## Maybe centuries earlier, definitely by 3-4 ABY

According to _[The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary][1]_ (2019):

> Local folklore has warned for centuries of marauders known as the Knights of Ren. Since the rise of the First Order, myth has become reality.

In other words, they may or may not have existed as an organization during the centuries before _The Force Awakens_, and definitely did under Ren once the First Order existed. Per _[The Rise of Kylo Ren][2]_, they existed at least as early as 18-25 ABY, since Ben is "a lost teenager" in the comic flashback where he meets them [according to writer Charles Soule][3], and he was born in 5 ABY. _The Force Awakens_ takes place in 34 ABY, so this puts their founding at least 9-16 years before the film.

Much earlier, however, in _War of the Bounty Hunters #5_, the Knights appear on Crimson Dawn's flagship, audience to a speech by Qi'ra:

[![Panel from War of the Bounty Hunters #5 showing the Knights of Ren][4]][4]

While it's not yet known how long they'd existed at this point, it at least sets an upper bound on their founding. The comic takes place between _The Empire Strikes Back_ and _Return of the Jedi_, so around 3-4 ABY. This is their chronologically earliest appearance as of November 2021.

  [1]: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Rise_of_Skywalker:_The_Visual_Dictionary
  [2]: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Rise_of_Kylo_Ren
  [3]: https://www.starwars.com/news/introducing-ren-in-marvels-the-rise-of-kylo-ren
  [4]: https://i.sstatic.net/y7lpA.jpg