The First Era in The Elder Scrolls: A Complete Guide

If you’ve explored Dwemer ruins in Skyrim or wondered why the Dark Elves look the way they do in Morrowind, you’re seeing the legacy of the First Era—a 2,920-year period of upheaval that shaped Tamriel forever. This era began with humans overthrowing their Ayleid slavemasters and ended with Reman Cyrodiil’s death, encompassing the mysterious vanishing of all Dwemer, the transformation of the Chimer into Dunmer, and the birth of institutions like the Mages Guild. Though it predates all playable Elder Scrolls games by thousands of years, the First Era’s events are the foundation of everything you encounter.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

• What defined the First Era period
• How humans overthrew elven dominance
• Why the Dwemer race disappeared
• The three major empires of this age
• Critical battles that changed Tamriel forever
• How the era ended with assassination

What Was the First Era?

An Age of Men and Empires

The First Era marks humanity’s rise from slavery to dominance across Tamriel. Starting in year zero with the founding of the Camoran Dynasty in Valenwood, this period saw three distinct human empires control the continent. The era is sometimes called the “First Age” or the “Classical Period” in early records.

Unlike the hazy Dawn Era and Merethic Era before it, the First Era has concrete dates and documented events. Scholars can trace specific battles, coronations, and political shifts year by year.

This record-keeping began when King Eplear united the Bosmer under one crown, giving historians a fixed point to measure time. The era’s 2,920 years witnessed the fall of the Ayleid Empire, the disappearance of the entire Dwemer race, mass migrations from doomed continents, and constant warfare between expanding kingdoms. Every major race in Tamriel today was shaped by First Era conflicts.

The Beginning of Recorded History

The start of the First Era, 1E 0, marked a major political shift. The Ayleids of Cyrodiil recognized the Camoran Dynasty as a buffer state against the Altmer of Summerset Isle. At this same moment, the White-Gold Tower became an independent city-state and the heart of Ayleid power.

By 1E 20, the Psijic Order appears in written records for the first time. A Breton sage named Voernet documented his journey to Artaeum, making him one of the earliest known Bretons in history. This suggests Bretons already existed as a distinct race by the era’s start.

The final ships from Atmora arrived in 1E 68, carrying mostly corpses. Whatever catastrophe befell that frozen continent remains unknown, but this marked the end of Nordic migration to Tamriel. From this point forward, the Nords were entirely a Tamrielic people.

The End of an Era

The First Era ended with a bloody assassination in 1E 2920. Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III and his heir Prince Juilek were killed by the Morag Tong, the Dunmer assassin guild. The assassination was the Morag Tong’s response to Reman breaking a truce and sacking Black Gate fortress.

The same year saw Mehrunes Dagon destroy the city of Mournhold. Almalexia and Sotha Sil couldn’t prevent the destruction, though they managed to banish the Daedric Prince back to Oblivion after heavy fighting.

With the Reman bloodline ended, the Akaviri Potentate Versidue-Shaie took the throne and declared the Second Era. The age of human dynasties ruling from the Ruby Throne had temporarily ended, though the empire itself would continue under Akaviri leadership.

The Saga of the First Era: A Chronological History

The Early Era: Rise of Men and Fall of Elves (1E 1 – 1E 498)

The Alessian Slave Rebellion

In 1E 242, a Nedic slave named Alessia sparked the rebellion that would end Ayleid dominance forever. With help from Nordic armies and some Ayleid lords who opposed their kin, Alessia’s forces swept through Cyrodiil.

The warriors Pelinal Whitestrake and Morihaus led the charge, defeating Ayleid kings one by one. The White-Gold Tower fell in 1E 243, marking the symbolic end of the Ayleid Empire.

Alessia founded the first human empire of Cyrodiil and created a new religion blending Nordic and Cyrodiilic faiths—the Eight Divines you know from the games. Some Ayleid lords who sided with the rebellion were allowed to rule as vassals, while others fled to Valenwood or High Rock.

