Lore:Wars

Appendices
Arcana
Alchemy Artifacts Astronomy Magic
History
Rulers Reman Dynasty Septim Dynasty Mede Dynasty Wars and Conflicts
Linguistics
Ayleid Language Daedric Alphabet Dragon Alphabet Dragon Language Dwemer Alphabet Elder Alphabet Ehlnofex Languages Falmer Alphabet Magic Script Alphabet
Other
Calendar Demographics Disease Names Transportation

A list of wars and conflicts in Tamriel's history.

Alessian Slave Rebellion

1E 242 – 1E 243

Under the leadership of the Slave-Queen Alessia, the enslaved proto-Cyrodiils rebelled against their Ayleid overlords. The legendary nomad-warrior Pelinal Whitestrake dealt the final blow when he killed Umaril the Unfeathered in White Gold Tower. However, Pelinal died along with the Ayleid king, cut into eighths in mockery of the Divines by the Ayleids, who were obsessed with this number.

The victory, while extremely beneficial to the proto-Cyrodiils, signaled the slow decline of the Ayleid race's power, which would end around 1E 500, after the Late Ayleid Period.

The War of Succession

1E 369 - 1E 420

After King Borgas of Skyrim was killed by the "Wild Hunt" in 1E 369, a civil war was sparked. Imperial scholars blamed the arbiters of the succession, the Moot, for not choosing Jarl Hanse of Winterhold, who they considered the obvious choice.

The war was disastrous for Skyrim: it lost the provinces of High Rock, Morrowind and Cyrodiil, and cities such as Windhelm were sacked. In 1E 420, the Pact of Chieftains brought an end to the conflict, and Olaf One-Eye was named High King.

The War of the Crag

1E 7th Century - 1E 700

After the Falmer were defeated by the Nords during the Late Merethic Era and driven from Skyrim, they sought refuge with the Dwemer in the caverns of Blackreach. The Dwemer tricked the Falmer and fed them a toxic fungus which rendered them permanently blind, and forced the Falmer to serve as slaves. Generations later, the Falmer rebelled against their Dwemer masters, beginning a long and bitter conflict that raged completely unbeknownst to the Nords living on the surface above. After decades of bloodshed, the war ended with the abrupt disappearance of the entire Dwemer race. The newly free Falmer spread throughout Blackreach and other Dwemer ruins, and eventually begin mounting raids to the surface.

The War of the First Council

1E 688 - 1E 700

The secular Dwemer waged war against the Chimer Great Houses, as well as the nomadic Ashlanders of Vvardenfell, who had united under General Indoril Nerevar. In the aftermath of the final clash, the Battle of Red Mountain, the Dwemer had mysteriously disappeared, Nerevar was dead, House Dagoth was assimilated into the other Houses, and a new religion was born revering the living gods of the Tribunal and later cursing Voryn Dagoth, the High Councilor of the defunct House Dagoth, as the devil incarnate. It is also called the War of the Red Mountain.

The War of Righteousness

1E 2321

Although the War of Righteousness was responsible for the deaths of half the population of the Iliac Bay, surprisingly little is known about it. The main cause seems to have been internal strife within the Alessian Order. As the order grew too large to manage, territories began to split off. When Western Cyrodiil split away, the tension broke out into open warfare.

No information about the sides involved is available nor on the precise location, although the horrific casualties recorded in the Iliac Bay region suggest that at least part of the war was fought there. The war also had an effect in Cyrodiil, as the Order's great monastic complex at Lake Canulus was razed.

The Four-Score War

1E 2840 - 1E 2920

After eighty years, I don't think anyone can imagine an end,” said Vivec with a smile, but he grew serious, trusting Almalexia's prophecies. “Who will win? Morrowind or the Cyrodilic Empire? — 2920, The Last Year of the First Era

The eighty years of conflict known as The Four-Score War centered around the border regions of Morrowind, with the armies of the Reman Dynasty facing the Tribunal-led forces of the Dunmer.

The war ended inconclusively when Emperor Reman III sacked the fortress of Black Gate and was assassinated by the Morag Tong. The throne passed to the Akaviri Potentate Versidue-Shaie, who suspended further attacks against Morrowind in order to solidify his power in the opening years of the Second Era.

