Perhaps one of the most inspired elements of Karen TravissвЂ™s interpretation of Mandalorian history and culture was her utilization of general Celtic elements to color her spec-ops warriors. HeвЂ™s climbing on your Capitoline Hill, snatching your Eternal City up. Later in history, as the Taung themselves were gradually worn down by constant warfare, the Mandalorian culture became incredibly multiethnic, incorporating species as diverse as Rodians, TwiвЂ™leks, Herglics, and humans- humans would come to be the dominant species within the Mandalorian culture. Upon settling in the Mandalore system, the ancient Taung (note: the name вЂњTaungвЂќ comes from a young Australopithecus skull discovered in Taung, South Africa in 1924) immediately made war upon the native Mandallian Giants, who survived the buckethead onslaught and were subsequently incorporated into the Mandalorian war machine.

Similarly, the Mandalorians were almost fanatical about incorporating groups who had survived their conquests. They were further able to integrate far-flung regions into their (only briefly unified) empire, respecting freedom of religion, expanding trade routes, and providing military protection to the conquered (assuming one survived the initial military assault, naturally). The Mongols under Ghenghis Khan and his successors were able to utilize Chinese knowledge of gunpowder and siege equipment to conduct their military campaigns in Khwarizm, Mesopotamia, India, and the Russian steppes. One element in particular links them to the Mongols of the late Medieval period- their willingness and ability to effectively assimilate conquered groups and cultures into their ranks, whether using their technology, taking advantage of their knowledge of trade routes, or simply assimilating them into their ranks. They were driven from their original homeworld- Coruscant- and travelled from world to world, settling on planets such as Roon, Shogun, Basilisk, and Ordo before settling down in the Mandalore system circa 7000 BBY. Generally speaking, the Mandalorians resemble various nomadic groups throughout history. Rohlan Dyre, of KOTOR comics fame, leading a diverse legion of troops into battle. Later, Karen Traviss added her own substantial interpretations to Mandalorian culture, bringing in further Celtic motifs and developing the framework for a Mandalorian language. The Knights of the Old Republic mini-franchise further expounded upon early Mandalorian warrior culture, positioning them as something of a cultural bogeyman to the Roman-inspired Galactic Republic. Anderson laid much of the groundwork for Mandalorian culture in Tales of the Jedi, depicting the early Taung as nomadic warriors and raiders from the Outer Rim. While the Marvel era was left somewhat to the wayside in the Bantam-era EU, the Mandalorians continued to be utilized by various authors.

MandвЂ™alor Gayiyli, or Mandalore the Resurrector), with the Mandalorians eventually aiding the nascent Republic.

The Clone Wars adventures of the Mandalorians were explained (and were later brilliantly retconned by Abel PeГ±a in his вЂњHistory of the MandaloriansвЂќ article, creating Spar a.k.a. MarvelвЂ™s вЂњStar WarsвЂќ comic line expanded on the armored menaces, giving them a home planet (Mandalore, later rendered as вЂќMandaвЂ™yaimвЂќ in MandoвЂ™a) and establishing that their warrior culture still existed post-Clone Wars. Out of universe, the Mandalorians originated with Boba Fett and the background notes established by George Lucas in The Empire Strikes BackвЂ“ according to Lucas, Fett wore the armor of the Mandalorians, a group of evil warriors exterminated by the Jedi during the Clone Wars. The panel from Marvel Star Wars that spawned one of my favorite retcons in the history of EU continuity.ДЇirst, a bit of background. The Mongols, the early medieval Vikings, and the ancient Celts of Gaul (with a dash of modern Celtic flavor) have all played a role in building Star WarsвЂ™ most well-known warrior culture. However, certain historical influences can be sussed out from the turmoil. Their backstory- and the historical cultures upon which it draws- have grown only more convoluted over time, as various authors have accented, overwritten, or ignored the works of previous writers. The mystique of the buckethead brigade has only grown since Boba FettвЂ™s first appearances in the Holiday Special and The Empire Strikes Back.

Clone wars adventures rewritten