Okay, first, this is not about the Alessian Empire, or the Reman Empire. They I(mostly) get. The Nords and Ayleids and gods and whatnot helped free the Cyrods and they became a nation of their own. And Reman ended up uniting a front against the Akavir and got the Dragonguard to help him establish his own Empire, which gave the Imperials a lot of Akaviri influence(that sort of disappeared in the games, it would seem).

I'm thinking more about the Septim Empire, where a warlord from Alcaire won the support to conquer Cyrodiil from the Nords and Emperor Zero and sets up shop in the White-Gold. At this point I would think that the Nords would get a lot of influence in the Empire, but this seems to be lacking. Then there is the Numundium stompy-time to make the Empire whole.

After that, it seems that the Cyrods as a race are the ones to largely take charge, and that is the part I start to wonder how that happened. I could have missed some hugely important piece of lore, but there seem to be a disconnect for me about this point. Is it just that Septim chose to adopt Cyrodilic culture, or just some freak accident?

It gets complicated talking about Septim. As he wasn't one person.

But as for why the Imperials took charge? Well, geography might be one part...they are highly central. Secondly, Cyrodil is fertile. Very fertile. Thirdly, social traits. The Cyrodils are big on negotiating and administration, keeping track of things and cataloguing them.
Makes sense to me. I am a layman though.

I'm going to say it's largely due to geography. Cyrodiil's in the center of Tamriel, so makes a good place to build the center of the Empire. The Imperials just happen to live there, and as such get more influence by being the people present to do the jobs that need doing in the bureaucracy. Also, being the population surrounding the heart of the Empire, they probably got a bit of favoritism to keep the Imperial City from being besieged by its own populace.

The Nords did this too, running their own Empire that included the whole of Morrowind and most of modern day High Rock in addition to Skyrim. So it is not like we don't have someone ready to take that spot if need be.

This seems to be the most likely explanation, though I'd add in the part about the Dragonfires and the White-Gold being more important for the choice of location that it being at the center. Mythic world and all of that.

It's still easier to have an area with a more temperate climate such as Cyrodill be the center of an Empire rather than a harsh one like Skyrim. Personally I think Daggerfall would make a good capital for an Empire and High Rock a decent province. Problem is the Bretons are more disunited than even the Redguards and I don't think they've ever been unified since the collapse of the Direnni Hegemony.

Which is part of what I like about Bretons. They political disunity can potentially allow for more interesting goings on if they make for a new game set in the province. More political intrigue and cloak and dagger stuff.

That wasn't my point though, that Cyrodiil's location wasn't the one to go for. My point was against the Imperial social traits. Any race is capable of being in that position, since all races have had, or do have, their own independent kingdoms, and some their own Empires(like the Nords).

Tiber didn't become a warlord until he murdered Emperor Zero with the help of Zurin and at that point the Empire was mostly Cyrod. I feel it mostly became the top because the Third Empire started out as the Colovian Estates which controlled a majority of Colovia so a majority of the support that Tiber would have would come from Colovia remember lore-wise there are many back-mountain towns that have no clue the empire even exists during the third era and I imagine not all of the Nords quickly handed themselves over to an upstart Colovian warlord.

Except that isn't quite the case. The Colovian Estates is a collection of kingdoms within Colovia and Emperor Zero was a "petty" king in Colovia. There is a pretty important grammatical separation between the two, and you need to source it if you want to place Emperor Zero as a major figure in Colovia before Talos joined him and the Nords from Sancre Tor conquered him Cyrodiil.

Its either the imperials or the altmer, they have the right mindset. other races are too dumb to rule over the rest. the dunmer are smart but i think they would rather keep to themselves and stay in morrowind.

The ancient Yokudans also ruled an Empire that dwarfed Tiber Septims from the Merethic Era till 1E 376 and then a second one from 1E 609-792 when the Hiradirge Ansei destroyed Yokuda. Mind you these are some of the ancestors of the Redguards, the most rebellious and defiant race in Tamriel who probably couldn't maintain an Empire without it collapsing from infighting even if they were the only race there is. So indeed all races are capable, just that some like the Redguards have changed after thousands of years and would rather isolate themselves than go about subduing everyone around them like they've done in the past.

