I have this crazy idea of having the locations, races (at least the human ones) be based on real life countries and people. Or at least influenced by them. I wrote a bit on my thoughts about this subject, and I'd really like to hear what you think too.

Cyrodiil - Imperials: The way the Imperials have conquered Tamriel resembles what the Romans did some thousand years ago. They took pretty much all of Europe and some of northern Africa too. It is pretty clear to me that the Romans was an inspiration for the Imperials.

Skyrim - Nords: It's pretty clear that the Nords were based on the Scandinavians, especially the Vikings. The Nords are ruthless warriors, living in a cold, harsh environment, rich in mountains. So is northern Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden).

High Rock - Bretons: The name makes me think of the Celtic language Brezhoneg (Breton) spoken in Brittany, France. Brittany is located in north-west France; similarly, High Rock is located in north-west Tamriel. It is also possible that the name was chosen as a hint to something else Celtic. Say Scotland, Ireland, Wales or Cornwall. Maybe something to do with the British isles all together.

Hammerfell - Redguards: For some reason the Redguards make me think of Spanish people... They are most likely based on African people, implied by their dark colour. Also because they have nothing to do with the other human races, nor Atmora (the ancestral human homeland), and because they show a great capacity for surviving in hot and dry climates, much like Africa.

Elsweyr - Khajiit: In the Khajiit tongue Ta'agra, "Khaj" means "Desert" (the noun), and "iit" is used to state where one lives. Therefore, "Khajiit" can be translated into "One who lives in the desert" or possibly "Desert-dweller". This makes me think about the ancient Egyptians. They worshipped the cat, which seems to be the idea behind the Khajiit.

Black Marsh - Argonians: It is hard to determine what the Argonians were based on. It is entirely possible that it was just a wacky idea in the head of a developer.

Morrowind - Dunmer: The mer altogether are hard to place. As elves they are a part of the fantasy genre in general, and not being human decreases the chances of them being influenced by real life humans. However, the location of Morrowind relative to Tamriel (the Eastern Empire) and the environment hints that it was influenced by India, China, or something similar.

Valenwood - Bosmer: The Bosmer remind be of the tale of Robin Hood, living in the Sherwood Forest, located in England. The Bosmer seem to be the closest to the archetypical fantasy elf, living in harmony with nature and being incredibly skilled with bows.

Summerset Isle - Altmer: Altmer speech and writing was the base for the Tamrielic tongue. This makes me think of the old Greeks. The science, mathematics and language of the Greeks influenced and laid the ground for much of what we have today. This closely resembles the Altmer. The smugness of the elves, however, might not fit as well. The location of the Summerset Isle, and it being an isle, contradicts the theory about the Greeks, but what about the English? Summerset Isle resembles the British isles, and the smugness could well be an interpretation of the assumed smugness of the English.

High Rock/Hammerfell - Orcs: Well, orcs aren't based on anything. They're just orcs.

Well, in the case of imperials, in earth there have been many empires that had conquered nearly all the world they knew (Macedonians, Aztecs, Chinese, Mongolians...). Comparing them with Romans may be more or less accurate depending of the game you chose as reference. In Morrowind they look like Romans but in other games not at all. Their names are latinised but this is only one feature. Have in mind that Tamrielic empire is clearly against sclavism, while it was the base of the Roman empire.

The nords could be related to Scandinavians. Bloodmoon take clearly that direction, but maybe we all get really surprised at the release of Skyrim.

I think no one of the other races has a clear counterpart in real world.

Bosmer are clearly related to wood nymphs of the forest. You can easily find them on earth. Just visit almost any meadow near a waterfall on a clear night and, if you are quiet and patient, you can see them dancing under the moonlight. :dance:

The imperials are almost certainly based on the Romans, even Tiber Septim is likely named after the Tiber River http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiber_River . They is also a Roman emperor with the name Tiberius http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius . There is even a god with the name Tiberinus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberinus_(god)

The Akaviri Races:

Ka Po' Tun: They seem to have influnces from India and China. India because they are tigers, China because they are currently the strongest nation of Akavir, and are great enemies of the Tsaesci.

