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I tried to find when and how Darth Bane died, but without luck.

I guessed he was killed by his apprentice Darth Zannah. A friend of mine told that he was killed by Yoda. Are any of these true?

How and when did Darth Bane die? I want proper source citation too.

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    I'd point out that in all probability, Yoda was not alive at the time, and was certainly not a great Jedi Master, powerful enough to defeat Bane.
    – The Fallen
    Dec 7, 2014 at 19:31
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    And looking it up, there was a published date for his birth (896BBY - I didn't think there was), so he was definitely not born
    – The Fallen
    Dec 7, 2014 at 19:32
  • He died... poorly...
    – KSmarts
    Mar 25, 2015 at 21:03

1 Answer 1

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Bane was killed by his apprentice, Darth Zannah in 988BBY on the planet Ambria. She used a mixture of lightsaber skills (though she lost her weapon to Bane before his ultimate defeat), Dark Side force tendrils and some kind of mind-fogging power on him.

At the moment of his death, he transcended physical form and attempted to seize control of her body but her force powers were too strong and he simply dissipated.

The event is described (in some considerable detail) in Darth Bane : Dynasty of Evil

From a safe distance, the Iktotchi had watched the two figures [Darth Bane and Darth Zannah] from her dreams wage battle. She was an impartial observer, having no preference as to which one would emerge victorious. She only wanted to serve whoever proved the stronger.

The conflict had been brief but intense: she had marveled at the speed of their blades, their movements so fast she could barely follow the action. She had felt the awesome power of the Force unleashed through bursts of lightning and the sinister tendrils that crawled up from the ground. She shivered in anticipation with the knowledge that she, too, could one day learn to wield such power.

She had seen Bane knock the woman to the ground and slap her weapon away, only to have his arm hewn off by the touch of one of the black tentacles. And then there had been a flash so bright she had been forced to close her eyes and look away.

When she looked back Bane was gone, his body reduced to a pile of ash. The blond woman still lay on the ground, dazed but alive. The deadly tendrils were nowhere to be seen.

Cautiously she approached the scene. Bane's severed arm lay on the ground, but the rest of his body had been consumed by the crimson flare. In the instant before she had looked away, however, she had felt something.


Responding to internet rumours of Bane's survival, the author wrote an FAQ for his website;

I thought it was pretty clear in my writing. I wrote the scene from Cognus’s point of view to keep you guessing to the last instant, but when Zannah proclaims “Darth Bane is gone. I am Darth Zannah, Dark Lord of the Sith and your new Master,” I thought it would be pretty clear.

The whole thing with Zannah’s hand twitching was only to show that some part of Bane had passed through to her. How much – was he still “alive” in some way, or is it just a small part of his identity imprinted on her – was supposed to be the ambiguous part. But I never wanted people to assume Bane had taken over Zannah’s body successfully.


Note that as the whole of this story is found in an EU "Legend" novel, none of these events are considered to be part of the accepted Star Wars canon.

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    I was under the impression that it was left deliberately vague as to whether Bane was successful or not.
    – IG_42
    Mar 25, 2015 at 20:42
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    @IG_42 - I can't think of an instance where his force-ghost reappeared.
    – Valorum
    Mar 25, 2015 at 20:44
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    @Hatandboots - "Bane was gone, his body reduced to a pile of ash". I really don't see how it could be any clearer than that.
    – Valorum
    Aug 28, 2015 at 21:57
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    @Hatandboots - From the author; "I thought it was pretty clear in my writing. I wrote the scene from Cognus’s point of view to keep you guessing to the last instant, but when Zannah proclaims “Darth Bane is gone. I am Darth Zannah, Dark Lord of the Sith and your new Master,” I thought it would be pretty clear.
    – Valorum
    Aug 28, 2015 at 22:03
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    The whole thing with Zannah’s hand twitching was only to show that some part of Bane had passed through to her. How much – was he still “alive” in some way, or is it just a small part of his identity imprinted on her – was supposed to be the ambiguous part. But I never wanted people to assume Bane had taken over Zannah’s body successfully.
    – Valorum
    Aug 28, 2015 at 22:03

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