Imperial Timeline
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The following contains the notable or important events in the Empire, utilising the Imperial Calendar.[1a] –1500 IC - Fleeing more powerful adversaries, agrarian Human tribes, known as Belthani, cross into the lands between the World's Edge and Grey Mountains.[2a] –1000 IC - The ancestors of the...
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The following contains the notable or important events in the Empire, utilising the Imperial Calendar.[1a]

–1500 to –30 IC: Prehistory[]

–1500 IC - Fleeing more powerful adversaries, agrarian Human tribes, known as Belthani, cross into the lands between the World's Edge and Grey Mountains.[2a]

–1000 IC - The ancestors of the founding tribes of the Empire arrive, bringing with them the knowledge of bronze and the wheel.[2a]

ca. –500 IC - Humanity rises in the Old World. Numerous warlords, chieftains and petty kings war amongst themselves to establish realms in the northern Old World. Many tribes already live in the Steppes to the north and in the outer lands of the Chaos Wastes. Larger settlements are established along rivers and coastlines. Goblins, Beastmen, and other vile creatures prey upon these scattered tribes.[2a] A town is founded at the confluence of the Reik and Talabec rivers. As trade flourishes, the town becomes known as "rich village," or "Reichsdorf." This later becomes "Reikdorf."[13a]

–250 IC - Dwarfs intensify trading with tribes of Men in the land to be known as the Empire. Men are poor craftsmen and learn comparatively slowly.[2a]

–50 IC - Artur, chief of the Teutogens, discovers Fauschlag rock (later known as the Ulricsberg), and enlists the help of a Dwarf Clan to tunnel up through the mountain and build a mighty fortress.[2a]

–30 to 50 IC: The Time of Sigmar[]

-30 IC - A twin-tailed comet is seen in the skies. Sigmar is born to the chief of the Unberogen Tribe.[1a][2a][10a][13a]

–20 IC - Marius of the Jutones is defeated by the Teutogens and determines to lead his people to a new land. However, not all his folk are willing to leave their ancestral lands, which occupy parts of what would later become the provinces Nordland and Ostland. Marius leads the Jutones west and those who stay behind become known as the Was Jutones. Marius founds the new realm of Jutonsryk and becomes its first king. He begins a ten-year campaign to rid the Reik marshes of Mist Daemons. In response to the influx of Jutones into the marshes, Marbad, the chieftain of the Endals already scratching out a living there, founds the settlement of Marburg on the Reik estuary. Here he discovers an ancient Elven blade and names it Ulfshard. It becomes his symbol of power, upon which he will later swear his allegiance to Sigmar.[2a]

ca. -15 IC - A Tilean merchant from Miragliano discovers the River of Echoes and built a fortified trading post on High Elven ruins, the settlement was called Nuln and quickly became a rallying point for local tribes in times of trouble. Tilean traders spread the worship of their Classical Gods, especially Shallya, and Verena.[25a][29a]

-15 IC - A Dwarf trading convoy from Karaz-a-Karak is ambushed on its way to the Grey Mountains. Sigmar rescues Dwarf prisoners from the Orcs. Included among them is King Kurgan Ironbeard. Sigmar is given the magic hammer Ghal Maraz, or Skull Splitter, an ancient heirloom of the Dwarf King's family.[1a][2a][13a]

-8 IC - Upon the death of his father, Sigmar becomes chief of the Unberogen tribe.[1a][13a]

-7 IC - Sigmar begins a campaign to unite all the surrounding Human tribes into a single force, strong enough to destroy the Greenskin threat.[13a]

-2 IC - By this year, twelve tribes have been enveloped into Sigmar's Empire, either through war or diplomacy. Several others are allied with him.[13a]

-1 IC - The Battle of Black Fire Pass. The united armies of Humans and Dwarf crush a Greenskin army and win the victory that makes the foundation of the Empire possible. Soon after, Dwarf artisans begin to travel to the Empire, where they are in demand. Humans and Dwarfs establish trade with each other and a measure of prosperity returns to the Dwarfen realms. An alliance of Human tribes led by Sigmar and a Dwarf army under Kurgan Ironbear defeats a large Orc and Goblin army.[1a][2a]

1 IC - Sigmar is crowned Emperor by the High Priest of Ulric.[1a][2a] The Dwarf Runesmith Alaric begins the creation of the Runefangs.[10a] He scatters the ancient Norsii people from the shores of the Sea of Claws, and they flee northwards. The Ungols drive them further north into what is now Norsca. Sigmar aids the Ungols fighting Orcs of the Worlds Edge Mountains, and peace exists between the Empire and Ungols after they fight together at the Battle of Black Fire Pass.[27aa]

ca. 2 IC - The twelve tribal chieftains of Sigmar's Empire are named counts. Modern scholars claim that this word originates from the classical word comes, meaning "companion."[13a] Marius of the Jutons is defeated by Sigmar and swears loyalty to him, the Jutons become part of the Empire.[Needs Sources]

ca. 7 IC - Sigmar travels to Brass Keep, where he slays the necromancer Morath and takes the Crown of Sorcery. Recognizing the great evil of this artifact, he locks it away in Reikdorf.[13a][14a][14b]

ca. 9 IC - A Chaos Invasion led by the Norsii Warlord Cormac Bloodaxe rages down from the Chaos Wastes and wreaks havoc upon the fledgling Empire, decimating the Roppsmenn and Udoses tribes. Sigmar marshalls the Imperial Army to withstand the Norsemen and their allies, but he is decisively defeated in the field with high casualties and is forced to withdraw to Middenheim. There, Sigmar is able to defeat the Norscan Horde, though at great cost.[14]

