Septim Dynasty

"The Empire is Law! The Law is Sacred!"

- Inscriptions upon every Septim

The Septim Dynasty refers to the bloodline of Emperors and Empresses, beginning with Tiber Septim. They were the first ruling family of the Third Empire, ruling it for the whole duration of the Third Era. The majority of these rulers are considered to be Imperials, unless otherwise stated. Its end was also the end of the Third Era.

Tiber Septim


Tiber Septim was the founder of the Septim Dynasty. It was he who ended the Interregnum as the General of Cuhlecain. When Cuhlecain died, he became Emperor, and ruled for 38 years, until 3E 38, when he was succeeded by his grandson, Pelagius Septim.

Pelagius Septim I
Pelagius Septim I (Born ?? - 3E 41) was the second ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Pelagius Septim had a short rule when compared with his grandfather. He was not as "strong and resolute" as Tiber had been, and as a result, the Dark Brotherhood had him assassinated when he knelt at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City.

Kintyra Septim
Kintyra Septim (Born ?? - 3E 53) was the third monarch and first empress to rule Tamriel.

Kintyra was Pelagius' first cousin, and daughter of Tiber Septim's brother, Agnorith. A former Queen of Silvenar, her reign was blessed with "prosperity and good harvests, and she herself was an avid patroness of art, music, and dance".

Uriel Septim I
Uriel Septim I (Born ?? - 3E 64) was the fourth Emperor of Tamriel. Uriel I succeeded his mother, Kintyra Septim. He would be the first of seven Uriels to command the throne during the third age.

Throughout his rule, Uriel I promoted lawfulness and furthered the establishment of Imperial organizations, including the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his son, also Uriel.

Uriel Septim II
Uriel Septim II (Born ?? - 3E 82) was the fifth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

In 3E 64, Uriel Septim II succeeded his father. His rule was "cursed with blights, plagues and insurrections".

Pelagius Septim II
Pelagius Septim II (Born ?? - 3E 99) was the sixth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Pelagius ascended the throne when his father died, and inherited a massive debt from his father's poor financial and judicial management. To recover the debt, he dismissed the Elder Council, and only allowed those able to pay great sums of money to resume their seats. He encouraged his vassals to do likewise, and during his 17 year reign, Tamriel returned to prosperity. He was succeeded by his son, Antiochus.

Antiochus Septim
Antiochus Septim (Born ?? - 3E 119) was the seventh monarch to rule the Empire of Tamriel during its Third Age.

Antiochus was one of the more flamboyant members of the Septim Family. Caring more for his mistresses and his numerous wives than the running of the empire, his reign was rife with civil war, even more so than his grandfather, Uriel Septim II. Of particular significance was the War of the Isle in 3E 110, twelve years after he assumed the throne, in which Pyandonea was only barely defeated by Antiochus' and the forces of the Summerset Isles with the help of the Psijic Order.

Kintyra Septim II
Kintyra Septim II (Dates disputed by differing sources) was the eighth monarch of the Empire of Tamriel.

Kintyra had the most unhappy rule of all of the Septim Dynasty. First inheriting the throne at fifteen years of age, her cousin, Uriel Septim III, son of Queen Potema, imprisoned her, and the War of the Red Diamond begun.

Uriel Septim III


Uriel Septim III, also known as Uriel Mantiarco (Born 3E 97 - 3E 127), was the ninth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel. Uriel Septim became Emperor after starting a coup against his cousin, Kintyra Septim. He was more accurately known as Uriel Mantiarco, and the tradition of being renamed "Septim" upon becoming ruler followed him. For the entirety of the six years that he ruled, the War of the Red Diamond was being fought by himself and his cousins. Pelagius Septim II's succeeding cousins, Potema Septim (his mother), Cephorus Septim, and Magnus Septim, all fought against one another for control. (For more information, see War of the Red Diamond). Eventually, Uriel Septim lost and was replaced by Cephorus Septim after the Battle of Ichidag.

