Markarth Incident The Markarth Incident was a battle that took place after the Great War and before the Civil War in Skyrim . Events in the city of Markarth sparked the latter and later became known as the Markarth Incident . Background . In 4E 174 , Markarth and the Reach was subjected to what is known today as the Forsworn Uprising . When the Third Aldmeri Dominion invaded the Imperial City during the Great War , the Imperial Legion all but turned a blind eye to the other provinces . The native Breton people of the Reach , called the Reachmen , took this opportunity to seize control of the city . This was only possible as the Imperial Legion naires stationed in Markarth were recalled to fight , leaving the city very vulnerable . The Jarl of the Reach , Hrolfdir , could not quell the uprising and was driven out of the city . The rebellion was successful , and the Reachmen ruled over Markarth and The Reach as an independent kingdom from Skyrim from 4E 174 - 4E 176 . Allegedly during this time , the Kingdom was relatively peaceful , and the Reachmen ruled their lands more or less fairly and were making overtures to be recognized by the Empire as a legitimate kingdom . Others claimed that it was a chaotic uprising and that Markarth ' s nobles grew desperate when the Reachmen refused their offers of peace . Retaliation . In 4E 176 , the Great War ended with the Empire signing the White - Gold Concordat . During this time , Hrolfdir , his son Igmund , and their Imperial colleagues sought help from Ulfric Stormcloak in ousting the Reachmen invaders . They promised Ulfric that if he re - took the Reach , then Hrolfdir as Jarl would allow free worship of Talos - an act that was recently outlawed at the end of the war . Ulfric agreed and marched his militia to the gates of Markarth and ruthlessly retook the city using the power of his Thu ' um . Reports vary , but " The Bear of Markarth " claims every official who worked for the Reachmen was killed , even after they had surrendered , native women were tortured to give up names of Reachmen fighters who had fled the city and anyone who lived in the city , Reachmen and Nord alike , were executed if they had not fought with Ulfric and his men when they breached the gates . Ulfric supposedly even ordered the deaths of shopkeepers , farmers , the elderly , and any child old enough to lift a sword that had failed in the call to fight with him . It is difficult to tell how accurate these reports are , as while the dialogue of Braig and many of the other Forsworn imprisoned in Cidhna Mine shows that there were many false and unjust imprisonments , the number of these are unknown . Although the Empire accuses Ulfric of being responsible for the heinous atrocities , Braig ' s story seems to confirm that it was Jarl Hrolfdir who carried out the unjust incarcerations and executions on those accused of colluding with the Forsworn . This is however , partially , contradicted by Nepos the Nose , who claims that all the Forsworn who didn ' t flee were executed , excluding himself , his king and a handful of others . The leader of the Reachmen , Madanach , was captured but was spared by Thonar Silver - Blood , as he was more valuable as alive than dead . The surviving Reachmen fled to the hills of the Reach and became known as the Forsworn . Aftermath . In Markarth , Jarl Hrolfdir kept his promise to Ulfric for a time and allowed free worship of Talos . When the Imperial Legion arrived to restore the rule of law , Ulfric allegedly refused them entry into the city until they also agreed that free worship of Talos would be allowed . With supposed chaos running through the streets of Markarth and the reports of deaths rising every day , the Empire had no choice but to grant Ulfric and his men their worship , thus jeopardizing the peace agreement with the Aldmeri Dominion . Igmund and Cedran however , implies that the Empire promised Ulfric free Talos worship from the very beginning and simply hoped that the Dominion wouldn ' t find out about the free Talos worship . When they eventually did , they scapegoated Ulfric and his militia in order to avoid incrimination and to prevent a war . Eventually , the Empire rescinded upon the agreement due to pressure from the Aldmeri Dominion . Hrolfdir turned on Ulfric and his men and aided the Empire in arresting them . Ulfric and his militia were expelled from the city and imprisoned shortly after . This betrayal left Ulfric bitter towards the Empire and is considered to be the initial conception of the Stormcloak rebellion .