11 IC - Constant Drachenfels the Great Enchanter leads an army of Goblins and Daemons, hoping to destroy Sigmar's upstart Empire. At the Battle of Drakenmoor, he is defeated for the first time in his eternal existence.[13a]

15 IC - In an attempt to acquire the Crown of Sorcery, Nagash leads an army of undead against Reikland. However, he is struck down by Sigmar at the Battle of the River Reik.[13a]

ca. 30 IC - Thirty years after Sigmar ascends the throne, the Empire teeters on the brink of ruin. Vorkhan Jarl, long having coveted his Emperor's power, seeks the aid of the Chaos Gods. Briefly tired of their constant fraternal warfare, the dark brothers grant Jarl's desires. In the battles that follow, the Daemons of Chaos slaughter their way into the legends of this new realm. Ultimately, Jarl's victory is cheated only by Sigmar's tireless courage and peerless battle-skill, and by the fact that the Chaos Gods grow bored on the very eve of victory, and recall their minions to more exciting conflicts within the Realm of Chaos. As the Dark Brothers cannot agree who has greatest claim on Jarl's black soul, they quarter the traitor; an equal share is thus apportioned to each benefactor.[6a] At the same time there is an invasion by the forces of Chaos led by the all-conquering Morkar. The invasion is repulsed and Morkar is slain by Sigmar in a duel.

40 IC - Talgris, son of Krugar, founds Talabheim.[2a]

50 IC - After a half century of building and prosperity in the newly proclaimed Empire, Sigmar vanishes into the east. The system of Elector Counts is established whereby the provincial leaders elect one of their number to be Emperor.[1a][2a][13a] The first Emperor elected by this system is Siegrich.[13a]

50 to 1152: The Early Empire[]

51 IC - Emperor Siegrich I dies in a hunting accident. After a month of contested elections, Hedrich of the Unberogens is elected Emperor, and the capital returns to Reikdorf.[13a]

63 IC - Wulcan, High Priest of Ulric, has a vision and builds a temple on a site in Middenheim, which starts a steady stream of pilgrims.[2a]

69 IC - Johann Helstrum claims to have had visions of Sigmar's ascension to godhood. He is readily believed by the Unberogens, who hold great love for their lost Emperor.[13a]

73 IC - Johann Helstrum becomes the first Grand Theogonist, the leader of spreading Cult of Sigmar, the Patron God of the Empire.[1a][2a] In this year, he also builds a Temple to Sigmar in Reikdorf.[13b]

ca. 100 IC - Emperor Heydrich is presented with the Runefangs by Alaric the Mad and he passes them to the Counts.[2a][13b]

100 – 500 IC - The electoral system is solidified, and the Cult of Sigmar becomes widespread, which leads to open conflict with the High Priest of Ulrica. [2a]

113 IC - The temple to Ulric at Middenheim is completed.[2a]

231 IC - Daemonettes and Pink Horrors burst forth from the caverns below Middenheim. They wreak considerable damage to the city and lay waste to the western Drakwald before being vanquished at the Battle of Glencurst by the army of Count Reiner von Mechle. Von Mechle suffers terrible dreams for the rest of his life. Always the same, these nightmares have him striding eternally across a blasted and twisted landscape, populated by creatures much like those he had vanquished. His remaining years are spent in the care of one temple or another as the priests work to calm his ravaged soul. Fifteen years to the day of his victory, von Mechle vanishes from a locked room — what his ultimate fate is, none can say with certainty.[6a]

246 IC - Construction of new High Temple to Sigmar in Reikdorf is completed. The city becomes the centre of the rapidly spreading cult.[13b]

322 IC - Emperor Hündrod the Furious slays Mascar the Great Dragon in the Drakwald.[2a]

400-900 IC - Known by Imperial historians as "the Drive to the Frontiers"[2a], it is an age of conquest and prosperity in which Sigismund II is made famous as "the Conqueror" upon his accession to the throne in 479.[2c]

501 IC - The army of Emperor Sigismund II defeats that of the King of the Jutones and adds the former lands of Jutonsryk to the province of Westerland.[2a]

505 IC - Death of Sigismund II. His son, Siegfried I succeeds him as Emperor.[2c]

555 IC - To avoid Middenheim's complete secession from the Empire, charter is granted.[2a]

632 IC - First Norse raids on Marienburg.[2a]

765 IC - The treaty at Athling of Traktatsey ends Norse raids on the growing settlement of Marienburg.[2a]

1000 IC - The birth of the Old World nations, start of a constant series of wars, and the fragmentation of Empire. Plague and civil disorder in the Empire make plans for colonising forest region impossible. Trappers and adventurers travel extensively along rivers as far as the headwaters of the Talabec. Imperial culture and authority are represented by missions of Taal and Rhya along major rivers, often at the sites of former Elven and Dwarfen settlements.[2a]

ca. 1000 to Present IC - Count Shuvaltz of Averland hears hushed tales of treasures heaped in the ancient tombs of Nehekhara and he gathers together an army of mercenaries to march into the Land of the Dead. Shuvaltz's expedition is ambushed on its return to the Empire by legions of Skeletons that burst from the ground. Only a single bloodied soldier survives to make it back to the Empire. His ramblings of dead men walking are dismissed as desert-madness, but his mutters of golden artefacts are spread far and wide. Thus begins centuries of unbridled greed, where countless armies, adventurers, and tomb robbers from across the world travel to Nehekhara to find their fortunes.[9a]

1010 IC - Halflings are established in Stirland. Ludwig the Fat issues a royal charter to the Halflings of the Moot granting them administrative autonomy and an Imperial vote.[2a]

1053 – 1115 IC - Reign of Boris the Incompetent; corruption is rife, taxes are exorbitant, and the military is neglected almost completely.[2a][13b]

