself, dying at the hands of his former apprentice but becoming one with the Force. When the Empire tracked the Millennium Falcon to the Rebel Alliance's base on the moon of Yavin 4, Skywalker joined the battle to destroy the Death Star, flying in Red Five with R2-D2 and leading fourth flight. After Solo knocked Vader away, Skywalker listened to the voice of Kenobi, using the Force to help fire two proton torpedoes into a thermal exhaust port.
With the Death Star destroyed, Skywalker and his friends became known as the "Heroes of Yavin." A short time after the Battle of Yavin, they fought in the attack on Cymoon 1, during which he confronted Vader for the death of Kenobi and alleged death of his father. During their brief encounter, Vader realized Skywalker wielded his old lightsaber.Star Wars (2015) 2 Intending to learn the identity of his new enemy, whom he realized was the same pilotDarth Vader (2015) 1 who had destroyed the Death Star, Vader hired bounty hunter Boba Fett to learn his identity and capture him. When Skywalker returned to Tatooine to recover Kenobi's journals, he escaped Fett,Star Wars (2015) 6 but the bounty hunter had still learned his name. That information taught Vader that he had a son, inspiring himDarth Vader (2015) 6 to one day overthrow the Emperor with his son at his side.
====Apprentice without a Jedi Master====
Seeking passage to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Skywalker and R2-D2 arrived on the "Smuggler's Moon" of Nar Shaddaa.Star Wars (2015) 8 The young Jedi was captured by Grakkus Jahibakti Tingi, a Hutt crime lord who collected Jedi artifacts that he claimed to be the last remnants of the Order. When Grakkus forced Skywalker to open a Jedi holocron, he accidentally opened the Hutt's entire holocron collection, convincing Grakkus that Skywalker was the last of the Jedi. Thus, the crime lord plotted for a colosseum match between the young Force-sensitive and a beast, eventually choosingStar Wars (2015) 10 a Roggwart named Kongo. After a training against with "the Gamemaster," who taught Skywalker that the Coruscant Jedi Temple had been converted into Palpatine's palace, and IG-100 MagnaGuards, Grakkus forced Skywalker, introduced to the crowd as "the last of the Jedi," into the colosseum,Star Wars (2015) 11 but the match was cut short when the Gamemaster activated Kongo's shock collar. In reality, he was an undercover stormtrooper sergeant named Kreel, as the Empire had taken notice of Grakkus's stockpile of Jedi artifacts.Star Wars (2015) 12
Kreel was reinforced by a group of TIE fighter pilots, but Grakkus activated a electromagnetic pulse, knocking out their blasters and Kongo's collar. When two pilots tried to arrest Skywalker, R2-D2 threw him his lightsaber, doing the same for Solo, Organa, and Chewbacca when they arrived by launching out sabers from Grakkus's collection. When Kreel was distracted by Grakkus, the rebels were given a chance to escape, although the stormtrooper still reported everything he had learned about the young Jedi to Vader. Having learned about a Jedi Temple on the planetVader Down 1 Vrogas Vas from one of Grakkus's holocrons and reading about it in Kenobi's journal,Star Wars 14 Skywalker traveled to the world, but Vader learned of his journey from his agent, Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra.Darth Vader (2015) 12 During the Battle of Vrogas Vas, Skywalker was unable to focus on learning from the Jedi Temple with Vader on the ground, and the Sith Lord killed many Rebel pilots and troopers in his pursuit of his son.Darth Vader 13
While in the temple, Skywalker felt the presences of Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, but he was then engaged by Aphra and Vader's two assassin droids, 0-0-0 and BT-1. With the help of his friends, Skywalker escaped these agents.Star Wars (2015) 13 Later, as he again walked through the temple, he heard Kenobi's voice and was warned that he should not have come to Vrogas Vas. Meanwhile, Vader dueled his rival, Commander Karbin, and heard voices from his Jedi past. Though the Sith Lord managed to kill Karbin, Skywalker and his friends escaped the Empire and Vader's personal agents. However, Skywalker was saddened that he would never have the chance to return to the temple, believing he had been close to a uncovering a secret.Darth Vader 15
