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- "It is your duty to learn what I know. It is my duty to learn what there is to teach."
- ―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader
A Sith Master was a rank in the Sith Order, reserved for a Sith Lord who instructed a Sith apprentice in the arts of the dark side of the Force. The role of a Sith Master was to pass his knowledge to the student. By tradition, the apprentice had to kill his Sith Master in order to complete his training.
Under the Rule of Two established by Darth Bane, the Order's ranks were limited to two Sith Lords—a Sith Master and an apprentice—at any given time. After a millennium of hiding from the Jedi Order, the Sith returned to power in the galaxy through the rise of Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith who killed his Sith Master, Darth Plagueis, and mentored the Sith apprentices Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus, and Darth Vader.
Contents
Description[edit | edit source]
- "I'm looking forward to completing your training. In time, you will call me master."
- ―Darth Sidious, to Luke Skywalker
In the Sith Order, a Sith Master was the title of a Sith Lord who trained a Sith apprentice in the ways of the dark side of the Force.[4] It was the duty of a Sith Master to learn all that there was to know about the Force, and then to pass this knowledge to his Sith apprentice.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
- "You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master."
- ―Darth Vader, to Luke Skywalker

Darth Sidious was the Sith Master who trained several apprentices during his reign as the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Approximately a millennium before the Invasion of Naboo, the Sith nearly went extinct because of their infighting. As a consequence, the last survivor, Darth Bane, established the Rule of Two, which restructured the sect so that there could only be two Sith at a time, a master, and an apprentice.[4] In the last decades of the Galactic Republic, the Sith Master Darth Plagueis tutored an apprentice in the ways of the Sith. Darth Sidious subsequently managed to reach the highest echelons of democractic power before anointing himself Galactic Emperor.[5]
Darth Tyranus trained Asajj Ventress as his apprentice during the Clone Wars, though he was still apprenticed to Darth Sidious.[6] As Ventress grew in power, Sidious grew suspicious of Tyranus' intentions. He ordered his apprentice to kill the Nightsister assassin, and Tyranus complied despite regarding Ventress as his most reliable asset.[7] Tyranus then sought to replace Ventress with Savage Opress, intending to overthrow his Sith Master after training the Dathomirian Nightbrother in the ways of the dark side.[8]
Tyranus was ultimately replaced by Darth Vader;[5] like his predecessor, Vader was an apprentice who mentored Force-sensitive students despite not holding the rank of Sith Master. His apprentices belonged to a cadre of fallen Jedi-turned-Jedi hunters known as the Inquisitorius.[9] Sidious eventually sought to replace Vader by becoming the Sith Master of his apprentice's son, Luke Skywalker.[10]
Kylo Ren, the grandson of Vader, was lured to the dark side through the machinations of Sidious and his creation, Supreme Leader Snoke. Although Snoke directly oversaw Ren's training, Sidious considered himself to be Ren's true master. By using Snoke as a proxy mentor for Ren, Sidious managed to circumvent a dark side tradition in which the apprentice completed his training by killing the master who trained him.[11]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Non-canon appearances[edit | edit source]
- Star Wars Epic Yarns: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales Episodes I-III (Appears as Force spirit and in flashbacks)
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
Sources[edit | edit source]
Sith in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
Sith Infiltrator in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link) (First identified as Sith Master)
Sith Speeder in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
Star Wars Comics Preview: May 21, 2014 on StarWars.com (backup link)
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Count Dooku - Sith Apprentice - Base Series 1)
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Darth Sidious - Sith Master - Base Series 1)
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Emperor Palpatine - Sith Master - Base Series 1)
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars: Ships of the Galaxy
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Emperor - Moment's Edge)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 1 (Highlights of the Saga: Duel in Cloud City)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 8 (Helmets: In Pictures; Weapons & Uniforms: Imperial Droids)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 10 (Highlights of the Saga: Birth of an Empire)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 13 (Databank A-Z: Poe Dameron–Delta 7-B)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 14 (Weapons & Uniforms: The Sith)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 16 (Helmets: 501st Legion Stormtroopers)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 19 (Highlights of the Saga: The Death of Jabba the Hutt)
- Darth Vader: Sith Lord
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
Star Wars Helmet Collection 28 (Databank A-Z: Queen Jamillia–Jedi Temples)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 31 (Databank A-Z: Kaminoans–King Katuunko)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 38 (Databank A-Z: Baze Malbus–Darth Maul)
Star Wars Helmet Collection 76 (Weapons & Uniforms: Aurra Sing)
- Starships and Speeders
The Sith | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures Fun Facts on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel (backup link)
The Star Wars Timeline | Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures Fun Facts on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel (backup link)
"The Phantom Apprentice" Episode Guide on StarWars.com (backup link)
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian – "Directing"
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian – "Legacy"
Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian – "Score"
Star Wars: Card Trader (Card: Darth Maul (TCW) - 2020 Base Series 2) (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection (Picture only)
- Star Wars Bust Collection 1 (Star Wars Universe: Darth Vader)
Luke Skywalker in the Databank (backup link)
Sith in the Databank (backup link)
The Force in the Databank (backup link)
Yoda in the Databank (backup link)
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
Stephen Stanton (@Stephen_Stanton) on Twitter: "Here's the updated #StarWars timeline with all the new projects announced at #D23Expo. Study this diagram. There will be a quiz later!😉" (screenshot)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Darth Vader 6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Sacrifice"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑
Asajj Ventress in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Nightsisters"
- ↑
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Monster"
- ↑ Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 6
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ The Star Wars Book