More information can be found in the series of books 2920, The Last Year of the First Era

Major Battles

• Battle of Bodrum, 20th of First Seed, 1E 2920. Forces led by Vivec ambushed the Cyrodilic army and almost completely destroyed it.
• Battle of Ald Marak, 16th of Mid Year, 1E 2920. A heavily armored army led by Crown Prince Juilek took the Dunmer by surprise due to faulty intelligence on their part. Commanding the mystics in his army to cast water-breathing spells, his army passed through lake Coronati, with the majority of the army commanded by Vivec being unable to respond to the attack in time.
• Battle of Black Gate, Sun's Height, 1E 2920. While a truce between the warring parties had been called, the Empire sacked the fortress of Black Gate.

The War of the Uvichil

1E 2911 - 1E 2917

The Sload of Thras unsuccessfully invaded Summerset Isle. The Altmer remember the war as horrible, due to the use of infernal machines and necromancy by the Sload.

The Tiber Wars

Main article: Tiber Wars

2E 852 - 2E 896

The Tiber Wars were a series of conflicts spanning through the second half of the last century of the Second Era, started by the Colovian warlord Cuhlecain and continued by his general Tiber Septim. The results of the wars were manifold, most important of them being the end of the Interregnum with the founding of the Third Empire with Septim as its first Emperor, the proclamation of the Third Era, and the unification of Tamriel for the first and only time in its history.

Major Battles

• Battle of Old Hroldan, 2E 852. Cuhlecain's general Hjalti Early-Beard successfully led his king's Colovian troops and their allies' berserkers into breaking the Reachmen lines, forcing them to fortify themselves at Old Hroldan. The next day Hjalti approached the gates of the besieged city, protected by the winds created by a storm following his trail. Reports say that the ancient Nord art of thu'um was used to shout down the walls of Old Hroldan, after which Hjalti's army took the city with relative ease by force. As a result, he was nicknamed Talos, meaning Stormcrown, by his Nordic troops.
• Sack of Sancre Tor, 2E 852. While his army was distracting the majority of the defenders, Talos made his way inside the fortress of Sancre Tor, capturing the Nord and Breton leaders and making them order their troops to surrender. Sancre Tor was abandoned and Talos recovered the Amulet of Kings.
• Taking of the Imperial City, 2E 854. After a siege of the capital, the battlemages of the Eastern Heartlands surrender before Cuhlecain's armies. Before he could crown himself Emperor, he is assassinated, and Talos is crowned in his stead as Tiber Septim.
• Moth Rebellion, 2E 857. An uprising in the Imperial City. The Third Legion, mostly made out of newly-recruited Colovian peasant boys, was sent from nearby Anvil to quell it. There the Legion earned its sobriquet "The Faithful" while besieged in the Hesod Barracks by the Cultists. After the rebellion ended, Tiber Septim triumphantly re-entered the capital.
• Battle of the Bjoulsae. Under the command of Amiel Richton, an Imperial squadron crushed Wayrest's naval power in a surprise dawn attack.
• Sack of Senchal. After the besieged Khajiiti refused to surrender, general Pottreid ordered the Third Legion to attack the city of Senchal, with free reins. Due to heavy civilian casualties, including children, the battle was omitted from officially-sanctioned Imperial history.
• Battle of Black Rocks, 2E 863. The forces of the Aldmeri Dominion caught the Third Legion by surprise and almost completely destroyed it. The remnants of it made the core of the newly created Ruby Legion stationed in Nibenay Valley.
• Battle of Stros M'Kai, 2E 864. Also known as Battle of Hunding Bay by Imperials.
  

  

