Great Hyperspace War
In the year 5000 BBY, the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic engaged in a large-scale military confrontation known as the Great Hyperspace War.
Although the entire Galactic Republic was involved, the primary battles centered on three Republic planets initially, before extending to the distant Primus Goluud system and the Sith burial world of Korriban.
The Republic forces, after recovering from the initial Sith offensive, reorganized their fleets and successfully destroyed the Sith Empire. This forced Naga Sadow, the Dark Lord of the Sith, to seek refuge on the planet Yavin 4.
Prelude
The Sith's Golden Era
Following their defeat during the Hundred-Year Darkness, the exiled Dark Jedi stumbled upon the planet Korriban and subjugated the indigenous red-skinned Sith species.
Over time, the Dark Jedi and the remarkably Force-sensitive Sith natives intermingled through Sith alchemy, eventually becoming a unified people. This union resulted in the formation of a wealthy and influential empire, fueled by dark-side technology and sorcery. For the next 1900 years, the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire prospered separately, unaware of each other's existence.
The Sith Empire's Discovery
During the peak of the Sith Empire, two Republic hyperspace explorers accidentally discovered the Sith tomb world of Korriban. These siblings, Jori Daragon and Gav, were hoping to find a profitable new hyperspace route to settle their massive debts. After reclaiming their confiscated vessel, the Starbreaker 12, they input random coordinates into their nav computer and jumped into hyperspace, relying on their "luck" (which was actually latent Force potential) for survival.
Their arrival on Korriban coincided with the death of the current Dark Lord of the Sith, Marka Ragnos. Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow, the Viceroy of Khar Shian and the two contenders for the throne, were battling for supremacy at the entrance to Ragnos' tomb when the Daragons arrived from space.
Upon landing, Gav and Jori were immediately taken prisoner and transported to Ziost, the icy Sith capital, for questioning. After learning about the forgotten Republic, a Sith Lord conclave, headed by Kressh, declared them to be spies and sentenced them to die. However, Naga Sadow disagreed, envisioning vast new territories for the Empire to conquer. With the help of his alchemically enhanced Massassi warriors, he orchestrated the Daragons' escape, planting false evidence that Republic agents had rescued them.
Sadow relocated the Daragons to his personal fortress on Khar Shian, feigning friendship while using their supposed "escape" to persuade the Sith Lords to appoint him as the new Dark Lord and prepare for war against the Republic. He kept the siblings apart, teaching Gav Sith sorcery while preventing Jori from returning to Republic space.
Kressh soon uncovered Sadow's deception and mobilized his followers to assault Sadow's fortress. As Kressh's fleet approached, Sadow advised Jori to abandon her brother and flee the battle. However, this was all part of Sadow's scheme. Once Jori jumped to lightspeed, Sadow unleashed a previously hidden force, decisively defeating Kressh, whose flagship was destroyed in the process. Believing his rival dead, Sadow mobilized the Empire's military for war. Using the homing beacon he had placed on the Starbreaker 12, Sadow initiated his invasion of the Galactic Republic.
Meanwhile, after facing numerous obstacles, Jori successfully delivered a warning to Empress Teta of the Koros system. The skeptical empress eventually heeded the advice of her Jedi advisor, Memit Nadill, along with his companions Odan-Urr and Master Ooroo. She alerted Coruscant about the impending invasion, but few took her warnings seriously.
The war
The Sith Invade
Sadow established his command center at Primus Goluud, located at the Coreward end of the Daragon Trail, and deployed his fleets to simultaneously invade multiple Republic worlds. Knowing he couldn't defeat the larger Republic Navy through conventional means, Sadow relied on surprise attacks and swift early victories. He positioned his eye-shaped meditation sphere near the red giant star Primus Goluud and used battle meditation to bolster his forces. The Sith invasion's intensity quickly overwhelmed the unprepared Republic Navy.
Gav Daragon was assigned command of the invasion fleet targeting Koros Major. Upon arriving in his home system, a major battle erupted. Sadow utilized the Koros Trunk Line to attack Kaikielius and the Foerost Shipyards. Advancing along the trade routes, the Sith, led by Sadow's chief lieutenant Shar Dakhan, attacked Coruscant itself, landing in the Legislative District and reaching the Senate Hall, where they faced Jedi defenders. Other segments of the fleet targeted Metellos, Basilisk and Shawken.
Sadow's Downfall
During the battle of Koros Major, Gav, accompanied by Massassi bodyguards, searched for his sister at Aarrba the Hutt's starship repair facility. Aarrba, a close family friend, was killed by Gav's guards just as Jori entered the chamber. Believing Gav had murdered Aarrba, she attacked her brother with a lightsaber given to her by Odan-Urr. Gav fled from his sister and returned to his master at Primus Goluud. Without their commander, the Sith forces on Koros crumbled and were defeated. Arriving at Primus Goluud, Gav fired upon Sadow's meditation sphere, disrupting the Sith Lord's concentration on the distant invasion of Coruscant, allowing Republic forces to regroup and shift the battle's momentum.
