Great Jedi Purge

Thousands of years prior to the Invasion of Naboo, a rogue Jedi began to explore the dark side of the Force, believing that it held the key to unlocking the true potential of the powers of the Force. This led to his expulsion from the Jedi Order, but he attracted followers and established a new order that eventually evolved into the Sith. The Jedi and Sith soon became bitter adversaries, engaging in numerous wars against each other. Ultimately, the Sith's insatiable hunger for power led to internal conflicts, which the Jedi exploited to defeat and nearly annihilate them. Following their victory, the Jedi believed that the Sith had been eradicated. However, one Sith Lord, Darth Bane, survived and plotted his revenge by implementing the Great Plan and the Rule of Two. This strategy allowed the Sith to operate in secrecy, undetected by the Jedi. According to the Rule of Two, there would only be two Sith at any given time—a master and an apprentice—who would employ cunning and conspiracy rather than brute force to achieve their goals of destroying the Jedi Order and ultimately subjugating the galaxy.

The Sith operated in secret for centuries. In the years leading up to the Invasion of Naboo, Sheev Palpatine of Naboo became the apprentice of Darth Plagueis and adopted the name Darth Sidious. As a Sith, Sidious betrayed and murdered his master, becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith. In his public role as Senator Palpatine of Naboo, Sidious executed his plans to seize control of the Galactic Republic. He intended to deceive and destroy both the Jedi and the Republic, ushering in a Sith dominion over the galaxy with himself as the supreme ruler of an empire. This empire would allow him to plunge the galaxy into darkness and unlock the ancient secrets of the Sith and the dark side of the Force. By doing so, Sidious believed he could reshape the universe according to his own designs. His infiltration of the Galactic Senate, the Republic, and the Jedi Order enabled him to carry out his schemes.

Sidious orchestrated the Invasion of Naboo, using his apprentice, Darth Maul, as a means of gaining power. This event marked the Sith's reemergence before the Jedi, although Maul was later defeated. As Senator Palpatine, he manipulated and deceived Naboo's ruler, Queen Padmé Amidala, into calling for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. Palpatine was nominated to succeed Valorum and ultimately won the election, placing him at the helm of the Republic. Around the same time, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, a member of the Jedi Council who foresaw an impending galactic war, secretly commissioned the creation of a clone army on Kamino. Sifo-Dyas, who was assassinated at the behest of fallen Jedi Master Count Dooku, who became Sidious' apprentice after Maul's apparent death on Naboo, intended the army for the Republic's defense. Dooku, as Darth Tyranus, secretly took control of the project, and the Sith ensured that bio-chips were implanted in each clone trooper. These chips contained Order 66, a command that, when activated, would forcibly brainwash the clone troopers into believing that the Jedi were traitors to the Republic who needed to be eliminated, compelling the clones to execute the Jedi.

The years following the Naboo Crisis witnessed the rise of the Separatist Crisis, during which thousands of star systems seceded from the Republic and joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Sith orchestrated this period of political turmoil and calls for war as a means for Sidious to further consolidate his control over the galaxy. To enable Chancellor Palpatine to deploy the clone army in response to what the Republic perceived as the threat posed by the Separatist Alliance, Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks of Naboo urged the Galactic Senate to grant the Chancellor emergency executive powers. The Senate granted the Chancellor these powers, the clone army was officially designated as the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Clone Wars commenced shortly thereafter during the First Battle of Geonosis. Due to his dual identity, Sidious was able to manipulate the war from both sides, deceiving both factions.

The Jedi Order was entrusted with leading the war effort, with Jedi serving as Generals and Commanders in the military. After several years of conflict, many citizens of the galaxy grew disillusioned with the war and blamed the Jedi leaders for its prolonged and devastating nature. Consequently, public sentiment began to turn against the Jedi, with many viewing the Jedi Order as synonymous with the Clone Wars. Padawan Barriss Offee, a member of the Order, also believed that the Jedi had become complicit in a misguided war, leading her to bomb the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Other Jedi shared her views; Jedi Master Depa Billaba considered it a mistake for the Jedi to lead the Clone Wars. Grand Master Yoda, after embarking on a spiritual journey to uncover the secrets of eternal consciousness within the Force, experienced a vision on Dagobah depicting Jedi fighting clone troopers and being killed by Darth Sidious. Through his journey, he came to believe that the Jedi Order may have already lost the Clone Wars simply by participating in it. He suspected that the Jedi would lose the war, but ultimately emerge victorious in the fight against the Sith.

At some point during the Clone Wars, the Jedi Master Eno Cordova ventured into the Zeffo vault on Bogano and had a vision showcasing the Jedi's demise and the subsequent proliferation of the Dark Side throughout the galaxy. He promptly returned to Coruscant and presented his findings to the Jedi Council, only to be met with skepticism and disbelief. The only one who seemed to trust his vision was his old confidant Jocasta Nu. Nu subsequently entrusted into Cordova's care a holocron containing a secret list of youngling Force sensitives across the galaxy.

