Duel on Tatooine

A lightsaber duel on Tatooine between Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Sith apprentice Darth Maul took place on Tatooine in 32 BBY. Maul was sent by his master, Darth Sidious, to retrieve Queen Amidala of Naboo, who managed to escape the Trade Federation's Sith sponsored blockade of her home planet and take temporary refuge on Tatooine under Jinn's protection.

By backtracing transmissions from the Queen's royal starship, Maul successfully tracked the starship and its crew to Tatooine, where he dispatched probe droids to confirm their presence. Maul ambushed Jinn as he prepared to load his new unofficial apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, onto the Queen's starship, which was due to depart for the galactic capital. Jinn managed to hold off Maul long enough for the ship to take off. The sudden appearance of Maul enlightened the Jedi Order to the reemergence of the Sith Order, who were thought destroyed for almost a thousand years.

Text and facts from the “Duel on Tatooine/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.