Mandalorian Wars

The Mandalorian Wars get their name from the Mandalorians, a culture of warriors that had previously engaged in numerous conflicts with the Galactic Republic. These wars took place two decades after the Great Sith War, which was fought between the Republic and the forces commanded by two former Jedi: Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma. Both of these individuals had succumbed to the dark side of the Force and proclaimed themselves to be Sith. Qel-Droma gained the loyalty of the Mandalorians after he defeated their leader, Mandalore the Indomitable, in a duel that occurred on the planet Kuar. Mandalore's forces served Qel-Droma capably during the Sith War. However, near the end of the conflict, the Mandalorians' attempt to conquer the planet Onderon turned disastrous with the arrival of the Republic. Mandalore ordered his Mandalorian Crusaders to retreat to the moon of Dxun in order to evade their pursuers within the moon's dense jungles. Unfortunately, the warrior's Basilisk war droid was shot down, and he was killed by the moon's predatory wildlife. Mandalore's Mask, which symbolized leadership among the Mandalorians, was discovered by a Taung soldier who then succeeded the Indomitable as Mandalore. While most believed that the soldier assumed the name Mandalore the Ultimate, some held the belief that Mandalore the Ultimate had usurped the title from the true Mandalore who had originally found the Mask. Years after the Mandalorian Wars, this supposed "true Mandalore"—a Taung like the Ultimate—claimed that Mandalore the Ultimate had stolen both the title and the mask from him.

In the decades that followed the Sith War, the Republic and the Jedi Order experienced a period of peace and rebuilding known as the Restoration Period. To revitalize the Republic's economy and infrastructure, a group of politicians decided to ensure safe passage and trade along the hyperlanes for various corporations throughout the galaxy in exchange for commercial investment in the Republic. This allowed the Republic to rebuild its military and economy, providing essential goods to the rest of the galaxy. Additionally, hyperspace explorers resumed their exploration of the galaxy to discover new routes. However, while the Republic Navy was strengthened by the influx of commerce and funding, which replaced corporate defense forces, some groups attempted to manipulate the government for their own financial gain. The city-world of Taris, a significant trade hub in the Northern Dependencies region, was admitted into the Republic in 3966 BBY after several corporations, including Lhosan Industries, bribed Republic senators to secure the planet's admission.

The Mandalorians also continued their nomadic existence under the leadership of Mandalore the Ultimate, working to rebuild their forces. Less than a decade after the conclusion of the Sith War, Mandalore the Ultimate was approached by the Zeltron scientist Antos Wyrick, who had been a student of Mandalore the Indomitable during the Sith War. Wyrick had obtained a genetic sample from the Arkanian Jedi Master Arca Jeth, who was Ulic Qel-Droma's teacher. Wyrick believed that he could genetically engineer Force-sensitives who could serve as a type of Mandalorian Jedi. Mandalore approved Wyrick's proposal, and the Zeltron initiated the New Generation Project, which was based on the planet Osadia and aimed to produce Force-sensitive children from Arkanian Offshoot parents. However, Wyrick's dealings with the Crucible slaving organization led to the project's downfall. The Crucible raided the Osadia School approximately a decade after 3988 BBY and kidnapped all of Wyrick's students. After years of searching without success, Wyrick rejoined the Mandalorian cause as Mandalore's chief scientist, where he engaged in torturing and experimenting on captured Jedi in an attempt to understand the source of their powers. Wyrick became known as "Demagol," a shortened version of the Mando'a term demar agol, which literally translates to "the flesh carver." Another of Mandalore's lieutenants was Cassus Fett, a skilled warrior who became Mandalore's aide-de-camp and chief strategist.

In 3978 BBY, Mandalore was approached by a member of the Sith species who identified himself as an emissary representing a powerful Sith Lord. The emissary sought the warrior's assistance in locating the tomb of his master's rival, Dramath the Second, on the planet Rekkiad. Upon discovering the tomb, the emissary shared a vision with Mandalore, revealing that his master had foreseen the Mandalorians sweeping across the Republic, conquering numerous worlds, and ultimately crushing the Republic in a triumphant victory. Unbeknownst to Mandalore, the emissary was a servant of the Sith Emperor from a hidden Empire, and the warrior was being manipulated through the Force by the emissary. The Emperor intended to use the Mandalorians as a weapon against the Republic to assess the Republic's defenses. Completely enthralled by the Sith's influence, Mandalore embraced the idea of invading the Republic as his own and began to reorganize and mobilize the Mandalorian clans in preparation for the upcoming battles. Mandalore the Ultimate returned to Mandalorian Space and implemented several reforms. First, the Mandalorians would start accepting non-Taung warriors who demonstrated their worth in battle and adhered to the Mandalorian warrior code. Second, the Mandalorians would no longer simply pillage worlds and move on to the next target. Instead, they would maintain control over their territories and establish an industrial society based on the Mandalorian code.

Mandalore's new vision of society involved warriors ruling and being supported by farmers, artisans, and manufacturers who had embraced the Mandalorian way. As a result, the ranks of the Mandalorians rapidly expanded to include various Humans and aliens, mainly Mandalorian vassals such as Mandallian Giants and Jakelians. This new system was named the Neo-Crusader movement, and with the assistance of Cassus Fett, Mandalore the Ultimate pioneered the movement as a successor to the Indomitable's Crusaders. The Neo-Crusader name originated from an extremist cult advocating for the reestablishment of Crusader traditions. Mandalore adapted their views to align with his own goals. Although the Neo-Crusader movement was slow to gain traction, it gradually transformed the Mandalorians into a more disciplined and organized fighting force. Fett spearheaded the movement in Mandalore's name while also serving as his commander's strategist and aide. The Mandalorians began constructing new warships at Breshig and Arda-2. These ships were built using war matériel that had been stolen from the shipyards at Foerost and Abhean during the Sith War. As the Neo-Crusaders expanded their domain, they incorporated members from various species, including Hrakians, Togruta, Devaronians, Nalroni, Zygerrians, [Drackmarians], and Elomin.

In 3976 BBY, Mandalore the Ultimate's forces initiated their first action: a raid on the industrialized planet Althir III in the Outer Rim Territories. A fleet of Neo-Crusader warships attacked the world. Although the battle lasted for five days, the Althiri managed to resist the Mandalorians, resulting in a stalemate. This stalemate was eventually broken by a young warrior named Canderous Ordo, who was tasked with feigning an attack against one of the enemy flanks to lure them out of formation. However, Ordo recognized an opportunity in the enemy ranks and took the initiative, forcing the Althiri to defend against attacks from two sides and exposing their vulnerable command ships. Ordo's forces swiftly eliminated the Althiri fleet, which was ten times larger than their own. Ordo was rewarded with command over an entire sub-sect of his clan. Althiri became a productive asset in Mandalore's war effort. Three years later, Mandalore's forces attacked another world: Cathar, the home of the feline Cathar species.