1102 IC - Manaan is made patron deity of Marienburg.[2a]

1106 – 1110 IC - An ever-increasing number of Chaos beasts appears in the Drakwald. Vilner, heir to the Drakwald throne, is slain by a Bestigor. The Emperor places the Drakwald Runefang in the palace vaults, publicly stating he will return when he decides on a new heir. However, in truth, he has every intention of keeping it indefinitely.[2a][13b]

1109 IC - Norse raid Marienburg. Snorri Half-hand proclaims himself Jarl of Vestland. Counts of Westerland hold out in Rijker's Isle.[2a]

1111 IC - The Black Plague arises and lasts until 1115, and almost nine-tenths of the Human population of the Empire is wiped out. Skaven erupt to take advantage of the disaster. Many small settlements are abandoned due to falling populations and the depredations of the Skaven. In Sylvania the necromancer van Hel raises a huge Undead army from the bodies of the plague's victims and turns back the Skaven invaders. The bulk of Middenheim's populace avoids the plague due to strict isolation enforced by Graf Gunthar. Norse abandon Marienburg.[2a][2b] Emperor Boris issues a decree eliminating tax exemption for the class of lowborn warriors known as Diensleute, prompting hundreds of unemployed soldiers under the leadership of Wilhelm Engel to march on Altdorf. The "Bread March" is violently put down by Boris's forces. Months later, an attempted aristocratic coup is also put down.[16a][16b][16c][16d]

1114 IC - In order to avoid the plague, Emperor Boris returns to his ancestral castle in Carroburg. He apoints the captain of his secret police, Adolf Kreyssig, "Protector of the Empire."[17a][17b]

1115 IC - The Skaven start to systematically enslave the surviving Human settlements in the Empire. The death of Emperor Boris Goldgather from the Black Plague. His reign was noted for the corruption of Imperial officials, exorbitant taxes, and neglect of the Imperial army. No successor is elected during the ensuing anarchy.[2b]

1122 IC - Count Mandred Ratslayer rallies support from the Elector Counts and leads a crusade against the Skaven.[2b]

1124 IC - Mandred finally drives out the Skaven and is elected Emperor by members of the three electoral bloodlines who have survived the plague and wars.[2b][13b]

1152 IC - Assassination of the Emperor Mandred. The Elector Counts cannot agree upon a successor and the Empire divides into self-governing provinces. War between Talabecland and Stirland as rival would-be Emperors vie for power.[1a][2b]

1152 to 1359 IC: The Age of Wars[]

1153 – 1200 IC - The villages of the Drakwald decline, as woods reclaim the land and settlements are overrun by Chaos beasts and Goblins.[2b]

1248 IC - Count Otto von Luitpold's prized antiquity collection is unsealed and put on display in the Altdorf museum, including the priceless Golden Death Mask of Kharnut. Sensing the presence of the ancient artefact, a dozen Tomb Kings awaken from their slumber and together they lead their combined armies into the heart of the Empire to retrieve it.[9a]

1359 to 1547 IC: The Imperial Civil War[]

1359 IC - Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Stirland is elected Emperor in Nuln.[2b][13b]

1360 IC - Grand Duchess Ottilia of Talabecland declares herself Empress. A difference of opinion between Graf Heinrich and the High Priest of Ulric leads to the High Priest moving to Talabheim to support Ottilia. Defenceless Marienburg is sacked for the third time. Over the next few hundred years there are to be two Emperors, the elected Emperor and the reigning Count of Talabecland.[1a][2b]

1366 IC - Tilean mercenaries begin to fight on both sides in civil wars that ravage the Empire.[2b]

1414 IC - Nordland and Middenland sign an agreement to divide the contested lands of Drakwald, ending the dispute over Mandred's edict.[2b]

ca. 1450-1550 IC - The Crusades against Araby.[1a] When knights return from their distant campaigns, they found new Knightly Orders and introduce the worship of Myrmidia to the Empire.[13c]

1421 IC - Shipbuilding in the Reiksport, Altdorf's natural harbour, becomes one of the city's most important industries.[13b]

1470 IC - The Order of the Blazing Sun had gone to war with the Church of Ulric, and knights wearing wolf-pelts had clashed with knights clad in burnished metal in the streets of Middenheim. Political pressure had put a stop to the feud in the end, but even today there was no komturie in the City of the White Wolf.[11a]

1485 IC - The Battle of Bogwurst.[5a]

1489 IC - The Prince of Reikland formally commissions a state navy. Around this time, several low bridges are also built in Altdorf to limit the influence of ships from Talabheim, Carroburg, Nuln, and Marienburg.[13b]

1515 IC - The Battle of the Scimitars. Miska the Slaughterer first ruler of the nomadic Gospodar tribes of the Eastern Steppes clashes with the combined armies of the Empire, Dwarfs and Bretonnians. The battle ends without a clear winner and Miska returns to the North where she fortifies the borders and declares that Kislevites will defend their land to the last citizen. The Dwarfs, Bretonnians and men of the Empire are far too weak to re-conquer the North.[5a]

ca. 1520 IC - While the Empire's armies are abroad fighting in the Crusades, Gorthor the Beastlord leads a Beastman incursion, rampaging across Hochland and Ostland.[10a]

1547 to 1979 IC: The Age of Three Emperors[]

1547 IC - Rapprochement between the High Priest of Ulric and Graf/Grand Duke Heinrich is achieved by the Cult accepting a vow of celibacy for all priests (to avoid the High Priest of Ulric founding a rival dynasty). The Count of Middenheim proclaims himself Emperor. There are now three Emperors. None of them commands much loyalty amongst the other provinces, and each effectively rules an independent state.[1a][2b]

