Diablo Series Timeline

The Dawn

 In the beginning there is nothing save a Pearl containing a mighty, unfathomable spirit; Anu the One.

 At some point Anu considers its existence and, desiring perfection, casts all evil from itself, creating the
Prime Evil Tathamet.

 Now two separate beings, Anu and Tathamet war against each other within the Pearl for countless
millennia, until finally exhausted from the battle, they both deliver their final blows. The resulting
cataclysm destroys them both and lays the foundation for all Creation. Pandemonium marks the epicenter
of this event.

The Great Conflict

 Anu's shining spine forms the Crystal Arch and the High Heavens form around it. Tathamet's corpse forms
the basis for the Burning Hells and the Great Evils are born from its seven heads. The two realms give birth
to angels and demons respectively. Anu's eye becomes the Worldstone, an object of great power that can
create entire worlds.

 Angels and demons wage war over the Worldstone, and the artifact changes hands many times. The
Pandemonium Fortress is built by the High Heavens to house it, but it too changes hands many times.

 After eons of battle, the angel Inarius seeks to abandon what has become known as the Great Conflict. He
gathers like-minded angels and demons, most notably Lilith, daughter of the Prime Evil known as
Mephisto. Inarius's renegades steal the Worldstone and use it to create their own realm where they will be
free of the conflict—Sanctuary.

 The Great Conflict grinds to a halt, as without the Worldstone Heaven and Hell are left without a goal.

The Creation of Sanctuary

 After forming Sanctuary, Inarius and Lilith mate and create offspring called nephalem. Other renegade
angels and demons do likewise. Thus are born those who would later be known as the Ancients, of whom
all humans are distant descendants.

 The renegade angels and demons fear the power of the nephalem and consider exterminating them all.
Lilith is driven into a mad frenzy at the prospect of her children being exterminated, and so kills every
single renegade angel and demon on Sanctuary except for her former lover Inarius.
  Inarius is horrified by Lilith's actions but can't bring himself to kill her, and so banishes her from Sanctuary
into the Void.

 Inarius twists the powers of the Worldstone to weaken the nephalem over the next generations until none of
their special powers remain. Thus emerges the race of humanity, having lost all knowledge of its birthright
and heritage.

The Birth of Civilization

c. -2300

 Millennia have passed, and humankind has begun to populate the world. Recovered artifacts indicate that
by this time, writing, art and science had become an integral part of human culture. Modern scholars agree
that this time marks the beginning of Kehjan, humanity's first civilization.

c. -2200

 The cultures of Kehjan formalize the study of magic. This leads to the formation and growth of the Mage
Clans.

c. -2100

 The growing power of the clans leads to the formation of Al'Raquish. It rules Kehjan alongside the
kingdom's monarchy and trade guilds.

c. -1992

 Jere Harash summons the first demon into Sanctuary. His fellow Vizjerei, one of the greater Eastern mage
clans, perfect this summoning art, establishing demonology and the enslavement of demons as the basis of
their power. Consequently, the Prime Evils learn of the existence of Sanctuary and humanity's latent
power. They begin to plot how to subvert humanity into becoming their servants to use against the High
Heavens.

c. -1880

 The Temple of Triune is founded as a front to spread the Prime Evil's influence. It steadily grows in power,
its true purpose unknown to all bar its highest ranking members

. c. -1820
  Inarius, recognizing the Triune for what it is and fearful of what should happen if Heaven discovers
Sanctuary, forms the Cathedral of Light to counter the Triune.

The Sin War

c. -1809

 An ideological battle between the Cathedral of Light and the Temple of Triune begins. Thus begins the Sin
War, as Hell and Inarius subtly battle for control over the masses.

 A simple farmer, Uldyssian, is dragged into the conflict between the Triune and Cathedral of Light cults
when Lilith, who somehow manages to return from the Void, unlocks the hidden nephalem powers within
him. She plans to use him as a slave against Inarius.

