Jedi

Hierarchy at the time of the Old Republic

Youngling/Jedi Candidate

The Younglings/Jedi Aspirants are children who are Force-receptive due to their sufficiently high Midi-Chlorian value and live in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for the purpose of their training, where they are taught by the experienced Jedi such as Yoda, among others. From the age of 13, they begin their training as Padawans. If they have not found a Jedi Knight willing to train them by their 13th birthday, they must leave the Jedi Temple and are assigned to other areas, such as the Agrarian Corps, the Jedi Healers, or the Jedi Security Forces.

Padawan

Padawans are students who accompany and are taught by a trained Jedi. At the end of his training, a Padawan must pass certain tests to become a Jedi Knight. The role of a Padawan can be compared to that of a squire in the Middle Ages.

Jedi Knight

A Padawan who successfully completes his training is elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight. The designation Jedi Knight is the new rank of Force user, but the Knights are again divided into three groups:

1. Jedi Emissaries: Envoys of the Jedi Order focus on the intellectual study of the Force after training as Knights. Envoys often act as diplomats and are peacemakers for the Order. They are sent by the Council to areas threatened by war. In combat, envoys are not inexperienced, but they are not particularly gifted either. Many Envoys slowly acquire the ability to see shadows of the future in the Force as their skills grow. The lightsaber color of Envoys is traditionally green, though this is not a requirement.
2. Jedi Guardians: Guardians seek to balance Force study with combat training. Guardians are often used as generals when the Republic needs the Jedi's help. A Guardian is trained to find solutions to impending problems. One powerful ability that only some Guardians could control was battle meditation. This was what the Jedi called the ability to give allied soldiers more courage and security while literally draining the will to fight from the enemy, often enough to win the battle. The traditional lightsaber color of the Guardians is yellow.
3. Jedi Guardians: Guardians learn some basic Force techniques, but continue to focus more on combat training. In the event of war, the Order primarily sends Guardians to assist Republic troops. The traditional lightsaber color of the Keepers is blue, or also green (example: Anakin Skywalker, later Darth Vader, and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi).

Jedi Knights can achieve yet another, higher rank by passing another test. After this test, the Knight can be elevated to the rank of Master, Guard, or Master of Arms. Many choose the path of Master and then train students to become Padawans or Padawans to become Knights. The path of Guardsman and Master at Arms was not often chosen in the last years before the Republic was destroyed by Darth Sidious.

The path of Weapons Master was often chosen by Keepers, as this title most closely matched their previous training. Weapon Masters often mastered not only Jedi techniques, but other fighting styles as well, such as Echani.

The Guardians can best be described as agents who sought to expose and bring to light the injustices in the galaxy. This path was chosen mainly by former Guardians and Envoys.

A Jedi Knight may take a Padawan as an apprentice.

Jedi Master

The rank of Jedi Master is given to Jedi Knights who are very powerful and wise. The training of a Padawan as a Knight can accelerate the appointment. However, the most important requirement for appointment as a Jedi Master by the Jedi Council is adherence to the Code. Jedi Masters act in the best interests of the Order and are entrusted with the most difficult tasks. The most powerful and wisest of them sit on the Jedi Council. The most famous Jedi Masters are Master Yoda and Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Jedi Council

The Jedi Council meets regularly at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and is formed by the twelve Jedi Masters. The tenure of each Council member varies: some Jedi Masters are Council members for life, others can be voted in and out, and some are only appointed to serve on the Council for a set period of time.

The Jedi Council reports directly to the Intergalactic Senate and is responsible only to it. Chancellor Palpatine, who is given special powers by the Senate in Episode III due to the war situation, appoints Anakin Skywalker as his personal representative on the Council against the will of the Jedi. Palpatine's goal is to control the Jedi Council. Anakin Skywalker is, after Ki-Adi-Mundi, the second Jedi who is a member of the Council without having been raised to the rank of a Master before. His place on the Council is more that of a spy than a recognized Council member, which increases the distrust between him and the Jedi and eventually leads Anakin to defect to the dark side of the Force.

The Council decides most Jedi matters; including which children are accepted as younglings, when a Padawan is ready for training, which Jedi Knight is appointed Master, and who is accepted into the Jedi Council.

The Jedi Council has five life members, four members who are free to resign unless voted out of office, and three members whose membership is temporary. The latter in particular serve to bring new ideas and the views of the Order to the Council.

As part of Emperor Darth Sidious' ordered extermination campaign (the Order 66), nearly all of the Jedi, including members of the Council, are murdered in Revenge of the Sith, after which the Council disbands itself. In the aftermath, the Jedi are outlawed by the self-proclaimed Emperor and eventually nearly wiped out. How many Jedi manage to escape the Empire's grasp is unclear; the only Jedi Masters (known from the films) whose whereabouts are known are Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, who go into exile in the Outer Rim, outside the Imperial sphere of influence. Obi-Wan Kenobi hides on Tatooine, guarding the adolescent Luke Skywalker, while Yoda retreats to Dagobah.

Sith

Besides the Jedi, there is also an order that uses the dark side of the Force: the Sith Order. After the Sith constantly almost exterminated each other in the early days, the order in modern times always consists of only one master and one student. This rule of two was introduced by Darth Bane. The disciple is inferior to the master until he destroys him and becomes a master himself with a new disciple. This system is meant to avoid power struggles within the Sith Order and to strengthen the entire Order.

Each Sith bears an individual Sith name with the title Darth. It was long thought that the title was derived from Dark Lord of the Sith. However, it now seems more likely that it derives from the word "Daritha", which means "ruler", "great king" or "emperor" in the language of the Rakata, a reptilian alien species. The first Sith Lord to hold this title was Darth Revan, a former Master of the Jedi Order. According to conflicting Sith legends, a mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith named Andeddu, who managed to continue to exist in his tomb until 137 NSY, first held this title.

Like the Jedi, the Sith are proficient in lightsaber combat, preferring specimens with a red, synthetic crystal. The most powerful Sith are also proficient in dark abilities such as Force Lightning.

History

Approximately 7000 years before the events of the Star Wars films, several Jedi Knights turned away from the Jedi Order and fell to the dark side of the Force. Cast out by the Order and hunted by their former masters, they fled the Core Worlds for the Outer Rim. There, on the planet Korriban, they encountered a relatively undeveloped species, but one for whom using the Force for personal gain was commonplace, and who knew no rules for its use: The Sith. The Dark Jedi adopted these people, and they came to worship them as gods. They learned from the Sith, however, just as the Sith learned from them. Over time, the Dark Jedi merged with the Sith.

Many centuries passed during which the Jedi almost forgot about the Sith, but during this time the Sith built an empire in the Outer Rim. As a result, armed conflicts and wars between the Republic and the Sith continued to occur, such as the Great Hyperspace War and the First and Second Sith Wars (or Jedi Civil War).

After the fall of the Galactic Empire, a secret cult was formed around the last living Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who worked on a plan to restore the Order of the Sith to their former power. For decades, the Cult of the Sith Eternals built a massive fleet of Star Destroyers on the planet Exegol to once again subjugate the galaxy after all these years. In an ancient occult ritual, the weakened Darth Sidious was to be restored to strength by his granddaughter Rey, to unite in him the power of all the deceased Sith. However, Darth Sidious was killed in a final battle by his granddaughter and with his death the Sith were destroyed once and for all.

Eminent members of the Sith Order