  Battle of Stros M'Kai, the penultra of the Crowns
  Fleeing from the capital of Sentinel, Prince A'tor rallied the remaining Redguard Crowns for one final battle. The navies of both sides clashed near the isle of Stros M'Kai in the Hunding Bay. Leading the Imperial New West Navy was Lord Admiral Amiel Richton, who brought in a dragon called Nafaalilargus. The turning point of the battle was Prince A'tor's death by a poisonous arrow from Dram, a Dunmer assassin. Arch-mage Voa tried to save the prince, but due to the strength of the poison he was forced to place his soul in a soulgem and to put his body in a magically induced stasis before being burned by the dragon. After their defeat, the remaining Crowns fled to Stros M'Kai, most of them to the Old Quarter of the city, which was promptly burned to the ground by the dragon, killing them all as a result. Some of the survivors took refuge at the local temple of Arkay. The priests there gave them asylum, hiding the body of prince A'tor in the temple and healing the wounded, only to be forced to surrender the latter to the Imperials. The result of the battle was that the Redguard forces, aside from the Crown-allegiant Restless League, were either completely annihilated or subdued. Following the crowning achievements of his career, Richton was made the Provisional Governor of Stros M'Kai, reigning over the city with terror for the next three months.
• Rebellion of Stros M'Kai, 2E 864. Lead by siblings Cyrus and Iszara, the Restless League came out of hiding and stormed the Palace, with Cyrus himself cornering the Provisional Governor Amiel Richton and the Imperial Emissary Dram aboard a Dwemeri dirigible. Cyrus' sword, enchanted with the soul of Prince A'tor, then killed them both. This act was allegedly the third incarnation of HoonDing.
• Rebellion of Sentinel, 2E 864. After hearing of the Crown rebellion in Stros M'Kai, Baron Volag, leader of the Forebears, came out of hiding and retook Sentinel from the Provisional Governor Senecus Goddkey. As a result of these two rebellions, the First Treaty of Stros M'Kai was signed.
• Sack of Mournhold. One of the several battles that occurred after Septim's legions invaded Morrowind and before the Armistice was signed. The city was razed and the royal family of Mournhold was wiped out, except for the five year old heiress Barenziah.
• Surrender of Alinor, 2E 896. Given to the Empire as a part of the terms of the Armistice by the Tribunal, Numidium besieged the capital of Summerset Isles, its fall happening within an hour. Alinor's fall marked the end of the Tiber Wars, finally unifying Tamriel, in turn leading to the proclamation of the Third Era.

Peace Treaties

• Forebear Truce. After the Crown forces regrouped at Stros M'Kai and even got close to retaking the capital of Sentinel, the Forebears, desperate at the prospect of losing the civil war, asked Tiber Septim for aid. The Empire was to lend its armies to the Forebear cause in return for a swath of holding titles along the southeast border of Hammerfell. After the Crowns were crushed and the Forebear leader Baron Volag went into hiding not a day later, rumored to be dead, the treaty was revised, and Imperial garrisons were stationed across Hammerfell "until such a time as the native rulership can see fit to reinstate itself safely on its rightful throne."
• First Treaty of Stros M'Kai, 2E 864. Following the double rebellion of the both most prominent Redguard factions, the Empire was forced to draw a treaty with the rebels, finally legitimizing their rule. It was signed by Tiber Septim, Iszara and Baron Volag, representing the Empire, the Crowns and the Forebears, respectively. While Hammerfell's status as a province remained, a remark from almost two hundred years later stated that the Redguards felt that they "are part of the Empire, but not a subject". Not to be confused with another treaty of Stros M'Kai.
• Armistice. After the Imperials amassed their forces at Morrowind's western borders and had several skirmishes with Tribunal-led Dunmeri forces, Lord Vivec himself proclaimed that he will initiate peace talks with Septim's Empire. The terms of the Armistice were culturally very favorable to Morrowind, such as the freedom of religion and perseverance of the ancient Dunmeri right to own and trade slaves. Strategically, the Armistice was very favorable to the Empire, most importantly the access to Morrowind's rich ebony mines and to the Dwemeri Brass God Numidium.

The War of the Isle

3E 110

The province of Summerset was nearly lost under the leadership of Antiochus. King Orgnum of the island-kingdom of Pyandonea attacked Summerset Isle as a result of a political plot of Queen Potema of Solitude.

The united alliance of the kings of Summerset and Antiochus only managed to defeat King Orgnum due to a freak storm. Legend credits the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum with the magic behind the storm and victory, rather than the Imperial Navy.

The War of the Red Diamond

3E 120 - 3E 127

Kintyra II became Empress on the death of her father, Antiochus, in 3E 120. Her uncles, Cephorus King of Gilane and Magnus King of Lilmoth, attended the coronation, but her aunt, Queen Potema of Solitude, was banished after insulting Kintyra in the front of the Elder Council. Potema was scheming to obtain the throne for herself and her son, Uriel. Her schemes resulted in a civil war known as the War of the Red Diamond, the name coming from the symbol of the Imperial Family. In the early surprise attacks, Skyrim and High Rock were easily defeated by the force of Queen Potema.

