New Sith Wars The New Sith Wars , also known as the Jedi – Sith War , and known to the Sith as the War of the Fittest , The Betrayal and The Curse of Qalydon , was the name given to the thousand years of conflict between the Jedi and the Sith , which lasted from approximately 2000 to 1000 BBY . As an era , the New Sith Wars were characterized by a spectacular rise of the Sith , the decline of the Galactic Republic , and a growing militancy in the Jedi Order . The balance between the Sith and the Republic fluctuated during the period , and at several periods , especially after the pivotal Battle of Mizra , the Republic was in danger of being overwhelmed completely . Coinciding with the Draggulch Period of galactic history , the New Sith Wars were usually divided by historians into a series of shorter conflicts for convenience , such as the Sictis Wars . The last century of the conflict was commonly known as the Republic Dark Age , and the name Light and Darkness War was sometimes specifically applied to the final series of battles between the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness and the Jedi Army of Light . The wars themselves ended on Ruusan , where the Sith were presumed to have been wiped out to the last man and the Jedi and Republic felt themselves to be victorious . The Jedi and the Republic prepared themselves for a future of peace and prosperity , with the Sith nothing more than a painful memory of the past . This , however , was a dangerous delusion , as a single Sith , Darth Bane , had in fact survived . Bane formed a new Sith Order and he and his successors spent the next thousand years in hiding , waiting to topple the Republic once and for all . History . Schism . For almost a thousand years after the seventeenth and last Alsakan Conflict , the galaxy had enjoyed an era of relative peace and social and economic stability . The Sith had not been heard of since the end of the Galactic War sixteen hundred years prior , and what little remnants of that order existed , posed no threat to the now unchallenged , if complacent Jedi . During this period , a Jedi Master named Phanius resigned his commission , citing ideological objections to current Jedi dogma . Though his peers disagreed with his views , the parting was amicable , and Phanius would be commemorated as the first of the Lost Twenty , a special group of revered Jedi who had nevertheless felt the need to leave the Jedi Order over philosophical differences . Behind such amiability , however , the Umbaran Jedi harbored darker thoughts , ones unknown to his Jedi peers . His true reasons for abandoning his Jedi commitment was linked to his intention to pursue prohibited teachings . Phanius disappeared from public view , and when he re - emerged , it was as Darth Ruin , the first Dark Lord of the Sith in a thousand years , and preaching a creed of malevolent solipsism . Ruin ' s transformation was total , and such was the disconnect between his original persona and his new mantle , that Ruin ' s former Jedi peers never realized that their new foe was once their cherished friend , Phanius . Darth Ruin ' s nascent order quickly grew — fifty Jedi Knights deserted to join shortly after , in an event that would be later labeled the Fourth Great Schism of 2000 BBY . He filled out the rest of his new order ' s ranks by first infiltrating and then uniting the surviving Sith clans under his own leadership . Merciless and supremely - self - centered , Ruin ' s capricious and egocentric whims led to the deaths of many of his own followers and , eventually , Ruin ' s single - mindedness proved to be his undoing — he was eventually killed by his minions after a defeat . Despite Ruin ' s death , the rebirth of the Sith was complete . Sith ascendancy . In the ensuing decades , the Sith quickly carved out a sprawling dominion , creating a New Sith Empire , and their relentless attacks wore away from the reeling Republic . They quickly recaptured traditional Sith worlds such as Yavin 4 and Ziost in initial attacks , solidifying a new empire in the north - east quadrant of the galaxy . Additionally , they secretly sabotaged the Republic ' s own defense . The Jedi were frequently at the forefront of the Republic ' s war effort , though not always to their own benefit — a disastrous intervention to contain an outbreak of Ubese aggression in 1800 BBY at the Battle of Uba IV led to the destruction of a cache of superweapons . The resulting chemical release decimated the Ubese and led to accusations of xenocide that would endure for centuries . Just as in the Old Sith Wars , the Republic assembled a mighty fleet , mainly provided by Kuat Drive Yards . After Darth Ruin ' s demise , the first quarter of the New Sith Wars was dominated by the mysterious Dark Underlord , an emotionless revenant who was supported by the Black Knights , a faction of Sith commanded by a Zeltron General . The Black Knights and the Underlord ravaged space stations along the Zona Miki route until the Republic counterattacked . The Underlord ' s final confrontation