1550 IC - War erupts between Middenheim and Talabheim, Middenland becomes a separate province. Marienburg is seized by the Bretonnian army under the Duke de L'Anguille. The five-year occupation ends when an army under the Grand Duke of Middenland approaches the city.[2b]

1550 to 1978 IC - The Empire steadily disintegrates, with an increase in the numbers of daemonologists, necromancers, and worshippers of the Chaos Gods.[2b]

1604 IC - Count van Buik grants a seat on the Marienburg City Council to merchants and ship-owners, marking the beginning of democratic government in Marienburg.[2b]

1605 IC - Supported by an allied contingent of Empire troops, Tzar Alexandr Njevski throws back a huge army of Greenskins in a pitched battle.[28a]

1681 IC - The Night of the Restless Dead. For one night throughout the known world the dead stir and walk the land, sowing terror and confusion amongst the living. Entire villages and towns are overrun and destroyed before the night of terror ends.[2b]

1706 IC - Emperor Sigismund IV receives letters and warnings from counts in Stirland about numerous deaths, robberies, and disappearances along its roadways. By his decree, those already patrolling the roads on behalf of their local leaders are granted a new status as official Roadwardens and given writs that grant them impressive legal powers in order to help stop banditry. Little does Emperor Sigismund realize that the real reason for the problems are not Human bandits, but raids by Orcs and Goblins.[7a]

1707-1712 IC - The Orc Warlord Gorbad Ironclaw invades the Empire through Black Fire Pass. Nuln is sacked and the Moot devastated. Solland is overrun and Count Eldred of Solland slain after this, Solland ceases to exist as a separate land. The Solland Runefang is captured by Orcs. Gorbad advances north along the Upper Reik. A large Imperial army under the Count of Wissenland is defeated at the Battle of Grunberg just south of Altdorf. Altdorf is besieged. The Emperor Sigismund IV (the remaining elected Emperor at this time) is killed by a Wyvern during the siege but Altdorf holds out.[1a][2b][13c]

1812 IC - Middenlanders lay siege to Middenheim, repulsed with Dwarfen aid. The Undercity is sealed for all time.[2b]

1850 IC - Norse raids along the Sea of Claws resume. Marienburg is sacked for the fourth and final time.[2b]

1865 IC - Carroburg suffers a bloody siege prosecuted by the Count of Middenland against his rival in the city.[26a]

1940 IC - Constant Drachenfels invites the Elected Emperor Carolus II and much of his court to a great feast at his castle. At The Poisoned Feast, his guests ingest a paralyzing poison, and are starved to death in front of the magnificent banquet set out for them. This event wipes out several notable bloodlines of Reikland, and destabilizes the claim of the Elected Emperors.[13c]

1979 to 2304 IC: Dark Ages[]

1979 IC - Magritta of Marienburg is elected Empress by the Elector Counts not otherwise claiming the crown for themselves. The Grand Theogonist of Sigmar refuses to acknowledge the appointment and the Imperial system is effectively ended. From now until the time of Magnus the Pious there are no more Emperors and the lands become increasingly divided. As individual cities look to their own government the mercantile Burgomeisters gain in power.[1a][2b]

ca. 1988 IC - The coastal town of Debneitz comes under attack by Dark Elf Corsairs. The Elector Count of Nordland, Alfrich Gausser, arrives with a relief army only to find the fortress town in ruins, the corpses of its entire populace flayed and nailed to the nearby cliffs.[10a]

1999 IC - Mordheim is destroyed by a twin-tailed comet.[2b]

2000 IC - Old Worlders exploring westwards are prevented from entering Ulthuan by Elves.[2b]

2010 IC - Wars of the Vampire Counts begin with devastation of Ostermark by Vlad von Carstein, the first of the notorious Vampire Counts of Sylvania. Undead armies rampage between Stirland and the northern border.[1a][2b]

2012 IC - The inventive genius Leonardo da Miragliano enters the Emperor's service.[22a]

2025 IC - Vlad von Carstein is slain by Grand Master Kruger of the Knights of the White Wolf. Von Carstein returns a year later and Kruger's body is found at the base of Ulricsberg, drained of blood.[2b]

2050 IC - The Battle of Swartzhafen.[3a]

2051 IC - Vlad von Carstein is slain at the Siege of Altdorf, and Isabella commits suicide rather than carry on in unlife without him. The Vampire Counts fight amongst themselves and their Undead army splinters into separate feuding forces.[2b] Meanwhile, the Flagellant Schism, a religious war, begins. It is set into motion when the Sigmarite prophet Gunther von Linten accidentally sets his beard on fire while lighting his pipe.[15a]

2092 IC - The Witch Hunter, Helmut van Hal, leads an army of Stirlanders into Sylvania, burning the villages of Dechstein and Lichenheim to ground and slaying the Vampire Lord Pieter von Carstein.[10a]

2094 IC - Konrad von Carstein emerges as the most powerful Vampire Count.[2b]

2100 IC - Before the Battle of Four Armies, several feuding Imperial claimants ally against Konrad von Carstein. However, several assassination attempts occur between the supposed allies, and the battle ends inconclusively. Following this, the leaders truly realize the need for an Emperor to lead them united against the vampiric threat. However, after Elector Count Helmut, the leading candidate, is revealed to be a zombie thrall of von Carstein, the plans for election are scrapped.[13c]

2111 IC - The Count of Middenland, Luitprand II, has the entire town of Rotebach hanged for "Chaotic allegiance."[2b]

2121 IC - The Battle of Grim Moor.[4a]

2132 – 2145 IC - Mannfred von Carstein, the last and most cunning of the Vampire Counts, launches a surprise attack against the Empire when it is in the grip of a vicious civil war. He almost succeeds in capturing Altdorf, but is finally forced to retreat back to Sylvania by a combined army of Empire troops, Dwarfs, and High Elves. Determined to end the threat of the Vampire Counts once and for all, the various factions of the Empire unite and, along with their Dwarf and High Elf allies, scour the dark forests of Sylvania.[2b]

