Tamriel: Timeline of the Fourth Era.

{The Second Century:}

4E 100 - With the sudden return of Nirn’s moons to the night skies, the Void Nights comes to an end. The Thalmor openly take credit for returning to two moons and the Khajiit begin to credit the Thalmor as the saviours of their race. Imperial influence wanes dramatically in the Confederacy, and Altmer-Khajiit relations prosper.

4E 101 - The island of Artaeum disappears from Tamriel. Home of the Psijic Order, the island has disappeared once before in recorded history. The Psijic Order pulls back its presence across the continent and seizes all attempts to maintain the established politics of Tamriel. Many Altmer dissidents blame the increasing hostility of the Thalmor to the Psijics, and an attempted invasion of the island gone awry.

4E 107 - Emperor Taig Mede dies in combat against a clan of Minotaurs that attacked his traveling party as he went to visit the Kingdom of Wayrest. As Emperor Taig was heirless, the Elder Council passes the succession to his younger brother, Prince Attrebus the Younger, now Emperor Attrebus II.

4E 112 - House Sadras formerly establish worship of the True Tribunal in Narsis. Based out of a new Tribunal Temple, priests who were considered dissidents by the previous Tribunal firmly worship the three Good Daedra and the ancestors of the Dunmer people. It is considered a return to the roots of the Dunmer, and the old Tribunal of Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec is branded false. The three once-gods are demoted to sainthood. Worship of the True Tribunal spreads far and quickly, spread by the greater Dunmer diaspora to locations as diverse as Cheydinhal and Raven Rock. Belief in the False Tribunal begins a steady decline towards obscurity and hereticism. House Indoril, famed for its dedication to the old Tribunal suffers greatly as the people flock to the new religion yet it remains steadfast in support of the old Tribunal. House Indoril and House Sadras conflict on the Grand Council is common and bitter.

4E 115 - The Elsweyr Confederacy dissolves over a dispute between the Mane, based in Torval, and the influential High Priestess of the Lunar Clerics in Dune. The High Priestess, backed by the tribes of the northern plains reforms the ancient kingdom of Anaquina as the Moon-Blessed Lands of Anaquina and rules as its first Lunar-Queen. The Mane rallies his followers in the jungles of the southern Elsweyr and establishes dominance over the region now known by its ancient name, the Kingdom of Pelletine, and begins the short-lived War of the Broken Paw against the Lunar-Queen. The Thalmor broker a peace after months of bloody civil war between the Khajiit, convincing the two sides that they must exist in harmony as the moons do and that the Aldmeri Dominion shall act in the capacity of the aligned-moons, the Third-Moon. In effect, the twin nations of Khajiit become client states to the Aldmeri Dominion, who lend them their economic and military aid in return for casting out the last Imperial presence in the region.

4E 122 - The Great Collapse. Much of the north-eastern region of Skyrim collapses into the Sea of Ghosts in a great avalanche. The city of Winterhold is almost completely destroyed by the event. The influential College of Winterhold, the oldest still-active faction dedicated to the study of magic in the Empire, remains unscathed - standing out on a peninsular of rock while the rest of Winterhold around it crumbled away. The Nords blame the mages for the act, and a distrust for magic first founded in the Oblivion Crisis quickly takes deep root amongst the people of Skyrim. The College denies the charges, claiming that the event is somehow tied to eruption of Red Mountain during the Red Year, and the College was only saved by the magical skills of its students and masters.

4E 129 - The old city of Riften is burnt down in an uprising against its corrupt Jarl. The fire, initially meant to oust the Jarl from his castle, spreads throughout the city and reduces it to ash. While the city gets rebuilt, its status is considerably diminished from the sprawling city of old.

4E 130 - Councillor Lleril Morvayn repairs the Bulwark of Raven Rock due to the increasing frequency of ash storms from the ever-erupting Red Mountain. Before its completion, the city of Raven Rock was expected to eventually be buried beneath the ash.

4E 143 - The venerable Emperor Attrebus II passes away, leaving the Ruby Throne to his eldest grandson after the death of his own son a number ten years earlier, the Prince Marcus Mede ascends to the Ruby Throne.

4E 150 - Argonians bent on further revenge against the Dunmer land on the island of Solstheim. The Siege of Raven Rock is long and harsh, but it is repelled by Councillor Lleril Morvayn and the soldiers of House Redoran under his command.

4E 153 - Distrust and anger between Hammerfell’s two primary political factions, the Forebears and Crowns, has reached a boiling point after over a century of renewed hostility. A collection of armies from the Forebear supporting city-states of southern Hammerfell descend upon the Crown-controlled city of Skaven. They demand control of the city be handed over to the city-states. The Crown forces rally to the defence of Skaven and civil war seems almost certain to bloody the sands of the Alik’r, when Emperor Marcus rides in at the head of the Tenth Legion to negotiate a peace. The two sides dissipate, but it doesn’t stop animosities from further inflaming into smaller scale skirmishes between the two factions across the province.

4E 168 - Emperor Marcus Mede dies from a bout of illness and is succeeded by his youngest son Prince Titus Mede, now Emperor Titus Mede II.

4E 171 - The Great War begins. An emissary from the Aldmeri Dominion brings a sudden ultimatum to Emperor Titus Mede II. The concessions range from handing over vast swathes of Hammerfell and Cyrodiil to the Dominion, outlawing the worship of Talos, the dissolution of the Blades and exiling the Direnni Clan of Altmer from High Rock. The Emperor rejects the ultimatum, and is presented with the heads of every member of the Blades that was serving in Valenwood, Anaquina and Pellatine. The next day an army led by the Thalmor general Lord Naarifin emerges from camps hidden from Imperial eyes in Anequina. The Dominion advance flanks the Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border. Leyawiin falls quickly to the invaders and Bravil is besieged on all sides. Simultaneously, an army under the Thalmor general Lady Arannelya crosses into Cyrodiil from Valenwood and bypasses the defences of Anvil and Kvatch, heading straight for Hammerfell where they join the Dominion Fleet in the Sacking of Rihad and the Massacre at Stirk. The Tenth Legion are forced to retreat across the Alik’r Desert, an event that leaves their numbers depleted by over a third known as the March of Thirst.

4E 172 - The Burning of Valenwood. In an attempt to distract the Dominion forces marching up the Niben, the Fifteenth Legion led by General Trano push into Valenwood through the dense jungle of Malabal Tol. Using battle-mages from the Synod with magical fire, the Fifteenth Legion commits to the Sacking of Silvenar. The fire burns out of control for several weeks as the Fifteenth Legion push east towards the Reaper’s March and Anaquina, reducing much of the northern border of Valenwood to a burnt husk. The Fifteenth Legion then settles into the long Siege of Arenthia, a border city with Cyrodiil.

4E 173 - The Knights of the Nine based out of their monastery fortress in southern Cyrodiil are put to the sword by Aldmeri forces. Killed to the very last, the order once again fades from Tamriel. The sacred relics they harboured are scattered across Tamriel - either hidden by Knights or their allies, or pillaged by Aldmeri forces.

4E 173 - The Second Legion stationed on the border with Argonia attempts to relieve the Eleventh Legion currently held down in the Siege of Bravil. The relief force is mid-way through crossing the bridge at Fort Redman when it suddenly collapses. Khajiiti forces under the banner of Chieftain Nasta surge from the undergrowth on both sides of the Niben and carve a bloody swathe through the Legion. The Battle of Redman Crossing is eventually turned in favour of the Imperial forces when Chieftain Nasta is cornered and cast bloodied into the deep, slaughterfish infested, river. The Legionnaires on the western side of the Niben are broken and slaughtered, leaving the Second Legion at half strength as it began the long march to the closest friendly crossing of the Niben, the Red Ring Road far to the north.

4E 174 - The Sack of The Imperial City. Following the lack of reinforcements to Bravil, the city eventually falls and the Dominion forces filter north towards the Red Ring Road. A series of short battles and sieges follow as the Imperial forces are pushed back to City Island proper and a the handful of crossings. The First Legion, defenders of the Imperial City and the Red Ring Road, sacrifice themselves to punch a hole through the siege and get the Emperor, his family and as many civilians as they could out of the Imperial City and North across Lake Rumare. The city falls when the Dominion Fleet, fresh from action around Hammerfell and High Rock, brings reinforcements from Alinor up the Niben. Many citizens take shelter in the Imperial Sewer network, but are slaughtered as General Naarifin summons lesser Daedra to hunt them down. The Imperial Palace is burnt, White-Gold Tower looted of its precious artefacts and numerous atrocities committed on the defenseless population of the Imperial City. It is rumoured that General Naarifin and those officers beneath him commit the atrocities in the name of the Daedric Prince Boethiah.