At some point after investigating a planet to see if it could help in his training, as the world had been mentioned in Kenobi's journal,Star Wars 28 and fighting the Force-sensitive Queen of Ktath'atn,Doctor Aphra (2016) 8 Skywalker and his allies undertook a mission to the ruins of JedhaStar Wars 38 in 1 ABY. While on Jedha, he and Chulco Gi, who had wanted to join the Disciples of the Whills, journeyed to the Temple of Central Isopter, where the death cult claimed to Skywalker that, with the Jedi destroyed, their shrine was his only hope at learning the Force. Although he gazed into the crater, Skywalker did not want to lose himself to darkness, but Gi was corrupted by the abyss's connection to the dark side, forcing Skywalker to kill his companion in self-defense. Skywalker left the temple after the Central Isopter informed him the dark side could lead to madness if he did not have a proper guide, warning him to not fall because of his importance. Although he came to the conclusion that he might not end up a Jedi, but that he needed to be content with that, the mission on JedhaStar Wars 41 would not be the last time Skywalker grabbled with that question.Star Wars (2020) 1
====The Redemptoin of Anakin Skywalker====
Over five Dagobah days after his death, Obi-Wan Kenobi had appeared to Yoda as a Force spirit, asking the Jedi Master to take on Skywalker as an apprentice. While Yoda had wanted to train Organa, he accepted Kenobi's request to train him. In 3 ABY, three years after the destruction of the Death Star, Skywalker journeyed to Dagobah with R2-D2 in the aftermath of the Battle of Hoth, having been told by Kenobi's ghost to go here to train under the Jedi Master. Upon seeing the young man, Yoda felt the hope that he would be the next Jedi,The Trial of Dagobah — Age of Rebellion Special 1 although Skywalker's initial lack of patience nearly convinced the Jedi Master to reject him as an apprentice. Convinced to continue by Kenobi and Skywalker's protests, Yoda trained the young human for several weeks until the prodigy felt his friends being tortured through the Force.
Ignoring Kenobi and Yoda's protests but promising to one day return, Skywalker traveled to Cloud City on the world of Bespin, where he dueled and was bested by Vader. After losing his hand and lightsaber during the duel, Skywalker was horrified when the Sith Lord revealed he was his father, choosing to fall down an air shaft rather than agree to Vader’s offer to rule the galaxy with him. After being rescued by his friends—who had lost Solo after the captain had been frozen in carbonite and taken away by Boba Fett—aboard the Millennium Falcon, Skywalker was left in stunned silence over the truth of his heritage, not even noticing that Organa introduced his name to Baron Administrator Landonis Balthazar Calrissian.
After she informed him about recent events, while he only told her Kenobi had not answered his call for help in the Force, the Millennium Falcon traveled to Rebel Rendezvous Point Delta-Three, forcing Skywalker and the others into an Imperial ambush masterminded Commander Ellian Zahra. While manning one of the freighter's turrets, Skywalker, overwhelmed by the truth of his parentage, accidentally lashed out in the Force, helping take out a squadronStar Wars (2020) 2 of TIE fighters, which led to the Fourth Division's successful escape to Backup Rendezvous Point Gamma-Nine. As the rebels discussed what to do aboard the EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate Redemption, Skywalker stood alone with R2-D2, finding himself unable to connect with Yoda and questioning whether he should become a Jedi after all. Although scared as to what he could be if he was not to be a Jedi, he received a replacement hand aboard the Redemption and had a vision of a robed figure grabbing his fallen lightsaber on Cloud City.