Near the war's end, the clone conspiracy was nearly exposed when clone trooper Tup experienced a premature activation of Order 66. He betrayed and murdered Jedi Master Tiplar during the Battle of Ringo Vinda. Following Tup's death, his friend and fellow trooper, Fives, investigated the incident and discovered the existence of the bio-chip and the Order 66 conspiracy. He confronted the Chancellor, who revealed his involvement before staging an assassination attempt against himself for which Fives was framed. Fives informed two of his commanders, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, a Knight of the Jedi Order believed to be the Chosen One, and Clone Captain Rex, about the conspiracy, but they dismissed his claims. Fives was killed by a fellow clone after being deemed a threat, and the official explanation for Tup's behavior was that he had been exposed to a parasite that caused him to become violent. The Jedi later learned of the Sith's involvement in the creation of the clone army but remained unaware of the conspiracy and continued to rely on the clones as their primary means of combating the Separatist Alliance.

As the Clone Wars neared their conclusion, Chancellor Palpatine consolidated more central power, leading the Jedi Council to become increasingly wary of the Chancellor and his expanding authority. They sensed the presence of the dark side of the Force surrounding the Chancellor, although they had yet to realize that he was the Dark Lord they had been searching for throughout the war. During the Battle of Coruscant, orchestrated by Sidious, Dooku was betrayed by Sidious and subsequently killed by Anakin at Palpatine's instigation. With Dooku's demise, the Chancellor promised a swift end to the war once General Grievous, the leader of the Separatist Droid Army, was eliminated. The Jedi Council, skeptical of the Chancellor's claims that he would relinquish his executive powers, privately discussed removing the Chancellor from office if he failed to do so upon Grievous' death.

In the war's final days, Anakin Skywalker began experiencing visions of his wife, now-Senator Amidala, dying during childbirth. Driven by the desire to save his wife and their unborn child—the couple was unaware that they were expecting twins—Skywalker began seeking the power to prevent her death. Palpatine entertained him with the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, describing it as an ancient Sith legend, and explained that Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith who had unlocked the secrets of immortality. Shortly thereafter, the Chancellor revealed to the troubled Jedi Knight that he was indeed Darth Sidious and that he could help Skywalker save Amidala's life. Skywalker initially rejected the offer and informed Jedi Master Mace Windu, a member of the Jedi Council, about the Chancellor's true identity and deception.

Aware of the Chancellor's deceit and true identity, and with Palpatine having not yet relinquished his executive powers despite General Grievous' death during the Battle of Utapau, Windu assembled a team of three other Jedi Masters—Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin—to arrest the Chancellor and thwart his plans. The Jedi Masters confronted the Chancellor in his office, and Sidious retaliated, killing the three other Jedi Masters and engaging Windu in a lightsaber duel. The duel progressed throughout the Chancellor's office until Windu disarmed the Dark Lord, at which point Skywalker arrived and witnessed what Sidious claimed was the Jedi attempting to seize control of the Republic. Needing Sidious to survive to save Amidala's life, Skywalker betrayed Windu by severing his hand, preventing Windu from killing Sidious. Sidious seized the opportunity to unleash a barrage of Force lightning on the Jedi Master, sending Windu plummeting out the window to his death. Having betrayed and turned against the Jedi Order, Skywalker pledged his allegiance to Darth Sidious and became the Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.

Windu's attempt on Sidious' life provided the Dark Lord with the justification he needed to brand the Jedi as traitors and destroy the Jedi Order. He instructed Vader to proceed to the Jedi Temple and eliminate every Jedi within, and then execute the Separatist Council. Vader brought with him a battalion of clone troopers, loyal to the Sith due to Sidious' activation of Protocol 66. As Vader and the 501st Legion participated in Operation: Knightfall, Sidious ordered clone commanders throughout the galaxy to initiate Order 66. With Sidious issuing Order 66, the bio-chips activated, brainwashing the clones into believing that the Jedi were traitors to the Republic who needed to be eliminated. On planets such as Mygeeto, Felucia, Cato Neimoidia, Saleucami, and Kaller, clone forces killed their Jedi commanders. The Jedi were caught off guard by their clone troopers' sudden betrayal. Some Jedi, including Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau, Master Luminara Unduli and Grand Master Yoda on Kashyyyk, Padawan Caleb Dume on Kaller, Padawan Cal Kestis over Bracca, former Padawan Ahsoka Tano aboard the Tribunal, and Grogu on Coruscant, managed to escape.

Surprisingly, not every Jedi was immediately targeted for execution. Certain Jedi, such as Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris, were spared from the initial onslaught of Order 66. Some Jedi who harbored doubts about the Jedi Order were monitored and influenced by spies planted in the Jedi Temple by Darth Sidious. Their objective was to foster and amplify doubts and disillusionment within these troubled Jedi, making them more receptive to the idea of abandoning the Order or embracing the Dark Side. When the order came and the purge began, these Jedi were spared from the onslaught. The clones who normally should have raised blasters, instead raised a hologram of Sidious himself to them, who offered them a chance to live, as long as they revoked their Jedi ways and pledged their allegiance to him. These Jedi would soon become the first Inquisitors of the Inquisitorius.

Nevertheless, most Jedi perished. This included those in the Jedi Temple, where almost everyone, including younglings, were killed by Vader and his clone forces. Hoping to lure more Jedi to their deaths, Vader activated a beacon inside the Jedi Temple that broadcast an emergency message requesting all Jedi to return to the Temple. Around the time of Order 66, Master Tobar Ka-Teen was presumed to have been killed on Auratera by several squads of clone troopers. In what would be remembered as the last stand of the Jedi Order, one group of survivors took up a defensive position within a mountain fortress, which was attacked by Republic clone troopers. Reportedly it was the Republic officer Hodnar Borrum who marshaled the clones for the final charge, which ended with the defeat of the Jedi. That battle may have been fought on Madar or Morad.