2141 IC - An Empire army from Reikland invades Quatar.[9b] Ramhotep the Visionary finishes construction of the Great Terracotta Wall, but it is destroyed during the Battle of the Steel Flame by Steam Tanks. Ramhotep swears he will reconstruct the wall using the bones of his enemies.[9a]

2145 IC - The Battle of Hel Fenn. Mannfred von Carstein, the last of the Vampire Counts of Sylvania, is destroyed along with his Undead hordes.[1a][2b]

2203 IC - Daemons pour out of a rift to the Realm of Chaos that opened in Castle Drachenfels when its magical wards are disturbed. After Bögenhafen and Ubersreik are devastated, the rift closes as mysteriously as it opened.[10a][13c]

2225 IC - Led by Graf Heimholtz, Templar Grand Master of the Knights of the Blazing Sun, an army of the Empire marches upon Numas. Though King Pharakh falls in combat against the Grand Master, the Graf is himself slain when the cursed Apophas appears and claims his soul.[9a]

2302 IC - The Great War against Chaos begins as the forces of Chaos march across the Lynsk and lay siege of Praag. Praag falls in winter of 2302/2303.[1a][2b] Many mercenary bands and generals from Tilea made their fortune by aiding the armies of the Empire in the conflict.[24a]

2303 IC - Magnus the Pious meets and defeats the Chaos armies at the gates of Kislev.[1a][2b] He vows eternal friendship with Tzar Alexis Romanoff and Magnus is named Hero of the People.[28a]

2304 to 2502 IC: The Empire Forged Anew[]

2304 IC - Magnus the Pious of Nuln elected Emperor. Rebuilding of the Empire, Magnus establishes his court at Nuln. Teclis founds Colleges of Magic in Altdorf. Magnus creates the Articles of Imperial Wizardry, a set of laws and rules which all users of magical abilities within the Empire must obey on pain of death,[1a][2b] and includes the cults of Ranald and Myrmidia among the recognized cults of the Empire.[24a]

2308-2310 IC - When the Reikland State Army musters in Ubersreik, the Duke of Parravon claims an ancient treaty is broken and invades Reikland over Grey Lady Pass. In the Third Parravon War, the Bretonnians are swiftly driven back to their own lands. The following year, the Reiklanders invade Parravon, and lay siege to the ducal castle. After a long and uneventful siege, the King of Bretonnia treats for peace on behalf of Parravon with Emperor Magnus I.[13c][13d] However, following the Empire's victory, a battalion of Nordlanders are mistakenly attacked by a relief army of over-eager Stirlanders who have heard tales of brightly clothed foreigners with funny accents invading their lands.[10a]

ca. 2312 IC - Waaagh! Gitrippa is obliterated at the gates of Carroburg by no less than six Steam Tanks.[10a]

2344 IC - Sack of Marienburg.

2367 IC - Captain Rossokovski of the Gryphon Legion leads his Kislevite knights in the campaign waged against Bretonnians alongside the forces of the Empire. He recieves great military honours for his bravery and for saving the life of Emperor Paulus.[28a]

2369 IC - On the death of Magnus, the Empire passes not to his brother Gunthar von Bildhofen (having antagonised the Grand Theogonist), but to Count Leopold of Stirland.[2b]

2370 IC - At the behest of the Elector Count of Middenland, a vast army of the Empire's soldiers and artillery ventures into the Middle Mountains to reclaim the Brass Keep from the Warriors of Chaos.[10b] The Chaos Warriors repel them, the Empire's artillery falling silent when Chimerae fall upon the crews and tear them to ribbons. With the artillery destroyed, the doors of Brass Keep grind open and a tide of frenzied warriors charge out, butchering the Empire's soldiers to a man.[8a]

2371 IC - Gunthar von Bildhofen's granddaughter marries Boris Todbringer, and their son becomes the first Todbringer Graf of Middenheim.[2b]

2378 IC - Marienburg's merchant fleets and militia conduct a highly successful campaign against the pirates.[2b]

2383 IC - Children report visions of Shallya in a grove outside Pfeildorf. Some claim they can work miracles. Inquisitors from Nuln take a dim view and have the children burned. The sect survives and becomes the Order of the Children of the Dove.[2b]

2401 IC - The Destruction of Waaagh! Gutstompa.[6e]

2402-2405 IC - The Duchy of Parravon invades Reikland a second time over Grey Lady Pass. Twice the Bretonnians lay siege to Ubersreik, but it does not fall. The Fourth Parravon War is ended when Dieter IV pays a very large sum of money in return for the Bretonnian retreat.[13d]

ca. 2410 IC - In exchange for twelve dozen wagon-loads of gold, Dwarf craftsmen build Fortress Kreighof for the Elector Count of Ostermark. However, when the Dwarfs received their payment, they discover they have been short-changed by a measly two and a half pennies. They return to Kreighof with a sizeable army from Karak Kadrin and raze the fortress to the ground.[10b]

2415 IC - The Night of a Thousand Arcane Duels. Rivalries between the Colleges of Magic turn into outright violence, and for a single night, the sky above Altdorf is lit with fireballs, lightning bolts and multicoloured flashes of light as wizards turn their powers and war machines upon each other. Order is restored after a magical backlash kills six of the eight Patriarchs in a variety of gruesome and horrific ways.[10b] Following this, the Cult of Sigmar pressures Emperor Dieter IV to disestablish the colleges and outlaw wizardry. Eventually, he bows to this pressure.[13d]

