Who - in your opinion - was the greatest Mand'alor?

And I mean in the sense of who did the most for the Mandalorian people and for what cause, without regard for the outside population.

When I had thought about it for a while, I came to a conclusion for myself. I think Jaster Mereel did the most good for the Mandalorians by introducing the ethical system to their 3000 year degeneration to simple grunts. It made sure the next generations would be ethical once more.

What about you guys? Be sure to give your own opinion.

I'm feeling Canderous Ordo. He kind of made sure the Mandos didn't fall apart when they were nearly annihilated, and reformed them to fit a changing galaxy, to make sure their pride was never used against them again. I see him as the split in the Mandalorian mentality that lead them to what the true Mandos are in 'present' times.

I'm going to go ahead and echo Mem'ry's choice/reasoning. Canderous was all right in KotOR I, but I really, really loved him in II. In addition to the above, he's steadfast and loyal, and worked hard to reunite the clans and hold the Mandos together. That takes guts and some crazy amount of stubbornness.

+1 for Canderous. It takes a lot of will and pride not to lose yourself completely when your people were nearly destroyed, your cause lost, and you had to turn to the job you didn't feel honorable, without any obvious chances of becoming what you have been once again.
One more thing - historically speaking, if not for him, maybe there would have been no Kal Skirata or Boba Fett.

That's a good point, although I think Jaster did a bit more for them since everything went downhill after Canderous. Poor, poor Canderous - all this work for 3000 years of amoral mercs. But yeah, he totally saved them since no one else could have taken the Mand'alor title but for him to resume the tradition.

Kind of like this. If not Canderous, no more Mandies. If not for Jaster, Mandies would be the same as Death Watch and that would mean no Jango to begin with. (Says I with the Demagol icon, lol)

Personally it is a three way tie, Mandalore the Ultimate did the most in terms of mandalorian honor and conquest/battle as a culture, while Canderous did the most in terms of keeping mandalorains from splitting up int thugs and gangs at the time, and Jaster did the most in terms of uniting the mandalorian thugs etc, together, and leadin the mandalorians under one banner (excluding the death watch) for the first time in almost 3 millenia... Just my thoughts

Tracyn

I don't mean to argue, but, IMHO, Mandalore the Ultimate was the one who led his people to the destruction. He reminds me of all these cultural/historical hero-leaders, like Peter the Great in Russia, who eventually become national symbols, but who in fact had just exhausted the nation's resourses in a fruitless attempt to achieve greatness. But, of course, in terms of winning honour he was the first.

Kote, this is true, but is it not that the mando mindset is to achieve honour and glory through facing worthy opponents on the battlefield, and in this regard he was exemplary. Just my thoughts

Tracyn

Tracyn, you're right. Eh, don't pay attention to my disregard for the conquerors, it's just a usual gibberish of a woman with a historical education.

Mandalore the Ultimate had the republic whimpering for mercy. Even the jetii were no match for us,
preferring to cower in their temple while we rampaged unchecked. It was also because of Mandalore
the Ultimate we had the honor of fighting the legendary Revan. What we gained in knowledge in fighting Revan and his knights is more valuable than any victory.

Tracyn Ordo wrote:

Personally it is a three way tie, Mandalore the Ultimate did the most in terms of mandalorian honor and conquest/battle as a culture

Mandalore the Ultimate I think did most for them in terms of their conquest and territory, but he also nearly destroyed the culture by sanctioning the Neo-Crusader cult, which conscripted conquered folks to their cause. That IMO made him questionable. And of course, the Neo-Crusaders left after the war were mostly thugs released from the prisons on conquered worlds, which helped the culture degenerate into the mercs.

Damn, can't believe I missed this thread! All very good points.

Kote, as a fellow student of history, I see exactly where you are coming from. Its populist leaders who often embody the state (or in Peter's case, simply give it a new 'body'), gain the love of their people, but then clash with the 'civilized world' and lead their country to ruin. Very good analogy!