With the Jedi Order effectively destroyed, Sidious convened a special session of the Senate to mark the end of the Galactic Republic. The Sith Lord portrayed himself as a brutally wounded victim of an attempted Jedi coup, which he referred to as the "Jedi rebellion." He vowed that the remaining Jedi traitors would be eliminated. He further exploited the instability caused by the Clone Wars to transform the Republic into the Galactic Empire, a proclamation that received enthusiastic support from the senate. After his attack on the temple, Vader proceeded to Mustafar to eliminate the Separatist Council. Earlier, Sidious had deceived the Council into believing that Vader would protect them. Vader slaughtered the council upon his arrival, which was then followed by him following Sidious's third order by shutting down the Droid army, thus ending the war.

As Sidious proclaimed himself Emperor of the galaxy, Kenobi and Yoda infiltrated the Jedi Temple and discovered the devastation left in Vader's wake. Kenobi altered the Jedi beacon to warn the Jedi to avoid Coruscant, and soon saw a holographic recording that showed him the truth: Darth Vader, the man responsible for the deaths in the Jedi Temple, was his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker, as well as that the Chancellor is Sidious and Vader's master. The two Jedi resolved to destroy the Sith, with Yoda confronting the Emperor while Kenobi would track down and kill his former friend. Kenobi's message managed to save an undetermined number of Jedi survivors and made it to Dume just as he entered the Coruscant system. After a brief skirmish against a group of ARC-170s, Dume escaped back to Kaller.

Kenobi tracked Vader to the volcanic planet of Mustafar by secretly boarding Amidala's vessel, after the senator's decision to journey there in search of her spouse. Vader, having previously eradicated the Separatist Council on Mustafar, thereby ending the Clone Wars, flew into a rage upon seeing his former mentor, suspecting a conspiracy between him and Amidala. Vader assaulted Amidala, rendering her unconscious, while he and Kenobi engaged in a lightsaber duel that spanned the Separatist compound and the lava rivers above. Concurrently, Yoda confronted the Emperor and engaged him in a lightsaber battle. Though neither achieved victory, Yoda was compelled to flee, unable to best the Emperor, and was rescued by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, a staunch ally of the Jedi Order. On Mustafar, Kenobi severed three of Vader's limbs and left the Sith Lord to perish in flames on the lava riverbank, while Kenobi rescued Amidala and departed Mustafar. Soon after, the Emperor arrived on Mustafar and discovered his severely injured apprentice. They then returned to Coruscant, where Vader was outfitted with a life-sustaining armor suit, a garment he would be forced to wear for the remainder of his days.

Kenobi met with Yoda and Organa on the asteroid settlement of Polis Massa, where Amidala gave birth to her twins, Luke and Leia, before her death. The Jedi Masters understood that to have any chance of defeating the Sith, they needed to ensure the safety and secrecy of Anakin's children. Leia was brought to Alderaan, where she was raised by Organa and his wife, Queen Breha Organa, becoming known as Princess Leia Organa. Luke was sent to live with Anakin's stepbrother, Owen Lars, and Owen's wife, Beru, on Tatooine. Kenobi chose exile on Tatooine to watch over Luke, while Yoda retreated to Dagobah in solitude.

In the immediate aftermath of Order 66 and on the steps of the Jedi Temple, the Imperial Grand Vizier, Mas Amedda, orchestrated a public rally celebrating the destruction of the Jedi. Amedda proclaimed that the galaxy was now liberated from the supposed menace of the Jedi, thanks to the new Galactic Emperor. He further asserted that the Jedi were responsible for Separatist conspiracies and fabricated numerous falsehoods, but Palpatine had seen through these schemes and survived their assassination attempt. The focal point of the event was the burning of numerous lightsabers, collected from the slain Force-sensitives. The Imperials had also recovered Yoda's lightsaber, with Amedda personally casting the hilt into the furnace. The Kyber crystals within the lightsabers reacted rapidly to the heat, causing an explosion of blue light that knocked back Amedda and several clones.

During the Age of the Empire, the hunt for surviving Jedi persisted throughout the galaxy. Darth Vader, under orders from his master to obtain a new Kyber crystal to replace the lightsaber lost on Mustafar, journeyed to a sacred Jedi monastery site on Al'doleem, a river moon. There, he confronted Jedi Master Kirak Infil'a, and despite an initial defeat and significant injuries, he ultimately prevailed and claimed Kirak's lightsaber as his own.

To pursue and eliminate the remaining Jedi, the Emperor instructed Vader to train a group of former Jedi known as the Inquisitorius. Due to their Jedi past, the Inquisitors possessed a weakness in the dark side of the Force, being more defensive and unaccustomed to attacking. Vader recognized this during their training and opted to instruct them in a purely offensive style. Vader assigned the Grand Inquisitor the task of studying the Jedi Order's records to gain familiarity with their adversaries and enhance their hunting efficiency. The Inquisitors received a list of Jedi unaccounted for after the purge, including figures such as Yoda, Quinlan Vos, Ahsoka Tano, and Jocasta Nu.