During this civil war, the Knights of the Nine were fractured and later completely dissolved. The four recovered relics of Pelinal Whitestrake were used in the war and lost afterwards.

More information can be found in the books The Wolf Queen and Biography of the Wolf Queen.

Major Battles

• Battle of Ichidag, 3E 127. Forces under Cephorus defeated Uriel III, who was killed in the aftermath of the battle. Cephorus was crowned Emperor.
• Battle of Falconstar, 3E 127. Contemporaneously with the Battle of Ichidag, the forces of Queen Potema fought the forces Magnus Septim in Skyrim. Upon learning of her son's capture, Potema flew into a rage and led a successful assault on Magnus' weakest flank, causing Magnus and his army to retreat. Word reached them soon after of Uriel III's death.
• Siege of Solitude, 3E 137. The Wolf Queen, Potema of Solitude, was finally defeated after a month-long siege of her castle. Although not a full part of the War of the Red Diamond, the siege is best viewed as a postscript, as with the death of the entire royal family except Cephorus, Magnus, Pelagius and Jolethe, all possible argument over the line of succession was ended.

The Camoran Usurper's Invasion

3E 249 - 3E 267

Haymon Camoran, known as the Camoran Usurper, a pretender to the Camoran throne of Valenwood, conquered all of Valenwood and Hammerfell with an army of daedra and undead.

In 3E 267, the combined armies of High Rock mustered the greatest navy ever seen, and defeated and killed the Camoran Usurper and his armies on the Iliac Bay and on land.

Major Battles

• Battle of Dragontooth, 3E 253. The defeat of the armies of Taneth and Rihad lead to the fall of southern Hammerfell.
• Battle of Firewaves, 3E 267. The combined armies of Dwynnen, Ykalon, Phrygia, and Kambria led by Dwynnen's Baron Othrok finally defeated the Usurper.

The Invasion of Akavir

23rd of Rain's Hand, 3E 288 - 3E 290

Uriel Septim V attempted to invade the continent of Akavir, starting with the Tsaesci Kingdom. The preparations for the invasion begun in the 3E 268, almost immediately after Uriel V took the throne, started off with the invasion of several islands between Tamriel and Akavir and were concluded in 3E 286 when final scouting actions were done on Akavir soil. A special Far East Fleet, the largest fleet in Tamriel's history, was created for the invasion. After that, the Expeditionary Force was sent to Akavir in 3E 288. Despite initial success, due to unusual weather, no permanent supply routes were possible to establish. Early in the winter of 3E 290, the majority of Uriel V's invasion force, including thousands of colonists, were killed and the emperor himself was slain in combat.

Major Battles

• The Far East Fleet, 3E 271 - 3E 284. The Far East Fleet sets sail for Akavir on the way conquering the kingdoms of Cathnoquey, Esroniet, Roscrea, and Yneslea.
• Taking of Septimia, Mid Year 3E 288. Six weeks after Uriel's fleet took off from Black Harbor on Esroniet, they landed on Akavir and took a river port town from the Tsaesci populace that abandoned it as soon as they saw the Expeditionary Force. They renamed it Septimia and it was to be the first colony of the newly founded Imperial Province of Akavir.
• Taking of Ionith, 3E 288. Soon after capturing Septimia, the emperor himself marched along the river and found another abandoned city, named Ionith after it was taken.
• Battle in the northern mountains, Sun's Height 3E 289. The emperor had his legions attack the amassing Tsaesci forces north of Ionith. Even though the Tsaesci were caught off guard and their leader captured, the legions were forced to fall back and took heavy losses during the retreat. As a result, Ionith was besieged and remained such until its eventual fall.
• Battle of Ionith, 3E 290. After contact was established with the Far East Fleet, that was sent to return with supplies, the emperor ordered the army to break through the enemy lines and to fall back to Septimia. Not far from Ionith, on the road to Septimia, the remains of the Expeditionary Force were ambushed. Uriel V and his personal guard, the Tenth Legion, stayed behind to hold off the Tsaesci, while the others continued their retreat. Only two men from the Tenth Legion survived to tell the tale of emperor's demise.
• Battle of Septimia, 3E 290. Two days after Ionith was abandoned, the fleet that had returned with the supplies found the town of Septimia under heavy siege by Tsaesci forces. They drove the attackers away, rescued the survivors and left for Tamriel.