 Uldyssian and his followers give rise to the Edyrem, the next generation of the nephalem. The group sets
out to dismantle both the Triune and Cathedral and end their dominance. In the process, the High Heavens
learn of the existence of Sanctuary and humanity.

 The Triune and Cathedral are destroyed, Lilith cast back to the Void, and the Worldstone altered, removing
Inarius's 'blanket' over humanity's potential. However, the High Heavens invade Sanctuary, seeking to
eradicate the "abomination" of humanity. The Burning Hells openly invade as well, and thus begins a three-
way battle between the Heavenly Host, Demonic Legion, and Edyrem. Sanctuary becomes a battlefield.

 Uldyssian becomes more powerful than angel or demon after unlocking his full nephalem power, but he
realizes he is losing his humanity and decides to sacrifice himself to expel both Heaven and Hell from
Sanctuary. The release of energy strips the Edyrem of their powers and resets the Worldstone to the state
Inarius left it in.

 The Angiris Council, the ruling body of the High Heavens, votes on the issue of Sanctuary. Tyrael, moved
by Uldyssian's sacrifice, makes the deciding vote that spares both. The Council subsequently makes a pact
with Mephisto that both Heaven and Hell will recognize Sanctuary as its own realm, that humanity will be
left free to choose its own path between Order and Chaos. To seal the deal, Mephisto is given Inarius as a
slave, to be tortured for all eternity.

 Thus ends the Sin War. Only a few select individuals recall the events of Uldyssian's uprising.

The Age of Magic

c. -1799

 Believing the Sin War to merely be a clash of faiths, the majority of Kehjan's populace turn away from
religion. The land is renamed Kehjistan in order to distance itself from the conflict.
  As the culture of the East shifts to one that relies on the empirical and quantifiable, more and more people
turn to the Mage Clans for guidance, and they come to be a respected body. Thus begins the Age of Magic.

 Mages who retain their memories from the Sin War declare that no mage must ever again summon a demon
into the world, and that humanity must remain free of angelic and demonic influence. The Vizjerei,
Ennead, and Ammuit clans are left as the dominant mage clans, and suppress popular religions.

c. -748

 The Golden City of Ureh is laid siege to by the Prime Evil Diablo. During the attempted takeover, Diablo
appears to the city's leader, Juris Khan, in the guise of an Archangel and tells Khan that the city has earned
its place in Heaven. Khan leads Ureh's mages in casting a spell to create the portal, unaware it will take the
city to the Burning Hells instead. His chief advisor, Gregus Mazi, learns the truth and attempts to realign
the spell. The conflicting energies subsequently cause Ureh to be transported to a limbo between the
extreme planes, and the Golden City disappears from Sanctuary. Mazi is teleported outside the city by
Khan, and watches Ureh fades away.

c. -736

 Twelve years after Ureh's disappearance, Greugus Mazi returns to the former location of the missing city in
the company of Humbart Wessel and other mercenaries. After seven days, Mazi approaches the edge of the
city’s ruins, and as the light of the setting sun shone at just the right angle, Ureh appeared shimmering
before his eyes. Mazi entered, never to be seen on Sanctuary again.

 In Ureh, Gregus Mazi and former advisor to Juris Khan Father Tobio, set out to destroy the evil that had
crept over the Light of Lights and gripped Lord Khan and his followers in madness. Both are captured, and
Father Tobio is killed and Mazi is turned into a part of the mountain Nymyr to keep watch over Ureh as a
reluctant and eternal guardian.

c. -264

 It is discovered that the Vizjerei are continuing the practice of demonology. This revelation sparks a series
of assassinations and political intrigue aimed at stripping the Vizjerei of their power.

c. -215

 A sisterhood of mages kills their Vizjerei masters and are subsequently cursed. And angel in disguise,
calling himself the Prophet, cures them. Foreseeing the dark events of the distant future, he trains the
sisterhood and helps augment their skills, calling them the Hand of the Prophet. He places the group into a
magical slumber, from which they will awake to aid humanity in the future.

