Call me lazy, but I just don't have time to read all the lore on TES at the moment. But I think I have an understanding, so correct me if I am wrong.

Tamriel was a 'Mer' nation and this was the Merethic Era. Ysgrammor and his people came from Atmora from the north and landed in Skyrim but was defeated, Ysgrammor came back with 500 Companions and defeated the elves into hiding. He then formed Skyrim and since then the humans have settled the lands. This is the Dawn Era

Now sometime the orcs become disfigured, follow Malacath, and something happens to the Dark Elves too. Talos is a Nord and unites the entire land under one rule, the Empire which rules during the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and the 4th Era. But when Talos died back in the 1st Era, he was such a badass he literally became a Divine.

Now all the Oblivion Crisis, the Great War, the Aldiun stuff happens too, but I know about it.

Not exactly, Tamriel was populated with Mer yes, but there were men and beasts too. Cyrodiil had indiginous humans known as the Nedes, and the Nords were Nedes too but left Tamriel in early years only to return later. Ysgrammor first settled in peace with the Falmer, but they saw him as a threat and killed all the men but Ysgrammor and a few who went back to Atmora and returned with an ass kicking band of heros. Mankind has always been on Tamriel though.

So Nedes from Cydoriil went to Atmora, who eventually came back to Skyrim and became Nords? Those who remained in Cyrdoiil became Imperials?

if you want to learn basic lore without going through hundreds of books you might consider listening to these podcasts
http://elderlore.wordpress.com/episodes/season-one/
they are lacking in detail and are at times inaccurate, but is still great backbone for someone in the learning phase
(it would help if some of you loremasters had a look at this, i'm currently using these podcasts to get my lore together but i'm unsure if they are any good)

I'd seriously recommend reading http://imperial-library.info/content/tamriel-timeline. It's going to be a shorter read then the answers you will get on this thread.

But just a few things.

All life started on Tamriel, some left and returned later.

Malacath was Trinimac one of the ancestors in the Altmer religion. Trinimac was eaten by Boethiah when the Chimer (Changed Altmer) left Summerset Isles for Resdyan. Boethiah pooped out Trinimac his remains later on and that created Malacath. The followers of Trinimac turned into Orcs.

The Dunmer used to be the Chimer, they left Summerset with the prophet Veloth because they did not believe creation to be a bad thing unlike the other Altmer. In Resdyan (now Morrowind) they lived along with the Dwemer and they started truly defining their worship of the three good Daedra, Mephala, Boethiah and Azura

Skyrim was the first human nation, but other human races like the Redguards and Bretons have different origins then the Nords and the Imperials.

Seriously though just read the timeline, way more information and way more useful then anything I've been writing here.

that timeline is huge, i'm not sure if that is the place to start

More like "not at all."

There's a couple places to do it quick. I'd suggest the http://imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-third-edition-all-eras-man-comprehensive-history-our-history, and the slightly more detailed Lore Buff Guide's http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1112211-how-to-become-a-lore-buff/page__p__16312385#entry16312385.

The mer had the civilizations, but there were plenty of aboriginal human tribes, too.

More or less, but it's the early 1st era, rather than the Dawn. The Dawn is the mythical creation of the world.


The Orcs turned into Orcs back in the Dawn, when their god, Trinimac, was transformed into Malacath. The Chimer (which look like High Elves) turn into Dunmer in the 600s of the 1st era, after an epic war with the Dwemer.

Talos' race (and identity) are disputed, and his divinity is too complex a matter to cover here. His Empire ruled the 3rd era only. The 1st era had the Alessian Empire, started after men rebelled against the Ayleids, and the Reman Empire, founded by Reman Cyrodiil. The 2nd era was ruled by remnants of the Reman Empire under the Tsaesci (Akaviri) potentates.

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The problem with podcasts and videos is that, unlike print media, they cannot be easily edited. Those inaccuracies can lead to a lot of misunderstandings, like inaccuracies in wikis do, but unlike wikis, we cannot go back and fix them. Even if we listen to all of them, and bother correcting every problem, the problems will remain.

If I may ask, why do you (general you) prefer podcasts to reading? Is it just a multitasking thing?