The Battle of Cathar was led by Cassus Fett, who directed his forces to drive the defenseless Cathar population into the ocean. There, Fett's forces massacred the Cathar, despite the protests of a single Mandalorian woman, who was killed along with the Cathar. Basilisk war droids swept across the planet, killing the remaining population. Only a few hundred survived, with over 90 percent of the Cathar population perishing during the massacre. The Republic learned of the event but chose to suppress news of the battle to prevent rioting and panic. It mobilized the Republic Navy to guard Dxun, which still housed some defiant Mandalorian clans, and the planet Taris, which was located along the trade route known as the Mandalorian Road and connected the planets Corsin and Mandalore.

Over the next eight years, the Mandalorians also raided worlds such as Corsin and Azure, and their warships expanded their territory into the Tion Hegemony and Hutt Space on the eastern edge of the galaxy. Starting with the capture of the Lianna system, the Mandalorians advanced along the Perlemian Trade Route and took the Makem and Quermia systems before heading southeast along the Overic Griplink hyperroute, conquering the Kaelta system and then taking the Florn system. Simultaneously, another campaign was launched from the Lianna system. The Mandalorians first took the Jaminere system, then headed south to the Sy Myrth system, and finally intruded on Hutt Space by taking the Taskeed system, capturing the Dennogra system, and then seizing the Dernatine system. The Hutts resorted to hiring mercenary armies to defend their territories, but the Mandalorians frequently recruited the mercenaries into their own ranks. Some Neo-Crusaders suggested using kryotin, a powder from the planet Veroleem, as a bioweapon to weaken targets, but most Mandalorians found the idea repulsive. A forward supply post named Unity was established on the planet Caillte to support the planned advance into the Mid Rim.

Commander Rohlan Dyre participated in the early battles in the Outer Rim but began to question Mandalore's objectives and reasons for testing the Republic's defenses. When his questions went unanswered, Dyre refused to fight the next time he was called upon. Dyre was placed on the front lines regardless, so he escaped during the fighting and began searching for answers on his own. He investigated "Doctor Demagol's" history and spoke with people who knew the scientist before he joined the Mando'ade. "Rohlan the Questioner," as he became known, was eventually captured and returned to the front lines, but he ran away again. This cycle continued to repeat over the next few years. By 3964 BBY, Dyre had been caught and sent back to the front lines six times. In 3966 BBY, when Taris's resource worlds of Jebble, Vanquo, Tarnith, and Suurja began to face threats from the Mandalorians, the Republic established the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line, a protective cordon around Taris that linked those three planets. Admirals Jimas Veltraa and Noma Sommos were among the officers tasked with maintaining the line.

The Mandalorians' advance was brought to a standstill by the conclusion of 3965 BBY. The Republic Navy, positioned around Taris, successfully thwarted the invaders' attempts to seize additional star systems within the Outer Rim, resulting in an eight months period without any Mandalorian triumphs. Eventually, the Mandalorians made headway along the Mandalorian Road and captured the planet Flashpoint, the location of the Flashpoint Stellar Research Station, following a swift engagement with Republic forces. Flashpoint Station was then transformed into a laboratory under the control of Demagol, where captured Jedi were to be delivered for the scientist's experiments. Some months later, the Mandalorians attempted to take the agrarian world of Suurja, situated along the demarcation between Tarnith and Jebble, but they were intercepted by Republic forces led by Captain Saul Karath, resulting in an inconclusive battle. During the subsequent six weeks, three more battles took place on Suurja, all of which also ended without a clear victor.

At around the same period, a compelling young Jedi began circulating within the Jedi Order, advocating for Jedi involvement in the conflict against the Mandalorians. He championed revanchism, the reclamation of territories lost to the Mandalorians, but his views were met with skepticism and opposition from the increasingly traditional Jedi High Council, which remained cautious about intervention due to the potential threat of the dark side. Encouraged by his Jedi Master, Kreia, the young Jedi started openly challenging the Council and attracted a group of like-minded Jedi, including his comrade Alek. This movement became known as the Revanchists, and their leader was dubbed "the Jedi's own crusader" by the Republic media. Disregarding the Jedi Council's wishes, the "crusader" led Alek and the other Revanchists on a scouting expedition to the war zone, stopping at Taris in hopes of enlisting some of the Jedi stationed at the planet's Jedi Tower. After failing to sway any of the five Jedi Masters present or their Padawans, they proceeded to the planet Suurja. Shortly after, the "crusader" left his followers on Suurja to investigate Mandalorian activities on Onderon and Dxun, leaving the Revanchists vulnerable to an ambush by Mandalorians under the command of Rohlan Dyre. Alek and the other Revanchists were captured and taken to Flashpoint, where Demagol subjected them to torture and experimentation in an attempt to discover the source of their powers.

Everything shifted, however, when news of the Padawan Massacre reached the galaxy. Four of the five Padawans at the Jedi Tower were murdered by their Masters, who were members of a clandestine Jedi Covenant dedicated to preventing the return of the Sith, and Master Lucien Draay's Padawan, Zayne Carrick, was falsely accused of the killings. Carrick, along with the Snivvian con man Marn Hierogryph, managed to evade the Covenant Jedi and the police officers of Taris, and their inability to apprehend Carrick led to a public loss of confidence in the Jedi Order's ability to govern themselves. On the same day that the Revanchists were captured on Suurja, Carrick was apprehended by a bounty hunter named Valius Ying and brought to the Jedi Tower. The news of Carrick's capture sparked planet-wide celebrations on Taris, as companies like Lhosan Industries had begun withdrawing from the planet in response to the Massacre. However, when Carrick escaped from the Jedi Tower with the assistance of his friends aboard the junk hauler The Last Resort, widespread panic and rioting erupted in the following days. The police force was overwhelmed, with Constable Noana Sowrs's children being abducted amidst the chaos, and the five Jedi Masters were summoned back to the Republic capital of Coruscant.