The Mage Clan Wars

 Tensions between the Vizjerei, Ammuit and Ennead mage clans sets off a bloody conflicts across the
world, and when the main academy of the Vizjerei in Caldeum is stormed and all of its mages slaughtered,
all-out war erupts.

 The other two clans press their advantage and put the Vizjerei on the run all across Kehjistan. The Vizjerei
seem defeated, when they suddenly unleash their summoned demons. The war shifts rapidly, and the
Vizjerei quickly force the other two clans to retreat to the capital city Viz-jun.

c. -203

 Bartuc, one of the foremost of the Vizjerei and known as the Warlord of Blood for his crimson hued armor,
becomes convinced mankind must submit to the rule of demons. The Vizjerei leadership tries to strip him
of his command, igniting a civil war within the clan.

 Bartuc's brother, Horazon, enters the fray. Their respective forces battle outside of the gates of Viz-jun,
eventually leveling the city itself and leaving a death toll in the hundreds of thousands.

 Horazon and a small number of his followers corner Bartuc in the great halls of Viz-Jun, where the Warlord
of Blood is defeated once and for all. Knowing Bartuc's demonic armor would enable him to rise again,
Horazon has his head separated from his body and both parts buried separately in different lands.

 The war destroys the clans and reduces their former glory to a hidden existence, forever hated and hunted
by the public. The remaining Vizjerei swear to never again summon demons and found the Viz-Jaq'taar, the
Assassins, to enforce this oath and deal with rogue mages.

 Only one mage stronghold, the Yshari Sanctum in Caldeum, survives.

The Age of Faith

 The Age of Magic gives way to the Age of Faith as more and more people begin embracing faith as the
basis for their lives. Numerous religions spring up during this period.

 First year of the Anno Kehjistani, a calendar used by the inhabitants of Sanctuary to record the history of
their world. Dates move upward from this point.

 Akarat sees a vision while on Xiansai and attributes it to an angel named Yaerius. He gains supposed
insight into the universe, reality, and humankind itself as an ascended power. Preaching the virtues of the
Light, he gains a following in the numerous cities he visits.

 Akarat disapears in the jungles of Kehjistan. His teachings are subsequently formalized into a religion
named The Order of Zakarum, which becomes Sanctuary's most influential religion.
c. 264

 Aranoch is ravaged by conflict.

c. 285

 By this point, the nephalem are believed to be extinct, though this is not entirely accurate.

302

 The demon Assur is killed by a hero named Siggard in the walled city of Brennor, north of Ensteig in the
Western Kingdoms. Entsteig is left untroubled by demonic incursion for at least two centuries.

c. 504

 The grand mage Ethad creates the artifact known as the Oculus.

c. 885

 Ore is discovered in Kehjistan in a stretch of desert called the Stinging Winds. The town of Alcarnus is
quickly established nearby as the center of all mining in the area.

The Dark Exile

964

 Led by the four Lesser Evils, a vast majority of Hell's denizens rise up against the three Prime Evils in a
rebellion that culminates in the Dark Exile. As a result of this coup d’état, the Three Brothers are forcibly
exiled to Sanctuary.

c. 985

 Dahlgur offers Caldeum access to an oasis, in an area that was previously thought to be desert. Access to
this new water supply allows Caldeum to grow in size. Dahlgur asks only that the oasis bear his name, and
he disappears shortly afterwards.

999

 A good year to party, according to the traveling merchant Gheed.

c. 1004
  The archangel Tyrael gathers together mortal heroes to create the Horadrim. He bestows the soulstones
upon them and tasks them with tracking down and imprisoning the Prime Evils.

1009

 Mephisto is captured near the jungles of Kehjistan and imprisoned under a Zakarum temple in what will
eventually become Kurast.

1010

 Baal is tracked to the desert near Lut Gholein. Tal Rasha, the leader of the Horadrim, sacrifices himself to
capture Baal in a damaged soulstone.

1017

 The Zakarum begin constructing the city of Travincal around the temple housing Mephisto's soulstone.
This sparks interest in Zakarum teachings and within months, throngs of Kehjistan's downtrodden masses
flock to the temple to lend their aid.

