Kings of Durin's Folk

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The Kings of Durin's Folk were those of the House of Durin who ruled as kings, even when in exile.

The kings were all descended from Durin the Deathless of the First Age; in fact, five of the kings after Durin I were held to be reincarnations of him by the Dwarves. No complete list of all kings is known. The table below shows the names of those Kings who have been recorded, or whose existence could be deduced. In the table all information was obtained from The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin’s Folk"[1] unless otherwise indicated. The "Realm(s)" column indicates which place or places the kings ruled from during their reigns.

NameBirthDeathRealm(s)Historical Notes
Durin I the DeathlessBetween Y.T. 1050 and 1250[2] Late First Age[1]Khazad-dûmOne of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves and founder of the Longbeards, Durin's Folk. He ruled his people for centuries - so long, in fact, that he became known as the "Durin the Deathless" - but eventually, he died before the end of the First Age. He established the city of Khazad-dûm and began his reign there.[1]
Durin IIUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûmNothing is recorded about his reign.
Durin IIIUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûmHe was the King of Khazad-dûm at the time of the forging of the Rings of Power (sometime between S.A. 1500 and 1590[3]) and a great friend of Celebrimbor the Lord of Eregion. He received one of the Seven Rings (later known as the Ring of Thrór) as a gift from his friend. The Alliance of Dwarves and Men in the North is said to have come to an end during his reign.[4]
Durin IVUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûmNothing is recorded about his reign.
Durin VUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûmNothing is recorded about his reign.
Durin VI17311980Khazad-dûmHe was King when the Balrog was awakened in 1980.[5] After he was killed by it the Balrog was called Durin's Bane and Khazad-dûm was known as Moria.
Náin I18321981Khazad-dûmHe reigned for just one year before he was also slain by Durin's Bane.[1]
Thráin I19342190Erebor He led a great part of his people away from Khazad-dûm into the North and founded the Kingdom under the Mountain in 1999.[5] The Arkenstone was discovered during his reign in the Lonely Mountain.[1]
Thorin I20352289Erebor, Ered MithrinLearning that his people were regrouping in the Grey Mountains, Thorin I abandoned Erebor and reestablished the throne in the Ered Mithrin in 2210.[5]
Glóin21362385Ered MithrinNothing is recorded about his reign.
Óin22382488Ered MithrinTowards the very end of Óin's reign, in T.A. 2460, the Shadow returned to Dol Guldur in Mirkwood with increased strength; and in c. T.A. 2480 Orcs began to spread again in the Misty Mountains in order to block all passes into Eriador, whilst Sauron populated Moria with his creatures.[5]
Náin II23382585Ered MithrinIn 2570, the prosperous Dwarves began to suffer attacks by the Dragons of the North.[5]
Dáin I24402589Ered MithrinHis reign came to a swift end when he was slain by a cold-drake before the entrance to his halls.[1]
Thrór25422790Ered Mithrin, Erebor, exile, DunlandHe led his people out of the Grey Mountains back to the Lonely Mountain. He had been King under the Mountain for more than 180 years when the dragon Smaug descended on the mountain and sacked it. He escaped the destruction, and went wandering in the wild before settling in Dunland. Later, he went to reclaim Khazad-dûm where he was murdered by Azog the Orc-chieftain, a crime that provoked the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.[1]
Thráin II26442850Dunland, Ered LuinHe avenged his father's death with the defeat of Azog's Orcs at the Battle of Azanulbizar. In the early part of his reign, he dwelt in Dunland, but he later moved northwest to the Ered Luin west of Eriador and established a new realm. Before his reign ended, he resolved to return to Erebor, but while wandering in the wild he was captured in 2845[5] and died in the dungeons of the Necromancer. Consequently, the Ring of Thrór was lost to Sauron.[1]
Thorin II Oakenshield27462941Ered Luin, Erebor He ruled as King in the Ered Luin for many years, but like his father before him, he was determined to return to his ancient home of Erebor. Accompanied by Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, he led a troop of companions into the east, and against all hope recovered the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After Smaug's death, Thorin was slain in the Battle of Five Armies. The only remaining descendants of Thrór's line, Thorin's nephews Fíli and Kíli, were also lost in the battle.[1] So the Kingship passed to the line of Grór, Thrór's younger brother; specifically, to his grandson Dáin II Ironfoot.[1]
Dáin II Ironfoot27673019Erebor Dáin was a descendant of Grór and lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. Dáin joined his father's contingent in the Battle of Azanulbizar, at which time he slew Azog. After Thorin's death in the Battle of Five Armies, Dáin was crowned King of Durin's Folk.[1] He ruled in prosperity as King under the Mountain for many years until the time of the War of the Ring. He was slain in the Battle of Dale.[6]
Thorin III Stonehelm2866UnknownEreborThorin himself succeeded to the kingship when his father was killed during the War of the Ring in T.A. 3019. His realm was under the crown and protection of the new King of Gondor and Arnor.[6] During his rule, Gimli led a number of Dwarves south to Aglarond, where a new lordship was established.[1]
Durin VIIAfter Fo.A. 171
[note 1]
UnknownKhazad-dûm[7]He was the last of the reincarnations of Durin hence his title as "Durin the Last".[1] He was a direct descendant of Thorin III Stonehelm.[note 2][8] His birth was apparently prophesied upon the accession of Dáin II after the Battle of Five Armies.[9] He led Durin's Folk back to Khazad-dûm at some unknown time after Fo.A. 171, where they remained "until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin's race were ended".[10]

Durin I died before the end of the First Age, so that between his rule and that of Thorin III, the Kings of Durin's line ruled for a period of about 6,500 years. Given that the average length of a reign among the Longbeards seems to have been roughly a century, it can be deduced that there were probably about fifty Kings that have went unmentioned.

Notes

  1. The mention of Durin's name as a prophecy in the Appendix A, and considering that the Appendix derives from the Red Book (copied Fo.A. 171), seems to suggest that he was probably born, or emerged, after that date.
  2. An alternative version of the genealogical tree of Appendix A suggested Durin VII was the son of Thorin III.

References

Kings of Durin's Folk
Durin I* (Y.T.) · Durin II* · Durin III* (fl. S.A. 1600) · Durin IV* · Durin V* · Durin VI* (until T.A. 1980) · Náin I* (1980 - 1981) · Thráin I (1981 - 2190) · Thorin I (2190 - 2289) · Glóin (2289 - 2385) · Óin (2385 - 2488) · Náin II (2488 - 2585) · Dáin I (2585 - 2589) · Thrór (2585 - 2790) · Thráin II (2790 - captured 2845, d. 2850) · Thorin II Oakenshield (after 2845 - 2941) · Dáin II Ironfoot (2941 - 3019) · Thorin III Stonehelm (T.A. 3019 - Fourth Age) · Durin VII (Fourth Age)*
* Kings of Khazad-dûm · Kings under the Mountain