Taris Siege

Beginning in 3976 BBY, the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders, a collective of warrior clans under the command of Mandalore the Ultimate, began constructing an empire. They did so by conquering independent worlds situated in the Outer Rim. The Galactic Republic did not react to these conquests. Consequently, the Mandalorians extended their reach toward the Core, posing a threat to resource-rich planets near the valuable Outer Rim ecumenopolis known as Taris. In response to the threat to Republic business interests in the region, Taris was granted full membership in the Republic in 3966 BBY. This occurred after a prolonged bribery campaign orchestrated by local executives. Against the advice of some within the Republic Navy's command structure, the Republic established an elongated, understaffed security perimeter, referred to as the Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line, to safeguard the planet. This action led to a precarious stalemate that lasted for several months.

This equilibrium was disrupted in 3964 BBY when the graduating class at Taris's Jedi Tower was killed in a notorious massacre. The blame was attributed to Zayne Carrick, a surviving Padawan, and Marn Hierogryph, a local Snivvian criminal. They managed to evade capture and escape Taris. Their departure triggered riots and disorder on Taris, prompting the withdrawal of the five Jedi Masters stationed at the Tower. Mandalore the Ultimate interpreted the unrest as a signal to initiate an attack, launching the first major offensive of the Mandalorian Wars: a three-pronged assault targeting Taris. The Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line, which proved to be too distant from the Republic's center of power and too stretched to defend effectively, was breached at the mining planet of Vanquo. There, Mandalore the Ultimate and his chief strategist, Cassus Fett, successfully diverted the Republic Navy's left flank and cleared a path to Taris, seizing the planet in the process. Their defensive line shattered, Republic Admirals Jimas Veltraa and Noma Sommos gathered the remaining Outer Rim forces into a makeshift defense to protect Taris, in what would prove to be a final, desperate effort.

Despite Veltraa and Sommos's success in reorganizing their forces into a cohesive defense, they were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy's "Onslaught." Upon reaching their destination, the Mandalorians crushed the Republic's forces stationed above Taris. Admiral Veltraa perished when his flagship, the Reliance, was destroyed, resulting in the loss of all crew members. Admiral Sommos sustained injuries so severe that she had to be evacuated from the front lines to a field hospital on Wayland. With the skies above Taris secured, the Mandalorians initiated a heavy bombardment of the Upper and Middle Cities, inflicting significant casualties and widespread destruction, particularly in the Middle City. A notable casualty was the historic Lhosan Industries plant in the Middle City's Machineville district, the birthplace of the swoop bike. It had become a refuge for many locals, who perished when the factory's walls collapsed. The weeks-long bombardment placed numerous civilians in peril, and rescue efforts in the Middle City were quickly overwhelmed. The Taris Home Guard, the planet's defense force, repeatedly attempted to engage the increasing number of Mandalorian Kandosii-type dreadnaughts in the skies above Taris but were outmatched and unable to penetrate the invaders' perimeter. Soon, the local police force, under the leadership of Constable Noana Sowrs, was also drawn into the conflict.

Following weeks of aerial bombardment, the Mandalorians finally launched a full-scale ground invasion, beginning with nighttime landings in Taris's polar regions. By the following morning, Basilisk war droids were sweeping through the Upper City with warriors mounted on their backs. By this point, the Tarisian population had lost hope of assistance from the Republic, which had deemed Taris "indefensible" despite its status as a full member of the galactic government. The invasion, personally overseen by Mandalore the Ultimate's chief strategist, Cassus Fett, swiftly overwhelmed the remnants of Taris's civil defense. The Mandalorians seized the Upper City neighborhood of Highpoint, from where the Taris Holofeed news outlet had continued to report on the siege. The destruction of the Holofeed's office forced operations to relocate to the Junavex Hotel, until the Mandalorians stormed the building and terminated the broadcast. Much of the Upper City was abandoned in the early stages of the Mandalorian invasion, with looters exploiting the chaos to plunder Upper City locations such as Market Street before fleeing as the invaders advanced. Once Mandalorian control of the Upper City was sufficiently consolidated, the Taris Holofeed was reactivated to broadcast a special message from Cassus Fett himself: a proclamation releasing the people of Taris from their allegiance to the Galactic Republic. Before permanently shutting down the Holofeed, Fett announced that Taris was now a Mandalorian world, and its citizens now owed allegiance to the Mandalore.

Despite some Tarisians joining the Neo-Crusader army, persistent resistance against the Mandalorians continued in the Lower City. Local swoop gangs such as the Hidden Beks and Black Vulkars had initially offered only token resistance as the Mandalorians captured the Upper and Middle Cities, but as the invaders encroached on their territory in the Lower City, they fought fiercely. Simultaneously, a more organized and well-equipped force emerged under the command of Haydel Goravvus, Taris's Senator, who had disappeared from public eye in the days following the Padawan Massacre. Although Goravvus's Taris Resistance primarily consisted of armed locals defending their homes, it received support from Constable Sowrs and surviving members of Tarisian law enforcement, as well as Raana Tey, a Togruta Jedi Master who had been instructed by Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa of the Republic to aid in the defense of Taris. Instead of remaining in the Upper City, Fett continued to push into the lower levels of the Taris cityscape, with some Mandalorian warriors viewing the ongoing siege as a trial run for future battles on the Republic capital of Coruscant.