1018

 According to rumor, Travincal's construction is finished in this year.

1019

 Diablo is finally captured by a group of Horadrim monks led by Jered Cain. The monks bury Diablo's
soulstone near the river Talsande in Khanduras, and a Horadric monastery with a network of catacombs is
built over the burial spot.

The Rise of Zakarum

1025

 The town of Tristram is established around the Horadric monastery. In the following years, the town
attracts farmers and settlers from the region.

1042

 Emperor Tassara of Kehjistan converts to the increasingly influential Zakarum faith, thus restoring his
popularity amongst his restless subjects and stabilizing the region.

 The empire's capital is moved to Kurast. Tassara codifies the Zakarum faith's core beliefs and elects the
first Que-Hegan, also referred to as the "Supreme Patriarch of the Zakarum Church". Records describe the
Zakarum as a bona fide church and organized religion from this point forward.
1045

 After three years of codified Zakarum faith, Tassara continues to be overshadowed by his childhood friend
and Zakarum zealot, Rakkis. After defeating a coup of renegade nobles who seek to overthrow the church,
Rakkis becomes a living legend. He uses his influence to replace government officials with Zakarum
bishops, upsetting the region's balance of power.

 Wary of Rakkis's growing popularity, Tassara dispatches the general on a crusade to spread Zakarum to the
lands of the West. With the departure of Rakkis and his most loyal forces, Tassara is able to secure his
control over Kehjistan.

 Around the time of Rakkis's departrue, the cleric Akkhan forms the Crusader order. He sends them to the
east to seek out a means to purify the Zakarum faith, as per his belief that the church had strayed from
Akarat's teachings.

1060

 After years of warring with the peoples of the West and North, Rakkis ends his journey by founding
Westmarch and becoming the nation's first king. Just prior to this he discovers the ruins of an ancient
nephalem city named Corvus.

1070

 A decade after becoming king, the power of the nephalem still escapes Rakkis. However, he had found
mention of the Worldstone, an artifact that lay within the Barbarian lands of the north. Rakkis rallies his
banners and marches north to invade the Northern Steppes.

1080

 The Horadric monastery in Tristram is abandoned.

1100

 The Horadrim, with no quests left to undertake, fade into history and legend.

1141

 The mantis-like demon Xazax begins searching for Bartuc's cursed armor.
The Zakarum Reformation

1150

 Que-Hegan Zebulon I initiates a reformation of the Zakarum Church, urging the faith to align with its
ascetic and humble origins. The act is well received by the people and it sparks a surge in independent
worship, secularism, and mysticism. However, the archbishops of the Zakarum High Council view these
events as an erosion of the church's power, but are unable to keep Zebulon in check.

 Around this time (mid-12th century), the church dispatches clerics to the west to spread the word of
Zakarum. The rigors of travel lead to the assignment of the Protectors of the Word, an order of holy
warriors, to protect future missionaries.

c. 1172

 The Red Circle is a gallows at this point in time.

1190s

 Pepin is born in this decade.

1200

 Westmarch is threatened by plage. Justinian II orders the incineration of the dead.

 Deckard Cain is born.

1210s

 Griswold is born in this decade.

1211

 Deckard Cain's father becomes head of a tannery shop after working there for years.

1213

 Deckard Cain's father succumbs to sickness. A few weeks later, he has a falling out with his mother,
refusing to believe her tales of the Horadrim are anything more than old stories. It is a belief he maintains
for decades.

1220s
  Adria is born in this decade.

The Zakarum Inquisition

1225

 With the ascension of Que-Hegan Karamat, the High Council fulfills its goal of reverting Zebulon's
reformations. Karamat is manipulated into establishing a strict system of worship that imposes harsh
punishments on nonconformists. Missionary work takes on an increasingly martial tone. This marks the
start of the Zakarum Inquisition, as the church purges various sects and brutally suppresses other religions
such as Skatsim.

1233

 Deckard Cain's wife, Amelia, gives birth to their son Jered.

