- Date
- 22 BBY
- Continuity
- Canon
- Location
- Coruscant
In 22 BBY, Senator Padmé Amidala returned to Coruscant while the Republic debated an expanded military response to the Separatists. An explosion destroyed a ship involved in her arrival, killing the decoy Cordé and others. Padmé survived but became a key target for further attacks.
A senator arrives amid intense dispute
In 22 BBY, Senator Padmé Amidala returned to Coruscant while the Republic debated an expanded military response to the Separatists. An explosion destroyed a ship involved in her arrival, killing the decoy Cordé and others. Padmé survived but became a key target for further attacks.
The second attempt
An assassin sent poisonous kouhuns to Padmé's residence. Obi-Wan and Anakin stopped the attack and pursued the Clawdite Zam Wesell. When they captured Wesell, Jango Fett killed her with a toxic dart to prevent her naming those who hired her.
The trail of a small weapon
The dart became evidence that led Obi-Wan away from Coruscant to the remote planet Kamino. Its origin connected a failed assassination to a secret army being prepared in the Republic's name.
Anthropological assessment
The episode shows why small material clues can reveal organizational relationships that official statements conceal. The murdered decoy also reminds historians that public figures' safety often depends on labor and risks borne by less visible people.
Interactive history lab
Did Zam Wesell name the person who hired her?
No. She was killed before she could reveal that information.
Compare the published event with its institutions and social consequences.
Sources and research notes
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones; StarWars.com Obi-Wan Kenobi Databank. Verify the source or story background. Interpretation is distinguished from events shown directly in the story.
Canon · 22 BBY · Original source context
Attempts on Senator Amidala: primary history and social context
What the source establishes
An explosion targeting Padmé's arrival on Coruscant killed her handmaiden and decoy Cordé. A second attempt used poisonous kouhuns while the senator was guarded. Obi-Wan and Anakin pursued assassin Zam Wesell, whose subsequent killing by Jango Fett cut off their immediate ability to question her and sent the investigation toward Kamino.
People, labor and political institutions
The handmaiden system redistributed visible personal danger as well as public ceremony. Cordé's death shows that protection involved real people who assumed risk while others negotiated policy. The attacks also show how political violence can be outsourced through intermediaries, leaving investigators to reconstruct responsibility from objects and partial testimony.
Original media and evidence limitations
The 22 BBY events are depicted in Attack of the Clones and related official stories, apart from the earlier Senate and Separatist political developments depicted across books and series. The illustration is symbolic, and its diagram labels do not supply dialogue or casualty statistics absent from the underlying work.
Test your historical judgment
Two graded questions with corrections and explanations.