The Star Wars universe has a long and storied history full of adventure. This piece marks the second of our four-part coverage of this galactic history, chronicling a much more specific time in Star Wars history: the Clone Wars. Not only were the Clone Wars one of the most significant events in the galaxy, but the sheer volume of stories that take place during this period provide some of the most concentrated lore available, mostly due to The Clone Wars animated series - new ground for the franchise at the time - but also thanks to many more books and comics set during this era.
So be sure to brush up on anything you may have missed from the first installment and enjoy A Complete History of the Star Wars Universe, Part II.
24. The Galactic Divide
The Battle of Naboo is only the beginning, not the end, of a growing discontent in the Galactic Republic. Fed up with the blind eye the Republic had turned toward struggling systems, Count Dooku is pushed over the edge, especially after learning of the death of his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. Dooku denounces the Senate in a scathing speech, rallying like-minded worlds to his cause, and eventually leads a mass exodus from the Republic, forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Darth Sidious approaches the Count and offers to aid him in his quest. Dooku is seduced and agrees to becomes the Sith Master’s new apprentice, taking the name Darth Tyranus. Sidious assassinates Sifo Dyas and has Dooku usurp his relationship with the Kaminoans. The bounty hunter Jango Fett is hired as a prototype and the cloners begin troop production, including a special inhibitor chip that will ultimately make the clones loyal to Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.
23. The Training of Skywalker
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi is fulfilling his commitment to his master, training young Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Anakin has a strong connection to the Force and is already surpassing other students his age despite the fact that he essentially skipped years of formal training. Seeing the potential in Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine endears himself to the 12 year old Padawan, whispering in his ear and planting seeds of distrust of politicians and the Jedi Order alike.
Anakin begins to doubt the path of the Jedi is right for him and he tells Obi-Wan he desires to take a leave of absence. Concerned Anakin will never return, Obi-Wan informs Yoda that he intends to keep his vow to Qui-Gon Jinn to train Anakin - even if that means they both have to leave the Jedi. Hoping to change their mind, Yoda has them respond to a call for Jedi aid on Carnelion IV, where they find a planet ripped apart by a civil war. Obi-Wan is able to convince the Republic that the situation on Carnelion IV is worth its attention, getting them to send several relief ships to the previously neglected system. He explains to Anakin that he can’t make much of a difference on his own, but as a part of the Jedi Order has support necessary to make progress, convincing Anakin the Jedi can be a force for change.
22. Seeds of War
Dooku’s secession didn’t immediately lead to war, but tensions between the Republic and the Confederacy escalate for several years, leading to a debate in the Republic Senate over the Military Creation Act - authorizing the creation of the first Republic army a millennia.
Senator Padme Amidala, is one of the most ardent opponents of the Military Creation Act. In an effort to ensure the bill’s passage (and convince the Trade Federation to support the Confederacy), Count Dooku puts out a contract for her assassination.
When the attempt fails, Chancellor Palpatine suggests the Jedi put Padme under the protection of her old friends, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his now 19-year-old Padawan Anakin Skywalker. Padme is convinced to go into hiding with Anakin on her home planet of Naboo, while Kenobi tracks down the origin of the attacks.
Obi-Wan’s investigation leads him to Kamino, where he learns of Sifo-Dyas’s clone army and discovers the bounty hunter involved in the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala - Jango Fett. Fett eludes capture, but Obi-Wan is able to track him to the planet Geonosis.
21. Fear Leads to Anger, Anger Leads to Hate
While hiding on Naboo, Anakin and Padme begin to explore a budding romance despite strict rules in the Jedi code forbidding attachment. When Anakin begins to have visions of his mother in pain, he immediately disregards his Jedi Council assigned objective and rushes to Tatooine to check on Shmi Skywalker. Tracking her down, he finds her imprisoned in a Tusken Raider village, arriving just in time to hold her as she dies. Filled with rage, Anakin exterminates the entire village, his hate sending ripples through the Force that can be felt by Master Yoda on Coruscant - who can even hear the deceased Qui-Gon Jinn pleading with Anakin from beyond the grave, begging him to stop.
Haunted by his actions, Anakin confesses to Padme that he’s not the Jedi he should be. He recognizes his shortcomings, but blames his lack of progress on Obi-Wan and the Jedi Council. Believing he will one day be the most powerful Jedi in history, he declares he will find the power to prevent his loved ones from dying.
