Korriban

"Korriban shall be as it always was. A graveyard for the darkest of the Sith Lords, still whispering within their tombs. It shall always be a source of evil, spawning threats throughout the millennia. It, like Malachor, brushes the edges of the empire that waits in the dark. And like Malachor, the Sith have forgotten it &hellip; for a time. They will remember."

- Darth Traya

Korriban, originally known as Pesegam during the reign of Xim, was the sole planet in the Horuset system, located across the galaxy from Koros Major. It was the original homeworld of the Sith species and a sacred planet for the Sith Order, housing the tombs for many ancient and powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, and containing immense dark side power.

After the Hundred Year Darkness, the remaining Dark Jedi interbred with the Sith species and ruled the Sith using their Force powers. After the Great Hyperspace War, Korriban was abandoned and became a barren world. It was the site of a Sith Academy, and became the headquarters of the One Sith.

It was close to Bosthirda and was located on the Nache Bhelfia and Kamat Krote hyperspace lanes.

History
"The call of Korriban is strong, but it is the call of the dead."

- Darth Sion

Infinite Empire
This remote, forbidding planet was the original homeworld of the Sith species. At some point prior to 30,000 BBY a Killik colony was established on Korriban, which eventually produced a Killik Sith Lord. The insectoid colonists were swiftly driven off, though by the Sith.

The Rakata invaded Korriban in an attempt to integrate the world into the Infinite Empire around 27,700 BBY, intending to harvest slaves from the planet to be used for Rakatan projects. The sole artifact to survive this era was the ancient Star Map, around which the tomb of Naga Sadow was later built.

The Rakata were eventually forced off the world after the Sith King Adas led his people against them. Adas died in the battle, and thus, despite this victory, the Sith society crumbled, and, in the ensuing centuries of strife, the Sith relocated to worlds such as Arbra, Ziost and Tund using captured Rakatan vessels, leaving Korriban as a graveyard world populated only by religious fanatics.

For a brief period, the world was at least nominally a member of Xim's empire and given the name Pesegam, from around 25,126 BBY until its fall.

Sith Empire
The Sith Empire was founded in approximately 6,900 BBY by exiled fallen Jedi fleeing the Battle of Corbos, which concluded the Hundred-Year Darkness. The fallen Jedi landed on Korriban.

Using their training in the Force, the fallen Jedi amazed the Sith and elevated themselves to god-like status on Korriban, becoming the rulers of the Sith people. As years passed, and interbreeding occurred between the Fallen Jedi and the Sith, the term "Sith" came to mean not only the original inhabitants of Korriban, but also their fallen Jedi masters. Until the rise of Naga Sadow, the existence of the Sith Empire was unknown to the Galactic Republic.

Under the pall of Sith magic, this desolate world became more hellish and dangerous .The Sith Lords erected huge palaces and burial complexes to honor their fallen Dark Lords. Circa 5,000 BBY, the planet became an endpoint of the newly-formed Daragon Trail hyperspace lane, when it was discovered by Gav and Jori Daragon. This event triggered the Great Hyperspace War. After the fall of the Sith Empire, the planet lost much of its prominence in the galaxy, eventually falling off the galactic starcharts for a thousand years. Despite the belief the Sith as a species became extinct after the end of the war, isolated enclaves of Kissai and Massassi existed on the planet over a millennia after their empire's fall.

Old Sith Wars
"Pfah. Korriban's a rock. Mind the Sith."

- Jolee Bindo

Korriban was resettled prior to 3,993 BBY by Dark Jedi survivors of the Exar Kun War, and was home to the new settlement of Dreshdae and a Sith training academy. In 3,993 BBY, as part of the Great Hunt, Duron Qel-Droma and Shaela Nuur died on the planet, failing to cleanse it of terentateks. The planet became the sector headquarters of the Czerka Corporation. Darth Revan and Darth Malak visited the planet on their quest to discover the Star Forge. After losing his memory, Revan visited the academy again in 3,956 BBY on his quest to re-discover the Star Forge for the good of the Republic. Seeking the Star map in Naga Sadow's tomb he passed the tests and then confronted Uthar. With the death of Master Uthar Wynn, the academy's headmaster, and Darth Malak himself at the hands of Revan in 3,956 BBY, the Sith Order collapsed into a civil war (which took place 3,956-3,950 BBY) which decimated the Sith Order.

It took the Republic a couple of years to send an expeditionary force to Korriban (around 3,954 BBY) in order to deal with any potential Sith who might attempt to take up the mantle of Dark Lord. They found a planet nearly in ruins&mdash;barren and lifeless as a result of the then unknown civil war. It was assumed by the commanders of the Republic task force that the remnants of the Sith turned on each other, vying for what little power remained. It was also said that Revan had always intended to return to Korriban one day to subdue any would-be Sith insurgents, but he then disappeared. . However, the Republic discovered evidence that several Sith Lords did manage to escape the planetary conflagration, fleeing to remote corners of the galaxy.

