If you started with Skyrim, Tamriel can feel like a place where every local argument is somehow the aftermath of a centuries-old disaster. That is largely because it is. By the time the Dragonborn reaches Helgen, an imperial dynasty has vanished, a Daedric invasion has ended, a continent has endured another major war, and an apparently extinct species is making a spectacularly inconvenient comeback.
The quick answer: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim begins in 4E 201, 201 years into the Fourth Era and roughly two centuries after Oblivion. Among the released mainline games, it is the latest in the established in-game chronology. The Elder Scrolls Online takes place much earlier, in the Second Era, despite arriving years after Skyrim in the real world.
This guide follows the main games in story order, then fills in the history that makes Skyrim’s civil war and dragon crisis make sense. Story spoilers follow for the main quests of Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.
The Elder Scrolls Games in Chronological Order
| Game | Approximate in-game date | Main setting | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Elder Scrolls Online | Begins in 2E 582 | Multiple regions of Tamriel | Takes place during the Interregnum, long before the Septim Empire |
| The Elder Scrolls: Arena | 3E 389–399 | Across Tamriel | The Imperial Simulacrum sees Jagar Tharn impersonate Emperor Uriel Septim VII |
| The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall | Begins in 3E 405 | Iliac Bay | Its conflicting endings are folded into the Warp in the West |
| The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | 3E 427 | Vvardenfell | The Nerevarine confronts Dagoth Ur and the power beneath Red Mountain |
| The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | 3E 433 | Cyrodiil | The Oblivion Crisis ends the Septim line and the Third Era |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | 4E 201 | Skyrim | The Last Dragonborn faces Alduin amid a civil war |
These are in-universe dates, not release dates. The table keeps to the mainline games and Online so the sequence remains readable; spin-offs have their own places in Tamriel’s history. ESO also has an expanding collection of stories, so 2E 582 is its starting point, not a promise that every quest happens on precisely the same day.
How Tamriel’s Eras Work
Tamriel counts years within successive eras. 3E 433 means year 433 of the Third Era; 4E 201 means year 201 of the Fourth. The number resets when an era changes, so subtracting those two year numbers will not tell you how much time passed.
| Era | Broad outline | Connection to Skyrim |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn Era | Mythic accounts of creation, when ordinary chronology is unreliable | The gods, creation stories and the nature of time begin here |
| Merethic Era | Early peoples and kingdoms emerge; much of the record is legendary | Nord traditions and ancient dragon worship reach back into this distant past |
| First Era | Empires, kingdoms and religious institutions rise and fall | Many ruins, rivalries and histories in the games originate here |
| Second Era | The Reman Empire ends, the Interregnum follows, and later Tiber Septim conquers Tamriel | The Elder Scrolls Online begins here; Tiber Septim’s rise leads towards the next era |
| Third Era | The Septim dynasty rules until the Oblivion Crisis | Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind and Oblivion take place here |
| Fourth Era | Tamriel lives with the loss of the Septim line and renewed imperial weakness | Skyrim begins in 4E 201 |
Early Elder Scrolls history is not a perfectly reliable textbook. Myths contradict one another, political factions tell convenient versions of events, and some supernatural events actively resist a tidy timeline. Frankly, Tamriel’s archivists deserve danger pay.
The Second and Third Eras: How the Earlier Games Lead to Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls Online opens in 2E 582, during the Interregnum after the old imperial order has broken down. Alliances compete for Cyrodiil, while Molag Bal’s schemes threaten far more than its throne. Its enormous geographical reach can make it feel like a tour of later games, but chronologically it is the prequel.
Centuries later, Tiber Septim establishes the dynasty associated with the Third Era. Arena centres on the Imperial Simulacrum, the years in which the battlemage Jagar Tharn takes the emperor’s place. Daggerfall follows in the Iliac Bay and ends with the Warp in the West, a strange event that allows several apparently incompatible outcomes to become part of the historical record. If you thought choosing a single ending would be straightforward, the lore has other plans.
Morrowind, set in 3E 427, follows the Nerevarine through the struggle against Dagoth Ur. The destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan’s enchantments ends a crucial source of the Tribunal’s divine power. This matters beyond Vvardenfell: Tamriel’s old certainties are already looking fragile before the next catastrophe arrives.
In 3E 433, Oblivion begins with the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. The Mythic Dawn opens the way for Mehrunes Dagon’s invasion. Martin Septim’s sacrifice ends the Oblivion Crisis and closes the Septim line. The Third Era ends with it. This is the main historical break between the earlier numbered games and Skyrim.
What Happens Between Oblivion and Skyrim?