20. The Battle of Geonosis
Obi-Wan contacts Anakin and Padme to have them relay a recording to the Republic detailing the findings of his investigation: Geonosis is producing a droid army for the Separatist Alliance. Before he can finish his report, he's attacked, ceasing the transmission. They already abandoned their mission to remain on Naboo, so Anakin and Padme immediately set out to rescue Obi-Wan, only to get captured as well upon their arrival on Geonosis.
Seizing the opportunity provided by this new information, Vice Chancellor Mas Amedda is coerces the gullible Representative Jar Jar Binks to call for a motion to grant emergency powers to Palpatine so he can use executive authority to pass the Military Creation Act. When the motion passes, Palpatine vows he will return the power to the people when the crisis is averted.
Mace Windu takes over 200 Jedi to Geonosis, arriving just in time to save Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme from execution and hold off the Geonosians and battle droids long enough for Yoda to arrive with the clones. During the ensuing battle, Mace Windu decapitates Jango Fett in front of his "son" (an unaltered clone) Boba Fett.
Anakin and Obi-Wan pursue Dooku to his ship. Dispatching both Jedi and removing Anakin’s arm, Dooku is about to kill them both when his former Master, Yoda, arrives to face him, forcing him to flee the planet.
Returning to Naboo, Anakin and Padme are married in a secret ceremony.
19. The Clone Wars
The Jedi take on the role of leading the clone army by training new cadets and serving as Generals. The clones are all genetically identical, but they develop unique personalities and give themselves tattoos, haircuts, and nicknames to differentiate themselves from their clone "brothers."
Shortly after the start of the war, Anakin Skywalker is made a Jedi Knight and general of the 501st Clone Battalion. During the battle of Christophsis, Master Yoda sends a young Togruta Jedi student, Ahsoka Tano, to serve as a Padawan under General Skywalker. Although Anakin is initially reluctant to be responsible for the training of Ahsoka, they quickly develop a strong bond.
Also in need of leaders for the Separatist military, Count Dooku recruits a legendary Kaleesh warrior who had opted to replace much of his body with cybernetic enhancements, General Greivous, to become a General and Supreme Commander of the Separatist army.
Not everyone is in favor of the war, though. A coalition of Republic senators continues to attempt to reach diplomatic solutions, despite Palpatine’s approval of the Military Creation Act and the start of the Clone Wars. Focusing on providing relief efforts to struggling planets like Rodia and Ryloth, in addition to establishing strategic partnerships and trade routes past neutral planets like Toyderia, Bail Organa, Padme Amidala, Jar Jar Binks, and additional sympathetic senators work tirelessly to negotiate and protect the Republic’s strategic interests.
18. Shifting Allegiances
The early days of the Clone Wars sees many major victories for the Galactic Republic with the liberation of Ryloth (aided by Twi'lek resistance forces lead by Cham Syndulla), the decommissioning of the droid foundries during the Second Battle of Geonosis, and the overthrowing of a renewed Zygerrian slave trade.
The independent planet of Mandalore, having long ago shirked their warrior tradition to become a pacifist society, refuses to join sides. An extremist group of Mandalorian rebels, Death Watch, under the command of Pre Vizsla, with the aid of the Separatist Alliance, desires to return Mandalore to the violent ways of its past culture. Duchess Satine Kryze pleads for Republic assistance in handling the threat of Death Watch. In response, the Republic sends Obi-Wan Kenobi (who has a romantic history with Satine) and Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi successfully protect Satine and the people of Mandalore, but despite their efforts - and elaborate diplomatic attempts from Senator Amidala with the assistance from Ahsoka Tano - the people of Mandalore still desire to avoid becoming a part of the galaxy-wide violence, remaining neutral.
17. Palpatine’s Schemes
With the Republic and Jedi distracted with the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious begins to push his advantage. He hires the bounty Hunter Cad Bane to steal holocrons (used to store all Jedi knowledge) from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, specifically a holocron containing the locations of Force-sensitive younglings, who Sidious intends to surgically condition as dark side Force-wielding agents. Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano manage to save two younglings, but it’s unknown how many children were kidnapped in total.
Palpatine also had numerous secret Imperial research stations set up across the galaxy. During a mission to the Plaintive Hand plateau on Jakku, his adviser, Yupe Tashu, discovers a young slave boy, Gallius Rax, had stowed away on his ship. Seeing a bright future in the boy, Palpatine takes him under his wing and instructs him to return to the Plaintive Hand plateau to guard an important excavation site.
One of his biggest secret initiatives was a project to build a new superweapon based off plans supposedly seized from the Separatists after the Battle of Geonosis. This "Death Star" would be the most powerful weapon the galaxy had ever known, and the Republic raced to finish construction before the Separatists could complete their own rumored Death Star. Project Celestial Power is formed in secrecy as an attempt to capture the energy of kyber crystals to power the station and its massive weapon, and Galen Erso is brought aboard as a leading expert in kyber technology.
