Lore:Third Empire

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995
Jump to: navigation, search

The Third Empire (also called the Septim Empire, Tamrielic Empire, Holy Cyrodiilic Empire of Tamriel, and the Glorious Empire) was declared by Tiber Septim in 2E 854 after the chaos of the Interregnum, and was forged through a decades-long conflict to unite Tamriel known as the Tiber Wars. It lasted throughout the whole of the Third Era and two centuries into the Fourth Era, when it began to decline.

Septim Dynasty[edit]

Emperor Tiber Septim

The Septim Dynasty was founded by Tiber Septim upon using Numidium to conquer the whole of Tamriel, after which he declared the start of a new era, 3E 0. His rule of 38 years was prosperous and relatively peaceful. His grandson Pelagius succeeded him, and was poised to continue the golden age, until he was assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood after less than 3 years. Pelagius was the first and only direct descendant of Tiber Septim to rule, as he was an only child and had no children himself. Thus, the Ruby Throne passed to Tiber's niece, Kintyra, in 3E 41. Kintyra and her son, Uriel, were successful rulers who achieved a level of unity within the Empire that would not be equaled for centuries. Uriel II, who took the throne in 3E 64, had his 18-year reign blighted by plagues and insurrections, and accomplished little during his rule. Instead, he left many problems, and a great deal of debt, to Pelagius II. In response, Pelagius dismissed the entire Elder Council and allowed only those who paid a princely sum to return to their seats. While this tactic brought some prosperity back to Tamriel, it ended when Pelagius was poisoned in 3E 98, purportedly by a disgruntled former Council member. His son, Antiochus, was more interested in debauchery than politics, known across the Empire as a womanizer even before taking the throne. His reign was marred by civil war and other conflicts, and the province of Summerset was almost lost to invading Maormer in 3E 110. Antiochus died ten years later, leaving the throne in the tenuous grasp of his 15-year-old daughter, Kintyra II. The succession was contested by Antiochus' siblings and would lead to civil war.

In 3E 121, Kintyra II was imprisoned by Potema Septim, the infamous Wolf Queen of Solitude, and murdered two years later. This triggered the War of the Red Diamond, a civil war between Potema and her son Uriel III on one side, and Potema's brothers Cephorus and Magnus on the other. The armies of the brothers were eventually victorious and the succession continued.

The Empire gained and lost power and land unpredictably during the next century until the rise of Katariah Ra'Athim. The first (and only) Elven ruler of the Empire, Katariah was the first in 100 years to secure a steady, iron grip over most of Tamriel, save Black Marsh. Ultimately, this would be the Empress' undoing, as she died in 3E 200 in a minor skirmish in Black Marsh.

Another civil war broke out after the Elder Council voted to disinherit Andorak, the eldest son of Uriel IV, and offer the Imperial crown to his cousin Cephorus instead, as they considered Cephorus to be more closely related to the true Septim bloodline. The war lasted nine years until Andorak was mollified by the offer of the throne of Shornhelm in High Rock.

In 3E 268, Uriel V began his invasion of Akavir. This one invasion dominated his reign, and ultimately ended it. His life was cut short in 3E 290, and again the Empire began a slow decline. Uriel VI was unable to take the throne until 3E 307, due to his young age at the time of his father's death, and his mother Thonica's attempts to stay in power as Regent. When Uriel VI fell from his horse and died in 3E 313, his half-sister came to power as Empress Morihatha. Uriel VI had left his sister with rebellious vassals and malcontent citizens to deal with. Nonetheless, she acted decisively and by the end of her reign in 3E 339, Tamriel was nearing a sort of unity. Her nephew, Pelagius IV—though struggling at first—brought the Empire closer to unity than it had been in over 300 years, since the days of Uriel I.

Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, came to power after his father's death in 3E 368. In 3E 389, Uriel VII's battlemage, Jagar Tharn, managed to imprison the emperor in a dimension of Tharn's own creation. For ten years, later known as the Imperial Simulacrum, Jagar Tharn ruled in Uriel's place, but showing none of the latter's wisdom. Before Tharn could entirely drive the Empire into the ground, Uriel was rescued and restored to the throne in 3E 399.

Contemporarily to this period, a host of societal institutions of the Empire were suspended in so-called Pocket Universes, to achieve a state of immaculate virtual reality. One such institution was Battlespire, the proving ground and sophisticated war college of prospective Imperial Battlemages; located deep in the ethereal plane.

During Uriel Septim VII's reign, which lasted 65 years, he united the Empire for the first time in centuries. By the end of the Imperial Simulacrum, Warp in the West, and Vvardenfell Crisis, the Empire was even closer to unity than at the end of Pelagius IV's reign. After his assassination, his son, Martin Septim, ended the Oblivion Crisis, the Third Era, and—with no more heirs—the Septim dynasty.

