War of the Dwarves and Orcs

2012-07-13T22:14:29Z

90.58.70.51: /* Aftermath and Repercussions */

{{sources}}
{{War
| previous= [[War of the Dwarves and Dragons]]
| next=[[War of the Ring]]
| name=War of the Dwarves and Orcs
| image=[[Image:Mikel Janin - Battle of Azanulbizar.jpeg|300px]]
| begin=[[Third Age 2793|T.A. 2793]]
| end=[[Third Age 2799 |T.A. 2799]]
| place=The northern [[Misty Mountains]] and [[Mount Gundabad]]
| result=Crippling defeat for Orcs, pyrrhic victory for Dwarves
| battles=[[Second Sacking of Gundabad]], various battles in mines, strongholds, and colonies, [[Battle of Azanulbizar]].
|side1=Dwarves of all Seven Houses, [[Longbeards]], [[Firebeards]], [[Broadbeams]], [[Blacklocks]], [[Stonefoots]], [[Ironfists]], and [[Stiffbeards]].
|side2=[[Orcs of the Misty Mountains]]
|commanders1=King [[Thráin II]], [[Thorin]], [[Náin (son of Grór)|Náin]], various generals and/or kings or lords of the other houses
|commanders2=[[Azog]] and likely other Orc-chieftains
|}}

The '''War of the Dwarves and Orcs''' was a great war fought between the two races.

==History==
=== Prelude ===
After their home under [[Lonely Mountain|Erebor]] had been [[Sack of Erebor|sacked]] by the [[dragon]] [[Smaug]], many of the [[Dwarves]] of [[Durin's Folk]] were homeless and wandered through western [[Middle-earth]], trying to make as best a living they could. After some years of wandering they settled down in [[Dunland]].<ref>{{App|A3}}</ref>
Among these Dwarves were [[Thrór]], formerly [[King under the Mountain]], his son [[Thráin II]] and grandson [[Thorin II]] who became later known as Thorin Oakenshield.

Thrór became despaired after living many years in poverty, or perhaps the [[Rings of Power|Ring]] he wore was ultimately working towards his bearers evil, and thus Thrór went away from his kin in [[Third Age]] {{TA|2790}}, accompanied by his friend [[Nár (companion of Thrór)|Nár]]. They crossed the [[Redhorn Pass]] and Thráin came to the old mines of [[Moria]], though Nár warned him and was unwilling to enter this evil place.

Thrór was slain by [[Azog]] the [[Orc]]-chieftain who had made himself an abode in Moria. Upon Thrór's head had been branded Azog's name and the corpse was thrown out of the gate were it was found by Nár, who was left alive to serve as a messenger to tell the Dwarves that Azog now claimed to be the King of Moria.

When Nár returned to the king's son [[Thráin II]], he told him of his father's murder. Thráin sat for seven days without eating or sleeping, until he stood and said "This cannot be borne!"<ref>{{App|A3}}</ref>

From 2790 to {{TA|2793|n}} the [[Longbeards]] responded to this tragedy by gathering their forces, and calling on all the other [[Houses of Dwarves]] for war.

=== Early Stages===
In 2793 they attacked, assailing and sacking one by one all the Orc-holds they could find from [[Mount Gundabad]] in the north, to the [[Gladden Fields]] in the south.

Little is known about what happened during the first six years, but most of the war was fought underground, in the great mines and tunnels of the Misty Mountains, where Dwarves excelled in combat.

=== The Final Battle ===
The war climaxed in {{TA|2799|n}}, when the final battle was fought in the valley outside the [[East-gate]] of [[Moria]], the [[Battle of Azanulbizar|Battle of Azanûlbizar]]. The Dwarves finally won this notoriously bloody encounter when reinforcements arrived late on the scene from the [[Iron Hills]]. Azog was slain by [[Dáin Ironfoot]].<ref>{{App|A3}}</ref>

After the battle, King [[Thráin II]] wanted to enter Moria and reclaim it, but the Dwarves not of Durin's folk refused, saying that the city was not their Fathers' House; they had honored Thrór's memory by fighting, and this was enough. [[Dáin Ironfoot]] also warned Thráin that [[Durin's Bane]] still dwelt within [[Khazad-dûm]].

=== Aftermath and Repercussions ===
The war was very costly for the Dwarves. Half of those involved in the Battle of Azanulbizar were killed and possibly a couple thousand more were killed throughout the rest of the war. [[Náin (son of Grór)|Náin]], [[Frerin]], and [[Fundin]] were among the more notable casualties. Thráin II himself lost an eye, and Thorin was wounded when his shield broke and he had to use an oak branch to defend himself, which gave rise to his epithet "Oakenshield".

The Orcs that survived the final battle (as many as 10,000) fled south through [[Rohan]], trying to claim a refuge in the [[White Mountains]] beyond, where they troubled the [[Rohirrim]] for two generations.

One positive outcome however was that the [[Orcs of the Misty Mountains]] virtually disappeared as a threat for [[Eriador]] and [[Wilderland]]. One and a half century later the Orcs of the North were beginning to recover, but their population was even further reduced during the [[Battle of Five Armies]] in {{TA|2941|n}}, where [[Bolg]] son of Azog tried to avenge his father, and in the process lost three fourths of his people.

It is possible that without this War, the later [[War of the Ring]] would have been lost in the north, and the [[Ring-bearer]] might never have made it south to [[Mordor]].

== Noteable Veterans ==
*[[Thráin II]]
*[[Thorin]]
*[[Frerin]]
*[[Fundin]]
*[[Náin (son of Grór)|Náin]]
*[[Dáin Ironfoot]]
*[[Balin]]
*[[Glóin]]

== See Also ==
*[[Battle of Azanulbizar]]
*[[Second Sacking of Gundabad]]

{{references}}<small>
::*''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[Appendix A]], Durin's Folk
::*''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]''
::* The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, Appendix A, (2nd edition 1966), p. 356. It mentions that the balance of the Orcs at Azanulbizar fled.
</small>

{{seq-start}}
{{seq
| prev=[[Long Winter]]
| list=Major events of [[Middle-earth]]
| dates={{TA|2793}} - {{TA|2799}}
| next=[[Fell Winter (Third Age)|Fell Winter]]
}}
{{seq-end}}
[[Category:Conflicts of the Third Age]]
[[Category:Wars]]
[[fr:encyclo/evenements/3a/guerres/guerre_des_nains_et_des_orques]]

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War of the Dwarves and Orcs