Board Thread:Online Discussion/@comment-10781165-20130620192050/@comment-9887604-20130622143004

Riften was a much larger city, it was burned down in the 4th era and rebuilt. The jarl was particularly corrupt, and the people rebelled. One could also imagine with the destruction of most of Morrowind Riften lost its number one trading partner.

"Then, in 4E 129, the people had finally had enough. With their numbers, they were able to temporarily overhwhelm the city guard long enough to set Hosgunn's Folly on fire with the greedy Jarl still within. As the fighting recommensed, the fire spread through the city unchecked. By the morning, the people had emerged victorious, but not without great cost. Most of the city was now in ruins and many had died. It took five years to rebuild Riften into the smaller city that it is today." Of Crossed Daggers