Although the Hidden Beks and the Taris Resistance shared a common objective, they had been engaged in separate conflicts after Constable Sowrs rejected any collaboration, suspecting the Beks of involvement in the disappearance of her children. She continued to view them as criminals, despite the circumstances. However, the two factions would soon unite through the efforts of Gadon Thek, the leader of the Beks, and the fugitives Zayne Carrick and Marn Hierogryph, who had encountered Thek in the Lower City. Carrick and Hierogryph had been separated during the Mandalorian bombardment of Serroco, and Hierogryph, who had gained recognition for saving the lives of numerous Republic soldiers on Serroco, joined forces with the Beks after receiving a mission from Jervo Thalien, the chairman of Lhosan Industries, to locate Goravvus. Carrick returned to Taris upon learning of his friend's involvement in the fight against the Mandalorians, and his discovery of Sowrs's children provided the Beks with the leverage needed to gain the Resistance's trust. Although Master Tey sought Carrick's death, as she was one of the true perpetrators of the Padawan Massacre for which Carrick was blamed, the two groups reached an agreement, with Tey providing medical assistance to the Bek's wounded in exchange for the swoop gang's valuable skills.

By this time, Fett had arrived on the planet, overseeing Mandalorian operations from a command center established in the old council chamber at the Jedi Tower. Despite the Mandalorians' clear advantage, Fett was forced to personally address a significant bottleneck caused by disorganized Mandalorian forces and a chaotic mix of escapees and captured vehicles that threatened to impede the Mandalorian siege effort. Meanwhile, the Resistance managed to establish a stronghold encompassing several blocks of the Lower City and launched successful raids against the Mandalorians, acquiring valuable munitions. Upon learning of Fett's presence on Taris, the Resistance devised a plan to eliminate him, planting explosives in the Jedi Tower that they would detonate if Carrick, Tey, and agent Shel Jelavan could infiltrate the Tower and confirm Fett's presence. However, by the time the saboteurs reached the Tower, Fett had already departed, having discovered the location of the Resistance's stronghold and launched a devastating surprise attack. The attack was swift, precise, and effectively destroyed the Resistance, driving the few survivors into the rakghoul-infested wasteland known as the Undercity. Above ground, Master Tey was killed when Hierogryph noticed her attempting to attack Carrick in the remnants of the Jedi Tower and detonated the explosives. Although Goravvus survived, any efforts to resist the Mandalorian invasion were dealt a critical blow, and the Mandalorians proceeded to conquer the planet.

Following the capture of Taris, the Mandalorian force split into two groups: one headed galactic west around the Outer Rim toward a battle at Ithor, and the other toward the ice world of Jebble. Many of the recruits the Mandalorians gained on Taris proceeded to Jebble, which became a major staging point for a planned raid on the Core World of Alderaan. However, this army was destroyed by the mutating machinations of the ancient Sith artifact known as the Muur Talisman, which had been discovered deep in the Undercity by a Mandalorian excavation team during the Siege. Taris held significant economic interests for the Republic, and the siege had a substantial economic impact on the Outer Rim. Along with several other factors, the siege contributed to a sharp downturn in the mining sector. The invasion also disrupted Lhosan Industries' plans to diversify and expand, leading chairman Jervo Thalien to withdraw operations from the planet and leave thousands in the Lower City unemployed.

Taris remained under Mandalorian occupation for the next several years, and although local resistance was effectively suppressed by Fett's surprise attack, several key figures in the fight against the Mandalorian invasion managed to survive the Siege. Although Senator Goravvus initially refused to abandon Taris, a decision that inadvertently led to Constable Sowrs's death at the hands of Undercity rakghouls, he eventually escaped offworld and became a champion for refugees and at-risk people throughout the war, as did Carrick, Hierogryph, and Shel Jelavan. Meanwhile, Gadon Thek and the Hidden Beks, as well as their rivals, the Black Vulkars, remained active in the Lower City throughout the Mandalorian occupation and were still present during the Jedi Civil War a decade later. The Mandalorian invasion eventually reached as far as the Core World of Duro, but the Republic managed to turn the tide from 3961–3960 BBY, under the strategic leadership of the Jedi Knight Revan and his Jedi crusaders. Revan's massive counteroffensive ultimately led to Taris's liberation from Mandalorian rule.

The Taris Siege was initially referenced in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and was first depicted in the spin-off comic series, where writer John Jackson Miller made it the central setting of the Knights of Suffering story arc. The designation "Taris Siege" was officially canonized in Knights of the Old Republic Handbook, a comic supplement also authored by Miller. Miller provided additional context to the Taris Siege through in-universe inserts from The Taris Holofeed news outlet, which offer a portrayal of the battle often inspired by historical sources. The Taris Holofeed: Siege Edition presents a live report on the Mandalorian invasion that drew inspiration from Edward R. Murrow's renowned "This is London" broadcasts during the Blitz in 1941. Meanwhile, The Taris Holofeed Special Proclamation contains Cassus Fett's message to the Tarisian people following the invasion's commencement, intentionally mirroring the tone of General Philip Kearny's proclamation claiming New Mexico for the United States in 1846.