Wars during the Imperial Simulacrum, 3E 389 - 3E 399

Imperial authority declined under the Simulacrum, resulting in several provincial wars.

The Five Year War

3E 395 - 3E 399

The Bosmer claim that the war began in 3E 394 when Khajiit bandits started attacking wood caravans headed for Valenwood. The Khajiit claim that the war began in 3E 395 when the Bosmer attacked the city of Torval, the capital of Elsweyr, in retaliation to the bandit attacks. This border dispute soon turned into a bloody war that lasted for 4 years and 9 months. Thus it was named the Five Year War. Eventually, Elsweyr defeated Valenwood and expanded her territory slightly west, taking both banks of the Xylo River.

Major Battles

• Slaughter of Torval, 3E 395. The Bosmer attacked the city of Torval and killed over a thousand citizens before being driven off by reinforcements from a nearby jungle tribe. This battle is considered to be the starting point of the war.
• Battle of Zelinin. Elsweyr lost due to the tactics proposed by some Nord advisors from Solitude. Khajiit troops engaged in battle in heavy armor, with which they were not very skilled.
• Heart of Anequina. This battle happened not long after the battle of Zelinin. Elsweyr got rid of the Nordic advisors and wore their traditional, medium armor into battle. This battle is considered to be the turning point of the war. One of the participants of this battle was Cherim, maker of the tapestry "Heart of Anequina", that depicts the battle.
• Battle at Fort Sphinxmoth, 3E 396. The battle occurred not far from Fort Sphinxmoth near the city of Dune, in the north of Elsweyr. Although outnumbered, the Khajiit prevailed using some unconventional tactics.
• Sack of Athay, 3E 397. After a truce was made between the warring sides, Khajiit broke it by crossing the Xylo River and attacking Valenwood's borders. One of their first targets was the village of Athay. They burned the harbor and left only a handful of survivors. The nearby village of Grenos was destroyed soon afterwards as well.
• The Vindisi Wild Hunt, 3E 397. The desperate Bosmeri survivors of the recent truce-breaking attacks retreated to the ancient hamlet of Vindisi, where, being forced by the impending Khajiiti attack, summoned a Wild Hunt that completely destroyed the attacking forces. After being sealed off in the valley where Vindisi was located, the Wild Hunt turned on itself in a horrid display of "cannibalistic orgy", destroying the hamlet and all of its former mer-turned-monster occupants.

The Arnesian War

3E 396

What started as a simple slave revolt in the House Dres lands to the south escalated into a full war between Morrowind and Black Marsh. The cause of the war was the death of a Dunmer trader named Roris, who was later canonized into a saint by the Tribunal Temple. He was captured by the Argonian rebels and when he refused to denounce his faith, he was brutally tortured and murdered. When news of his death reached the rest of Morrowind, war was declared on Black Marsh. Morrowind's armies ultimately defeated the Argonians and expanded Morrowind's territory to the south.

The only known participant of the war was the father of the famous Dunmer painter Rythe Lythandas. After peace was established, a commission was created to repair the damage done by the war.

War of the Blue Divide

3E 397

Named after the body of water separating them, the War of the Blue Divide pitted Summerset Isle against its former ally Valenwood. After a vicious but short war, Summerset defeated Valenwood, gaining several coastal islands as a result of the war. The most notable damage from the war was when the Altmeri destroyed many of Valenwood's harbors.

The only known episodes concerning the war was when in 3E 396 the Bosmeri Parikh tribe began their rampage through southeastern Valenwood against other tribes, receiving aid from Summerset itself. It is unknown whether or not this was the cause of the war.

Major Battles

• Siege of Woodhearth, 3E 397. Summerset Isle surrounded the coastal city with the intent of starving its inhabitants and forcing them to surrender. Since the Bosmer practice cannibalism, the attack was presumed to have been a tactical error on Summerset's part. A humorous contemporary remark stated that "at the end, only one fat wood elf will remain to wave the flag".

