I have a question. This has been bothering me ever since I first loaded up Morrowind back in 2002.

There exists in Tamriel a race of people known as the Imperials.

What were they called before the founding of the Empire?

They were and are called Cyrodiils, after the name of the province.

More accurately, before the founding of the empire, they were known by the various names of their tribes.

Would it be safe to assume towards the time when the Cyrodiils could be split into 2 main groups of the (whatever the nibanese tribe's name) and Colovians? Also, in MW, NPCs would occasionally call imperials Cyrodiils, or only Cyrodiils, I forgot...

Well back way when they were trying to set up their power and what not they did kinda seperate into two factions, Nibanese, and Colovians. But they lived off eachother and worked together to survive while they were fighting the Elves and Redgaurds. Until they finally became an Empire. But essentially they derive from Nords that spread down into the heart of Tamriel and broke off from the whole Nordic scene.

I'm no lore buff so this might be a tid bit off but I'm pretty sure it's right

So: Cyrodiils?

Okay, thank you. That's been bothering me for soooo long. (I get hung up over such silly things. :hehe:

I don't even consider them that. They are either Nibenese or Colovian, and at a deeper level, all full-blooded Nords. Their racial bonuses are more Nurture than Nature.

No.

Colovians are partially descended from Nords, but have a closer relationship to the north's culture than its blood. Nibenese have a little Atmoran in them too, but are mostly made up of several dozen indigenous tribes who populated the continent long before the Nords returned and triggered the beginning of slavery.

Imperial

Cyrodil (only one 'I,' IRRC)

Cyro-Nordic

I appreciate the correction.


So in your opinion exactly how much inter-breeding goes on between the Nibenese and the Colovian?

I wonder why Imperials aren't considered "half-elves" like Bretons are. (Surely a misnomer in either case.)

When the province is unified, plenty. The distinction is probably entirely cultural nowadays, barring old, isolated settlements. Any population of Cyrodilic manmer either never grew large enough to become significant or was wiped out by pogroms or the Alessian Order.

They're all a bunch of mongrel Nedes.

No, indeed, they are not.

They are a bunch of mongrel kothri, nede, al-gemha, men-of-'kreath (though these were later known to be imported from the North), keptu, men-of-ge (who were eventually destroyed when the Flower King Nilichi made great sacrifice to an insect god named [lost]), al-hared, men-of-ket, others.

But people and sources have a habit of calling all of the above (except men-of-'kreath) Nedic peoples.

Could you link the source of that info? I?d like to read about it, if it?s not too much trouble

http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/adabala.shtml. Have a look :read:

Thank you!

Hence the word "mongrel". I was saying take Nedic as a base race and then breed with everyone and everything remotely warm, and you get imperials. That's why none of these races, including Nedes, exist at present. They all became mutts. This would be the reason that people and sources (although wrong) refer to the Imperials as racially Nedic. The actual slave tribes do not exist anymore. When things like this happen, it is common parlance to call the thusly created race of peoples by the name of the most famous or largest of the tribes.

But, yes, thanks for setting that straight.

Which further begs the question - if the lines between Colovian and Nibenese are so blurred in Cyrodill, I wonder how far the lines between Breton, Imperial, Nord, Redguard and all Elven races are blurred as well? Cyrodill seems much more cosmopolitan than Morrowind did, and people of differing races seem to breed quite often, although some matches, like Dark Elf and Imperial are still seen as scandalous.


If I remember correctly in the CS at least two characters had blood abilities from multiple backgrounds. Martin Septim and Mankar Camaron if I am not mistaken get bonuses from a variety of racial lineages..this may have just been gameplay mechanic but there's enough in the past of both men to suggest they are mutts, especially the Camoran Usuper's offspring but with a strong possibility for Martin, since his mother is an unknown figure.