Kamal: They seem to be the most like Mongolia, due to their frequent invasions of the other Akaviri and the attempted invasion of Tamriel.

Tang Mo: Hard to tell, the Tang Mo have the least information. However, they have a bit of ancient China in them; the Kamal attack the Tang Mo the most.

Tsaesci: Japan. The Tsaesci are the primary influences on Akaviri architecture and weapons in Tamriel. (Cloud Ruler Temple, Katanas) They are also snakes; snakes were a common depiction of the Japanese in American propaganda during WW2.

I think they are at most influenced by them.

I see a heavy Early American vibe in the Orcs. Mish-mashed all over the place, condensing tons of different cultures, time periods, and miles of land, of course, but you've got the proving oneself bits, you've got the shades of the Spanish Conquistadors, the tribal mentality of Plains Indians, the heritage of Steppe or even Inco-Mayan Indians. And teeny teeny hints of the beginnings of a Manifest Destiny Complex.

Bretons: I perceive the Bretons to resemble the French Aristocracy.

Argonians: This will most certainly sound slightly racist, but this is a race of people who have migrated across a large body of water ( black Marsh) to attempt to assimilate into a culture that doesnt always accept them. This seams reflective of the mexican cultures and parallels American Immigrants in my opinion.

Dunmer: It may be a bit of a stretch but they have a history of enslavement, and are now considered morose and decaying, somewhat reflective of some modern views on American society.

Altmer: The Altmer cleary resemble the chinese. They are the oldest civilization in cyrodil, they place great emphasis on social structure, and in one book from the series they are rumored to have practiced child sacrificing.

Orcs: I think that Orcs harken back to early man, They are beast-like, nomadic, skilled craftsmen and barbaric. Cavemen the way I see it.


The rest I agree with the OP.

Actually, it was the Yokudans who migrated across a great body of water, and became known as the Redguard...mainly because they nuked Yokuda, causing it it sink, and it svcked at other points. The argonians have always lived in Black Marsh and Tamriel, and they're generally not hated anymore than anyone else (save for the dunmer). Heck, Tiber didn't want to invade, he pretty much just asked them if they'd like to join. It's not like anyone can walk into the inner swamps. Also, the argonians are very alien to everyone else. Hell, they're not Ehlnofey, which men and mer were, along with the khajiit (they used to be mer)

So, Argonians are like dolphins, then?

They're like what would happen if a tree decided it wanted to birth a lizard.

Yes, little lizard, lick that sap. Ooooh, lick it good.

Definitely Imperials are influenced by Romans by their ability to conquer territory, and also may have been influenced by other kingdoms like Portugal or Germany. I agree with ToBeDestroyed about the Altmers... The other Mer are influenced in the Asian Kingdoms such as India and China.

Agreed, although there is clearly some influences from British imperialism and some Asian cultures. You see the British influences in the East Empire Company and some of the voices and architecture, while the Asian influences came from Akavir and are seen in dragonscale armor, katanas and other weapons, and Cloud Ruler Temple in Oblivion. Plus, the Imperial Province was going to be 'Rome meets Imperial China in a jungle'.



Redguards are based on Africans in terms of appearance but are pretty much based on Moorish and Spanish culture. Spain was known for naval power, sword fighting, and quality of their swords. Plus, Michael Kirkblade mentioned who Yokudans coming over and colonizing Hammerfell was a form of imperialism, a lot like Spain.



The beast races are a little tricky, but I would say the Khajiit are influenced more by Middle Eastern and some Indian cultures than Egyptian. The split between warring nomads in the deserts and large trading cities in the greener south of Elsweyr for the Middle East and the martial arts and some of the mysticism of India.



Argonians are the trickiest, mainly because there is so little lore known about them that is not about Imperialized Argonians. In Morrowind, they reminded me of blacks before the American Civil War in the US; kept as slaves removed from their homes but with abolitionists helping them.



