Kings of Durin's Folk: Difference between revisions

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* '''[[Dáin Ironfoot|Dáin II Ironfoot]]''' - ''[[Erebor]]'' - (Ruled 78 years to III 3019) 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 that war, in the [[Battle of Dale]], and succeeded by his son.  
* '''[[Dáin Ironfoot|Dáin II Ironfoot]]''' - ''[[Erebor]]'' - (Ruled 78 years to III 3019) 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 that war, in the [[Battle of Dale]], and succeeded by his son.  


* '''[[Thorin III Stonehelm]]''' - ''[[Erebor]]'' - He was besieged in Erebor for seven days after the loss of his father, but when news reached the forces of Sauron that their master had been defeated, he was able to drive them back. With Thorin III, detailed records of the reigns of the Kings come to an end, but we have a record of just one of his descendants.  
* '''[[Thorin Stonehelm|Thorin III Stonehelm]]''' - ''[[Erebor]]'' - He was besieged in Erebor for seven days after the loss of his father, but when news reached the forces of Sauron that their master had been defeated, he was able to drive them back. With Thorin III, detailed records of the reigns of the Kings come to an end, but we have a record of just one of his descendants.  


* '''[[Durin VII]]''' - ''[[Khazad-dûm]]?'' - He was said to be the last of the Durins to rule over Durin's Folk. Durin's Bane had been destroyed in the War of the Ring, so that Khazad-dûm lay open for recovery by its ancient owners, and there is some evidence that it was Durin VII who at last achieved this.  
* '''[[Durin VII]]''' - ''[[Khazad-dûm]]?'' - He was said to be the last of the Durins to rule over Durin's Folk. Durin's Bane had been destroyed in the War of the Ring, so that Khazad-dûm lay open for recovery by its ancient owners, and there is some evidence that it was Durin VII who at last achieved this.  

Revision as of 15:10, 6 April 2011

King of Durin's Folk was a title given to Durin the Deathless and his descendants who ruled the Dwarves of Durin's Folk. Famous among these were Thorin II Oakenshield, who reclaimed Erebor from Smaug, and Dáin II Ironfoot, who fought in the War of the Ring.

No complete list of the Kings is known. The table below shows the names of those Kings who have been recorded, or whose existence can be deduced. As the descendants of Durin were forced by circumstance to travel widely in Middle-earth, the main seat(s) of their Kingship is shown alongside each King.

Kings of Durin's Folk

  • Durin I - Khazad-dûm - One of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and the 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 passed away. From time to time over the millennia, one among Durin's descendants would arise so similar in bearing to his ancient ancestor that he, too, would be given the name 'Durin'.
  • Durin II - Khazad-dûm - We know nothing of this King, except that the appearance of his descendant Durin III in the middle years of the Second Age shows that he must have ruled in Khazad-dûm at some time before that.
  • Durin III -Khazad-dûm - The ruler of Khazad-dûm at the time of the forging of the Rings of Power, Durin III was a great friend of Celebrimbor the Lord of Eregion to the west. He received one of the Rings (later known as the Ring of Thrór) as a gift from his friend.
  • Durin V - Khazad-dûm - Like Durin II, we know nothing of the reigns of these two Kings, except that they must have ruled during the late Second Age or earlier Third Age. We can safely deduce their existence because we know that Durin VI took the throne in the late second millennium of the Third Age.
  • Durin VI - Khazad-dûm - (Ruled to III 1980) The first King of Durin's Folk for whom we have specific dates was Durin VI, who ruled in Khazad-dûm at the time the Balrog was awoken. It slew Durin, for which reason it became known as Durin's Bane. Durin was succeeded briefly by his son.
  • Náin I - Khazad-dûm - (Ruled 1 year to III 1981) He ruled for just a year in Khazad-dûm before he too was slain by the Balrog. He was succeeded by his son.
  • Thráin I - Erebor - (Ruled 209 years to III 2190) He led a great part of his people away from Khazad-dûm into the north and east of Middle-earth. It was Thráin who founded the great Dwarf-kingdom of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain above the Long Lake. He was succeeded by his son.
  • Thorin I - Grey Mountains - (Ruled 99 years to III 2289) Discerning that the great host of his people were gathering in the northern range of the Grey Mountains, Thorin I abandoned Erebor and removed there. He was succeeded by his son.
  • Glóin - Grey Mountains - (Ruled 96 years to III 2385) He continued the rule of Durin's Folk in the Grey Mountains, and was succeeded by his son.
  • Náin II - Grey Mountains - (Ruled 97 years to III 2585) In his time, the prosperous Dwarves began to suffer attacks by the dragons of the north. He was succeeded by his son.
  • Dáin I - Grey Mountains - (Ruled 4 years to III 2589) His short reign came to a swift end when he was slain by a cold-drake before his own doors. He was succeeded by the eldest of his three sons.


  • Thrór - Erebor - (Ruled 201 years to III 2790) He led his people out of the dragon-infested north back to the Lonely Mountain, while his younger brother Grór led some part of their people further east, to settle in the Iron Hills. He had been King under the Mountain for more than 180 years when the great dragon Smaug descended on his kingdom and sacked it. He escaped the destruction with his son and grandson, and went wandering in the wild. Eventually reaching his people's ancient home of Khazad-dûm, he found it infested with Orcs. His death at the hands of their leader, Azog, sparked the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. He was succeeded by his son.
  • Thráin II - Erebor, Dunland, Blue Mountains - (Ruled 60 years to III 2850) He 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 northward to the Blue Mountains west of Eriador. Before his reign ended, he resolved to return to Erebor, but wandering in the wild he was captured by evil things, and died in the dungeons of the Necromancer. He was succeeded by his eldest son.
  • Thorin II Oakenshield - Blue Mountains - (Ruled 91 years to III 2941) He ruled as King in the Blue Mountains for many years, but like his father before him he at last determined to return to his ancient home of Erebor. Accompanied by Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, he led a troop of companions into the far east, and against all hope recovered the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After Smaug's death, the Battle of Five Armies was fought beneath Erebor, and Thorin was slain. The only remaining descendants of Thrór's line, Thorin's young nephews Fíli and Kíli, were also lost in the battle. So the descent of the Kingship passed to the line of Thrór's younger brother Grór, and specifically to Grór's grandson Dáin Ironfoot.
  • Dáin II Ironfoot - Erebor - (Ruled 78 years to III 3019) 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 that war, in the Battle of Dale, and succeeded by his son.
  • Thorin III Stonehelm - Erebor - He was besieged in Erebor for seven days after the loss of his father, but when news reached the forces of Sauron that their master had been defeated, he was able to drive them back. With Thorin III, detailed records of the reigns of the Kings come to an end, but we have a record of just one of his descendants.
  • Durin VII - Khazad-dûm? - He was said to be the last of the Durins to rule over Durin's Folk. Durin's Bane had been destroyed in the War of the Ring, so that Khazad-dûm lay open for recovery by its ancient owners, and there is some evidence that it was Durin VII who at last achieved this.


We know that 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, we can deduce that there are probably about fifty Kings' names missing from this list.