This episode was written in an effort to more fully integrate the character of Worf into the Deep Space Nine world. All of the fourth season episodes to that date, with the exception of The Way of the Warrior (1995), had been green-lit prior to the confirmation of Michael Dorn's arrival, and as such, Worf tended to be confined to the B-stories of these episodes, if he even figured in them at all. "The Sword of Kahless" was the first show put together after Worf joined the cast, and as such, the producers felt it should focus on him.
Worf makes a reference to Kor's battle "with Kirk on Organia," a reference to Errand of Mercy (1967) where Kor (and the Klingons in general) first appeared.
The blue razor Sisko uses to shave his head and beard with in this episode is the same prop razor Geordi La Forge shaved with in Code of Honor (1987).
A certain degree of knowledge of Worf's backstory from the USS Enterprise-D is necessary to fully understand this episode, especially the events portrayed in Rightful Heir (1993). In that episode, the clerics of Boreth create a clone of Kahless the Unforgettable and try to convince the Klingon people that it is the real Kahless returned from Sto-vo-kor and that he must assume his post as leader of all Klingons. However, after he is defeated in combat by Gowron, the identity of the clone is revealed, and Worf suggests that he be made into a figurehead Emperor, with Gowron still in control of the Klingon High Council. The clone accepts and becomes the moral leader of the Klingon people.
This episode brings together two Klingon characters, Kor and Worf, who were each groundbreaking in their own time. Kor can be considered the first Klingon character in the entire Star Trek canon, as he appeared in the first ever Klingon episode [Errand of Mercy (1967)], and was the only Klingon in that episode with any real personality (the others being anonymous soldiers). Worf, meanwhile, was the first Klingon to be a regular character when Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) began in 1987. Finally, during the first season of TNG (1987-88), Worf wore the same golden sash that Kor had worn in "Errand of Mercy", before switching to his more familiar silver-colored sash.