Unable to find his lightsaber after returning to Cloud City but deciding he would be a Jedi without it,Star Wars (2020) 4 Skywalker traveled to the planet Serelia and located the woman he had seen in his visions, Verla; after spending years being hunted by the Empire, the former apprentice of Ferren Barr had abandoned the Jedi path to live in hiding. After learning Skywalker was not like his Sith father, Verla tried to dissuade him from following the Jedi path to avoid the pain it could cause, yet he remained steadfast in his desire to help the galaxy, promising to never visit her again if she gave the location of a Jedi outpost. At the outpost on Tempes, Skywalker located a yellow lightsaber but was confronted by the spirit of the Grand Inquisitor, who had been forced to remain in the mortal realm by Vader. Nevertheless, Skywalker defeated the specter, returning to the Fourth Division with R2-D2 and his new blade. Nevertheless, after using the blade against the EmpireStar Wars (2020) 8 and in an effort to rescue Solo,Star Wars (2020) 13 Skywalker found himself in need of a new lightsaber, building a new weapon with a green blade.
Vader, meanwhile, had gone on a quest to find who exactly had hidden his son from him,Darth Vader (2020) 1 yet his mission ultimately taught him what had happened to his wife, Padmé Amidala, and that, even in her final moments, she held faith that the light side still existed in him. Consumed with sadness instead of hatred, Vader returned to Coruscant,Darth Vader (2020) 5 where he was tortured by Sidious for his lack of devotion to him. Leaving Vader on Mustafar as punishment,Darth Vader (2020) 6 the Sith apprentice came to regain his strength, capturing Sidious's assassin, Ochi of Bestoon, and traveling with him to the planet Exegol, where he had learned his master kept secrets.Darth Vader (2020) 10 Once on the Sith world, Vader proclaimed that he was no longer an apprentice, yet he was defeated by his master,Darth Vader (2020) 11 leaving him to feel that his son needed to die for the future of the Sith to unfold.Darth Vader (2020) 12
After freeing Solo from carbonite and defeating crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure on Tatooine, Skywalker returned to Dagobah, where Yoda became one with the Force, and the young Jedi learned Organa was his sister. Afterward, Skywalker promised to take part in the Rebel effort to destroy a second Death Star, which was being constructed over the forest moon of Endor. Before the Battle of Endor could begin, however, he surrendered himself to Vader's custody, hoping he could turn his father back to the light side. Instead, the Sith Lord felt forced to obey his master, taking Skywalker before Sidious to turn him to the dark side. As the battle between the Empire and Rebels raged on the ground and in space, father and son dueled once more until Skywalker was consumed with rage, striking against Vader when he taunted that his daughter could be turned to the dark side if his son refused. Desiring to replace Vader with his more powerful son, the Emperor subsequently betrayed Vader by ordering the Jedi Knight to take Vader's' place as Sidious's apprentice.
Instead of killing his father, however, Skywalker affirmed he was a Jedi, earning the anger of Sidious who tortured him with Force lightning. Before Sidious could kill him, however, Vader returned to the light side to save his son, throwing his Sith Master down a reactor shaft to kill him. The defeat and destruction of the Sith at the hands of the now redeemed Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, allowed him to fulfill his role as the Chosen One. Dying in his son's arms, the man who was once again Anakin Skywalker became one with the Force, appearing as a Force-spirit to Luke alongside Yoda and Kenobi.
===New Republic Era===
====The Mandalorian and the Child====
Ahsoka Tano was still alive, helping Sabine Wren on her search for the still-missing Ezra Bridger. Following the fall of the Galactic Empire during the Battle of Jakku,Aftermath: Empire's End an Imperial remnant led by Moff Gideon sought to capture Grogu, a Force-sensitive infant of Yoda's species, for his blood. Before Order 66, Grogu had been a youngling in the Jedi Order before being hidden from the Empire. Around 9 ABY, the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin took the Child as his foundling, escaping the remnant and its hired bounty hunters. Amid a clash on Nevarro, "the Armorer" tasked him with returning Grogu to the Jedi after telling him about the Order.
After meeting Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, Djarin was pointed to Tano, who was on the world of Corvus to get the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn from Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. Although she refused to train Grogu, Tano pointed Djarin to the Jedi planet Tython, where Grogu could be able to reach out to one of the few Jedi left in the galaxy. Even though Grogu managed to connect with Luke Skywalker, the infant was captured by Gideon's remnant. Leading his allies to rescue Grogu from Gideon's light cruiser, Djarin and his team found themselves under siege from Gideon's dark trooper platoon, only for Skywalker and R2-D2 to arrive in Red Five. Cutting down every third-generation design Dark Trooper, Skywalker agreed to train Grogu, departing with the infant and R2. Grogu trained with Skywalker for some time at his under-construction Jedi academy, where Tano joined him in watching over the Child's growing abilities. Ultimately, however, Grogu chose to return to Djarin rather than continue down the life of a Jedi.
