Lore:Great War

The Great War, referred to as the First War Against the Empire by the  ,  was a war fought from   to   between the   and the  . The war consisted primarily of a Dominion invasion of Imperial territory, culminating in the capture of the   before its recapture by the Empire, and the war eventually ended with the Empire signing a punishing peace deal.  

Background
After the   destabilized  , the    of the   ceded power to the   and they subsequently seized total control in  . In  , the Thalmor took control of   and   in  . 

The Empire of Cyrodiil, on the other hand, became progressively weaker; by the accession of   in  , the Empire had lost the provinces of  , Elsweyr, Valenwood, and       , and found its province of   severely weakened. 

In  , the Thalmor sent an ambassador to the Emperor to demand tributes, land, the disbandment of the   and the banning of the   cult. The Emperor, despite being advised of the Empire's military weakness, rejected the offer and was met with the heads of every Blades agent in Dominion territory. Thus began the Great War. 

The War
Within days of the declaration of war, two Thalmor armies attacked simultaneously. One, led by  , entered western Cyrodiil from Valenwood, bypassed its cities, and crossed to Hammerfell to join with Dominion attackers landing on its southern coast. The Dominion forces occupied the country, and the Empire retreated across the   in the March of Thirst.  At least one battle took place in southern Hammerfell, as the soldier Angarion was named "Hero of the Battle of Roseguard". 
thumb|right|Lord Naarifin
Concurrently, the Thalmor general and   worshipper   led a force into Cyrodiil from   and seized  . Continuing to advance in  , Naarifin seized   and  . By the end of the year, Naarifin had reached the  . As the   defended the   and  , legions from Skyrim joined the Imperial force in early  . The Dominion, however, crossed the Niben and surrounded the Imperial City on three sides, eventually seizing the city in  .  The Emperor broke out of the city,  retreating to Skyrim. 

Naarifin's true aim in the Imperial City was to bring about a prophecy entitled "The Culling" with the support of the Dremora blademaster  , a servant of  ,  who led a cult in support of Naarifin's plan.  Naarifin also used the   to observe the Imperial army and predict its movements. 

In Hammerfell, Lady Arannelya's attempt to join Naarifin's forces had been foiled by General Decianus, who stopped her advance at  . When he joined the Imperial army in Cyrodiil, he discharged much of his army as "invalids" to detain her. 

In the winter of   and  , the Emperor regathered his forces for an assault.  Having met a  , and having been incapacitated by an assassin's attack, the Emperor appointed the Hero to lead the battle in his stead and guise.  Having breached the city, the Hero personally confronted Lord Naarifin and defeated him, closing the Oblivion gate he had opened to effect the Culling. . The Emperor took the credit,  and Lord Naarifin was reportedly kept alive for 33 days until either dying or being "carried off by a winged daedra", the former of which is the accepted story. 

During the war, other political factions in Tamriel did not cease activity. In Skyrim, the   took advantage of the Empire's absence to seize Markarth and the Reach from Nordic control, holding the city for two years. 

The White-Gold Concordat
thumb|right|Brunwulf Free-Winter, a veteran of the Great War (Skyrim)
Titus Mede II, after recapturing the Imperial City, signed the White-Gold Concordat in  . This peace treaty granted much the same concessions as were demanded by the Thalmor at the beginning of the war, but nonetheless the treaty was signed.  Local leaders, such as the kings (or "jarls") of Skyrim, were financially compensated after learning of its terms,  but many refused to accept it regardless, eventually causing the Skyrim Civil War.  The White-Gold Concordat was especially disliked for its banning of   worship,     especially by Nords who viewed this as a betrayal  despite propaganda produced to promote the Thalmor theology such as    and Imperial leniency in enforcement.  Following the Markarth Incident, the Emperor was forced to crack down on Talos worship and allow Thalmor Justiciars to enforce the ban on Talos worship.  Tensions led to Nordic disapproval of the Empire, which would also come to precipitate the Civil War. 

The Concordat also disbanded the Blades in retaliation for past offences.  Many, thus, were left to find new purposes; some, such as    and   returned to the organization's   roots and hunted Dragons,  while others such as   simply returned to their homes. 

The Concordat also ceded much of Southern Hammerfell to the Aldmeri Dominion.  The Redguards, however, refused to accept this and fought the Dominion to a standstill over the following five years and eventually signed the  . 

After the Great War many Legionnaires changed careers. The war hero   became a gladiator in the Imperial Arena circuit, along with cohorts from his time in the War.  Some Nord veterans of the war such as   would go on to join Ulfric Stormcloak's rebellion,  while others such as   would remain with the Legion to put down the revolt,  while yet others simply retired, often proud of the service and keeping their armor as a token thereof.   King Durak gro-Batul of Bloodfall, and many of his loyal soldiers fought on the side of the Empire during the Great War. 

Gallery
 

References