I don't think the modern Nords are as interested in Empire building as their ancestors were either and with the pattern that the Nords have of helping the Cyrods build their Empire only to have Imperial culture trying to whitewash Nord culture, I would also prefer if they don't.

I never said Cuhlecain was a major figure but he did become Emperor before Tiber assassinated him with the help of Zurin, before that Tiber wasn't a warlord he was just Cuhlecain's general. I imagine the rest of the kingdoms joined with Cuhlecain when he conquered the Imperial City though and since the IC was the center of government as well as a good economic center that made it the best place to set up a capital.


Uhhh left-handed Elves ruled the Yokudan empire if I'm remembering the sword-meeting with Vivec right.

and who do you think destroyed the left-handed elves in the Merethic era and drove them into the oceans and replaced them with their rulers?

First off, the usage of the name warlord is inconsequential. He was a general under a petty king who eventually had this king assassinated(before his coronation) and took his place.

I wouldn't say they joined with the taking of the Imperial City, since there is sources on campaigns that consolidated Colovia and Nibenean into the core of the Empire. And given that these were separate, there'd have to be campaigns to take both. http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Battle_of_Sancre_Tor

Thus was the concerted allied invasion of Cyrodiil foiled, and General Talos' army swelled by the hardened Nord veteran troops that played so crucial a role in General Talos' succeeding campaigns which consolidated the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Colovia and http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Nibenay_Basin into the core of the Cyrodilic http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Empire, and which resulting in the crowning of General Talos as Emperor Tiber Septim.

So, I'm still not seeing why Emperor Zero's origins is that important in the result of the Cyrodilic culture being at the center of the Empire. His general was a Nord(or at least recognized as one), who became Ysmir and got support among the Nords(Skyrim generals are being referred to in the book, so not an inconsequential band either). REL had a much more plausible explanation.

You mean a myth that is unclear that could be 100% false. The Ansei destroying Yokuda is ONE theory another is that Yokuda has always been an unstable landmass that suffer large amounts of earthquakes.

What myth you talking about? The humans ruling the Yokudan Empire is recorded in historical records within the game itself. Yea I know the that earthquake is a theory, another one is magic and then there's the tower.

"Surahoon," he said, "We are the ansu, the greatest warriors that live in men. Our swords sent the Left-Handers into the oceans, whose empire was four times the size of the white king. When we fight, our swords can kill the laws of nature itself. Yokuda is as you see it because our hira-dirg swords can cut the atomos, the uncuttable, and we did. We are the ansu, and we tell you now that you cannot beat the Ansu-Gurleht. How do you think he came by that name? Who do you think was our finest student?"

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-vivecs-sword-meeting-cyrus-restless

I'm starting to think that the retcons regarding Cyrodiil that happened between Daggerfall and Morrowind is, from a developing standpoint, the source of this conflict, with the Imperial identity becoming a race of its own with an established culture.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1477655-musings-on-the-scale-of-tamriel/

The fact is that Colovians and Nibenians are different and homogenizing them was just as bad.

Not only that, but the introduction to a native Cyrodilian race between Daggerfall(no native race to Cyrodiil) and Morrowind(Imperials native to Cyrodiil) sort of messed things up a bit.

Read again and the map saying "Yokuda" doesn't mean the Yokudan Empire belonged to the Raga, the Raga were just one race who lived on Yokuda.

They end up on top because they are more cunning than the other races, and the few who are more cunning like the Altmer just haven't been able to turn the tides, until the 4th era anyways. They've been successful so far.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Redguards,_Their_History_and_Their_Heroes

Making the assumption that the Imperials are more cunning than everyone else, or taking into consideration the location of the Dragonfires and the White-Gold Tower, like REL's thoughts... I think REL is presenting a much more likely scenario here, given that it doesn't make an assumption that puts a lot of extra questionmarks on Cyrodiil's history.

Meant to say politically cunning,

And I'd still say my reasoning is more true.