Infiltration of the Jedi Temple

In the year 19 BBY, the Sith's Grand Plan to dominate the galaxy and obliterate the Jedi Order reached its culmination. This was orchestrated by Darth Sidious, a Sith Master who had been manipulating the Galactic Republic using his public identity as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems through subordinates like his Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus. Following the three-year Clone Wars between these two factions, Palpatine had amassed considerable executive power, the Jedi Order's reputation was significantly tarnished due to the conflict, and numerous Jedi had died in battle. Furthermore, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker's faith in the Jedi High Council had eroded throughout the war. Sidious, driven by his dark side temptations, aimed to convert Skywalker, believed to be the Order's Chosen One, into his next Sith apprentice once Tyranus outlived his usefulness. Skywalker's trust was particularly damaged when the Council abandoned his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, leaving her to face trial under the Republic Center for Military Operations until Skywalker uncovered the real perpetrator, Padawan Barriss Offee. This ordeal led Tano to depart from the Jedi Order, intensifying Skywalker's sense of isolation.

During the Outer Rim Sieges, the Jedi were strategically deployed across the Outer Rim Territories and other regions to command the Republic Military against the Separatists, ostensibly to bring the war to a conclusion. However, this maneuver effectively distanced the Order's members from one another. After Skywalker eliminated Tyranus during the Battle of Coruscant, Sidious began his efforts to corrupt Skywalker to the dark side, capitalizing on his nightmares about his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, dying during childbirth. While Skywalker's friend and former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi was engaged in combat with the Separatist Head of State General Grievous in the Battle of Utapau, Sidious revealed his true identity as a Sith to Skywalker. Although Skywalker promptly alerted Jedi Master Mace Windu to this revelation, Sidious's claims of possessing the ability to save Amidala proved tempting enough for Skywalker to intervene in Windu's arrest attempt. This culminated in Skywalker siding with the Sith Lord over his fellow Jedi, turning his lightsaber against Windu. Horrified by his actions, Skywalker accepted Sidious's offer to become a Sith, adopting the name "Darth Vader," on the condition that he could save his wife.

Sidious told Vader that the Jedi were traitors and that this action would give him the power needed to save Amidala. Vader then commanded thousands of clone troopers from his personal unit, the elite 501st Legion, in an assault on the Jedi Temple, with orders to eliminate all Jedi within, including the younglings. Exploiting his authority as Supreme Chancellor, Sidious transmitted the confidential Clone Protocol 66 to the entire Republic Military across the galaxy, activating the behavioral modification biochips embedded in every clone, thus turning them against the Jedi they had previously served. Vader and his forces successfully purged the Temple of all opposition during Operation: Knightfall, targeting both children and adults, and setting the building ablaze.

While some Jedi managed to survive Order 66, the galaxy was overwhelmed by the deaths of numerous Jedi, who were attacked by their own troops. Under Sidious's direction, Vader departed for Mustafar to wipe out the Executive Separatist Council and bring the Clone Wars to a definitive end, leaving the 501st behind to secure the Temple. To eliminate any remaining Jedi, the Temple's recall beacon was activated, broadcasting a deceptive message of hope, urging all Jedi to return to Coruscant, thereby luring survivors back to the occupied Temple. To further ensnare survivors, some clones donned Jedi robes, disguising themselves as Jedi to ambush any approaching Jedi.

Among the survivors was Kenobi, who escaped from the 212th Attack Battalion and rendezvoused with Grand Master Yoda and Senator Bail Prestor Organa, a Jedi sympathizer, aboard the Tantive III. Upon learning of the recall message, Kenobi urged his allies to return to Coruscant to disable the beacon, a proposal Yoda supported, noting it would provide them with more information about their adversaries. As Kenobi and Yoda entered Coruscant's orbit on the Tantive III, the starship received a message from Vice Chair Mas Amedda, instructing Organa to attend a special session of Congress convened by Palpatine. While Organa initially suspected a trap, Kenobi realized that Palpatine needed the Galactic Senate intact to maintain control of the galaxy. Yoda explained that the sudden session would aid their mission by diverting attention away from the Temple. During this special session, Palpatine addressed the Senate, claiming that the Jedi had attempted to overthrow the Republic and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, a declaration that was met with cheers by most of the Senate. With the public yearning for peace after the Clone Wars, the Empire was widely accepted across the galaxy.

Arriving at the still-smoldering Jedi Temple, Kenobi, saddened by the sight of the smoke, and Yoda fought their way into the building, battling through the 501st. Kenobi was also disturbed by the sight of the clones wearing Jedi robes as a deception. Once inside, they encountered the aftermath of the attack led by Vader and the 501st, which horrified Kenobi even more than the smoke and clones. Recognizing lightsaber burns on the body of a Padawan but unaware of Skywalker's descent into darkness, the two contemplated who had orchestrated the attack, with Kenobi wondering if a Sith Lord was responsible. Thanks to their familiarity with the Temple's layout, Kenobi and Yoda easily evaded the clones inside. While Yoda maintained watch, Kenobi proceeded to reprogram the Jedi beacon. Yoda also discovered Skywalker's fall from the security recordings. Kenobi's work was inspired by a question once posed by the youngling Caleb Dume, who had inquired whether the beacon could be configured to direct Jedi away from the Temple instead of toward it.

Kenobi's revised message warned of the emerging Empire and urged survivors to avoid the Temple, assuring them that a new hope would arise despite the darkness engulfing the galaxy. Having become the Padawan to Jedi Master Depa Billaba, who sacrificed herself during Order 66 to allow him to escape, Dume himself was lured to Coruscant by the false message. Eager to return to the Temple, believing that the Jedi Masters had devised a plan, he stole the smuggler Janus Kasmir's ship, the Kasmiri, which was promptly reported stolen to the Empire, from the planet Kaller and journeyed through hyperspace to reach the [Coruscant system](/article/coruscant_system]. At the precise moment Kenobi sent the new message, Dume was on the verge of exiting hyperspace. Upon receiving Kenobi's message just before being surrounded by Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighters, Dume evaded the ensuing ambush and returned to Kaller.

Kenobi's message of hope endured for years, preserved by other surviving Jedi. After transmitting his new message, assuming the clones would not discover it for some time, Kenobi disregarded Yoda's objections and reviewed the security recordings, becoming horrified upon learning of his friend's fall to the dark side. Although he insisted on being sent after Sidious, believing he would be unable to confront Skywalker, with whom Kenobi shared a brotherly bond, Kenobi ultimately agreed to pursue his former friend when Yoda pointed out that he lacked the power to confront the Sith Master. With their respective missions defined, both Jedi departed the Temple. Yoda left to confront Sidious in the Galactic Senate Building, while Kenobi, following Yoda's suggestion that he knew where to find the newly christened Vader, met with Amidala at her apartment.

Kenobi and Yoda's efforts to overthrow the Sith at the start of their reign were unsuccessful. Yoda was defeated by Sidious and went into exile, while Kenobi, after sneaking aboard Amidala's J-type Naboo star skiff when she refused to reveal her husband's location, arrived on Mustafar and dueled Vader. Vader lashed out in anger at Amidala, fearing she had brought Kenobi to the planet to kill him. Although he presumed his former friend had died after leaving him to burn by the planet's [lava](/article/magma] flows, Vader survived and was rebuilt, relying on a suit of life-support armor because of his injuries. Shortly after, Vader and Sidious stood in the shadows of the Jedi Temple to observe a celebration of the Jedi Order's eradication on the building's steps. The Temple was then converted into the Emperor's personal palace.