Siege of the Imperial City (4E 49)

The siege of the Imperial City (4E 40) was a battle that took place fourty years after the Oblivion Crisis, during the events of the Elder Scrolls novel Lord of Souls.

Factions
The battle was fought between the Imperial Legion under Emperor Titus Mede I and Lord Vuhon's (aka Lord Umbriel) undead army, which was composed mainly of re-animated Argonians and Dunmer.

History
After bringing the floating city of Umbriel into Mundus from Clavicus Vile's realm in Oblivion, Vuhon destroyed the city of Lilmoth in Black Marsh to gather souls to power his Ingenium in order to keep Umbriel afloat and to gather bodies for his undead army. He then directed the city northward through Black Marsh, destroying the cities of Stormhold and Gideon along the way before crossing into Morrowind, Vuhon's homeland. He hoped to find the Umbra sword in the ruins of Vivec City, as it was the only thing that could destroy Umbriel and himself. After capturing Sul and Prince Attrebus Mede and finding that the sword was no longer in Vivec, he turned the city southwest towards the Imperial City, sending his undead horde to besiege it before Umbriel's arrival.

Vuhon needed to bring the city to the White-Gold Tower in order to break Clavicus Vile's hold on the city, as it was technically still in a "bubble" of Oblivion. He sent a messenger ahead with a message for the Emperor: he would permit everyone to leave the Imperial City unharmed, so long as they gave him the city. Emperor Mede refused and prepared the Legion for battle. In fact, Mede had been aware of Umbriel before it even attacked Lilmoth. Despite his son Attrebus' demands for action, Mede refused since Black Marsh and Morrowind were no longer part of the Empire. However, he sent mages escorted by legionnaires to survey the city just in case it turned towards Cyrodiil.