Game art depicting a Circle Tower
Here is the history of Tevinter by 800 TE. Nobles and magisters would be taught and expected to know most of this, since Tevinter scholars have been keeping records for some time. Common citizens of the Empire would be taught at least about the entries marked in green, although they might not know as many details as upper class citizens. From here, we can begin to build a bird's eye view of the peoples and places of Thedas.
Nearly three thousand years ago, humans arrived in Thedas from the north in a tribe known as Neromenian. They spread across Thedas as various tribes, namely the Hacian and the Alamarri, and those started other tribes such as Ciriane and the Planacene. The dwarves and elves were already present and had already established peaceful contact, though no real alliance (4500 FA or -1905 TE).
Two thousand and four hundred years ago, the Old Gods begin whispering to humanity. They taught the Dreamers of the Neromenian tribes magic, which marked them as priests and rulers of their people (4800 FA or -1605 TE).
Two thousand years ago, the Alamarri tribes crossed the Frostback Mountains and settled in the lands that would eventually become known as Ferelden. Alamarri tribal legends say they were fleeing a “shadow goddess”, but scholars believe they were escaping a sort of natural disaster (5185 FA or -1220 TE).
Fourteen centuries ago, stubborn Alamarri living near what became known as Lake Calenhad broke away, becoming known as the Avvars. The two tribes would fight with each other for centuries, uniting only against outside dangers (5785 FA or -620 TE).
Thirteen centuries ago, the Neromenian tribes split into four ancient kingdoms: Tevinter, Neromenian, Barindur and Qarinus (5900 FA or -505 TE).
Just over twelve hundred years ago, the kingdom of Barindur mysteriously disappeared. Some claimed it was decimated by an eruption, while rumors stated it was destroyed because its people had displeased Dumat (5990 FA or -415 TE).
Twelve hundred years ago, Thalsian, the First Priest of Dumat, became the first magister and user of blood magic. The Archon claimed to to have learned the new kind of magic through contact with Dumat. This gave him the power he needed to start an empire under his authority (6005 FA or -400 TE).
One thousand years ago, the Chasind people broke away from the Alamarri tribes and settled in the Korcari Wilds (6185 FA or -220 TE), never to be fully brought under any other banner.
Eight hundred and twelve years ago, Darinius, the High King of Neromenian, seized the Tevinter throne and brought Neromenian and Tevinter kingdoms under his rule (6393 FA or -12 TE).
Just over eight hundred years ago, not long after uniting the human kingdoms, Darinius of Tevinter secured an alliance with the dwarves. Tevinter nobles embraced the dwarven contests called Provings, and a Grand Proving Arena was built in Minrathous (6400 FA or -5 TE).
Nearly eight hundred years ago, Paragons King Endrin Stonehammer and King Orseck Garal moved the capital of the Dwarven Empire from Kal-Sharok to Orzammar to ease trade with the surface (namely, the Imperium). The Orzammar Proving Grounds were expanded for the Grand Provings, which decided the first of Orzammar's Paragons. Endrin Stonehammer built a hall to house huge statues constructed in their honor (25 TE or -1170 Ancient).
Six years before it ended, open war broke out between the Tevinter Imperium and the elves, leading Imperial armies to lay siege to the fabled elven city of Arlathan (214 TE or -981 Ancient).
Almost six hundred years ago, the Magisters crushed the elven resistance by sinking their stronghold of Arlathan into the earth with a grand blood magic ritual. All elves who survived were immediately enslaved. Although the elves predated humans on Thedas by thousands of years, they had few strongholds left after deciding to retreat from the humans. By taking refuge in the Arlathan forest, they became easier to round up. Despite having early contact with the dwarves, the dwarven kingdoms did not move against their Tevinter allies (220 TE or -975 Ancient).
Five hundred years ago was a time of great expansion for the Tevinter Imperium. With its new elven slaves, the empire spared across nearly all of northern Thedas and began the conquest of places across the Waking Sea (300 TE or -895 Ancient).
The Tevinter Imperium settled the island of Estwatch and fortified its bay nearly five hundred hears ago. The port is built for repairing warships. (315 TE or -880 Ancient)
The Tevinter Imperium launched campaigns to bring the barbarous Alamarri tribes in the Fereldan Valley to heel about 300 years ago. They held the central area at great cost long enough to pave the Imperial Highway across the Frostbacks to the fortress of Ostagar (480 TE or -715 Ancient).
The First Tevinter expedition against the Avvars in the Frostback Mountains occurred just over 300 years ago (483 TE or -712 Ancient).
Three hundred years ago, the western part of the Tevinter empire split to become the Anderfels, mainly populated by the Yothandi people (500 TE or -695 Ancient).
Archon Almadrius was assassinated almost 300 years ago (503 TE or -692 Ancient). His apprentice Tidarion inherited the throne. Civil wars broke out in the Tevinter Imperium. Archon Tidarion eventually died without an heir (555 TE or -640 Ancient). The civil war continued as the magisters vied for power.
The city of Emerius (later known as Kirkwall, and the last of the great Imperial cities) was established in the far south of the empire 224 years ago by a potent magister of the same name. Elven slaves were shipped to the city in bulk to mine its quarries, giving it the nickname "City of Chains." Its slave market became central to the Imperium early on. At about this time, Archon Parthenius took the throne and ended the first civil war in the Imperium, with lasted about seventy years after Archon Almadrius was assassinated.
The largest civil war of the Imperium raged for 20 years, about 160 years ago (620–640s TE or -575 to -555 Ancient). The magisters of the noble houses used human sacrifices and demon summonings to outdo one another on a regular basis. When the two greatest houses competed for the Archon's throne, the Imperium nearly split in twain. Battlefields remain tainted with dark magic from that time. The Senate stepped in to keep the empire together, but the nobles continue to lean heavily on the masses to one-up each other.
The Anderfels were reconquered 140 years ago after generations of rebellion (660 TE or -535 Ancient).
Within the last decade or so, a strange group of beings has been spotted in the Korcari Wilds. They pray to animist deities and have personal names alone but are otherwise quite strange - highlight the following sentence to see spoilers (one day they will be known as the Qunari, though they do not yet follow the Qun).
This information has been culled and shaped from the timeline on the Wiki. The negative tone used for some events (notably the destruction of the elves) has been changed to reflect the views of the empire. Soon I will be consulting the history in the Dragon Age core book to see if it can add anything pertinent.
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