Upon Alessia’s death in 1E 266, Akatosh transformed her into the first Cyrodiilic saint. Her soul became the first gem in the Amulet of Kings, forging the divine covenant that protected Tamriel from Oblivion for millennia. Her son Belharza the Man-Bull, child of Morihaus, became the second emperor.

The First Empire of the Nords

High King Harald, crowned in 1E 143, consolidated Skyrim into an independent kingdom with Windhelm as capital. He was the 13th in Ysgramor’s line and is recognized as the first historical Nord ruler—previous kings blend into legend and myth.

His successor, Vrage the Gifted, launched the Skyrim Conquests starting in 1E 222. By 1E 240, Nordic armies controlled vast territories including most of High Rock, Morrowind (then called Resdayn), and parts of northern Cyrodiil. This marked the end of elven dominance in Tamriel and the rise of human power.

The Nordic Empire collapsed after High King Borgas died in 1E 369, killed by the Wild Hunt. The Moot failed to elect his successor, triggering a civil war that lasted until 1E 420.

During this chaos, Morrowind, High Rock, and Cyrodiil broke away. Skyrim never regained these territories, permanently limiting Nordic power.

The Direnni Hegemony and the Battle of Glenumbria Moors

As the Alessian Order gained power through the 300s, its anti-elf policies drove many conflicts. The Order enforced strict religious doctrines suppressing elven elements in the Eight Divines pantheon. By 1E 361, they had abolished all remaining Ayleid lordships and began destroying Ayleid communities one by one.

Clan Direnni, the last High Elf ruling family in human lands, rose to control large parts of High Rock, Hammerfell, and Skyrim through political maneuvering. When the Alessian Empire tried to reclaim wayward territories, several Colovian kings rebelled, inspired by King Rislav of Skingrad who defeated an imperial army in 1E 478.

The decisive battle came at Glenumbria Moors in 1E 482. The Alessian Order’s army faced the Direnni elves, led by Aiden Direnni. Though the elves won, the victory crippled them.

High King Hoag Merkiller of Skyrim died fighting alongside the Direnni. The Order was pushed out of High Rock, but the Direnni were so weakened that Breton nobility gradually replaced them over the next 16 years.

The Middle Era: Disappearing Races and New Arrivals (1E 668 – 1E 980)

The War of the First Council

Red Mountain erupted in 1E 668, causing a year-long hiding of the sun called “Sun’s Death” or the “Year of Winter in Summer.” This catastrophe occurred at the start of the War of the First Council, a conflict between the Dwemer and Chimer of Morrowind.

The war’s cause was Kagrenac’s plan to use the Heart of Lorkhan to create a new god—the Numidium. The Chimer Great Houses considered this blasphemy.

Despite their prior alliance under Nerevar and Dumac, the two races went to war. Some sources suggest Nordic armies also invaded during this internal strife.

In 1E 700, the Battle of Red Mountain ended the war in the strangest way possible: every Dwemer in Tamriel vanished in a single moment. This event is considered a Dragon Break—reality itself fractured, so no single account is fully accurate. What’s certain is that the Dwemer disappeared entirely, Nerevar and Dumac both died, and the Tribunal (Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil) used Kagrenac’s tools on the Heart to become living gods.

The Arrival of the Redguards

Across the ocean in Yokuda, centuries of civil war were coming to a head. This upheaval led directly to the Redguards’ migration to Tamriel:

• 1E 376: Traditional emperors were overthrown in Yokuda, beginning 300 years of civil war
• 1E 720: The great warrior Frandar Hunding was born and became the greatest Ansei (sword-singer) in history
• 1E 780: Emperor Hira tried to exterminate sword-singers. Frandar led the resistance and crushed the imperial army, then sailed east to Hammerfell with his followers—the Ra Gada (warrior wave)
• 1E 792: The continent of Yokuda sank beneath the waves, possibly destroyed by renegade sword-singers using powerful stone magic
• 1E 808: The Ra Gada arrived in Hammerfell and drove out the native Nedes and beast folk

Over time, “Ra Gada” was corrupted into “Redguard,” the name you know today.