Mandalore the Ultimate, interpreting the Jedi's withdrawal as an opportunity to seize Taris and initiate a full-scale invasion of the Republic, commanded his forces to assault the planet Vanquo, thereby ending the eight-month impasse. During the Battle of Vanquo, Mandalorian forces overwhelmed the Republic Navy, breaching the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line and conquering the mining world. Simultaneously, Mandalorian forces penetrated the Republic cordon and advanced towards Taris. As the year 3963 BBY commenced, Admiral Veltraa pulled back his forces closer to Taris, reorganizing the remaining fleets under his command into a new defensive line. Admiral Sommos sustained severe injuries during the fighting and was evacuated to the planet Wayland. However, Veltraa perished when his flagship, the Reliance, was destroyed, and the Mandalorians besieged Taris itself. Mandalorian dreadnaughts commenced bombarding the planet from orbit, initiating weeks of devastation as the Mandalorians began their invasion. They met resistance from Taris's limited planetary defense forces, the Taris Home Guard. A Taris Resistance movement soon emerged from the remnants of the planet's police force, and swoop gangs like the Hidden Beks also engaged the Mandalorian invaders.

However, the Mandalorians also experienced setbacks on unexpected fronts. The Jedi Council tasked the "crusader" with rescuing the captured Jedi at Flashpoint Station, but Zayne Carrick and his allies rescued the Jedi when Carrick's friend Jarael was captured herself. To rescue Jarael and the other Jedi, Carrick's group deceived the Mandalorians into believing that the Republic was rigging their ships with explosives, convincing them to abandon the station. Demagol was also seemingly captured, but unbeknownst to Carrick and the others, the scientist switched armors with Rohlan Dyre, who had fled the Vanquo battlefront and joined forces with Carrick, placing Dyre in a coma. Alek and the Revanchists transported "Demagol" back to Coruscant, while "Rohlan Dyre" secretly boarded The Last Resort.

Shortly thereafter, the "crusader" reunited with his followers and continued his advocacy for Jedi intervention, only to find himself a celebrity in the eyes of the Republic. Republic media portrayed "the Revanchist Leader" as a crusading savior unjustly ignored by the Council, and he became known simply as the Revanchist. The Revanchist continued to traverse the galaxy, spreading his message to all who would listen. One of the Revanchist Jedi, a Cathar named Ferroh, brought to his attention the disappearance of the Cathar species from their homeworld. The Revanchists commenced an investigation of the planet, excavating and searching for evidence of what had befallen the planet's population. While besieging Taris, the Mandalorians also launched attacks against the Republic through invasion corridors that spanned three adjacent sectors, an offensive known as "the Onslaught." The Mandalorians advanced westward along the Outer Rim and took the Zongorlu system before initiating several offensives against planets along the Republic's northern rim. Ord Mantell fell to the Mandalorians, and they also attacked numerous colonies of the Zabrak species in the region. Furthermore, they attacked Ithor, although a Republic counterattack, supported by Zabrak military units, repelled the invaders.

The Mandalorians then attacked the Zabrak homeworld of Iridonia, which they conquered and occupied for a considerable period, recruiting some of the natives into their ranks. Republic and Zabrak forces eventually liberated the planet, but a Mandalorian presence persisted within Iridonian society. A second invasion corridor saw the Mandalorians assault Wayland, bombarding the surface and annihilating colonists and factories. The third invasion corridor was directed Coreward. The Mandalorians captured Jebble, constructing a war forge on the ice planet that supplied the Mandalorian offensive and served as a staging point for a planned assault on the Core World of Alderaan.

In response to the Onslaught, the Galactic Senate mobilized the entire Republic Navy to confront the Mandalorian threat. Around the same time, Mandalorian forces struck Onderon, besieging the walled city of Iziz with basilisk war droids. Onderon and its moon Dxun remained under prolonged Mandalorian control, serving as a staging point later in the conflict. The remnants of the Outer Rim fleets retreated to the Core Worlds, where Captain Karath was promoted to Rear Admiral. A large battle group, designated Battle Group Serroco, was assembled at the planet Ralltiir. Equipped with the Inexpugnable-class tactical command ship Courageous, Karath was placed in command of the battle group and tasked with defending the planet Serroco, the next world in the path of the Mandalorians' advance from Jebble. Karath's forces established camps adjacent to the stone cities of the native Stereb, and the fleet formed a defensive perimeter around the planet. However, Mandalore the Ultimate deemed this tactic a dishonorable defense, as it assumed that the Mandalorians would not target civilian cities, so he resolved to teach the Republic a lesson.

Zayne Carrick was present on Serroco with Marn Hierogryph, serving on the Quartermaster-class supply carrier Little Bivoli, which was providing supplies to the Republic forces as a fringer provisioning ship. The day before Mandalore's attack, Carrick experienced a Force vision of the impending assault. Determined to warn Karath, Carrick boarded Lieutenant Carth Onasi's ship, the Deadweight, to reach the Courageous. However, Karath refused to believe him, having seen Carrick's ship, The Last Resort, fleeing the Battle of Vanquo towards Mandalorian Space, leading him to believe that Carrick was a Mandalorian spy. Dismissing Carrick's explanation that he had been heading for Flashpoint, Karath ordered Carrick's arrest, although he allowed Onasi to attempt to contact Alek, whom Carrick knew only as "Squint." The Mandalorian fleet arrived at the edge of the Serroco system only minutes after Onasi left the bridge, and Karath ordered his ships to raise their shields when the Mandalorians launched missiles.

To Karath's astonishment, the nuclear warheads bypassed the Republic ships and slam into Serroco's surface, striking near twenty-seven population centers and obliterating most of the Stereb cities. The devastation caught most of the Republic ships on the surface by surprise, destroying all but eight of them, and Jedi across the galaxy felt the collective deaths of thousands through the Force. Fortunately for the Stereb, Onasi had managed to send emergency alerts to seventeen of the Stereb cities, prompting the inhabitants of those settlements to seek refuge in the planet's underground catacombs, thereby surviving the nuclear devastation. The Revanchist Jedi Meetra Surik, who was on assignment at Serroco, managed to escape aboard one of the three military vessels that jumped out of the system before the devastation.

The Battle of Serroco saw Karath's forces begin a gradual retreat towards the Core under fire from the Mandalorians. The Admiral of the Fleet announced his intention to file an official protest with the Republic regarding the military's placement of its forces near the Stereb cities. Karath sought to retreat to Myrkr or rendezvous with the Tremendous group near the Ryyk Nebula but was ultimately forced to fall back towards the banking planet of Telerath. The Courageous was soon boarded by Neo-Crusader shock troopers, whose assault forced Karath, Onasi, and Captain Dallan Morvis to take up defensive positions in the ship's brig. They managed to escape the ship with the help of Carrick, who had created an escape route to the Deadweight in the hangar. According to Mandalore the Ultimate, the Courageous was melted down by the victorious Mandalorians, and Mandalore claimed that his battle axe was forged from the hull of Karath's lost command. Marn Hierogryph and his Trandoshan companion, Slyssk, narrowly escaped the bombardment when a panicking Slyssk seized control of a Republic ship that was slow to take off, inadvertently saving half a battalion that had been aboard. Upon reaching Chandrila, the two were approached by the Ministry of Defense, which convinced them to become propaganda figures: Captain Benegryph Goodvalor and his trusty Trandoshan sidekick. Shortly thereafter, Jervo Thalien of Lhosan Industries hired Hierogryph and Slyssk to locate Senator Haydel Goravvus on Taris, which was still under occupation by Cassus Fett's forces. Hierogryph joined forces with the Hidden Beks swoop gang and assisted them in uniting with the Taris Resistance.

