Sith Empire/Legends

"Across the reaches of the galaxy, through seas of dark stars, rivers of whispering black shadow from the Republic's ancient past. Evil history we had thought forgotten."

- Jedi Master Ooroo

The Old Sith Empire was a rich and powerful empire established by Dark Jedi banished from the Galactic Republic after their defeat at the Battle of Corbos during the Hundred-Year Darkness. The Jedi exiles fled to the remote world of Korriban. After conquering it, they interbred with the native Sith species through the art of Sith Alchemy and began a long period of building and expansion. The Sith Empire developed in complete isolation for two thousand years before it eventually rediscovered the Republic. Under the leadership of the Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow, the Empire invaded Republic space during the Great Hyperspace War, but it was defeated. The Sith Empire was believed to have been destroyed by Republic forces during the Second Battle of Korriban.

Origin
Around the year 6,900 BBY, exiled fallen Jedi&mdash;fleeing from the Battle of Corbos, which concluded the Hundred-Year Darkness&mdash;landed on Korriban, a desolate world inhabited by the relatively primitive but unusually Force-sensitive Sith people. 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. Thus was the Sith Empire born, with nearby Ziost becoming the capital, while Korriban became a sacred mausoleum-world.

The Golden Age of the Sith
Eventually, the Sith formed an immensely rich and powerful empire built upon sorcery and dark side fueled technology quite possibly adapted from the scattered ruins of the earlier Infinite Empire of the Rakata. At its height, the Sith Empire contained at least 120 worlds.

Over the centuries, the Dark Jedi exiles were forgotten by the Galactic Republic even as all records of the Republic were lost by the Sith. The two civilizations thrived in isolation, each ignorant of the other. The Golden Age of the Sith came to an end with the death of Marka Ragnos.

The Fall of the Sith Empire


Circa 5,000 BBY, the Sith Empire, led by Naga Sadow, rediscovered the existence of the Republic, and decided to conquer it. Thus, the Great Hyperspace War began. After an assault on Coruscant, the Sith were defeated and forced back to Korriban. When Sadow arrived, Sith forces loyal to his rival Ludo Kressh attacked Sadow. Kressh was killed, and the Empire might have survived, but Sadow's fleet was then attacked by the forces of the pursuing Republic. Sadow sacrificed most of his fleet in a successful escape attempt that led the Republic to believe Sadow had been killed. The Sith were defeated. However, some of Kressh's forces survived, unknown to the Republic. A decade later, the Republic launched a second assault against the Sith Empire, resulting in its splintering and eventual collapse.

Government and Politics
The leader of the Sith Empire was the Dark Lord of the Sith. The Sith Council was a body of advisors to the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith. It consisted of ten members made up of Sith Lords within the empire. Each Lord on the Council personally ruled over a dozen worlds. This Council convened in a great citadel on Ziost.

Economy
The Sith Empire was far smaller than the Galactic Republic, but much wealthier and more centralized, and in possession of unique and potent technologies. The Sith Lords allegedly controlled the riches of a thousand species.

Society and Culture
Culturally, the Sith Empire was very different from that of the Republic, being much more ecumenically driven than its counterpart.

The Sith Empire was hierarchical, utilizing both a rigid caste system and a stratified rank structure to put its subjects in their proper place. This system was continued by other Sith until Darth Bane instituted the Rule of Two in the aftermath of the New Sith Wars.

Sith Minion

Sith Minions were the lowliest members of the Sith. Some were not Force-sensitive, and often worshiped the Sith Lords as gods. The Sith Lords used them as soldiers, mercenaries, and conscripts to work for them.

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.

Sith Acolyte

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

Sith Warrior

Sith Warriors 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 Marauder

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 any 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 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.

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. Which was later changed due to Darth Bane's rule of two, after he had destroyed the rest of the Sith. Then the title of Dark Lord of the Sith was once again a symbol as the leader of the Sith.

Warbeasts

 * Sith War Behemoth
 * Sith Warbird
 * Sith War Rhino
 * Sith War Worm
 * Battle hydra

Starships

 * Sith Battleship
 * Sith Drop Ship
 * Sith Escort Gunship
 * Sith Meditation Sphere
 * Sith Personnel Carrier
 * Sith Starfighter

Astrography
The region of the Outer Rim that the Sith Empire ruled was known as Sith Space. It contained at least 120 inhabited worlds, including:


 * Ambria
 * Arkania
 * Ashas Ree
 * Athiss
 * Ch'hodos
 * Dromund Kaas
 * Jaguada
 * Jaguada's moon
 * Kalsunor
 * Khar Delba
 * Khar Shian (a moon of Khar Delba)
 * Korriban
 * Korriz
 * Krayiss II
 * Malachor V
 * Rhelg
 * Thule
 * Sivvi (a moon of Thule)
 * Vjun
 * Yavin
 * Ziost

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader