5. Third Era

Era Theme

The Third Era is the Septim Dynasty’s age. It begins with Tiber Septim’s coronation in 2E 896 and ends with the assassination of Uriel Septim VII and the Oblivion Crisis in 3E 433. Unlike the chaos of the Second Era, the Third is remembered as a time of imperial unity — but also of decadence, intrigue, and the slow unraveling of Septim authority. It is the era of guilds flourishing, provinces assimilated into the Empire, and the great crises that revealed the fragility of human dominion.

The Founding of the Septim Dynasty

Tiber Septim, known also as @Talos, achieved what no other warlord had: complete unification of Tamriel under one crown. Using the Numidium, the colossal brass golem of Dwemer design, and his Dragonborn blood to sanctify rule, he forced both man and mer into submission. His coronation in 2E 896 marked the beginning of the Third Era. @Talos was later deified as one of the Nine Divines, cementing the Septim line not only as rulers but as sacred heirs to divinity itself.

Succession and Dynastic Intrigues

The Septim line was never free from turmoil. Pelagius the Mad, remembered for paranoia and erratic decrees, left the Empire in the hands of regents until his death. Antiochus Septim (3E 247–3E 267) ruled during the rise of the Camoran Usurper, criticized for indulgence even as his generals fought to preserve the Empire. Cephorus Septim seized the throne during the War of the Red Diamond and proved pragmatic but ruthless, willing to spill kin’s blood to preserve stability. These succession crises revealed the fragility of dynasties: though the Septim name carried divine weight, the quality of rulers varied wildly, and civil wars often erupted when inheritance was disputed.

Consolidation of Empire

The early centuries of the Third Era were defined by assimilation. Colovian military discipline and Nibenese bureaucracy fused into a single imperial system. Provinces were reorganized under governors and legates, guilds were given imperial charters, and the Cult of the Nine became the official religion. Resistance continued — notably in @Morrowind, where the Tribunal negotiated a unique treaty preserving their autonomy — but the sheer weight of Septim power held the provinces in check. The Empire established a continental economy, road system, and legal framework, binding disparate peoples under a single vision.

The War of the Red Diamond

Dynastic conflict marred the Septim line early. Following the death of Emperor Pelagius II, Empress Kintyra II was challenged by her cousin Uriel III, sparking the War of the Red Diamond (3E 121–3E 127). The war drew in @Skyrim, @High Rock, and @Morrowind, with alliances shifting as the conflict dragged on. Ultimately, Uriel III was captured and killed, and the rightful line restored under Empress Kintyra’s heirs. The war revealed both the strength and weakness of the Septim dynasty: even internal rebellion threatened empire-wide collapse, yet the imperial framework endured the storm.

The Camoran Usurper

In the mid-Third Era, Tamriel was shaken by the rise of the Camoran Usurper, a @Bosmer warlord from @Valenwood who led a host of Daedric allies and undead armies. His campaign swept across @Valenwood, @Hammerfell, and Colovia, devastating provinces and threatening @Cyrodiil itself. Only after decades of war was the Usurper finally defeated in 3E 267. The devastation he left behind scarred western Tamriel, proving the Empire’s vulnerability despite its vast resources. The Usurper’s rise also foreshadowed later Daedric entanglements in mortal politics.

The Camoran Usurper’s March

The Usurper’s campaign was one of the bloodiest wars in Tamrielic history. His armies, bolstered by necromancers and Daedric allies, swept from @Valenwood into @Hammerfell and Colovia, leaving fields of corpses and ruined cities. @Redguard holds were besieged, @Breton towns sacked, and even the Colovian Estates trembled before his advance. Imperial armies fought a grinding war of attrition for decades until the Usurper was finally defeated near Dwynnen in @High Rock. The cost of the war was staggering: whole provinces left depopulated, treasuries emptied, and trust in imperial invincibility shaken. His campaign proved that even a provincial warlord, with Daedric support, could threaten the heart of empire.

The Imperial Simulacrum

The most infamous crisis of the Third Era came under Jagar Tharn, Imperial Battlemage to Uriel Septim VII. Using deception, Tharn imprisoned the Emperor in Oblivion and ruled in his place for a decade (3E 389–3E 399). His reign, known as the Imperial Simulacrum, was marked by war, rebellion, and near-collapse of imperial control. @Skyrim, @Hammerfell, @High Rock, and @Summerset all erupted in conflict, while Daedric cults spread unchecked. The Simulacrum ended only when a mortal hero, the Eternal Champion, exposed Tharn and restored Uriel VII. The episode left the Empire shaken, its people mistrustful of both throne and bureaucracy.

