Banning the worship of Talos...

Sound familiar to what the Roman Legions were sent into the 4 corners of the world to do?

Enforce catholicism, with brutal tactics?

I feel like the entire Civil war backstory in Skyrim is based directly off of The Romans attemtping to conquer nothern Europe a long, long time ago.

The Thalmor fit in there too, I supposed

Hmmm. It struck me more as the Roman Empire(the one we all know; not the piling of Germanic kingdoms) vs. the indeginious people of Europe. Holy Roman Empire doesn't fit, especially since the Imperials don't seem to be doing this for any religious purpose at all, merely for a united Empire.

The Thalmor seem to be more based off the Totalitarian states of the 20th century than anything.

Really, I don't think this is based on any conflict. Sure, the Imperial Empire = Roman Empire. However, the Stormcloaks = Vikings or Pagans or Celtics or anyone really. Personally, I think they're the barbarians. The Thalmor? No equivalent can be found.

Well, if I was an over literal technical historian, I suppose I would have worded my topic exactly like this.

What I described is basically the same thing.

Not... even remotely.

More like the Romans invading Northern Italy in 300 AD to prevent them from worshiping Jupiter, while China threatens them from Greece. Yeah...

Considering the Imperials are heavily based on Roman everything, this is a given.
I thought everyone knew this?

Say what? The roman empire was already well established and in control of huge swathes of europe before they started coverting to catholocism. What history class did you skip? The Romans had their own gods and religions (jupiter/mars/juno/venus etc). Catholic conversion came late on in the empire with Emperer Constatine in AD 312.

well the Holy Roman Empire was German so it makes no sense. More like Romans vs Germanic Tribes. Skyrim needs its own Teutoburger Wald.

i think you can compare many fictional wars to many real one's, after all we humans tend to fight over everything we can dont we

Exactly my thoughts.

Arminius is my mental stand-in for Ulfric. Of course Tamriel is different in that they reversed the sequence of events that took place in Europe, where the northern tribes gradually grew to dominate the late western Roman empire until it "fell" (a misnomer, really). In Tamriel, it was Nords who joined with the Cyrodiils and forged the Septim empire from the beginning.

Personally I do not see any connection. Romans decided pretty quickly that conquering Germania Magna was not worth the trouble and that's it. Best resemblance I found is the German Thirty Year War. A struggle over minor religious issues, a crumbling empire and powerful outside forces intervening. And probably half a dozen points were things do not fit at all.
Tamriel is not Earth but is created by earth people so it is based on myths and modern fantasy stories as much as on history. This is why you get horned helmets which no warrior outside Japan was ever stupid enough to wear in a battle.
Check http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim?from=Main.TheElderScrollsVSkyrim on borrowing concepts for storytelling.

The Colvian Highlands of north Cyrodiil are very Holy Roman Empire (German Empire). I'd hardly say it looks Roman. Skingrad look more Transylvania. The Holy Roman Empire (German Empire) was still greatly centred on Rome.

Many provinces on Tamriel are based on more than one Earthly people. Dunmer have Mongoilian, Turkic, Chinese etc.

Skyrim is more like the icy Baltic regions of Viking Scandinavia and its neighbouring Slavic lands to its east.

The Breton / Forsworn are more pagan Celts (Briton / Breton / Belgae / Gaul / Pict etc)

As Voltaire said,

The current state of the Empire in TES reminds me of the Roman Empire after the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. After Nero it was basically the army who decided who was Emperor and there were many relatively short-lived dynasties. The Medes remind me of Septimus Severus or Diocletian, Emperors who managed to paper over the cracks in the short term but couldn't solve the longterm problems.

sure there is, thalmor=Cobra

Not really. Most loyal nords still worship talos. The rebels are just mad they can't do it openly for now. Shortsightedness ftl.

Of course the Empire vs The Stormcloaks is based on any rebellion by 'barbarians' against the Roman Empire. However this is just a background conflict to the actual story/setting which is based on dragons and other nordic myths (as well as some of their own creativity). Then we have the Thalmor (which has another fundation) and we just get a fantasy mix which, like all fantasy, is based on reality. So the big question is, what exactly is the point the TC is trying to make here?

There is no greater tyranny than the suppression of religious beliefs if only because it is a form of mind control...dictating what thoughts can be thought, and where and from what source comfort may be sought.