The 30-Year Siege of Orsinium

Around 1E 800, Orsinium had grown into a powerful Orc kingdom in the mountains between High Rock and Hammerfell. Refugees from Hammerfell’s conquest had joined the Orcs, making them stronger than ever. They raided surrounding human settlements, particularly targeting Wayrest.

In 1E 948, King Joile of Daggerfall wrote to the warrior Gaiden Shinji proposing a joint assault on Orsinium. The siege began in 1E 950, with Daggerfall, the new kingdom of Sentinel, and the Order of Diagna working together. The fighting would last 30 years.

Orsinium finally fell in 1E 980. King Joile had secretly planned to use the war to position himself for conquering Hammerfell, but in 1E 973, the sword-singer Makela Leki and her companions stopped his invasion at Bangkorai Pass.

They died holding the pass, but killed Joile and his army, preventing his conquest.

The Middle Dawn and the Thrassian Plague (1E 1200 – 1E 2260)

The 1,008-Year Dragon Break

Around 1E 1200, Fervidius Tharn and the Marukhati Selective attempted to remove elven aspects from Akatosh using the Staff of Towers. Whether accidentally or intentionally, they shattered linear time itself. This Dragon Break lasted 1,008 years—though describing duration during a time fracture is nearly meaningless.

During the Middle Dawn, reality didn’t follow normal rules. Events that should have taken decades happened at once. Multiple contradictory timelines existed simultaneously. The few texts surviving this period contradict each other because they’re all equally true and false.

The Dragon Break ended around 1E 2208, snapping reality back into a single timeline. The Alessian Order was destroyed during this chaos. Most historical records from this period were lost or became incomprehensible. This is why the First Era has such a gap in reliable documentation.

The Thrassian Plague Devastates Tamriel

In 1E 2200, the Sload of Thras released a magically-created disease that would kill half of Tamriel’s population over the following centuries. The plague concentrated along the western coast nearest Thras, devastating the Iliac Bay region particularly hard.

The nobility of Daggerfall, Sentinel, and Wayrest fled to the Isle of Balfiera for safety. Wayrest’s population was forced to move into the walled Gardner estate in 1E 2702 for protection against pirates, Akaviri raiders, and the ongoing plague.

Cities that had thrived for centuries were reduced to shadows. By 1E 2260, the plague had even reached Elsweyr far to the southeast. Entire regions were depopulated. The demographic and political effects would reshape Tamriel for the rest of the era and beyond.

The All-Flags Navy and the Sinking of Thras

Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo, the Colovian king of Anvil, petitioned the emperor for permission to punish Thras for the plague. Starting in 1E 2243, he began assembling the largest naval fleet Tamriel had ever seen—the All Flags Navy, with ships from every nation working together.

The fleet finally sailed against Thras in 1E 2260. After claiming victories against the Sload and their sea monsters, Olo’s armada used powerful magic to sink the entire Sload kingdom beneath the waves.

This was one of the few times in history that all Tamrielic nations cooperated. The success came at tremendous cost. Many ships and sailors were lost in the fighting. But the Thrassian Plague finally began to recede once its source was destroyed. The All Flags Navy remains a symbol of what Tamriel can accomplish when united, though such cooperation has rarely been repeated.

The Late Era: Rise and Fall of the Second Empire (1E 2321 – 1E 2920)

The War of Righteousness and Alessian Collapse

In 1E 2305, High Rock seceded from the Alessian Empire after over 1,000 years of membership. The Alessian Order sent forces to bring them back, but the Bangkorai Garrison held firm. The Order’s excesses had finally pushed regions too far.

Western Cyrodiil followed suit in 1E 2321, declaring independence as the Colovian Estates. The War of Righteousness erupted between the Alessian heartland and breakaway territories. The Order’s bloated priesthood and territorial restrictions on their religion had created too many enemies.