16. Dooku’s Assassins
Suspicious of Count Dooku’s assassin, the Nightsister Asaaj Ventress, Sidious commands Dooku to prove his loyalty by having her killed, allowing him to select a new replacement. Dooku orders her droids to betray her, and, leaving her for dead, he heads to Dathomir select another apprentice.
Unbeknownst to Dooku, Ventress survived and had already returned to Dathomir to reunite with Mother Talzin and her fellow Nightsisters. Talzin assists Dooku in selecting a Dathomiri Nightbrother, Savage Opress, enhancing his power using the dark side of the Force through Nightsister magick, also placing him under her influence.
Dooku believes he will be able to train Savage and one day overthrow Darth Sidious, but before he completes Savage’s training, Ventress tries to take control of the Nightbrother to exact her revenge. Breaking free of the magick charms, Savage flees, returning to Mother Talzin, who suggests the best way to complete his training is to seek out his long lost brother - Maul.
15. The Balance of the Force
Responding to an ancient distress code at the edge of the Outer Rim, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka end up on Mortis, a location so strong in the Force that it appears to exist outside of time and space.
The Jedi find three Force wielders: The Daughter wields the light side of the Force, the Son wields the dark side of the Force, and the Father attempts to maintain a balance between the two. The Father’s power is fading, and he feels he will no longer be able to control the Son. He wishes for Anakin, the Chosen One, to take his place, eternally maintaining the balance between his children.
Anakin refuses, so the Son tries to seduce him in an attempt to escape Mortis and subdue the galaxy. When Anakin also rejects his offer, the Son takes control of Ahsoka, using her to acquire the Dagger of Mortis - the only weapon that can kill Force wielders. He poisons Ahsoka with the dark side and attacks his Father, but the Daughter blocks his blow, sacrificing herself and throwing Mortis out of balance. As a final act of kindness, the Daughter gives her remaining life force to restore Ahsoka’s life.
Knowing he’s the source of the Son’s power, the Father turns the dagger on himself. This sacrifice allows Anakin to kill the Son, restoring balance to Mortis. In his dying breath, the Father tells Anakin he is destined to repeat this feat, restoring balance to the Force for the whole galaxy.
14. The Return of Maul
Alliances are questioned when Dooku, furious over the betrayal of Mother Talzin, orders General Grievous to attack Dathomir. The droid army arrives and decimates Talzin’s warriors, leaving Asaaj Ventress and Talzin as the sole survivors of the nightsisters.
Meanwhile, Savage Opress tracks his brother Maul to the junkyard world of Lothor Minor, where he finds the former Sith in a broken mental state. He takes him to mother Talzin, who restores Maul’s mind and fashions him new legs from the remnants of battle droids left after Grievous’s attack.
Back on his feet, Maul sees that Sidious’s plan for the Clone Wars has proceeded in his absence and becomes enraged at Obi-Wan Kenobi for robbing him of his destiny. Taking Savage as his apprentice, Maul vows to seek vengeance and begins a search for the means to establish a criminal empire of his own. Fate would have him encounter Pre Vizsla, who happens to be seeking revenge on the very same Jedi. Joining forces, Maul and Death Watch create an alliance with Black Sun, the Pyke Syndicate, and the Hutt clans, forming the Shadow Collective. They seize Mandalore, and hold Duchess Satine hostage.
13. A Test of Strength
Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Captain Rex are sent to Onderon, where the King has been usurped by a Separatist sympathizer. The Jedi train resistance leaders, Saw Gererra, his sister Steela, and the son of a former Ondaronian senator, Lux Bonteri, in guerrilla tactics to repel the Separatists’ from their planet. The resistance surges thanks the help from the Jedi. The people rise up and replace their imposter king, liberating the planet from Separatist rule - at the cost of Steela Gerrerra’s life.
After the liberation of Onderon, the Jedi receive a plea for help from Duchess Satine, alerting them to the invasion of Mandalore. Obi-Wan Kenobi answers the call, only to get captured during a rescue attempt and brought before Maul. Relishing in his revenge, Maul taunts Kenobi for his weakness in rejecting the dark side, but Obi-Wan tells him only the weak cling to the dark side, as it takes true strength to resist. Enraged, Maul kills Satine in front of Kenobi and orders the Jedi be imprisoned, but before he could be returned to his cell, Obi-Wan is rescued by Bo-Katan Kryze, a former member of Death Watch and Satine’s sister.
