Although the main threat presented in Skyrim’s story is the return of the dragons, the Thalmor are something of a secondary antagonist that lurks in the shadows and takes advantage of the situation wherever they can. The Thalmor also appear in several side stories of the game, most notably in the College of Winterhold questline in order to gain power through the Eye of Magnus.
While they are a large part of the early sections of the main questline, the Thalmor don’t take center stage long enough for the player to really learn anything meaningful about them, with most of their history and ideals only being found in books and random conversations found throughout Skyrim.
10 It Was Established In The Third Era
Although The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes place centuries after the events of the previous game, Oblivion, the Thalmor have survived throughout all this time after being formed sometime in the late Third Era.
While the original Thalmor didn’t hold much sway in their original state, they would later go on to gain a large amount of power following the Oblivion Crisis and gain a large enough following to be one of the most powerful groups in all of Tamriel.
9 They Are The Governing Body Of The Third Aldmeri Dominion
The Thalmor would eventually gain so much power over the centuries between the Oblivion Crisis and the events of Skyrim that they would be the governing body for the third iteration of the Aldmeri Dominion.
This gave them a massive influence over the people of the Summerset Isle and would drive the Altmer to eventually begin the Great War that saw them attempt to take back control over the world that they had lost following the Merethic Era.
8 They Were Formed Due To A Hatred Of Tiber Septim
The main theology that draws the members of the Thalmor together is their collective hatred of Talos, the man-god worshipped heavily by the Nords. This comes down to the Altmer’s belief that they were once divine and will, eventually, return to that state of being, with Talos, a mere man, flying in the face of this belief entirely.
With Talos gone, the Thalmor can once again claim that they have a divine right over man and regain their sense of superiority, though the Nords are less inclined to let go of their religious beliefs than the elves would have liked.
7 It Was Originally Made Of Bosmer And Altmer
The Thalmor may be mostly associated with the Aldmeri Dominion and the High Elves, their members aren’t solely made up of just one race of elves. Wood Elves aren’t generally seen as much of a threat and tend to be on the weaker side of race choices in the series.
However, they made up a large portion of the Thalmor before they rose to be the governing body for the Aldmeri Dominion. This is largely due to the land that encompasses the Third Aldmeri Dominion, which covers both Valenwood and the Summerset Isle, as well as sections of Elsweyr.
6 They Were A Fringe Group Until The Oblivion Crisis
Before becoming a massive influence on the Aldmeri Dominion, the Thalmor had a much more humble beginning as a fringe group that was largely ignored and ridiculed by everyone they preached to. After the final battle of the Crystal Tower, members of the Thalmor spread rumors of their involvement in the battle.
They even went so far as to assassinate anyone who dared to speak out against their apparent victories and how they turned the tide of battle singlehandedly. The Elder Scrolls novel Lord of Souls mentions them, too, and it takes place between the events of Oblivion and Skyrim, that the Thalmor were considered the Empire’s greatest upcoming threat.
5 They Have A Different Name For The Great War
To the majority of the races that opposed and fought against the Aldmeri Dominion in the Fourth Era, they called the battles fought for freedom The Great War, but the Thalmor have a different, more sinister name.
To the elves, this was the First Great War Against The Empire, indicating that, even though they are at relative peace, the Aldmeri Dominion plans to restart the war at some point in the future.
4 The Thalmor Orchestrated The Civil War
Even though the Civil War between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials is seen as a fight for freedom for Skyrim, the war itself was actually orchestrated by the Thalmor. After the Great War, the Thalmor captured and interrogated Ulfric, an Imperial Legion at the time, before releasing him, known he would stir up trouble in Skyrim for them.
This plan turned out even better than they could have imagined, as the Civil War not only distracted both the Empire and Skyrim but also thinned their numbers substantially in the process, making a follow-up battle easier for the Thalmor to win.
3 Their Hatred Of Talos May End Up Killing Him
As is the case for many deities in fantasy, the Divines draw their power from the worship of the people they helped to create and will cease to exist if they are no longer seen as gods.
This is one of the main reasons why the Thalmor want to end Talos’ worship in Skyrim, as this will prevent Talos from remaining a man-god and will cause him to return to his mortal status, removing the idea from men that they can, if they try hard enough, become a god.
2 They Unsuccessfully Tried To Take Over Hammerfell
While the strained alliance between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion is the central focus of the Thalmor’s story arc, the involvement of other races and regions aren’t as well presented to the player and are only shown through side quest dialogue and various books.
One such race, the Redguard, was apparently skilled enough to force the Thalmor to retreat from Hammerfell and have been able to maintain their independence ever since. With one of the potential locations for The Elder Scrolls VI is looking to take place in Hammerfell, this may not be the case for much longer.
1 Their End Goal Is To Rule Over Man Once Again
While the Thalmor’s main role in Skyrim is to stamp out any worship of Talos where they see it, this isn’t the end goal they are working towards. In the elves’ eyes, they have the divine right to rule over men as they did in the Merethic era due to their apparent ancestry with the Divines and celestial beings that came before them.
Despite living longer and healthier lives, the Thalmor are furious that man was able to step up and take control of Tamriel from them under the banner of the Septim Dynasty, even though they are, apparently, lesser creatures.
