The Sith: An Overview

Naga Sadow's Invasion Fleet

Main article: History of the Sith

"But in their hearts they never forgot the Jedi. The hatred for the Jedi Order burns in their veins like fire, and it echoes in their teachings."

―Darth Traya

Timeline of major events in Sith history

• 130,000 BBY – The Sith society begins (that is, the species, and not the Sith cult).
• 100,000 BBY – The Sith species begin to develop their culture and civilization, their religion begins.
• 28,000 BBY – Adas rules as King of the Sith. He later led the Sith race to victory over the invading Rakata, but at the cost of his own life, plunging the Sith into civil war.
• 25,000 BBY The Unification Wars are fought on Tython in between darkness and light. The dark side Force's users are defeated, the Jedi establish their main temple on Ossus, the Old Republic is formed, based on Coruscant. The dark side is forbidden to the Jedi and will not rebel until 500 years later.
• 24,500 BBY – Xendor and his students leave the Jedi Order in the First Great Schism.
• 24,400 BBY – The First Great Schism ends and the Dark Jedi defeated.
• 19,000 BBY – A Killik Sith Lord lived on Alsakan, but was driven off when Humans arrived on the world. He fled to Sarafur, where he was buried in a treasure-filled crypt.
• 7,000 BBY – A group of Jedi break off from the Order, and pioneer the science of dark-side mutations, starting the Second Great Schism — the war known as the Hundred-Year Darkness.
• 6,900 BBY – Exiled after their defeat during the Hundred-Year Darkness, the Dark Jedi arrive on Korriban, where they interbreed with the Sith natives, and form the Sith Empire. Over the millennia, the empire expands to surrounding systems, including Ziost.
• 5,000 BBY – Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow is defeated in the Great Hyperspace War, and the Sith Empire collapses ten years later. Sadow flees with his Massassi warriors to Yavin 4.
• 4,990 BBY – Final collapse of the Sith Empire, following the defeat of Naga Sadow.
• 4,400 BBY – Jedi Knight Freedon Nadd falls to the dark side, and is trained by the awakened Naga Sadow. Sadow dies at the hand of Nadd, who soon establishes himself as the King of Onderon.
• 4,250 BBY – The Third Great Schism occurs on Coruscant, resulting the Dark Jedi fleeing to Vultar, where they activate the Cosmic Turbine, causing the Vultar Cataclysm.
• 4,000 – 3,998 BBY — Freedon Nadd's descendants Queen Amanoa and King Ommin lead the Naddist Sith cult in a skirmish with the Jedi during the Beast Wars, and the Freedon Nadd Uprising. The Great Sith War begins. Satal and Aleema Keto are taught Sith teachings by Nadd's spirit. After the defeat of the Naddists, they flee to the Empress Teta system, and form the Krath sect.
• 3,997 BBY – Exar Kun falls to the dark side. The spirit of Freedon Nadd leads him from Dxun to Korriban, and thence to Yavin IV, where Kun destroys Nadd utterly. There he founds a new Sith order, which he names the Brotherhood of the Sith.
• 3,996 BBY – Kun takes the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, leader of the Krath, as his apprentice. The Brotherhood of the Sith and the Krath fall during the Battle of Yavin IV.
• 3,961 BBY – Jedi Knight Revan falls under the influence of the dark side after discovering the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, a relic of the mysterious True Sith.
• (3,960 - 3,959 BBY) – Revan, hero of the Mandalorian Wars, betrays the Galactic Republic, declares himself Dark Lord of the Sith, and forms a new Sith Empire.
• (3,959 - 3,956 BBY) – Darth Revan supplements his forces with a fleet constructed by the Star Forge, and invades the Republic during the Second Sith War. Revan is supposedly killed when his apprentice Darth Malak betrays him, but later reappears as a Jedi, having returned to the light side. Revan leads Republic forces to victory by defeating Malak and destroying the Star Forge. After the Second Sith War, it became common practice for the Sith to append the title "Darth" to their name.
• (3,956 – 3,955 BBY) – In the wake of the Battle of Rakata Prime, the First Sith Civil War erupts on Korriban, and virtually wipes out the Sith followers of Revan and Malak.

The Sith Triumvirate: Darths Traya, Nihilus and Sion.

