Third Age
| History of Arda | ||
|---|---|---|
| Before the Creation | ||
| Before the Ages | ||
| Days before days | ||
| Years of the Trees (up to Y.T. 1050) | ||
| Ages of the Children of Ilúvatar | ||
| First Age (begins in Y.T. 1050 and overlaps with the Years of the Trees up to Y.T. 1500) - Years of the Sun begin in F.A. 1 | ||
| Second Age - Arda made round in S.A. 3319 | ||
| Third Age | ||
| Fourth Age | ||
| Later Ages (up to present day) | ||
| End of Arda | ||
| Timeline of Arda (See: Round World version of the Silmarillion for a later conception of Tolkien's cosmology) | ||
The Third Age, often abbreviated to T.A., began after the first downfall of Sauron, when he was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men following the downfall of Númenor.
This age was characterized by the rise and decline of the exiled Númenorean kingdoms, in contrast to the slow recovery of Sauron's power. In the meantime the Elves, Dwarves and other peoples did little new; also known as the Fading Years, the Age marked the waning of the Elves.
It lasted for 3021 years, only ending after the defeat of Sauron had finally and utterly been achieved by destroying his Ruling Ring. With the One Ring gone, the power of three rings waned and the realms that had been preserved by them began to fade. These events prompted many of the Eldar remaining in Middle-earth to sail for the Uttermost West, and so much memory and beauty were lost to Middle-earth for ever. With the Last Riding of the Keepers the Fourth Age began.
Major events of the Third AgeEdit
| Military[note 1] | Political | Other | |
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| 1st millennium |
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| 2nd millennium | |||
| 3rd millennium |
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| 4th millennium |
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See alsoEdit
External linksEdit
Notes
- ↑ Only wars and isolated battles are mentioned as events; for battles being part of larger campaigns, look the campaigns' respective articles