Great Galactic War

The Great War was a war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic between 3,681 BBY and 3,653 BBY.

Background
"You must go where Revan did, into the Unknown Regions, where the Sith, the true Sith, wait in the dark for the great war that comes."

- Kreia, to the Jedi Exile

With the Sith Empire's defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, the Sith were on the verge of collapse. But one Dark Lord escaped the Republic and made it to the Unknown Regions. There, he re-founded the Empire, himself assuming the title of Sith Emperor, and created a council of other Sith Lords. Using the power of the dark side, the Emperor kept himself alive for over a thousand years after the Great Hyperspace War, rebuilding the Empire's strength and waiting for a chance to avenge the Sith's defeat.

The Republic, meanwhile, was challenged in a number of wars over the next few thousand years, including the war with Exar Kun and war with Darth Revan.

In the year 3,681 BBY, the Sith Emperor saw that the chance for revenge against the Republic and the Jedi had come, and launched an invasion of the Republic.

The conflict
The True Sith's invasion caught the Republic by surprise. The Sith seized many worlds in the Outer Rim Territories, destroyed the shipyards at Sluis Van, and cut off the Rimma Trade Route.

Battlegrounds included Ilum, Dathomir, and Manaan, the latter seeing its surface cities destroyed, despite attempts to remain neutral. The Republic was further defeated at Agamar and Utapau, and continuously harassed. A heroic struggle on Bothuawi helped slow the Sith invasion. However, the war was further complicated by the appearance of a Mandalorian fleet in alliance with the Sith. This fleet blockaded the Rimma trade route setting Republic efforts back.

Decades after it started, the war came to an end with the Sacking of Coruscant, which occurred immediately following an apparent Sith withdrawal from the Minos Cluster.

Aftermath
The Treaty of Coruscant forced the Republic to give up many outlying systems to the True Sith Empire.

By the end of the war, thousands of Jedi were dead. The Galactic Republic focused its anger on the Jedi, blaming the order for its defeat at the hands of the Sith. The surviving Jedi would eventually re-settle on Tython.

The end of the Great War set the stage for a Cold War between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic in the years that followed. This cold war saw a number of border skirmishes and proxy wars, pushing the two super powers to the brink of another war.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Threat of Peace Act 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Timeline 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic