Empire of Cyrodiil

NOTE: The Empire of Cyrodiil is no longer a canon part of the Beyond Empires setting.

The Empire of Cyrodiil, more commonly simply the Empire, is a large, highly influential government based in Cyrodiil, also known as the Imperial Heartland.

The Empire was founded by Tiber Septim after a decades-long conflict that saw a great deal of the continent of Avas brought under his control. The official language of the Empire, Cyrodiilic, is the common tongue of the world, and international trade is based upon the value of the Imperial Septim, a gold coin featuring the profile of one of the Emperors of the Septim dynasty.

The current ruler of the Empire of Cyrodiil is Uriel Septim VII, who has ruled the Empire for over fifty years. He is said to be the best leader the Empire has seen since the reign of Tiber Septim himself.

History
Of the nations of Avas, none have a history that stretches as far back as the Empire. Its reach once stretched from the Frostcrown Mountains at the edge of the Frostfell to the islands of the Steaming Sea to the south, and even influenced lands as far away as Akavir. Though the modern Empire has lost much of its former territory, it still wields great influence culturally and economically.

Tiber Septim and the Founding of the Empire
In 48 AT, Tiber Septim began the systematic conquest of the whole of Avas. Formerly a general in the armies of the Nordland king Cuhlecain, Septim was a cunning and immensely skilled tactician, and by 2 AT, he had conquered the entirety of the continent of Avas.

Two years later, Tiber Septim officially founded the Empire of Cyrodiil and was crowned as its first Emperor. In acknowledgement of this great historical milestone, Emperor Septim decreed the creation of the Imperial calendar, which is still in use today.

Tiber Septim died in 38 AI at the age of 108, and his grandson, Pelagius Septim, was crowned Cyrodiil's second Emperor.

The Empire spent millennia taming the lands and peoples within its borders, founding far-reaching colonies, and cultivating a vast and varied economy. By AI 3727, the Empire was the largest, most powerful nation Avas had ever known, but the events of that year would mark the beginning of the Empire's slow deterioration.

War of the Red Diamond
In 3627 AI, Empress Kintyra II was crowned Empress after the death of her father, Emperor Antiochus Septim. However, her claim to the throne of the Empire was contested by her cousin, Uriel III, along with his mother, the Wolf Queen Potema Septim. At the Empress's coronation, Queen Potema accused her of being a bastard child and declared her claim to the throne to be illegitimate. After Potema's attempt to halt the coronation failed, she was ejected from the coronation ceremony and banished from the Imperial Heartland altogether. Upon her return home to her kingdom in the Nordlands, Potema and her son, Uriel III, declared that Uriel was the rightful heir to the Imperial throne and began raising an army to seize it by force.

In addition to raising an army of his own, Uriel III used the wealth of his mother's kingdom to buy the support of several powerful members of the Imperial nobility. This combined force was further augmented by Queen Potema, who used vile sorceries to raise an army of the undead, bolstered by summoned demons.

Uriel III's army was mobilized much faster than the fledgling Empress could prepare for, and the Imperial City fell to his forces within two weeks. Shortly thereafter, Empress Kintyra II was captured by rebel forces and executed.

However, Uriel had little time to enjoy his victory. Loyalists held much of the territory of the Empire, and none were willing to acknowledge Uriel III as Emperor. He spent the three years attempting to bring the Imperial provinces to heel, but was defeated and captured by loyalist forces in 3630 AI.

The loyalists planned to drag Uriel III before a court in the Imperial City to answer for his crimes, but vigilantes intercepted the convoy en route and burned the usurper alive in his prison wagon.

Soon after, Cephorus Septim, Kintyra II's uncle, was crowned Emperor by popular consent. However, the War of the Red Diamond raged on, as Potema the Wolf Queen was still free, and continued to harass Imperial forces with her armies of demons and the undead.

The War of the Red Diamond finally came to an end over a decade later, when Potema's palace was besieged and the Wolf Queen met her end. While the war was well and truly over, and a legitimate ruler held claim to the Imperial throne, the damage had been done, and the cracks that formed in the foundations of the Empire during the battle for the throne would only grow wider with time.

Secession from the Empire
Over the following three centuries, the Empire would slowly shrink and recede into what was formerly the Imperial Heartland. Nearly every passing year would see territory lost on the edges of the Empire. The War of the Red Diamond had cost the Empire dearly, and rebuilding what had been destroyed in the fighting stretched the Imperial treasury to its limit. With little coin available, Imperial provinces saw steadily increasing taxation and steadily declining support.

Short-lived rebellions were common during this period, and for each one the Imperial Legions put down, a half-dozen others were successful. By 3991 AI, the Empire was a shadow of its former glory, its borders encompassing only the province of Cyrodiil, the former Imperial Heartland.

The Empire Today
While the Empire's borders no longer spread across the whole of Avas, its influence has endured. The Imperial standard of currency is used throughout the known world, and Cyrodiilic is the universally accepted trade language. Emperor Uriel Septim VII, a wise and competent ruler far removed from his usurper ancestor, sits on the Imperial throne, reviving long-forgotten memories of the Imperial Golden Age. The East Empire Trading Company sends merchant caravans and cargo ships to the far corners of the world. In all areas, the Empire seems to have finally begun crawling its way out of its centuries-long recession.