Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-10993011-20130618024431/@comment-25035274-20161207235617

The thing is that the Septim Empire didn't end or die. It held together. We're still looking at the same empire. What changed is the ruling dynasty, who have failed to hold the empire together. A dynasty is not an empire. We are, in Skyrim, witnessing a moment in the final days of the Septim Empire as it falls apart.

While there was an interegnum, it's not the same as "The Interegnum" that came between the Reman Empire and the Septim Empire, during which the Reman Empire completely dissolved. The word "interegnum" doesn't mean that an empire or other national body has died. It simply means that the ruling authority is, for whatever reason, indisposed. "The Interegnum", on the other hand, was the period that came after the rule of the Tsaesci Potentates, after which no power emerged that was strong enough to take the reins of the Reman Empire. During this period, the Reman Empire completely shattered back into its constituent nation-states.

Regarding the Dragonborn becoming Emperor? It could be possible, but... it would require Bethesda to define a previous game's player character far more than they ever have before.