The Inverse Theory

   

Like many Star Wars fans, I felt a mixture of emotions when I learned that all of the Expanded Universe, it’s myths, legends, and lore is no longer cannon now that Disney purchased the franchise. Indeed, I was quite upset to learn that the Old Republic timeline had been completely erased from galactic history. Yet, part of me was also glad of this, since I had noticed several inconsistencies between the narrative given in the Old Expanded Universe and the history spoken of in the Star Wars films themselves. With the Old Expanded Universe effectively deleted from the galactic consciousness, I began to theorize an alternate galactic history based on the canonical narrative provided in the Star Wars Saga (Episodes 1-7 and the Clone Wars TV series.)

    This theory is as follows...

The Inverse Theory

    As you will recall, In the Old Expanded Universe, there were countless wars waged between the Old Republic and various other factions. ie. The Sith, Mandalorians, etc. This, however, is a complete contradiction to what is said by Governor Sio Bibble in Attack of the Clones:

    “There hasn’t been a full scale war since the formation of the republic.”

    According to the Old Expanded Universe, the Old Republic was first formed some 30,000 years before the Battle of Yavin (Star Wars: A New Hope). But this timetable also conflicts with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine’s statement in Attack of the Clones where he clearly states that the republic is only 1,000 years.

    “I will not let this Republic which has stood for a thousand years be split in two.”

    Furthermore, in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine implies that before the Old Republic, the Sith ruled the Galaxy. And we know from The Phantom Menace that the Sith have been extinct for 1,000 years.

    “Impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a millennia.”

    ~ Ki-Adi-Mundi

    Given this evidence, it would seem that in the New Cannon of Star Wars, the Old Republic as we know it, had only been around for 1,000 years or so before the rise of the Galactic Empire. 

    Furthermore, it is also safe to assume that up until the formation of the Old Republic, the Galaxy was ruled by at least one Sith Empire. However, I feel that there is strong evidence from the Clone Wars series to support the existence of multiple Sith Empires fighting for control of the galaxy in the years before the Republic. For Example, Darth Sidious states in the episode “Escape from Kadavo” that Sith empires—plural—have a long and illustrious history using slave labor:

     “Long have Sith Empires been build on the backs of slaves” 

    And no one really seemed to have any reservation when Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the First Galactic Empire in Revenge of the Sith. Granted, most of the senators were undoubtedly under his control at the time. But it at least seems plausible to me that the reason Palpatine used the word “first” to describe his empire is that the Empire was in fact the first unified, galaxy-wide empire in galactic history.    
    In addition to this, we also know from The Clone Wars that Darth Bane is still cannon, and that he is still know as the Sith Lord who began the “Rule of Two”— which is also referenced at the very end of The Phantom Menace.

    

    “Always two there are. No more. No less. A master, and an apprentice.” 

    ~ Yoda

    
    Furthermore Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens states that the Dark Side has taken many forms over the years; the Sith, the Empire, and ultimately the First Order.    

    (It is also interesting to note that according to Han Solo, Maz Kanata is at least 1,000 years old; which not only gives further weight to my hypothesis, but also implies that Maz Kanata was actually living at the time that the last Sith Empire fell.)

    But how exactly did the Sith Empire fall?    

    In the Old Expanded Universe, the Sith were fallen Jedi, exiled from the Republic thousands of years ago, who continually returned to wage war against the Old Republic and it’s Jedi protectors. However, as previously stated, this Old Cannon conflicts heavily with what is said in the Prequel Trilogy. 

    In light of this contradiction, allow me to present to you my alternative History of the Galaxy:    

    The Sith were not fallen Jedi, but rather the Jedi were redeemed Sith. 

   

    Think about it. In nature the strong always dominate the weak. This is also what we see through out history. Some would even claim that the first step in cultural evolution is always conquest and enslavement followed by enlightenment and equality. Therefore, it stands to reason that powerful, early Force-users would use their abilities to conquer those around them, thus forging the Sith Empires; and that these Empires would ultimately fall as later Force-users found peace in the Light Side, and began fighting for others instead of themselves. This paradigm shift would explain why the Sith went extinct approximately 1,000 years before The Phantom Menace, at around the same time that the Republic was first formed. After all, we know that the Jedi were the protectors of peace and justice in the Old Republic. (Star Wars: A New Hope) Therefore it stands to reason that the Old Republic and the Jedi Order as we know it were both established at around the same time. (Even in the Old Expanded Universe, the Jedi were instrumental in the formation of the Old Republic.)    
    That being said, it is important to note that Obi-wan Kenobi also said that the Jedi Order lasted for “a thousand generations” in Star Wars: A New Hope, which would of course cause a problem if the Old Republic were only 1,000 years old. My solution to this contradiction is that during the time of the Sith Empires, there was a small Republic of systems allied against the Sith Lords, and that this “proto-republic” was what Obi-wan was referring to. An alliance of systems lead by former Sith would make sense in the fractured galactic government that I envision—in a galaxy ruled by feudal Lords, the weak would undoubtedly band together for mutual protection. Add the Jedi Order into the mix and you suddenly have a substantial force that could theoretically stand up to, and even overthrow, the Sith Empires. (Much like the Rebel Alliance in the Original Trilogy)     

    Furthermore, if the first Jedi were Sith who turned to the Light Side, this would explain why the Jedi in the Prequel Trilogy were so dogmatic in their self-denial and rejection of powerful emotions—they were following the distorted, centuries-old teachings of former Sith, trying to abandon anything that might awaken the darkness within. Nowhere is this digression of belief more apparent than in the Jedi teachings that love and personal attachments lead to the Dark Side.    

    Think about it. How can someone be expected to lay down their life for a person, cause, or government if they are forbidden from having any personal attachments? And how can someone defend the weak without unconditional love for people? No one would be willing to die for anyone or anything unless they had some sort of deep, emotional connection to that person or cause, which—according to the Jedi Council in the Prequel Trilogy—leads to the Dark Side.

     Some may disagree, but I believe that it was this practice of emotional self-denial that ultimately lead to the Jedi becoming so isolated from the rest of the galaxy that they could not perceive the threat of the Dark Side until it was too late. They were so obsessed with shunning emotion and looking within themselves to find inner peace that they became blind to the darkness marshaling against them, and were ultimately destroyed by it. 

   If my theory is correct, then at some point 1,000 years before The Phantom Menace, the last Sith Empire fell—either to infighting among rival Sith Lords or to the fledgling Jedi Order. Darth Bane, the last Dark Lord of the Sith, fled into the shadows taking his teachings and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance with him. In his absence the Old Republic was established, and for the next thousand years the galaxy had peace until Darth Sidious plunged the Republic into the Clone Wars, bringing Darth Bane's millennia-old quest for vengeance to fruition with the execution of order 66 and the birth of the First Galactic Empire.