The Jedi civil war refers to a war between the sith and the jedi but to outsiders sith were also considered jedi with different philosophies. Prior to the jedi civil war was the mandalorian war where the galactic republic was attacked by the mandalorian clans. The mandalorians were highly feared and prior to the war unmatched in combat capability except by jedi/sith. Although the republic was quick to enter war with the mandalorians the jedi were slow to respond and took time in considering the outcomes. Among the jedi order were two jedi knights known as Revan and Malak who were impatient and sought to quickly rush to combat the mandalorians but the council rejected their proposal and they decided to go fight anyway. Multiple battles ensued