The Galactic Empire committed a devastating act of genocide against the Mandalorian people on their homeworld, the planet of Mandalore, an event known as the Night of a Thousand Tears. This massacre occurred during the Great Purge of Mandalore. The catalyst for this brutal assault was Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, the leader of a Mandalorian resistance group fighting against the Empire, who asserted her claim to Mandalore by wielding the ancient black lightsaber known as the Darksaber.
The Empire retaliated with overwhelming force. Swarms of TIE/sa bombers rained destruction upon cities, obliterating them. Simultaneously, KX-series security droids, supported by Viper probe droids, systematically searched the ruins, executing any surviving Mandalorians. Furthermore, gunships mercilessly targeted and eliminated Mandalorian recruits in open fields, forever etching the "Night of a Thousand Tears" into Mandalorian songs as a symbol of immense sorrow.
Following this horrific event, the surviving Mandalorians were scattered across the galaxy. The Children of the Watch, a group devoted to the ancient Way of the Mandalore, attributed the catastrophe to what they perceived as Kryze's improper claim to Mandalore. Moff Gideon later invoked the memory of this massacre of Mandalorian recruits during the Night of a Thousand Tears in an attempt to provoke the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin.
Back in 19 BBY, a joint military operation involving the forces of the Galactic Republic and the Mandalore resistance resulted in the invasion of the planet Mandalore. After the capture of Mandalore's leader, the former Sith Lord Maul, and the defeat of his forces, the Jedi Council designated Bo-Katan Kryze, the Mandalorian leader of the Mandalore resistance, as the regent of the planet. However, soon after, the Republic transitioned into the Galactic Empire, and the Jedi were nearly completely wiped out. Kryze's refusal to submit to the authority of the Galactic Emperor led to her betrayal by Clan Saxon Mandalorians, who chose to align themselves with the new Empire. Consequently, the Emperor appointed Gar Saxon, the leader of Clan Saxon and a former subordinate of Maul, as the governor of Mandalore.
Years later, in 2 BBY, Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian and Rebel Alliance fighter, sought to inspire her family within the Mandalorian Clan Wren to oppose the Empire. As a means to rally her fellow Mandalorians, she wielded the Darksaber, an ancient black lightsaber that granted its wielder the right to rule Mandalore if won in combat. Saxon, having learned of the meeting, used the rebels' presence as a pretext to betray Clan Wren. The ensuing skirmish led to his death at the hands of Ursa Wren, the leader of Clan Wren, after Sabine defeated him in a duel, sparking a civil war between the two Mandalorian clans.
Following Gar Saxon's demise, his brother, Tiber Saxon, assumed the role of governor of Mandalore and imposed strict control over the planet as the civil war escalated. By 1 BBY, Clan Wren had joined forces with the Mandalorian resistance led by Bo-Katan Kryze. Together, they launched an attack that resulted in Tiber Saxon's death. After Saxon's downfall, Sabine gifted the Darksaber to Kryze, who then united several Mandalorian clans under her banner to fight against the Empire. Despite claiming rulership of Mandalore with the Darksaber, she had not acquired it through combat. Consequently, the Children of the Watch, followers of the ancient Way of the Mandalore, believed that this act had brought a curse upon the planet, as foretold by their Mandalorian Creed. The Children of the Watch, separated from the rest of Mandalorian society, secluded themselves on the moon of Concordia.
In response to Kryze and her followers' rebellion against the Empire, the Imperial forces launched a retaliatory strike that led to the Great Purge of Mandalore. During one fateful night of the siege, gunships, armed with powerful repeating blasters, unleashed a devastating assault on fields occupied by Mandalorian recruits, resulting in the decimation of the troops. Waves of TIE/sa bombers bombed the domed cities of Mandalore, obliterating them, and scorching the planet's sandy surface, transforming it into a glass-like substance known as trinitite.
Following the aerial bombardment, KX-series security droids and probe droids systematically searched the devastated urban areas, eliminating any remaining survivors. Among those who perished during the night were the members of Clan Tal, leaving behind only one surviving Mandalorian warrior named Aran Tal.
