From 1,002 ABY to 1,011 ABY, the Galactic Alliance and the Sith-ruled Galactic Empire were in a state of cold war. The tense standoff began when the Sith returned from nearly a thousand years of hiding and took over the Empire, ending centuries of peace between the Alliance and what had been a benevolent Empire. The nine years of cold war were marked by a military build up on both sides, which took many years due to the previous peace between the two governments. The cold war officially ended in 1,011 ABY with the outbreak of the Third Galactic Civil War.