The War of the Bend'r-mahk

3E 397

Skyrim destroyed the combined forces of Hammerfell and High Rock and took many miles of eastern parts of those provinces, including the cities of Elinhir and Jehenna. Some of these territories were claimed to have been lost in previous wars at the expense of Skyrim. The war resulted in a deeper division between the Redguard factions of Crowns and Forebears, as the Forebear cities showed no inclination to help the Crown cities assaulted and occupied by the Nords, which in turn was a response to the lack of help by Crowns to the Forebears during Camoran Usurper's invasion. The resistance of both the Redguards and the Bretons lasted long after the war was over. The most peculiar situation arose in the city of Dragonstar, where the city was divided into western and eastern sections of the city, walled off from each other, with each section having its own government and a desire to take control of the entire city, even resorting to acts of terrorism. The situation persisted for at least 30 years afterwards.

The war was used by Jagar Tharn and Pergan Asuul to create a Shadow of Conflict, or Umbra' Keth. The only known person to fight in the war itself was Sir Roderic. After peace was established, a commission was created to repair the damage done by the war.

Invasion of the Battlespire

The Daedric legions of Mehrunes Dagon invaded the Imperial Battlespire, slaughtering the stationed Imperial Battlemages and blocking reinforcements from Nirn. The invasion was suggested by Jagar Tharn to gain the support of Dagon. The Daedric armies retreated back into Oblivion, but the actions of Imago Storm and an apprentice battlemage ultimately led to the destruction of the Battlespire.

The War of Betony

3E 402 - 3E 403

The war was caused when Lord Mogref of Betony asked King Lysandus of Daggerfall for protection against pirates and other brigands. King Camaron of Sentinel and his advisors, citing an old contract that suggested Betony was a holding of their kingdom, declared war. Hostilities ended after Lysandus' son, Gothryd, who became king after his father was killed in battle at Cryngaine Field, won the battle and defeated Camaron in single combat. Sentinel surrendered and Betony passed under the control of Daggerfall.

More information can be found in two books, both called The War of Betony. Vulper Newgate's version contains the official history, as written by the victors; Fav'te's book, however, tells the story from the viewpoint of a citizen of Sentinel. The Daggerfall Chronicles also provides a slightly different version of the story, a summary of which can be read here.

Major Battles

• Battle of the Bluffs: The first major battle of the war. Won by Daggerfall.
• Siege of Craghold: The Island of Craghold was besieged by the forces of Sentinel for several days, but the siege was broken by Daggerfall forces under Lord Bridwell.
• Battle of Cryngaine Field: Final battle of the conflict. The battlefield was covered in a dense mist created by Skakmat, and after it lifted King Lysandus was found to have perished from an arrow through either his heart or his throat. His son Gothryd was crowned on the battlefield and led the army to victory.

Oblivion Crisis

3E 433

The Oblivion Crisis, also known as the Great Anguish, was a total war between the Daedra and the population of Tamriel. Uriel Septim VII and all of his known heirs were assassinated. Shortly afterward, Oblivion Gates to the Deadlands opened across Tamriel and Daedra poured out as the result of a fanatical cult of worshippers of Mehrunes Dagon known as the Mythic Dawn. Widespread devastation and casualties resulted across entire provinces. The daedra besieged Skyrim, and laid waste to the Old Holds. In Black Marsh, the Hist called back many Argonians to fight off the Daedra. The Daedric commanders closed many gates to stop the united Argonians from entering. In Cyrodiil, the city of Kvatch was entirely destroyed. The Empire earned the hatred of the Dunmer by pulling Imperial forces out of Morrowind during the crisis in order to better protect Cyrodiil. The Empire was near collapse, but Uriel VII's illegitimate son, Martin Septim, ended the invasion with the help of a mysterious hero, but the cost was enormous. Martin, the last of the Septim bloodline, sacrificed himself and the Amulet of Kings to become Akatosh's Avatar and cast Mehrunes Dagon back into Oblivion. This event marked the end of the Third Era and the beginning of the eventual disintegration of the Third Empire.