Shortly after the bombardment of Serroco, Lord Arkoh Adasca of the Adasca BioMechanical Corporation of Arkania compelled the scientist Gorman Vandrayk to finalize his work on weaponizing the colossal space slugs known as exogorths. Believing that possession of the exogorths, essentially a galactic plague capable of destroying entire planets, would grant him galactic power, Adasca organized an auction of the exogorths aboard his ship, the Arkanian Legacy, in the Omonoth system. Adasca contacted representatives from the major factions involved in the conflict, including the Revanchist, Mandalore the Ultimate, and Admiral Karath, inviting them to his auction. The Revanchist was unable to attend personally, but after he and several Jedi foresaw that Adasca's offer could alter the course of the war, he dispatched Alek in his stead, instructing his friend to ensure that the danger they posed was neutralized. The planet Telerath was gripped by mass panic upon hearing the news of the Courageous's loss at Serroco, as Telerath was the next planet in the Mandalorians' path. During the advance to Omonoth, the Mandalorians ravaged the planet Nouane and then took Dagary Minor. Meetra Surik participated in the fighting at Dagary Minor, as did a soldier named Xaart.

By the time he arrived in the Omonoth system, Mandalore had exploited Rohlan Dyre's apparent death on Flashpoint as propaganda, using the Questioner as a martyr to promote the Neo-Crusader cause. "Dyre" was the one who contacted Mandalore on Adasca's behalf, as he was accompanying Vandrayk's friend Jarael, whom Adasca was holding hostage to motivate Vandrayk. Upon meeting the warrior aboard the Arkanian Legacy, Mandalore instructed the Questioner to remain "dead" for the cause. Karath offered Adasca a seat on the Senate, but Mandalore countered with the offer of making Adascorp the sole weapons manufacturer for the Mandalorians. However, Adasca quickly became power-hungry and declared himself a new galactic power. Adasca's auction was disrupted by the efforts of Onasi, Carrick, and Lucien Draay, who had been imprisoned by Adasca with Carrick upon his arrival at the Arkanian Legacy to keep Draay away from Adasca's plans. Donning the Neo-Crusader armor that Mandalore had given "Dyre" as a reward for his continued silence, Carrick staged a fight with Onasi. Then, he and Draay revealed themselves as Jedi, declaring that the entire affair had been a trap for Mandalore. Despite Adasca's protests, Mandalore believed their claims, and chaos erupted aboard the Arkanian Legacy between the Mandalorians, Adasca's security forces, the Republic personnel, and Jedi.

Amidst the chaos, Carrick informed Vandrayk that Jarael was safe, prompting the inventor to seize control of the exogorths. Vandrayk used the exogorths to attack the Arkanian Legacy, killing Adasca, before taking the exogorths with him to Wild Space to remove their installed hyperdrive units and eliminate the threat they posed. All of Adasca's "guests" managed to escape the doomed Arkanian Legacy. While Carrick was summoned to Taris to meet with Hierogryph, Karath returned to Coruscant. Karath promptly resigned his commission over the loss of Battle Group Serroco, but the Admiral of the Fleet refused to accept it and publicly commended Karath's performance. Karath was ultimately given command of the newly-built Inexpugnable-class tactical command ship Swiftsure. On Taris, the Taris Resistance attempted to bomb the Jedi Tower, which Cassus Fett had been using as a command post, but Fett had already abandoned the Tower and attacked the Resistance in the Lower City.

The Second Battle of Omonoth, which occurred shortly after the First Battle of Omonoth (also known as the Adasca affair), saw both the Republic and the Mandalorians vying for control of the wreckage of the Arkanian Legacy. The outcome of this clash was inconclusive. Simultaneously, on Myrkr, the Mandalorians continued their campaign from Wayland, resulting in approximately 2,000 Republic casualties in the battle. On Myrkr, however, the Republic managed to obtain a set of Neo-Crusader assault armor, which they then began to analyze for vulnerabilities. Following their operations on Myrkr, the Mandalorians proceeded to conquer the nearby Thustra system and subsequently seized the Obroa-skai system. Their advance toward the Core Worlds, however, was halted by a series of events on Jebble, where the Mandalorians were preparing to launch an assault on Alderaan. Pulsipher, Demagol's former aide, discovered the Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman within the Undercity of Taris and transported it to Jebble. During this journey, one of Pulsipher's subordinates was "bitten" by the Talisman. The Jedi Shadow Celeste Morne, along with Carrick and Hierogryph, had secretly boarded Pulsipher's ship. Upon uncovering the Mandalorians' plans on Jebble, Carrick made the decision to alert the Republic.

Before Carrick could transmit his warning, the Mandalorian who had been "bitten" transformed into a rakghoul, a terrifying creature that spread the rakghoul plague. This plague rapidly infected numerous other Mandalorians, spreading with incredible speed like wildfire. Carrick successfully contacted Cassus Fett, who had moved on from the Taris offensive, and warned the Field Marshal about the situation on Jebble. Pulsipher lost control of the Talisman, which contained the spirit of the Sith Lord Karness Muur, its original owner, when the Talisman attempted to possess the Force-sensitive Carrick. Morne, however, sacrificed herself to prevent this. Under Muur's influence, Morne gained control over the rakghouls, as the Talisman was the original source of the plague, and swiftly infected the entire Mandalorian army stationed on Jebble. Carrick eventually managed to restore Morne's senses, and she agreed to be confined within an oubliette, a stasis casket, to contain the Talisman's power. As Carrick and Hierogryph fled Jebble, Fett's forces arrived in the system and, to Carrick's dismay, bombarded the planet with nuclear weapons, similar to what they had done on Serroco. This assault annihilated the rakghouls on Jebble, and the loss of the infected Mandalorian forces effectively ended their planned offensive into the Core Worlds.

Around the same time, the Republic orchestrated the removal of Jedi Master Dorjander Kace, a prominent member of the Jedi Council who strongly opposed the Revanchists' interventionist stance, from the Council. Disenchanted with the Republic, Kace, who had developed feelings for a Mandalorian named Varda before her death in the Sith War, decided to join the Mandalorians, believing he could guide them toward a better path. Kace established the Mandalorian Knights, a group of like-minded Jedi who fought alongside the Mandalorians. However, Kace was succeeded by Lucien Draay, who held similar anti-interventionist views and issued arrest warrants for the Revanchist Jedi. Shortly thereafter, Coruscant was plunged into chaos by Vindication, a pre-planned rebellion within the Jedi Order orchestrated by the Jedi Covenant. This rebellion was instigated by Haazen, the Covenant's true leader, who had been manipulating the group for his own purposes. Haazen seized control of the Republic blockade surrounding Coruscant, utilizing the Vanjervalis Chain to link the tactical computers. Haazen then used the blockade's firepower to bombard Coruscant, eliminating the Jedi who had been attempting to seize the Draay Estate just before Vindication. The entire affair concluded with Haazen's death and the destruction of the Draay Estate. The incident was concealed as a Mandalorian terror plot, and Carrick and Hierogryph were exonerated of all charges related to the Padawan Massacre.

After the Covenant affair, the Jedi Council traveled to Cathar with a large force to confront the Revanchists, who had disregarded the Council's orders to stand down. Master Vandar Tokare had foreseen a major destruction that was destined to engulf the galaxy in war, but the Council misinterpreted this vision, which actually pertained to the upcoming Jedi Civil War, as a warning against engaging Mandalore the Ultimate in battle. The Council cautioned the Revanchists and their followers that the Mandalorians were not a significant threat and instructed them to disband their movement. However, their lecture was interrupted when the Revanchist discovered a Mandalorian mask on the ground. As the Revanchist picked up the mask, all the Jedi present were suddenly immersed in a shared Force vision of the past. They witnessed Cassus Fett herding defenseless Cathar into the ocean and massacring them, despite the protests of the woman whose mask the Revanchist had found. Appalled by this act of genocide, the Revanchist donned the mask, adopting the name Revan, and vowed to wear it until all the Mandalorians were brought to justice. In light of this vision, the Jedi Council reluctantly approved the Revanchists' intervention in the Mandalorian Wars, although they continued to publicly condemn Revan's actions as imprudent and overly hasty.

Revan devised a plan that satisfied the Council while enabling the Revanchists to join the war. He revived the concept of a Mercy Corps from the Sith War, where Jedi were authorized to serve alongside the Republic Military, ostensibly as healers. The Council reluctantly agreed to Revan's proposal, and the Revanchists, now an official Mercy Corps, were placed under Revan's direct command. Revan and Alek, who had by then adopted the name Malak, were appointed as generals, and they collaborated with Captain Telettoh of the Hammerhead-class cruiser Testament. In the months that followed, the Revanchists openly joined the Republic in battling the Mandalorians, and Revan demonstrated his capabilities as a military leader by securing several victories against them. As the year drew to a close, "Demagol" awoke from his coma and was put on trial for his crimes, although Rohlan Dyre's claims about his true identity were disregarded. Fortunately for Dyre, he was rescued by Carrick and Hierogryph, who had realized that Demagol had switched places with Dyre. To protect his friend Jarael from Demagol, Carrick called in the favor that Cassus Fett owed him from Jebble. Carrick arranged for Fett's forces to encounter Admiral Karath near the Ithor system to draw out Dace Golliard, a member of the Crucible slaving organization. Fett's forces staged an attack on Karath only to jump to hyperspace, and Golliard, who had been lurking nearby to capture survivors, was captured by Karath, enabling Carrick to learn Jarael's location.

As the year 3962 BBY commenced, Dorjander Kace formulated a scheme to provide the Mandalorians with their own Jedi by abducting younglings from the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Mandalore the Ultimate approved his plan, agreeing to allow Kace to keep the younglings and train them on the planet Ordo, and he assigned a detachment of his warriors to assist Kace. With Mandalore's backing, Kace continued his campaign on the northern edge of the galaxy. After the Mandalorians captured the planet Essien, he baited the Republic into launching an attack there. Due to the absence of a regular army in that region, the Republic was forced to rely on local militias to fight, and the militia from the planet Phaeda was placed under the command of Captain Morvis and tasked with liberating Essien. Unaware of Kace's defection, the Republic, along with Kace and his Mandalorian Knights, led Morvis's men, including Zayne Carrick, who had been drafted into the militia, in an assault against the Mandalorian bastion beneath Mount Savage. After "securing" the beach at the foot of the mountain, Kace instructed Morvis's forces to eliminate the Mandalorians in the forests, but Morvis opted to burn them down using Tibanna-six shells. Carrick, driven by his pacifist nature, attempted to warn the Mandalorians, unable to stand by and allow the retreating Mandalorians to be massacred. However, he discovered that it was a trap, as a swarm of Basilisk war droids descended on Morvis's command and captured them, led by Kace's Mandalorian Knights.

Morvis's militia was conscripted into the Neo-Crusaders, despite their protests, and Kace's Mandalorian Knights led them in a campaign northward toward Dantooine. One of the initial targets was the planet Halthor, where the Mandalorian Knights spearheaded an assault on a signal station manned by Gran Halthorians. Kace blackmailed Carrick into assisting his plans, threatening to devastate his homeworld of Phaeda if he refused to help capture the Phaedacomm relay station. Carrick devised a scheme to smuggle Mandalorians aboard the station by staging a fake viral outbreak aboard Morvis's captured ship, the frigate Reciprocity, which was diverted to Phaedacomm. The Mandalorians quickly seized the station. Upon discovering Kace's intended target, Carrick recruited Morvis's crew to help him steal the Mandalorian dreadnaught Parjai as Kace's Mandalorian Knights took the Reciprocity to Dantooine. Carrick tricked Field Marshal Garon Borm and the Parjai's crew into abandoning the dreadnaught by repeating the viral outbreak scam, and he took the commandeered Parjai to Dantooine.