Nu, the former Chief Librarian of the Jedi Order, was deemed particularly important. She sought to preserve the Order by establishing a new hidden school with the assistance of her aide, Gar. To achieve this, she required students and utilized a secret tunnel to re-enter the temple and retrieve a holocron containing a list of all Force-sensitive children cataloged before Order 66. Although she successfully infiltrated the temple and secured the holocron from a concealed vault, her escape proved challenging. During her departure, she witnessed the Grand Inquisitor reading and discarding her books, which incited her to attack him.

Following a brief lightsaber duel with the Grand Inquisitor, she was defeated, and Vader's intervention was required to save her life. Vader insisted that she be captured alive, leading to a dispute between him and the Inquisitor, which allowed Nu to escape. She retreated to a computer access room in the Library, retrieving a special weapon and initiating the deletion of the archive files. After failing to kill him with the weapon and damaging her lightsaber, Nu attempted to kill Vader by self-destructing it, but he redirected it so that it blew a hole in the Temple's outer wall. Seizing a green-bladed lightsaber from a shelf, Nu used the opportunity to escape through the gap, but was forced to fight off several Coruscant Guard shock troopers led by Commander Fox, who also fired on Vader by mistake due to Fox neglecting to provide a description of the Sith Lord.

After snapping the clone commander's neck, Vader ordered the troopers to take Nu alive, stopping her with the Force after she attempted to commit suicide in order to deny them the information she held. Restrained and confined aboard a patrol transport, Nu was forced to watch as Vader accessed the coveted information: the Kyber memory crystal, containing a list of all known Force-sensitive children in the galaxy. When Nu inquired what her fate would be, Vader ignited his lightsaber but met no resistance from Nu, who accepted her death. The list of names was then destroyed by Vader, to ensure that his master could not use it to find and train other Sith apprentices.

The Grand Inquisitor dispatched the Fourth Sister and Barriss Offee to eliminate a Jedi collaborating with a rebel cell. Although the Jedi was wounded and left for dead by the Fourth Sister, Offee betrayed the Inquisitor after her colleague's actions made her realize the true nature of the Inquisitorius. Reaffirming her identity as a Jedi to the Fourth Sister, Offee used the Force to push the Inquisitor off the mountain they were on and returned to rescue the Jedi.

The hunt for Jedi resulted in the capture and eventual death of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli in the Spire, a heavily fortified former Separatist prison on Stygeon Prime. Her remains were preserved as they still contained traces of her Force signature, capable of luring other Jedi survivors to their deaths by creating the illusion that she was still alive. This tactic proved successful, as Jedi survivors like Caleb Dume ventured to Stygeon Prime only to be ensnared. The Empire also offered rewards for turning in Jedi survivors.

Order 66 remained in effect throughout Imperial rule, mandating that any suspected or confirmed Jedi be shot on sight. Order 66 subsection Codicil Nine outlawed the possession of Sith artifacts. During the Purge, Vader personally contacted the clone Bly to assist in capturing two rebellious Padawans. Vader selected Bly due to his prior experience with the Padawans, making him the ideal candidate for the mission. Vader and Bly ultimately succeeded in killing the Jedi.

Having evaded execution on Kaller and above Coruscant, Dume remained on the run from the Empire and joined the crew of smuggler Janus Kasmir. The two managed to evade clone trooper officers Grey and Styles by abandoning each smuggling job immediately after receiving payment. However, they were eventually apprehended on the planet Lahn, only for Styles to take Dume in alive so he could enjoy executing the Padawan who had caused them so much trouble, much to the anger of Grey who simply wanted the supposed traitor dead. As their Gozanti-class cruiser entered the Kaller system, Dume managed to break Grey out of the trance of Order 66 by reminding him of his friendship with Master Billaba. After Dume escaped out the airlock to join Kasmir and his other allies in a battle against the clones' cruiser, Grey gave his own life to ensure the Padawan escaped by destroying his ship's controls, leaving the Gozanti to explode with him and Styles aboard.

By 18 BBY, former Padawan Ferren Barr had begun influencing king Lee-Char of Mon Cala to openly rebel against the Empire. In response, the Emperor dispatched Vader, along with three Inquisitors—the Tenth Brother, Ninth Sister, and Sixth Brother—to the aquatic world to investigate the situation on Mon Cala and to eliminate any Jedi present. During the ensuing conflict, Vader captured Lee-Char and killed Ferren Barr, but Barr's acolyte Verla escaped after he told her to find another surviving Jedi such as Quinlan Vos or Yoda to finish her training.

In the same year, the Sixth Brother was deployed to Thabeska to hunt for a potential Force-sensitive. Unbeknownst to him, Ahsoka Tano was in hiding there. Upon discovering the Inquisitor's presence, Ahsoka fled to Raada and eventually initiated an early rebel movement. During the Raada Uprising, she confronted the Sixth Brother, using the Force to cause his lightsaber to explode, resulting in his death. She later repurposed the purified kyber crystals from his saber to construct her own lightsabers. Subsequently, while residing in a farm village, Tano encountered the Eleventh Brother but swiftly defeated him.

Eventually, Darth Vader and the Inquisitorius located the former Jedi Master Eeth Koth, who had left the Order during the Clone Wars. Vader found Koth with his wife, who had recently given birth. Dispatching the Thirteenth Sister to secure the child, Vader engaged Koth in a lightsaber duel. Once the child was secured, Vader stabbed Koth in the back, killing him.

