Mournhold, the "city of light and magic", also known as the City of Gems,^[1] was the capital city of Morrowind and the largest and oldest city in the province. Mournhold is located in the heart of the Deshaanregion of Morrowind's southern mainland, and is the district seat of House Indoril. It was a temple-city of the Tribunal Temple, and during the Third Era the greater city area was named Almalexia after its patron deity, one of the living gods of the Tribunal, with only the central temple compound retaining the name Mournhold. Almalexia disappeared from the city in 3E 427, amid rumors that she had been slain by the Nerevarine. In 4E 10, the city was sacked during the Argonian invasion, and the capital of Morrowind was moved to Blacklight.^[2] By 4E 201, the last traces of Almalexia were being removed from the Temple, and the city was once again solely referred to as Mournhold.^[3]

Mournhold was a truly ancient city, possibly predating the Dunmer themselves, and was rumored to be built over the ruins of a vast Dwarven city. However, there were no ruins visible on the surface. The rumor proved true in 3E 427 following the discovery of Bamz-Amschend beneath the city, with its vast domes and unique machines.^[4]