 | |
| Iron Hills | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Location | East of the Lonely Mountain, in northeastern Rhovanion |
| People | |
| Population | Durin's Folk |
| Language | Khuzdul, Westron |
| Governance | Lord of the Iron Hills |
| History | |
| First Colonized | First Age |
| Establishment of Lordship | T.A. 2590 |
The Iron Hills were a range of great hills in the north-east of Wilderland.[1] The Hills were the source of the river Carnen[1] and rich in iron[2]. It was also home to a Dwarf-realm of the Longbeards.[3]
Although the Iron Hills were rich in iron, they were probably not in gold; the Dwarves of the Iron Hills, although prosperous, were not as wealthy as their other cousins (e.g. the Kingdom Under the Mountain).[4]
History
Early history
The Longbeard Dwarves of Khazad-dûm colonized the Iron Hills in the First Age.[note 1] The Hills were their primary source of iron-ore,[2] and so the Dwarf-road of Mirkwood ran north-east to the Hills for the dwarf-traders and merchants between Khazad-dûm and the Hills.[5]
Also in the First Age, some Men who migrated out of the east—"laggard kindred" of the Edain—chose to settle in the lands between the Iron Hills and Mirkwood.[6]
After Sauron destroyed Eregion in the Second Age, the Longbeards sealed Khazad-dûm and Orcs took control of the northern Misty Mountains and the Grey Mountains. This cut off communications between the Iron Hills and Khazad-dûm for some time.[7]
Third Age
In T.A. 1981 the last of the Dwarves living in Khazad-dûm fled from the Balrog who had slain kings Durin VI and Náin I.[8] Most of those who escaped wandered to the north. Thráin I, the son of Náin I, moved to the Lonely Mountain and established the Kingdom under the Mountain there.[9] His son Thorin I moved from there to the far north to the Grey Mountains where most of Durin's Folk had settled, because the mountains were rich and had hardly been explored.[10]
In 2570 dragons began afflicting the dwarves in the north and in 2589 King Dáin I was slain by a cold-drake outside his hall in the Grey Mountains.[11] A short time afterwards most of Durin's Folk left the Grey Mountains.[12] In 2590[13] Grór, the youngest son of Dáin,[14] left the Grey Mountains with many followers and established a Lordship in the Iron Hills[12]. In the same year,[13] Thrór, the oldest son[14] and heir of Dáin, and the rest of the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains moved back to the Lonely Mountain[15].
Over the next few centuries a large quantity of ore was traded between the Dwarves of Erebor and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills,[15] until the dragon Smaug destroyed the Kingdom under the Mountain and scattered the Longbeards who dwelt there[15] in 2770[16]. Most of the survivors subsequently went to their kinsmen in the Iron Hills.[17]
In 2799[18] the final battle of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs occurred in the Dimrill Dale. When reinforcements, led by Náin, arrived from the Iron Hills the battle turned in the favour of the dwarves. With the war over, Dáin led his people home where, after the death of Grór, he became the new Lord of the Iron Hills.[19]
On March 15,T.A. 2941, Gandalf knew already that Sauron intended to attack Rivendell as soon as he felt to be strong enough. He also knew that only the Dwarves of the Iron Hills were there to oppose any attempt from the East to occupy Angmar and the northern passes over the Misty Mountains.[20]
In 2941[21] Lord Dáin Ironfoot led his warriors in the Battle of Five Armies near Erebor[22]. The battle was won, but Thorin was slain and Dáin became the new King under the Mountain and King of the Longbeards as Dáin II. He relocated to Erebor and re-established the Kingdom under the Mountain.[22] The Iron Hills passed out of history after this relocation, but probably were not wholly deserted.[4]
Portrayal in adaptations
2018: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- The Iron Hills are an area in the region of "The Dwarf-holds", ruled by "Lord Náin the Slakeless", brother of King Thorin Stonehelm. The hills and the scrub-land connecting to the Dale-lands are also known collectively as the "Ironfold". Settled by "Farin Blackmattock" in the First Age, the capital "Járnfast" was destroyed by the fall of Thangorodrim and afterwards rebuilt. During the time it features in the game, Járnfast has been damaged by tremors caused by Mount Doom's recent eruption. It is also the site of a seal that confines a horde of nameless things in "The Howling Pit" below.
See also
Notes
- ↑ The existence of the Iron Hills in the First Age is confirmed by Tolkien's writings published in The Peoples of Middle-earth. Before these writings were published, other authors speculated that the Iron Hills might have been a part of the Iron Mountains in the First Age and came into independent existence after the War of Wrath. See Karen Wynn Fonstad (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth p. 78 and Charles Noad, "A Note on the Geography of the First Age" in Amon Hen 38, p. 12.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Relations of the Longbeard Dwarves and Men", p. 302
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Gathering of the Clouds"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry Iron Hills, p. 212
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Notes", p. 323 (note 30)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "The Atani and their Languages", p. 306
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "Relations of the Longbeard Dwarves and Men", p. 306
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 1981, p. 1087
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Thráin I, p. 1072
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Thror I, p. 1072
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2589, p. 1087
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Grór, p. 1072
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2590, p. 1087
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", The Line of the Dwarves of Erebor, p. 1079
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Thrór, p. 1072
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2770, p. 1088
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Thrór, footnote after "They went away south with their family.", p. 1072
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2799, p. 1088
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Dáin II Ironfoot, p. 1075
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Thorin II Oakenshield, p. 1078
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2941, p. 1089
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk", entry for Dáin II Ironfoot, p. 1078