How long have Sith Lords been working behind the scenes?

[El Chuxter]

I just thought of something about Darth Sidious that's got my mind cranking in overdrive. How do we know that everything going on in TPM is his doing? Ki-Adi Mundi mentions that the Sith have been extinct (and therefore presumably in hiding) for a millenium. Could it possibly be the culmination of a thousand years of Sith manipulation?

In EU, Darth Bane was smart enough to come up with the "only two" thingy. I didn't read Jedi vs Sith (it looked kinda disappointing), but I think he manipulated both the Jedi and Sith armies to wipe out the majority of both. I doubt he'd take on an apprentice who wasn't capable of the same cunning, nor would any subsequent Sith Lords.

If Ki-Adi's number is correct and not an estimation, Yoda's not quite old enough to remember Sith being out in the open. However, he does know that "Always two there are." Was Bane the last Sith that the Jedi knew of? Was someone working with the Sith Lords was interrogated by the Jedi or perhaps word got out through another source?

It just seems odd that the Sith, such a ruthless and power-hungry bunch of folks, would just sit tight and do absolutely nothing for a thousand years. If this is the case, it may explain Maul's impatience a bit better: "At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge."

[Rollo Tomassi]

Oddly enough, I just tackled this topic in another thread.

I think the first Sith (Darth Bane if you must) had a master plan. He realized it couldn't be completed in the course of his life. He was determined enough to realize that as long as the SITH were victorious, It wouldn't matter if HE personally got revenge. So he set out creating the groundwork for the Sith's ultimate return to power. Since he had the luxury of time (the fruits of past Sith being handed to the next generation) he could meticulously plan it so that it wouldn't fail. Each Sith lord would be responsible for a certain part of the overall plan, and the fruits of his labors would be established for the next Sith to come along. So obstacles such as building capital, building an information network, currying the favor of powerful government groups such as the Trade Federation and others was all completed by the time Sidious' Master found him and began training him on Naboo. He chose Naboo for their political peculiarity of having children run the govt. As Sidious (Palpatine) rose in prominence, first on Naboo, then in the galactic senate, the final pieces of Bane's centuries long plan were finally falling into place.