Lore:The Reach

(also known as Karth)   is a geographic region surrounded by  ,   and  . Its territory once extended into High Rock, but that portion was split off to create the   during the late   and has remained separate ever since.  The region was historically inhabited by the native,  -worshipping       Control of the Reach has changed hands between the Reachmen,  , and even the   numerous times over the centuries in various conflicts, and the Reachmen became well-known for resisting foreign rule by using ancient magic and an intimate knowledge of the landscape to their advantage in guerrilla warfare and espionage tactics. 

In the  , the Reach is the southwestern   of  .  Near the southwestern corner, the capital  , formerly a   stronghold, emerges from the living rock of the  , which transition into the   near the hold's southeast corner.  The   begins in the southern region and drains the mountains, running like a deep gouge through the middle of the hold called the  .   Settlements such as   and   can be found along the Karth, with the   bordering  's   to the east.  The peaks of the Druadach range lie to the west of it, and high bluffs typically rise on the east leading to grassland and tundra. The Reachmen and settled Bretons constitute the demographic majority of the Reach and its various settlements, and an   stronghold can be found in the steppes of the mountains in the south of the hold. 

History
 
Long before the conquests of Mer and Nords in the Karth region, human tribes dwelled within the caves in the Druadach Mountains.  The first to invade it were the earliest   tribes to settle in  .  High King   conquered the Reach for Skyrim at some point during his reign between   and  .  The   of   arrived in the region sometime after 1E 420 and established the city-state of  . Clan Kragen's success at fending off the local Nords inspired other Dwemer clans to expand into Skyrim as well.  It is presumably during this period, prior to the Dwemer's disappearance around  , that the city of   was constructed.

Around  , the Reach was ruled by ten warring Reachman kings. Most of them submitted to the invading   forces of Empress  , though many ultimately joined the rebellion led by  , the legendary hero of the Reachmen. They could not win this conflict, but in a campaign lasting two or more years, Red Eagle and his followers made the Empire pay dearly for invading their land.  Although the Empire was ultimately able to exert control over the Reach, widespread resistance continued long afterward.

After thwarting the  i invasion in  , Emperor   of the   turned his attention to the "madmen of the Reach". He divided the geographical Reach between the Imperial provinces of High Rock and Skyrim to reduce the power or incomes of any individual ruler, and the   has existed as a separate entity ever since. Despite this, the Reach failed to be tamed, and not a decade passed without troops from either   or   marching into the Reach in another vain attempt to bring the Reachmen to heel.  Emperor Reman's   also built   in the mountains of the Reach to support their crusade against  .   The Temple was sealed off by Emperor   after the completion of   in  . 
  
Following the Second Empire's collapse in  , the Reach was left to its own devices. It eventually became an independent kingdom ruled by the Reachmen themselves under the infamous  , who conquered the   and installed himself as the first of the  .  Durcorach met his demise during a failed invasion of High Rock in  .  By  , even as Durcorach's grandson   reigned over the Empire, control of the Reach had passed to the so-called  .  Amidst the chaos of both the   and the  , numerous Reachman tribes attempted to extend their influence into High Rock and Skyrim, but met fierce resistance.  Shortly before  , Western Skyrim carved a new hold named   from the northern territory of the Reach to use as a bulwark against Reachman incursions into   and  . 

The Nords reclaimed the Reach as the ninth hold of Skyrim in  , when the future Emperor   besieged and defeated Reachmen forces at   with an army of  n troops and Nord berserkers.  Markarth and the Reach were subsequently occupied by the Nords,  while Imperial propaganda branded the Reachmen as rebellious and lawless mongrels.  Historians circa   described the Reach as the most cosmopolitan of Skyrim's Holds. Others stated "the Reach could be mistaken for one of the petty kingdoms of High Rock; it is full of Bretons, Redguards, Cyrodiils, elves of all stripes, and even a few misplaced Khajiit."   

Nationalistic Reachmen passively resisted Nord rule for centuries until finding the perfect opportunity to strike in  , while the forces of the Empire were committed to fighting the   in the  . The Reachmen rose up, seizing Markarth and most of the hold, ruling the Reach as an independent kingdom for two years. The government of Skyrim, growing desperate, enlisted a militia led by   which retook the Reach in  . The survivors of the revolt were scattered into the wilderness, becoming the  . 
 

Gallery
 
See Also
For game-specific information, see the Skyrim article.

References