Cephorus Septim
Cephorus Septim (born ?? - 3E 140) was the tenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

The majority of his thirteen year reign was marked by the War of the Red Diamond against his sister Potema Septim. Cephorus survived only three years longer than Potema herself. Having no children himself, he was replaced by his brother when he died in a horse accident.

Magnus Septim
Magnus Septim (born ?? - 3E 145) was the eleventh ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Magnus ascended to the throne when his brother, Cephorus I, died in 3E 140. Already an elderly man by the time he became emperor, much of his time was spent punishing the traitorous kings during the War of the Red Diamond. His son, Pelagius, then King of Solitude, succeeded him as ruler.

Pelagius Septim III


Pelagius Septim III (born 3E 119 - 3E 153) was the twelfth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Perhaps better known as "Pelagius the Mad", he was proclaimed emperor in 3E 145. His eccentricities were noted by the court "almost from the start". Full details of these, as well as the time he spent in institutions and asylums until his death in 3E 153, can be seen on his main page.

Katariah Septim
Katariah Septim (Born ?? - 3E 200) was the thirteenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Katariah Septim was initially appointed as Regent of Tamriel, whilst her husband, Pelagius, was institutionalized. A Dunmer by birth, some people consider her rule the "true mark of the decline of the Septim Empire." However, her forty-six year reign is one of the most celebrated in Imperial history, traveling often and "repairing much of the damage that previous Emperor's broken alliances and bungled diplomacy created."

Cassynder Septim
Cassynder Septim (Born 3E 147-153 - 3E 202) was the fourteenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

He inherited the throne on the death of his mother, already middle-aged and due to poor health, he left the care of High Rock province to his half-brother Uriel Lariat, though, as the only true blood relation of Pelagius Septim III, and thus Tiber Septim, he was pressed into accepting the throne. He died after only two years of rule. His brother Uriel Lariat succeeded him and was crowned Uriel Septim IV.

Uriel Septim IV
Uriel Septim IV, also Uriel Lariat (Born ?? - [[3E 247]), was the fifteenth monarch to rule Tamriel.

Uriel Lariat was the son of Katariah and her consort Gallivere Lariat (after Pelagius Septim III's death). Legally, Uriel was a Septim: Cassynder had adopted him into the royal family when he was King of Wayrest. Many people considered him to be a bastard child, however, and his forty-three year reign was a "hotbed of sedition."

There was little that Uriel Septim IV was able to achieve during his rule. During the rule of his mother, Katariah and half brother Cassynder, the Elder Council had assumed a great deal of power. Due to the moneymaking methods of Pelagius Septim II, it consisted of the wealthiest (and thus the most powerful) people in Tamriel, and he was unable to defeat them. The final victory of the Elder Council over Uriel was to deny his son, Andorak Septim, from becoming ruler.

Cephorus Septim II
Cephorus Septim II (Born ?? - 3E 268) was the sixteenth monarch of the Empire of Tamriel.

He was voted into power by the Elder Council in 3E 247, weeks after the death of his cousin and predecessor, Uriel Septim IV. Two significant events occurred during his reign. The first of these was a war with Andorak Septim, which was only resolved after giving Andorak's rulers the land of Shornhelm, where they still rule today.

The more significant threat, however, was the Camoran Usurper. His ultimate defeat had little to do with the Empire, however, as he was already significantly weakened by his civil war with Andorak. (For full details, see Camoran Usurper. When Cephorus died in 3E 268, he was succeeded by his son, Uriel Septim V.

Uriel Septim V
Uriel Septim V (Born ?? - 3E 290) was the seventeenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel. He inherited the throne from his father, Cephorus Septim II, in 3E 268. His reign was marked by several ambitious conquests, the last of which was to the continent of Akavir. He was regarded as the greatest warrior Emperor since his ancestor Tiber Septim.