with the Jedi and the Republic came at Malrev IV in 1750 BBY , where Jedi Master Murrtaggh forged a Faustian pact with the traditionally hostile Mandalorians to bring the Underlord down . Though successful , the assassination came at the cost of Murtaggh ' s own life . The Mandalorians for their part would continue to war after the Sith , particularly during the reign of Mandalore Ung Kusp . Just over five centuries after Ruin ' s betrayal , in 1500 BBY the Republic had finally managed to build up its armed forces to win victories at Gap Nine , Corphelion and King ' s Galquek , halting Sith advances in the Expansion Region and Outer Rim Territories . Despite this , the Sith attracted new allies such as the Devaronians and Hiitians , and in 1466 BBY scored one of their most decisive victories in history , when they crushed the Republic and Jedi forces in the Battle of Mizra . This bloody conflict was later immortalized by the poet Felloux . Over five hundred thousand soldiers died in a single battle and hundreds of Jedi converted to the Dark Side . The terrible defeat caused a crisis in the Republic and a solidification of Sith power , leading to among other things , the tyrannical rise of Darth Rivan of Almas . Civilization decays . Despite Rivan ' s eventual defeat at the Battle of Almas , the Republic plunged into turmoil . Mineral mines ran dry , corporations failed , and the Republic ' s borders began to shrink for the first time since the Cold War as colonies were abandoned to the Sith advance and the economic collapse . Law and order suffered as the Jedi found themselves overstretched . The collapse of the HoloNet and interstellar commerce and the general downward spiral of the Galactic Republic continued unabated . Jedi were forced to assume greater leadership , commanding the Republic military , and even becoming Supreme Chancellors , despite the public opinion against them . In 1400 BBY the last non - Jedi ended their service as Supreme Chancellor . For the next four centuries , only Jedi would serve in the post . An outbreak of Candorian plague killed two - thirds of the inhabitants of some Republic worlds . The Sictis Wars . The period from 1250 to 1230 BBY was known as the Sictis Wars . In that era , Belia Darzu ruled as Dark Lord of the Sith , unleashing Technobeast s against the Jedi forces from her power base on Tython . The Sictis Wars came to an end with Darzu ' s death at the hands of the Mecrosa Order , who , though nominally allied with the Sith Empire , poisoned Darzu due to unwanted Sith incursions on Tapani territory . Dark Age . After nearly a thousand years of war , both sides were in near - collapse — although the eleventh century BBY would later be described as the " Republic Dark Age , " there is little evidence for any coherent Sith threat for much of the period . The Sith , though exponentially increased in number , were divided against one another , as the various warlords and self - proclaimed Dark Lords fought each other for supremacy . The Republic officially branded the war a " series of protracted military engagements " against an illegal organization , but in reality the Sith were rampaging across the galaxy virtually unhindered , oppressing entire star systems . Though some new colonies were founded , including Melida / Daan , and Tatooine was resettled , for most of the galaxy it was a dark time . The Republic , for its part , was a pale shadow of what it once was . Much of its former territory was in the hands of independent , self - proclaimed Sith warlords , including Odion and Daiman . These warlords squabbled over the dying embers of the Sith Empire , and while they remained divided , the Republic was given some respite . Some Jedi , such as Vannar Treece and his apprentice Kerra Holt would attempt daring raids within Sith - held territory , but for the most part the Republic made no attempt to regain its lost worlds . Against the Sith threat , other members of the Jedi Order began quests to rout entire systems of Sith influence and purge those whose sought to enslave or exploit the citizens of the Republic . Standing as these systems ' last line of defense , these individual Jedi became celebrated and quickly came to hold political might . As their constituent worlds came to appreciate their service , these Jedi became barons or kings of entire systems and sectors , taking up the title Jedi Lord . Establishing castles and manors as their formal residences , these Lords created a formal hereditary system , passing down their titles to their offspring for several generations . The peaceful regions of space stood as islands of light in the darkness created by the Sith , and even Coruscant and the Galactic Senate was presided over by Jedi Supreme Chancellors . During this time , the Jedi High Council competed directly with the Jedi Grand Council which consisted of Lords from across the galaxy . The Sith Civil War . The Sith saw the crippled Republic as a sign that the Force was with them . However , their plans for a strike against Coruscant were halted