In 14 BBY, the Inquisitorius discovered a Jedi, the Padawan Cal Kestis, hiding on Bracca. The Second Sister and Ninth Sister were sent to kill him, but Kestis managed to escape. The Ninth Sister was defeated by Kestis on Kashyyyk, and the Second Sister met her death in Nur after being defeated by Kestis and moving away from the dark side of the Force, having reconciled with her former Jedi master, Cere Junda, whom Kestis joined and consecrated him a Jedi Knight. Darth Vader arrived in time to see the Second Sister's betrayal and execute her with his lightsaber. Vader tried to kill Kestis and Junda, but both narrowly escaped.

Having foreseen in a Force vision that his potential Jedi academy would be discovered and destroyed, Kestis decided to destroy Eno Cordova's holocron, which contained a list of Force-sensitive children across the galaxy that Kestis and Junda intended to use to rebuild the Jedi Order, which had been retrieved on Nur. Kestis believed that the children's fate should be entrusted to the Force. Subsequently, he inquired about their next course of action.

One Inquisitor, the "Third Sister" Reva Sevander, was secretly working to kill Vader so as to avenge her fellow Jedi younglings he killed during Order 66. Unbeknownst to her, Vader was aware of her plan. So as to get close to Vader, Sevander worked to continue the hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi despite a lack of leads on the case. Meanwhile, the Inquisitorius was also carrying out a hunt for the Hidden Path network, which worked to smuggle Force-sensitives to safety away from the Empire's eyes. One of its members was the con artist Haja Estree, who pretended to be a Jedi on the crime ridden planet Daiyu: while Estree did indeed scam people for credits, he did ensure those who came to him for help got it.

Discovering a connection between Senator Bail Organa and Kenobi, Sevander dispatched a team of criminals led by Vect Nokru to ambush and kidnap Organa's adoptive daughter Leia. Meanwhile, Sevander was part of a hunt for the surviving Jedi Nari that took herself, the Grand Inquisitor, and the Fifth Brother to Tatooine, where Nari found an emotionally broken Kenobi who refused to help him. Ultimately, Nari would be killed. At the urging of Organa, Kenobi, traveled offworld and rescued Leia on Daiyu. Uncovering the Third Sister's plot, the Grand Inquisitor, Fifth Brother, and Fourth Sister also traveled to Daiyu with their stormtrooper forces to reprimand Sevander and capture Kenobi without her. With Estree's help, Kenobi and Organa managed to escape the planet, but not before a run-in with the Third Sister: she stabbed the Grand Inquisitor to get him out of her way and revealed to Kenobi that Vader was alive.

Journeying to the mining planet Mapuzo in the Mid Rim, Kenobi and Organa reached a Path safehouse operated by undercover Imperial captain Tala Durith and the droid NED-B. However, Vader himself arrived with the Inquisitors and handily bested Kenobi in the battle on Mapuzo. While Durith managed to get Kenobi out alive and bring him to the Path base of operations on the planet Jabiim, Organa was captured by the Third Sister and brought to the Fortress Inquisitorius for questioning. Kenobi and Durith infiltrated the base, rescued Organa, and escaped. Pointed to Jabiim by a tracking device hidden within Organa's droid L0-LA59, Sevander, promoted to the rank of Grand Inquisitor by Vader, led an Imperial assault on the Path base, where Durith gave her life to hold back the Empire.

Kenobi, who put together that Sevander was working against Vader, deduced how his former disciple would think by distracting him with an empty transport. Kenobi, Organa, and the rest of the Path soon escaped aboard Roken's freight transport, while Sevander made her move against Vader, who handily defeated her before revealing the Grand Inquisitor's survival. Both left to pursue the fleeing transport aboard the Devastator, while Sevander made her way to Tatooine after discovering the existence of Luke Skywalker from a holoprojector Kenobi dropped in the chaos. Knowing Vader was more interested in him than the Path as a whole, Kenobi drew the Devastator off the transport's trail by heading to a barren moon, where Kenobi found faith in the future through his experiences with Luke and Leia. Kenobi defeated Vader in the lightsaber duel and left Vader beaten. Kenobi then returned to Tatooine, where he had felt Skywalker was in danger; Sevander attacked the Lars Homestead in an effort to kill the boy but ultimately was unable to go through with the act. Assured by Kenobi that re-embracing the light was better for the memory of her lost friends, Sevander rejected her station as an Inquisitor.

After his failure to capture Kenobi, Vader dispatched probe droids to find the Jedi Master and reported his progress to Sidious, who ordered Vader to stop so as to not let his past define him. Organa was returned home to Alderaan and bid goodbye to Kenobi, who also promised to help battle the growing power of the Empire if he was needed, when he visited. With his hope restored, Kenobi also finally saw the Force spirit of his former master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

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.

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 he daughter so that they could live free from the Empire forever, which, in he 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. With the compass to cross the deadly Koboh Abyss nebula, Kestis and his allies began to prepare Tanalorr for use by the Hidden Path.

