It's gameplay. So ignore it, we have no real useful info on the worth of money. You hear some bandits say even in Skyrim that they can retire and buy a mansion of just one item they have and then that turns out to be worth about 500 septims, which isn't enough to buy 1/10th of Breezehome, one of the smallest houses in game and in a poor part of town. So none of it makes sense.

Indeed, if an ebony battleaxe is worth more than a house, something is wrong.

Do mind that Mephala is trapped under Dragonsreach.

No, we did. The collapse of the Empire began WELL before the Oblivion Crisis. Mehrunes Dagon didn't destroy the Empire; he simply pushed it that last inch or so. Before the landscape was covered by Oblivion Gates, it was already covered by bandits, marauders, and goblins, as opposed to productive citizens of the Empire. Ancient forts were already long abandoned... despite how poor internal security was; they could have used those forts, had they the the resources. Much the way the sack of Rome was an insignificant event that had little to do with the actual fall of the Roman Empire, the Oblivion Crisis was not the cause of the Empire's fall. It was the effect.

According to Daggerfall's intro, the Empire had been in decline for hundreds of years already ("the unworthy heirs of the Septim Dynasty have allowed the bonds of Empire to weaken, and crack. Uriel Septim VII cannot repair what his ancestors ignored..."), and the impression I get from the history between the Crisis and the events in Skyrim is that the Oblivion Crisis was merely a pothole in the road to ruin.

A rather big one, Uriel Septim had a hard time but the Empire could have survived at least a few more generations. Look at what happened actually. It's been 200 years and the foundation still stands. Several provinces abdicated but that has probably most to do with the death of the Septim line and the infighting that followed.

Don't confuse Mundrial Economy and Mythic.

Who's to say Uriel's eldest son wouldnt have been good a emperor? And his eldest son after? The empire could have recovered if the following emperors weren't garbage. But then the Mythic Dawn had to come along and [censored] all over everything.

Indeed, Uriel VIII would have restored the Empire to her former glory until its downfall in 4E400 during the reign of Uriel XXX.

Except it wouldnt be the 4th era if it was still the Septims on the throne.

Probably not something you'd want to type into a search engine....

I like to think that while Ocato might have had to do the actual governing that Martin, with [Insert CoC Here] as General or even Queen if female, might have at the very least generated a crapton of good will and improved diplomatic relations with the provnces, bound them more tightly together will a good heart. His inexperiance might have doomed him to an ineffective room or assassination, but as its a moot point anyway it is nice to dream.

I see the Mede Empire as something like a Dead Thrall. It's pretty much built on the corpse of the Septim Dynasty, lesser in every way, and it never reached the glories of the Empire's before it. A shame, as I actually liked the Emperor and 'Treb in the books, and like to imagine Miss Alchemist is his queen. There was so much potential. I'm of the opinion that with all that occurs in Skyrim, the Mede Empire is pretty much finished before we even got to see much of it beyond the two books and the game itself. Its just taken too many licks before the game even started, made some really bad choices, and takes even more licks lore wise even if the Dovahkiin sides with it.

My Nerevarine mourns for the Septim Empire of her youth. Plus that Mede git has her sword! Turn you back for one minute...

Uriel's kids were actually homunculi created by Jagar Tharn.

Well we know for a fact that Martin wasn't.

Well, not really, since Martin was the last Septim and Titus I took over by force.
But yes, it still has Tiber Septim on the currency. Wonder if the Thalmor has done anything because of it...

I think http://www.imperial-library.info/content/caius-cosades-visit-uriel-viis-tomb summerizes Uriel's official children well. Bunch of useless fancy pants.