Black Marsh

Cypress trees in southern Black Marsh

Black Marsh, also known as Argonia, is a vast swampland region in southeastern Tamriel, and one of nine traditional provinces. It borders Morrowind to the north and Cyrodiil to the west and northwest. Argonia is inhabited by the namesake Argonian lizardfolk and their sentient Hist trees. Historically, the Barsaebic Ayleids, Cantemiric Velothi, Kothringi, Lamiae, Lilmothiit, Horwalli, Orma, and Yespest have all dwelt in the region.

History

Origins

The earliest inhabitants of Black Marsh and its environs are believed to have been the Hist, great life-giving trees of unknown capacities. The region presently known as Black Marsh was once part of a much greater landmass within the domain of the Hist, but the greater part of the region was flooded during the wanderings of Ehlnofey. The Annotated Anuad states "The Hist were bystanders in the Ehlnofey war, but most of their realm was destroyed as the war passed over it. A small corner of it survived to become Black Marsh in Tamriel, but most of their realm was sunk beneath the sea." Black Marsh also became home to groups of men, including the Kothringi, as well as the fox-like Lilmothiit.

Merethic Era

In the Merethic Era, the Argonians developed a unique civilization that inexplicably collapsed long before their first encounters with the other races of Tamriel. A number of forgotten Argonian tribes constructed countless elaborate stone structures across Black Marsh, ranging from solitary statues and wayshrines to sprawling stepped pyramids known as xanmeers. While the purpose of many of these structures, as well as the techniques used to carve and build them, have long been lost to history, many of these structures have been identified to be shrines erected in both reverence to and fear of Sithis. It is wholly unknown how or why this ancient Argonian civilization disappeared, and the apparent disparity between its enduring, elegant stonework and the makeshift mud structures and thatch houses that many subsequent Argonian tribes adopted has perplexed foreign scholars. The mysterious event that caused this collapse and brought about a plethora of changes for Argonian civilization has come to be known as Duskfall.

First Era

Some Argonians began to migrate throughout the rest of Tamriel in the early First Era, but these rare expatriates usually assimilated into their adopted homelands and shared little of their native ways with others. Following the expulsion of the Aedra-worshipping Barsaebic Ayleids from Cyrodiil in 1E 198, the Barsaebics took refuge in Black Marsh and established a number of colonies, including what would later become the cities of Stormhold and Caedon. Consequently, the Barsaebics survived the wrath of Alessian Slave Rebellion decades later, becoming one of the few remaining enclaves of Ayleid civilization in Tamriel before they too dwindled.

Centuries later, the fringes of Black Marsh became safe havens for thieves, pirates, and other outlaws. The problem became so severe that in 1E 1033, Empress Hestra of the Alessian Empire launched a campaign to root out the notorious pirate "Red" Bramman. The Imperial Fleet delved deeper into Black Marsh than any outsider had ever explored in their pursuit of Bramman, eventually cornering and killing him at his bandit kingdom near Blackrose. The Empire attempted to civilize the pirate-infested south, gleaning the first detailed accounts of native Argonian culture in the process, but ultimately settled on eradicating the pirates before building prisons for their least desirable convicts, and later abandoned Black Marsh entirely.

In 1E 2811, the last organized army of Argonians was defeated by the legions of the Second Empire at the Battle of Argonia. Within the next few decades, Black Marsh was nominally incorporated into the Second Empire as a province. Emperor Reman II squandered thousands of troops and years of effort in his attempts to conquer Black Marsh; in 1E 2837 he declared the region officially annexed, despite only extending the Empire's reach into the northern and eastern marches. Black Marsh remained a province until the Empire's collapse in the mid-Second Era.

Second Era

The Knahaten Flu started in Stormhold and persisted for 41 years, from 2E 560 to 2E 601. The flu took its toll on the region, driving the Kothringi and the Lilmothiit to extinction. The native Argonians were largely immune to this plague, which led some to falsely believe it was fabricated by an Argonian shaman.

Third Era

During the later years of the Third Era, Black Marsh came into conflict with its Dunmer neighbors to the north in the bloody Arnesian War. The conflict started as a slave revolt in the lands of House Dres, and escalated into a full war when the Argonians captured, tortured, and murdered the Dunmer merchant Roris, who was subsequently declared a saint by the Tribunal Temple. However, the armies of Black Marsh were defeated, allowing Morrowind to expand its territory into the south. Interestingly, documents prepared for Lord Vivec by the Tribunal Temple imply that Black Marsh retains control of some historically Dunmer provinces, despite the Dunmer victory in the Arnesian War. In detailing Dagoth Ur's plans, the Tribunal Temple noted that he wished to "recover ancient territories stolen by Skyrim and Argonia". The Dunmer and the Argonians, perhaps unsurprisingly, have a "long standing and bitter hatred for one another".

Fourth Era

After the Oblivion Crisis and the eruption of Red Mountain during the beginning of the Fourth Era, Black Marsh seceded from the Empire along with Elsweyr. Morrowind was substantially weakened when the Ministry of Truth became unstable and crashed into Vvardenfell, destroying much of the island. The Argonians of Black Marsh invaded, at first successfully pushing deep into the country, but then being driven off by the forces of House Redoran.

Geography

Landscape of the Shadowfen region

Black Marsh contains various regions, such as the Arnesian Jungle, Blackwood, Middle Argonia, Murkmire, Shadowfen, Thornmarsh, and the Ultherus Swamp. Norg-Tzel is a small island off the coast of the Oliis Bay, with similar climate and terrain to Murkmire.