The war's turning point occurred when it was discovered that Sadow was using Force illusions to inflate the perceived size of his forces. Empowered by this revelation, the Republic Navy rallied at Anaxes and launched counterattacks at Kirrek and Thokos. At the Battle of Kirrek, Jedi Master Ooroo defeated a large force of Massassi warriors, sacrificing his life in the process, dying in the arms of his Padawan Odan-Urr. The Republic Navy then reinforced Coruscant's defenses and pushed the Sith forces back to Koros Major.
Faced with defeat, Sadow withdrew his forces to Primus Goluud, but was pursued by Jori, Empress Teta, and a large Koros fleet. Realizing the war's tide had turned against him, Sadow abandoned his embattled forces to Gav Daragon's command and used a Sith superweapon aboard his flagship, the Corsair, to trigger the nearby star's implosion. Disgusted by Sadow's treachery, Gav turned against his master. He transmitted the Sith Empire's hyperspace coordinates to Empress Teta and warned her to evacuate the system before Primus Goluud went supernova, destroying Naga Sadow's meditation sphere and Gav himself.
The Sith Empire's Collapse
Naga Sadow escaped back to the Sith Empire, only to be ambushed by a living Ludo Kressh. Having learned of Sadow's assassination plot, Kressh had allowed the new Sith Lord to believe him dead. His assault on Sadow's fortress was a ruse to lull Sadow into a false sense of security, but Kressh's intricate plans ultimately failed. He was killed when one of Sadow's ships collided with his during the chaotic Sith battle over Korriban.
The Republic fleets arrived amidst the Sith infighting and managed to annihilate both sides in the crossfire. Sadow sacrificed the remnants of his fleet to ensure his own survival. Using tricks and sorcery to evade his pursuers, he escaped the engagement aboard his damaged flagship. With Sadow in hiding, Shar Dakhan became the acting Dark Lord.
Following the battle, Supreme Chancellor Pultimo of the Republic authorized a general invasion of Sith space. The Republic and the Jedi Order launched a military campaign throughout the Sith Empire's territories, seeking out and destroying all remaining Sith strongholds. The attack was averted when Shar Dakhan ordered suicide attacks, forcing the Republic to retreat but many Sith killed themselves ritually, giving an advantage to the Republic fleet to win the war.
Aftermath
The Republic's Gains
Inspired by the late Master Ooroo's example, the Jedi Odan-Urr established a grand museum city on the planet Ossus after the Great Hyperspace War. This city housed countless libraries and vaults containing ancient Jedi artifacts gathered by his fallen Master, as well as Sith artifacts recovered from the wreckage of their invasion fleet. Among the Sith artifacts was a Sith holocron that Odan-Urr discovered on a derelict Sith vessel near Koros Major. Over time, Ossus evolved into the Galactic Republic's foremost Jedi library, archive, and academy.
In recognition of her courage and strategic acumen during the war, the people of Koros honored Empress Teta by renaming their star system after her.
In gratitude for their defense of the Republic, the Galactic Senate gifted the Jedi Order a sacred mountain on Coruscant. Initially a small meditative retreat, the sacred spire would become the site of the Jedi Temple, the order's main headquarters, built after the destruction of the Great Jedi Library on Ossus during the Great Sith War.
The Sith's Fate
Some Sith were exiled to Ambria, Thule, Tund and Vjun, while others were marooned on planets like Kesh with no hope of escape. Although the war significantly reduced the Sith species, these exiles ensured the survival of Sith traditions on these isolated worlds. Naga Sadow and his remaining Massassi warriors fled to the remote Yavin system and concealed themselves on its fourth moon. There, he used Sith sorcery to place his body in suspended animation while his warped Massassi servants slowly devolved into barbarism.
One Sith survivor, Lord Vitiate, returned to his homeworld of Nathema and summoned eight thousand Sith Lords to meet him. Seizing control of their minds, Vitiate used the Iokath superweapon Zildrog to perform a great ritual that consumed them, the planet's population, and the Force itself, leaving Nathema a desolate void. Empowered by this act, Vitiate abandoned his mortal name and became known as the Sith Emperor. Blaming the Jedi for the devastation, the Emperor led the remaining Sith on a twenty-year journey into the Unknown Regions, eventually discovering the forgotten Sith colony of Dromund Kaas. There, he performed dark rituals, transforming the planet's ionosphere into a perpetual electrical storm. He rebuilt the Sith forces and patiently waited for the Republic to weaken, preparing for another invasion. This culminated in the Great Galactic War between 3681 BBY and 3653 BBY.
Known battles
Behind the scenes
The Great Hyperspace War was initially referenced, though unnamed, in the first issue of the Dark Lords of the Sith story arc within the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi comic books series, released on October 4, 1994. The term "Great Hyperspace War" was first used in the third issue of the same story arc, published on December 13, 1994. Both issues were authored by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson, with artwork by Chris Gossett. The prologue issue of The Golden Age of the Sith story arc, titled Tales of the Jedi – The Golden Age of the Sith 0, confirmed these events to be the same. This issue was written by Anderson, illustrated by Dario Carrasco, Jr., and published by Dark Horse Comics on July 1, 1996.