Tamriel, also known as Dawn's Beauty or Starry Heart, is the setting of Bethesda's fantasy video game series, The Elder Scrolls. With the creation of this world came an astounding list of humanoid races that are each complex and diverse in their own ways. Lore creation is second to none in open-world games, but the Bethesda spared no expense over the years of the series' creation.
Much of Tamriel's history has it divided up into nine provinces, most of which have been either the main setting of a game or visitable by the player character. Each province features its own set of races, playable or otherwise, but in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, many races make an appearance or are referenced in the expansive history. The events of Skyrim begin to take place in the year 4E 201, and by this point in time, mirroring world-world events and reality, many races that resided in Tamriel have gone extinct naturally or through harrowing events.
Beginning of Tamriel - The Wandering Ehlnofey and Old Ehlnofey
Ancestors of men, the Wandering Ehlnofey were descendants of Aedra who landed on Nirn in the Dawn Era, the era preceding the Merethic Era. After arriving in the new realm, they wandered and eventually found the hidden land of the Old Ehlnofey, their kin and the ancestors of Mer (an all-encompassing term for Elvenkind). The wandering ones expected to be greeted happily, but the Old Ehlnofey considered them a disgrace. War would break out, eventually dividing the two groups and shaping the continents on Nirn as they are known today. Old Ehlnofey land eventually became Tamriel and the Wandering Ehlnofey would be split among the other three continents.
The Akaviri
There are some conflicting reports throughout the lore of The Elder Scrolls about the Akaviri, including that they died out long ago, that they were eaten by the Tsaeci, or that the Akaviri are in fact the Tsaeci themselves. One theory is that the word "eaten" is not used literally, but rather refers to the evolution of one race into another.
Not much is known about the culture or history of the Akaviri, but the original Blades were Akaviri crusaders that invaded Tamriel in search of a Dragonborn. The closest any game gets to seeing an Akaviri person are carvings of warriors on Alduin's wall in Skyrim and the ghost of Commander Mishaxhi in Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.
Mer Races
The original race of Mer claimed to be direct descendants of Aedra and were known as the Aldmer. This term should seem familiar to players of Bethesda's epic fantasy games because the Aldmeri Dominion plays a major role in both Elder Scrolls Online and Skyrim as a governing faction. The first Aldmeri Dominion was formed sometime in the Second Era by the Altmer, also known as the High Elves, who consider themselves to be the "purest form" of their progenitor race, maintaining that purity through careful breeding.
While the Aldmer vanished at some point during the Merethic Era—an era before the First Era, counting down to Year Zero, similar to the BC era in the real world—many other races evolved as descendants aside from the Altmer, including Bretons, Ayleids, Falmer, and Dwemer.
The Ayleids would come to occupy a considerable portion of the continent of Tamriel, and their empire existed from sometime during the Merethic Era until the year 1E 243. Also known as the Heartland Elves or Wild Elves, many references to the Ayleids are made either through architecture like statues in Oblivion or ghosts in The Elder Scrolls: Blades as their empire had such a big impact on Tamriel's history. Many Ayleids were eradicated by a rebellion of its slaves in Cyrodiil or forced to flee to other provinces. The last known pure Ayleid was King Laloriaran Dynar, who dies during the events of The Elder Scrolls Online.
The Dwemer are known by many names, including Dwarves, Deep Ones, or the under-Elves, and their name roughly translates to "people of the deep." They were a sophisticated race, crafting advanced technology and architecture and are still (during the events of Skyrim) respected as being far ahead of other races and civilizations of their time. However, their vanishing remains a long-debated mystery. Somehow, either during or after the Battle of Red Mountain in 1E 700, they seemingly disappeared. Still, many locations are visited throughout quests in Skyrim.
By visiting Dwemer ruins, the player will come across the Falmer, meaning "the betrayed." The Falmer are evolved from their ancestors, the Snow Elves, but became morphologically distinct enough to be classified as their own race. While this point of interest has not been confirmed in Elder Scrolls lore, it's believed that centuries of underground living, as well as slavery to the Dwemer race, lead to the blind and savage race known as Falmer.
Originally a wealthy and prosperous society, the Snow Elves' quest to uncover what would be known as the Eye of Magnus in Skyrim may have incited conflict between them and the Nords. A war between the two races during the Merethic Era would result in the eradication of many Snow Elves and their entire civilization. Any ones remaining sought refuge with the Dwemer, who enslaved them by feeding the Snow Elves toxic fungus and forcing them to live underground.
Due to their worship of the Daedra, another descendant of the Aldmer known as the Chimer moved from Summerset Isles to Tamriel, but their religious beliefs also lead to conflict with the Dwemer. A surviving Chimer, Sotha Sil, who appears in different forms throughout the Elder Scrolls saga, figured out how to achieve godhood. In the process, he betrayed the Daedric Prince Azura, who punished Sotha Sil by turning all Chimer people's appearance to ashy dark skin and red eyes. They became known as the Dunmer, or "the cursed ones."
Ancestors of Men
The Nedes played a primary role in wiping out the Ayleids, who had enslaved Nedic people during their empire. St. Alessia sought divine intervention to help overthrow and slay the Alyeids, but many other events caused the Nede population to shrink before the end of the First Era. Many Nedes, albeit ghosts, can be interacted with in Elder Scrolls Online, such as an Alessian Knight and Kings, but one Knight, Cadwell the Betrayer, who died back in the Merethic Era, is resurrected by a necromancer and plays a pivotal role in the main questline. Now, the Nedes are commonly known as the ancestors of the Imperials in Cyrodiil.
Atmorans came to Tamriel from the neighboring continent of Atmora and are known to be some of the first human settlers in Tamriel. They traveled to what would become the Province of Skyrim and settled in Saarthal. Though they once had a peaceful relationship with groups of Snow Elves, the previously mentioned attack—possibly over the Eye of Magnus—would wipe out the rising Atmoran population in Saarthal. Ysgramor and his sons were among this group and eventually returned to Skyrim with a large army. By breeding with the Nedic population, they were able to give rise to the modern race known as Nords.
Up For Debate
Other races are officially marked as extinct, but very little is known about some of these other races, and it's debated among fans whether or not some of them are actually extinct as they have groups of descendants in Skyrim. They include the Sinistral Elves, who never reached Tamriel and may have been exterminated in war; the Kothringi, whose last living person plays a role in Elder Scrolls Online; and many small tribes of men in Black Marsh.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is out on all major platforms.