After the fall of Darth Malak, the ancient tombs within the Valley of the Dark Lords were plundered by grave-robbers. Each tomb was once infused with history and heritage of the old Sith Empire, containing great mysteries and powerful relics of the Force. Many broken, charred corpses littered the plains of Korriban during this time, virtually all that remained of the Sith who once inhabited the world. However, their malignant spirits remained, ready to confront any who disturb their rest by way of their guardian-familiars, the Hssiss.

In the chaos following the Jedi Civil War, which nearly destroyed the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Lonna Vash used Korriban as a hideout. She was eventually trapped and killed by Sith Lord Darth Sion in the ruins of the academy, and then used as bait to lure the Jedi Exile into Sion's hands. After escaping the trap, the Exile discovered the long lost tomb of Ludo Kressh.

Great Galactic War
In the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War, a fleet of Republic ships remained to guard the abandoned Sith world of Korriban. This remained until the onset of the Great Galactic War, when the reformed Sith Empire emerged and began conquering worlds in the Aparo sector as well as ambushed the Republic fleet in the Tingel Arm, as part of the Emperor's plan. In order to bolster their forces, the Republic pulled many of their ships to support the fleet which left only a small number of Jedi security ships to patrol Korriban, this action however had already been predicted and, played right into the Emperor's hand. As the conflict continued, the Sith, knowing that the Republic Forces on Korriban were weakened significantly, staged an assault against the guarding ships and destroyed them thus returning the planet to Sith control, just as the Emperor planned, before the Jedi Council became aware of the incident. Retaking Korriban had been a top priority for the Sith Empire, when it re-emerged during the Great War. After retaking the planet, they re-established the Sith Academy.

New Sith Wars
"Korriban is the ancestral home of the Sith. It is a place of great power; the dark side lives and breathes in the very core of this world."

- Qordis to Darth Bane

After capturing the planet from the Republic in a brutal battle, the New Sith Empire and the subsequent Brotherhood of Darkness both occupied Korriban, with the latter known to have operated a Sith Academy on the planet. A young Darth Bane studied there before becoming a Sith Lord. The apprentices that trained there were the ones that were to join the Brotherhood of Darkness, thereby the most powerful Sith being trained in the galaxy.

Clone Wars and the Galactic Empire
In 24 BBY, a Sith Cultist by the name of Granta Omega tried to contact the remaining Sith Lord (or lords) in the galaxy. Although he did meet with the unknown Sith, Omega was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, though not before Omega killed Darra Thel-Tanis.

The world remained desolate until it was taken over by the Commerce Guild just prior to the Clone Wars, c. 24 BBY. Other than Guild employees, the planet was mostly inhabited by those who were unfortunate enough to end up on Korriban and have no way offworld. Eeth Koth led a Republic force to Korriban during the early stages of the war, and the battle cost the lives of many Clone troopers.

At some point in the Wars, fallen Jedi Quinlan Vos and Tol Skorr were racing to find Darth Andeddu's holocron for Count Dooku. Vos won by allowing a Tuk'ata to scare Skorr off. As a reward, Count Dooku gave Andeddu's lightsaber crystal to Vos.

After the Clone Wars and the Great Jedi Purge, former Jedi turned bounty hunter, A'Sharad Hett was pursuing his bounty Resk on Korriban. After beheading him, Hett was called by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord, XoXaan, who taught him the secrets of the ancient Sith.

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Palpatine, now Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the ruling Dark Lord of the Sith, visited the tombs of the ancient Sith Lords on Korriban that were still haunted by the ghosts of the long deceased Sith. He wanted to gain further knowledge of the dark side, but his demands only enraged the mummified Sith. Wounded and cowed, he was rescued by Jeng Droga and had to recover from the assault in a bacta tank on Imperial Center.

During this time, the Zann Consortium had the option of setting up operations on the planet for knowledge. During a pilgrimage to Korriban shortly before the Battle of Endor, Emperor Palpatine suffered an ambush from the Rebel Alliance's Renegade Squadron. After trapping him in one of the tombs temporarily, and suffering casualties in doing so, the Squadron were able to infiltrate his landing craft and obtain information about the second Death Star, information that would bring about the tyrant's fall.

A tomb intended for Darth Vader that, after his defection from the Sith before his death, was offered by the Sith spirits to Darth Sidious, was presumably erected sometime during this period. Another burial chamber was built for Naga Sadow thousands of years ago but was never occupied because Sadow died offworld. It can be surmised that every Dark Lord from the formation of the Order to at least Sidious' time had a tomb built for him or her on Korriban.

New Republic
At 11 ABY, Palpatine visited the planet once again for the last time, in order to restore his decaying clone body. He conferred with the Sith spirits, who discouraged his decision to try and save his life, offering him a seat among their mummified remains, the tomb-throne reserved for Vader (the Emperor presumably had no tomb prepared for him on Korriban because he did not intend to ever die). Darth Sidious insisted that he should live, and the deceased Dark Lords informed him that, although his last body could not be saved, he could survive by using fresh Jedi blood, possessing the newborn Anakin Solo. He did not succeed in his attempt to do so, and lost his final clone body on Onderon shortly after. Later, in 14 ABY a cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos arrived on Korriban under the leadership of the Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis of the Empire Reborn, hoping to resurrect the ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. However, their plans were being slowly uncovered by several Jedi, most notably by Kyle Katarn and his two students, Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin. Eventually, the trails led the Jedi to Korriban. One of the greatest Jedi battles of the time, the Battle of Korriban concluded when Jaden Korr defeated Marka Ragnos's spirit in Tavion's body. Following Axmis' defeat, Imperial support was withdrawn and the Disciples crumbled.

