Sith Lord

This article is about the Sith title "Sith Lord".
You may be looking for other similar Sith titles such as "Dark Lord of the Sith" and "Darth".

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"Get help. You're no match for him. He's a Sith Lord."
"Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our speciality."

―Sheev Palpatine and Obi-Wan Kenobi^[src]

Sith Lord, also known as a Lord of the Sith, was a title conferred upon individuals who followed the Sith tradition. Sith Lords drew upon the dark side of the Force, using it to gain power.

The title "Darth" was given to newly christened Sith Lords in place of their old identities. It roughly translated to "Dark Lord."^[4]

History

The Old Republic

Founded by a rogue Jedi^[5] during the Hundred-Year Darkness,^[6] the Sith were an ancient order who used the dark side of the Force and fought the Jedi.^[5] During the days of the Old Republic, many individuals held the mantle of Sith Lord and fought countless wars against the Jedi Order. Eventually, however, their numbers dwindled due to infighting. After Darth Bane established the Rule of Two,^[7] Sith tradition dictated that there could only be two Sith Lords—a master and an apprentice—at any given time.^[8]

Twilight of the Republic

"He was well trained in the Jedi arts. My only conclusion can be that it was a Sith Lord."

―Qui-Gon Jinn, on his first duel with Darth Maul^[src]

DarthMaul2 — Darth Sidious and Darth Maul were Sith Lords during the late era of the Galactic Republic.

In the years leading up to the Invasion of Naboo, the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis was killed by his apprentice Darth Sidious, who at the time was also training his own apprentice, Darth Maul. Sidious planted the seeds for what would become the Confederacy of Independent Systems by forming an alliance with the Trade Federation, a corporation led by Viceroy Nute Gunray and Settlement Officer Rune Haako. Sidious convinced the Trade Federation to use their army of battle droids to blockade and invade the peaceful planet of Naboo. The invasion failed and Maul was seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi, but Sidious was elected as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.^[8]

The Sith then resurfaced ten years later. Darth Tyranus, Sidious' apprentice, met with Viceroy Gunray, and other influential magnates, on Geonosis. They supported the Confederacy of Independent Systems, leading to the start of the Clone Wars against the Republic.^[9] A number of other Sith were also active during the war, such as Sidious' former apprentice Maul, Tyranus' first apprentice Asajj Ventress, and Tyranus' second apprentice and Maul's brother Savage Opress.^[10] Due to Sidious being both Chancellor of the Republic and Tyranus' master, he was able to manipulate both sides of the war, leading to Order 66, the defeat of the Confederacy, and the establishment of the Galactic Empire.^[3]

Imperial Era and beyond

VaderSidious-ROTS — The Galactic Empire was ruled by the Sith Lords Darth Sidious and Darth Vader.

Anakin Skywalker was turned to the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader while Sidious ruled the galaxy as Emperor.^[3] Years into the Imperial Era, Grand Moff Tarkin and Vader oversaw the deployment of the Death Star battle station. However, the Rebel Alliance destroyed it along with Tarkin during the Battle of Yavin. The Rebels then continued to defy Imperial rule^[11] for a further five years,^[12] leading to the Battle of Endor with the destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station^[13] and the end of the thousand-year lineage stretching from Darth Bane to the last Sith Lord, Darth Vader, who died killing his master, Darth Sidious.^[14]

However, Sidious was resurrected and led the Sith Eternal cult. The Dark Lord sought to restore the Sith Order through Vader's grandson, Ben Solo and then his granddaughter, Rey, who instead destroyed him during the Battle of Exegol.^[15]