The Mandalorian Knights swiftly gained control of the Enclave and secured the students. Carrick's attempt to deceive Kace into leaving failed, and his cover was blown. Carrick destroyed the ship that Kace intended to use to extract the younglings, and Morvis's troops evacuated the younglings to the Reciprocity. Carrick and Kace engaged in a duel within the Enclave when Kace attempted to prevent the younglings from escaping. However, when Kace learned that the Mandalorians had withdrawn their support for his plans, Carrick managed to persuade the former Jedi Master to surrender. Kace and his Knights were put on trial, where Kace delivered a nine-hour sermon on the righteousness of his cause. With the loss of the Mandalorian Knights, Mandalore the Ultimate abandoned the northern offensive and withdrew his forces from Halthor. In the aftermath of the campaign, Carrick secured a position as a lieutenant and special diplomatic agent attached to Morvis's Reciprocity. In his new role, Carrick aimed to serve as an "official conscience" for the Republic, teaching the military restraint in the hope of saving lives and bringing a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

In the meantime, elsewhere in the galaxy, the Mandalorian Wars entered a period known as the Mandalorian Triumph. This campaign began with the Mandalorians conquering the border world of Eres III and setting fire to the planet's Xoxin plains, forcing Meetra Surik's forces to retreat. The plains continued to burn for over a decade, giving the battle a notorious reputation. Also during this time, the Mandalorians continued their offensive from the Dernatine system, advancing along the Lesser Lantillian Route to conquer the Charros system, and then along the Great Kashyyyk Branch and the Randon Run in an attempt to seize the strategically important Randon system. The Republic, however, thwarted the Mandalorians' attempted conquest of Randon, which was situated at the intersection of numerous routes. From Eres, the Mandalorians raided Azure and subsequently the planet [Contruum](/article/contruum-legends, and then headed south along the Vaathkree Trade Corridor to take the Gizer system. The Nazzri system was the next to fall, followed by the Vena system. After regrouping with additional forces at Dxun, the Mandalorians took the Ambria system and then the Zel system.

With the increased involvement of the Jedi in the war, the Republic introduced a large number of warships that had been constructed in the shipyards of the Core and Trailing Sectors, including Centurion-class battlecruisers and Hammerhead-class cruisers. The Interdictor-class cruiser, a concept pioneered by the late Admiral Veltraa, was also introduced during this period. Numerous manufacturing companies designed and marketed new battle droid models, hoping to profit from the war effort, but the droids did not achieve the anticipated success. From the Zel system, the Mandalorians advanced toward the Core Worlds to Commenor, where they defeated a Republic task force, and then conquered the Quellor system. After seizing the Exodeen system, the Mandalorians proceeded to the shipyard world of Duro, where Basilisk war droids bombarded the orbital cities and shipyards. Around the same time, the Mandalorians also attacked the Lantillies system, but the Republic repelled their assault.

The attackers devastated Duro's infrastructure, destroying many of the orbital space platforms to sever the Corellian Trade Spine. However, Revan, Malak, and Meetra Surik prevented the Battle of Duro from becoming an even greater catastrophe. They arrived with a fleet of Interdictor-class cruisers, preventing the Mandalorians from escaping with war matériel stolen from Duro's shipyards. Yielding to public pressure, Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa appointed Revan Supreme Commander of the Republic Military. During the conflict, a fleet of Mandalorian warships attacked the Tibanna-mining planet of Bespin, which hosted a mining infrastructure built by the distant and carbonite-rich planet Empress Teta. The attackers destroyed most of the mining operations in orbit of Bespin, aiming to disrupt the Republic's supply of Tibanna gas.

Throughout 3961 BBY and 3960 BBY, Revan led the Republic Navy in launching a counteroffensive against the Mandalorians. During this period, the Republic liberated Taris, ending the prolonged siege and occupation of the world. Revan personally led the charge, guiding a group of Jedi into battle in Taris's Undercity. While there, Revan freed a group of slaves who were about to be sold on the slave market, and one of them, a Force-sensitive Cathar named Juhani, was encouraged by one of Revan's companions to join the Jedi Order. Revan's tactical brilliance led the Republic to achieve victory after victory, but at a cost: Revan became increasingly willing to sacrifice populations and key planets to secure victories elsewhere, recognizing that the Republic's industrial might was crucial for success.

Under Revan's leadership, "moral shortcuts" became commonplace as he and Malak adopted a policy of achieving victory at any cost. Early in 3961 BBY, they discovered an ancient ruin of the Rakata species on Dantooine, where they found a Star Map, a Rakatan relic that revealed part of the location of the Rakatan space station known as the Star Forge. Revan soon found another Star Map on the planet Kashyyyk, and shortly afterward, he briefly visited the Sith tombworld of Korriban. During Revan's visit to Malachor V, the Jedi discovered the Trayus Academy, a temple of Sith learning, and Revan began to be seduced by the dark side of the Force as he absorbed the Academy's knowledge. Despite being influenced by the dark side, Revan and Malak did not initially abandon the Jedi ways, and they continued to lead the Republic against the Mandalorians.

During this time, Mandalorian and Jedi forces clashed on the planet Vur IV for several weeks, with the Mandalorians gradually losing ground. When the Mandalorians were ordered to abandon the planet and regroup in a neutral sector, a young recruit named Worr Muugyn refused the order and instead asked for volunteers to help him defend a fortified location they called Blood Ridge. Part of Muugyn's forces successfully held the ridge for several days, distracting more and more Jedi forces while the rest of Muugyn's group fortified other positions in the area and mounted a counterattack. The Battle of Blood Ridge, as it came to be known, was later immortalized in Mandalorian culture, and Muugyn's Plan - the battle plan he sketched out on a piece of leather cut from his tabard - was considered a symbol of courage and determination to many clans.

From the Perlemian, Republic forces attacked planets in Mandalorian Space. The Vorzyd system was the first to fall, and from there, the Republic split their forces into two offensives. The attack on the Lucazec system resulted in a Republic retreat, but the Republic was successful in capturing the Stenos system and then the Elom system. From the Elom system, the Republic advanced to Jaga's Cluster.

However, the Battle of Jaga's Cluster ended in disaster. Despite the presence of Revan and Malak, Cassus Fett's forces emerged victorious, and Fett gained notoriety for personally boarding one of the Republic flagships and killing the captain himself. Shortly afterward, at the Battle of Althir, forces under Revan's command annihilated most of the Mandalorian ground forces, reclaiming the industrial world after approximately twenty-five years of Mandalorian control. Late in the Mandalorian Wars, Revan ordered his forces to retake Onderon and its moon Dxun, which served as a heavily fortified Mandalorian stronghold. A large-scale assault was organized to capture Dxun, but the offensive was incredibly costly to the Republic. The enemy had spent decades fortifying the moon, establishing defenses that included minefields, traps, anti-air turrets, and utilizing the jungle beasts themselves.

Revan's battle plan involved deploying battle droids on the moon to eliminate the anti-air turrets, followed by his forces, under the command of Jedi General Meetra Surik, undertaking hundreds of small-unit feints to probe the Mandalorian defenses. Surik lost most of her forces when they charged across a minefield in an attempt to strike at the Mandalorian emplacements, but she executed Revan's plans regardless. The battle lasted for months as the Mandalorians refused to surrender, resulting in extremely high casualties. Veterans of the battle reported that the Republic lost ten soldiers for every Mandalorian killed. Despite the cost, the Republic ultimately captured the moon, driving the Mandalorians back toward the Outer Rim.

