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This article is about a fictional group in the Star Wars universe. For the game engine, see Sith (game engine).
Darth Sidious inherits and brings to fruition a thousand-year plot to reinstate the Sith as the ruling power in the galaxy, culminating in the Great Jedi Purge and the formation of the first Galactic Empire with himself in the position of Emperor. His demise ended the Banite Sith Order.

The Sith are a kratocratic organization in the fictional Star Wars universe, created by Darth Bane after the destruction of the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness dynasty that lasted 1000 years, and promptly ended with the death of Palpatine.

They are the primary recurring antagonists in the Star Wars saga. Its members, most notably known as Sith Lords or Dark Lords of the Sith, were dedicated to Sith philosophy and to mastering the dark side of the Force.[1] Each Sith Lord traditionally uses the title Darth before their Sith name. The Sith are the archenemies of the quasi-religious Jedi and, like them, their main weapon is the lightsaber. By the events of both trilogies, there exist only two at a time: a master and an apprentice.


Background and origins[edit]

The Star Wars saga began with the film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, which was released in 1977.[2] Since then, films, books, computer games and comics have been released, all set in the fictional universe of Star Wars which has expanded the history of the Sith within their stories.


— Creator and director George Lucas[4]

The history of the Sith was officially described for the first time by George Lucas himself in the novelization of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, written by Terry Brooks.[5] There, it is explained that the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness were established two thousand years before the events of The Phantom Menace by a rogue Jedi who believed that the true power of the Force lay in its dark side, and that denial of power was a waste. The Jedi Council of the time disapproved of such beliefs, and the dissident Jedi left the order, swearing vengeance against them.

He soon gained many followers, some of whom were Jedi who agreed with his views and beliefs. However, the greed and hunger for power from its members was so great that the Sith Brotherhood was destroyed from the inside. Weakened by infighting, the divided Sith factions were easily wiped out by the unified Jedi Order. Still, in the midst of destruction, one member was able to survive: Darth Bane. Learning from the order's past mistakes, Bane established The Rule of Two and restructured the Sith so that there could only exist two members at a time: a master and an apprentice. Bane also adopted cunning, subterfuge, and stealth as fundamental tenets of the Sith.[5] Darth Bane predicted that this kratocratic cycle would continue for a period of 1,000 years, until the Sith were ready to enact their vengeance against the Jedi.


Operation: Knightfall[edit]

Further information: Great Jedi Purge


Sith Code Doctrine[edit]

The Sith embraced passion, which they believed to be a powerful aspect of nature.[citation needed]

The Rule of Two[edit]



Notable Sith[edit]

Darth Revan[edit]


Darth Traya[edit]

Darth Traya (Kreia) was the Dark Jedi mentor to the "Jedi Exile" in The Sith Lords.[7][8] She is revealed to have been a Sith Master at the end of the game.

Darth Nihilus[edit]

Darth Nihilus was a Sith apprentice who appears in The Sith Lords and in the Star Wars: Legacy comic series. Darth Traya found and trained Nihilus; Nihilus and Darth Sion later betrayed her. The player's character eventually defeats Nihilus.[9] IGN also put the character as their 56th top Star Wars character.[10]

Darth Bane[edit]

Darth Bane (Dessel) was a Sith Master who renewed the Sith Order and established the Rule of Two. This rule stated that there must be only two Sith Lords at a time: a master to embody power, and an apprentice to covet it and eventually overthrow his master and adopt an apprentice of his own.[11]

Darth Plagueis[edit]


Darth Sidious[edit]

Darth Sidious (Sheev Palpatine) was a Sith Master rose to power from being a Senator of Naboo, to Supreme Chancellor, to self-proclaimed Emperor of the Galactic Empire. This was achieved through double agents and a cleverly orchestrated sequence of events done under his alternate identity, Palpatine, who gained respect in the Old Republic while secretly participating in Sith practices and planning an end to the Jedi Order. He had three known Sith apprentices: Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader. He was eventually killed by the latter, Anakin Skywalker, at the end of Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.[12]

Darth Maul[edit]


Darth Tyranus[edit]

Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) was a fallen Jedi Master and the second Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious. It is revealed in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, that Tyranus had a prominent role in engineering the Clone Wars,[14] recruiting bounty hunter Jango Fett to become the template for an army of clones to be used by the Galactic Republic. Tyranus led the Separatist Alliance during the Clone Wars until he met his demise while dueling Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Darth Vader[edit]


Darth Caedus[edit]


Darth Krayt[edit]

Darth Krayt (A'Sharad Hett) is the main antagonist of the Star Wars: Legacy comic series. He served during the Clone Wars, but managed to survive the early stages of the Great Jedi Purge and exiled himself to Tatooine, but fled to Korriban to be trained as a Sith Lord after encountering Obi-Wan Kenobi. After several hundred years in an extended period of stasis, Krayt formed the One Sith and overthrew the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, forming a new Sith Empire in its place.

Sith appearances[edit]

Expanded Universe novels

The first Expanded Universe novel was Splinter of the Mind's Eye, written by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1978.[18] The setting for this novel takes place between Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.[18] It provides a new adventure that includes Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. In the story, Darth Vader tries to get the Kaiburr Crystal to use it for his evil schemes.[18]

Other novels that depicted Sith characters were Darth Maul: Saboteur and Cloak of Deception by James Luceno.[19] Cloak of Deception describes the political background surrounding the Republic in the time period before The Phantom Menace, as well as Darth Sidious' plans to rule the galaxy, starting with the blockade of Naboo. In Darth Maul: Saboteur, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious sends Darth Maul to destroy InterGalactic Ore and Lommite Limited.[20]


Star Wars comics

Dark Horse Comics purchased the copyrights to several Star Wars stories.[22] With their publication of Star Wars: Dark Empire #1 in 1991, they initiated what has become a large line of Star Wars manga and comics.[23] The Sith appear as major antagonists throughout this story's plot.[23] Many of the comics that were published helped expand the backstory of the characters and followed the rise and fall of the Dark Lords of the Sith.[23]

Star Wars TV series


Star Wars video games


Some of the video games that have a heavy focus on Sith characters and lore are Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released in 2003,[25] Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, released in 2004[26] and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, released in 2008.[27]


  2. ^ "Internet Movie Database". Retrieved 2011-11-14. 
  3. ^ Stover, Revenge of the Sith, p. 426.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference comicbookresources was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Stover, Revenge of the Sith, p. 426.
  11. ^ "Darth Bane". LucasFilm. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  12. ^ "Darth Sidious". LucasFilm. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  15. ^ "Darth Vader". LucasFilm. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  22. ^ "Timeline". Dark Horse. Retrieved 18 November 2011. 
  24. ^ "Star Wars: The Clone Wars". Retrieved 18 November 2011. 
  27. ^ "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed". Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
Further reading

External links[edit]