Dunmer aren't Indian or Chinese, they are based on the Hebrews. The exodus out of the Summerset Isles led the prophet Veloth, the emphasis on ancestors correlates with Jewish genealogy to determine priesthood, the coming of a messianic figure, the great houses matching up with the tribes of Israel, and being occupied by a foreign power they want out.



Bosmer are like a dark take on the 'frolic in woods and live in the trees' fantasy elf. They are cannibals who eat only meet, can shift into protean horrors from the age of chaos, and live in harmony with nature only as part of religious pact but will take plant-made goods made from outside of Valenwood.



Yeah, Orcs kinda get the short end of the stick in terms of awesome background...

Orcs are Pariah folk...at one point in time they were scattered and divided after the fall of their previous culture.

Sort of like the gypsies of Tamriel in a way, maybe? Except with green skin and awesome fighting abilities instead of colorful caravans and dancing. I guess that aspect of gypsies is more Khajiit.

Perhaps another parallel would be Native Americans. The Orcs lost their land and were driven from their homes. Except in their case there was a happier ending.

There's a similarity to Israel as well, with Orsinium. The Orcs/Jews were driven from their homeland, suffered oppression and ostracism world wide, and eventually won it back.

In a way, the way they're viewed in other nations is similar to how Chinese and Irish immigrants were once viewed in America compared to today. Initially despised, distrusted and treated as subhuman, but slowly won respect and acceptance through hard work and reliability.


In a way the Orcs seem to be influenced by just as many or more cultures than the other races.


It's worth noting as well that the Orcs in TES morphed from stereotypical "Tolkien" Orcs into http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurOrcsAreDifferent from Arena to Morrowind, gradually.

In fact, the "noble Orc" is becoming a more common trope in various fantasy worlds for some reason. DnD and Tolkien Orcs were traditionally bloodthirsty savages who were either completely mindless or under the control of a dark lord of some sort. These days you see the whole "noble savage" motif more.

Good thing there are Warhammer/40k orcs/orkz, as they're nothing, but bat[censored] insane fungi, whose only desire is to fight, fight some more, and fight. Hell, fighting is practically their six drive to, as they release spores when they are injured, killed, or making more spores by becoming bigger (which is done by fighting). Not to mention they can created the most powerful psychic energy seen in this side of the warp, if they actually think about it (which they don't).

TES has its share of seemingly mindless, brutish races as well, but none of them are playable.

Goblins skirt around the borders of that, but they at least seem to have some kind of society. Ogres just seem dumb and blood thirsty. I'd consider them sentient but not civilized.

It's a good thing that setting is in a rather narrow time-frame or else by all rights that galaxy should've been turned into a parking lot several times over thanks to all of the racial killing machines.

You're both wrong, they're based on Ancient Assyrians/Sumerians.

The Cyrodiils are what would have happened if the Indian Empire had conquered Moghul Britain in the 19th century.

The Nords are big, blonde Himalayan sherpas.

The Altmer are a Learned Society.

The Ashlander culture seems to be influenced by Eurasian/Asian steppe nomads though. The reliance on herds, titles like Ash Khan, the yurts, composite bows etc etc. But I think "influenced" is a better word, since one race can easily be influenced by several real life civilizations instead of being based on just one.

And also, compare certain African tribes with Argonians, both sold their rivals to slavers and they were considered primitive by more civilized races.

To be honest, i see the Dwemer having more Jewish influences than Dunmer. They look much more Jewish, their font looks Hebrew and they got holocausted. Their equipment has Assyrian influences (http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/045/0/8/assyrian_warriors_by_byzantinum.jpg, compare to Oblivion Dwemer armor, even the skirt style is kinda same) and the Assyrians were a semitic tribe.

The Dwemer were secular and anti-theist, not at all like the historical Jews, who were descended from polytheistic tribes initially and later became an early example of monotheism. The beards are the only very superficial resemblance.

The Dunmer Ashlanders are a lot like native Americans, and the Bretons are more French, (French names, very renessaince)

Interesting. I agree on most of them.