


Thrawn held the ceremonial title of Warlord of the Empire and artfully rallied most of the post-Endor Imperials to his cause. Among the few to achieve the exclusive rank were the likes of the legendary alien tactician Thrawn, the Rebel-defector General Pashna Starkiller, and the unprincipled mastermind simply known as Warlord Zsinj.

Military minds noted for their express mixture of creativity and ruthlessness, they were distinguished from the ranks of grand moffs, grand generals and even grand admirals by not only repeatedly redefining the impossible, but doing so with inimitable panache. Ostensibly an homage to the selfsame appellation accorded the ancient Atrisian Empire’s generalissimi, the designation of “Warlord” transcended distinctions among the myriad branches of the Imperial armed forces, prompting universal obedience and respect. Like the starfighter honorifics of Baron and Tan, only a select few of the Emperor’s most elite officers were known by the label. Once, the title of Warlord of the Empire signified a rare privilege. Though the Galactic Civil War finally came to an end with the signing of a peace treaty almost two decades after the desolation of the second Death Star, this no-holds-barred primer profiles the most memorable and powerful Imperial renegades of those intervening years, the so-called “Warlords,” who fought valiantly, viciously, and fanatically for the scraps of the once-glorious first Galactic Empire and whose selfishness ultimately brought about its self-destruction. In the literature of the galaxy far, far away, the conflict between the Alliance to restore the Republic and the crumbling Empire has played out in a multitude of wars for years beyond Return of the Jedi. Did the Rebels truly defeat Palpatine’s Empire at the Battle of Endor? The deep roots of the Star Wars mythos continue exploring that subject with tremendous zeal.