4E 174 - Following the successful capture of the Imperial City, a contingent of Dominion forces are sent North to harass the city of Bruma and destroy the last headquarters of the Blades at Cloudruler Temple. The Siege of Cloudruler is a bloody one, but it is short. Thalmor mages bring the walls down upon the heads of the Blades and the massacre is so complete that the Blades are considered extinct afterwards. Those that escape are hunted down mercilessly by the Thalmor.

4E 174 - With the Empire is busy fighting the Dominion and the Skyrim-based Fourth Legion heading to relieve Imperial forces in Cyrodiil, the Reachmen of Southwestern Skyrim rise up in rebellion. They quickly conquer Markarth and take the rest of The Reach almost bloodlessly.

4E 175 - The Battle of the Red Ring. Emperor Titus Mede II and the stragglers from the First Legion make contact with the Fourth and Third Legions led by General Jonna. Together they devise a plan where they will split the Legions into three hosts to surround the city. The Fourth Legion would besiege the city from the North, while the Third Legion made contact with the remains of the Second Legion on approach from the South. The Sixth Legion, fresh on approach from Morrowind would approach from the East. The combined might of the Imperial Legions was enough to besiege, and conquer, the occupied Imperial City. The Dominion forces in the city, surrounded and cut off from reinforcements, were slaughtered to the last. It is said Emperor Titus Mede II himself killed Lord Naarifin and his Daedric benefactors in close combat, although rumours persist that the Emperor was wounded by an attempted assassination attempt before the battle and some now forgotten hero took his place at the front of the battlefield.

4E 175 - The White-Gold Concordat. Knowing his Legions were exhausted and the Empire unable to continue committing to the war, Emperor Titus Mede II sought out negotiations with the Aldmeri Dominion to end the war. The peace treaty, deemed the White-Gold Concordat, was almost identical to the ultimatum that Emperor Titus Mede II had rejected at the start of the war. The worship of Talos is outlawed. The Blades, the personal guards of the Empire, were disbanded. Large parts of Southern Hammerfell, occupied by Aldmeri forces during the war, were ceded to the Dominion. The Thalmor were given free reign to set up ‘Embassies’ in the provinces of the Empire to ensure the terms of the Concordat were met. In return, the war would end and the Empire could keep the rugged mountainous region it had claimed north of Arenthia in Valenwood, pushing the Cyrodiilic border down to the next branch of the Strid River. The Direnni Clan was also allowed to maintain its presence in High Rock.

4E 175 - Not all were happy with the Concordat. The Redguards of Hammerfell deeply opposed the ceding of their lands to the Aldmeri Dominion. Seeing it as a betrayal, King Fahad of Hammerfell rejected the terms of the treaty and Emperor Titus Mede II was forced to renounce the Kingdom as a province to maintain the Treaty. The Tenth Legion pulled out of Hammerfell, and the Redguards were left to continue their fight against Lady Arannelya and her Dominion forces.

4E 175 - The city-states of Dragonstar and Elinhir in the Craglorn mountains secede from the Kingdom of Hammerfell while the Redguard forces are weakened from the war with the Dominion. The Kingdom of Craglorn is established through the political marriage of the Redguard King Yaleb of Elinhir and the Nordic Queen Elissa of Dragonstar. The Kingdom attempts to subjugate the local Orc clans, both those descended from the refugees of Nova Orsinium and the Iron Orcs native to the region. Conflict is common between the two forces, with the Orcish clans banding together against the Kingdom.

4E 176 - The Markarth Incident. At the behest of Hrolfdir, the deposed son of the Jarl of the Reach, convinced High King Istlod of Skyrim to create a militia led by veterans of the Great War to retake The Reach from the Reachmen. In exchange for retaking the region, they promised the militia free reign to worship Talos in contravention of the Concordat. Led by Ulfric Stormcloak, the militia crushed the Reachmen forces at Markarth with the aid of the thu’um, an ancient magical art. The survivors of the Reachmen forces fled into the mountainous wilderness and formed a group called the Forsworn to continue their insurgency against the Nords of Skyrim. Not long after the victory, the Empire allows the Thalmor to arrest Ulfric Stormcloak for his open worship of Talos. Although he was eventually released from Thalmor custody, this incident kindled the fire of resentment of the Thalmor and the Empire in Skyrim.

