Dark Lord of the Sith

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Dark Lord of the Sith or Dark Lady of the Sith is a title taken by the leader of the Sith Order in the fictional Star Wars universe. The Dark Lords of the Sith are acknowledged as the leaders of their order, and the most powerful Sith of their time. Only one Dark Lord existed at a time until the reign of Lord Kaan, at which point the title was bestowed upon all the leading Sith Lords of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Following destruction of the Sith during the Battle of Ruusan, the dark order was reformed by Darth Bane. Bane instituted the "Rule of Two," which decreed that at no point in time could their number be more than two: a Master and an apprentice. Despite their difference in power, rank, and skill, both bore the title "Dark Lord of the Sith."

Contents

1 Dark Lords of the Sith in approximate chronological order

1.1 From The Hundred-Year Darkness to the rise of Kaan
1.2 From the rise of Kaan to the Seventh Battle of Ruusan
1.3 From the Seventh Battle of Ruusan to after the Galactic Empire

1.3.1 Possible candidates

1.4 Legacy Era
1.5 Uncertain eras

2 See also

Dark Lords of the Sith in approximate chronological order

The names on the list are the Dark Lords who were publicly known. There were many Dark Lords who stayed in shadow and made no public appearance, waiting for a suitable time and chance to plot against the Jedi and the Republic.

For other lesser ranking Sith Lords, please read the article Sith.

From The Hundred-Year Darkness to the rise of Kaan

Ajunta Pall — c. 6,900 BBY
Tulak Hord — between Ajunta Pall and Marka Ragnos (specific date unknown)
Marka Ragnos — 5,100 BBY - 5,000 BBY
Naga Sadow — 5,000 BBY
Ludo Kressh — 5,000 BBY
Freedon Nadd — 4,400 BBY - 4,350 BBY
Exar Kun — 3,997 BBY - 3,996 BBY
Darth Revan — 3,959 BBY - 3,957 BBY
Darth Malak — 3,957 BBY - 3,956 BBY
Darth Nihilus — 3,955 BBY - 3,951 BBY
Darth Ruin — c. 2,000 BBY
The Dark Underlord — c. 1,500 BBY
Darth Rivan — between the Dark Underlord and Belia Darzu (specific date unknown)
Belia Darzu — 1,250 BBY - 1,230 BBY
Kaan — ? BBY - 1,000 BBY

From the rise of Kaan to the Seventh Battle of Ruusan

From this point on, the tradition of a sole "Dark Lord of the Sith" ended, and multiple Sith held the title in conjunction with their leader, Lord Kaan.

From the Seventh Battle of Ruusan to after the Galactic Empire

After the end of the New Sith Wars, Darth Bane instituted a new Sith Order in which only two Sith Lords could exist at a time: a Master and an apprentice, both of which bore the title of Dark Lord of the Sith.

Darth Bane — c. 1,000 BBY
Darth Zannah — c. 1,000 BBY
— unknown
Darth Millennial — unknown
Darth Vectivus — "hundreds of years" BBY
Darth Plagueis — ? BBY - 43 BBY
Darth Sidious — c. 82 BBY - 11 ABY
Darth Maul — 43 BBY - 32 BBY
Darth Tyranus — 32 BBY - 19 BBY
Darth Vader — 19 BBY - 4 ABY
Lumiya — 4 ABY onwards

Possible candidates

During Lumiya's reign as Dark Lady of the Sith, it is unknown if she continued to adhere to the Rule of Two that was integral to the Sith Order that preceded her. If she did so, then each of her two successive apprentices would have carried the title of Dark Lord as well.

Flint — 4 ABY - 5 ABY
Carnor Jax — 5 ABY - 11 ABY

Legacy Era

Though Darth Bane's order of Sith died with Palpatine and Lumiya's Sith's status as an "order" is questionable, the knowledge of the Sith continued to live on, and by 130 ABY, it had coalesced into a new order founded and led by Darth Krayt. This order did away with the Rule of Two, returning to the ancient tradition of a single ruling Dark Lord with a limitless number of servants.

— c. 130 ABY

Uncertain eras

Dathka Graush

Dathka Graush was a pure-blooded Sith Dark Lord who won one of Korriban's periodic civil wars and established a dynasty that ruled over two-thirds of the planet. He is believed to have died around 7,000 BBY, but this is one hundred years before the Dark Jedi exiles would discover the Sith species and create the title of Dark Lord of the Sith. Further complicating matters is the fact that Graush was a pure-blooded Sith who apparently ruled the Sith Empire very close to the time of its creation, yet the Dark Jedi who discovered the Sith and were revered as gods were human, and it would be years before alchemy allowed them to interbreed with the Sith people. Therefore, Dathka Graush's precise placement within the lineage of Dark Lords remains unknown.

Darth Andeddu

Few things are known about Darth Andeddu, and certainly not enough to state definitively in what era he lived and reigned as Dark Lord. Among the inconclusive clues are the following facts: he wielded a red-bladed lightsaber, he possessed a Holocron, he was buried in his own tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban, he wore clothing suggestive of a more ancient timeframe, and he was not a member of the Sith species.