Sith Empire (Post–Great Hyperspace War)

The Sith Empire, also referred to as the true Sith or simply the Empire, was the main continuation of the original Sith Empire which ruled thousands of star systems spread across the galaxy following the first empire's near-collapse in the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 BBY. It was founded by a group of Sith exiles who retreated into the Unknown Regions following Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow's disastrous campaign against the Galactic Republic. Led by the Sith Lord Vitiate, the refugees wandered aimlessly through space in search of a new home. Twenty years after their departure from their original territory, the Sith discovered the forgotten world of Dromund Kaas and settled it to begin the process of rebuilding.

During the rebuilding process, Vitiate proclaimed himself to be the new Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor of his people. Under the command of their ruler and his Dark Council of Sith Lords, the Empire established its capital of Kaas City and began building a mighty war machine, with the intent of eventually returning to combat with the Galactic Republic once more. The Empire worked towards that goal for over one thousand years, gradually expanding and gaining more power and influence. During that time, the Sith were discovered by Jedi Knights Revan and Malak, who were forcibly turned to the dark side of the Force by the Emperor and became Sith. Although they were sent back to serve as the vanguards of the Empire's eventual invasion, they broke free from his conditioning and formed their own Sith Empire to rival that of Vitiate, but the Republic defeated the two and their remnants, and the Sith Empire remained hidden.

Around three hundred years later, the Sith Empire—still under the command of Vitiate—was ready to return to the greater galaxy. After covertly installing puppet governments on Republic worlds across the Outer Rim Territories, the Sith invaded Republic space in an onslaught of unrivaled proportions.

After capturing and securing much of the Outer Rim in the early stages of what would become known as the Great Galactic War, the Sith Emperor began preparing for the push towards the Republic's bastion in the Galactic Core. Despite several setbacks in its campaign towards the core, the Empire surged forward once more, crippling the Republic economy through an alliance with the Mandalorian warrior clans. However the blockade was eventually broken by Hylo Visz, and reinforcements from the Republic which brought the war into another stalemate. After nearly 3 decades of fighting, the Empire surprised the galaxy when the Dark Council extended an offer of peace to the Republic. Desperate, the Republic senate accepted, but during peace talks on Alderaan, the Empire launched a sneak attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant. The attack was successful, allowing the Empire to force the Republic to formally capitulated and to sign their draft of the document that would end the war, the Treaty of Coruscant.

With the war at an end and the Empire stronger than ever, the Emperor retreated from the public view and passed responsibilities of the day-to-day maintenance of the Empire to the Dark Council. As a result of the Empire's co-existence with the Republic, an interstellar Cold War emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Great War, during which time the Empire engaged in proxy battles and small conflicts with the Republic and its allies. When war did break out again, the Empire started to suffer catastrophic defeats that ranged from losing members of its leadership, including the Sith Emperor himself. Additionally, the Empire began to weaken even further due to infighting and internal struggles between power-crazed Sith Lords. It soon became just as vulnerable and desperate as the Republic it was fighting. The infighting was the turning point for the Empire when Darth Marr assumed leadership. With the help of the their most powerful allies, he was able to stabilize the Empire. Marr ensured a bright future and even organized an alliance with the Republic in dealing with threats such as Revan and Vitiate. The Emperor's Wrath was tasked with preserving the Empire and led the Empire's forces in the battle against Darth Malgus and the Dread Masters alongside Darth Marr.

By 3636 BBY, the Eternal Empire invaded the rest of the galaxy, defeating both the Sith and Republic and establishing political, military, and economic control over both superpowers. During the conflict, many of the remaining members of the Dark Council were killed or otherwise disappeared under mysterious circumstances, except Darth Acina. The sudden disappearance of her rivals, such as Darth Nox and the Empire's Wrath, allowed her to seize complete control of the Empire's remnants and crown herself Empress of the Sith. Despite the new external threat, neither the Republic or the Empire would agree to officially end hostilities or discuss any sort of partnership. The earlier cooperation forged by Marr due to his reasonable leadership, though, would have a lasting legacy over the course of the decade, eventually paving way for members of the Empire to willingly join in an official alliance with Republic defectors against their common enemy. The defeat of the Eternal Empire would ultimately lead to another war between the Republic and Empire.

Eventually, the Empire fell like its predecessor, and its territory would be absorbed by the Galactic Republic, which was now the dominant superpower in the Galaxy. By 2000 BBY, those who still clung to the old Sith ways ultimately followed Darth Ruin, who established a New Sith Empire in its place.

Text and facts from the “Sith Empire (Post–Great Hyperspace War)” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.