====The new generation====
Skywalker began to work on rebuilding the Jedi Order after the Galactic Civil War during the time of the New Republic, eventually gathering a group of Jedi students, among them his nephew, Ben Solo. the Quarren Hennix, and fellow humans Tai and Voe.The Rise of Kylo Ren 1 However, Luke sensed a growing darkness in Ben and eventually went to confront his nephew in the night. When Luke peered into his nephew's mind while he slept, he saw the machinations of the mysterious dark side wielder Snoke and Ben's darkness, which would lead to death, destruction, and despair in the galaxy, and, in a moment of pure instinct, ignited his lightsaber. Luke, whose family had a history with the dark side, was quickly overcome by shame and regret, but before he could put away his blade, his nephew woke up, and, in the confusion of the moment, ignited his own lightsaber to clash with his uncle and brought down his hut on him.
When Ben lashed out against his uncle, he destroyed Skywalker's Jedi Academy along with most of its students.Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition Ben had emerged from the wreckage of his hut enraged about his uncle's actions, but he was horrified when a lightning storm appeared and razed the temple. Shortly after that, Hennix, Tai, and Voe returned on their starship Verity. Sensing only Ben's presence, they confronted Ben, who told them Skywalker had tried to kill him. In response to Ben's evasive and confrontational behavior, they fought and pursued him. In despair and confusion, Ben turned to his friend Snoke. When Skywalker emerged from the rubble, he saw that Ben had burned the temple, but mistakenly believed that Ben had slaughtered most of his students while taking the rest with him.
Ben fled the other Jedi students to become Snoke's student and contacted Ren, the leader of the Knights of Ren, offering to join the dark siders.The Rise of Kylo Ren 2 Tai, Voe and Hennix cornered Ben on Elphrona, leading to a duel which resulted in Hennix's death. Reaching the Knights of Ren on Varnak, Ben was deemed not yet ready by Ren,The Rise of Kylo Ren 3 who allowed him to accompany the group to obtain a Force artifact called the Mindsplinter on the Minemoon. There, Ben succumbed to the dark side when Ren murdered Tai, making him kill Ren and then Voe, thus killing the last remaining Padawan. Now consumed by the dark side of the Force, Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and assumed leadership of the Knights of Ren.The Rise of Kylo Ren 4
===A ray of hope===
Sometime later, as war erupted between the First Order and the Resistance for control of the galaxy, an orphaned scavenger named Rey approached Luke at the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, seeking to be trained as a Jedi, having been sent by General Leia Organa, leader of the Resistance, Luke's sister, and Kylo Ren's mother. Though Luke rejected her at first, he eventually agreed to train her. A Force bond that connected Kylo Ren and Rey brought her to the Supremacy, where Kylo turned her over to his master, Supreme Leader Snoke. However, Kylo killed his master, and fought with Rey against his Elite Praetorian Guard.
When Kylo usurped his master's power, Rey abandoned him and joined with the fleeing Resistance on Crait, where the Battle of Crait had erupted. As Rey helped the few Resistance survivors escape aboard the Millennium Falcon, inspired by Rey to new faith in the Jedi and the goodness of thier cause, Luke projected an image of himself on Crait to distract Kylo Ren and the First Order. He warned Kylo that he would not be the last Jedi, naming Rey his successor, before becoming one with the Force. Luke's tale went on to spread across the galaxy as a symbol of hope in a dark time as the First Order rose to power. When Darth Sidious was revealed to be resurrected in the year following the Battle at Crait, Rey, who had continued her Jedi training under Leia Organa, and her companions in the Resistance undertook a series of missions to find a way to safely navigate through space to Exegol, where Sidious's lair and his followers were located.
