What if the Empire disappeared and Cyrodiil was divided up into kingdoms?

brylars

If the Three Banners War ended, the government would be in a shambles. It would be feasible that the counties would become independent and perhaps kingdoms on their own right. Perhaps the Imperial City would be the last part that would consider itself still "Imperial." I would think it would be nothing more than a city-state. Of course, the breaking up the Empire of Cyrodiil into smaller kingdoms would have several potential pros and cons.

Pros:

Local Governance: Smaller kingdoms would allow for more localized governance and decision-making. Each county could cater its policies and laws to better suit its specific needs and culture, potentially leading to more efficient administration.

Cultural Diversity: With each county becoming its own kingdom, cultural diversity might thrive as each region could preserve and promote its unique traditions, languages, and practices.

Reduced Central Authority Corruption: Smaller kingdoms could potentially reduce the risk of centralized power and corruption, as power would be more dispersed among various rulers rather than concentrated in one central authority.

Increased Cooperation: With a more decentralized structure, the kingdoms might be encouraged to cooperate and form alliances with one another for mutual benefit and defense, leading to more stable relations between the regions.

Improved Representation: Each kingdom would have its own ruler, providing more opportunities for diverse leaders to emerge and represent their people effectively.

Cons:

Political Instability: The dissolution of a large empire into smaller kingdoms could lead to political instability, especially if the transition is not well-managed. Power struggles, conflicts, and wars could arise as factions vie for control.

Economic Disparities: Smaller kingdoms might not have the same resources or economic capabilities as the unified empire. Some regions could experience economic hardships or be overly reliant on trade agreements with neighboring kingdoms.

Defense Vulnerabilities: A divided empire may be more vulnerable to external threats, as unity is often a source of strength in the face of common enemies. Smaller kingdoms may struggle to coordinate their defenses effectively.

Loss of Cultural Unity: While cultural diversity is a potential pro, the breakup of a large empire might also lead to a loss of shared identity and unity among the people, potentially weakening their sense of belonging to a larger collective.

Diplomatic Challenges: Diplomatic relations between the newly formed kingdoms and neighboring territories might be more complex and delicate, potentially leading to tensions and disputes.

Imperial Legacy: The rich history and legacy of the Empire of Cyrodiil might be diluted or forgotten as the focus shifts to individual kingdoms and the Imperial City becoming a city-state.

Perhaps this scenario would have eventually happened if it weren't for the future Emperor Tiber Septim and his ambition to fulfill "prophesy" and conquer, I mean "unite," all of Tamriel.

Thoughts?

Surragard

We’re not that far away from this by the time of Skyrim. The twist (or maybe the foregone conclusion) being that another empire rose up in its place (Aldmeri) with some territories remaining independent. The various races of Tamriel are all fairly militant and I personally don’t think they would even truly separate into kingdoms because there will always be one or more factions looking to conquer and make a new empire.

ghastley

I believe that was called TES II: Daggerfall. LOTS of little kingdoms.

brylars

ghastley wrote: »

I believe that was called TES II: Daggerfall. LOTS of little kingdoms.

But that was Iliac Bay. I was really speaking of Cyrodiil only.

ghastley

The implication in that game was that Tamriel was an Empire that was feudally divided into small kingdoms, all of which acknowledged the Emperor, but did their own thing locally. Mostly this would be city states, with further layers of towns and rural counties below that. Cyrodiil as direct fiefdom of the Emperor would be an exception where two of the levels combined, but there would still be counties by the time of Oblivion, and Skyrim, where Jarl = Count in local parlance.

The farther away from the Imperial City, the looser the central control, hence kingdoms in the provinces. Skyrim had a high king (Torygg) as vassal of Titus Mede II, and the three kingdoms of Wayrest, Sentinel, and Daggerfall emerging from the Warp in the West remained at that time. We know that Anequina and Pelletine persisted to secede from the Empire in the Fourth Era, as did Black Marsh/Argonia, whatever its internal structure was at the time.

GooGa592

There are a lot of us that play this game for the PvP and would quit entirely if they eliminated PvP from the game, which is essentially what your suggesting.

KingArthasMenethil

If you split Cyrodiil into Kingdoms I'm sure culture wise you'd get Nordic from Bruma, One of the Dunmer houses for Cheydinhal (ESO made Morrowind a border gore mess so who knows which house would claim it), Redguards and Bosmer would probably divide Colovia between the two, Leyawiin and Bravil would have Khajjit culture and with the Imperial city it's generally unknown as Imperial culture is non-existent and the only style we see is the Ayleid buildings.

VaranisArano

That's kind of the premise behind Cyrodiil's counties, but as we saw in ESO with Duke Varen and Titus Mede I, eventually some warlord in the region is going to take over and recreate an Empire (if an outside warlord like Tiber Septim or Durcorach doesn't get there first.)

Its tempting to look at ESO's Gold Coast and think that its a great idea, but Anvil and Kvatch aren't doing all that well on their own, even if we ignore the veritable plague of murderous players. Count Carolus is not a particularly strong leader. Leyawiin and the Blackwood region are only doing as well as they are because a largish portion of the Elder Council went there AND they have Keshu as an ally; they've got a lot of legitimate leaders and the military forces to back them up.

Notably, when we compare ESO's cities to TES 4, Anvil, Bruma, Chorrol, and Cheydinhal are all doing worse than under a united Empire.

Leyawiin and Kvatch are doing better than under the united Empire, but I'd argue that Kvatch doesn't really count since it was an apparently prosperous city prior to the Mythic Dawn.