after they fell into infighting over who would rule the galaxy after the Republic ' s defeat . An example of such internecine strife was the " Charge Matrica " of 1066 BBY in the Grumani sector . Owing to such fighting , the threat of the New Sith in the last century of the war was not as great as it might have been , and the Sith civil war would not end until 1010 BBY with the emergence of Lord Skere Kaan and the Brotherhood of Darkness . The Final Decade . The Light and Darkness War . Wary of the growing power and popularity of the Jedi Lords , the Jedi High Council attempted to groom their own champion against the Sith — Skere Kaan , born a commoner on Coruscant before being discovered by the Jedi Order and trained in the ways of the Force at the Jedi Temple . Sophisticated and knowledgeable of economic policy and fleet command , Kaan became a Jedi Knight and a beacon for hope among members of the Jedi High Council who hoped to finally destroy the reformed Sith Empire which had been plaguing the Galactic Republic for nearly two centuries . Having perfected the art of battle meditation , Jedi Kaan was considered a valuable asset by the High Council , despite his radical belief that the Republic and the Jedi were responsible for the anarchy which plagued the galaxy . In an effort to moderate Kaan ' s extremist views , the High Council awarded him the title of Jedi Master . Seeing the High Council as overbearing , Kaan led a group of loyal Knights away from Coruscant and defected to the Sith . Out of the ashes of the Sith Empire , Kaan reorganized the Sith into the Brotherhood of Darkness , over 20 , 000 strong . In an attempt to end the internecine feuds that had torn their Empire apart , Kaan ended the tradition of a sole Dark Lord of the Sith , and recognized each and every claim to the title by the rival warlords . Kaan forged his alliance with the creed of " Rule by the Strong " and " All are equal in the Brotherhood of Darkness . " He made his headquarters on the planet Roon . Beginning in around 1010 BBY , this new group launched a series of attacks designed to destroy the Jedi and the Republic . Kaan , along with the two strongest of the former warlords , Qordis and Kopecz , began their campaign with a daring and symbolic assault on the ancient Sith homeworld of Korriban , which at that time was still under nominal Republic control . The successful capture of that world sealed their alliance , and enabled the reopening of the ancient Sith academy under Qordis ' leadership . As Qordis trained new recruits , Kaan and Kopecz continued their war , seizing worlds like Kashyyyk , and even briefly Corulag , Chandrila and Brentaal IV . By 1001 BBY , they seemed almost poised to conquer Coruscant , pressing the Republic on many fronts with the assistance of allies such as the turncoat Jedi King Lahzar , who battled the Republic in the Tholatin system and a colony of Chiss on Thule , abducted from the Unknown Regions by agents of Kaan . However , Lord Hoth , a Jedi Master and Republic General , had been scoring victories of his own against the Sith . Driving the Brotherhood from their home in the heavily - defended region of space known as the Cloak of the Sith , Hoth chased them from world to world , from Hoth to Dromund Kaas to Malrev IV . In many of his earlier campaigns , he commanded Republic fleets and armies , but around 1002 BBY , he forged the bulk of the Jedi Order ' s fighting strength into an independent military force known as the Army of Light . The end of the Sith . The war ended with the armies of Hoth and Kaan facing each other on the world of Ruusan . Lord Hoth ' s army of was made of seven Legions of Light , each led by a Jedi Lord , including Valenthyne Farfalla , Gale , Saleeh Teepo , Berethon and Newar Forrth . Under the Jedi Lords served Jedi Generals such as Kiel Charny . Kaan ' s Brotherhood was led by himself , Qordis , Kopecz and less familiar Dark Lords such as Seviss Vaa , LaTor and Githany . The Army of the Light and the Brotherhood of Darkness clashed seven times on the world , each battle causing terrible casualties as Sith and Jedi died in the thousands . Throughout the course of the battles , additional reinforcements attempted to land on Ruusan , though many Jedi forces were destroyed by an orbiting Sith blockade and many Sith reinforcements were destroyed by the Republic Navy en route to Ruusan . Though four of the seven battles were won by the Army of Light , their casualties were still enormous and the campaign would later be considered to be the most deadly clash between Jedi and Sith in galactic history . So many Jedi died that Hoth was forced to enlist younger and younger Force - sensitive recruits , and Jedi scouts such as Torr Snapit began to bring pre - adolescents to the battlefield . Though Hoth and his advisors found this distasteful , they reluctantly agreed to accept the child recruits , reasoning that it was better for them to be found by the Jedi than by Kaan ' s Sith . Dissension was rife in both camps - for the Jedi , Hoth feuded with his