Major Battles

• Sack of Kvatch, 3E 433. Oblivion gates are opened outside Kvatch, from which a horde of Daedra and a huge siege crawler emerge to overwhelm the guard and sack the city. Much of the population was killed, including Count Ormellius Goldwine and Saint Jiub. After the city is occupied by the daedric forces most of the gates are closed, leaving only one lesser gate blocking the city's gates. This gate is eventually closed by an unknown hero who then leads the remaining city guard to retake the city.
• Sack of Ald'ruhn, 3E 433. The city of Ald'ruhn was destroyed by the Daedra.
• Sack of the Crystal Tower, 3E 433. The Crystal Tower on the Summerset Isle, the bastion of all magical learning before the Arcane University was built, was destroyed by Mehrunes Dagon's invading daedra, despite the efforts of the powerful Altmer wizards.
• Battle of Bruma, 3E 433. Martin Septim led an army of Cyrodilic city guards to victory over the invading Daedric hordes. A statue was erected within the city's walls, in honor of the lone hero who charged into Oblivion in order to shut the great gate and prevent the destruction of Bruma.
• Battle of the Imperial City, 3E 433. High Chancellor Ocato, Martin Septim, his Blades and Imperial Legionary escorts fought their way through an Oblivion-sieged Imperial City. During this battle dozens of Oblivion Gates opened up around the City and the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon himself appeared in the besieged city, marking the fall of the barriers between Oblivion and Nirn. The battle ended when Martin Septim, in a desperate last ditch effort, shattered the Amulet of Kings and became the Avatar of Akatosh. The Avatar banished Dagon back into Oblivion, ending the Oblivion Crisis. The Avatar turned to stone, killing Martin, but also leaving a permanent reminder of Martin's sacrifice.

The Accession War

4E 6

Also called simply the Argonian Invasion. After the eruption of Red Mountain, the Argonians took the opportunity of a weakened Morrowind to invade the region, seeking revenge for thousands of years of slavery, or so one theory goes. Some southern parts of Morrowind seem to have been conquered by the Argonians, and thousands of Dunmer are killed, while others were exiled. They were forestalled from sweeping through all of Morrowind thanks to the efforts of the Redoran-dominated Dunmer army, which had grown substantially following the Empire's withdrawal of troops from the province during the Oblivion Crisis.

Umbriel Crisis

4E 40

The floating city of Umbriel came from the south up through Black Marsh and southern Morrowind and into Cyrodiil. Several major cities were destroyed or besieged, culminating in an assault on the Imperial City

Major Battles

• Massacre at Lilmoth, 4E 40. Although the Argonians at Lilmoth were possesed, a number of plantations in the surrounding countryside fought against the horde of undead sea creatures resurrected by the city. They were all overrun and the defenders were also reanimated and joined the march.
  • The cities of Stormhold and Gideon soon fell to the undead army as Umbriel continued to head north.
• March Into Morrowind, 4E 40. A few Imperial Legion patrols attempted to slow the advance of the undead, but were all defeated and either fell back or joined the march.
• Siege of Cheydinhal, 4E 40. The undead advanced into Cyrodiil and overran the city of Cheydinhal. The defenders held the city for a long while but eventually they fell back on the Imperial City. The undead did not occupy the city so local people returned there afterwards.
• Siege of the Imperial City, 4E 40. The undead army advanced on the Imperial City in an effort to take control of the White Gold Tower, causing mass panic amongst its citizens. The Imperial Legion attempted to hold the line along the Red Ring Road, but are ultimately driven back to the walls of the city. The Synod and the College of Whispers worked together to bring down the floating city, but also fail. Umbriel is eventually banished from Mundus by a group of heroes.

The Great War

4E 171 - 4E 175

The Aldmeri Dominion invaded the Empire of Tamriel after Emperor Titus Mede II rejected an ultimatum presented by a Thalmor ambassador. The Aldmeri forces caught the Empire by surprise and apparently had far better success than planned. Their success apparently encouraged them to go beyond the aim of conquering Hammerfell, and instead they decided to conquer the entire Empire. The Aldmeri advance culminated in the Sack of the Imperial City, which was under occupation for nearly a year before its liberation in the Battle of the Red Ring. The war ends with the signing of the White-Gold Concordat.