1234

 Terania's mother dies. Her father, Jeronnan, is left to care for her.

1237

 Due to strain in the marriage, Amelia leaves Tirstram and Deckard, taking her son with her. The two are
killed by bandits outside Tristram.

1240s

 Gillian is born in this decade.

1244

 Jeronnan and Terania move to Gea Kul.

 By this year, Warriv is leading caravans between Khanduras and Aranoch.

1245

 The Zakarum priesthood attempts to seal Mephisto. They fail, and the church falls to corruption.

 Torion is knighted by King Cornelius.

 Shanar is born.

1246
  Terania is kidnapped and enthralled. She nearly kills her father and disapears shortly afterwards.

1247

 Farnham's daughter is born.

 At the height of the Time of Troubles and Zakarum's increasing zealotry, a group of Zakarum paladins
break away from the church. They found the new Order of Paladins to fight the darkness directly. They
venture into the west to begin their campaign.

1251

 Lhex is born.

1254

 Kentril Dumon takes command of a mercenary company.

1255

 Fever sweeps through Bramwell.

 Elora dies.

 Akarat is born.

The Darkening of Tristram

1258

 At the behest of the Zakarum High Council and urging of his advisor, Archbishop Lazarus, Leoric is sent to
govern the land of Khanduras. He repurposes the Horadric monastery into a Zakarum cathedral and
declares himself king.

 Upon arriving at Tristram, Lazarus frees Diablo. Once freed, Diablo attempts to possess Leoric, but without
success. However, Diablo is able to strip away the king's sanity, and over time, Leoric descends into
madness.

1259

 Ogden begins running the Tavern of the Rising Sun in Tristram.

1261

 Deckard Cain's father becomes head of a tannery shop after working there for years.

 Deckard Cain is teaching children at Tristram’s schoolhouse by this year.

1262

 The necromancer Zayl finds the remains of Humbart Wessel. He reanimates his skull and takes him as a
companion.

1263

 Adria arrives in Tristram.

 Increasingly deranged, King Leoric begins imprisoning all who question his authority and executing them
as traitors. He declares war on the kingdom of Westmarch.

 The order of warrior-bards known as the Seekers of the Light falls into decline due to the chaos Leoric's
actions are stirring.

 Archbishop Lazarus kidnaps Leoric's youngest son Prince Albrecht, to be used as a vessel for Diablo
himself. Diablo's possession of Albrecht spawns a multitude of demons from Albrecht's worst nightmares
and twists the deepest levels of the cathedral into a scene out of Hell itself.

 The loss of Albrecht shatters what remains of Leoric's sanity, and Tristram is plunged into horror as the
king seeks to torture and execute all he suspects of conspiring against him.

 Lachdanan, captain of King Leoric's army, returns from the disastrous war with Westmarch and is forced to
kill Leoric. The fallen monarch curses Lachdanan and his followers with his dying breath. Not long
afterward, Lachdanan and the king's guards are attacked by Leoric, resurrected as the Skeleton King, as
they attempt to bury him. The king's curse transforms Lachdanan and his men into the dreaded Hell
Knights in the deepest parts of the cathedral.

 Archbishop Lazarus leads a group of villagers into the cathedral on a mission to rescue Albrecht and
abandons them to a bloodthirsty demon called The Butcher. Only a few survive. People begin fleeing
Tristram in droves.

 Prince Aidan returns to Tristram. With his allies, he ventures into the depths of the cathedral.

 Prince Aidan defeats the bloated and fetid Butcher, Archbishop Lazarus and the Skeleton King.

 Aidan defeats Diablo, albeit at the cost of Albrecht's life. Aidan tries to contain Diablo within himself
through the shattered soulstone, but his valiant spirit quickly succumbs to Diablo’s corruption.
  Adria seeks out Aidan, seeking to console him following the ordeal of the Labyrinth. She sees the power of
Diablo within the young warrior, and pledges herself to his service, giving herself to him in the encounter
that would lead to the conception of her daughter, Leah.

 Adria and Gillian leave for Caldeum.