• (3,955 – 3,951 BBY) – Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion wage a shadow war upon the devastated Republic, but are defeated by the Jedi Exile. A Second Sith Civil War ensues, as the remaining Sith fight over the remnants of their empire.
• 2,000 BBY – Darth Ruin, another fallen Jedi, forms a new Sith order and begins the New Sith Wars. Lasting a millennium, by 1,466 BBY the New Sith Empire conquers all of known space outside the Colonies.
• 2,000 – 1,000 BBY – The Sith prove to be their own undoing, as internal power struggles destroy their organization. Lord Kaan unites the survivors under the Brotherhood of Darkness, and grants the title of "Dark Lord" to many Sith.
• 1,000 BBY – Both Jedi and Sith armies are destroyed in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, leaving Darth Bane the only survivor. To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane institutes the Rule of Two.
• 1,000 – 33 BBY – The Rule of Two continues. Darth Millennial abandons his master, Darth Cognus, and establishes the Prophets of the Dark Side. Darth Vectivus becomes the administrator of a mine on an asteroid near Bimmiel, and builds a mansion there at the heart of a dark-side energy nexus. He lives out the rest of his days there, surrounded by friends and family, and presumably trains his own apprentice. The Muun Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis is found and trained by an unknown Master. Palpatine is trained under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis, and is given the title of Darth Sidious. Palpatine kills his Master in his sleep. He then trains Darth Maul as his own apprentice.
• 32 BBY – The Sith, who had been in hiding for nearly one thousand years, resurface again when Darth Sidious orchestrates the Battle of Naboo in which Darth Maul is killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• 22 – 19 BBY – Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus provoke the Clone Wars, and many Jedi die, or turn to the dark side.
• 19 BBY – Darth Vader becomes Sidious's new apprentice. The Republic falls and the Galactic Empire is established by Darth Sidious. The Sith rule the galaxy once more, from the Core Worlds to Wild Space.
• 19 – 1 BBY – Darth Sidious takes efforts to eradicate the Jedi in the Great Jedi Purge. Some include Roan Shryne and An'ya Kuro.
• 4 ABY – Vader is turned back to the light side of the Force by Luke Skywalker, resulting in the deaths of both Sidious and Vader.

The Sith had a clearly defined hierarchy which divided the strong from the weak, but because the Sith order existed in numerous disparate incarnations, the Sith hierarchy did not maintain a single continuous ranking system throughout its history. The Sith hierarchy remained much the same for almost 6,000 years - through the ancient Sith Empire, Exar Kun's Brotherhood of the Sith, and Darth Revan's Sith Empire - until Lord Kaan declared that all of his highest ranking followers in the Brotherhood of Darkness were Dark Lords of the Sith. Like the Jedi and the Old Republic, the Sith underwent a great reformation after the apocalyptic final Battle of Ruusan. The Sith order's destruction inspired Darth Bane to reform the order and decree that there would be only two Sith at a time from that point forward: a Master and an apprentice. Both would bear the title "Dark Lord of the Sith," which would become synonymous with the term "Sith Lord."

Sith Empire

These were the ranks of the Sith Order before Darth Bane instituted the Rule of Two.

Dark Lord of the Sith

Dark Lords of the Sith were the greatest and most powerful of the Sith Lords. Up until the reign of Kaan, it was a title that was only given to those that were acknowledged as the leaders of their order, but by the end of the New Sith Wars the title was held by many Sith Lords simultaneously.

Sith Lord

Sith Lords were the leaders of the Sith. They commanded armies of Sith Minions, Acolytes and Warriors during wartime and ruled through a governing body known as the Sith council. Sith Lords used the dark side of the Force to inflict misery, suffering, and corruption. They were also tasked with preserving the lore of the Sith by passing all their knowledge on to their acolytes. While they did not enter combat as often as lesser Sith (preferring to use pawns, servants, or proxies), they were the most fearsome of the Sith as they were the keepers of the Sith's greatest secrets and wielders of its most potent sorceries.

Sith Assassin

Sith Marauders, a variant of the Sith Warriors, were often responsible for the most brutal acts carried out by the Sith. Their training emphasized the aggressive use of a lightsaber rather than the Force. A Sith Marauder's berserk physical prowess was a dark side technique fueled by hatred, rage, and cruelty. Thus, most Marauders could duel an average Jedi toe-to-toe and win easily. Caring little for the subtleties of manipulating others and lacking a deep understanding of the Force, Marauders were often burdened with carrying out the wishes of the Sith Lords.

Sith Warrior

Sith Warrior was a rank of the Sith order before Darth Bane's reform of the Sith Order. They were mid-ranking Sith who generally focused their energies and skills towards battle, spending little time on actual dark side philosophy or other concerns of the "purer" Sith.