Kryze and her people attempted to resist the Imperial forces, establishing a presence around the [Great Forge](/article/great_forge] on the planet. However, Kryze suffered significant losses during the Night of a Thousand Tears. In the wake of this tragedy, Moff Gideon, an officer within the Imperial Security Bureau who participated in the Purge, contacted Kryze after the ISB offered a ceasefire negotiation. Gideon promised to spare the lives of all remaining Mandalorians, as well as the remaining cities, if she agreed to surrender to the Empire and disarm her forces. Recognizing the shame that such an act would bring, but prioritizing the survival of her people, Kryze relinquished the Darksaber to Gideon as a symbol of surrender. However, Gideon betrayed Kryze, continuing the Purge and seizing the Darksaber for himself.
The battle, which became known as the "Night of a Thousand Tears," was immortalized in Mandalorian songs in the subsequent years. The Great Purge forced the surviving Mandalorians to flee the Mandalore sector and scatter across the galaxy. Migs Mayfeld, a former Imperial, considered the world as nonexistent as the planet Alderaan, while a stormtrooper declared the planet reduced to ash. After the fall of the Empire in 5 ABY, Gideon went on to lead his own remnant of the fallen faction as a moff.
In 9 ABY, during a clash on the Outer Rim world of Nevarro, stormtroopers serving Gideon's Imperial remnant deployed an E-Web heavy repeating blaster cannon in an attempt to lure the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, a member of the Children of the Watch, and his allies—Carasynthia Dune, a former shock trooper of the New Republic, and Greef Karga, a former Magistrate—out of their hiding place. Addressing Djarin's group, who were trapped in a common house, Gideon speculated that the Mandalorian might have heard the songs of the night, drawing a comparison between his E-Web and the gunships' heavy weaponry. Gideon's knowledge of the night and other details about Djarin's group surprised them. Nevertheless, the Mandalorian and his allies managed to escape and achieve victory.
Later, Djarin encountered Kryze, who led a unit of Mandalorian resistance fighters against Gideon's forces, seeking to reclaim the Darksaber and regain control of Mandalore. The two eventually joined forces to attack Gideon's light cruiser. Although Kryze had requested to confront the moff in order to reclaim the Darksaber by Creed, Djarin was the first to encounter Gideon and defeated him in combat. As a result, the Mandalorian bounty hunter became the rightful owner of the ancient weapon, much to Kryze's disappointment. Subsequently, Djarin reunited with two other members of the Children of the Watch, and one of them, a Mandalorian armorer, shared her perspective on the Night of a Thousand Tears, stating that Kryze's seemingly illegitimate claim to Mandalore had brought a curse upon the planet, and only those who adhered to the Way of the Mandalore had escaped the curse.
Following the night, Aran Tal, driven by a thirst for justice, participated in the Hunters of the Outer Rim tournament, while still harboring the hope of finding those responsible for the annihilation of Clan Tal. A group of Mandalorians later returned to Mandalore, attempting to reclaim the planet. While on the planet, they discovered a group of survivors who had remained on the planet since the Purge. They joined their longship to the Great Forge, where they intended to establish a settlement. While on the boat, Kryze recounted her surrender to Gideon following the night.
The Night of a Thousand Tears was first referenced in "Chapter 8: Redemption," which served as the concluding episode of the first season of The Mandalorian television series. The episode premiered on Disney+ on December 27, 2019, and the episode's subtitles identified the event as "The Night of a Thousand Tears." However, the word "The" was not capitalized in Joe Schreiber's 2021 novelization of The Mandalorian Season One, Star Wars: The Mandalorian Junior Novel. The event was first depicted in a flashback sequence in "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian," the fifth episode of The Book of Boba Fett, which was released on January 26, 2022. The sequence drew inspiration from Sam Mendes' 2005 film Jarhead, which featured silhouettes of soldiers in the desert and oil fields amidst widespread destruction.