The Sith Homeworld: Korriban

The Sith are well-known as strong lords controlled by channelling the dark side's energy. Sith Lords are frequently viewed as the antithesis of Jedi Masters, wielding the Force more for evil and destruction than for harmony and balance.

Dark Lords who belonged to the Sith Order were named "Darth" instead of their name. Darth Vader, Darth Maul, and Darth Sidious were among the most notorious Sith Lords in the galaxy.

The Sith spread havoc throughout the galaxy, destroying civilisations, torturing the defenceless, and guaranteeing the enslavement of the population. But what were the Sith before they set their eyes on ruling the galaxy? How did they get so wicked? From what precise location did the Sith originate?

The Sith Species

The Sith were just another humanoid species before they developed into the dark lords we are familiar with. Red Sith or Sith Purebloods were other names for the Sith race. "Sith Lord" originally denoted a prominent figure in their society.

Their skin tone was crimson or obsidian, their hair was red, brown, or black, and their eyes were red, orange, or yellow. Sith younglings tended to have brighter red skin, which deepened in colour as they grew older. Nonetheless, some people retained blush in their skin well into maturity.

The species had unique facial features, like tentacle beards and bone spurs on various parts of its body. The Red Sith also possessed simian mouths, short noses, horns on their forehead, and sharp teeth. Some had five clawed digits, but the majority had three on each hand and three on each foot.

Left-handedness and a tendency towards the dark side of the Force were genetic traits shared by Sith people. The Jedi Council deemed the entire species Force-sensitive because of their extreme propensity towards the dark side. Their symbiotic bond with the dark side of the Force allowed them to directly extract food from it, which fed the dark side in return.

The species was nearly always at war with itself due to internal strife and cruelty. The Sith, however, did not consider themselves to be barbarous or savage. The Sith were an extremely advanced race in and of themselves. They considered warfare and battle to be unavoidable aspects of life.

Alchemy, magic, and the consumption of blood soup and live sacrifices were common practices among the Sith. Sith alchemy was a scientific endeavour of the Sith that involved employing the dark side to alter a living thing or object permanently. The Jedi reject such authority, viewing it as betrayal. Spells and incantations were used in Sith sorcery to concentrate the power of the evil side.

Through their mastery of magic, the Sith achieved amazing feats, like causing a star to explode. They also bestowed dark side power on relics, talismans, other items, and even living things. Before coming into the Dark Jedi, they had been practising these magical methods.

What, then, is the genesis of these highly developed, powerful entities that also appear to have a propensity towards evil?

From where did the Sith originate?

History of The Sith Homeworld

Their civilization may have begun before 100,000 BBY, but this information could be lost to history.

On the planet Korriban, the ancient Sith homeworld, the Sith civilisation first began to emerge. Because of the nature of their kind, the Sith countries' battles dominated their existence on Korriban.

Korriban is a planet in the galaxy's outer rim territories, with a diameter of 16,890 km. Despite being the greatest area in the galaxy, the outer rim could be more populated. It can be found immediately before the Unknown Regions and Wild Space.

Most explorers had mapped most of the Unknown Regions, but Wild Space remained uncharted, with its contents a mystery to all. There were different harsh and desolate worlds on the outer rim, like Tatooine, Yavin, and Dagobah. Historically, planets in the Core Worlds were more advanced in civilisation than those in the Outer Rim Territories.

In a 1994 comic, the planet was called Korriban, but in the animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," it was renamed Moraband. The producers chose the original name of "The Clone Wars," Korriban; however, George Lucas insisted on calling it Moraband instead. However, Lucasfilm pointed out that the planet might have had multiple names. Though referred to as the sole Moraband during and after the Clone Wars, the planet is acknowledged as both Korriban and Moraband.

On Korriban, there were cold winds and a warm, dry climate, but the atmosphere was still breathable. There were red sands, arid riverbeds, mountains, canyons, and other ruins all over Korriban's landscape. When the planet was inhabited, food, advanced technology, raw minerals, and weapons were the main imports. Sith artefacts were major exporters.

The Sith people only united under King Adas in 30,000 BBY. Adas was proclaimed the ultimate being, or Sith’ari.

In 28,000 BBY, Adas founded the Sith Empire, known as the Old Sith Empire. For an entire three centuries, he governed.

All of this took place before the industrial era. The Rakata paid the Sith a visit in 27,700 BBY to seduce the King. Adas was able to expel them from Korriban, but he died protecting his world.

However, the Rakata abandoned their spacecraft on Korriban, allowing the Sith to enter the space era. Using their new vessels, the Sith could take control of neighbouring worlds, such as Ziost. They relocated their capital from their ancient planet, Korriban, to Ziost after conquering it. While Korriban still holds the title of the principal Sith homeworld, Ziost joined the ranks in 27,700 BBY.