fellow Lord Valenthyne Farfalla , a rift which only deepened with the death of Pernicar , a Jedi Master who had mediated between the two Lords . Even when Farfalla arrived with over three hundred fresh knights as reinforcements , having both defeated the traitorous King Lahzar and broken the Sith blockade over Ruusan , Hoth still refused to speak to him . The Jedi were further undermined when a new recruit , Darovit turned traitor , murdering General Charny and defecting to the Sith . Among the Sith , Kaan ' s leadership began to be questioned by both Githany and Kopecz , and Kaan ' s bungled attempt to remove his rival Darth Bane only served to make him seem foolish , especially after Bane defeated Qordis , Kaan ' s strongest supporter . Bane mocked Kaan ' s reliance on traditional weapons of war , and goaded the Sith leader into using the dark side of the Force to destroy Hoth and the Jedi . With Bane ' s help , Kaan and the other Dark Lords devastated the unprepared Jedi with a Force Storm that ravaged Ruusan ' s surface . Fortune began to favor the Jedi , though , and thanks to the timely intervention of Farfalla ' s envoy , and Hoth ' s own vision of the dead Pernicar , the two Jedi leaders reconciled , pooling their forces just in time to counteract a renewed Sith surge . Finally , with both armies nearly destroyed , and the once lush planet totally devastated , the seventh and final Battle of Ruusan took place , ending with Kaan ' s decision to use an ancient Sith technique known as the thought bomb , the instructions secretly provided by Darth Bane in a plot to destroy the other Sith Lords and leave Bane to rebuild the Sith under the " Rule of Two . " Lord Hoth , knowing of his opponent ' s final gambit , took 99 of his most trusted knights with him and confronted Kaan in an attempt to dissuade the Sith Lord from unleashing the weapon . His friend , Tal attempted to dissuade him , having seen disaster through the Force . Lord Farfalla did likewise , but Hoth told both that Kaan had to be stopped . The attempt was fruitless , as Kaan ' s mind had broken during the conflict and the Sith Lord , insanity clouding his vision , was determined to destroy himself and his followers , hoping to annihilate the Army of the Light at the same time . As Kaan unleashed his weapon , both his own army and Hoth ' s were destroyed in an instant . Those Jedi that survived quickly rallied under Lord Farfalla , and the remaining Sith were easily defeated . Darth Bane , in the meantime , went into hiding with his apprentice , Zannah . After a thousand years , the New Sith Wars had finally come to an end . Aftermath . Reformations . With the apparent destruction of the Sith , Farfalla , as highest ranking surviving Jedi , used his authority to remove the Jedi from the position of galactic leadership they had acquired during the past centuries , and hand control back to civilian leadership . Tarsus Valorum became the first non - Jedi to serve as Chancellor for six hundred years and , with Farfalla ' s assistance , Valorum passed far - reaching legislation that restructured both the Republic and the Jedi Order . Setbacks . While the New Sith Wars were ultimately over , the scars from the millennial long conflict would plague civilization for centuries . The chaos of the wars had left many once grand civilizations bankrupt and in shambles . The mere collapse of Inter - Galactic civilization set technological development back hundreds of years . Age old advancements in architecture , machinery , and weaponry dating back to the Mandalorian Wars would remain in use for many centuries more . There was to be no full - scale war after the New Sith Wars for almost a thousand years , until the Clone Wars erupted in 22 BBY . Legacy . Unknown to the Jedi and the Republic , one Sith Lord survived : Darth Bane , retreated from the carnage of Ruusan , finding a Force - sensitive child named Rain from among the child recruits of the Army of Light . After the final battle the pair escaped the effects of the thought bomb and made their way , separately , to Onderon . Bane would accept Rain as his apprentice , dubbing her Darth Zannah , and from her would continue an unbroken line of Sith Lords , culminating in Darth Sidious and Darth Vader , who achieved what the Sith of the past never could : the destruction of the Galactic Republic , and the near annihilation of the Jedi Order . Notable figures . Darth Ruin . Darth Ruin was born as Phanius , an intelligent and charismatic renegade Jedi Master known for the disturbing tone of his philosophy , which included elements of moral relativism and solipsism . Phanius abandoned his oath and left the Order to pursue prohibited teachings , becoming one of the first of what would eventually become known as the Lost Twenty . Kerra Holt . Kerra Holt was born three decades before the end of the New Sith Wars . Her sector of birth was overrun by the Sith , and she fled as a refugee to the inner areas of the galaxy still controlled by the Galactic Republic . In the Republic , she joined the Jedi