Sith

The Sith are an organization and order of Dark side Force-users in the Star Wars universe. The first Sith were once Jedi before they turned evil and embraced the Dark side of the Force.

Background
The Sith Lords dedicate themselves to the Dark side of the Force which is accessed through negative, uncontrolled, or aggressive emotions and feelings, such as fear, pain, anger, hatred, envy, rage, greed, intense desire, despair, craving, lust, desperation and unrestrained passions. Using any of these emotions while being a Force-user, and thereby using the Force, would cause the Dark side to enhance these emotions beyond the control of the individual, sometimes to the point of mental or emotional instability. It could warp the personality of the individual into a more evil one and turn them to the Dark side.

Organization
The Sith members, are known by the ranks of Sith apprentice, Sith Lord and Sith Master, traditionally use the title Darth before their Sith name. The Sith are the archenemies of the Jedi and, like them, their main weapon is the lightsaber, only with all of these having a red or purple kyber or synthetic crystal and blade. They only exist two at a time; a master and an apprentice, due to Darth Bane's establishment of the Rule of Two.

Unlike the Jedi, they are not bound to a code of ethics, morality, principles and justice; as they are far more cold, cruel, brutal and ruthless than their archenemies. Despite this, some Sith like Darth Vader are known to have a sense of morals, honor, and principles.

The ultimate goal of the Sith, is to conquer and rule the galaxy, the Sith members, who have the rank of Sith Lord or Sith Master, are address as "Lord" or "Master"; before being address by their Sith names.

Powers and Equipment

 * The Force: The Sith are skilled in the ways of the Force, particularly the Dark side of the Force.
 * Lightsabers: All Sith are armed with red-bladed lightsabers of any style and type depending on the wielder's preferences. Most Sith were accomplished duelists with varying degrees of skill and were often a match for their Jedi counterparts. Despite this, some Sith, like Palpatine, disliked these weapons, as they had felt Sith had grown beyond the need for a lightsaber in battle. As revealed in Marvel Comics' Darth Vader series, Sith traditionally would create their lightsabers after killing a Jedi, stealing the Kyber crystal from their slain enemy's lightsaber and infect it with the Dark side of the Force.
 * Sith robes: Sith robes are black colored uniforms worn by the members of the Sith Order (Sith apprentice, Sith Lord and Sith Master alike) although similar to the clothing worn by the members of the Jedi Order, Sith robes are in fact much more personalized to the wearer than its Jedi counterparts; Sith robes are an integral part of their identity. Most Sith are most easily recognized by their distinctive garb and often used this to further intimidate or impress their opponents and allies alike.

Rule of Two
The Rule of Two is a Sith philosophy created by Darth Bane; that only two Sith can exist at any given time; the Dark Lord of the Sith to embody power, and the apprentice to crave it. Bane created the Rule of Two so the Sith could operate in secret, using subterfuge to plot their revenge against the Jedi. For a thousand years, the Sith would remain in hiding until the time was right to reveal themselves.

Unfortunately, this philosophy would eventually lead to the Sith Order's downfall; if Palpatine had abandoned this Sith philosophy after he had gained full control over the Galactic Republic and brought the Jedi Order to near-extinction, as well as recruiting Force-sensitives individuals and train them in the ways of the Dark side of the Force, he would have not only increased the Sith's numbers but also prevented the destruction of the Sith Order itself.

The Rule of Two was destroyed in the Battle of Endor, when Darth Vader broke away from the Dark side, becoming Anakin Skywalker once again. When Anakin killed Palpatine, he had killed the last surviving member of the Rule of Two.

Code of the Sith
The Sith Code is a set of rules and teachings that governed the behavior of the Sith Order, it is the dark counterpart of the Jedi Code.
 * Peace is a lie, there is only passion: Unlike the Jedi, who become attuned to the Force through inner peace, all Sith are taught to connect to the Force through passion and other intense emotions.
 * Through passion, I gain strength: All Sith are taught to believe that resolve hardened by intense emotions like rage make one strong.
 * Through strength, I gain power: All Sith are taught to believe that the strong are meant to rule the weak.
 * Through power, I gain victory: All Sith are taught to believe that unless the victory is achieved by demonstrating that one's power is superior, it is not a true victory.
 * Through victory, my chains are broken: All Sith are taught to believe in using any means to achieve their ends.
 * The Force shall free me: All Sith are taught to believe that those who strove for perfection through knowledge and mastery of the Force would be rewarded.
 * One Master, one apprentice: A single Sith Lord or Sith Master is forbidden to have more than one Sith apprentice at a given time.
 * No Mercy: All Sith are taught to believe that showing mercy to their opponent(s), makes them weak, as they have no qualms guilt or remorse for killing or torturing, unarmed opponents, particularly their own prisoners, even if they have surrendered. Darth Vader is the only known Sith to secretly have guilt, shame and remorse for terrorizing, torture and even murdering his enemies in cold-blood, as he did not take pleasure out of it.
 * Non-Age Restriction: Sentient beings at any age are allowed to join the Sith Order as apprentices.

