New Sith Empire (Council of Five)

Through the, numerous factions emerged to lead what was generically described as the "New Sith Empire". However, at some point after the, the Council of Five emerged to lead the New Sith Empire of that era. Before 1,400 BBY, the Council had secured control over the largest Sith factions, dominating galactic east and controlling a broad swath of the Territories, including ancient.

Forces
The New Sith Empire was led by the Council, whose members were widely considered the most powerful and dangerous s in the galaxy. The Empire was backed by an army of dark siders, as well as an exponentially larger force of non-Force-sensitive soldiers who made up the Sith Army and Navy.

Structure
Although many dark siders and dark side adepts were agents of the Empire, not all were considered Sith. The Sith Lords recruited Force-sensitives and gave them varying degrees of training. Some were trained specifically as spies, assassins, or combat brutes; others were given broader training in a variety of dark side disciplines. The most promising were dubbed Sith Acolytes and given some measure of command over lesser adepts and non-Force-sensitives. Both Acolytes and adepts, however, could be killed with impunity by their masters, or even other Sith Lords.

When Acolytes proved their worth to the satisfaction of senior Sith, they would be anointed Sith Lords. Sith Lords enjoyed considerable privilege in the Empire; they had absolute authority over Acolytes and non-Force-sensitives given to their command, and could kill their underlings with impunity. By contrast, killing a Sith Lord without permission of those higher in the command structure was punished by death, and usually torturous death at that.

More senior Sith Lords were given command over their juniors, with responsibility for larger theaters of war or specialties (such as leading or training the Council's Sith Assassins). Directly beneath the Council of Five were the Sith Overlords, who were given broad authority to carry out the Council's will. Only a Sith Overlord (or, rarely, the Council of Five itself) could elevate an Acolyte to the rank of Sith Lord, and while they often sought the advice of their lesser Sith Lords in choosing Acolytes for advancement, the Sith Overlords retained absolute discretion in the matter.

The Council of Five ruled the Empire, but acted almost exclusively through its Sith Overlords. Few besides the Overlords themselves and the Council's bodyguards knew the identities of the Council members or had any interaction with them.

Behind the Scenes
In fleshing out the world of the 1,300s BBY New Sith Empire, Sakaros eschewed the traditional "dictator & friends" model of the and the "dictator plus specialties" model of the, instead intentionally structuring the Council of Five's Empire to resemble the , with elevation to the rank of Sith Lord the equivalent of being "".