When he was away campaigning, the Elder Council continued to rule in his stead. During his rule, he conquered several kingdoms, including Rosacrea (271), Cathnoquey (276), Yneslea, (279) and Esroniet in 284. He then proceeded on an ambitious plan to invade the continent of Akavir, which ended disastrously, as is described in the book Report: Disaster at Ionith.

Uriel Septim VI
Uriel Septim VI (3E 285 - 3E 317) was the eighteenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

His father, Uriel Septim V, died when he was just five years of age. As a result, his mother, Thonica, the Imperial consort, was named Regency until he "reached his majority", with the Elder Council retaining the "real" power. The Elder Council denied him the power of Emperor until he was 22 years of age, but he had been slowly assuming duties for some time before this. Even then, the only real power the Elder Council allowed him was the power of veto. However, he used this power effectively, and used the "defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce difficult members of the council." By 3E 313, he truly did rule Tamriel. When he fell off of a horse, his sister Morihatha Septim, who had been instrumental in helping to influence the Elder Council, was crowned as Empress.

Morihatha Septim
Morihatha Septim (3E 288 - 3E 339) was the nineteenth ruler of the Empire of Tamriel.

Morihatha, the daughter of Uriel Septim V, finished the job her brother had started. She brought the Arch-Mage of Skyrim to the Imperial City, and created the Second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.

She then endeavored to undo quell riots in the Provinces, as the "open revolutions and civil wars had raged unchallenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus Septim II." Her campaigns were remarkably successful, but carefully coordinated so as not to overextend herself. The Elder Council was outraged by the slow pace of these, and she was assassinated in 3E 339. the Argonian councilman Thoricles Romus, reportedly outraged at her refusal to sent troops to bolster the Black Marsh, was tried and executed for this crime.

Another noteworthy aspect of her reign was the creation of the Pocket Guide to the Empire, Second Edition.

Pelagius Septim IV


Pelagius Septim IV (3E 294 - 3E 368) was the twentieth Emperor of Tamriel. He succeeded his aunt, the Empress Morihatha, who was assassinated in 3E 339. Pelagius' mother, Eloisa, had died four years prior to his ascension.

Pelagius continued the work his aunt had done, and slowly brought "back under his wing the radical and refractory kingdoms, duchies, and baronies of the Empire." Whilst not as successful as his aunt, he was nevertheless somewhat successful, and, "after a notably stable and prosperous 29 year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel Septim I.

Uriel Septim VII


Uriel Septim VII (3E 346 - 3E 433) was the twenty first ruler of Tamriel. Uriel VII was the son of Pelagius Septim IV. Uriel came to power in 3E 368 and reigned for several decades before his eventual death as an aged monarch in 3E 433. He had the "diligence of his great-aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great-uncle Uriel Septim VI, and the military prowess of his great-grandfather Uriel V."

In 3E 389, however, he was betrayed by his Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, who held him prisoner for 10 years until the Eternal Champion freed him. Since his release, he "worked diligently to renew the battles that would reunite Tamriel." Evidence of this can be seen by his involvement in the Morrowind Prophecies, where he introduced the Nerevarine to Morrowind.

Ultimately, he was killed by assassins from the Mythic Dawn whilst attempting escape in the Imperial City, but was succeeded by Martin Septim.

Martin Septim


Martin Septim (3E ??? - 3E 433) was the illegitimate son of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Before 3E 433, he never knew his parents, and lived much of his life as a priest. However, events during the Oblivion Crisis caused him to become Emperor, in order to stop the threat. His death signaled the end of the Septim Dynasty, as well as the official end of the Third Era.

Trivia

 * In, it is speculated by Styrr, the Priest of Arkay in Solitude, that the Septim bloodline would have been restored if the Wolf Queen, Potema, had accomplished her resurrection, if not for the intervention of the Dragonborn.

Septim-Dynastie Септім (династія)