After learning from Kylo Ren that Darth Sidious was her grandfather and that she was a Palpatine, Rey briefly considered exiling herself at the first Jedi Temple as her old master had, but the spirit of Skywalker appeared before Rey to encourage her to confront her fear, teaching his student that it was the destiny of all Jedi and that he had been wrong about his self-imposed exile. Rey and a redeemed Kylo Ren, who renounced the dark side and reclaimed his birth identity Ben Solo, confronted Sidious during a battle at Exegol. Sidious used their bond as a Force dyad to rejuvenate himself, but Rey was restrengthened when she reached out to and heard the voices of the past Jedi, allowing her to stand reflect his lightning to destroy Sidious and the Sith for good. Rey was killed as a result of the ensuring explosion, but she was revived when Solo gave his life for hers. Although the Skywalker bloodline ended, their actions allowed the Jedi to prevail and prevent the return of the Sith. Rey chose to adopt the surname "Skywalker" when she visited the Lars Homestead on Tatooine and saw the spirits of Luke and Leia in the distance.
==Jedi ranks==
===Main ranks===
Members of the Jedi Order held various positions within the Order at times as they studied the Force and gained experience. These ranks included:
*Jedi Initiate: A young child who was Force-sensitive would be identified at birth and taken to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi. They were to be put into classes of other Jedi younglings and trained together before being taken as an apprentice by a Jedi Knight. Younglings were not to be trained once they had reached a certain age, with the sole exception to this rule being Anakin Skywalker. Younglings would participate in the Gathering, which was the pilgrimage to the Ilum Temple to gain a kyber crystal for their lightsaber.
*Padawan: A youngling who had been chosen by a Jedi Knight or Jedi Master to train under their tutelage personally into becoming a fully fledged Jedi Knight. Their readiness was decided by the Initiate Trials. Padawans wore a braid.
*Jedi Knight: Once a Padawan has successfully passed the Jedi trials, they were be granted the rank of Jedi Knight and went out on missions of their own, no longer under the tutelage of a master and may take on a Padawan themselves.
*Jedi Master: A Jedi Knight was granted the rank of Jedi Master when they had proven themselves. A select few masters were offered a seat on the Jedi High Council when they had shown great skill, wisdom and devotion to the Force. Some Masters became Sage Masters or Warrior Masters.
*Grand Master: The leader of the Jedi High Council, the position of Grand Master was given to the oldest and considered to be the wisest member of the Jedi Order.
===Jedi occupations===
Some members of the Jedi Order had specific titles and roles within the Order. These included:
*Jedi Advisor: A Jedi who worked as a personal advisor.Unlimited Power
*Master of the Order: This position was assumed by the leader of the Jedi Order. They had to be voted unanimously into the position by the Jedi High Council.Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
*Jedi Temple Guard: Headed by Cin Drallig during the Clone Wars, these anonymous Jedi guarded the Jedi Temple with lightsaber pikes.
*Jedi investigator: These Jedi were detectives who aided police with the use of the Force. They also used crime scene analysis droids.
*Consular Jedi: These Jedi devoted themselves to the study of diplomacy or science and avoided combat and warfare duties.Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
*Chief Librarian: This Jedi oversaw the Jedi Archives and Holocron Vault.
*Jedi seeker: These Jedi searched the galaxy for Force-sensitive children in order to recruit them into the Jedi Order.Dooku: Jedi Lost
*Jedi Wayseeker: Jedi who operated idependently from the Jedi High Council and followed only the will of the Force.
===Jedi military ranks===
At the onset of the Clone Wars, the Jedi, the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, were chosen by the Galactic Senate, whom the Jedi owed their allegiance to, to lead the new Grand Army of the Republic. They were thus given either of the respective ranks in the Republic Military:
*Jedi Commander: Granted to Padawans, who served as second-in-commands to Jedi Generals in the Grand Army of the Republic.
*Jedi General: Granted to Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters, who served as the highest ranking officers within the Grand Army of the Republic.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
==Sources==
===Non-canon sources===
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*The Art of Star Wars: Visions
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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Category:Jedi culture