Sensing the rising power of his old apprentice, Palpatine goes to Mandalore where he finds Maul and Savage, in violation of the Rule of Two. The Dark Lord of the Sith easily dispatches Savage Opress and captures Maul, sending him to the Spire, a prison on Stygeon Prime.
12. Ahsoka Leaves the Jedi
When there’s an explosion at the Jedi temple on Coruscant, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are called in to investigate, only for Ahsoka to become implicated a the conspiracy. Since several Republic officers were killed in the attack, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin is put in charge of the investigation, and he pressures the Jedi Order to expel Ahsoka so she can be tried by the Republic, forgoing a traditional internal investigation by the Jedi. Much to the dismay of Anakin and Obi-Wan, the Jedi Council caves to Tarkin’s political pressure, and Ahsoka is nearly convicted before Anakin proves that she was framed by a Bariss Offee, a Jedi that had become disenchanted with the Jedi's role in conducting a galactic war.
The Jedi council offers to reinstate Ahsoka in the Order, and Mace Windu declares that the ordeal was her great trial, qualifying her to assume the role of a full Jedi Knight. Disappointed in the lack of support from the Jedi Order during the trial, and their willingness to cave to political pressure from the Republic, Ahsoka has become cynical in the Jedi Order's judgement. She denies their request for her to return and walks away from the order, further deteriorating Anakin’s own faith in the Jedi Council.
11. A Plot Against the Jedi
As the Clone Wars begin to approach their end, the clone armies continue pushing back the Separatists and their droid armies, but the integrity of Kamino’s clone production has begun to decrease due to the stretching of Jangoe Fett’s initial DNA sample.
During a routine mission, a clone soldier, CT-5385, “Tup”, has his inhibitor chip fail, resulting in him turning on, and killing, the Jedi Master Tiplar. The Jedi discover the presence of the inhibitor chip during their initial investigation, but are unable to connect it to any nefarious schemes. A friend of Tup’s, CT-5555, “Fives”, is suspicious, so he starts his own investigation, discovering that the chip makes them subservient to any command given by Chancellor Palpatine. When Sheev learns of Fives’s investigation, he has him framed for an attempted assassination.
Investigating the fate of Sifo Dyas, the Jedi learn that Dooku had the Jedi Master killed and guided the creation of the clones himself. Concerned that the revelation that the Jedi had actually been leading an army commissioned by the Sith the whole time would destroy the public’s confidence Jedi Order, it's determined that the information must never leave the Jedi Council Chambers. The clones had served honorably thus far, but the knowledge that their creation had Sith supervision means the war must be finished before the Sith plan could come to fruition. The Jedi now know that they are completely entangled in a web woven by Darth Sidious.
10. The Future of the Jedi
With the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders, Yoda begins to spend more time in meditation, where he's contacted by the voice Qui-Gon Jinn. The voice guides Yoda to Dagobah, a planet with a strong Force presence where the deceased Jedi Master is able to communicate more fully. Yoda feels a dark presence looming, but Qui-Gon tells him there is always hope. He reveals that he had been chosen to learn retaining his identity after death, but his training was incomplete when he fell to Darth Maul. He says Yoda has also been chosen to learn this ability, and he must seek out the origin of all life for his own training.
Yoda is led to the Force planet in the center of the Deep Core where he’s approached by the Force Priestesses who present him with trials intended to help him conquer his hubris and resist temptation. After he completes these tasks, they send him to the ancient Sith homeworld of Moraband to face his fears. Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus sense his presence all the way from Coruscant and use ancient Sith magic to beset him. Their struggle through the Force ends in a stalemate and Yoda resists the Siths' attempts to break him. The Priestesses once again approach Yoda to inform him that Qui-Gon would guide him through the remainder of his training. He would need to spend the rest of his life learning studying these new lessons.
9. Dwindling
With help from the Shadow Collective, Maul escapes his imprisonment on Stygeon Prime and returns to the headquarters of Death Watch on Zanbar, where General Grievous and his droid army beset them, decimating Death Watch. Maul retreats to Ord Mantell, to gather his forces and sets a trap for the separatists. Once the droid fleet arrives, Maul sneaks aboard the Separatist command ship where he defeats General Grievous, forcing him to shut down all the droids on the surface while a contingent of Nightbrothers sent by Mother Talzin confront Count Dooku. Maul captures the Sith Apprentice and returns to Dathomir to meet with Mother Talzin.
