Lore:Ebonheart Pact

The   was a military alliance between the  s  ,  ,  , and   of  , the Kingdom of Eastern  , and the tribes of   and   in    during the chaotic   of the  . It vied with the   and   for control over the contested Ruby Throne in  . It was a creation of unlikely allies, who had long histories of strife between them, but united for mutual defense, first against  i invaders and later against the   cultists of   in Cyrodiil. They aimed to wipe away the rash rule of the   and end once and for all mortals' entanglements with higher power from beyond  .  The Pact was led by   the Skald-King, who headed the  , as well as the three   of the Dunmer. 
 
The full extent of the Pact's territory in Black Marsh is disputed. Vicecanon  , who was called by the   to lead the Argonians to join the Pact, claimed that the tribes of   joined together with Shadowfen and Thornmarsh.  However, Murkmire is a region on the southern coast of Black Marsh and centered on  ; although the Pact sent envoys to Murkmire to convince the tribes to join, the region was far removed from Pact lands and remained fully autonomous. Locals discounted Heita-Meen's claims as being purely aspirtational.  Some sources incorrectly  name the region surrounding the city of   as Murkmire.   Given that this region borders Shadowfen and Thornmarsh, it is possible that Heita-Meen's claims refer to Gideon's hinterlands. 

History
The Pact arose out of the   in  . The force under the command of   landed just north of  , taking the city completely by surprise.  The city was sacked and Queen   and her heir   were slain, leaving the crown to Mabjaarn's son, Jorunn.  Together with his twin-brother Fildgor, he rallied a desperate defense, but the Akaviri army bypassed him, marching instead into eastern Morrowind, where they were met by Dunmeri forces under  . In an unprecedented show of cooperation between races with a great deal of historical enmity, Jorunn and Almalexia worked together to encircle Dir-Kamal's forces in  .  The resulting   was a close-fought engagement until the surprise arrival of   reinforcements, who helped drive the invaders back into the sea, ending their threat to Tamriel.   

This allegiance forged in battle was ratified with treaties signed in  ,  resulting in the manumission of Argonians enslaved by the   as thanks for their crucial intervention.  The Pact struggled to reconcile the desires of three such distinct factions, but was able to stay strong for over a decade due to the need for mutual defense and the camaraderie of brothers-in-arms.  Eventually, the Tribunal became aware of dark happenings in Cyrodiil, and called upon its allies to mount a righteous war against the corrupt and disintegrating Empire. 

During its existence, it successfully overcame an invasion  by the  , through summoning the former   warriors, the  . It faced trouble in the form of   and    uprisings in   and  , respectively.   was attacked by the  , and   was attacked by   and the  . However, the Pact managed to deal with all these threats. 

Institutions
Great Moot
thumb|right|A Great Moot
The Ebonheart Pact was governed by a separate body called the Great Moot, wherein decisions were ratified by representatives from the Pact's three member nations. The Great Moot convened in the Pact's capital of  .  In  , Jorunn the Skald-King of Eastern Skyrim was named acting High King of the Great Moot after he thwarted an Akaviri invasion with the aid of   and   forces.  In  , Jorunn's rule was again ratified at the summit of   following his brother  's failed attempt to usurp the throne. 

Vicecanons
On the regional level, vicecanons represented each of the three Pact provinces of Skyrim, Morrowind and Black Marsh to oversee the safety and prosperity of that region. For example, in   the Black Marsh region of   was overseen by vicanons Hrondar (Skyrim), Servyna (Morrowind) and   (Black Marsh) from its capital  . Vicecanons were selected based on their strategic and diplomatic skills. 

Gallery
 

Notes


See Also
For game-specific information, see the ESO article.
Books




References