Sith ranks

 * Sith apprentice: Sith apprentice is a rank granted to an individual (and on occasion, a child) who have been chosen by a Sith Lord or Sith Master to be their apprentice. They are known to take on their own apprentice(s) in an effort to overthrow their mentor(s); however, after Darth Bane established the Rule of Two, there can only be one Sith apprentice and Sith Master at any given time.
 * Sith Lord: Sith Lord is a rank granted to Sith apprentices who have become considerable powerful in the Dark side of the Force, and skilled lightsaber combat; however, after Darth Bane established the Rule of Two, there can only be one Sith Lord and Sith Master at any given time.
 * Sith Master: Sith Master is a rank granted to a few Sith Lords, depending on their experience, intelligence, wisdom, mastery of the Force, skills in lightsaber combat or they had successfully killed their former mentor(s) who had the rank of Sith Master; however, after Darth Bane established the Rule of Two, there can only be one Sith Master at any given time.

Sith Military ranks
Although the Sith Order is not a military organization, as seen in the the original films, as well as in the animated series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels; its members have became part of the Separatist Droid Army and the Imperial Army.
 * Sith Commander: Sith Commander is a military rank granted to Sith apprentices and Sith Lords, who takes leadership positions within in the Imperial Army and serve as the second-in-command to a Sith General; it is the second highest military rank in the Imperial Army that a Sith can achieve.
 * Sith General: Sith General is a military rank granted to Sith Lords and Sith Masters, who serve as generals within the Empire war effort; it is the highest military rank in the Imperial Army that a Sith can achieve.

Sith titles

 * Darth: Darth is a title that is granted to individuals (Sith apprentice, Sith Lord and Sith Master alike) who are members of the Sith Order.
 * Dark Lord of the Sith: Dark Lord of the Sith is a title that is granted to a Sith Master who is the elected leader of Sith Order and head of the Dark Council, it is usually granted to the strongest, wisest and most powerful member of the Sith Order; however, after Darth Bane established the Rule of Two, there can only be only one Sith Master at any given time, an individual can only obtain this title, if he/she successfully kills current Dark Lord of the Sith, who is also the individual's former mentor.

History
Sometime after the end of the Hundred-Year Darkness; the Sith Order was created by an unnamed/unknown rogue Jedi after he was exiled from the Jedi Order, by the Jedi High Council; for his beliefs that the true potential of the Jedi involved tapping into the Dark side of the Force, (prior to his expulsion from the Jedi Order, this unnamed/unknown male Jedi was secretly studying the forbidden teachings of the Dark side of the Force, something that the Jedi High Council were completely unaware of; until after he established the Sith Order) the Dark Jedi gained a number of followers, and their actions led to the formation of the Sith, for thousands of years they have been the eternal enemy of the Jedi since the formation of there organization, as well as the fact they have tried to conquer and rule the galaxy.

Like the Jedi, the Sith used kyber crystals to power their lightsabers, however, because they had to remain in hiding until the time was right to reveal themselves to the people of the galaxy and the Jedi, to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves, the Sith started using synthetic kyber crystals (artificially created kyber crystals); giving them slightly stronger and more powerful lightsaber blades than the ones powered by natural kyber crystals. However, as revealed by Palpatine, the main tradition of obtaining lightsaber crystals was to steal one from a Jedi the Sith Lord had slain and corrupt it with the Dark side of the Force, turning it red; a technique referred to as "making the crystal bleed".