 Aidan becomes the Dark Wanderer, leaving Tristram behind for the East shortly before legions of foul
demons attack and destroy the town and its inhabitants.

The Hunt for the Three

1264

 The daughter of James is born sometime this year.

 Adria give birth to Leah during this year. She leaves her in the care of Gillian in Caldeum and promptly
disapears.

 Norrec Vizharan and his companions come across the armor of Bartuc. The armor binds itself to Norrec
and takes control of him, forcing him to travel to the east.

 A group of heroes begin a quest to defeat Diablo and his brothers. They battle and defeat the rogue
Moreina, who once accompanied Aidan into the labyrinth of Tristram before becoming corrupted by the
demoness Andariel and transformed into a being known as Blood Raven. They go on to defeat Andariel
herself, whose forces had overrun the monastery of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye, corrupting and
killing many rogues in the process.

 The heroes open a portal and return to Tristram in order to destroy the remaining demons and rescue
Deckard Cain before journeying east in pursuit of the Wanderer.

 Xazax is defeated by the Rathma necromance Kara Nightshadow. With her help, Norrec frees himself from
the armor of Bartuc. At around the same time, the Wanderer arrives at Lut Gholein.

 The heroes journey to Lut Gholein, where they destroy the demon lord Duriel within the tomb of Tal Rasha
and rescue the archangel Tyrael; it is discovered that Baal is already free from his soulstone.

 The Dark Wanderer completes his transformation into Diablo; Mephisto, and the corrupted Zakarum high
priesthood, are defeated beneath the jungles of Kurast by the band of heroes.

 The heroes journey into Pandemonium Fortress, where they defeat Izual, the betrayer of the High Heavens,
and storm Hell itself. Diablo is defeated in the Chaos Sanctuary, his soulstone is destroyed, along with
Mephisto's, upon the Hellforge.

 A mercenary company led by Kentril Dumon discovers a way to enter the fabled city of Ureh. Along with
the necromancer Zayl, Dumon discovers and survives the city's dark secrets.
  Gregus Mazi is found embedded in rock by Zayl as they investigated the lower levels of Ureh's palace.
Mazi is still conscious and aware, prompting Zayl to perform a mercy killing to end his misery.

1265

 The future demon hunter Valla is born around this time.

 Baal and his army march on Mount Arreat.

 The heroes pursuing Diablo and his brothers follow Baal to Mount Arreat for the final conflict between
man and the last of the Prime Evils. Although the heroes defeat Baal, his demonic army continues to
advance.

 The angel Tyrael discovers that Baal has succeeded in corrupting the Worldstone housed within Mount
Arreat. Realizing that the Worldstone cannot be restored, Tyrael reluctantly destroys it. The resulting
explosion destroys Mount Arreat, ravages much of the countryside, and decimates Baal's army.

 The heroes that have defeated the Prime Evils return to their homes and families. Cain, knowing that
Sanctuary is now open thanks to the destruction of the Worldstone, begins searching for a means to save
the mortal realm.

 A Westmarch nobleman releases the demon Astrogha from the Moon of the Spider, a magical orb where it
had been imprisoned by the Vizjerei. The Necromancer Zayl and Salene Nesardo, a descendant of Astrogha
himself, banish the demon back into the orb and save Westmarch.

 Faith in the Zakarum Church is shattered once its former demonic influence is revealed. Emperor Hakan I
moves Kehjistan's capital to Caldeum. Over the years, Caldeum becomes the most powerful and influential
urban center in Sanctuary.

 A young man named Jacob finds El'druin, the sword of Tyrael, in the Mount Arreat crater. With the sword
he sets out to stop a rage plague sweeping the Dreadlands. He allies with the wizard Shanar, who has been
compelled by the sword to stand vigil until Jacob arrives to claim it. Together they end the plague and
continue fighting against injustice on Sanctuary.

The Quiet Peace

 With the defeat of the Prime Evils, a period of relative calm descends on Sanctuary. It lasts for two
decades.

