The Thyrsus Sun Guard was a mercenary organization. This group, which existed for thousands of years before the conflict known as the Clone Wars, participated in battles spanning from 22 BBY to 19 BBY between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Throughout their historical presence of multiple millennia, these mercenaries were frequently mistaken for the Mandalorian warriors who were their rivals. Once the Clone Wars commenced, the Thyrsus Sun Guard chose to align themselves with the Republic, operating under the command of General Solomahal. While ostensibly fighting on behalf of the Republic, they were also secretly working as agents for Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, with aspects of their appearance influencing his own Royal Guard. The group shared its designation with the celestial body named Thyrsus and the Thyrsian battle helmet.
The canon version of the Thyrsus Sun Guard was first presented within Collapse of the Republic, which is a 2019 expansion for the Star Wars Roleplaying game series by Fantasy Flight Games. Within Star Wars Legends continuity, the Sun Guard received its initial mention in the Imperial Sourcebook by West End Games, a supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game authored by Greg Gorden and released in 1989. The mercenary group's first visual depiction occurred in the action-adventure video game adaptation of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, created and published by LucasArts in 1999. This video game featured a mercenary boss character who wore armor of the Royal Guard that was black-colored, and this character was identified as a Sun Guard in Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties. This article was written by Abel G. Peña as a supplement to the eighty-eighth issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine, which was released on June 22, 2006.