Tolkien Gateway

Kings of Durin's Folk

The Kings of Durin's Folk were those of the House of Durin who ruled as kings, even when in exile.

The kings were all descended from Durin the Deathless of the First Age; in fact, five of the kings after Durin I were held to be reincarnations of him by the Dwarves. No complete list of all kings is known. The table below shows the names of those Kings who have been recorded, or whose existence could be deduced. In the table all information was obtained from The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin’s Folk"[1] unless otherwise indicated. The " Realm(s) " column indicates which place or places the kings ruled from during their reigns.

NameBirthDeathRealm(s)Historical Notes
Durin I the DeathlessYears of the TreesFirst AgeKhazad-dûmOne of the seven Fathers of the Dwarves and founder of the Longbeards, Durin's folk. He ruled his people for centuries - so long, in fact, that he became known as the 'Durin the Deathless' - but eventually he died during the First Age. He discovered the caves of Khazad-dûm and began his reign there.
Durin IIUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûm
Durin IIIUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûmHe was the king of Khazad-dûm at the time of the forging of the Rings of Power (sometime between S.A. 1500 and 1590[2]) and a great friend of Celebrimbor the Lord of Eregion to the west. He received one of the Rings (later known as the Ring of Thrór) as a gift from his friend.
Durin IVLate Second AgeLikely early Third AgeKhazad-dûmHe was the king during the War of the Last Alliance, and he led an army to fight Alongside the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
Durin VUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûm
Durin VI17311980Khazad-dûmHe was king when the Balrog was awakened in 1980.[3] After he was killed by it the Balrog was called Durin's Bane and Khazad-dûm was known as Moria.
Náin I18321981Khazad-dûmHe reigned for just one year before was also slain by Durin's Bane.
Thráin I19342190Erebor He led a great part of his people away from Khazad-dûm into the north and east of Middle-earth and founded the Kingdom under the Mountain in 1999.[3]
Thorin I20352289Erebor, Ered MithrinLearning that his people were regrouping in the the Grey Mountains, Thorin I abandoned Erebor and reestablished the throne in the Ered Mithrin in 2210.[3]
Glóin21362385Ered Mithrin
Óin22382488Ered Mithrin
Náin II23382585Ered MithrinIn 2570, the prosperous Dwarves began to suffer attacks by the dragons of the north.[3]
Dáin I24402589Ered MithrinHis short reign came to a swift end when he was slain by a cold-drake before the entrance to his halls. He was succeeded by his son.
Thrór25422790Ered Mithrin, Erebor, exile, DunlandHe led his people out of the dragon-infested north back to the Lonely Mountain. He had been King under the Mountain for more than 180 years when the dragon Smaug descended on the mountain and sacked it. He escaped the destruction, and went wandering in the wild before settling in Dunland. Later, went to reclaim Khazad-dûm where he was murdered by Azog the Orc, a crime that provoked the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.
Thráin II26442850Dunland, Ered LuinHe avenged his father's death with the defeat of Azog's Orcs at the Battle of Azanulbizar. In the early part of his reign, he dwelt in Dunland, but he later moved northwest to the Ered Luin west of Eriador and established a new realm. Before his reign ended, he resolved to return to Erebor, but while wandering in the wild he was captured in 2845[3] and died in the dungeons of the Necromancer.
Thorin II Oakenshield27462941Ered Luin, Erebor He ruled as King in the Ered Luin for many years, but like his father before him he determined to return to his ancient home of Erebor. Accompanied by Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, he led a troop of companions into the east, and against all hope recovered the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. After Smaug's death, Thorin was slain in the Battle of Five Armies. The only remaining descendants of Thrór's line, Thorin's nephews Fíli and Kíli, were also lost in the battle. So the Kingship passed to the line of Thrór's younger brother Grór, and specifically to his grandson Dáin Ironfoot.
Dáin II Ironfoot27673019Erebor He ruled in prosperity as King under the Mountain for many years until the time of the War of the Ring. He was slain in the Battle of Dale.
Thorin III Stonehelm2866Early Fourth AgeEreborHe was besieged in Erebor after the loss of his father, but when news reached the forces of Sauron that their master had been defeated, he was able to drive them back. With Thorin III, detailed records of the reigns of the Kings come to an end, but there is a record of just one of his descendants.
Durin VIIUnknownUnknownKhazad-dûm[4]Was the last supposed incarnation of Durin I, and led his people back to Khazad dûm where he reestablished the throne of Durin.

Durin I died before the end of the First Age, so that between his rule and that of Thorin III, the Kings of Durin's line ruled for a period of about 6,500 years. Given that the average length of a reign among the Longbeards seems to have been roughly a century, it can be deduced that there were probably about fifty Kings that have went unmentioned.

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