Sith

Within the Star Wars universe, the term Sith is used to describe two separate but related groups. The most common use of the word applies to a cult of warrior priests devoted to the dark side of the Force, serving as the counterparts of the Jedi Knights.

Timeline

Origin

The first use of the word Sith (in the Star Wars Universe) was in the script and novelization for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, as a title for Darth Vader, the "Dark Lord of the Sith". George Lucas did not explain exactly what this meant, however.

Revenge of the Sith

The predations of Darth Sidious and Darth Maul indicated the presence of the Sith shortly before the Battle of Naboo. Though Darth Maul was slain in that battle at the hands of Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, the day proved an unparalleled victory for the Sith; Darth Sidious, generally known to the public as Senator Palpatine of Naboo, was elected to the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, and set his sights on making Anakin Skywalker, newly discovered by the Jedi and rumored to be the prophesied "Chosen One," his new apprentice.

More than a decade passed, and former Jedi Master Count Dooku (renamed Darth Tyranus in the Sith tradition) started the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS or the Separatists), which threatened the unstable Republic. A motion made in the Senate by Representative Jar Jar Binks, who was easily manipulated by Palpatine, granted him more and more emergency powers. When the Jedi discovered the threat the Clone Wars began with the battle to rescue captured Jedi on Geonosis.

During the Clone Wars, many Jedi lost their lives at the hands of the Separatists and their military leader, General Grievous. The Clone Wars eventually reached even Coruscant, where the cunning general captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. A great battle erupted above the planet-city. In that battle, Anakin Skywalker brutally executed Count Dooku, as he was goaded by Palpatine.

The Chancellor then started to use his emergency powers to control the Jedi Order. The Jedi were instantly suspicious of Palpatine's motives, and suspected that Darth Sidious was a part of Palpatine's inner circle and was controlling him. Palpatine appointed Anakin to the Jedi Council as the Chancellor's representative, and convinced him that the Jedi were trying to take over the Republic. Later evidence proved this true, but not in the sense in which Palpatine had brainwashed Anakin into believing. Since Palpatine had control of the Senate and the Courts, without the Jedi stepping in to do something, Palpatine would have still destroyed the Jedi and Palpatine would had even more firm control of the situation.

It was also during this time that Anakin began to be plagued with visions of the death of his pregnant wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, in childbirth. Haunted by the murder of his mother three years earlier by Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, Anakin had been determined to find a way to prevent death using the Force. Palpatine, having learned all about the secret wedding from Captain Panaka used this as an opportune moment for Anakin to become his new successor.

Eventually Palpatine revealed to Anakin that he was, in fact, Darth Sidious. In doing so, he offered him the secret he had been looking for (claiming it had been discovered by another Sith, Darth Plagueis) so long as he joined him as his new apprentice. Instead, Anakin went to the Jedi Council and told Jedi Master Mace Windu of Palpatine's true identity. Windu, along with the Jedi Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto, moved to arrest the Chancellor. However, Sidious quickly cut down the latter three and was battling with Windu when Anakin arrived. Skywalker demanded that Palpatine be arrested and stand trial, but the Jedi master argued that Sidious was far too dangerous to be allowed to live any longer. As Windu moved to kill the Sith Lord, Anakin severed Windu's right hand, allowing Palpatine to strike him down.

Anakin became Sidious's new apprentice, assuming the Sith title Darth Vader. Sidious quickly instructed Lord Vader to move against the Jedi Temple, imploring him to dispose of all the remaining Jedi, including younglings. Most surviving Jedi not present at the temple were disposed of by "Order 66," which instructed all clone troopers to execute their Jedi commanders. Very few Jedi survived this treachery, the most notable among them Yoda and Obi-Wan.

The Great Jedi Purge continued, led by Vader and other Force-sensitive servants of the Emperor until only a handful of Jedi were left alive. It was a dark time for the galaxy, in which the Force became thought of throughout the Empire (except in the cases of Vader, Palpatine, and their Dark Jedi servants) as an arcane philosophy, almost like a fairy tale.

Fall of the Galactic Empire and Return of the Jedi

Eventually, however, the Rebel Alliance arose to threaten the Empire's unchallenged sovereignty. The Galactic Civil War drew many into its fold, perhaps the most notable of whom was Luke Skywalker, the son of Anakin. Shortly after the Rebels destroyed the Empire's terrifying Death Star superweapon, the Emperor and Vader became aware of the young man's identity. Both Sith Lords hoped to corrupt Luke to the dark side, but each had a different motive. Vader desired to kill the Emperor and rule the galaxy with his son, but Palpatine wished to replace Vader with the boy. During the Battle of Endor, Skywalker refused to join the Emperor, who then began torturing him with Force lightning. His son's suffering and pleas for help freed Anakin Skywalker from the Emperor's service, and he threw his former master down the newly constructed second Death Star's reactor shaft, in the process subjecting himself to the full force of the Emperor's lightning. Severely injured by the Emperor's assault and with his life-sustaining armor non-functional, the former Sith Lord died a few minutes later. Luke escaped with his father's armor (Anakin's body had joined with the Force) shortly before the new Death Star was destroyed. Luke later burned his father's armor on a funeral pyre on Endor, marking the end of the Sith's reign.

Sources

• Official Star Wars Website
• Star Wars Essential Guide Series (Del Rey Books Copyright 1999) ISBN 034539299X
• Sith Article in Expanded Universe Databank

External links

• Sith on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• The Sith Explained (Howstuffworks.com)
• Who's Who of the Sith on SithOrder.com