4E 178 - The Battle of Hegarthe. The Aldmeri forces continued their push into Hammerfell, heading for the city of Hegarthe, the current location of King Fahad himself. Lady Arannelya believed that the Forebear cities, who had openly opposed the monarchy for over a century, would stand aside while the Dominion forces dealt with their problem for them. Attempts were made to lure the Forebear population of Hegathe to betray their King to the Dominion. They did not. As the Aldmeri host marched on Hegathe they were attacked from the rear by the combined armies of the Forebear City-States that had only twenty years prior almost started a civil war to dethrone King Fahad. The Dominion, distracted by the Forebear army, left themselves open to an assault by the Crown forces out of Sentinel, led by King Fahad himself. The Dominion were routed, and shared an eerily similar fate as the Tenth Legion as they retreated across the Alik’r desert, harassed by the clans that dwelled within it along the way.

4E 179 - The Siege of Hew’s Bane. In a bloody and quick year, the Aldmeri forces were pushed back from their holdings in the conquered cities of Gilane and Taneth by the combined forces of Hammerfell, backed by unofficial aid from the Breton kingdoms of Wayrest and Daggerfall in High Rock. Pushed into the peninsular of Hew’s Bane, the Dominion soldiers led by Lady Aranneyla held the Prince’s Gate at the only pass into the peninsular for half a year without reinforcements or aid from Alinor. The veteran Abah’s Mer, as the Dominion forces took to calling them, were finally relieved by the Dominion Fleet near the closing of the year.

4E 180 - The Second Treaty of Stros M’Kai. Following the stalemate at Hew’s Bane and the ongoing and bloody Siege of Rihad, the Aldmeri Dominion sued for peace with Hammerfell. It officially withdrew its forces from the region of Khefrem in southern Hammerfell and Rihad, but maintained occupation of Hew’s Bane and the region around the towns of Chaseguard and Roseguard west of Rihad and the Brena River. King Fahad almost backs out of the agreement, but only agrees at the behest of the Kings of Wayrest and Daggerfall.

4E 181 - The ebony mines of Raven Rock, after centuries of exploitation, finally run dry. The city turns to hunting and fishing for sustenance, and many Dunmer leave for better work opportunities on the recovering mainland.

4E 182 - The young and strong Orcish King Drubuk Gro-Danush reaches an accord with Emperor Titus Mede II. With the support of the Empire through the veterans of the Third Legion, the Orcish King conquers Dragonstar and Elinhir in an event known as the Pacification of Craglorn. The Empire re-establishes the province of Nova Orsinium in the Craglorn mountains, with King Drubuk as its vassal. In return for taxation of the Chorrol-Elinhir-Dragonstar-Wayrest trade route, the Orcs are granted control over the mountains as long as it pacifies the region and ensures the route from Cyrodiil to High Rock remains clear. In support of this effort, the Empire invests in a new Imperial highway through the region and the re-commission of the defunct Fifth Legion to support the king in its defence. The economy of Craglorn quickly picks up pace, with many mines flooding the Imperial market with high quality resources. The Orsinium Orcs begin construction of a new Nova Orsinium, while the Iron Orcs content themselves with returning to their mountain holds. The cities of Dragonstar and Elinhir chafe under being ruled by an Orc, but the Imperial presence and booming economy keeps them quelled.

4E 183 - The Jarl of Windhelm Hoag Stormcloak, dies. His heir and son, Ulfric Stormcloak, assumes the mantle of Jarl upon his release from imprisonment by the Thalmor. His rule is good for the Nords, but the Dunmer and Argonian populations chafe under his xenophobia. Imperial ships coming through the port find an icy welcome.

4E 188 - The city of Wayrest falls victim to a wave of corsairs led by the Abecean Pirate King, Velehk Sain. Rumours abound about the corsairs being paid to disrupt the Bretons of High Rock. The port and much of the city is ransacked before the King’s Knights and the Sixteenth Legion can force them back into the sea.

4E 188 - Fighting between two of Cyrodiil’s largest skooma traffickers leads to a series of violent fights in the city of Bravil, the Lucky Old Lady statue is destroyed in the fighting and an unknown crypt beneath it is ransacked. The Twelfth Legion is called in to place the city under temporary martial law. Anti-Imperial sentiment remains at a high amongst the city’s Khajiit population.