Lore:Alessian Empire

The Alessian Empire, also called the First Empire, the Empire of Cyrodiil, and the Empire of Men, was established by the former Nede slaves of the Ayleid Empire in 1E 243 following the Alessian Slave Rebellion. The Empire traces its founding to the moment when Saint Alessia received the Dragonfires and the Amulet of Kings from Akatosh; she used the Amulet to drive the Daedra out of the mortal realm. Akatosh told Alessia that as long as the Dragonfires remained lit and her heirs wore the Amulet of Kings, the gates of Oblivion would remain shut and Tamriel would be spared the depredations of the Daedra.

Only a few rulers of the First Empire are now known: Queen Alessia, its founder and spiritual leader; Belharza the Man-Bull, Alessia's heir by her consort Morihaus, crowned in 1E 266; Gorieus, crowned in 1E 461; and Hestra, who expanded the reaches of the Empire all the way to High Rock in 1E 1029. One of the defining events of the Empire was the rise of the zealously monotheistic Alessian Order, which followed the teachings of the prophet Marukh. The Order's influence spread rapidly until, in 1E 361, its puritanical doctrines were formally adopted and enforced by the Empire. Thereafter, the arch-prelates of the Order were said to wield almost as much power as the emperors themselves. It was a sect of the Order called the Marukhati Selective that was responsible for the Dragon Break known as the "Middle Dawn".

The Alessian Empire's territory fluctuated considerably throughout its history. At its inception it encompassed East Cyrodiil, including the Nibenay Valley and the White-Gold Tower, which later became the centerpiece of the Imperial City; West Cyrodiil remained a patchwork of independent Colovian kingdoms that resisted the Alessian Order's dogma. A number of Ayleid vassal-states also briefly existed under the Empire's umbrella until the xenophobic Alessian Order methodically extinguished them. Following the defeat and death of High King Kjoric the White in 1E 478, the Empire seized portions of southern Skyrim, but failed in its bid to acquire the Kingdom of Skingrad. A westward expansion and attempt to annex High Rock was likewise thwarted at the Battle of Glenumbra Moors in 1E 482, which would be remembered as one of the Order's most disastrous mistakes. High Rock would later be inducted into the Empire in 1E 1029 after the Empress Hestra defeated King Styriche, the Vampire of Verkarth, only to reassert its independence in 1E 2305 in response to the Alessian Order's excesses. In 1E 1033 the Alessians under Hestra invaded Black Marsh to suppress the pirates led by Red Bramman operating from the Topal Bay. An unknown Alessian Emperor agreed to fund the All Flags Navy's campaign against the Sload of Thras in 1E 2241. Under the command of King Bendu Olo, the fleet sailed to Thras in 1E 2260 to mete vengeance upon the Sload for releasing the Thrassian Plague on the people of Tamriel.

The final days of the Empire arrived in 1E 2321, when tensions within the Alessian Order's bloated priesthood gave way to internal strife, prompting the kingdoms of West Cyrodiil to completely sever ties with the Empire and establish their own government, the Colovian Estates. Hemorrhaging money and land, the Empire finally broke under the strain and the War of Righteousness erupted. After a decade of violence that wiped out half of the population of the Iliac Bay and saw the loss of the Order's extensive monastic complex at Lake Canulus, among untold other atrocities, the war ended in 1E 2331 with the dissolution of the Alessian Empire and Order both. Cyrodiil and Tamriel would remain divided until the rise of Reman I and the foundation of the Second Empire in 1E 2703.

History

Rulers

Name	Born	Race	Crowned	Died, Deposed, Abdicated, or Office Abolished	Additional Information
First Empire
Alessia	1E ?	Nede	1E 243	1E 266	Founded the First Empire.
Belharza the Man-Bull	1E ?	Minotaur	1E 266	1E 322	Son of Empress Alessia and the demigod Morihaus.
Ami-El	1E ?		possibly 1E 322	1E ?	Active in 1E 358.
First Empire during the Alessian Doctrines
Gorieus	1E ?		1E 461	1E ?
Hestra	1E ?		1E ?	1E ?	Active in 1E 1029, around 1E 1030 and 1E 1033.
Shor-El	1E ?		1E ?	1E ?	Probably after Hestra.
Unknown	1E ?		1E ?	1E ?	Active in 1E 2241, funded All Flags Navy.
Unknown	1E ?		1E ?	1E 2331	Final Alessian Emperor.
Empire post-dissolution of the Alessian Reform
Herda	1E ?		1E ?	pre-1E 2703	Empress credited with improving relations with the Colovian West.

Gallery

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  Wraith wearing Alessian robes

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.