As the Empire expanded throughout the galaxy, and the Sith increased their hold over the cosmos, the Emperor sensed a new threat that could potentially rise against him. This threat, which Darth Vader referred to as the "children of the Force," came in the form of young Force-sensitives who the Emperor feared would rise up against the Empire. The Inquisitors were ordered to either turn these individuals to the dark side or eliminate them, along with any Jedi who could potentially train them. To that end, the Inquisitors carried out an operation known as Project Harvester to capture these young Force-sensitive beings. These individuals were recruited from such facilities as the Imperial Academy on the Outer Rim world of Lothal or were taken from their parents as infants.

The Age of the Empire witnessed the rise of numerous rebel groups across the galaxy, all united in their opposition to the Empire. Among these was the Spectres cell, operating from Lothal under the leadership of Captain Hera Syndulla of the Ghost starship. This group also included Caleb Dume, who adopted the alias Kanan Jarrus to elude Imperial forces. The Spectres attracted the Empire's attention when Jarrus revealed his Jedi identity while liberating Wookiee slaves from the spice mines of Kessel. Consequently, the Empire pursued Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, his Padawan apprentice, even luring them into the Spire, though they managed to escape execution.

Later on, in 4 BBY, the Spectres disrupted the Empire Day celebrations in Lothal's Capital City and rescued Tseebo, a Rodian employee of the Imperial Information Office. Despite being pursued by the Grand Inquisitor, they escaped aboard the Ghost into hyperspace. However, the Grand Inquisitor tracked them down using an XX-23 S-thread tracker attached to their auxiliary shuttle, the Phantom. While the other crew members concealed Tseebo, Bridger and Jarrus led the Grand Inquisitor to Fort Anaxes on PM-1203. After a brief duel, the two Jedi escaped, but Bridger briefly succumbed to the dark side out of fear.

The Inquisitor's failure, along with other Imperial agents' inability to capture the Spectres and their Jedi "leader," prompted the arrival of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin on Lothal, where he reprimanded them. Collaborating with Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, Tarkin and the Grand Inquisitor trapped the Spectres at the Imperial Communications Center near Jalath. The Inquisitor defeated Jarrus in combat and captured him, but the other Spectres escaped, using a computer spike to hijack the communications tower and broadcast Bridger's message of rebellion. After the Grand Inquisitor and Kallus failed to break Jarrus, Tarkin suggested transferring him to Mustafar, a place "where the Jedi went to die."

Aboard Tarkin's Imperial Star Destroyer Sovereign above Mustafar, the Grand Inquisitor continued to interrogate Jarrus, taunting him about the death of his master, Billaba. However, Jarrus' comrades infiltrated the Sovereign, and Bridger rescued his master. Jarrus then defeated the Grand Inquisitor in a duel within the Star Destroyer's reactor core. Rather than face the consequences of his failure, the Grand Inquisitor chose suicide, plunging into the malfunctioning reactor. The Spectres escaped the stricken Star Destroyer with the assistance of Phoenix Cell, a larger rebel group, and were greeted by Tano, who revealed herself as the rebel spymaster Fulcrum.

Soon after, the Emperor dispatched Darth Vader to address the growing rebel threat. The rebels began to collaborate with a larger movement led by Senator Organa and Tano, Anakin Skywalker's former Padawan. Following a failed mission to rescue Minister Maketh Tua, Vader ambushed the Spectres at the Imperial Complex on Lothal. Despite overpowering Jarrus and Bridger in lightsaber combat, the Spectres escaped back to the Phoenix fleet. Undeterred, Vader pursued them in his TIE Advanced x1 and crippled the rebel flagship Phoenix Home. During the ensuing dogfight, Tano and Vader sensed each other's presence through the Force. This encounter confirmed her survival to Vader, while Tano later denied knowing Vader's true identity. After the Phoenix Squadron escaped with the Jedi fugitives, the Emperor ordered his apprentice to send another Inquisitor to deal with the situation.

During the Assault on Seelos, Admiral Kassius Konstantine received orders to rendezvous with the Fifth Brother in space. While Konstantine worried that this rendezvous compromised Agent Kallus' mission on Seelos, the Fifth Brother remained confident and vowed to succeed where Konstantine and Kallus had failed.

Later, the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother ambushed members of the Spectres at an abandoned Republic Haven-class medical station in space. Bridger, one of the Spectres, engaged both the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother in lightsaber combat. Following a brief skirmish, the Spectres escaped back to Phoenix Group on the Phantom. Bridger recounted his encounter to Jarrus, who was shocked to learn of the existence of multiple Inquisitors.

The Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother then initiated a campaign to abduct Force-sensitive children for the Empire, kidnapping baby Alora from her grandmother Darja. Learning of the Inquisitors' secondary mission, Tano enlisted Jarrus and Bridger's help to stop them. Tracking the Inquisitors' coordinates, Jarrus, Bridger, Garazeb Orrelios, and Chopper traveled to the planet Takobo. They successfully rescued the Ithorian baby Pypey from the Inquisitors but were unable to defeat them in combat. Tano intervened, enabling the Jedi and rebels to escape aboard the Phantom. With the Jedi Order gone, Tano, Jarrus, and Bridger committed to protecting Force-sensitive children from the Empire.

Acting on information from one of the Seventh Sister's ID9 seeker droids, the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother joined forces with Agent Kallus and Admiral Konstantine to hunt down and destroy the Phoenix Squadron, which was hiding on Garel. The two Inquisitors confronted Bridger and Jarrus, but the Spectres escaped aboard the Ghost into space.