2420 IC - The Goblin Warlord Grom the Paunch leads a Waaagh! of Orc and Goblin tribes into the World's Edge Mountains.[2b] The lack of battle wizards is widely blamed for many of the Imperial forces defeats during this campaign.[13d]

2424 IC - After defeating the Dwarfs at the Battle of Iron Gate, Grom's army moves into the Empire. Much of the north and east is devastated and parts of Nuln are burnt to the ground. Grom leads his army to the sea where he builds a huge fleet and sails into the west, never to be seen again in the Old World.[2b]

2429 IC - Marienburg secedes from the Empire after the Burgomeisters collude with Emperor Dieter IV to secure their independence in return for Marienburger gold. When the scandal comes to light, the Electors invoke anti-corruption laws from the era of Magnus the Pious and depose Dieter. Wilhelm III takes the throne. The crown passes to the Elector Counts of Reikland. A daring trio of illusionists attached to a prestigious theatre company staying in the Imperial Palace in Altdorf make off with a fine selection of treasure from Emperor Wilhelm III’s collection. Wilhelm III orders a mass trial for wizards on charges of witchcraft and consorting with Chaos. The Battle of Grootscher Marsh is fought when the Electors pressure the newly-elected Wilhelm to retake Marienburg. In late autumn, battle is engaged, and Empire forces are defeated soundly. After the battle, Wilhelm verbally acknowledges the Wasteland's secession, but he never officially regonized their independence with a treaty. Meanwhile, Duke Frederik turns Tarhelm's Keep into a prison.[2b][13d]

2430 IC - In frustration over his defeat at Grootscher Marsh, Wilhelm III reinstates the Colleges of Magica. Significant resources are also invested in shipbuilding.[13d]

2431 IC - An accident at the newly reestablished Bright College leads to the Great Fire of Altdorf. Wilhelm is pressured to once again disestablish the Colleges of Magic, but instead opts to keep them open, albeit with increased oversight from the Cult of Sigmar.[13d]

2448 IC - Marienburg is flooded. The Vloedmuur defences are extended and the drainage system improved.[2b]

2449 IC - In Marienburg, rioting spreads from the Suiddock throughout the city in response to anti-Labour Guild laws passed by the City Council.[2b]

2453 IC - At the Fourth Siege of Altdorf, the Liche King, Arkhan the Black, rides at the head of a vast army of skeletal warriors directly towards the gates of Altdorf. However, the bold frontal assault is a fiendish diversion. As the city's state troops defiantly hold back the Undead legions at Altdorf's walls, Arkhan uses magic to break into the catacombs beneath the Temple of Sigmar and steal the dreaded Liber Mortis. As soon as he escapes with the tome, his army collapses once more, leaving the Empire soldiers standing in bewilderment.[10b][13d]

2457 IC - Egrimm van Horstmann, High Luminary of the College of Light Magic, is finally beguiled by the whispered promises of Tzeentch. Van Horstmann sells his allegiance to Chaos and frees the Chaos Dragon Baudros from his magical prison.[8a]

2460 IC - The Wrath of Karanak. Ricart Drallborg, aspirant wizard of the Gold Order, summons the Daemon-hound to eliminate his rivals. Alas for Drallborg his enchantments cannot cage Karanak and the Gold Wizard is the first to feel the beast's jaws. Sustained by the stray energies within the Gold College, Karanak then hunts freely and slaughters all the wizards within its walls.[6f]

2465 IC - The Battle of Schrolnetz Plain.[1b]

2470 IC - Emperor Luitpold and his infant son, Karl Franz, are ambushed in the Reikwald Forest by Beastmen. The Reiksguard bravely defend their lord, but they are butchered by a trio of Ghorgons. Just when it looks as if the Emperor and his son are about to fall to a Minotaur's axe, Wood Elves burst out of the forest and come mysteriously to their rescue, cutting the Beastmen down in a hail of arrows, before vanishing back into the trees.[10b]

2478 IC - Skaven rise up from the sewers of Hergig and attack the city. They are thwarted when a young handgunner, Gunther Kloss takes up his fallen Sergeant's long rifle and kills Grey Seer Krikk, the Skaven leader, thus throwing the ratmen into confusion.[20b]

2480 IC - Constant Drachenfels is slain by Oswald von Königswald, Crown Prince of Ostland.[13d]

2483 IC - Emperor Luitpold signs a treaty with the Wasteland allowing the ships of the Imperial Navy to pass through Marienburg - for a very high toll.[13d]

2499 IC - Skaven erupt from the sewers of Nuln, destroying whole quarters of the city.[10b]

2502 IC to Present Day: The Reign of Karl Franz[]

2502 IC - Emperor Luitpold dies in his sleep. Shortly after, King Louen of Bretonnia is granted a vision of prophecy by the Lady of the Lake. He sees the Old World in ruins, with the Ruinous Powers reigning supreme. He understands that Bretonnia needs an equally strong neighbour to form a bulwark against the predations of the Dark Gods. The Empire however, has been left weak, and only stands a chance with Emperor Karl Franz on the throne. Meeting with the King at Axe Bite Pass, Franz is informed of this prophecy. He is told to return to his homeland and secure the throne, not for himself, or for Louen, but for the entire Old World. Shortly after his return to Altdorf, Karl Franz is elected by a close margin and crowned in the High Temple of Sigmar. His first act is to lead an army to aid the Elector Count of Nordland to repel a massive invasion of Norse barbarians. Aided by the wizards and war machines of the Celestial College, Karl Franz predicts where and when the northern marauders plan to attack. With this knowledge, he prepares a well-executed ambush that devastates the Norse forces before they even realise they are under attack. The Emperor personally leads the Reiksguard in the final charge against the Norse shield wall, and in doing so, establishes a reputation as a brilliant and courageous military leader.[10b][13d][18]

