Lonely Mountain
| Erebor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | North of Esgaroth, west of the Iron Hills, |
| People | |
| Language | Westron, Khuzdul |
 | Erebor.mp3 |
| By Ardamir. (Help; more articles) | |
Erebor, or the Lonely Mountain (which it translates as from Sindarin), is a mountain in the northeast of Rhovanion. It is the source of the river Running, and a major Dwarven stronghold at the end of the Third Age and well into the Fourth.
History
Years of the Trees and the First Age
Erebor was first discovered and colonized by The Longbeards Dwarves (Durin's folk) sometime after Durin I awoke in Mount Gundabad. It was inhabited by a mining colony for hundreds of years, and was connected by the Forest Road; Which was built by the Dwarves to connect all of its mining colonies. It ran from the High Pass through Greenwood the Great (Later called Mirkwood) to the river Running that went all the way up to the Iron Hills, which was east of Erebor.
From Colony to Capital, and Thráin I's rule
Erebor continued as a colony for many thousands of years, until the awakening of Durin's bane in the capital of Khazad-dûm in T.A.1980, King Durin VI was killed by Durin's bane, and in 1981 after the death of Durin's oldest son and heir King Náin I; the next in line Thráin I with the rest of his people fled Khazad-dùm (Renamed Moria). Thráin with those who would follow him, went to the colony in Erebor. Where he made himself King under the Mountain, and relocated the capital of the Longbeards. Under Thráin's rule the Arkenstone was discovered.
The ancestral home of the King under the Mountain, it became a Dwarven stronghold, where the Durin's folk became a numerous and prosperous people. The Dwarves of that time were skilled in masonry and stonework, and there was great demand for their work by the surrounding peoples. Clearly through this the Dwarves got very rich and amassed a large amount of gold and treasure. This is what attracted Smaug to the mountain.
Whilst Thorin Oakenshield was one day out playing, Smaug came from the mountains as a young dragon, and took over the mountain, hoarding all the gold. Thráin II and several companions escaped by (as was later discovered) a secret door. For many years the dwarves lived in exile in the Blue Mountains until, by a chance meeting, Gandalf the Grey met Thorin Oakenshield, and they planned to reclaim the mountain. This is told in detail in The Quest of Erebor.
In The Hobbit, Bilbo and Thorin's company travel to the Lonely Mountain to regain the treasure Smaug had stolen. Set into the side of the mountain was a secret door, five feet high and wide enough for three to walk abreast. Gandalf had managed to obtain the door's key, which would only open it when the setting sun and the last moon of autumn were in the sky together. By a fortunate coincidence, this happened just as Bilbo and the Dwarves arrived.
By more luck than wisdom Smaug was eventually slain—shot out of the sky with a well-aimed arrow to his only weakspot by Bard the Bowman, a man of Lake-town—and Thorin claimed the mountain. Bard later became king of the area in the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, known as Dale. However Elves of Mirkwood and Men of Lake-town claimed a part of the treasure, which Thorin refused to share. This led to the Battle of Five Armies, where Dáin II Ironfoot came to the aid of his cousin Thorin, but Dwarves, Elves, and Men joined ranks together with the Eagles and Beorn against the Orcs. During the battle, Thorin was mortally injured, and the titles King under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk passed to Dáin.
With the restoration of the Kingdom under the Mountain the area became prosperous again, and Dwarves and Men reforged their friendship.
Dáin was killed in the Battle of Dale during the War of the Ring, and was succeeded by his son Thorin III Stonehelm.
