How many years before Skyrim is Oblivion?
For fans of the Elder Scrolls series, the question of how many years separate the events of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from the events of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a fascinating one. While Oblivion left players battling demonic forces across Tamriel, Skyrim continued the legacy with a more mature Dragonborn. According to Elder Scrolls lore, there’s a significant difference in the timeline between these two epic games.
To understand the time gap, we must first look into the story of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Released in 2006, Oblivion is set in the vast province of Cyroldill, where the Imperator, Uriel Septim VII, has been defeated by the Mythic Era dragon, Mehrunes Dagon. As the Third Era (3E 200) begins, Martin Septim, the Crown Prince, takes the empire into his own hands as Emperor Martin I. Through a series of events involving the Amulet of Kings and the return of his ancestor’s souls, Septim uses the power granted to him to seal his fate with the Oblivion Gates.
Flash forward to Skyrim
Moving on to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, released in 2011, a massive event takes place a significant period of time, roughly 200 years into the Fourth Era (4E). This is important, as the events unfold around a powerful Dragon return to Tamriel, who was the reason for Sephriman’s downfall thousands of years ago. While Sephriman’s people believed their return would spark the start of a calamitous world, the Dovahkiin, named Dovahkiin with a choice between male (Dragonborn) or Female (Daedra-type) or neither, rise up against them.
Within Skyrim’s lore, the Dragonborn is the hero/heroine destined to halt the coming catastrophe. There is no direct lineage between Skyrim and Oblivion’s protagonists yet they coexist within parallel narratives as we explore The Elder Scrolls series. Understanding these divergent story streams highlights their respective roles among Tamriel’s history.
Here are the key observations in timeline format:
Timeline
| Event/year | Third Era (Third Era of the Elder Scroll series, starting from this era) | Reference |
| Imperial Empire starts its reconstruction. | ||
Based on available data, It appears Skyrim occurs approximately Two Hundred Years After Oblivion and roughly 25 Years Prior to the Daedra invasion of Alduin (a powerful deity and potential source of potential catastrophic future for the Imperium Tamriel). Despite there not being a well-documented official timeline statement about The Elder Scrolls series, we can infer that if a hundred years have 10 * 10 events or any amount of those (henceforth any, such events), all this timeline, we can see that there are 150+ possible 10 to the hundred years events possible with different times. Some games contain this information either by story line or just within any information given.