Kingdom of the Longbeards

Kingdom of the Longbeards
Emblem of the House of Durin

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

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 Broadmeans 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.

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:

• Bizar-Filatin
• Erebor
• Thorin's Halls

Ruins

• Gundabad
• Khazad-Dûm (Moria)
• the Grey Moutains