Every time I go back to the Temple attack scene, I notice something new. At first, I only saw the chaos, but over time, one moment started standing out more than the rest.
I didn’t think much of it until I started looking into who that Jedi was. What I found made the whole thing hit harder – and here’s why it matters.
This Jedi Wasn’t Just Any Master
When Anakin struck down Cin Drallig during the Temple raid, he wasn’t just cutting down another Jedi. According to the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia,
“Jedi Master Cin Drallig is swordmaster at the Jedi Temple. Jedi Master Yoda personally trained him; the talented Drallig goes on to teach lightsaber combat to many students, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.”
Also, Drallig wasn’t just a background extra — he was the Jedi Order’s Battlemaster, the single, premier lightsaber instructor appointed by the High Council.
How Hard Was It to Be a Battlemaster?
According to Legends sources, the title of Battlemaster was one of the rarest and most demanding ranks in the Jedi Order. There was only one Battlemaster at a time after the Ruusan Reformations, and that person oversaw all lightsaber training for the Order’s thousands of Jedi. The Council only gave the title to a Jedi who had proven themselves as one of the very finest duelists alive.
Not only did the Battlemaster lead instruction at the Coruscant academy, but they also hand-picked other instructors across satellite academies, and even legendary duelists like Dooku, Sora Bulq, and Anoon Bondara once served beneath that office. Names like Kao Cen Darach, Jun Seros, and Kyle Katarn all held the title in other eras — which shows you the level of mastery required.
That means when Drallig became Battlemaster during the Clone Wars, he wasn’t just good. He was at the very top of a tradition that had existed for millennia, directly trusted by the High Council to shape the martial legacy of the Jedi.
His Training and Legacy
Drallig’s path began under the guidance of Yoda himself, and he carried that tradition forward. In canon, he was known as “the Temple’s finest swordmaster,” and his teaching reached across generations of Jedi — from the knights of the Clone Wars to the Padawans under his care on the very night of the Purge.
When he fell, the Jedi lost their greatest instructor, the guardian of their blade traditions, the man who had taught both Obi-Wan and Anakin how to fight.
So What Happened During Anakin’s Attack
When Anakin stormed the Temple, Drallig didn’t run or hide. He stood his ground with two Padawans by his side – Whie Malreaux and Bene. I’ve always respected that. He was literally teaching a lesson when it happened. The second Anakin showed up, everything changed.
The holovid later viewed by Obi-Wan and Yoda showed those moments: Vader clashing sabers with Drallig while simultaneously strangling a Padawan with the Force.
Anakin struck fast. He took down Whie first, then used the Force to choke Bene – all while still clashing sabers with Drallig. And not just clashing for show. Drallig was giving it everything he had, and even though he was one of the best duelists in the Order, it wasn’t enough.
The Character Encyclopedia notes that “despite being the Temple’s finest swordmaster at the time of Darth Vader’s raid on the Jedi Temple, even the esteemed Cin Drallig is unable to defeat the raging Sith Lord in combat.”
Cin Drallig represented what the Jedi Order stood for at its best: structure, discipline, and tradition. When Anakin killed him, it was a sign that all of that was collapsing. Even someone like Drallig, a battlemaster, couldn’t stop what was coming.
For me, Cin Drallig wasn’t just another name in the long list of Jedi killed during Order 66. He was the most powerful one Anakin personally defeated – and one of the last people who tried to hold the line before it all fell apart.