The Empire recovered from Tharn's deceit, but the Septim Dynasty ended when Martin Septim sacrificed himself in a successful bid to seal the rift that had been opened to Mehrunes Dagon's plane of Oblivion. High Chancellor Ocato became Potentate Ocato when no candidate to replace Martin could be found. Ocato kept the Empire more or less intact in the tumultuous years after the Oblivion Crisis, but was assassinated in or around 4E 10, which ushered in the seven-year Stormcrown Interregnum.

Mede Dynasty[edit]

Emperor Titus Mede II

At some point in the seven years following Ocato's assassination, a Nibenese witch-warrior named Thules the Gibbering was crowned Emperor, although he was not well liked by the people, the Elder Council favored him over Titus Mede, a Colovian warlord who sought the throne. Eventually, in 4E 17, Titus Mede captured the Imperial City from Thules and crowned himself the first Emperor of a new dynasty, eventually persuading the Elder Council to accept him as a liberator rather than a conqueror.

During his rule, the province of Hammerfell was reclaimed, alongside the city-states of Leyawiin and Bravil. Under later events, Elsweyr was also reclaimed.

In 4E 168, Emperor Titus Mede II ascended to the throne. The Empire was at that time a shadow of its former glory. Valenwood and Elsweyr had been ceded to the third Aldmeri Dominion, and Black Marsh had been lost to Imperial rule since the Oblivion Crisis. Morrowind had yet to fully recover from the eruption of Red Mountain, and had ceased to be an Imperial territory at some point prior to 4E 48. Hammerfell was plagued by infighting between the Crown and Forebear factions. Only High Rock, Cyrodiil, and Skyrim remained prosperous and peaceful.

In 4E 171, the Great War began when armies from the Aldmeri Dominion invaded the Imperial provinces of Hammerfell and Cyrodiil after Titus II rejected an ultimatum to make massive concessions to the Thalmor. An army led by Thalmor general Lord Naarifin emerged from hidden camps in northern Elsweyr and assaulted southern Cyrodiil, flanking Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border. Leyawiin fell to the invaders, and Bravil was surrounded and besieged. Simultaneously, an army under Lady Arannelya crossed western Cyrodiil, bypassing Anvil and Kvatch and entering Hammerfell. This army was joined by smaller forces landing on Hammerfell's coast. Imperial troops were forced into retreat across the Alik'r Desert. The Imperial City was besieged, and fell after the Emperor fled with the remnants of his army to Skyrim. The war ended a year later with the liberation of the Imperial City after the Battle Of The Red Ring, and with the subsequent Imperial acceptance of the White-Gold Concordat. This treaty contained terms almost identical to those rejected before the war, specifically the outlaw of Talos worship, which became one of the major causes of the Stormcloak Rebellion in Skyrim. Hammerfell seceded from the Empire and worked to combat Thalmor forces on its own, gaining its freedom in 4E 180. This left the Empire in a diminished and less stable condition, though it retained control of the provinces of Cyrodiil, High Rock, and Skyrim.

In 4E 201, the Stormcloak Rebellion broke out in Skyrim. The belligerents were the Stormcloaks, led by Ulfric Stormcloak, who fought for the independence of Skyrim, and the Imperial Legion, led by General Tullius, with the intention of holding the Empire together in the face of growing political tensions between them and the Thalmor.

Rulers[edit]

Name Born Race Crowned Died, Deposed, Abdicated,
or Office Abolished
Additional Information
Pre-unification, during the Tiber Wars
Cuhlecain  ? (died before coronation) 2E 854 Prior to the declaration of the Third Empire, King Cuhlecain of Falkreath led his forces and overtook the Imperial City. He was assassinated before he could be crowned, hence his common title as "Emperor Zero".
Tiber Septim 2E 828 Atmoran or Breton 2E 854 (post-unification) As General to Cuhlecain, Tiber Septim played a key role in the Tiber Wars and succeeded him on the event of his death.
Third EmpireSeptim Dynasty
Tiber Septim 2E 828 Atmoran or Breton (pre-unification) 3E 38 After reigning as Emperor for 42 years, the conquest to unite Tamriel concluded. He founded the Third Empire and declared the Third Era.
Pelagius Septim I  ? 3E 38 3E 40 Assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood.
Kintyra Septim I ? 3E 40 3E 53 First cousin of Pelagius I and daughter of Tibers brother Agnorith. The direct dynastic line of Tiber is broken.
Uriel Septim I ? 3E 53 3E 64 Son of Kintyra I; known as the great lawmaker of the Septim Dynasty and promoter of independent organizations and guilds.
Uriel Septim II ? 3E 64 3E 82 Son of Uriel I, his reign is known for a bad financial and judicial handle as well as civil unrest.
Pelagius Septim II ? 3E 82 3E 98 Dismissed the entire Elder Council only to sell back the seats to those who could pay. By the end of his reign, he fixed the Empire's financial situation.
Antiochus Septim 3E 51 3E 99 3E 120 Known for having many mistresses and nearly as many wives. His reign is known for civil wars, surpassing even those of Uriel II's time.
Kintyra Septim II 3E 104 3E 120 3E 121(deposed)

