Operation: Knightfall

Operation: Knightfall, also known as the siege of the Jedi Temple and the attack on the Jedi Temple, was one of the first military engagements in the Great Jedi Purge that took place in the year 19 BBY, around the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the home of the Jedi Order. Following an attempt of the Master of the Order Mace Windu on arresting Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who had been revealed as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious at the end of the Clone Wars, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force and joined the Sith. Becoming a Sith apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith, Skywalker was given the name "Darth Vader" by his Sith Master and ordered to lead the clone troopers of the 501st Legion in a direct assault on the Temple.

While thousands of Jedi were purged across the galaxy as a result of Order 66, the new Sith Lord and his legion invaded and occupied the Temple. During the assault, Jedi Master Kelleran Beq fled the burning Temple with the Jedi Initiate Grogu in the escape from Coruscant. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan traveled to the Temple but was turned away at blaster point by Clone Commander Appo. Before leaving, he witnessed Appo's soldiers gun down Zett Jukassa when the Padawan attempted to escape. In the aftermath of the attack, which saw the murder of numerous Jedi, including younglings at Vader's hands, the Sith attempted to lure the survivors into a trap via a beacon signaling all Jedi to return to the Temple. However, their plan was thwarted by the efforts of Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who reprogrammed the beacon to warn all Jedi to stay away from Coruscant.

With the fall of the Jedi Temple and the near annihilation of the entire Jedi Order, Sidious issued the proclamation of the New Order, dissolving the Galactic Republic and replacing it with a new regime—the Galactic Empire, ruled by himself as Emperor. Coruscant continued to serve as Sidious' capital planet throughout the Imperial Era, during which he claimed the Jedi Temple as his private residence and renamed it the Imperial Palace.

Text and facts from the “Operation: Knightfall” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.