 Over the years, merchants and adventurers are drawn to the ruins of Tristram, having heard tales of the
treasures that lie within its cathedral. The structure is stripped of all valuables. New Tristram, having been
built on this practice, falls into ignominy.

1266
  The magical prodigy Li-Ming is born.

1272

 Cain takes Leah under his wing. The two foil Belial's plans, who has since entered the mortal realm.
However, it is a temporary setback, and Belial remains undeterred in his efforts.

1273

 Li-Ming is brought to the Yshari Sanctum, where she begins her studies in magic.

1275

 Mishka, future student of the monk Zhota, is born.

1281

 Jagged Liang becomes the advisor for the Great Families of Zhou in Xiansai. She reforms the city watch,
turning it into her personal army. What follows is four years of ever-escalating violence between her and
the Tenth Family.

1284

 Tyrael regains physical form and returns to Heaven, summoning the sword El’druin to his side. The act is
unprecedented, as the Crystal Arch typically births a new angel to embody their aspect rather than
completely rebirthing the deceased angel.

 Jacob is deeply affected by the loss of El’druin, and his depression and inability to express his feelings
cause him and Shanar to part ways.

 Tyrael advises Urzael to search Sanctuary for the missing angel Malthael, noting the Archangel of Wisdom
had taken a strong interest in humanity prior to his disappearance.

 Ashton Natoli disappears, taking what remains of the House Natoli fortune with him. His wife is forced to
pay off his debts over the year.

The End of Days

1285

 Renowned gentleman, historian and scholar Abd al-Hazir departs Caldeum to record the wonders and perils
of the world.
 Tyrael is held to account for his actions by Imperius. He takes on mortal form and descends to Sanctuary,
plummeting into the old cathedral as a falling star. The power of the fallen star causes the dead to stir
around New Tristram and Leoric to awaken once more as the Skeleton King, swearing to make all suffer as
he has suffered.

 The enigmatic jeweler Covetous Shen leaves Xiansai, after warning Jia, the secret daughter of Jagged
Liang herself, that civil war is looming for the island nation.

 The hero known as The Nephalem arrives in New Tristram. With the aid of Leah and Deckard Cain, the
Skeleton King and undead are silenced and Tyrael is saved, albeit at the cost of Cain's life at the hands of
the witch Maghda. They subsequently head east to deal with Belial.

 The group arrives in Caldeum. They track Maghda and the Coven to the ruined city of Alcarnus and avenge
Deckard Cain by destroying them. They then rescue Leah from the grip of the Imperial Guard, who are
serpent demons in service to Belial. They escape into the sewers, where they learn that Leah’s mother
Adria is alive, and rescue her from Belial’s minions

 With the aid of Adria, the heroes are able to recover the Black Soulstone from Zoltun Kulle. After saving
the people of the city from the assault of Belial and his minions, they penetrate the Imperial Palace, defeat
Belial, and use the Black Soulstone to imprison him.

 Azmodan, now the last lord of hell, reveals to Leah that his army will emerge from the Arreat Crater,
prompting the group to head north.

 Azmodan's armies besiege Bastion's Keep, but thanks to the heroes, the attack is turned back. The heroes
subsequently take the fight to Azmodan, defeat him, and imprison him in the Black Soulstone.

 Adria reveals her true colors, turning the Black Soulstone on Leah and awakening Diablo's presence within
her. The Great Evils become one, with Diablo becoming a singular Prime Evil. He departs for the High
Heavens, with the heroes again in pursuit.

 Diablo besieges Heaven, but again the heroes are the deciding factor. Diablo himself is cast down and the
Heavens saved. Tyrael returns to his brethren, taking on the aspect of Wisdom and declaring that Heaven
and Sanctuary shall stand together.

 Two months after Diablo's defeat, Tyrael forms a new order of Horadrim. Their first order of business is to
retrieve the Black Soulstone from Heaven, which has begun to corrupt the Angiris Council.

 Strange creatures plague Westmarch. Nerissa Natoli, meanwhile, wins a dowry for her sister, albeit at the
cost of her own life.

