Lore:Thalmor

thumb|right|160px|Banner of the Thalmor
 
The   refers to an  i governmental organization that has served each of the three  s in varying capacities. It is also a general term for the members and paramilitary enforcers of that organization. 

History
First Aldmeri Dominion
thumb|right|Agents of the Divine Prosecution
The Thalmor began as an obscure Altmeri council within the government of the   that was tasked with safeguarding Altmeri heritage. With the ascension of   to the Altmeri throne and the establishment of the First Aldmeri Dominion in  , the Thalmor's role was expanded to become the executive arm of the alliance, a bureaucracy that managed the Dominion's day-to-day affairs and liaised between its various local leaders and factions. It incorporated representatives from all three races in the Dominion's territory, in ratios appropriate to their administrative abilities. The Thalmor Inner Council served as Ayrenn's personal advisors, and included such notables as King   of the   and Lord   of the  , as well as a number of other Bosmeri and Khajiiti nobles who were included largely as figureheads.  

Some organizations that existed prior to the Thalmor being elevated into a governmental position were later controlled by, or turned into direct divisions of the Thalmor. Two examples being the 'Fists of Thalmor'  and the Divine Prosecution. 

Second Aldmeri Dominion
During the Second Aldmeri Dominion, formed in  , the Altmer reconstituted the Thalmor as the new governing body of  . They claimed they had the authority to create this government on behalf of a claimant to Valenwood's throne,  , whose ancestors had signed an ancient treaty with the Summerset Isles.  As Valenwood previously possessed no true, unifying government, the Thalmor purported to maintain order in the region to uplift their Bosmer brethren. In reality, the formation of the Thalmor was far from an altruistic gesture: the Altmer desired to control Valenwood because the region, along with southern  , harbored various pirate groups which had long threatened the Summerset Isles. Fed up with the constant pirate attacks, the Altmer hoped to secure the shores of Summerset for good by denying the pirates any safe haven from which to attack them. One Thalmor leader,  , wished to enforce a policy of non-intervention in non-Dominion lands, and that the decision was nearly unanimous. The Thalmor was dissolved a short time later when   brought Valenwood into his   using the overwhelming power of the  . 

Third Aldmeri Dominion
Sometime prior to the   in  , the Thalmor resurfaced as a radical and xenophobic political movement that espoused the absolute supremacy of Elves over all other Tamrielic peoples. For years they were largely ignored, but in the aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis they exploited the confusion to claim credit for the salvation of the Altmeri people, which greatly enhanced their influence.  In  , the Thalmor overthrew the Altmeri monarchy and seized control of the Summerset Isles, renaming them Alinor.   Valenwood was brought under the Thalmor's control in 4E 29, creating the Third Aldmeri Dominion, and the   voluntarily dissolved and reformed the ancient kingdoms of   and   in  , which then became client states of the Thalmor. 

It is said that of all of his enemies, Emperor   never managed to defeat the Thalmor,  and it would be   who would pay the price. When Titus II inherited the Imperial throne, the Thalmor instigated the   in   by delivering a series of ultimatums to the Imperial City, then presenting the head of every   agent who had been stationed in the Aldmeri Dominion when Titus II refused their demands. After four years of bloody war, a stalemate was reached. The Emperor was forced to sign the  , essentially giving in to the Thalmor's original demands. One of the terms was the outlawing of the worship of  , and the right of the Thalmor to enforce that ban within the Empire. Another term of the Concordat mandated that the Empire relinquish large tracts of land in southern Hammerfell to the Dominion, which outraged the  s and resulted in the secession of Hammerfell from the Empire. Fighting continued in Hammerfell, but the Redguards eventually forced the Dominion to the negotiation table and the  , which stipulated that Aldmeri forces withdraw from Hammerfell, was signed in  . This led the Redguards to believe that the Concordat was a mistake, and Titus II had overestimated the Thalmor's strength when he signed it.

By  , the Thalmor, well aware that Talos was especially revered by the   as both a god and a folk hero, carried out campaigns of persecution against Talos worshippers from their embassy in northwest Skyrim. It was widely believed around this time that the Thalmor were preparing for a second attempt to conquer Tamriel.

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See Also
For game-specific information, see the ESO (First Aldmeri Dominion) and Skyrim (Third Aldmeri Dominion) articles.
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References