Summary

• Both Star Wars canon and Legends depict the ancient Jedi-Sith War, with the Battle of Ruusan as a key event.
• Darth Bane played a pivotal role in both continuities, establishing the Rule of Two as a way for the Sith to survive and seek revenge.
• While canon has not explored the Sith's defeat in great detail, it retains key elements from Legends, including the title of the Jedi (Army of Light) and the final battle on Ruusan.

The ancient war between the Jedi Knights and the Star Wars franchise, yet it is never shown in the live-action films. Non-movie materials from the two Star Wars continuities, however, have explored it either partially or entirely. The first official Star Wars continuity, Legends (formerly the Expanded Universe), thoroughly explores the Jedi-Sith War (also known as the New Sith Wars) in a multitude of mediums, including comic books and novels. Following the Star Wars franchise’s partial reboot in 2014, the modern canon has created its own iteration, using Legends for inspiration.

As established in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the Jedi and Sith fought each other in a brutal full-scale war that ended with the apparent destruction of the Sith. In reality, the Sith survived and operated in secret for a millennium to eventually destroy the Jedi and take over the Galactic Republic. The precise details of this climactic conflict between the Jedi and Sith – and the handling of Darth Bane’s infamous Rule of Two – differ between canon and Legends. Here is how the two Star Wars continuities have explored the ancient history of the Jedi and Sith.

The Jedi-Sith War Ended In The Battle of Ruusan - In Canon & Legends

Some of the earliest depictions of the ancient Jedi and Sith conflicts debuted before the Star Wars prequels themselves, with the Jedi Knight video games and novels exploring the coveted Valley of the Jedi on the obscure Mid Rim planet of Ruusan. Later works, such as the Star Wars: Jedi vs Sith comic series by Darko Macan and Ramón F. Bachs and the Darth Bane Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn, would fully delve into this pivotal battle on Ruusan, tying it into the prequel era and making it one of the most important storylines in the Star Wars franchise.

Having observed the constant in-fighting between Sith Lords and how vulnerable it made them, Bane established the Rule of Two to keep this in check.

In both canon and Legends, Darth Bane was the last great Sith Lord of the era. Having observed the constant in-fighting between Sith Lords and how vulnerable it made them, Bane established the Rule of Two to keep this in check. For the Sith to survive and enact their revenge, they needed to be focused and work within the shadows, manipulating the Jedi and the galaxy writ large in secret rather than using brute force. Since betrayals were inevitable, the Rule of Two ensured that the master always sought a new apprentice while the apprentice sought to supplant their master.

Legends Told The Full Story Of The Battle of Ruusan

In Star Wars Legends, the millennium-long New Sith Wars ended with the Ruusan Campaign. The Sith, by this point, had become known as the Brotherhood of Darkness and were led by the Sith Lord (and fallen Jedi) Skere Kaan. Darth Bane believed that Kaan and the Brotherhood had betrayed the ideals of the ancient Sith that came before them. Indeed, Skere Kaan was known for the “Rule by the Strong” doctrine, that rendered all of the Brotherhood’s Sith Council technically equal. Like most Sith, Kaan sought to destroy the Jedi and subject the galaxy to a Sith theocracy.

The Jedi became hardened warriors, all but losing their status as peacekeepers.

The Jedi, meanwhile, had eschewed some of their most sacred traditions in their desperation to defeat the Sith once and for all. The wartime title of Jedi Lord was established for Jedi who ruled over planets that the Republic lacked the resources to defend and govern. The Jedi themselves became hardened warriors, all but losing their status as peacekeepers. The Jedi Lord Hoth established a massive military force, largely consisting of Jedi Knights and Lords, to counter the Brotherhood of Darkness. Deemed the Army of Light, these Jedi battled Kaan’s Sith on Ruusan, with the seventh battle ending the war.

Darth Bane, seeing both the inevitable Jedi victory and disgusted by Lord Kaan and the Brotherhood, manipulated Kaan into using an ancient Sith power called the Thought Bomb. This dark side-fueled monstrosity combines the dark side energy of Sith Lords into an explosive form that wipes out all life in its blast radius. Kaan and his Sith created the bomb and, when faced with Lord Hoth and 100 Jedi, detonated it, killing them all and trapping their consciousnesses in a realm of torment. This would have the added effect of creating the galaxy’s most powerful Force Nexus.

Bane’s Sith lineage would continue for a thousand years, with each new generation growing stronger than the last.

Darth Bane, satisfied with Kaan’s death and the surviving Jedi’s erroneous belief that the Sith were finally destroyed, retreated with his new apprentice, Darth Zannah, and formed the next iteration of the Sith Order as he hoped. Bane’s Sith lineage would continue for a thousand years, with each new generation growing stronger than the last. One member of the Bane lineage, however, would reject the Rule of Two in favor of Kaan’s Rule by the Strong. This Sith heretic, Darth Millennial, formed the Sith counterculture called the Dark Force (later the Prophets of the Dark Side) on Dromund Kaas.

Darth Bane’s Sith would enact their long-sought revenge through the Jedi Purge, but the dynasty would die with Palpatine, who met his final demise on Onderon during Operation Shadow Hand. While the end of Bane’s Sith would, in a way, satisfy the Chosen One prophecy, new iterations of the Sith Order would emerge after Palpatine’s final death. This includes, most notably, the Sith Order of the Dark Lady Lumiya and the One Sith of Darth Krayt.

The Nexus would remain, however, though it would eventually fall under the protection of Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order.

The Force Nexus left behind from the Seventh Battle of Ruusan would be the center of the Valley of the Jedi, and while the site would be left largely undisturbed for over a millennium, the Imperial Inquisitor Jerec and a contingent of the Imperial Pentastar Alignment warlord faction would seek the Valley’s power. The stormtrooper-turned Rebel spy Kyle Katarn would ascend to Jedi Knighthood by defeating Jerec and freeing the trapped spirits in the Valley. The Nexus would remain, however, though it would eventually fall under the protection of Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order.

Everything Star Wars Canon Has Revealed About The Jedi-Sith War's Ending

While modern Star Wars canon has not delved into the defeat of the Sith as deeply as the Legends continuity, it does retain many key details from the event’s original incarnation. The Sith were known as the Brotherhood of Darkness in their final battle, the Jedi they fought used the Army of Light title, and the final confrontation took place on Ruusan. For the time being, the Thought Bomb does not exist in the modern canon and the Jedi may have learned of the Rule of Two before the Sith were seemingly destroyed.

The Clone Wars' Cut Ruusan Easter Eggs Almost Canonized The Full Story

Fascinatingly, the first appearance of Ruusan in Star Wars canon was in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In the season 1 episode “Duel of the Droids,” a team of Jedi and clone troopers infiltrates a Separatist listening post on a moon of Ruusan, with Ruusan itself visible in establishing shots of the moon. Unused concept art for season 2 would have also included a mosaic of the Jedi-Sith War in the Jedi Temple, which would have included the Legends-exclusive characters Lord Hoth and the Jedi Knight Pernicar, bringing even more elements of Star Wars Legends into the modern canon.