Dark Lord of the Sith/Legends

The title Dark Lord of the Sith, or Jen'ari in the Sith language, originally referred to the rulers of the Sith Empire, such as those entombed in Korriban's Valley of the Dark Lords; subsequently, it was shared by multiple Sith Lords simultaneously. Some Sith Lords had the prefix Darth, but not all were Dark Lords. From the Golden Age of the Sith until their fall in the New Sith Wars, there was typically only one Dark Lord of the Sith at a time who headed the Sith Order, with one Dark Lord succeeding the other, as was the case with Marka Ragnos and his successor, Naga Sadow, who initiated the failed Great Hyperspace War. The Sith Lord Vitiate declared himself Sith Emperor and founded a reconstituted Sith Empire, where all of his twelve Dark Councillors held the title of Dark Lord at the same time. The fallen Jedi Darth Revan and Darth Malak also claimed the Dark Lord title for themselves during the Jedi Civil War, as did the Sith Triumvirate that succeeded them.
After deceiving Skere Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness into destruction at Ruusan, Darth Bane instituted the Order of the Sith Lords' Rule of Two, dictating that there should only be one master and one apprentice at a time—both individuals of these Sith, such as Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, were Dark Lords of the Sith. The term referred to individuals of any gender, though Lumiya claimed the title of Dark Lady of the Sith. The Lost Tribe of Sith, who descended from Sith survivors of the Great Hyperspace War, were ruled by a Grand Lord and his Circle of Lords rather than a Dark Lord, while Darth Krayt of the One Sith assumed the mantle of Dark Lord.
==History==
===Sith Empire===
Xendor, leader of the Legions of Lettow during the First Great Schism, was seen by Sorzus Syn of the Hundred-Year Darkness's Exiles as a predecessor to the Lords of the Sith Empire they had created. Although Xendor was not a Sith Lord in his lifetime,Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side his spirit was rumored to have returned as the Sith Dark Underlord during the New Sith Wars.
The first Dark Lord of the Sith was Ajunta Pall, the leader of the exiled Dark Jedi who, after their defeat in the Hundred-Year Darkness, conquered the Sith species and ruled over them as gods. The title was subsequently passed down from Dark Lord to Dark Lord, Tulak Hord among them, until the time of Marka Ragnos, whose century-long reign brought about the Golden Age of the Sith. Ragnos' death in 5000 BBY created a power struggle between the Sith Lords Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh, who held opposing views on the future of the Empire. Though both claimed the title of Dark Lord, Sadow, plotting to incite a war between the Sith and Galactic Republic, convinced the Sith Council to appoint him Dark LordTales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 3 and forced Kressh's faction to flee into exile.Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 5 After the Republic defeated the Sith invasion fleet, Kressh came out of exile with his followers and declared himself the Dark Lord, but Sadow's faction quickly killed him and wiped out his faction.Tales of the Jedi – The Fall of the Sith Empire 5
1003 years after the fall of the Sith Empire, the spirit of Marka RagnosKnights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide declared Exar Kun Dark Lord of the Sith. At the same time, everyone on the Dark Council of the Sith Emperor Vitiate's Sith Empire also held the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, a first in Sith history.The Old Republic: Revan After discovering the long lost Star Forge, Revan broke free of Vitiate's mental control and declared himself the Dark Lord of the Sith of his new empire. Malak succeeded Darth Revan as the Dark Lord of the Sith after overthrowing him, until he was defeated by his former Sith Master.
===Rule of Two===
More than two thousand years later, Lord Kaan also granted the title to all members of the Brotherhood of Darkness, thus making it a title shared by many Sith for the second time. After the institution of the Rule of Two, the title was naturally held by only two members at a time, one being the Sith Master and the other being the Sith apprentice. It remained so until the rise of the Rule of One, which like the original Sith Empire recognized only a single Dark Lord of the Sith, bringing the title full circle.
==Behind the scenes==
The term Dark Lord of the Sith was in the script of A New Hope as a title of Darth Vader,The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire and although not mentioned in the dialogue of the Original trilogy, was mentioned in the novelizations and comic adaptations. 
While writing The Thrawn Trilogy, author Timothy Zahn originally conceived the Noghri to be the Sith; thus making the man they worshipped, Darth Vader, the "Dark Lord of the Sith". However, this idea came into conflict with Lucasfilm and thus Zahn was forced to change it.
The background of the Dark Lords of the Sith and their nature as Jedi who turned to the dark side of the Force was first explored in 1994 with Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1.Tales of the Jedi – The Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 Further information was provided in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith.Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:Sith ranks