In 3960 BBY, the Republic, led by Revan, successfully recaptured the Lianna system, pushing the Mandalorians back further and further. To decisively end the war, Revan orchestrated a final showdown at Malachor V, drawing the Mandalorians into a trap by deploying a large fleet. Crucially, Revan had secretly prepared a devastating weapon of mass destruction: the Mass Shadow Generator, a gravity-based weapon designed by the Zabrak technical expert Bao-Dur. This generator was intended to be the core of the trap at Malachor, where Revan sought to conclude the war. Dividing his forces, Revan entrusted half to Meetra Surik, directing her to lure the Mandalorians within range of the superweapon and then activate it. However, Revan's arrival at the Malachor system was delayed by an encounter with a Mandalorian reconnaissance force, and by the time he reached the system, a fierce space battle was raging between the fleet of Mandalore the Ultimate and Surik's ships.

Realizing that the arrival of Republic reinforcements made defeat unavoidable, Mandalore challenged Revan to a duel aboard his command ship. Revan accepted, boarding the vessel and engaging the Mandalorian leader in a fight to the death. Despite Mandalore's considerable strength, Revan ultimately prevailed, striking down Mandalore, who fell lifeless at the Jedi's lower extremities. As the Taung choked on life fluid, he removed his helmet and began to reveal the treachery he had suffered to Revan. Mandalore revealed that the Sith had manipulated him, the Sith's influence fading in his final moments, and to prove his claims, he provided Revan with the coordinates of the planet Rekkiad. As Mandalore expired, Revan claimed Mandalore's Mask, the symbol of Mandalorian leadership, as a spoil of war, preventing the immediate selection of a successor.

With Revan's triumph over Mandalore, the Republic forces intensified their assault on the Mandalorian fleet, driving them toward Malachor V, but they also suffered significant losses. This prompted Surik to order Bao-Dur to activate the Mass Shadow Generator. Both Revan's and Surik's ships were beyond the weapon's range, and they watched in dismay as the majority of the Mandalorian fleet, along with a large portion of the Republic fleet, were pulled into a massive gravity well centered on the planet. Tens of thousands perished as hundreds of ships collided with Malachor's surface, devastating the once-thriving world and shattering its core as the vessels were compressed into the planet. The Republic endured substantial casualties, though far fewer than the Mandalorians, and the immense loss of life created a profound disturbance in the Force. Surik, the Jedi closest to the vortex, survived by instinctively severing her connection to the Force to avoid the shock wave. Following this utter destruction, the remaining Mandalorians transmitted their unconditional surrender to the Republic.

After the war concluded, the Jedi Council demanded that the remaining Revanchists—specifically, Revan, Malak, and Surik—return to Coruscant to be judged for their actions at the war's end. Revan and Malak refused, leading their remaining forces into the uncharted territories to the north, claiming to be pursuing the remaining Mandalorians. Surik, now cut off from the Force, chose to return to the Council. Malak urged Revan to use his new HK-47 droid assassin to eliminate Surik, but Revan refused, stating that she was "already dead." Revan had designed HK-47 to eliminate specific targets, seeking to avoid conflicts like the one at Malachor. Soon after, Revan and Malak abandoned their forces and journeyed alone to Rekkiad to verify Mandalore's story. There, the two Jedi unearthed Dramath's tomb and a data storage device detailing Dramath's history and the existence of a hidden Sith Empire; before leaving Rekkiad, Revan decided to leave Mandalore's Mask within Dramath's tomb.

Revan and Malak tracked the hidden Sith to their capital on Dromund Kaas, where they attempted to assassinate the Sith Emperor and prevent his planned invasion of the Republic; however, the Emperor subjugated their minds and fully converted them to the dark side, making them his servants. Renaming them Darth Revan and Darth Malak, Sith Lords, the Emperor dispatched them back as advance agents to invade the Republic, tasking them with finding the Star Forge. Unbeknownst to the Emperor, the two broke free of his control shortly after departing Dromund Kaas, unknowingly adopting the Emperor's commands as their own ambitions. After locating the Star Forge in the Unknown Regions, Revan and Malak used the space station to build a massive fleet of warships, combining them with their followers from the Mandalorian Wars, and they established a new Sith regime. Admiral Karath was one of several high-ranking Republic military personnel who joined the new Sith, and in 3959 BBY, Revan initiated his Empire's invasion of the Republic. This subsequent conflict, known as the Jedi Civil War, continued until 3956 BBY, when a redeemed Revan defeated his former apprentice at the Battle of Rakata Prime.

During the war, a group of displaced persons, including several wealthy business people, crash-landed their shuttle on the planet Makeb while fleeing Mandalorian raiders. Makeb was situated far from major hyperspace routes, and over the next half-century, the survivors—led by business magnate Semako Thalien—established settlements and re-established contact with the galaxy, leveraging the planet's abundant natural resources and their own financial assets and influence to transform Makeb into an extremely lucrative world. Remaining largely autonomous from the Republic, Makeb attracted corporate executives, banking institutions, and affluent tourists, quickly developing several luxurious resorts. The Interdictor field technology, the basis for the Interdictor-class cruiser and the Mass Shadow Generator, was pioneered by Zabrak engineers during the conflict, becoming a common tactic in the times following the Mandalorian Wars. Interdictor technology, particularly ship-based gravitational fields, spurred a cycle of advancements and countermeasures over millennia; the relatively weak Interdictors of the Mandalorian Wars were soon rendered ineffective by improved hyperdrive sensors and multiphase null field units, and the Clone Wars nearly four thousand years later inspired renewed research into the technology. Ion weapons also saw increased use during and after Mandalorian Wars, as they proved effective in disabling the weaponry of the Mandalorian raiders.

Millennia later, during the era of the Galactic Empire, scientist Bevel Lemelisk included the Mass Shadow Generator in a listing of historical superweapons in Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide. However, by that point, the specific details of the weapon's impact on Malachor V were unknown, though the planet had long been destroyed. As a defining conflict of its time, the Mandalorian Wars were frequently referenced in scholarly works and documents; the Jedi Master Gnost-Dural briefly discussed it while chronicling his investigations into the Mandalorians of his era, and the historian Vilnau Teupt discussed the conflict during his speech "Industry, Honor, Savagery: Shaping the Mandalorian Soul" in 24 ABY.