There is no mainline game covering the entire gap. Skyrim’s books, conversations and environmental details give us the broad shape of it, though they do not answer every political question.
| Date | Event | Why Skyrim players should care |
|---|---|---|
| 3E 433 / start of 4E | Oblivion Crisis ends and the Third Era closes | The Septim dynasty is gone; the Empire must find new legitimacy |
| 4E 5 | The Red Year devastates Morrowind following the eruption of Red Mountain | Dunmer refugees settle in Skyrim, including around Windhelm |
| 4E 22 | The Thalmor take power in the Summerset Isles | The political foundation of a renewed Aldmeri Dominion strengthens |
| 4E 171–175 | The Great War pits the Aldmeri Dominion against the Empire | Both powers are battered, but the Empire’s concessions leave lasting anger |
| 4E 175 | The White-Gold Concordat ends the war | Its restrictions on Talos worship become a major grievance in Skyrim |
| 4E 176 | The Markarth Incident deepens the conflict over Talos worship | Ulfric Stormcloak’s history becomes bound up with religious and political resistance |
| 4E 201 | Ulfric kills High King Torygg; civil war escalates as dragons return | The Dragonborn enters a province facing two crises at once |
The Great War is especially important. The Empire survives, but the White-Gold Concordat’s prohibition on Talos worship cuts into Nord identity and reverence for the man who founded the Septim dynasty. The Thalmor are also present in Skyrim to enforce the agreement. An imperial soldier and a Stormcloak rebel can therefore look at the same peace treaty and reach very different conclusions about survival.
Where Skyrim Begins: 4E 201
Skyrim opens after Ulfric Stormcloak kills High King Torygg. Whether that was an honourable challenge or murder is one of the game’s contested political questions, rather than a fact the article can settle for you. General Tullius captures Ulfric and several others, including the player character, and takes them to Helgen for execution. Alduin’s arrival turns a routine imperial disaster into an entirely new sort of disaster.
The main quest reveals the player as the Last Dragonborn, able to learn the dragons’ language and absorb their souls. Alduin’s return connects the current crisis to the ancient Dragon War and to prophecies about the World-Eater. Meanwhile, the Empire and the Stormcloaks are fighting over Skyrim’s political future, with the Dominion watching closely.
Those stories overlap, but the civil war is not simply a side effect of Alduin. It grows out of imperial decline, the Great War and the Talos ban. That is part of what makes Skyrim interesting to revisit: slaying a dragon is easier to understand than deciding what a damaged province should become.
Does Skyrim Have a Canon Civil War Ending?
No definitive civil war winner is established by Skyrim itself. Players can support the Empire or the Stormcloaks, and the main quest can be completed without making either faction’s victory the fixed outcome for everyone. It is safer to say that Skyrim’s future is contested than to present one playthrough as settled history.
Defeating Alduin also does not automatically begin a Fifth Era. Era names mark major historical transitions, but there is no established rule that every apocalyptic near miss earns a new number. Tamriel has had plenty of those.
Where Could The Elder Scrolls VI Fit?
Until its story establishes a date, the setting and in-game era of The Elder Scrolls VI should remain open questions. Fan theories about particular provinces are fun, but they do not establish when the game takes place or which version of Skyrim’s political events later history might recognise. The useful distinction is between a game’s release order and Tamriel’s story order: Online already showed that a new Elder Scrolls game can go back in time.
Quick Questions About the Timeline
Is Skyrim before or after Oblivion? After. Oblivion ends in 3E 433; Skyrim begins in 4E 201, roughly two centuries later.
Is Elder Scrolls Online before Skyrim? Yes. Online begins in 2E 582, centuries before the Third Era games and Skyrim.
What is the latest mainline game in story order? Among the released numbered entries, Skyrim is set latest, in 4E 201.
Why is Talos worship banned in Skyrim? The White-Gold Concordat, signed after the Great War, obliges the Empire to prohibit it. The ban is a central cause of anger among many Nords, though characters disagree about how to respond.
Did Alduin’s return start a new era? No new era is established in Skyrim. Its story remains set in the Fourth Era.
The Short Version
The sequence is ESO, Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim. Skyrim takes place in 4E 201, after the Septim dynasty’s fall, the devastation of Morrowind and the Empire’s costly war with the Aldmeri Dominion. Its dragons may dominate the skyline, but the older crises explain why everyone on the ground is already furious with everyone else.
For a first playthrough, you do not need to memorise every era. Knowing that Oblivion ended the old imperial order and that the Great War poisoned the peace will make Skyrim‘s arguments much easier to follow. The dragons are surprisingly considerate about announcing themselves.
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