After a decade of war, the Alessian Order collapsed in 1E 2331. The Empire shattered into independent kingdoms. Cyrodiil split into eastern and western halves that would diverge culturally for centuries.

The fighting destroyed most historical records from the period, creating another gap in documentation.

The Akaviri Invasion

In 1E 2703, Tsaesci forces from Akavir landed in Tamriel and carved through Skyrim toward Cyrodiil. For the first time in centuries, a common threat forced the fragmented kingdoms to cooperate. A man named Reman Cyrodiil rallied both the Colovian West and Nibenean East into a unified army.

At Pale Pass along the Cyrodiil-Skyrim border, Reman’s forces defeated the invaders. But rather than destroying the Akaviri, Reman did something unexpected: he incorporated them into his army. The Tsaesci had been searching for a Dragonborn, and they recognized Reman as such.

The most skilled Akaviri became Reman’s personal Dragonguard. Their tactics and organization transformed the loose collection of provincial militias into the disciplined Imperial forces you recognize from later games.

This blending of Colovian, Nibenean, and Akaviri cultures created the foundation of modern Imperial identity.

The Reman Dynasty

Reman I founded the Second Empire in 1E 2703, uniting Cyrodiil for the first time since the Alessian collapse. He immediately began consolidating power, dividing the Reach between High Rock and Skyrim in 1E 2704 to prevent Reachmen from uniting against him.

By 1E 2714, Reman’s army had conquered Valenwood after centuries of border warfare. The province became occupied territory with the Kingdom of Grahtwood established as a vassal state, though native resistance continued for years.

Reman I died in 1E 2762 and was succeeded by his son Kastav, whose incompetence triggered the Winterhold Rebellion in 1E 2804. Kastav’s harsh tax policies and hostage-taking pushed Skyrim too far.

His son Reman II deposed him and negotiated an end to the rebellion, then led the empire into a golden age.

The Four-Score War and the Era’s End

In 1E 2811, Reman II launched the Blackwater War to conquer Argonia. After decades of fighting, the empire carved out the province of Black Marsh in 1E 2837. Reman II died in 1E 2843 (accounts differ on whether it was 2843 or 2851) fighting the Dark Elves.

His grandson Reman III inherited both the throne and the war with Morrowind in 1E 2877. This Four-Score War dragged on for 80 years, draining imperial resources.

In 1E 2920, after Reman III broke a truce by sacking Black Gate fortress, the Morag Tong assassinated both him and his heir. With the Reman bloodline ended, Potentate Versidue-Shaie—an Akaviri advisor—took the throne and declared the Second Era. The Second Empire would continue under Akaviri rule, but the age of human dynasties descended from Alessia and blessed by Akatosh had come to an end.

Major Powers of the First Era

The Ayleid Empire

The Ayleids ruled Cyrodiil from the White-Gold Tower at the era’s start. These “Wild Elves” had enslaved the Nedic humans for generations, using them for labor and darker purposes. Ayleid culture was sophisticated, producing architectural marvels and powerful magic, but their cruelty toward humans would be their undoing.

Internal religious conflicts weakened them before humans ever rebelled. The Narfinsel Schism divided Ayleids between traditional Aedra worshippers and clans that had adopted Daedric worship.

The Scouring of Wendelbek in 1E 198 ended organized opposition to Daedra worship, but also showed the depth of Ayleid division. After losing the White-Gold Tower in 1E 243, some Ayleid lords ruled as Alessian vassals for decades.

But when the Alessian Order gained power in 1E 361, they destroyed remaining Ayleid communities one by one. By 1E 498, the “Late Ayleid Period” ended with elves scattered to Valenwood or High Rock. The ruins you explore in Oblivion and later games are all that remain.

The Alessian Empire

Founded by Alessia in 1E 243, this empire ruled Cyrodiil and northern territories for over 2,000 years. Alessia’s genius was creating the Eight Divines religion, blending Nordic and Cyrodiilic beliefs to unite different human groups under one faith. The Amulet of Kings and covenant with Akatosh made the empire divinely sanctioned.

