The Dwarven race began with the creation of the first seven Fathers of the Dwarves, who all became kings of their own lines after their awakening. These included the Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots. The Dwarves were an integral part of the events ofThe Hobbit, whenThorin II Oakenshield and his company of Dwarvesembarked on the Quest of Erebor. However, after the final Battle of Five Armies, they appeared to be missing during the main conflict inThe Lord of the Rings— raising questions about their loyalty to Middle-earth in the fight against the Dark Lord Sauron.
Despite common belief, the Dwarves did not send reinforcements — apart from Gimli, of course — as they were tied up in their own battle. As J.R.R. Tolkien put it, they were not “evil by nature” and only a “few ever served the Enemy of free will, whatever the tales of Men alleged”.
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Where Were the Dwarves During the War of the One Ring?
Unlike the other Dwarves, Gimli, of the House of Durin, played a more active role in defeating the opposing forces in the war. When an emissary from Mordor traveled to Erebor to offer the Dwarves a reward in exchange for information about Bilbo Baggins (whom Sauron believes to be in possession of the One Ring), the Dwarves refused to ally with him.Dáin II Ironfoot, the King under the Mountain, sent Gimli and his father Glóin (who was part of Thorin and Company) to warn Bilbo as well as consult Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell.
When the Council of Elrond decided to task Frodo Baggins with the destruction of the Ring, Gimli volunteered to accompany the Fellowship of the Ring to Mordor (although this is partly because he distrusted the Elf Legolas, who was also part of the Fellowship). However, he went on to befriend him during the war, and helped bring about the defeat of the army of Isengard at the Battle of the Hornburg. He also accompanied Legolas, Aragorn and the Grey Company to recruit the Army of the Dead and take over the ships of the Corsairs, who were on their way to aid the enemy in theBattle of the Pelennor Fields. After winning the battle, Gimli joined the forces of Gondor and its allies when they marched towardsthe Black Gate of Mordor, where the climactic Battle of the Morannon took place.
The rest of the Dwarves, on the other hand, were eitherlargely absent from the waror fending off Sauron’s army elsewhere. Little was mentioned about the clans of Stonefoots, Blacklocks, Ironfists and Stiffbeards during this time period. However, inThe Fellowship of the Ring, it is stated that Frodo, before leaving for his mission, often met dwarves from far-off lands, who “were troubled” and “spoke in whispers of the Enemy and of the Land of Mordor”. When the war began to cast a shadow over them, they either fled to the western areas of Middle-earth, or just stayed within the confines of their kingdoms until they died out, as they did not want to get involved. Similarly, nothing definitive was said about the houses of Firebeards and Broadbeams either, so it can be assumed that they had little to no impact on the war (or vice versa).
The Longbeards, however, were engaged in a battle againstSauron’s legions of Easterlings. The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, under Dáin II, and the Men of Dale, led by King Brand, met the Easterlings outside the city of Dale on August 01, 2025. In the following three days of intense fighting, both sides suffered from heavy losses, including Brand and Dáin II, who was slain while defending the former’s body. After the fall of both their kings, the armies of Dale and the Dwarves were forced to retreat to the Lonely Mountain. The Easterlings besieged the Mountain but were unable to gain entry. When they learned of Sauron’s defeat, they lost morale and were driven back by their foes — now led by Bard II and Thorin III Stonehelm — to Redwater.
Even though it cannot be fully determined whether losing the Battle of Dale could have changed the outcome of the war, it still prevented the Easterlings from joining Sauron’s already extensive armies in the South — which may have turned the war around in their favor eventually. However, the battle did further deplete the number of existing Dwarves, leading to their extinction and the ascendancy of the Men in the Fourth Age.
What Happened to the Dwarves After Sauron’s Defeat?
After the war, Gimli traveled to Helm’s Deep with a group of Durin’s Folk and established a colony in the Glittering Caves, earning the title of theLord of the Glittering Caves. The Dwarves, led by Gimli, also helped repair the damage that was caused by the war in Gondor and Rohan, which included the reconstruction of the Great Gate of Minas Tirith. According to theRed Book of Westmarch, Gimli was the only Dwarf in history who was permitted to board a ship to the Undying Lands.
As nothing had been noted about them, it can be assumed that the Stonefoots, Blacklocks, Ironfists and Stiffbeards headed towards the West to join Durin’s Folk, or simply died in the East over time. In the case of the Firebeards and Broadbeams, they remained on the Eastern side of the Blue Mountains as the Dwarf mines there were still active in the beginning of the Fourth Age. In Appendix A ofThe Lord of the Rings, it has been noted that they eventually went tothe Dwarves' ancestral home of Khazad-dûm.
Thorin III helped rebuild Dale and the Lonely Mountain, and his realm became a close ally of the new King Elessar. Under his rule, the Dwarves prospered well into the Fourth Age. He was succeeded by his son, Durin VII the Last, who led the Dwarves of Erebor back to Khazad-dûm to restore it to its former glory. The Dwarves remained there until the “world grew old and the days of Durin’s race ended”.
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