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In the fictional Star Wars universe, Darth is the knighting title of a Sith Lord of the Bane Order.

Firstly, Darth from a chronological origin of sources from which it derives begins with the Episode IV: A New Hope where it refers only to Darth Vader. From there, the next movie that further explains Darth is Episode I: The Phantom Meance where the novel of the same name and the Episode I Visual Dictionary explain what Yoda was talking about when he spoke of the Rule of Two. The EP1 V.D. specifically mentions Darth Bane and how the Sith were supposedly made extinct around 1000 BBY. It is only in 2001 with the publishing of Jedi VS Sith that it is learned that this event was the Battle of Ruusan. It can be inferred apart from KOTOR that the title of Darth is reserved exclusively to a Sith of the Bane Order or rather, a Sith who is either one of the Sith Masters or Sith Apprentices that existed during the time between 1000 BBY and the Battle of Endor.

Secondly, Sith originally referred to a red-skinned race known as the Sith whom were inherently sensitive to the Force. After the Hundred-Year Darkness, the dark Jedi who were exiled became Lords of the Sith and the strongest of all the Lords became the Dark Lord. When the Sith became extinct by and large during the Great Hyperspace War but ultimately at the conclusion of the Great Sith War, the word came to refer to anyone whom sought to wield the dark side of the Force. With that in mind, a timeline of the Sith is thence lain out, showing when the Darth title was used.

Dark Jedi of the Great Schisms: Xendor, oft decreed the first de facto Sith

Dark Jedi and Sith of the Sith Empire: Marka Ragnos, Ludo Kressh, Naga Sadow

Dark Jedi who became Sith in the Great Sith War: Exar Kun & Ulic Qel-Droma

Dark Jedi who became Sith in the Jedi Civil War: Revan & Malak

Dark Jedi who became Sith in the New Sith Wars: Kaan, Githany, Ka'Sim, Sirak

Sith of the Bane Order: Darth Bane, Darth Plagueis, Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus, Darth Vader - Note how all of the Sith with the Darth title can actually have their names cited from an actual Star Wars movie except for Darth Bane which is implied indirectly

Knights Of The Old Republic is a video game. It is the only source that does not adhere to Darth being associated with Bane-era Sith and also, the only instance where Darth is used outside of either the Original Trilogy or the Prequel Trilogy.

The term first appeared in the original script for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which bore little resemblance to the final release of the film. In it, a "Darth Vader" appeared as an Imperial official who would be renamed Grand Moff Tarkin in the final film, with Darth Vader becoming the name of the menacing black-armored villain.

Contrary to popular belief, the word "Darth" is neither a Dutch nor German word meaning "dark" (translated as donker and dunkel, respectively), although "Vader" is Dutch for "father".

Another suggestion is that it is a combination of the words "dark" and "sith", hence: "Dark Lord of the Sith".

Contents 1 In-universe history 2 Film history 3 Cultural impact 4 Darth in other countries 5 Sith Lords 6 External links 7 References

Technically, there is a schism in the history of Darth.

A. Knights of the Old Repulic first suggested that Darth was a title not exclusive of the Bane era and specifically of the Bane Order. In 2003, KOTOR came out followed by KOTOR2 in 2004, both of which included Sith whom used the Darth title. Darth Ruin exists outside of the Bane era and sources imply his Darth title is claimed as a sort of lost legacy from Revan and Malak and Traya and Nihlius. Darth Ruin's creation was in 2005 or 2006 depending on the source which is Vader: The Ultimate Guide and Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties respectively. Count Dooku has Quinlan Vos acquire a holocron associated with Darth Andeddu, a Sith whom bears the Darth title supposedly in Sith Empire of the Golden Age of the Sith era. The comic that first mentioned Darth Andeddu was Star Wars: Republic, Issue 63 and was published in 2004. Note the dates of the sources that allude to the Darth title outside of the Bane era: they all emerge AFTER KOTOR came out.

The following would be appropriate in this context:

In Star Wars, Darth Revan was the first known Sith Lord to use this title, though it is possible that he and Darth Malak were preceded by the mysterious Darth Andeddu. Unlike their successors, Revan and Malak prefixed the title to their own names instead of creating an alias, as did Zannah 3,000 years later.

The first Darth using an alias instead of her own name was probably Darth Traya, followed by her pupils Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion.

Because the first recorded Sith to use the title were Darth Revan and Darth Malak, the fact that they derived much of their power from the Star Forge, a creation of the long-extinct Rakata, has led some historians to suggest that "Darth" is actually a corruption of the Rakatan word Daritha, meaning "emperor". Others note another Rakatan connection: the words for "triumph" or "conquest" in Rakatan is darr, and the word for "death" is tah, leading to the theory that "Darth" is derived from darr tah and therefore means "triumph over death" or "immortal." Given the obsession of the Sith with discovering the means to live forever, this idea, on the surface, is not entirely without merit. But others point out that the true meaning of darr tah is "conquest through death," meaning the conquest of one's enemies.^{[citation needed]} - The source of this is probably the New Essential Chronology

