The Armistice, also known as The Treaty of the Armistice, was signed sometime in the final years of the Second Era. It created a lasting peace between Morrowind and the Cyrodilic Empire, furthering Emperor Tiber Septim's dream of a unified Tamriel in the final years of the Second Era. It was signed as the result of a personal meeting between Tiber Septim and the Dunmer god Vivec, which took place after several Empire-won battles, one of which laid waste to Mournhold. Though it was not known to the population at large, the Tribunal had grown weaker and more isolated ever since the awakening of Dagoth Ur and the loss of access to the Heart of Lorkhan circa 2E 882. Thus, Vivec was practically compelled to negotiate with Septim, whom he expressed respect for in his writings. Many Dunmer were shocked and angered by what they viewed as the Tribunal's betrayal.
The terms of the Armistice were intended to make Morrowind a part of the Empire, while also allowing it a large degree of autonomy. To succeed in this, Tiber Septim knew that he would have to severely limit Morrowind's military power. Accordingly, he successfully demanded Morrowind's surrender of Numidium to the Empire and its acceptance of a substantial Imperial presence in terms of Legion soldiers. In exchange, Morrowind was permitted to keep its autonomy, maintaining the power of the Tribunal Temple and the Great Houses, while being supervised by Imperial representatives in the capital, Almalexia City, and in each of the six newly-created administrative districts. These representatives were carefully chosen to be acceptable to both the Emperor and the Dunmer people. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly in the minds of Dunmer elites, the practice of slavery in Morrowind was protected by the Empire. Dunmer religious practices were similarly protected.
The Armistice was supported most enthusiastically by House Hlaalu, with House Redoran grudgingly following Vivec's lead, while House Dres did so only with the strong provisions protecting slavery. House Telvanni remained neutral and isolationist throughout the proceedings, until the support of Hlaalu and Redoran was officially established, when they joined in on the support of the treaty. House Indoril bowed to the will of the Tribunal, but remained hostile to the Empire; in fact, many Indoril nobles chose ritual suicide rather than to rule an occupied nation. At this time, House Hlaalu seized the opportunity to settle old scores with Houses Indoril and Redoran, using its new alliance with the Empire to reclaim lost lands and to place Hlaalu nobles in positions of power within the new Imperial administration. House Indoril remained powerful in the capital, Mournhold, but quickly fell into disrepair elsewhere.
Following the Armistice, the island of Vvardenfell became a Temple preserve with some small settlements maintained by the Great Houses as well as scattered Ashlander tribes. However, the island was not opened to large-scale settlement by civilians or exploitation by the East Empire Company until 3E 416.
List of Terms
Morrowind's TermsThese were generally of cultural and religious nature and are as follow:
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Empire's TermsThese were generally of economic and military nature and are as follow:
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