But after Alessia’s death, the prophet Marukh’s teachings spawned the Alessian Order—a monotheistic religious organization that gradually gained control of the empire. By 1E 361, they were enforcing strict doctrines that banned entertainment, suppressed elven elements in religion, and promoted anti-elf policies.

The Order’s excesses finally destroyed the empire. The Middle Dawn Dragon Break around 1E 1200 fractured reality itself.

When territories began seceding in the 1E 2300s, the Order lacked strength to hold them. The War of Righteousness from 1E 2321-2331 ended both the Order and the empire, splitting Cyrodiil into feuding kingdoms.

The Second (Reman) Empire

Reman I reunited Cyrodiil in 1E 2703 after defeating the Akaviri invasion. Unlike the Alessian Empire’s religious foundation, the Reman Empire was built on military might and administrative skill. The integration of Akaviri warriors and tactics created the professional Imperial army.

The empire expanded under Reman I and II. Valenwood fell in 1E 2714. Black Marsh was carved out of Argonia in 1E 2837. The empire established the first unified legal system using Cyrodiilic language for all documents in 1E 2813, standardizing administration across provinces.

But constant warfare drained resources. The Four-Score War with Morrowind lasted 80 years and achieved little.

When Reman III and his heir were assassinated in 1E 2920, the dynasty ended after just 217 years. The empire itself survived under Akaviri Potentates, but the Second Era would see it decline into the chaos preceding Tiber Septim.

The Great Cataclysms and Mysteries

The Disappearance of the Dwemer

On a single day in 1E 700, every Dwemer in Tamriel vanished in an instant. Not just in Morrowind where the Battle of Red Mountain occurred, but across the entire continent—Skyrim, Hammerfell, everywhere Dwemer lived. One moment they were present, the next they were gone without bodies, evidence, or explanation.

Kagrenac’s work on the Heart of Lorkhan is the suspected cause. He had built tools to tap the Heart’s power and create Numidium, a mechanical god. Something went wrong when those tools were used, possibly erasing the Dwemer from existence or transporting them elsewhere.

The event is considered a Dragon Break, meaning multiple contradictory versions of events are true at once. This makes determining what actually happened impossible.

All that remains are empty cities, deactivated constructs, and ruins you explore in Skyrim and other games. The Dwemer are the only major race to vanish from Tamriel entirely.

The Sinking of Yokuda

In 1E 792, the continent of Yokuda sank beneath the ocean. Accounts blame the Hiradirge, a renegade Ansei group, though exactly what they did remains unclear. Some sources suggest they used stone magic similar to sword-singing but focused on rock and earth rather than steel.

The destruction wasn’t instant—enough warning existed that many Yokudans escaped to the island of Herne before continuing to Hammerfell. But the waves swallowed most of their civilization, history, and culture. Only scattered islands remain of what was once a continent.

This cataclysm shaped Redguard culture permanently. Their warrior traditions, sword-singing techniques, and the Book of Circles survived because Frandar Hunding had already brought them to Tamriel.

But countless other aspects of Yokudan civilization were lost forever, making the Redguards the only major race without access to their ancestral homeland.

The Last Atmoran Arrival

The two ships that arrived in 1E 68 marked the end of Nordic connection to their homeland. They carried mostly corpses, with the few survivors begging for port. After this, no further contact with Atmora occurred—no ships, no communication, nothing.

What happened to Atmora remains one of Elder Scrolls’ biggest mysteries. Climate change turning it into a frozen wasteland is one theory. Others suggest plague, warfare, or even magical catastrophe. Some scholars believe it simply became uninhabitable through gradual environmental collapse.

This event meant the Nords became entirely Tamrielic. Their ancestral ties to Atmora were severed permanently.

King Harald’s decision in 1E 143 to relinquish Atmoran holdings and make Skyrim independent reflected this reality—there was nothing left to hold in Atmora. The frozen continent exists now only in legend and in the genetic memory of the people who once called it home.