Order and was trained by the adventurer Vannar Treece . Kerra determined to make herself into a " living weapon " and , having done so , returned to the areas of the galaxy still controlled by the Sith , determined to fight the Sith wherever she found them . The rival Sith Lord brothers Odion and Daiman were two enemies she encountered . Calimondra family . Vilia Calimondra , a Sith Lord and the matriarch of the family , acquired many husbands , expanding her empire . She mothered seven children , each of whom claimed the right to be Vilia ' s sole heir . In 1066 BBY , Vilia initiated the " Charge Matrica " , a contest whose winner would be determined by which of Vilia ' s children could expand her empire the greatest . Vilia ' s empire expanded even farther ; however , her children eventually went to war with one another . Chagras eventually defeated his rival siblings , but died suddenly in 1040 BBY . Vilia was left with several grandchildren , including Odion and Daiman , each claiming right to her legacy . Vilia initiated a Second " Charge Matrica " , but , again , Vilia ' s potential heirs descended into war with each other . Hoth . Lord Hoth led the Army of Light against Skere Kaan ' s Brotherhood of Darkness during the final decade of the New Sith Wars , until their final confrontation in the Ruusan campaign . Aided by his friend Pernicar and fellow Jedi Lord Valenthyne Farfalla , Hoth prosecuted the campaign against Kaan , facing challenges of low supplies , dwindling morale , and harsh conditions . Hoth ' s temper was as legendary as his battle prowess , and after the death of Pernicar a feud between Hoth and Valenthyne Farfalla almost delivered victory to Kaan . Despite their animosity , the pair reconciled , allowing Hoth to face his foe in a final confrontation . Knowing that the desperate Sith would utilize a dangerous Force power known as the thought bomb in an attempt to stave off defeat , Hoth went to face him anyway , forcing the Brotherhood of Darkness to destroy themselves in the process . Hoth ' s act of self - sacrifice saved the Republic and ended the Sith as a galactic threat for almost a thousand years . Skere Kaan . A former Jedi Master , Lord Skere Kaan was Dark Lord of the Sith in the last years of the New Sith Wars and ascended to leadership of the Sith Empire almost a decade before the Ruusan campaign , ending a long and protracted civil war among various self proclaimed Sith warlords . Preaching a message of Sith unity and equality , Kaan was able to end the Sith civil war that had raged for years , allowing the Sith to refocus on their true enemies , the Jedi . After uniting the surviving remnants under his banner , Kaan led them into a final war against the Jedi on the world of Ruusan , where he and his opponent , Lord Hoth of the Jedi , fought each other to a standstill . In desperation and hoping to wipe out his opponent , Kaan destroyed destroying himself and his followers with the thought bomb in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan , leaving the Jedi shattered , but ultimately victorious and the Sith presumed extinct . Valenthyne Farfalla . Valenthyne Farfalla was a noted Jedi Master and Jedi Lord who fought at Ruusan . A male Half - Bothan , Farfalla had a reputation for being foppish and vain . He aided Lord Hoth and the Army of Light in the Ruusan campaign , in the final years of the Light and Darkness War . In the last year of the battle , Farfalla left Ruusan to gather three hundred Jedi Knights to aid in the struggle for the world . Farfalla was often at odds with Hoth , and when the latter ' s good friend Pernicar was killed by the Sith , he blamed Farfalla and the two men had a falling out . However , they eventually repaired their relationship and rallied the Jedi for a final assault on the Sith stronghold . When Hoth and many other Jedi were killed by Lord Skere Kaan ' s thought bomb , Farfalla was left as the highest - ranking Jedi to survive Ruusan . Farfalla continued to serve the Jedi for a decade , until he was killed by Darth Bane in a lightsaber battle on Tython . Darth Bane . Darth Bane , born under the name of Dessel , was the Sith ' ari and the Dark Lord of the Sith responsible for creating the Rule of Two . Rising from humble origins to join Kaan ' s Sith , he soon lost confidence in the Brotherhood of Darkness , believing Kaan to be a coward and a fool . Deserting the order , he provided Kaan with the secret of the thought bomb , thereby helping to destroy the Brotherhood , allowing him to create his own Sith Order . As the only survivor of the Ruusan campaign , Bane then instituted a Rule of Two , which stated that there could be only two Sith to avoid the infighting that had plagued the Sith for millennia . He styled himself as Darth Bane , and took as his apprentice a Human female , whom he christened Darth Zannah . Zannah would eventually kill her master , taking his place as Sith Lord , but continuing his legacy . Nearly a millennium later , Bane ' s Sith Order would defeat the Jedi and overthrow the Republic .