As the Sith Order became more and more powerful, they had built many Sith Temples throughout the galaxy over the years to serve as Sith academies to train new generations of Sith Lords across the galaxy; such as the Malachor Sith Temple, considered to be the very first according to historians among their ranks, the Mustafar Sith Temple and the famous Moraband Sith Temple, in a location known as the Valley of the Dark Lords, which served as their headquarters.

At one point thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin, an unnamed/unknown female Dark Lord of the Sith constructed another Sith Temple on the planet of Malachor, which harbored a superweapon capable of destroying all life. The Jedi, in retaliation, launched an assault on Malachor but were utterly wiped out after the weapon activated, turning them all to stone.

For thousands of years the Sith continued to gain dominance throughout the galaxy, but their empire ultimately fell due to infighting between the various Sith Lords and their respective factions. The only survivor of this strife was Darth Bane, who created the rule of two. The Sith Order were believed to have been entirely wiped out by the Jedi Order, however, unknown to the Jedi and the people of the galaxy, Bane, utilizing his new philosophy, used the rule of two to rebuild the Sith.

Bane's Sith philosophy stated that only two Sith can exist at any given time; so the Sith could operate in secret, using subterfuge to plot their revenge against the Jedi. Eventually, Bane was killed by the Jedi (when they learned of his survival and his new Sith philosophy), but unbeknownst to them, Bane had secretly taken an apprentice and by letting himself be killed, had drawn the Jedi's attention away from the Sith, leading them to think that the Sith Order had been destroyed for good. For a thousand years, the Sith would remain in hiding until the time was right to reveal themselves. Their hiding in the shadows was inadvertently aided by the actions of the Jedi, who purged all the knowledge of the Sith they found from the galaxy, leaving them completely unprepared for the Sith's eventual return only helped the Sith Order to become stronger and more powerful than before.

After thousands of years, the Sith reintroduced themselves to the galaxy, when Darth Maul was sent to Tatooine by his former mentor Palpatine, to capture Padmé Amidala, the Queen of Naboo. During this mission he was confronted by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and during their duel - Qui-Gon realized that not only did his opponent know the ways of the Force but he was also familiar with the Jedi art of lightsaber combat. He then concluded that the only viable explanation was that his opponent was a Sith.

After this encounter, Qui-Gon reported his concerns to the Jedi High Council, however, some members of the Jedi High Council were skeptical to believe this such as Ki-Adi-Mundi who stated that the Sith have been extinct for a millennium and Mace Windu who arrogantly stated that the Sith could not possibly return without them knowing. However, Yoda and most other members of the Jedi High Council, knew that nothing was impossible and that the Dark side of the Force was unpredictable. It was only after the Invasion of Naboo and Qui-Gon's death that the Jedi High Council finally accepted that the mysterious dark warrior was in fact, a Sith, though they had no way of knowing whether it was master or apprentice they had killed.

Unknown to the people of the galaxy, the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, was secretly Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. He had used his position to orchestrate the Clone Wars and strategically gain more power. Over the next three years Palpatine became progressively more powerful and nearing the end of the Clone Wars - he had finally gained full control over the Galactic Senate. It was not until he had successfully converted Anakin Skywalker to the ways of the Dark side of the Force and turning him into the ruthless Sith Lord Darth Vader, that he initiated Order 66 - a brutal tactical strike targetting all Jedi. Mace Windu's extremism and attempted murder on Palpatine, gave the Dark Lord the pretext he needed to begin the Jedi Purge; bringing the Jedi Order to the brink of extinction.

For approximately fourteen years, Palpatine oppressed the people of the galaxy. This eventually resulted in the founding of the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Civil War that would last for nine long years. At the Battle of Endor, Darth Vader finally broke away from the Dark side, becoming Anakin Skywalker once again. When Anakin killed Palpatine, he had killed the last surviving member of the Sith Order, destroying the entity once and for all.

Notable Sith

 * Palpatine
 * Darth Maul (formerly)
 * Count Dooku
 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (formerly)
 * Darth Bane
 * Unnamed female Sith Lord from Malachor

Triva

 * In Star Wars Legends, the Sith Order wasn't destroyed during the Battle of Endor, instead, it as well as its followers remained in hiding for some decade before resurfacing as a threat to the galaxy. A century later, a new Sith Order arose from the ashes and set out to conquer the galaxy. Famous members of the Sith from this timeline include Lumiya, Darth Caedus, the Lost Tribe of Sith, Darth Krayt and the rest of the One Sith.