Over the next few months, the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother continued their pursuit of Bridger and Jarrus, undermining their efforts to help Phoenix Squadron find a new base on Oosalon. Desperate, Bridger, Jarrus, and Tano visited the Lothal Jedi Temple to seek guidance during this crisis. There, Bridger communicated with Yoda, who instructed him to find Malachor. Meanwhile, Jarrus completed his Jedi Trials and became a Jedi Knight, while Tano confronted her suspicions that Skywalker and Vader were the same person. The trio escaped the Lothal Jedi Temple before the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister forced their way in. The two Inquisitors then informed Vader of their findings.

After assisting Phoenix Squadron in establishing Chopper Base on Atollon, Jarrus and Bridger accompanied Tano to Malachor, seeking the secrets to defeating the Sith. There, they were attacked by the Eighth Brother. Separated from Jarrus and Tano, Ezra encountered Maul, a former Sith apprentice, who offered to help him uncover the secrets within the Malachor Sith Temple. After Maul assisted the Jedi and Tano in fending off the Eighth Brother, Seventh Sister, and Fifth Brother, they reluctantly partnered with Maul to obtain the temple's secrets. While Bridger trusted Maul, Jarrus and Tano remained wary of the former Sith.

Maul convinced Bridger to place the Sith holocron they had found inside the Sith temple's obelisk. After killing the Inquisitors, Maul betrayed Jarrus and Tano, blinding the former. Meanwhile, Bridger discovered that the Sith temple was an ancient battle station capable of destroying all life and refused to use its dark-side powers. However, Vader arrived and fought Bridger, only to be confronted by Tano. Denying Vader's request to join him and hunt down any surviving Jedi, Tano declared that Vader and his Inquisitors had destroyed the last of the Order, affirming that she was not a Jedi and battled Vader to avenge Anakin Skywalker. Bridger and his blinded master escaped with Chopper aboard the Phantom while Tano stayed to hold back Vader. After the Sith temple imploded, Vader left, while Tano went inside the temple. With Tano presumed dead, the Great Jedi Purge came to an end.

Later, Maul captured the Spectres, compelling Bridger and Jarrus to bring him the Sith holocron from Malachor and the Jedi holocron belonging to the latter. Upon learning that an individual with a red lightsaber was responsible for the capture, Bridger initially suspected another Inquisitor, but they soon discovered it was Maul. Maul later manipulated Bridger into helping him locate Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. After Kenobi sent Bridger away and Maul realized Kenobi was protecting someone on the planet, the Jedi Master and his old enemy engaged in one final duel, which Kenobi swiftly ended by fatally striking Maul. As Maul died in Kenobi's arms, he inquired if the person Kenobi was guarding, secretly Anakin Skywalker's son Luke, was the Chosen One. Kenobi affirmed this belief, and Maul died hoping the young Skywalker would avenge them.

During the mission to Batuu, Darth Vader reflected on the victory in the war against the Jedi Order. Despite this, even as the Empire and the consolidated Rebel forces, now known as the Rebel Alliance, continued to fight, some Jedi had survived the purge. Among these survivors were Jarrus and Bridger, but after the Spectres' return to Lothal, Jarrus sacrificed his life to protect Bridger, fellow rebel Sabine Wren, and his lover, General Syndulla.

Shortly thereafter, the Spectres launched a mission to the Lothal Jedi Temple, leading Bridger to enter the World Between Worlds through a portal. This allowed him to reach through time and rescue Tano from Vader on Malachor. Their actions were interrupted by Darth Sidious, who attempted to use Bridger to access the World Between Worlds, which would have granted the Galactic Emperor control over the universe. The two escaped Palpatine, and Tano returned to her own time, promising Bridger she would find him again, while Bridger returned to his friends outside the portal. The Lothal Jedi Temple collapsed, destroying the gateway to the World Between Worlds.

Soon after, Bridger, the other Spectres, and their allies launched an attempt to liberate Lothal. During this effort, the Jedi Padawan was captured and taken to Grand Admiral Thrawn on the Chimaera. During their conversation, Bridger and Thrawn discussed the Jedi, with the Imperial officer noting that most of the Order's members were either in hiding or "poorly trained children." Thrawn brought the Force-sensitive before Sidious, who spoke to Bridger through a hologram. Using a surviving part of the Lothal temple he had ordered to be brought aboard the Star Destroyer, the Sith Lord offered the young man a chance to reunite with his parents. The Jedi Padawan ultimately refused the potential future and destroyed the temple fragment, again denying Sidious access to the World Between Worlds.

Escaping three Royal Guards and a trio of stormtroopers, Bridger reached the Chimaera's bridge, where he confronted Thrawn. Thanks to a pod of Purrgil summoned by the young rebel Mart Mattin at his request, the Seventh Fleet was defeated. The Chimaera, along with Bridger, Thrawn, and all others aboard, was taken into hyperspace by the creatures. With the Imperial fleet gone, the Spectres and their allies, having lured all Imperial forces into the structure with a false Protocol 13, destroyed the Empire's command "dome," fulfilling Bridger's wish to free his homeworld from Imperial oppression.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Kenobi and Yoda remained alive. Luke Skywalker began his Jedi training under Kenobi, before the Jedi Master was killed by Darth Vader. Skywalker received guidance from Kenobi's spirit, and after a few years, the departed Jedi Master sent Skywalker to Dagobah, where he underwent more extensive Jedi training with Yoda.

