Third Era

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"These are the closing days of the Third Era, and the final hours of my life."

―Uriel Septim VII

For thirty-eight years, the Emperor Tiber Septim reigned, bequeathing the throne of Tamriel to his grandson Pelagius on his deathbed. The Septim family, occasionally inclusive of adopted and married members, has ruled ever since.

Within a few generations, however, the family had begun to develop rivalries and jealousies which exploded into a civil war in the year 3E 120. The War of the Red Diamond ended with the death of Uriel III and his mother Queen Potema of Solitude, but its reverberations may still be felt today. The unity of the Empire was never again to be assumed.

The Emperors who followed, such as the Sheogorath-kissed Pelagius Septim III, yielded to the authority of the Elder Council to keep some semblance of order in the land. It was only too evident what occurs when the Empire tried to maintain unity without a strong leader. In the most horrible example, the people of Valenwood, the Colovian West, and Hammerfell suffered under the depredations of the Camoran Usurper, whose undead and daedric hordes ravaged the land for nearly twenty years before his defeat in 3E 267.

The Empress Morihatha brought a change in the rulers of Tamriel, who ever since have been notably stronger and more capable. This strong central power has not meant that the last one hundred and twenty years have been the most peaceful in Tamriel's history, utterly devoid of bloodshed, but merely that the wars and troubles of the recent past are tame in comparison to the utter violence and wreckage of the past.

The most famous trouble of recent years came early in the reign of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. By wile and sorcery, his trusted battlemage Jagar Tharn imprisoned and impersonated his liege. The ten years that Tharn reigned, the so-called Imperial Simulacrum, was a time when old troubles resurfaced, forgotten grudges rekindleded, and wars flared throughout the land. In the east, Morrowind attacked Black Marsh in the Arnesian War; in the north, Skyrim battled High Rock and Hammerfell in the War of Bend'r-Mahk; in the south, Elsweyr took arms against Valenwood in the Five Year War; and in the west, Valenwood lost land to its former ally Summerset in the War of the Blue Divide.

Yet all of these troubles, and even more recent bizarre circumstances in the Iliac Bay and Morrowind, paint only a picture of blood. In the year 3E 422, the Empire stands strong and united.

First Era

3E 0 - Beginning of the Third Era.

• All provinces in Tamriel are unified by Emperor Tiber Septim.

3E 6 - Reign of Hlaalu Athyn Llethan begins.

• The Duke of Mournhold's reign begins.

3E 12 - Encyclopedia Tamrielica is published.

3E 20 - Destri Melrag is born.

3E 38 - Death of Emperor Tiber Septim.

• Emperor Tiber Septim dies, and is replaced by his grandson Pelagius Septim I.

3E 39 - Destri Melrag enters the Imperial City.

3E 41 - Emperor Pelagius I is assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood.

• With no direct heirs to the throne, his second cousin, Kintyra Septim, takes over as Empress.

3E 48 - Empress Kintyra dies, and Uriel Septim I is crowned.

• Kintyra is replaced by her son, Uriel I, the first to use the Imperial name Uriel.

3E 55 - Prince Antiochus Septim is born.

3E 63 - Prince Pelagius meets Princess Quintilla of Camlorn.

• Together, they purportedly defeat a werewolf that was terrorizing her land.

3E 64 - Emperor Uriel I dies, and Emperor Uriel Septim II is crowned.

• The rule of Uriel II is tragically cursed with blights, plagues, and insurrections. The tenderheartedness inherited from his father does not serve the land well, and little justice is done.

3E 67 - Potema Septim, future queen of Solitude, is born.

3E 80 - Princess Potema is promised to wed King Mantiarco.

• Potema is promised to the King of Solitude to smooth relations with the northern region.

3E 81 - Princess Potema marries King Mantiarco of Solitude.

3E 82 - Emperor Uriel II dies, and Pelagius Septim II is crowned.

• Uriel II dies after an 18-year reign, and his son, Pelagius II takes over. Pelagius II inherits not only the throne, but also the debt from his father's poor financial and judicial management.

3E 97 - Uriel Mantiarco is born.

• After several miscarriages, Queen Potema of Solitude gives birth to her only child, who she names after her grandfather.

3E 98 - Emperor Pelagius II dies.

• The Emperor dies after a 17-year reign, and his successor is not appointed until the following year.

3E 99 - Antiochus Septim is crowned.

• Pelagius II's son, Antiochus, inherits the kingdom. His reign is rife with civil wars, surpassing even that of his grandfather, Uriel II.

Second Century

3E 104 - Princess Kintyra Septim II is born.

3E 105 - Opusculus Lamae Bal da Mezzamortie is translated.

• The University of Gwylim Press finishes translating the tale.

3E 109 - Debauchery occurs in the Imperial City.

• 10 years into his reign, the obese and lecherous Emperor Antiochus has done little to impress his subjects, besides the unquenchable hedonism he exhibits.

3E 110 - The War of the Isle occurs.

• The province of Summerset is nearly lost to the Maormer. The united alliance of the kings of Summerset and Antiochus only manage to defeat King Orgnum of the island of Pyandonea during a freak storm. Legend later credits the Psijic Order on the Isle of Artaeum with the magic behind the storm.

3E 111 - The Knights of the Nine are founded.

• The Knights of the Nine are founded by Sir Amiel Lannus, with the intent of recovering the lost relics of Pelinal Whitestrake.

