So much of the Star Wars saga’s story before the original trilogy hinges on the idea that the Jedi Order is absolutely certain that the Sith are extinct – but why do they think this? As viewers, of course, we know that the Sith are alive and well, just in hiding during the age of the High Republic, leading into the prequel trilogy films. The Sith were simply waiting for their incredibly specific moment to strike, taking over the Republic as seen in Revenge of the Sith, and turning it into the Empire.

But why were the Jedi so certain that the Sith were completely extinct? The most definitive answers are found in the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, now dubbed “Legends.” Although these stories aren’t technically canon, many of the ideas still apply to the new Star Wars stories releasing today. It is found in the Old Republic Era, in a war between the Jedi and Sith.

The Sith Were Defeated 1,000 Years Before The Phantom Menace

The Jedi Sith War

The era of the Republic’s near-total dominance over the galaxy lasted for over 1000 years, but began after the defeat of the Sith, 1000 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. In Legends, this was known as the New Sith Wars, a thousand-year-long conflict that saw dwindling numbers of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords battling it out across the galaxy, ending on the planet Ruusan. On Ruusan, the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness faced off against the Jedi Army of Light, the war ending when they used a weapon called the Thought Bomb.

These events are now no longer completely canon, but elements of them have been referenced, meaning something like this probably did happen. In canon, the Jedi and Sith fought a war that involved Ruusan, that resulted in the complete decimation of the Sith, except for one Sith Lord named Darth Bane. Darth Bane was ultimately revealed to have orchestrated the Ruusan Campaign so he could start the Sith over anew.

Darth Bane Reinvented The Sith

The Surviving Sith Master And Apprentice

In Legends, Darth Bane was a Sith Lord who thought that the constant infighting among the Sith diminished their abilities as a force for darkness, and reduced their numbers. Bane was the only Sith survivor. The same is largely true for canon, as Darth Bane secretly survived the Jedi & Sith war, leading the Jedi Order to believe the Sith to be completely defeated. While in the shadows, as mentioned prior, the Sith began to grow their power under Darth Bane’s new Sith ideology.

The new Sith were known as Baneite Sith in Legends, but their ideology is the same in canon. They follow the Rule of Two, a concept based on Bane’s theories about the Force. Bane decreed there should only ever be two Sith: a Sith master and an apprentice. The master would train up a new apprentice, until that apprentice became powerful enough to kill their master, thus becoming the new master and repeating the process. The Jedi either never saw the Sith – or never survived to tell the tale, as seen in The Acolyte.

The Sith Have Been Planning Their Revenge Ever Since

Rule Of Two Baneite Sith Strike Back

The Sith, as restarted by Darth Bane, have one specific element of their organization that definitely puts the Jedi to shame: their direct and dynastic ancestry. In the Jedi Order, and even the old Sith, generations of masters trained generations of students, leading to a colossal web of Jedi and Sith. But under Bane, there was a direct ancestry of Sith. From master to apprentice, the line can be drawn directly from Bane to Palpatine, and then Vader as the line’s ending. This means so much for their revenge.

The title “Revenge of the Sith” has a much deeper meaning when looking at Darth Bane and the history of the Sith. The Sith were decimated by the Jedi, and waited, slowly gaining more power until a Sith was able to insert himself into the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. For so many centuries in the Star Wars galaxy, the Sith were just under the Jedi’s nose, plotting, while the Jedi considered them to be extinct because of their defeat in a war 1000 years before The Phantom Menace.