B. It would be more appropriate to consider that even with the events of KOTOR transpiring in the timeline that Darth Revan and Darth Malak were just Revan and Malak alongside Darth being rescinded from Traya and Nihlius much as those character's names thus loose some of their luster from that. It is also unfeasible to imagine Darth Andeddu in the Tales of the Jedi era with the Darth title: it is completely out of context and is invariably the fabrication of John Ostrander and nothing more. Darth Ruin is potentially feasible considering his proximity to Darth Bane; in the time surrounding the New Sith Wars, Ruin could very well have inadvertantly through his actions black-marked the title of Darth and thus drove the Brotherhood of Darkness to proclaiming themselves Lords in the tradition of the Lords of the Sith Empire of old. It must be duly noted that Bane amidst the Brotherhood assuming the title of Darth was scorned at as a sort of dirty idea and perhaps his mentality or something of the sort is similiar to Darth Ruin hence why he adopted the Darth title as his own. 1999 marked the release of Episode 1 and its novel and the EP1 Visual Dictionary and up 'till 2002, Darth had since 1977 meant Sith who adhered to the Rule of Two which was later fleshed out as meaning, "One to embody the power and one to crave it." The mentioning of Darth Bane and the Brotherhood of Darkness come from the comic series, Jedi VS Sith which was first published in 2001.

Whether one chooses to accept the inconsistency of the Darth title being present in the KOTOR games is irrelevant altogether in regards to the Sith revival that transpires in the era to occur after the Yuuzhan Vong war. Clearly, the new Sith of Darth Krayt are paying homage to the Bane Order in assuming the Darth title as they do not adhere to the Rule of Two doctrine but most definately respect the events that the Sith of Darth Bane put into motion. This probably refers to the culmination of the Bane Order which is invariably and supposedly some sort of scheme that was initiated by Darth Bane himself or at least a private vow of his as Bane in choosing to make his Sith clandestine from the Jedi also vowed to see to it that they were destroyed alongside the Old Republic. Darth Sidious or when secrecy was no longer required, Emperor Palpatine and his rise to power alongside twisting the Republic into the Galactic Empire and his pupil, Darth Vader whom is most responsible for the Jedi Order's destruction represent Bane's culmination of his dark vision and are most likely what Darth Krayt and his peers revere when they aspire to use the Darth title amidst their own Sith Order.

Prior to the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999, the only known Sith Lord who carried the name "Darth" was Darth Vader. When Darth Sidious and Darth Maul were revealed in The Phantom Menace, the name took on its distinct association with the Sith, and has since appeared throughout all eras of Star Wars fiction.

In 1977, the year the first Star Wars film was released, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope seemed to indicate that Darth was a name unique to Darth Vader. That is, Obi-Wan Kenobi says to Vader:

"You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

It appears that Darth was a personal name, and the use of it as a title is something only adopted in the prequels. However, Kenobi may have been addressing Vader in a formal or even a mocking tone (as the quotation prior addressed him as "old man"); there are no other references of a Sith being addressed only as "Darth" rather than "Darth" followed by a name.

In light of later material, however, it now appears possible Darth Andeddu was the first Sith Lord named Darth, and all subsequent "Darths" renamed themselves in honor of him.

Due to the popularity of Star Wars, the term Darth has entered the popular and political lexicon as a term for evil. One such example is a group of conservative posters on several political message boards, most notably hannity.com, known as "Darths", thus called because of their "evil" conservatism and ruthless style of debate. Liberal columnist Maureen Dowd has used the nickname "Darth Cheney", amongst others, to refer to the Vice President.^[1] Most references, however, are still associated with the Star Wars universe.

In some cases, the word Darth was changed for a variety reasons. In Italy, for instance, Darth Vader's name was changed to Dart Fener, probably for dubbing reasons. This is the only case where the word "Darth" loses its 'h'; every other Sith Lord retains the Darth adjective and doesn't have the name changed (e.g Darth Sidious, Darth Traya). Claudio Sorrentino proposed an online poll to decide whether to keep the name Dart Fener during the production of the new trilogy; 55.6 % of the voters chose "yes". [1] In France, the word "Darth" has changed to Dark, and this applies to all the Sith Lords (Darth Maul is known as Dark Maul and so on). In every other country, the word "Darth" remains unchanged, or appropriately transliterated as in the case of Chinese or Japanese.

• Darth Andeddu
• Darth Bane
• Darth Bandon
• Darth Cognus
• Darth Desolous
• Darth Karnage
• Darth Krayt
• Darth Kruhl
• Darth Maladi
• Darth Malak
• Darth Maleval
• Darth Maul
• Darth Millennial
• Darth Nihilus
• Darth Nihl
• Darth Plagueis
• Darth Revan
• Darth Rivan
• Darth Ruin
• Darth Ruyn
• Darth Sidious
• Darth Sion
• Darth Stryfe
• Darth Talon
• Darth Tenebrous
• Darth Traya
• Darth Tyranus
• Darth Vader
• Darth Vectivus
• Darth Wyyrlok
• Darth Zannah

Darth on Wookieepedia