Tracking Maul’s actions, Darth Sidious collects General Grievous and pursues the former Sith Apprentice to Dathomir, where Sidious engages him and his mother. The combined efforts of the Sith Lord, his general, and his apprentice are too much, so Mother Talzin urges Maul to retreat, sacrificing herself to ensure his escape.
8. Attempt to Assassinate Dooku
Anxious to end the war before succumbing to Sidious’s plans, the Jedi Council comes to the conclusion that the quickest way to cripple the Confederacy is by assassinating its figurehead - Count Dooku. The council is torn over the decision, as assassination is not the Jedi way, but they believe this is a case where the ends justify the means, and the war needs to be ended soon.
The Council selects Jedi Master Quinlan Vos for the task, suggesting he also recruit Dooku’s former apprentice, Asajj Ventress. While Ventress is no friend of the Jedi, her desire for revenge against Dooku wins her loyalty. She convinces Vos that he will have to wield the power of the dark side while also resisting the urge to give in fully as the Sith do - in the tradition of the Nightsisters - if he desires the power to defeat Dooku. The two become a powerful team, even forming a romantic bond, but Vos ends up losing himself to dark side, believing its power can lead him to not only defeat Dooku, but also Sidious himself. When his plan backfires, Ventress sacrifices herself to protect him from being killed by Dooku’s Force lightning. She had seen the dark side twist Vos and rejected it in her final moments. Dooku ultimately escaped, and Vos was captured by the Jedi. The fallen Jedi Master had been all but consumed by the dark side, but Ventress’s final rejection of the dark side and selfless sacrifice helped him to see the light again. The Jedi aid him in his return to the order, eventually pardoning him and accepting him back into their ranks.
7. Siege of Mandalore
Maul and Death Watch had been largely defeated by the Separatists, but the Mandalorian mercenary group still maintained their hold on their homeworld of Mandalore. When Ahsoka Tano is contacted by Bo-Katan Kryze to inform her that Maul has returned, she passes the message along to the Jedi and Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent to liberate the planet and finally capture Maul. Ahsoka joins them for the mission, and Anakin even gives her back her old lightsabers, but before the siege of Mandalore even begins, Anakin and Obi-Wan are called away to rescue Chancellor Palpatine - who had just been abducted from Coruscant by General Grievous and Count Dooku.
Ahsoka may no longer be a Jedi, but Anakin trusts her to complete the mission and leaves Captain Rex and part of the 501st under his former Padawan's command. Ahsoka faces off against Maul, forcing him to flee the planet, and the clone troops manage to defeat the Shadow Collective, but Mandalore burns anyway.
6. Not The Jedi Way
Returning to Coruscant, Anakin and Obi-Wan make their way through a massive battle in the outer atmosphere and successfully board General Grievous’s command ship to rescue Palpatine, who’s being guarded by Count Dooku. The two Jedi engage the Sith. Obi-Wan is quickly incapacitated, but Anakin fights on to remove Dooku’s hands, ending the fight. Palpatine urges Anakin to kill Dooku, and the Jedi complies by decapitating the Sith Apprentice, but he immediately expresses remorse over going against the Jedi Code by killing a defenseless Dooku instead of capturing him to be tried for his crimes in court.
When he arrives home, Anakin learns that Padme is pregnant. The Jedi Code’s discouragement of attachment had already necessitated their relationship remain a secret, so this pregnancy would only complicate matters - especially after he begins to have visions of Padme dying in childbirth. He approaches Master Yoda with these visions, explaining that he fears the pain, suffering, and death of someone he knows, to which Yoda replies “fear of loss is a path to the dark side,” telling Anakin he must train himself to “let go of everything you fear to lose.”
5. The Fear of Loss
Palpatine asks Anakin to serve as the eyes, ears, and voice of the Republic on the Jedi Council on his behalf. The Council normally elects its own members, but they reluctantly consent to Palpatine’s while withholding the title of “Master” that usually accompanies a council seat. Anakin takes offense at this, believing the Jedi council doesn’t trust in him or his abilities. In return, the Council, beginning to grow wary of Sheev Palpatine, requests that Anakin provide regular reports on the Chancellor.
Feeling played, Anakin goes to Palpatine, who tells him that people with power, such as the Jedi, are only afraid of losing that power. Sheev recounts the story of a Sith Lord named Darth Plagueis the Wise, who learned to manipulate the midi-chlorians to stop others from dying. This ability is described as inherently selfless, as he was unable to use it to save himself. After Plagueis had taught his apprentice everything he knew, his apprentice killed him in his sleep. When Anakin inquires further about Plagueis’s abilities, Palpatine simply said they aren’t possible for Jedi to learn.