The term “Chosen One” is something every Star Wars fan knows by heart. The entire Skywalker Saga revolves around it — Anakin’s journey from slave to Jedi, his fall to the dark side, and his ultimate redemption when he finally restores balance to the Force.
But here’s something you might not know: the Sith had their own prophecy, one that mirrors the Jedi’s Chosen One. They called it the Sith’ari — a figure destined to rise above all others, destroy the Sith, and make them stronger than ever. And believe it or not, Palpatine himself once hinted that he saw Darth Vader as the Sith’ari.
The Sith’s Own ‘Chosen One’ Prophecy
So what exactly is this Sith Chosen One prophecy? That’s the first thing we need to dive into. As a brief explanation, the Sith’ari is the one who would bring ultimate victory to the Sith.
According to the Book of the Sith, the prophecy reads:
“The Sith’ari will be free of limits.
The Sith’ari will lead the Sith and destroy them.
The Sith’ari will raise the Sith from death and make them stronger than before.”
At first glance, this prophecy almost sounds contradictory. How can the one destined to lead the Sith also be the one who destroys them? But that’s exactly the kind of twisted logic the dark side thrives on. To the Sith, destruction isn’t always the end — it’s a way to clear the path for something stronger to rise. The idea of “destroying” the Sith wasn’t about wiping them out forever, but about shattering their weaknesses, burning away the old order, and rebuilding something more powerful in its place.
This interpretation isn’t just from ancient Sith texts. Even in canon, the Sith’ari is mentioned alongside the Jedi Chosen One. In The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, historian Beaumont Kin writes:
“My previous research into the ancient lore of both the Jedi and the Sith often found references to a prophesied individual. The Jedi called them ‘the Chosen One’ while fragments of Sith writing make mention of the coming of the ‘Sith’ari.’ Both of these legends share certain details and aspects regarding the coming of one who was born of the Force itself and who would wield tremendous power.”
By linking the two prophecies together, Kin highlights that the Jedi and Sith may have been looking at the same figure through different lenses — one seeing salvation, the other seeing domination.
So we already know about the Sith’ari, but we are here to see Palpatine’s point of view on how he believe Darth Vader is the Sith’ari.
Darth Sidious Believed Anakin Was the Sith’ari
In the canon novel The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire, we follow the historian Beaumont Kin as he researches the hidden lore of both the Jedi and the Sith. Through his work, he uncovers evidence that Palpatine himself believed Anakin Skywalker — Darth Vader — was not only the Jedi’s Chosen One, but also the Sith’ari of Sith prophecy.
But here’s the key difference: Palpatine didn’t see Anakin as the one who would lead the Sith to glorious victory. Instead, he believed Vader could serve as the key to unlocking his ultimate goal — cheating death and extending his life unnaturally. To Sidious, the Sith’ari prophecy was less about leadership and more about power over life itself.
As the book explains:
“Both of these legends share certain aspects and details regarding the coming of one who was born of the Force itself and who would wield tremendous power. The Jedi believed this individual would bring balance to the Force, the Sith that they would lead them to glory.”
And it continues:
“Prophecies are difficult things to decipher and are often more a matter of faith than of destiny. But it appears, both from tales within the Jedi Order in the last days of the Republic and scrolls retrieved from Exegol, that both sides believed the individual in question to be Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was trained as a Jedi before falling to the dark side of the Force and adopting the identity of Darth Vader. If, as the stories suggest, Anakin Skywalker was conceived purely by the Force, it seems plausible that Palpatine believed Anakin may have held the solution to a way of unnaturally extending his own life.”
However, another question naturally arises: why did Palpatine believe that Anakin — his Sith apprentice Darth Vader — was the Sith’ari? The book already makes it clear that both the Jedi and Sith saw this figure as one “who would wield tremendous power.” To Sidious, that power wasn’t about balance or glory. It was about mastery over life and death itself. If there was ever someone strong enough in the Force to unlock that secret, Palpatine was convinced it would be Anakin.