Kingdom of the Longbeards

Kingdom of the Longbeards
Emblem of the House of Durin

The Kingdom of the Longbeards is the political entity under which most of the Dwarves of Middle-Earth live.

Summary

Main article: History of the Dwarves

Three of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves awoke in this part of Middle-earth. The Firebeards and Broadbeams awakened in the Blue Mountains and built the cities of Nogrod and Belegost during the First Age, while Durin, father of the Longbeards, awakened north of the Misty Mountains and founded Khazad-Dûm. After the War of Wrath and the fall of Beleriand, the two cities of the Blue Mountains were ravaged and many of their inhabitants went into exile to join their cousins in Khazad-Dûm. In this city and under the guidance of the kings of the House of Durin the dwarves prospered for millennia and founded a colony in the Iron Hills. In T.A. 1980, a Balrog was awakened in the mines. It ravaged the city for a year and killed the kings Durin VI and Nain I before the city was abandoned. The people settled in the Grey Mountains and Erebor for a few centuries before being driven out by dragons. The Dwarves then wandered before settling again in the Blue Mountains. Sixty years ago Thorin and Company's quest for Erebor succeeded in reclaiming the solid mountain from the dragon Smaug. Since then, King Dáin Ironfoot has ruled his people and rebuilt Erebor.

Architecture

Dwarven architectures varies over different regions and time periods. The oldest Dwarven architecture is blocky and angular in nature, while newer Dwarven designs are more complex, featuring rounded arches and intricate stonework.

Infrastructure

Roads

In the north of Middle-earth, Dwarven roads are the main axes of communication and trade. The Great Eastern Road was built in its first form by the Dwarves of the First Age. These roads are rarely paved and have often had their infrastructure renovated by other peoples, but it is not uncommon to come across caravans travelling between the Blue Mountains and Erebor.

Sewer / Waste management

Waste is usually sent to incinerators which help to feed the forges.

Water management

Almost every Dwarven community has a bathhouse, which requires extensive infrastructure. The larger communities have dams and reservoir systems in their upper levels to ensure a constant flow of clean water.

Government and military

Governmental institutions

Government and politics

Legal system

Military institutions

Army

Communications

Communication by ravens is favoured for community relations. Each settlement has at least one small ravenry, usually located near the doors and communicating with the outside through narrow windows.

Culture and daily life

Education

Dwarves have a very low reproduction rate and rarely have large populations of children to educate. Young dwarves are expected to learn from masters in the mastery of a craft. They do, however, maintain extensive archives and libraries in their communities which can serve as houses of knowledge for general knowledge.

Medicine

Dwarves do not get sick. Their medical institutions are mostly used to treat injuries and for convalescence.

Regions

The Kingdom of Longbeards does not form a continuous territory but gathers Dwarven population centres in several mountain ranges. These are the following:

• Ered Luin (Blue Moutains)
• Erebor (the Lonely Mountain)
• the Iron Hills

Cities

Dwarven cities include:

• Erebor
• Thorin's Halls
• Bizar-Filatin

Ruins

• Gundabad
• Khazad-Dûm (Moria)
• The Grey Mountains