The Empire recruited Jedi? Who were the Imperial Knights? In a post-Palpatine era, approximately 130 years after Luke Skywalker during the Fel Empire era, these Knights helped maintain order and reject the Dark Side from influencing the Empire. A major shift in sentiment and ideology from what was once thought to be the most evil group in the Galaxy. Imperial Knights were essentially referred to as the Jedi of the Empire, but were not actual Jedi themselves. They were a group of light side Force wielders forged in an offshore faction of the Empire using the Jedi's help.
The Fel Empire was an evolution from Palpatine's Empire and no longer allied with the Dark Side of the Force or Sith philosophy. Their goal was to maintain peace and order throughout the Galaxy and to help solidify this shift, Emperor Fel established the Imperial Knights. The creation of the Knights established a Jedi-like presence within the Empire. However this faction differed from conventional Jedi ways as these Knights were loyal to the Empire only, not the Force. Much like the Royal Guards seen guarding Palpatine throughout his reign, these Imperial Knights acted in a similar way.
Adorning red armor, made from the same material as Darth Vander's suit and wielding white Lightsabers, these Imperial Knights were adept at both Saber and hand-to-hand combat. They were also tasked with the role of overthrowing the Emperor if he ever succumbed to the corruption of the Dark Side, essentially acting as safeguards against Dark Side infection.
While rejecting the Dark Side in all of its forms and fighting to reject its influence on the Empire, the Imperial Knights were seen as more like Grey Jedi by other Jedi, cousins but not kin. While the Jedi operate to preserve the Light throughout the Galaxy as a whole, the Imperial Knights only sought to preserve Light within the Empire itself.
A lot had changed in the Galaxy far, far away by the year 13080Y. YouTuber The Stupendous Wave, who we've featured here before, just released a thorough and fascinating video detailing the history of this lesser known Star Wars lore. I encourage you to watch the video below and subscribe to his channel if you haven't already!
