Why an empire?

[Woodhouse]

On one of the loading screens in skyrim, they described tiber septims conquest as bringing peace to the empirre

[cybrxkhan]

On one of the loading screens in skyrim, they described tiber septims conquest as bringing peace to the empirre

Well, Genghis Khan brought peace to Eurasia by killing tons of people and (more importantly and similarly to Tiber Septim, in this case) subjugating whole regions under the rule of one ruler - one Muslim writer of the time said that the Silk Road was so peaceful and finally free of bandits and raiding and squabbling kingdoms that a woman could walk with a gold plate on her head from one end of the Silk Road to another without any trouble.

Not that Tiber Septim is or isn't like Genghis Khan per se. But Tiber Septim brought Tamriel peace through conquest - sometimes outright military campaigns, other times through cunning politics and intrigue, but an imperialism of sorts anyways.

[Woodhouse]

It may also have to do with talos needing to reach heaven by violence. And i think that the ysmir/zurin having their heart torn out thing was needed for the continuation of the kapla, but once it happened and tiber now had a giant brass god, he figured he might as well conquer tamriel.

[Dunmerdude]

Reaching heaven by violence just means achieving it through one of the 6 ways, in Tiber's case mantling, it doesn't literally mean by being violent. The phrase comes from the metaphor of Nerevar trying to become a God by using his axe. It's a metaphor.

[AgentCommander]

So the Imperials could be stronger.

[Dark Spark]

Practical military action has but one ultimate objective: economic expansion. It is the grandest incarnation of armed robbery and racketeering.

Cyrodiil, being in the center of Tamriel, serves as the hub of commerce on the continent. You want to take goods from Point A to Point Z, chances are that you're going to be dragging it through a Cyrodiilic canal or a driving it over a Cyrodiilic road. The Imperials may even operate the trade houses at either end of the chain.

If they made the effort to establish this infrastructure, they are not going to give it away to the locals without a fight. That's where the Legion comes in, to make sure the Empire wins any contest.