2503 IC - The army of Wissenland, led by Karl Franz, allies with a host of Wood Elves to defeat a horde of minotaurs that threatens to cross the Grey Mountains into Athel Loren. A month after this, an Asrai emmissary appears in Altdorf bearing a griffon egg and a message: "We will be watching."[19a]

2505 IC - The Battle of Stuttburg.[12a] Meanwhile, the playwright Detlef Sierck is appointed by the crown to stage an amibitious play in Castle Drachenfels. The performance goes horribly wrong.[13d]

2505 to Present IC - The Emperor dispatches the Reikmarshal, Kurt Helborg, to lead his armies in battle against numerous foes; the Ogre reavers of Gutlord Breaskus, the Orcs of the Blighted Towers and many others. Kurt Helborg leads the Empire's armies to victory after victory, establishing his name as one of the greatest generals and tacticians of his age.[10b]

2507 IC - A severe outbreak of the Dancing Malady afflicts several villages south of the Midden Moors, causing hundreds of peasants to jig madly towards Carroburg. An imperial army led by General von Rau marches out to meet what they believe is a peasant uprising. Only when an impetuous unit of Outriders join the dance do the commanders identify the throng for what it is. A continget of Shallyans from Altdorf, led by Anja Gustavson are immediately sent for. Finally, the priestesses muster enough faith to summon a miracle from Shallya—a white light that instantaneously puts the peasants to sleep. Von Rau, however, believes that the peasants are still tainted by Chaos, and has his army slay them all as they lie.[21a]

2508 IC - Malathrax the Mighty, a massive Doomfire Dragon, terrorises Reikland. Several villages are razed, and the Dragon single-handedly destroys the Knightly Order of the Ebon Sword. Malathrax is tracked down by the Huntsmarshal, Markus Wulfhart, and his regiment of monster hunters, and ambushed whilst resting on the banks of the River Reik. The Dragon is slain before it can reach the opposite river bank after the Huntsmarshal shoots not one, but three arrows through its heart.[10b][13d]

2509 – 2511 IC - Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord, body-thief and favoured of Nurgle, leads a mighty incursion of Chaos in a great scything arc down the Mountains of Mourn and sweeping across the Dark Lands, laying all desolate in his wake. With the Chaos Dwarfs and a horde of nightmarish beasts as his allies, he lays waste to the Border Princes and strikes at the Empire's underbelly.[8a] In ca. 2511, he is finally defeated at the gates of Nuln.[10b]

2512 IC - A scandal involving a Chaos Cult leads to the fall of the house of Teugen in Bögenhafen. Also in this year, a brief civil war that would later be called the Turmoil of 2512 takes place, followed by reorganisation of the Empire and establishment of new Electors and provinces. In addition, Baugard the Rash, of Bretonnia, launches an attack upon the Empire to avenge an insult done to his infamously ugly wife by the visiting Elector Count of Averland, Marius Leitdorf. The short-lived crusade is ended before the walls of Helmgart when the knights are bloodily repulsed by the keep's massed Helblaster Volley Gun batteries.[10b] Meanwhile, a cabal of Chaos Sorcerers in the Middle Mountains summon a horde of Daemons which ravages the Ostland countryside. Captain Octavius Grauff leads a unit of thirty veteran huntsmen to the cabal's cave and assassinates them. The Daemons are thus banished to the Realm of Chaos.[20c]

2512 to 2515 IC - Azhag the Slaughterer leads a huge army of Orcs and Night Goblins into the northern Empire, burning and pillaging vast swathes of land.[10b]

2515 IC - Slaughter at Volganof. Lord Mortkin's bloody rampage through Kislev and Ostland is ended during the Siege of Volganof, though the city itself is burned to the ground.[10b]

2515 IC - The Beastlord Graktar destroys Gortsburg and Leitenbad, but loses the Battle of Helmgart.[2b]

2515 IC - Egged on by the Mercenary Captain Otto l'Magnifique, Hernault Clairvaux, the nephew of Duke Folcard d'Montfort, leads about 100 Bretonnian knights over Axe Bite Pass and briefly takes the fortress of Helmgart. His men are soon ejected by relief force out of Bögenhafen led by Kurt Helborg.[20a]

2516 IC - The Empire stands on the brink of civil war as Theoderic Gausser IC - the Elector Count of Nordland IC - seeks to enact his territorial ambitions against neighbouring Hochland. The Emperor asks Balthasar Gelt to intervene on his behalf, and the Supreme Patriarch travels to Nordland's capital of Castle Salzenmund. Though ostensibly there as an ambassador, Gelt secretly transmutes the gold earmarked for Theoderic's armies and mercenaries into worthless bars of lead before returning to Altdorf on the back of a Pegasus. The hired swords refuse to fight without payment and the looming threat of civil war is narrowly averted. In revenge, Thoederic swears he will have Gelt's head.[10c] Meanwhile, the son of Aldebrand Ludenhof, Elector Count of Hochland, falls ill with a mysterious illness. He is treated by a cloaked doctor who instructs him to drink a potion should the symptoms return. Upon drinking the tainted elixir, he is transformed into a hideous mutant that slaughters a dozen of the Count's most trusted advisors before sloping off to the north to obey its new master, Festus the Leechlord.[8a]

2516 to 2517 IC - The Beastlord Graktar is defeated in a challenge by Khazrak who embarks on a series of raids across Drakwald, sacking Jagerhausen, Immelscheld, and Arenburg.[2b]