Major Battles

• Sack of the Imperial City, 4E 174. Lord Naarifin's Aldmeri army surrounded the Imperial City. Titus II broke through the perimeter with his main army and fled north to Skyrim to join with reinforcements under General Jonna. The Imperial City was sacked by the invaders soon after. The White-Gold Tower was burned and looted, and the Aldmeri committed many atrocities against the city's populace.
• Battle of the Red Ring, 4E 175. Titus II split his remaining forces into three hosts that surrounded the occupied Imperial City. After a long, bloody battle, the Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was utterly destroyed and the Imperial City recaptured. Lord Naarifin was hung from the top of White-Gold Tower and kept alive for thirty-three days. Despite the resounding victory, Titus II realized the Empire was too exhausted to continue fighting. He negotiated with the Thalmor and signed the White-Gold Concordat, a treaty that gave the Thalmor free reign to stamp out the worship of Talos in Tamriel, disbanded the Blades, and ceded a large part of southern Hammerfell to the Aldmeri Dominion. Critics note that the terms of the Concordat are almost identical to those of the original ultimatum presented by the Thalmor prior to the war.

Hammerfell's Resistance

4E 175 - 4E 180

Hammerfell refused to accept the terms of the White-Gold Concordat and, having been renounced as an Imperial province by Titus II, continues to fight against the Aldmeri Dominion alone. After five years, the war ends in a stalemate with the signing of the Second Treaty of Stros M'Kai. The Aldmeri Dominion withdraws from Hammerfell entirely. Hammerfell remains bitter with the Empire for abandoning it.

The Forsworn Rebellion

4E 174 - 4E 176

During the Great War in Cyrodiil, Imperial Legions stationed in Skyrim's region of the Reach and its capital, Markarth, were recalled to help repel the Aldmeri Dominion's invasion, leaving the western region vulnerable to its native Breton population known as "Reachmen", later known as the Forsworn, who successfully revolted and created an "independent kingdom".

To deal with the rebellion, the Empire and Jarl Hrolfdir, the father of future Jarl Igmund, established a Nordic militia to retake the Reach from the Reachmen with promises of freedom of religion, attracting the future rebel leader, Ulfric Stormcloak. The uprising was ultimately quelled, but not without consequences. Despite the Empire's vows for free religion, the Thalmor discovered the worship of Talos taking place in Markarth, and demanded the arrest of Ulfric and the other members of the Nord miltiia. To honor the White-Gold Concordat and keep the peace with the Dominion, Hrolfdir was forced to comply to prevent any future invasions by the Aldmeri Dominion. One of the policies he was forced to agree to was the arrest of members affiliated with the Nord militia that helped overthrow the Forsworn. Hrolfdir helped arrest Ulfric and the other members of the miltia to prevent another war with the Thalmor. In retaliation, Ulfric Stormcloak refuses to observe the agreement and decides to allow the freedom to worship Talos himself when he became the new Jarl of Windhelm, sparking the future Stormcloak Rebellion.

Major Battles

• Battle of Markarth, 4E 174. Reachmen quickly breached Markarth's city gates and annexed the city. Years later, Jarl Hrolfdir, father of the future Jarl Igmund, was killed by the Forsworn.^{[citation needed]}
• The Markarth Incident, 4E 176. Under the leadership of Ulfric Stormcloak, the Nordic militia retook Markarth while inflicting heavy casualties on the Reachmen rebels. When the independent kingdom of the Reach was overthrown, there were executions, including the deaths of some civilians of Markarth who were native members of the Reach. Surviving stragglers of the Reachmen continued to rebel, forming the Forsworn.

The Stormcloak Rebellion

4E 201

Other Conflicts

• Dragon War (Merethic Era)
• Night of Tears (Late Merethic Era)
• Aetherium Wars (Early 1st Era)
• Battle of Glenumbra Moors (1E 482)
• Battle of Dragon Wall (1E 660)
• Siege of Orsinium (1E 950 - 1E 980)
• Battle of Duncreigh Bridge (1E 1427)
• Tsaesci Invasion of Tamriel (1E 2703)
• The Winterhold Rebellion (1E 2804)
• Kamal Invasion of Tamriel (2E 572)
• Battle of Wightmoor (3E 253)
• The Firsthold Revolt (Late 3rd Era)
• Sack of Orsinium (Early 4th Era)

References

Note: the following references are not found in game. They are included to provide a rounder background to this article, but may not reflect established lore.