The Mandalorian Crusaders were a group of Mandalorian warriors, known for wielding swords, who engaged in the Mandalorian Crusades and clashed with the Jedi. They were recognized by their distinctive robes and helmets. The Qel-Droma Epics recount that the Mandalorian Crusaders, at one point, were under the leadership of Ulic Qel-Droma, a fallen Jedi Knight, operating from the Iron Citadel located on Empress Teta. They also rode Basilisk war droids into battle.
Despite their rejection of their ancestors' violent ways, the pacifistic New Mandalorians had a cubist mural created. This mural, depicting the crusaders battling Jedi, was placed below the throne room balcony on the outside of the royal palace in Sundari, their capital city on the planet of Mandalore, overlooking the main square. A comparable mural, showing a single crusader slaying a Jedi while under fire from someone using a blaster pistol, was located in the dining hall within the governmental complex on Concordia, Mandalore's moon. Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra upgraded a modified _Bellicose_-class heavy lifter named Ark Angel II by adding laser turrets dating back to the Mandalorian Crusader era.
The initial appearance of a mural depicting the Mandalorian Crusaders occurred in "The Mandalore Plot," which is the twelfth episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars' second season, a canon animated series. A similar mural was subsequently featured in "Shades of Reason," the fifteenth episode of The Clone Wars' fifth season. The identification of these warriors as the Mandalorian Crusaders was only provided in the episode guide for "Shades of Reason," published on StarWars.com after the episode aired.