The Age of the Dragon Emperors

When the Aurean Empire was first founded, in what is now considered the year 0 AY, it was ruled by dragons. These were metallic dragons, who were members of an order called The Circle of the Heavens, and at the order's height nearly all leadership roles in the empire were held by dragons, at one point reaching nearly 1,200 in total. These dragons were committed to uniting all humans under one empire and bringing what they saw as a backward race to it's full potential.
A total of five dragons ruled the empire from 0 to 2162 AY. The empire expanded greatly during this time, as there were relatively few forces who could resist an army of dragons. Due the dragons ability to fly long distances, they would often expand unevenly, taking and administering important cities and other strategic locations far from the empires main borders. After the breakup of the Circle, these cities were lost to the empire, though many retained reverance and even worship of dragons. This led to the rise of a number of so called Dragon Kingdoms across Obseron, some of which lasted until close to the fifth millinnia.
Eventually, however, the dragon's patience started to wain. Many came to believe that humans were simply inferior, and could never reach their full potential. A plague among the dragons in 1734-1737 AY led to many to believe the empire was unsafe for them. Poor treatment by the dragons, who genuinely cared for the humans but saw little value in any individual one of them, led to a major revolt in 2098 AY, which was crushed quickly and violently but shook the resolve of many dragons. After centuries of decline in members, the Circle disbanded in 2160 AY, and the last emperor, Andothrax, abdicated in 2162 AY. This was followed by a long civil war and the crowning of the first human emperor, Tiberius I.