Not many people would want to be compared to the Sith since even with justifications that the Sith followed their own code, they’re still known to be essentially evil and bent on domination instead of balance and compromise. But the Mandalorians do have far more in common with the Sith than they do the Jedi, which is hard to dispute considering what has been revealed about the warrior culture over the years. At one point, especially when Star Wars was first introduced to the public, the Mandalorians weren’t well known, as they weren’t yet a big part of the story. But as things progressed and the Legends canon began to build, the Mandalorians did eventually take their place within the Star Wars universe. Between the current canon and the Legends tales it’s been seen that there are differences since in the Legends canon, the Mandalorians were far more vicious and committed many more atrocities before and during their alliance with the Sith. To say that the two factions were similar is fairly easy since they both valued strength were composed of those who abhorred weakness, and shared a love of domination that was nearly unrivaled within the galaxy.
Unfortunately, the Sith aren’t great at sharing power, and the Mandalorians were bound to get the short end of the stick so to speak when it came for their alliance to end. Or rather, things went south rather quickly when the Jedi ended up winning the war that embroiled the three factions, and the warrior culture was nearly broken as they became wandering nomads and mercenaries. In the current canon, there is definite history that is spoken of, but at the same time, there’s more emphasis on the warring clans within the Mandalorian culture, as there are those like the Armorer that follow the old, antiquated ways, and those like Bo-Katan, who are far more progressive and want to restore the glory of Mandalore. The Sith aren’t that different really, since there have been some among the Legends canon that has wanted to rebuild the Sith order, and there have been many others that have adhered to the Rule of Two that was handed down by Darth Bane.
Another unifying similarity between the Mandalorians and the Sith is the most obvious, their hatred and mistrust of the Jedi. As it’s been seen in The Mandalorian, the old hatred appears to have become more akin to mistrust based on legends, as the fact that Din had to face down against Ahsoka, and decided instead to earn her trust, means that the old hatred could have faded slightly. They’re not gone completely, as it would appear that the Mandalorians in the show are still guarded when dealing with the Jedi that appears, but it is made evident that they’re not ready to fight them on sight, unless they’re provoked. The fact that the Mandalorians learned how to fight the Jedi has only ever been seen in the comics until Din was seen to take on Ahsoka, and even that was brief and not as decisive as people might have wanted. The thing is, back in the days of the High Republic, the Mandalorians were insanely tough and had learned how to battle the Jedi. But when they came upon the Sith, the Mandalorians had no idea what they were in for.
Star Wars fans will likely know why this is without question, since the Sith are far more brutal in their tactics than the Jedi, and were not bound to hold anything back when it came to letting the Mandalorians know who they were dealing with. This was how the Sith managed to ally themselves with the Mandalorians, as the warrior culture respected strength and could not help but ally with a group that was the epitome of strength, and were not afraid to use force to get what they wanted. It wasn’t a perfect union to be certain, but it was one that the Mandalorians embraced since their view of the Jedi was more than a little disdainful since the Jedi have never followed the same tenets as the Sith. But there are several differences between the Sith and the Mandalorians that have left the latter looking better than their allies, even if they are still mercenaries that belong to a culture with a very dark past.
At the end of the day, the Mandalorians can be every bit as evil as the Sith, or they can be far more honorable depending on their beliefs. Their alliance felt more like one of convenience at times, since despite their similarities, the Mandalorians have been bound by honor far more often than the Sith, and even if naked aggression is still a huge similarity, the armored warriors have often made it obvious that they can’t let go of their need to cling to their culture time and again. While their code of conduct tends to stretch from time to time, but it rarely breaks.
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