Sith Acolyte

Sith Acolyte were Force-sensitive apprentices who had only just started down the dark path under the tutelage of a more experienced Sith.

Sith adept

Sith Adept was a Sith rank during the New Sith Wars, similar to Sith acolyte. The Brotherhood of Darkness trained them in the Dathomir Academy and Iridonia Academy.

Sith Assassin

Specialized Sith minions included Sith Assassins, who preferred to ambush targets from the shadows rather than engaging them in standard combat. Almost always working solo or in small groups, they utilized stealth field generators and the rare art of Force camouflage to launch surprise attacks on their Jedi victims. While some used a lightsaber, most fought with more conventional melee weapons such as force pikes. Darth Traya, Darth Sion, and Darth Nihilus commanded legions of Sith Assassins during the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War, causing the near-extermination of the Jedi Order. The Sith Assassins drew their powers from the Force power of their enemies.

Sith Minion

Sith Minions were the lowliest members of the Sith. Some were not even Force-sensitive, and often worshiped the Sith Lords as gods. Sith Cultists, Sith Assassins and Sith Marauders can be considered examples of Sith Minions. However, the Sith also used soldiers, mercenaries, and conscripts to work for them.

Post-Bane

"Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it."

―Darth Bane

To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane was forced to put them on the brink of extinction. He instituted the Rule of Two. In Bane's order, both Sith held the title Dark Lord of the Sith. The rule of the two instituted that a master train an apprentice. Once the apprentice was fully trained, he would kill the master and take on the mantle himself and repeat the process. The death of the master is either a ceremonial killing or an assassination.

Sith Master

Sith Masters were Sith Lords that had an apprentice serving beneath them. Notable Sith Masters include Darth Sidious, Darth Plagueis and Darth Bane.

Sith apprentice

Sith apprentices were Sith neophytes that were studying under the tutelage of a Sith Master. Notable Sith apprentices include Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader.

Dark Side Adepts

Dark Side Adepts were not technically Sith. These Force-sensitives were chosen and honed by the Sith apprentice. Essentially, adepts were candidates to replace the Apprentice when he or she was killed or ascended to mastery.

Palpatine Era

"Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy…and we shall have peace."

―Darth Sidious to Darth Vader

When Palpatine declared himself Galactic Emperor, the Sith controlled the known galaxy, in a political sense, for the first time. With this new, far-reaching authority came a need for functionaries throughout the Empire who were, to one extent or another, supporters if not adherents of the dark side. Though not Sith in any strict sense, these quasi-Sith minions were known generally as Dark Side Adepts. As Force-sensitive individuals serving the Emperor, they supported his Sith rule by working in the roles of servants, agents, intelligence operatives, military officials, etc.

Inquisitors

The Inquisitorius was a secret division of Imperial Intelligence consisting of dark side Force-sensitive agents known as Inquisitors (sometimes also as Inquisitioners), or "truth officers".

Under the control of Darth Vader, these Inquisitors were considered the highest ranking of the Dark Side Adepts, outranking the Emperor's Hands, Prophets of the Dark Side, and lesser Dark Jedi. They reported directly to Emperor Palpatine.

Prophets of the Dark Side

The Dark Side Prophets were an ancient Outer Rim renegade Sith order founded by Darth Millennial. Though not Banist Sith, the Prophets were arguably a kind of true Sith. Darth Sidious rediscovered the group and brought them once again under his control, renaming them the Emperor's Mages.

Emperor's Hands

Emperor's Hands were top-secret special operatives trained in the Force by the Emperor himself. They were so secret they usually had no knowledge of each other. Mara Jade was one of the best-known Emperor's Hands.

Together with the Emperor's Mages, the Emperor's Hands were called the Dark Side Elite.

Imperial Royal Guard

These were hand-picked elite stormtroopers assigned to protect and serve the Emperor directly. Force sensitivity was by no means a requirement. Those with advanced talents, however, were assigned as Sovereign Protectors, and those with even more advanced talents underwent Force training under Dark Jedi tutors.

Dark Jedi

Although the name might imply otherwise, Dark Jedi were not synonymous with Sith, although Darth Vader among others used techniques drawn from the traditions of both the Dark Jedi and the Sith. Dark Jedi were distinguished from the Sith in the fact that Dark Jedi just used the dark side, whereas the Sith abided by the religion and codes passed down through the holocrons. It was much more likely for Dark Jedi to return to the Light (e.g. Kam Solusar). Other notable Dark Jedi included Sora Bulq, Joruus C'baoth, Jerec, and the particularly infamous Asajj Ventress.