3E 121(died) or
3E 123(died) or
3E 125(died)

Accused by her cousin, the later Uriel III, to be a bastard, starting a series of events which would conclude in the War of the Red Diamond.
Uriel Septim III 3E 97 3E 121 3E 127 Born as Uriel Mantiarco as the son of Mantiarco, he later took the surname of his mother. He captured Empress Kintyra II and supposedly had her executed, so he could be crowned Emperor.
Cephorus Septim I 3E 77 3E 127 3E 140 Son of Pelagius Septim II. He captured Uriel III and was later crowned Emperor. His reign is marked by civil war as he tried to stabilize the Empire after the War of the Red Diamond.
Magnus Septim 3E 79 Breton 3E 140 3E 145 Son of Pelagius Septim II. His reign is know for the punishment of traitorous kings of the War of the Red Diamond.
Pelagius Septim III 'the Mad' 3E 119 Breton 3E 145 3E 147 (deposed),

3E 153 (died)

Son of Magnus Septim. Known for his eccentricities of behavior and, later, his madness.
Katariah Ra'Athim ? Dunmer 3E 147 (deposition of Pelagius),

3E 153 (official coronation)

3E 200 Katariah was the consort of Pelagius III and assumed the position of Empress Regent after he was sent to an Asylum. Her reign is known for repairing much of the damage the broken alliances of the last few Emperors had suffered and she was popular with the common people.
Cassynder Septim ? Dunmer-Breton 3E 200 3E 202 As the son of Pelagius III and Katariah he is said to be "half-elven". He assumed the throne with bad health and so his reign only lasted 2 years.
Uriel Septim IV ? Dunmer-Breton 3E 202 3E 246 Born as Uriel Lariat as the son of Katariah Ra'Athim and Gallivere Lariat, he doesn't share any relation with the other Septims. In fact, he was adopted by his half-brother Cassynder into the dynasty. His reign is described as a long and difficult one in which the Elder Council assumed more and more powers.
Cephorus Septim II ? Nord 3E 247 3E 268 Only Emperor to be elected by the Elder Council. The Council disinherited Uriel IV's son Andorak and proclaimed a member of a branch more closely related to the original Septim line Emperor. Andoraks supporters begin a military campaign against the Emperor, leading to Andorak receiving the Kingdom of Shornhelm.
Uriel Septim V ? 3E 268 3E 290 Son of Cephorus II, known for the famous Tamrielic Invasion of Akavir. While he was absent, civil wars continued.
Regent Thonica ? 3E 290 3E 307 Uriel VI was too young to rule in his own right when he was crowned, so his mother Thonica ruled as regent. He was eventually allowed to ascend the throne and assume full Imperial powers in 3E 307. Under her reign, civil wars continued.
Uriel Septim VI 3E 285 3E 290 (crowned)

(3E 307) (end of regency)
(3E 313) (assumed full powers)

3E 317 Originally an Emperor only in name, Uriel VI only had the power of an imperial veto. Only by 3E 313 he was able to assume full power. Under his reign, civil wars continued.
Morihatha Septim 3E 288 3E 313 3E 339 Established the Imperial Province to be under direct control of the Empress and ended the series of civil wars that had begun under her grandfather Cephorus Septim II as she slowly slowly took back her rebellious vassals.
Pelagius Septim IV 3E 314 3E 339 3E 368 Continued the efforts to reunite Tamriel.
Uriel Septim VII 3E 346 Imperial 3E 368 3E 389 Continued the efforts to reunite Tamriel.
Third EmpireImperial Simulacrum
Jagar Tharn ? 3E 389 3E 399
Third Empire — Restoration
Uriel Septim VII 3E 346 Imperial 3E 399 3E 433 Uriel is the last proper Emperor of the Septim Dynasty to rule the Empire.
Martin Septim ? Imperial 3E 433 3E 433 Martin was born as a bastard of Uriel VII and was enthroned shortly after his father's death. However Martin's only act as Emperor was to sacrifice himself to end the Oblivion Crisis. During his time at the Cloud ruler temple Martin learned how to open the portal to Gaiar Alata and led the army in the Battle of Bruma.
Third Empire — Stormcrown Interregnum
Potentate Ocato of Firsthold ? Altmer 4E 0 4E 10 Originally trying to elect a new Emperor, he reluctantly took the position of Potentate after the Elder Council urged him to do so.
Thules the Gibbering ? Imperial ? 4E 17
Third EmpireMede Dynasty
Titus Mede I  ? Imperial 4E 17  ?
Attrebus Mede 4E 26  ?  ?
Unknown  ?  ?  ?
Unknown  ?  ? 4E 168
Titus Mede II  ? Imperial 4E 168 4E 201

Notes[edit]

References[edit]