However, with King Adas's death, the Sith began to revert to their previous internal strife. In the end, a civil conflict in 7,000 BBY destroyed most of Korriban.

A New Sith Empire

Where did the Sith, the dark Sith Lords, originate if the Red Sith were formerly a separate species? When did the Sith race transform into the well-known Dark Sith Lords?

That all began in the year 6,900 BBY.

A party of banished fallen Jedi who were escaping the Battle of Corbos touched down on Korriban around 6,900 BBY. These evil Jedi made an effort to subjugate the Sith people and take their wisdom. The Jedi could entice the Sith with their understanding of the Force despite their best efforts to conceal their knowledge of the dark side. The Jedi who had fallen and their force usage astound the Sith.

On Korriban, the Dark Jedi took advantage of this and worked their way up to become god-like figures. Subsequently, they assumed control over the Sith people on Korriban.

Over the next two millennia, the Dark Jedi employed Sith alchemy to facilitate the interbreeding of Sith and Jedi. After hundreds of generations of interbreeding, the hybridised descendants of this interbreeding eventually became the new ruling elite. This led to the name "Sith" being used for the hybrid children and Dark Jedi Masters, as well as the original Sith members.

A new Sith Empire became possible as a result of these events. Constructed utilising Sith magic, Jedi expertise, and the dark side, the Sith Empire aimed to subjugate novel realms. At least 120 distinct worlds were under Sith domination at the height of their dominance. 9.6 billion people were living on Korriban during the height of the Sith Empire, with nearly 94% of them being members of the Sith race.

Over the ensuing generations, the Sith Empire's rise to power went unnoticed by the Republic, which also forgot about the fallen Jedi exiles. The Galactic Republic was likewise unknown to the Sith Empire.

This seclusion was broken in 5,000 BBY. In 5,000 BBY, two teenage Republic hyperspace explorers, Gav and Jori Daragon, accidentally discovered Korriban.

The Sith leaders decided to conquer the Republic. They wanted to gain more territory. This would also distract from problems on their own planet. They discovered the Republic's existence and saw an opportunity.

The Sith Empire and the Old Republic engaged in the Great Hyperspace War. The Sith and the Jedi constructed enormous superweapons out of kyber crystals to try to repel one another.

The Republic's capital, Coruscant, became a crucial battleground during this conflict. After attacking Coruscant, the Sith erected a power temple atop a mountain in the planet's centre. Despite fierce opposition, the Jedi could drive the Sith forces from Coruscant. Afterwards, the Jedi built a temple above the shrine to house the Sith's dark energies.

Instead of being the thriving civilisation it once was, Korriban was left as a lonely mausoleum after the Great Hyperspace War.

Several more conflicts would occur between the Sith and the Old Republic during the ensuing four millennia. This ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Old Republic.

Even so, the Jedi managed to persevere after the collapse of the Old Republic. To retaliate against the Sith, the Jedi and the remaining members of the Old Republic joined forces.

The term "Dark Age" refers to this era. The Republic defeated the Sith. They killed all the Dark Lords except one. They reclaimed Coruscant. Then, they established the Galactic Republic in 1032 BBY.

The Sith Homeworld: Post-Desolation

Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith, remained barren throughout. The planet was largely deserted after the Great Hyperspace War and left abandoned.

Nonetheless, it still held the tombs of prior Sith Lords and is revered by the Sith.

The Valley of the Dark Lords was a place on the planet with monuments that held the tombs of dead Sith Lords. The Jedi Order's exiles added their tombs to the valley, once intended to serve as a royal burial site. The old Sith Great Temple and the Sith Academy, which trained those who were Force-sensitive in Sith ways, were located in the valley in addition to the tombs.

On Korriban, the biggest landmark was the Sith Temple. There was an execution chamber where the ancient Sith used to execute large groups of Jedi prisoners, as well as the tomb of the Sith Lord Darth Bane. Darth Bane is famous for surviving the Jedi-Sith conflict and creating the Rule of Two. He was the only one to survive the battle against the Jedi order.

Bane realised that the Sith were destroyed because of internal strife and selfishness. He created the Rule of Two, which says there can only be two Sith Lords at a time: one master and one apprentice.

In 19 BBY, Yoda travelled to Korriban as part of his quest to learn the mysteries of eternal awareness. Yoda went into Darth Bane's tomb when he was on the planet.

Bane attempted to persuade Yoda to join the dark side in a vision of the old Sith Lord he encountered. Darth Sidious also appeared to Yoda in visions, pleading with him to assist him in winning the Clone Wars. Yoda left Korriban after rejecting both temptations.

Yoda eventually succeeds in discovering the keys to perpetual consciousness. A Force ghost that resurfaces in Episodes 7 and 9 represents Yoda's consciousness, while Bane sits lifeless in the Sith homeworld's crypts.