 Tyrael and the Horadrim retrieve the stone and hide it on Sanctuary. However, Malthael, now the Angel of
Death, attacks the hiding place and takes the stone for his own use.

 Malthael's Reapers assault Westmarch. Tyrael and his allies do what they can to defend the populace. So
many dead are raised that the Balance, the even distribution of Light and Dark in the universe, is disturbed.
  Lord Wynton, a Westmarch nobleman, uses the chaos of Maltheal's Reaper attack to foment rebellion
among the peasantry against King Justinian IV. Wynton murders the king, but is struck down by the
Nephalem before he can consolidate his new power. The Nephalem cleanses Westmarch of the remaining
Reapers.

 After pursuing her to the Blood Marsh, the Nephalem kills the traitor Adria, avenging the betrayal and
death of Leah.

 Tyrael finds and deciphers a sliver of the Black Soulstone, learning Malthael was altering it to consume and
contain all demonic essence on Sanctuary, destroying humanity as their demonic heritage is torn from their
souls and their bodies ripped apart.

 The Nephalem tracks Malthael to the Pandemonium Fortress. Malthael betrays his fellow angels by leading
his Reapers in an attack on the Pandemonium Gate in the High Heavens to prevent the Nephalem from
following him, at last drawing the Angiris Council into the conflict. Shocked at learning of Malthael's
betrayal, Imperius sends his angels to aid the Nephalem.

 The Nephalem fights through the Battlefields of Eternity and gains entrance to the Pandemonium Fortress.
Trying to end the fight, Malthael summons the Black Soulstone and shatters it, consuming the essence of
Diablo. The Nephalem defeats Malthael, and the souls of all he has consumed erupt from his body,
including Diablo himself.

Tyrael fears that one day the Nephalem will be tempted into corruption, and wonders whether this being who has
defeated the champions of Heaven and Hell can resist it: the Nephalem could be mankind's hope, or their doom.

Later Events
(It is unclear whether these events occur in 1285 or 1286)

 The Balance is lost. Death and ruin are visited upon the lands of Sanctuary, and its people are unable to
protect themselves.

Notes

A timeline for the series was posted on Blizzard's Diablo III page, its dates ranging from 964 to 1265. This was later
taken down. With the release of Book of Tyrael, the timeline was finally solidified. The practice of this page is to go
with the most recent timeline and make note of contradictions/retcons (see below)

c. -1741
The events of the Sin War end, according to the "three thousand years before the Darkening of Tristram" figure in
the Sin War trilogy. The timeframe has been altered by a few decades in the most recent timeline.

c. -715
During the height of the Mage Clan Wars, the Vizjerei discover the Umbaru. The Vizjerei, desiring demon-
possessed victims to battle against their enemies, seek to turn the Umbaru into their servants. This has since been
rendered null by the timeline in Book of Tyrael.
c. -705
By this point in time, several Umbaru clans are at war with the Vizjerei. Although primitive, the Umbaru are able to
keep the mages at bay with their use of the terrain and shear ferrocity (see above lore).

c. -515
Umbaru capture a Vizjerei mage and attempt to use their now demon-possessed breathren against the Vizjerei
themselves. However, they fall under the sway of the demon Zagraal and become the khazra (see above lore).

c. 264
Gossip from Fara in Diablo II mentions the Sin War ravaging the lands of Aranoch 1000 years ago.

912
According to the Writings of Abd al-Hazir, the Tirstram Cathedral is built in this year.

1103
The Awakening claims that Diablo was captured by the Horadrim in this year, and that all the Horadrim bar Jered
Cain were killed in the process.

1213
The Awakening claims that Deckard Cain is born this year.

1245
The Awakening claims that it was in this year that Lazarus released Diablo.

1262
The original website timeline claimed that Leoric arrived in Khanduras in this year, as well as also falling into the
madness inflicted by Diablo.

1265/'66
According to Deckard Cain's Journal, the events of Diablo, Diablo II, and Lord of Destruction occur over these two
years only.