2517 IC - The Battle of Bones. The Vampire Lord Zacharias the Everliving raises an army of Skeletons and Zombie Dragons and attacks Wissenland. The Empire forces, hard pressed to hold back the terrifying hordes, believe they are doomed when a second Undead host approaches from the south to surround them. However, this army, led by a mummified king, instead bolsters the faltering Empire line and together they drive the shambling hordes of Zacharias back. In Reikland, Karl Franz personally leads an army into Bloodpine Woods to purge its Forest Goblin threat. At the Battle of Bloodpine Woods, the Empire is victorious and the Spiderclaw Tribe is eradicated.[10b]

2518 IC - Boris Todbringer II purges Drakwald of Beastmen and personally takes the eye of Khazrak at the Battle of Elsterweld.[2b] Meanwhile, the chaos incursion of Grakthor Flameaxe is vanquished by a host of Flagellants led by Grand Theogonist Volkmar himself. At the end of the battle, known as the Martyrs of Taalfjord, only Volkmar and a score of flagellants are left standing.[10b]

2519 IC - Khazrak takes out Todbringer's right eye in an ambush outside Norderingen. The Count offers a 10,000-crown reward on Khazrak's head.[2b] Meanwhile, the Battle of Six Spikes is won when Balthasar Gelt harnesses the rampant Storm of Magic to turn the entire Chaos army into a forest of golden statues.[10b]

2520 IC - The Third Battle of Black Fire Pass, and the Siege of Middendorf. Festus the Leechlord continues to blight the Empire with his dark experiments, unleashing a strain of Eyeslime Fever so virulent that the death it causes allows a horde of Daemons to manifest within the Empire, laying siege to the city of Middendorf. However, the defenders are rallied to victory by Luthor Huss.[8a][10b] Meanwhile, Baron Otto Krieglitz leads a mercenary army to reclaim his ancestral castle in the Black Mountains from Greenskins. He is initially successful, but his army hasn't been seen since its first battle.[20d]

2521 IC - The Imperial School of Engineers claim that their ingenuity surpasses that of their Dwarf allies, leading to raging arguments. The resultant "field testing contest" escalates when each side decides to demonstrate their superiority in the field of counter-battery fire. Before long the air is filled with silvered shot, runic cannonballs, flaming naptha and helstorm rockets, whilst exploding flying machines and clockwork angels duel with steel zeppelins and Gyrocopter squadrons in the skies above.[15a]

Storm of Chaos[]

2521 – 2522 IC - United by the Lord of the End Times, Archaon, marauders from the Chaos Wastes pour southwards in ever greater numbers. Luthor Huss discovers the youth Valten and claims he is Sigmar Reborn. Emperor Karl Franz convenes the Conclave of Light to discuss the growing threat from the north. Dubbed the Storm of Chaos, the northmen invasion sweeps through Kislev and into the Empire. Huss and Valten meet Karl Franz. The Emperor gifts Valten with Ghal-Maraz and dubs him the Champion of Sigmar, but retains rule of the Empire. Archaon is intent on defiling the Flame of Ulric in Middenheim. The combined forces of Middenland, Ostland, and Hochland slow the attack. A force led by Karl Franz containing Teclis and Valten drives the remnants of Archaon's force from Middenheim. Valten is grievously wounded in the fighting. After the defeat of the Chaos horde, the Empire is riven by a religious schism. Valten is initially found murdered in the Temple of Shallya, but his body disappears. It is claimed that he will return again when he is needed.[2b]

Sources[]

1: Warhammer Armies: Empire (4th Edition)

1a: pg. 11

2: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd Edition - Sigmar's Heirs (RPG)

2a: pg. 20

2b: pg. 21

2c: pg. 14

2d: pg. 102

3: Warhammer Armies: Empire (7th Edition)

3a: pg. 203

4: Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts (7th Edition)

4a: pg. 17

5: Warhammer Fantasy Armies: Core (7th Edition)

5a: pg. 207

6: Warhammer Armies: Daemons of Chaos (8th Edition)

6a: pg. 17

6b: pg. 18

6c: pg. 19

6d: pg. 21

6e: pg. 22

6f: pg. 23

7: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 2nd Edition - Shades of the Empire

7a: pg. 114

8: Warhammer Armies: Warriors of Chaos (8th Edition)

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9: Warhammer Armies: Tomb Kings (8th Edition)

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10c: pg. 33

11: Knight of the Blazing Sun (Novel) by Josh Reynolds

11a: ch. 2

12: White Dwarf #243 (US)

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13: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)

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13b: pg. 273

13c: pg. 274

13d: pg. 275

14: Time of Legends: Empire (Novel) by Graham McNeill

14a: Chapter 11: "The Mountains of Fear"

14b: Chapter 13: "A Warning Unheeded"

15: Warhammer Core Rulebook (8th Edition)

15a: pg. 177

16: Dead Winter (Novel) by ca. L. Werner

16a: Chapter 1

16b: Chapter 2

16c: Chapter 6

16d: Chapter 18

17: Blighted Empire (Novel) by ca. L. Werner

17a: Chapter 2

17b: Chapter 3

18: Prince of Altdorf (Novella)

19: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition)

19a: pg. 33

20: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 3rd ED IC - Omens of War

20a: pg. 10

20b: pg. 13

20c: pg. 14

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21: Warhammer Fantasy RPG 3rd ED IC - Liber Infectus

21a: pg. 48

22: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th Edition)

22a: pg. 85

23: Empire in Ruins: Part 5 of the Enemy Within Campaign (4th Edition Fantasy Roleplay)

24: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation - Priests of the Old World (RPG)

24a: pp. 160-161

25: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Forges of Nuln (RPG)

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26: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: The Player's Guide (RPG)

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27: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realm of the Ice Queen (RPG)

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28a: pg. 12 "Kislev: The Claws of the Great Bear"

29: Warhammer Armies: Orcs & Goblins (8th Edition)

29a: pg. 28