Years later, Hett finally emerged from his long tutelage under XoXaan, intending on defeating Sidious and Vader, only to learn that they have been defeated. Realizing he went through all that for nothing, he escaped into the Unknown Regions, determined to lose himself, where he met the Yuuzhan Vong.

New Jedi Order and beyond
The New Jedi Order also revisited the planet on other occasions. At one time, Luke Skywalker sent some Jedi Academy researchers to Korriban, where they discovered the logs of the Jynni's Virtue. The time codes on the log indicated it was recorded just before the Battle of Yavin, however they were found sealed in a 7,000 year old tomb.

Korriban was apparently untouched by the Yuuzhan Vong War, as Darth Krayt and his One Sith used it as their headquarters starting around 30 ABY. Until 127 ABY, they remained relatively hidden, acting behind the shadows like Palpatine did.

In 40 ABY Alema Rar went to Korriban to train under the Sith in order to help Darth Caedus focus himself after the death of Lumiya. Alema Rar met the Sith where after some persuasion was allowed to stay for a little while. Alema trained there and received Darth Vectivus's holocron filled with useless data to give to Jacen. They did not believe Jacen was essential to their plan and ultimately believed he would fail as he was not strong enough. Alema disagreed and believed these Sith were hiding while Jacen, a true Sith, took hold of the galaxy.

In 137 ABY, Krayt returned to Korriban to demand to the ancient Sith Lords, Darth Nihilus, Darth Andeddu and Darth Bane to give him the teachings to heal him or at least slow down the Vong growths on his body, but the ghosts refused to give him another mulligan, at least twice. Their magic caused the Vong armor he wore to make him into a creature much like his namesake. The current Dark Lord refused to accept his destiny and dispelled the magic.

Months later, when Krayt was defeated on Had Abbadon and assassinated by Darth Wyyrlok, his body was entombed within the ancient Temple of XoXaan, kept in a stasis chamber so that the other Sith wouldn't suspect their master's demise. At the same time, Marasiah Fel was abducted and taken prisoner at the planet and Darth Maladi sent Darth Nihl to the planet to verify if Darth Krayt was still alive or if he was dead. The two Sith Lords had become disillusioned with Darth Wyyrlok's handling of the Order and the Empire.

Fauna
Due to the planet's harsh terrain (or the power of the dark side), Korriban's native fauna was both vicious and cunning, such as the fierce terentateks. The bat-like Shyracks lived in great numbers in caves on the planet. Tuk'ata, sometimes called Sith hounds were also fairly common, particularly in the Valley of the Dark Lords. Dark side dragons, or Hssiss, could be found on Korriban, though as semi-aquatic creatures, they were quite rare. Wraid were also found on Korriban. There is evidence that, at one point, the planet was home to an ape or primate-like species, although by the time of Naga Sadow the species was long extinct. Though it is possible that the primate-like species was somehow connected to the Sith species, no conclusive link between this species and the Sith species was known. The highly venomous pelko bug was an insect native to the planet&mdash;its venom had a potent numbing effect and was used in Sith training sabers by the Brotherhood of Darkness during the end of the New Sith War. By the time of the Cold War, K'lor'slugs could also be found on Korriban.

Behind the scenes
Though Ziost was established as the original Sith homeworld in The Golden Age of the Sith, many sources described Korriban as the Sith homeworld. It was the "public" capital world of the Sith Empire during the era of Darth Revan, but was a mausoleum-world for millennia beforehand and would return to such a state not long after.

The controversy was put to rest in the article Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties by Abel G. Peña, which clearly established the Sith originating on Korriban and relocating the capitol to Ziost before the arrival of the Dark Jedi exiles during the Hundred Year Darkness, though the Dark Jedi exiles themselves landed on Korriban.

From the article Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties:

''Without Adas' unifying influence, wars once again raged for rule of the Sith people, with the reigning combatants arrogantly claiming the title of Sith'ari, and eventually forcing a relocation of the Sith capitol to the planet Ziost. Eventually, almost two-dozen millennia after Adas' death, a proper successor to Adas seemed to come at last. Known in Republic space as the Exiles, traitorous Jedi defeated in a galactic war called the Hundred-Year Darkness arrived on Korriban and cowed the Sith people with their astounding Force abilities, lightsabers, and superior technology.''

The word korban means sacrifice in the Hebrew and Malay languages. It is used in the Torah or Old Testament when referring to the fiery sacrifices the high priests made to God. This may be a connection to some of the violent sacrifices the Sith Lords made to gain and in attempts to gain power.

In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, entering the word "KORRIBAN" in the "Input Code" section unlocks the Sith stalker armor.

Notes and references
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