Hundred - Year Darkness / Legends The Hundred - Year Darkness was a conflict that began in 7000 BBY and lasted until approximately 6900 BBY , when a group of Dark Jedi created monstrous armies to battle the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic . The Hundred - Year Darkness began three years after the Dark Jedi split with the Order in the Second Great Schism . After 10 decades of fighting , the Dark Jedi lost the war at the Battle of Corbos , but went on to conquer Korriban , and founded the Sith . Beginnings . The Second Great Schism began when a small sect of Jedi Knights began practicing extended uses of the Force . By relying more and more upon the Force , these Knights learned that using the Force of sufficient intensity could bend life itself . With their new powers , the Knights experimented upon other lifeforms to create new species and predators as extensions of their will . It was postulated that their power could even be used to end death and revive dead worlds . Other Jedi looked upon these new powers with suspicion , suspecting that such power would only lead to abuse . The earliest rebels , the Legions of Lettow , had been defeated in the First Great Schism , but their legacy remained , and a second group of dissidents would emerge , led by such rogue Jedi as Ajunta Pall , XoXaan and Karness Muur . All great conflicts began with passion , and this one was no different . Firmly adamant in protecting their newly - acquired powers , this sect of Jedi sought to convince the other Jedi to join their quest for eternal life and galactic bliss . The others were not convinced , and tried to distance themselves from the situation . Firmly convinced that their way was right , the arguments turned into conflict . The rogue Jedi were exiled along with their teachings . A war had begun that would last a hundred years . War . Retreating from Jedi worlds such as Tython , the exiled Jedi raised an animalistic army of dark side abominations . The first form of Korriban zombie s would be created during the earliest stages of the war . However , even against these incarnations of the dark side , the Jedi began to push the rogue Jedi back . The animalistic army was easily overwhelmed by the power of the Jedi , but the exiled Jedi refused to surrender . Duels to the death between Jedi became the end of many battles . During the war , the Jedi constructed the Prism , a secret prison facility known only to the members of the Jedi High Council . By the second half of the war , the Dark Jedi were in a state of despair . They were simply outnumbered , and could see no way of winning . However , the Dark Jedi refused to surrender , and pooled all their resources into creating the most fearsome dark side creatures ever seen . Supported by monstrous creatures , such as the Leviathan , the Dark Jedi armies were reinvigorated . Armies fled in terror from the abilities of the Leviathan to suck life essences into the blister - traps upon their backs . However , under combined efforts from the Jedi , the Dark Jedi were continually pushed back . The last stand of the Dark Jedi was on the world of Corbos . Infighting , along with the bombardment of the Jedi and the Republic , led to the surrender of the last of the Dark Jedi . Exile . After their defeat on Corbos , the surviving Dark Jedi were rounded up by the Republic armies . Stripped of weapons and armor , the Dark Jedi were at the mercy of the justice of the Republic . Although members of the Republic wanted public executions , the Jedi leaders were inclined to banish the rogue Jedi into the unknown , in the hopes that , with time , they would see the error of their ways . On the plains of a barren world , the Exiles , as they became known within the Republic , were herded onto unarmed transport ships . Several fighters accompanied the ships to ensure the departure of the Dark Jedi from Republic space . The Hundred Year Darkness was over , and the Jedi had weathered the Second Great Schism . A New World . Coming out of hyperspace , the Dark Jedi gazed upon an uncharted world . Landing on the world , they were surprised to find a humanoid species calling themselves the Sith . Hakagram Graush , the ruling king of the Sith , or Sith ' ari , was shocked at the appearance of the outsiders , but after seeing their amazing powers and advanced technology , the King welcomed them to the world . Unfortunately , that led to his downfall . The Sith ' ari ' s Shadow Hand conspired with the new arrivals , and betrayed his liege to the Dark Jedi . Using their training in the Force , the Exiles amazed the Sith and elevated themselves to god - like status on Korriban , becoming the rulers of the Sith people . The most powerful of the Dark Jedi , Ajunta Pall , became the first Dark Lord of the Sith . Some of the Exiles , however , were not content to rule the Sith and gather their strength . A few of the Dark Jedi returned to the territory of the Republic to attack the Jedi . They believed they now had the power to crush the Jedi Order and rule , but they were wrong . Their premature actions served only to alert the Republic and their defenders that some of the Exiles survived out in uncharted space . As years passed , and interbreeding occurred between the Fallen Jedi and the Sith , the term " Sith " came to mean not only the original inhabitants of Korriban , but also their fallen Jedi masters . The Dark Jedi greatly accelerated the cultural development of the Sith . When first encountered , the Sith were a simple tribal species that wore primitive clothing and lived in small huts . With the influence of the Dark Jedi , elaborate clothing came into use , and large temples were erected by the Sith people for their overlords , including the Valley of the Dark Lords . With the destruction of the Sith Empire , for the rest of galactic history , the term Sith was more often applied to only those dark - side Force - users who were the successors of Ajunta Pall and the Lords of the Sith . It is from this rise to power and integration into Sith culture that the term " Dark Lord of the Sith " originated as a title bestowed upon the leader of the Old Sith Empire by a council of lesser Sith Lords . During the early history of the Sith Empire , the coming of the prophesied savior of the Sith Order , the " Sith ' ari " , was foretold . The " Sith ' ari " was a perfect being who would one day lead the Sith . According to prophecy , the " Sith ' ari " would rise up and destroy the Sith , but in the process make them stronger than ever before . Some see this as a striking parallel to the Chosen One of Jedi legend . Return . After becoming Sith Lords , several Exiles took the ship they had arrived on along with new weapons , Massassi warriors , and their new secrets of Sith alchemy in an attempt to destroy the Jedi against Ajunta Pall ' s orders , only to have themselves destroyed , and giving the Jedi the knowledge that Sith Space existed , and that the Exiles had survived . Behind the scenes . For many years , the Hundred - Year Darkness was just a footnote in the history of the " Star Wars " galaxy , and unknown as the conflict which birthed the Sith Order . Prior to that , it had often been assumed that the First Great Schism , caused in the early years of the Republic , had been what formed the Sith Order . This was also somewhat confirmed in Naga Sadow ' s entry in " The New Essential Guide to Characters " , which stated he was the first Sith Lord in 20 , 000 years to reestablish contact with the Republic . However , LucasFilm had intended the Hundred - Year Darkness to be the source of the Sith Order , and was established as such in " The New Essential Chronology " . Daniel Wallace , who worked on both the NEGTC and the NEC , has since admitted that the Naga Sadow entry date was a mistake .