Great Jedi Purge - Depiction

Depiction

The Purge begins shortly before the end of the Clone Wars, which had been conceived as part of a scheme by Chancellor Palpatine to eliminate the Jedi and establish himself as the Emperor of the galaxy.

At some point between the noted events of Episodes II and III, members of the Jedi council began to suspect Chancellor Palpatine was tied to Sidious and Count Dooku's Separatist army. In Revenge of the Sith, Jedi Master Mace Windu openly states to the Jedi Council that he no longer trusts the Chancellor; Obi-Wan Kenobi expresses similar misgivings.

Anakin Skywalker, the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy, finds out that Palpatine is actually Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith for whom the Jedi have been searching for more than a decade. Anakin reveals this information to Windu, who then leads a small team of fellow Jedi Masters—Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto—to apprehend Sidious. In the ensuing lightsaber duel, Sidious quickly and almost effortlessly kills Windu's companions; Kolar, being the first killed by Sidious is effectively the first victim of the Great Jedi Purge, followed, in one move, by Tiin, and then, after a few moments of combat, Fisto.

Windu engages Palpatine in a furious battle, finally disarming him. As Windu reasserts Palpatine's arrest, Anakin suddenly enters the room while Palpatine pleads for his own life. Palpatine had long been nurturing the young Jedi's desire for power and had recently roused Anakin's fear for the safety of his pregnant wife, Padmé Amidala. Before Windu can strike down the Chancellor after fending off a sneak attack by the Sith, Anakin severs Windu's hand with his lightsaber. Sidious then springs to life and blasts Windu with a torrent of Force lightning, which throws him out the window to his death.

It was mentioned by George Lucas in the Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary that Anakin thought he was doing the right thing saving Palpatine's life when he cut off Windu's hand with his lightsaber. However, Anakin did not think that Palpatine would kill Windu, and as a result of Windu's death Anakin believed that he had gone too far to be forgiven. To save his life, he had no other choice but to join with Palpatine.

Though Anakin expresses deep remorse for aiding in the death of Windu, Darth Sidious gives Anakin the Sith name Darth Vader, and orders him to exterminate the Jedi. He sends his new apprentice to the Jedi Temple along with the 501st Clone Trooper Legion to kill all of the Jedi there. Palpatine says that if Vader carries out his commands, he will be strong enough in the dark side to save Padmé, and so Vader complies without a second thought, even exterminating the many children under the Temple's protection. While the newly turned Dark Lord is completing this task, Palpatine instructs the clone troopers to carry out Order 66.

Among the most notable Jedi killed at the very beginning of the purge are Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, Aayla Secura, Barriss Offee, Luminara Unduli, Stass Allie, and Traavis. Many of the temple guards are also killed while defending it from Clone Troopers.

Returning to Coruscant, Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi enter the Temple long enough to re-encode a secret retreat signal being broadcast by the in-house communications ordering all Jedi to return to the Jedi Temple, instead warning all surviving Jedi about the treachery and to take precautions. During a special Senate session, Palpatine declares the Jedi traitors, reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, and declares himself Emperor of the Galaxy.