The Imperial Simulacrum Wars

While Jagar Tharn impersonated Uriel VII, Tamriel fractured into constant wars. @Skyrim and @Hammerfell fought over borderlands, @Summerset Isles resisted imperial oversight, and @Black Marsh boiled with @Argonian uprisings. Without true imperial command, generals pursued personal ambition, and the provinces drifted toward independence. The Eternal Champion’s defeat of Tharn restored Uriel VII, but by then much of the Empire was scarred and exhausted. Tharn’s decade of false rule remains one of the darkest chapters in Cyrodiilic memory, not because of conquest from without, but because of treachery from within.

The Crisis in Morrowind

@Morrowind’s uneasy relationship with the Empire persisted throughout the Third Era. The Tribunal maintained autonomy, but their divine power waned as Dagoth Ur rose within @Red Mountain. By the late Third Era, their reliance on Kagrenac’s tools faltered, and their godhood diminished. This crisis culminated in the events of the Nerevarine prophecy: the Heart of Lorkhan was destroyed, Dagoth Ur defeated, and the Tribunal left powerless. Morrowind, once shielded by living gods, was suddenly exposed — a vulnerability that would haunt it in the coming Oblivion Crisis.

The Oblivion Crisis

The Third Era ended in fire. In 3E 433, the assassination of Uriel Septim VII and his heirs shattered the Dragonborn line. Without the Septims to light the Dragonfires, the barrier between Nirn and Oblivion weakened. @Mehrunes Dagon unleashed the Oblivion Crisis, opening gates across Tamriel. Entire cities were destroyed, provinces ravaged, and countless lives lost. The crisis was ended only by Martin Septim, last of the line, who sacrificed himself to become the avatar of @Akatosh. His act sealed the barrier but ended the Septim dynasty. The Third Era closed with both triumph and tragedy: Tamriel saved, but the Dragonborn bloodline extinguished.

The Mythic Dawn and the Fading of the Dragonfires

In the later Third Era, whispers of cults devoted to @Mehrunes Dagon spread across Tamriel. The Mythic Dawn infiltrated noble houses, guilds, and even the @The Imperial City, preparing for the day the Dragonfires would fail. Their assassinations and propaganda weakened imperial stability in ways few recognized until it was too late. At the same time, the Dragonfires themselves — the covenant of @Akatosh binding Oblivion — grew dim, signaling the end of Septim power. By the time Uriel VII was assassinated, the cult was ready, and the Oblivion Crisis erupted with devastating force.

Guild Ascendancy

The Third Era was also the golden age of the guild system. The Mages Guild reached its height, sanctioned across Tamriel and dominating arcane education. The Fighters Guild became a near-universal mercenary arm, enforcing contracts even in regions resistant to imperial law. Meanwhile, clandestine networks thrived: the Thieves Guild became a shadow economy stretching from Riften to @Anvil, and the Dark Brotherhood spread fear across provinces, their assassinations shaping politics from behind closed doors. The Empire both relied on and feared these organizations, granting them legitimacy while knowing their loyalty could not be guaranteed.

Religion and the Cult of Talos

With the deification of Tiber Septim, the Nine Divines replaced the older Eight. The Cult of @Talos grew rapidly, especially among @Nords and Colovians, who saw his rise as vindication of human supremacy. Among Elves, this reform was a source of simmering resentment: the @Altmer in particular viewed @Talos worship as blasphemy, a mortal’s arrogance against the true divines. These tensions never fully ignited in the Third Era, but the fault line was laid bare. By elevating a man to godhood, the Empire declared itself the arbiter of divinity, a claim that would echo into the Fourth Era’s conflicts.

Cultural Shifts

The Third Era normalized the idea of empire. Generations grew up knowing only Septim rule, seeing Tamriel as one entity rather than many. Guilds flourished under imperial patronage, religion unified under the Nine, and economies integrated across provinces. Yet beneath this unity lay tension: @Dunmer resentment of the Empire, @Altmer disdain for human dominion, and @Argonian enslavement in @Morrowind. The Oblivion Crisis revealed how fragile this unity was, as provinces fended for themselves when the central government collapsed.

Legacy

The Third Era is remembered as the golden age of human dominion, but also as the prelude to fragmentation. Its legacy includes the deification of @Talos, the endurance of imperial institutions, and the memory of continent-wide unity. Yet it also ended with the annihilation of the very dynasty that defined it. The Third Era left Tamriel both bound by shared memory and scarred by disillusionment. The Fourth Era would inherit both the dream of empire and the reality of its collapse.