Dominion Wars

The Dominion Wars were a series of conflicts that took place during the last quarter of the.

Prelude
The Dominion Wars originated during the last quarter of the, a millennia-long conflict fought between the and the , supported by the. Due to the years of intermittent warfare, the Republic lost much of its territory outside of the. The war also put significant strain on the Republic's, leading to the collapse of the. In an effort to maintain the Republic's infrastructure, the Jedi Order began to assume greater positions of leadership. Members of the Order were eventually elected as s, granting the Jedi the highest level of authority in the Republic government.

Various incarnations of the Sith rose to power throughout the conflict. Despite earning a number of crushing victories against the Republic and Jedi, these Sith factions were often fragmented by bouts of infighting. Lacking a singular leader, the Sith's powerbase devolved into numerous feudal states ruled by individual s. Scattered throughout the, these warlords mainly fought one another for dominance, as opposed to focusing their efforts towards the Republic. It was during this time that a called Crucia made his presence known to these factions, along with his intention to build a force capable of destroying the sworn enemies of the Sith.

A self-proclaimed, Crucia regarded himself as the vanguard of the "true" Sith hailing from the of the. His hatred towards the Republic and Jedi—along with his power—attracted a group of Sith followers, forming a cult that became known as the Jen'taral. While expanding and protecting his regime, Crucia gained the allegiance of several factions, particularly those who had lost contact with the Republic in the wake of its decline. Using his Ritirian species to his advantage, Crucia presented himself as a savior figure to these races, promising them a prominent place in the galaxy if they would serve the cause of the Sith.

Having successfully secured an alliance with the insectoid factions, Crucia ordered them to produce a number of resources to fuel his planned war machine, particularly a supply of s and s. After establishing a new government called the Sith Dominion, Crucia and the Jen'taral used these resources to overthrow the Sith remnants, absorbing their territory. Believing that the "pretend" Sith were no longer a threat to his rule, Crucia assumed the title of and declared himself the undisputed. As the Dominion's leader, the Dark Lord commenced his plan to strike terror into the Republic and its Jedi protectors, officially declaring war against them.

Sith expansion
Rather than moving directly into the Republic's powerbase, the Sith Dominion initially engaged them on the edges of their territory. In particular, the Dominion's armada—led by Darth Crucia—conducted a streak of hit-and-run engagements, hoping to constantly harass and demoralize the Republic's forces. The Republic consequently found themselves with little room to recover, leaving them vulnerable as the Dominion continued pressuring their forces. Since the Republic lacked the resources to adequately protect their outlying territory, Supreme Chancellor Kayo Dantius chose to abandon a number of colonies in favor of strengthening their core domain.

After conquering the Republic's abandoned worlds, Crucia saw this as an opportunity to expand the influence of the Sith. To accomplish this, the Dark Lord oversaw the establishment of several strongholds for the Jen'taral, allowing the cult to train a new wave of Sith to serve the Dominion. The Citadel of Almas was the most prominent of these strongholds, becoming a staging ground for the Jen'taral at the behest of the cult's leader, Darth Rivan, also known as the Shadow Hand. Despite these developments, Crucia intentionally limited the Jen'taral's numbers and kept the cult mostly separate from the Dominion's military, ideally preventing the Sith from undermining his regime.

Using the Jen'taral as an extension of his will, Crucia sought for a way of bolstering the Dominion's military forces, giving them an edge over their enemies. To accomplish this, Darth Rivan used his knowledge of dark side and  to devise a ritual called the Rite of Binding. This ritual allowed the Sith to forge a with another living being, making the victim utterly subservient. Realizing the potential of this technique, Crucia immediately adopted it amongst the Dominion's military personnel. The Dark Lord believed this to be the perfect means of strengthening the Dominion's chain-of-command, eliminating desertion and insubordination. To further safeguard his regime, Crucia returned to his original homeworld—Ritir—where he oversaw the recruitment of Ritirian warriors. These warriors were then trained at the behest of Crucia into an military  called the Chosen Legion. While the Jen'taral mostly worked behind the scenes, the Chosen Legion served as the primary enforcers of Crucia's rule throughout the Dominion. As the Sith continued engaging Republic forces, they often took the opportunity to capture both enemy personnel and non-combatants alive. The majority of these captives were, while individuals were singled-out and inducted into a Jen'taral academy.