A BRIEF INTRODUCTION...
Many people became familiar with Mandalorian's through the TV show, The Mandalorian. While this may have been a casual fan's first foray into the Mandalore people, their history dates back thousands of years (in canon) and a few decades in real life. Based entirely on the cool design of Boba Fett from the Original Trilogy, George Lucas, Dave Filoni, and the whole creative team at Lucasfilm have taken one character and expanded them into an entire culture with arguably more popular characters, a planet, and more. Let's explore everything that has to do with the Mandalorian's.
Explore the timeline of significant events in the Mandalorian history.
9991 BBY
This year started the origins of Mandalorian's, as first seen on the planet of Mandalore in the Outer Rim Territories. They are ruled by the Mand'alor.
1050 BBY
Tarre Vizla, a human brought into the Mandalorian clan, creates the iconic weapon, The Darksaber.
42 BBY
The New Mandalorians, led by Duchess Satine, spark a civil war by encouraging Mandalore to become pacifists, rather than warriors.
22 BBY
The Clone Wars begin, featuring millions of Clones modelled after Mandalorian Jango Fett. Introduces the world to Boba Fett, the famous clone/son of Jango.
2 BBY
Sabine Wren finds the Darksaber & begins training with it to try and unify the Mandalorian people once again.
Imperial Era
The Great Purge of Mandalore occurs, devastating the planet and driving away any surviving Mandalorian's.
YOU MAY RECOGNIZE THESE NAMES
Din Djarin
Bo-Katan
Jango Fett
Sabine Wren
Pre Vizla
The Armorer
WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MANDALORE?
Bo-Katan Kryze accepted the Darksaber from Clan Wren, taking it as a symbol of her status as leader of the resistance. The Darksaber can only be transferred to a new owner if won through combat, so many were horrified that Bo-Katan would simply accept it. Those who disagreed with her taking it believed that her action would lead to the destruction of Mandalore.
Whether or not it was Bo-Katan accepting the Darksaber, Mandalore did fall. The Empire realized that they would never be able to overthrow the Mandalorian government & take control for themselves, so they opted to purge the planet.
With a massive attack destroying both the surface & the Mines of Mandalore, the Empire effectively wiped out the majority of Mandalorian's, with only few surviving. Those who did survive mostly blamed Bo-Katan for dooming their planet.
ANSWERING SOME COMMON QUESTIONS
Why do some Mandalorian's remove their helmet, while others can't?
Din Djarin belongs to a religious group of Mandalorians who never remove their helmet as proof of their dedication to their group. Not all Mandalorian's believe in proving yourself that way, thus they can remove their helmets.
Why do Mandalorian's say "This is the Way"?
Just like "May the Force be with you" and "I have spoken", Din Djarin & his Mando friends repeat "This is the Way" quite a bit. The answer as to why is actually very simple: it's just confirming with each other that the reason they do things is to follow the way of their people. Not taking off your helmet? This is the Way.
Why do Mandalorian's wear Beskar armor?
Beskar is one of the strongest, if not the actual strongest, material in existence. As we see in the show, it can literally withstand the force of a lightsaber attacking it. This makes it not only rare, but incredibly important if you were to say, go up against someone with the Darksaber.