Skywalker prematurely ended his training to rescue his friends Han Solo and Princess Leia, who he did not yet know was his sister, from Vader on Bespin. Skywalker soon learned that this was a trap, as Vader intended to capture Skywalker and train him as his new apprentice. The two engaged in a lightsaber duel, during which Skywalker discovered that Vader was his father. He fled the fight and was rescued by his friends. A year later, Skywalker proclaimed himself a Jedi Knight and returned to Dagobah, where he found a weary and dying Yoda. Before his death, Yoda imparted final wisdom onto his apprentice and confirmed that Vader was his father. He also urged Skywalker to pass on his Jedi training to others. Upon Yoda's death, Skywalker became the last of the Jedi.

Sensing the goodness within his father, the remaining vestiges of Anakin Skywalker, Luke surrendered himself to Vader during the Battle of Endor and was brought before the Emperor. Skywalker and Vader engaged in a final lightsaber duel, and Skywalker nearly succumbed to the dark side after lashing out at Vader in anger. After defeating his father, Sidious betrayed Vader by ordering Luke to kill him, but Luke regained his composure and tossed his lightsaber aside, refusing to fight any further. The enraged Emperor attempted to kill Skywalker with his Force lightning, but the sight of his son in agony led to Vader's redemption. Once again Anakin Skywalker, the redeemed Jedi, sacrificed himself to kill the Emperor and save his son. Their deaths, along with the Empire's defeat during the battle, ended the era of Sith rule over the galaxy.

The Emperor's death, made possible by the return of the Jedi, left the Galactic Empire without a leader. The Empire fragmented into rival factions, while the Rebel Alliance reformed itself into the New Republic. Following the Empire's defeat in the Battle of Jakku, Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano launched a search to find Ezra Bridger, who was still alive, and bring him home to Lothal.

Following Yoda's advice, Luke Skywalker embarked on rebuilding the Jedi Order and established a training temple. He gathered a group of at least a dozen students, including Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Luke's sister, Leia Organa. Skywalker sensed the darkness within his nephew, however, and confronted him one night. Peering into his nephew's mind, Skywalker saw the terror that his nephew would bring to the galaxy, and in a moment of instinct, ignited his lightsaber. Skywalker quickly regained his senses and was overcome with shame, but Solo awoke and brought down his hut with the Force, collapsing it on his uncle. He then destroyed the temple and the Jedi Order with a storm.

Solo had been seduced to the dark side of the Force by the mysterious Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Solo joined the Knights of Ren, adopting the name Kylo Ren, and became Snoke's apprentice. Meanwhile, Skywalker went into self-exile at the First Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, only to be brought back into the fold later by the Force-sensitive orphaned scavenger Rey, who became the last Jedi after Skywalker sacrificed himself at the Battle of Crait to save the Resistance.

Numerous Jedi or former Jedi evaded capture or death during the Purge and survived, although some were killed after its conclusion.

• Grand Master Yoda: Survived in exile on Dagobah until his death in 4 ABY. [94]
• Master Obi-Wan Kenobi: Survived until his death on the Death Star during the Rescue of Princess Leia in 0 BBY. [12]
• Master Vanzell Mar-Klar: Survived the Great Jedi Purge alongside Nedriss Narr and two other padawans. They dedicated the rest of their days into finding and training future Jedi Knights. [123]
• Knight Kanan Jarrus: Initially a Padawan, survived until being killed on Lothal during the rescue of Hera Syndulla [91] around 0 BBY. [124]
• Padawan Nedriss Narr: Survived the Great Jedi Purge alongside Vanzell Mar-Klar and two other padawans. They dedicated the rest of their days into finding and training future Jedi Knights. [123]
• Former Knight Baylan Skoll: Survived the Great Jedi Purge and became a mercenary. During the New Republic Era, he operated along with his apprentice Shin Hati. [125]
• Former Padawan Naq Med: Survived until his death during the New Republic Era. [105]
• Former Padawan Ahsoka Tano: Survived after a skirmish aboard the Tribunal against the 501st Legion and Coruscant Guard. [15]
• Former Youngling Din Grogu: Survived Operation: Knightfall and the Great Jedi Purge by being taken into hiding. [49]
• Mill Alibeth: Survived Order 66 and lived through the First Order-Resistance War as a bounty hunter alongside fellow initiate Vivert Stag. [126]
• Vivert Stag: Survived Order 66 and lived through the First Order-Resistance War as a bounty hunter alongside fellow initiate Mill Alibeth. [126]
• Kira Vantala: According to legend, survived the Great Jedi Purge and encountered and dueled with the Grand Inquisitor on Gaaten. [127]

In the LEGO comic "Ambush in the Temple," two Padawan survivors—Nena Gallow and Mel Acan—are featured. Both lost their masters to the Jedi Purge. While both were hiding out in a Jedi Temple on Vinee, they are discovered by the Grand Inquisitor and Darth Vader, but both Padawans escape. The LEGO comic "The Special Suits" sees stormtrooper TK-101 claim Vader hunted down a surviving Jedi named Tanga Wattal, only for Vader himself to say he did not remember that happening.

In the Star Wars: Visions short film "Tatooine Rhapsody," the character Jay survived Order 66, and hid by joining a band called Star Waver. A survivor known only as "F" is featured in the short "The Village Bride."