Dark Lord of the Sith

"The Sith must be ruled by a single leader, the very embodiment of the strength and power of the Dark Side. If the leader grows weak another must rise to seize the mantle."

- Darth Revan's holocron

The title of Dark Lord of the Sith originally referred to the emperor of the Sith Empire, and later was taken by the leader of the Sith Order. Before Kaan, there was only one Dark Lord of the Sith at a time, who was the head of the Order - in more recent periods, it was a title shared by multiple individuals simultaneously. The term referred to individuals of both sexes.

The title Dark Lord of the Sith is often thought to be synonymous with the title Darth, but this is purely conjecture and has not been properly substantiated. Many Sith Lords have used the Darth title, but there is no evidence as to the synonymity of these two appellations.

The title of Dark Lord was possibly comparable to that of a Jedi Grand Master.

The first Dark Lord of the Sith was 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.

Xendor, believed to be the first Dark Jedi, is possibly the predecessor of the Dark Lords of the Sith, though he himself was never a Sith Lord.

After the fall of the Sith Empire, Naga Sadow gave the title to his apprentice, Freedon Nadd. The spirit of the dead Dark Lord Marka Ragnos then declared Nadd’s apprentice, Exar Kun, Dark Lord of the Sith. 3,000 years later, Lord Kaan began the practice of giving the title to all members of the Order, thus making it a title shared by many Sith for the first time in their long history. 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.

In recent times, after the destruction of the Order of the Sith Lords, the title fell out of use as the Sith were effectively extinct. However, in 8 ABY, Bacharan Valak claimed the title after years of extensive studies in the Sith arts. He took on several apprentices, training them in the dark arts, though these apprentices never became Sith as Valak did.

In the newly formed New Sith Order, Darth Malign appears to be the new Dark Lord of the Sith.

From the Hundred-Year Darkness to the New Sith Wars

 * Ajunta Pall
 * Dathka Graush
 * Tulak Hord
 * Marka Ragnos
 * Naga Sadow (in opposition to Ludo Kressh)
 * Ludo Kressh (in opposition to Naga Sadow)
 * Freedon Nadd
 * Exar Kun
 * Darth Revan
 * Darth Malak
 * Darth Nihilus
 * Unknown Darth
 * Darth Ruin
 * The Dark Underlord
 * Darth Rivan
 * Belia Darzu
 * Kaan

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 Kaan. At the time of the Ruusan campaign, there were a total of twenty-six Dark Lords, including:


 * Qordis
 * Kopecz
 * Kas'im
 * LaTor
 * Seviss Vaa
 * Kaox Krul

Later, the students of the Sith Academy were also elevated to the rank, including:


 * Darth Bane
 * Githany

Darth Bane's Reformed Order
In Bane's reformed order, two Sith held the title at the time, the only two living members of the order in the entire galaxy: a Master and an apprentice.




 * Darth Zannah
 * Darth Cognus
 * Darth Millennial
 * Darth Vectivus
 * Darth Plagueis
 * Darth Sidious
 * Darth Maul
 * Darth Tyranus
 * Darth Vader

Post-Palpatine

 * Bacharan Valak
 * Darth Pain
 * Darth Malus
 * Darth Malign

Others

 * Darth Andeddu
 * Darth Andeddu was seen in a hologram wearing the garb of a Sith Lord from the original Sith Empire, strongly connoting an historical placement within the pre-Exar Kun period.


 * The Red-Armored Dark Lord.