The ban on the worship of Talos has the force of law. Whether it is enforced or not is moot. If it can be, it eventually will be. If the Thalmor had greater control over more of Skyrim as well as over their colluding flunkies--the Empire--it almost certainly would be enforced.

As for historical precedents...which do not, should not, necessarily inform Skyrim but rather serve as lessons about human nature...there are many. Personally, I think immediately of William Wallace as a stand in for Ulfric and England under Edward 1 serving as the Empire.

Or Ulfric=George Washington.

Or Boadicea

Oppression should be fought...even if it doesn't always turn out so well--it's what we say we believe in.

Except that the Thalmor and the Empire aren't one entity. The Empire doesn't want to ban Talos, many in the Empire likely Worship him as well. However the Thalmor are very powerful and if humanity doesn't surrender peacefully then they'll come in force and silence them forever. The Empire is being smart, they're playing the waiting game. Lay low and recover to fight another day, but that will only works if they keep the numbers on their side.

If Ulfric wins, then what? The Thalmor will decide that they need to finish them off personally. The Nords will be destroyed and the Empire can only watch. Of course they could come to their aid but with their current losses that would be foolish and they both end up being destroyed. Ulfric is a fool and his situation is totally different from that of George Washington, for Ulfrid victory also means destruction but he is too stupid to realize this. Which is why I love joining his cause with my Orc

I think Bethesda has created a good scenario in which there is no clear good or bad, even if you look at it from one perspective (like you did). This means that if you roleplay you can find a good reason to join either side as well as find a reason to hate the other with a passion.

I don't know why do a lot of people say Skyrim has a bad storyline as an RPG. Ture that it didn't have the depth and the originality of Morrowind, but I found the storyline of Skyrim to be quite great indeed and I love how you need to make choices from time to time, it allows for more paths.

Nords arent pagans
I want more nords like in solstheim... Skaal village and thirsk..

The only reason I ended up supporting the Stormcloaks is, as any student of war should be able to tell you, information is the key to victory. Just look at good ole' Sun Tzu. Regardless of whether or not the empire has a good motive, it does not matter in the long term when they let the enemy have all the information they need by giving them political access and diplomatic immunity as well as the ability to enforce the White-Gold concordat. And while the men such as General Tullius though that the empire is preparing for a final conflict with the Thalmor, underlings in the Imperial Legions may not, and so accepting the Thalmor has become the status quo. This is very dangerous fire that the Empire is playing with, and it just won't work out for them. If I help the empire win, I only perpetuate the status quo. But if I help the Stormcloaks win, all Thalmor will likely be hunted down in Skyrim with imputiny, which would be little more than a declaration of war, even if Ulfric has no such plans. The end result in the canon will likely be the same, I'm just giving one province a head start.

edit: Double post, please mark for deletion

just pointing out the Holy Roman Empire is not the Roman Empire

No, no, no, no.

It's nonsense from people who don't know the lore.

The political and religious situation is completely different. Now, I am not a really devoted fan defending Bethesda's originality. In my opinion they borrow entirely too much. But in this case, it is clear that the conflict is directly inspired by the unique balance of forces in the Tamriel itself, stemming from factors that have no real world parallels. To draw them is a gross oversimplification of both the gameworld and realworld history.

So unless you can tell me that the Romans ruled Norway for centuries, and Jesus was a Finn...

And if there is one similarity between the Romans and the Imperials with regards to he conflict, it is an example of a cosmopolitan Empire with a track record of extraordinary religious tolerance cracking down on a single faith for political reasons.

Sounds like something Chamberlain would have said in the '30's. The flaw in this kind of expediancy is that the Thalmor are not going to sit on the sidelines twiddling their thumbs.

They're getting stronger too. More entrenched. Unless you beleive that the Thalmor are so stupid they don't know that it's an Imperial ploy to buy time.

And the people of Skyrim will get used to enslavement, their beliefs being outlawed, and...what's next? Maybe Nord costumes or other traditions being banned--the English did that to the Scots after Culloden.

Ulfric realizes that if humanity doesn't come together to fight the Thalmor...now...it never will and the dire predictions of calamity will come true just as surely, only more slowly, more insidiously.

Placating implacable enemies never works.

Ulfric represents a tentative and fragile impulse to unite all Skyrim against the Thalmor.

The Empire represents a well entrenched impulse to sit back and enjoy your temporal comforts while passing ever-worsening problems onto your children and grandchildren. Stasis.