3E 114 - Empress Kintyra II reportedly dies.

• Some sources say that she was slain after being captured by Uriel III. However, she was not even Empress at this time, and didn't die until the 23rd of Frostfall on 3E 123, which is now recognized as the Day of Broken Diamonds.

3E 119 - Pelagius Septim III is born.

3E 120 - Emperor Antiochus dies, and Empress Kintyra II is crowned.

3E 121 - Uriel Septim III is proclaimed as Emperor.

• The Imperial City is taken over in a fortnight, as two other attacks draw Imperial forces away. Uriel III is proclaimed Emperor of Tamriel. He abandons his father's surname of Mantiarco, and accepts the Septim surname. Empress Kintyra II is captured in High Rock as Tamriel takes sides between Uriel III and his uncles.

3E 121 - The War of the Red Diamond occurs.

• The war between the three surviving children of Pelagius II: Potema, Cephorus Septim, and Magnus Septim, and their respective offspring. Potema, of course, supports Uriel III, and has the support from all of Skyrim and northern Morrowind. With the efforts of Magnus and Cephorus, all of High Rock eventually supports them. Summerset, Valenwood, Elsweyr, Hammerfell, and Black Marsh are divided, but most kings support Magnus and Cephorus.

3E 123 - Empress Kintyra II dies in her cell.

• Although reported to have died in 3E 114, tge captive Empress Kintyra dies in secret in her cell. The 23rd of Frostfall is later named the Day of Broken Diamonds in her memory.

3E 127 - Emperor Uriel III dies and Cephorus Septim is crowned.

• Uriel III is captured at the Battle of Ichidag in Hammerfell. On the way to his trial in the Imperial City, a mob attacks his carriage and burns him alive within it. His captor and uncle continues on to the Imperial City, and by common acclaim, becomes the Emperor Cephorus I. Cephorus' reign is marked by nothing but war. The Empire acquiesces demands for greater autonomy from the nobility of all the outlying provinces, except Elsweyr. It takes Cephorus an additional 10 years of constant warfare to defeat his sister, Potema.
• Potema defeats the forces of her brother Magnus in the Battle of Falconstar.

3E 131 - The Knights of the Nine are dissolved.

• The Knights of the Nine order is formally dissolved, having never truly recovered after the War of the Red Diamond.

3E 133 - Destri Melarg dies.

• Destri Melarg dies at age 113, leaving behind several unfinished histories and several untranslated verses.

3E 137 - Death of Potema, Queen of Solitude.

• Potema, the so-called "Wolf Queen" of Solitude, dies during the siege of her castle.

3E 139 - Sir Casimir loses the Gauntlets of the Crusader.

• After the knight kills a beggar in the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol, the gauntlets slip off his hands and lie immovable on the floor, waiting for a new Champion.

3E 140 - Emperor Cephorus I dies, and Emperor Mangus is crowned.

• Cephorus I never had the time to marry, so his brother, the fourth child to Pelagius II assumes the throne. Emperor Magnus is elderly, and the business of punishing the traitorous kings of the War of the Red Diamond drains much of his health.

3E 141 - King Pelagius of Solitude marries Duchess Katariah of Vvardenfell.

• The future Emperor of Tamriel is recorded as "occasionally eccentric" in the Imperial Annals. He marries the duchess on his father's orders.

3E 145 - Emperor Magnus dies, and Pelagius Septim III is crowned.

• Pelagius leaves the throne of Solitude to his sister, Jolethe Septim. Almost from the start, Pelagius III, sometimes called Pelagius the Mad, becomes noted for his eccentric behavior. He embarrasses dignitaries, offends his vassal kings, and on one occasion, marks the end of a grand ball by attempting to hang himself.

3E 150 - Last sighting of Sir Amiel Lannus.

• The founder of the Knights of the Nine is seen for the last time, living alone in the priory of his now-defunct order.

3E 150 - The Siege of Abernanit occurs in Morrowind.

3E 153 - Emperor Pelagius III dies, and Empress Katariah is crowned.

• After being committed to an asylum due to his madness, Pelagius III dies in his cell at the Temple of Kynareth, on the island of Betony. Katariah formally becomes the new Empress. Her reign lasts for 46 years, and is remembered as one of the most glorious in Tamriel's history. She travels extensively through the Empire, and repairs much of the damage that broken alliances and bungled diplomacy had created.

3E 153 - Sir Amiel Lannus dies attempting to recover the Helm of the Crusader.

3E 195 - Rangidil Ketil dies.

• The commander of the Ordinators of the Tribunal Temple dies at age 288.

Third Century

3E 200 - Empress Katariah dies, and Cassynder Septim is crowned.

• Katariah's death in a minor skirmish in Black Marsh later becomes a favorite topic amongst conspiracy-minded historians.

3E 202 - Emperor Cassynder dies, and Uriel Septim IV is crowned.

3E 213 - Song of the Askelde Men is published.

3E 247 - Uriel IV dies, and Cephorus Septim II is crowned.

3E 249 - The Camoran Usurper invades Tamriel.

• The Camoran Usurper leads an army of Daedra and undead warriors on a rampage through Valenwood, conquering it within 2 years, and then turns towards Hammerfell. Cephorus II sends more and more mercenaries into Hamnerfell to stop them, but they are bribed, slaughtered, or turned undead. Animosity spreads and grows against the ineffective Empire.

Eras
Second Era	3E 1–3E 433	Fourth Era
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