13 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Mandalorians From 'Star Wars'

Din Djarin wasn't born on Mandalore, but by the time he was running around the galaxy collecting bounties, he was calling himself a Mandalorian. Following the Great Purge, the Mandalorians who escaped went on to rebuild their lives and culture, but not everyone did the same thing. The Children of the Watch collected foundlings (like Djarin) whom they raised to become Mandalorians.

This group of Mandalorian fighters followed many of the old and lost traditions to become "the Tribe." They were a cult of religious zealots intent on bringing about the Way of the Mandalore, and members like Djarin were taught that theirs was the only way. Eventually, he learned of different surviving Mandalorian factions who didn't follow the old warrior ways.

It was long believed that the Children of the Watch who became the Tribe were what remained of the Death Watch. This was eventually confirmed, but not in a direct way for everyone. While watching the French subtitles of The Mandalorian, it was revealed that the Children of the Watch were, in fact, "the heirs of Death Watch," which makes a lot of sense, seeing as Death Watch followed similar tactics and tradition while they operated during the Clone Wars.

The people of Mandalore have a long history with the Jedi, and most of it isn't peaceful. Mandalore engaged in a bitter war against the Jedi, but that doesn't mean the people weren't Force-sensitive. In fact, Force-sensitivity can happen anywhere and to anyone, so when a Force-sensitive child named Tarre Vizsla was found living on Mandalore, the Jedi Order took notice.

He was inducted into the Order, becoming the first Mandalorian to receive the honor. Vizsla attained the rank of Jedi Knight, and according to legend, he was the one who built the Darksaber:

"I didn't know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber."

"We didn't. This was one of a kind. Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple. That was until members of House Vizsla snuck in and liberated it. They used the saber to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. One time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade."

Because his existence came so long ago, there isn't much more known about Vizsla outside the references made to him in the Star Wars: Rebels episode, "Trials of the Darksaber." He became a legendary figure in Mandalorian history and was renowned as a great leader who became the planet's Mand'alor — the sole leader of the Mandalorian people.

The Jedi may have billed themselves as Peacekeepers during the time of the Republic, but the Order's history is filled with conflict spread across the galaxy. One of the best known pitted the Jedi Order against Mandalore, and it was brutal. The war was broken down into several conflicts fought between the Jedi Order and the Mandalorians.

When the Mandalorian-Jedi War began, the Jedi weren't the early victors. Mandalorians were quick to adapt their technology to resist the Jedi, and these advancements remained long after the conflict ended. There's a reason Mandalorian armor is made of Beskar steel, as it's resistant to lightsabers. The use of flamethrowers is also widespread among Mandalorians because a Jedi has little recourse but to flee in the face of such a weapon.

As the conflict raged, the Jedi began to take the upper hand against Mandalorian crusaders. This was going on at the same time Mandalore was engaged in a conflict with the Old Republic, and it took a toll. As the fight began to edge toward the Jedi's favor, members of the House of Viszla reclaimed the Darksaber, using it to unite the clans, but it was too late. The Jedi scorched much of the surface of Mandalore in a great final battle, leaving the planet's surface largely uninhabitable as the Order claimed victory. 

Beskar is a special type of Mandalorian iron that was used to create the unique armor worn by Mandalorians. It is incredibly strong and can resist a direct shot from a blaster and a slash from a lightsaber. Beskar was unique to Mandalore, making it legendary across the galaxy and one of the most coveted materials sought by those desiring power.

Because it was so revered outside of Mandalorian society, it was kept close to the chest, as Mandalore controlled every microgram of the stuff throughout its long history. This came to an end when the Empire directed its Great Purge against Mandalore and its people. The Empire collected every scrap of Beskar it could find while wiping out the people of Mandalore in a genocide. 

Long after this occurred, what few Mandalorians remained scoured the galaxy looking for any scrap of Beskar they could find. Din Djarin was wooed into a contract with the promise of a large cache of Beskar. When he received the precious metal, he took it to the Armorer, who created a new set of armor and weaponry for the Mandalorian bounty hunter.

The art and imagery that represents Mandalore and its people across the Star Wars galaxy found a great deal of inspiration from various classical artists. The clearest visual inspiration came from Pablo Picasso, which is clear if you look at the mural pictured above. Its design was based upon the Guernica, a Picasso painting that depicts the moment German bombers tested out the effects of an aerial strike on the civilian town of Guernica, Spain, in 1937.

In the original image, a German bomb is painted into the space taken up by the Mandalorian Crusader wielding the Darksaber. The whole purpose of the original painting was to illustrate the horrors of war, and it was clear through context clues in Star Wars: The Clone Wars that the Mandalorian mural intended the same. While Pre Vizsla was admiring it, he overlooked its point; violence leads to pain and destruction.

The Mandalorian-Jedi War nearly destroyed Mandalore. In the final battle that saw the Jedi literally scorch the planet's surface, most of the planet became uninhabitable. What was left was a white, hot desert with only sparse population centers remaining in large domed cities. Living out on the surface became impossible outside a dome, and the planet's moon, Concordia, was similarly scarred, as its surface was strip-mined for resources.

The surface of Mandalore never recovered from the conflict, and as a result, many Mandalorians held a grudge against the Jedi Order for generations. As a means of overcoming its violent past, the majority of Mandalorian citizens moved on from the conflict to embrace peace. Peace Park was built in the capital city of Sundari to try and move beyond the violence of the past, and a wave of pacifism took over the society, though some outliers remained.