Lore:Third Era Wars

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Merethic EraFirst EraSecond Era — Third Era — Fourth Era

The following is a list of all known wars and conflicts during the Third Era.

The War of the Isle[edit]

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[edit]

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 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 early surprise attacks, Skyrim and High Rock were easily defeated by the force of Queen Potema. The war was highly contested, but was abruptly decided by the death of Potema's claimant, Uriel III, in 3E 127. While the end of the succession crisis ostensibly brought an end to the conflict, Potema held out in Solitude with an undead army for another decade.

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[edit]

  • 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 of 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[edit]

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[edit]

The Invasion of Akavir[edit]

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.

Uriel V first started by conquering several islands between 3E 271-284, including Roscrea, Cathnoquey, Yneslea, and Esroniet to act as supply routes to Akavir. While the invasion of Akavir ended in failure, these acquisitions would stay with the Third Empire.

A special Far East Fleet, the most powerful fleet in Tamriel's history, was created for the invasion. After that, the Expeditionary Force was sent to Akavir in 3E 288. Imperial forces landed near the mouth of a river and found no opposition, taking an abandoned village and renaming it Septimia. Despite initial success, due to unusual weather, no permanent supply routes were possible to establish. The Emperor personally oversaw the war effort and colonization, making the decision to bring in colonists rather than reinforcements since the Akavir army was nowhere to be seen. The Empire advanced further inland, still finding no signs of the Akavir, who were seemingly attempting to draw the Tamriel forces in. Early in the winter of 3E 290, the Akaviri advanced, attempting to surround the Imperial forces. While the Legions acquitted themselves well, they were forced to fight on the defensive. The Emperor attempted a retreat and ultimately ordered the complete withdrawal from Akavir. However, the majority of Uriel V's invasion force, including thousands of colonists, were killed and the emperor himself was slain in combat, ending the conflict.

Major Battles[edit]

  • 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 of the Imperial Simulacrum[edit]

3E 389 - 3E 399

Introduction[edit]

Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn betrayed and secretly imprisoned Emperor Uriel Septim VII and used Illusion magic to masquerade as the Emperor for a decade. Imperial authority declined under the Simulacrum, resulting in a series of provincial wars.

The Five Year War[edit]

The Five Year War was a war that took place between the Bosmer of Valenwood and the Khajiit of Elsweyr. 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 in retaliation for 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 its territory slightly west, taking both banks of the Xylo River.

The Arnesian War[edit]

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

War of the Blue Divide[edit]

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 war occurred soon after Valenwood’s war with Elsweyr, meaning Valenwood was in an already weakened state. The war took an even worse turn, however, when the Khajiit took advantage of Valenwood's further distress, reigniting the war and forcing the Wood Elves to fight on two fronts.

The only known episodes concerning the war were 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[edit]

  • 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 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[edit]

War comes to the Western Reach

The War of the Bend'r-mahk was a conflict that started in 3E 397 during the Imperial Simulacrum period between the provinces of Hammerfell, Skyrim and High Rock.

Invasion of the Battlespire[edit]

The Daedric legions of Mehrunes Dagon invaded the Imperial Battlespire, slaughtering the stationed Imperial Battlemages and blocking reinforcements from Nirn. However, an apprentice of the Imperial Battle College arrived at the facility and put an end to Dagon's machinations by banishing the Daedric Prince to the Wells of Oblivion, an action which subsequently caused the shattering of Battlespire into ruin.

Despite the recommendations of the Imperial Treasury, Battlespire was later recaptured by the Empire. And while the Weir Gate still stood, the rest of the proving ground remained destroyed, along with ability to access the Oblivion realms using the Voidgate.

Conclusion[edit]

The Imperial Simulacrum was ended when the Eternal Champion defeated Jagar Tharn in the Imperial Palace labyrinths, while also restoring the rightful Emperor to the throne, ushering in the following period called the Restoration.

Fractious Wars[edit]

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Dark Elves battling Nords (Daggerfall Intro)

Circa 3E 399 - 3E 417

Despite the restoration of the rightful Emperor and the ending of the Imperial Simulacrum, the political bonds of the Empire continued to crack, with the provinces of Tamriel fighting amongst themselves, drunk with rebellion. The exact details of these conflicts are entirely uncertain outside of the Betony War and a large battle between Dark Elves and Nords. Ultimately, these rebellions were put to end in 3E 417, when the Miracle of Peace occurred, and Tamriel seemingly did not suffer any war for the entire decade following.

The War of Betony[edit]

3E 402 - 3E 403

The War of Betony (known as the Siege of Betony to Sentinel) 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[edit]

  • 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[edit]

A gate to the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon

3E 433

The Oblivion Crisis, also known as the Great Anguish, was a total war between the Daedra and the population of Tamriel. It began with the assassination of Uriel Septim VII and all of his known heirs in 3E 433. 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. According to An-Xileel the Daedra were forced to close their Oblivion gates in Black Marsh due to Argonian counter invasion. In Cyrodiil, the city of Kvatch was entirely destroyed.

Notes[edit]


References[edit]