In the weeks following the Battle of Malachor V—which became known as Ani'la Akaan, or the Great Last Battle, in the Mandalorian language—Revan ordered the disarmament of the remaining Mandalorians, including the removal of their weapons, armor, and the dismantling of their basilisk war droids. Knowing that the emergence of a new leader would reignite the conflict, Revan retained Mandalore's Mask, its loss significantly demoralizing the Mandalorians. Most of the warriors transitioned into mercenaries or head hunters as the clans largely dissolved—without the Mask, the various clans engaged in internal power struggles. In the years that followed, some Mandalorian clans, such as Clan Ordo, initiated searches for the Mask, identifying all the potential worlds Revan could have reached in the three days following his and Malak's disappearance after Malachor. Fewer than fifty Mandalorians participated in the initial search on the first world, which took two years, but as they moved from planet to planet, their numbers grew as more clans joined the effort. The search for the Mask united the Mandalorian clans under a common goal, and by the time they began searching Rekkiad in 3954 BBY, over a hundred clans had joined the search.

Revan, having lost his memories during the Jedi Civil War, sought the assistance of his friend Canderous Ordo—a former comrade during the Jedi Civil War—to investigate his returning memories in 3954 BBY, leading them to Rekkiad to join the search. With Revan's guidance, Clan Ordo discovered the Mask in Dramath's tomb, and Revan persuaded Ordo to assume the mantle of Mandalore the Preserver. Before departing to retrace his and Malak's steps into the Unknown Regions, Revan tasked the new Mandalore with restoring the strength of the Mandalorians to protect the Republic from the mysterious Sith threat. The Preserver dedicated the next few years to reuniting the clans and rebuilding their military strength, establishing a headquarters on Dxun as he revived the Neo-Crusader movement. During the Dark Wars that followed the end of the Jedi Civil War, one of the new Sith Lords to emerge was Darth Nihilus, a survivor of the Battle of Malachor who had been transformed by the experience, becoming a being who craved Force power, as well as a living wound in the Force. Nihilus used the Force to raise the Ravager, one of the Centurion-class warships destroyed in the Battle of Malachor V, from the planet's surface and used it as his flagship. The Ravager was eventually destroyed by a joint Republic and Mandalorian force, with Mandalore the Preserver accompanying Meetra Surik—by then known as the Jedi Exile—in a final assault on the ship as his forces fought alongside the Republic.

Despite the failure of the Mandalorian Wars, Mandalore the Ultimate's reforms had a lasting impact on Mandalorian society—the Taung species became nearly extinct, with the clans becoming Human-dominated and open to any warriors who proved themselves worthy. In Mandalorian culture, a ritual known as the Geroya be Haran, or "game of annihilation," developed in the periods of time following the Mandalorian Wars. The loser would have his entire legacy erased, and many believed that the tradition was a symbolic retelling of the Neo-Crusaders' greatest victories during the Mandalorian Wars. However, Mandalore the Preserver was the last known Mandalore to wear Mandalore's Mask, which disappeared after the Preserver's death. Many clans grew rich from plundering during the Mandalorian Wars, and lost those riches after the conflict ended, leaving them wishing for a return to war.

The Mandalorian Wars were initially introduced in the interactive game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released by BioWare in 2003. The conflict was created as background information for several key characters in the game, including Darth Malak, Revan, and Canderous Ordo, and it was further developed in the game's 2004 sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Beyond material directly related to the video game, the conflict received limited attention in other sources until late 2005, when it was discussed in The New Essential Chronology. The Knights of the Old Republic graphic novel series, which began in 2006, provided the first visual depictions of the conflict; various battles were featured in different story arcs of the series, beginning with the conflict's initial appearance in issue 6. John Jackson Miller, the author of the series, utilized the comics to develop the Mandalorians as a fighting force, evolving them from the individualistic warriors seen in the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comic series and the uniform, hue-coded soldiers featured in the Knights of the Old Republic video games.

The commencement date of the conflict has varied across different sources—the Knights of the Old Republic game itself provides two dates for the conflict's start, with the Mandalorians claiming the Mandalorian Wars began in 3976 BBY, while the Republic claimed it began in 3963 BBY. However, The New Essential Chronology and The Ultimate Visual Guide respectively placed the endpoints at 3995 BBY and 3961 BBY. The Knights of the Old Republic comic series reconciled the conflicting Mandalorian and Republic accounts of the start date, explaining that the Mandalorians had been conducting raids for years before the "False War" of 3965–3964 BBY, after which armed conflict erupted between the Republic and Mandalorians in 3963 BBY. The Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide, released in 2008, placed the Battle of Malachor V in 3960 BBY rather than 3961 BBY, and also included the False War in the main Mandalorian Wars by placing the start date as 3965 BBY. The Campaign Guide clarified that the Mandalorians had been raiding Outer Rim worlds since 3976 BBY, but the Republic did not actively engage the invaders until 3965 BBY, and the full-scale invasion of the Republic began at the end of 3964 BBY. The 2009 reference guide The Essential Atlas reaffirmed the Campaign Guide's dating and provided a more detailed breakdown of the main Mandalorian Wars, introducing several new battles on a map of the conflict.

The three invasion corridors used by the Mandalorians during the Onslaught have been a source of some confusion among various sources. The Essential Atlas includes a map of the Mandalorian Wars, showing the three invasion corridors as campaigns spreading out from Taris, aligning with Canderous Ordo's statement that the Mandalorians invaded the Republic through three adjacent sectors. The 2012 reference guide The Essential Guide to Warfare identifies the corridors as the northern campaign, the Coreward campaign including Serroco, and the southern campaign starting with Eres II. However, Eres is part of the Mandalorian Triumph, which does not begin until 3962 BBY. As Warfare's section on the conflict is presented as an internal oral presentation given thousands of years later, the account is not necessarily perfectly accurate. The Atlas's map also introduces a campaign on the eastern edge of the galaxy, set in 3963 BBY, that was not mentioned in any other source. However, the text indicates that those battles actually occurred beforehand, during the decade-long buildup to the main conflict, and the text is supported by Warfare and The New Essential Chronology.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008, mentions the conflict in a variety of entries, though some errors exist. Cassus Fett's entry incorrectly states that the Battle of Jaga's Cluster occurred before the Mandalorian Wars, which is contradicted by other entries and material where the battle is mentioned. Another dating issue involves when the Revanchists actively joined the Republic Military. According to Bastila Shan's dialogue in the first video game, the Revanchists joined the Republic five years before the game, which is set in 3956 BBY—placing their entrance into the war in 3961 BBY. However, subsequent sources have instead placed the Revanchists' entry in 3963 BBY. The Essential Guide to Warfare attempted to reconcile the contradiction, explaining that Revan was appointed Supreme Commander of the Republic Military in 3962 BBY.