Timeline of Arda - Arda Events - Third Age

Third Age

The Third Age was 3,021 years long. All entries are derived from Appendix B (see references) unless otherwise noted.

Note on Shire Reckoning: Year 1601 of the Third Age, in which the Shire was founded, is year 1 of the Shire Reckoning. Thus, Third Age years can be converted into their Shire equivalents by deducting 1600.

2 - Planting of the Second White Tree at Minas Tirith, Death of Isildur by Orcs in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, losing the One Ring in the Gladden river
109 - Elrond weds Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel
130 - Elrohir and Elladan are born to Elrond and Celebrían
241 - Arwen Undómiel is born to Elrond and Celebrían
490 - Easterlings invade Gondor
541 - Easterlings invade Gondor once more, slaying King Rómendacil
c. 550 - King Turambar of Gondor defeats the Easterlings of Rhûn; the Kingdom of Rhovanion becomes an ally of Gondor
861 - Following Eärendur's death, the kingdom of Arnor breaks up into Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. The Court and the palantír of Annúminas are moved to Fornost.
933 - Eärnil I of Gondor takes Umbar in a surprise attack
936 - Eärnil I lost at sea
c. 1000 - The Wizards come to Middle-earth
1015 - Hyarmendacil I ascends throne of Gondor
1015 - Black Númenóreans of Umbar besiege their old city
1030 - Siege of Umbar ends, Umbar retaken by Black Númenóreans.
1050 - Hyarmendacil I, king of Gondor, conquers Umbar, Hobbits migrate to Eriador. The shadow of Sauron falls upon Greenwood the Great, which is renamed Mirkwood.
1149 - Death of Hyarmendacil I, Atanatar II takes the sceptre of Gondor
c. 1200 - Rulers of Rhovanion assume the title "King of Rhovanion"
1248 - Rómendacil II of Gondor strikes decisive blow to the Easterlings; forms a strong alliance with Rhovanion, to which he cedes all the lands east of Anduin
1255 - Eldacar born
c. 1259 - Castamir born
1300 - Nazgûl reappear in Middle-earth, the kingdom of Angmar first appears at Arthedain's north-eastern border, built by the Witch-king, later revealed as Lord of the Nazgûl.
1344 - Death of Vidumavi
1356 - King Argeleb I of Arthedain is killed during an invasion by Rhudaur, now controlled by Angmar; his son, Arveleg I, ascends the throne
1366 - Valacar ascends the throne of Gondor
1409 - Cardolan is conquered by the kingdom of Angmar and Rhudaur disappears; Weathertop watchtower and fortifications are burned and destroyed. Annúminas is attacked, sacked and abandoned in ruins until the Fourth Age.
1432 - Eldacar succeeds his father, Valacar, as king of Gondor
1437 - Castamir the Usurper, Lord of Ships, usurps throne of Gondor (see Kin-strife); Osgiliath's palantír is lost in the river
1447 - Eldacar reclaims Gondor with a Rhovanion army and kills Castamir
1448 - Sons of Castamir the Usurper and most of the fleet of Gondor flee south to Umbar; become known as the Corsairs of Umbar
1540 - King Aldamir of Gondor is slain by Haradrim
1600 - Two Fallohide (see Hobbit) brothers decided to cross the River Baranduin and settle on the other side, and are followed by large numbers of Hobbits
1601 - The Shire is first settled by Hobbits
1634 - Corsairs of Umbar attack Gondor, slaying king Minardil at Pelargir, and raiding the city
1636 - The Great Plague decimates Gondor and Rhovanion; Cirith Ungol is abandoned
1810 - King Telumehtar of Gondor destroys Umbar; renames himself Umbardacil
1851 - The Wainriders first attack Gondor
1856 - The Wainriders overrun eastern territories of Gondor; death of Narmacil II in battle.
1899 - Gondor attacks Wainriders from the east; the Kingdom of Rhovanion, occupied by Wainriders, rebels and is freed
1936 - Ondoher succeeds Calimehtar as king of Gondor
1944 - During an invasion by the Wainriders and the Haradrim, King Ondoher of Gondor is killed in battle with his sons; Haradrim, Wainriders and the Variags of Khand take Umbar; new Corsairs of Umbar emerge.
1945 - Eärnil II succeeds the crown of Gondor
1964 - Arvedui, son of King Araphant of Arthedain, ascends the throne
1974 - The kingdom of Arthedain is conquered by Angmar. Fornost is attacked and left abandoned until the Fourth Age.
1975 - Gondor destroys Angmar in the Battle of Fornost. Death of Arvedui and loss of the two palantíri of Amon Sul (Weathertop) and Annúminas.
1980 - The Moria Dwarves awaken Durin's Bane, a Balrog, which kills Durin VI, king of Khazad-dûm; the Nazgûl return to Mordor and lay siege to Minas Ithil.
1981 - Durin VI's son, Náin I, is also killed, and the Dwarves flee Moria; deaths of Amroth and Nimrodel
1999 - Thráin I founds realm of Erebor, discovers Arkenstone
2043 - King Eärnil II of Gondor dies and his son, the Witch-king's old enemy, Eärnur inherits the throne. Upon his coronation, the Witch-king challenges him to combat, but King Eärnur refuses.
2050 - The Witch-king again challenges King Eärnur, this time he accepts. Eärnur rides out of Minas Tirith to meet the Witch-king in Minas Morgul. He enters the city's gates and is never seen again, thus ending the reign of the Gondorian Kings and causing the beginning of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor, until the time of King Elessar.
2063 - Gandalf drives Sauron from Dol Guldur. The Watchful Peace begins.
2210 - Thorin I, son of Thráin I, leaves Erebor with most of his people, settles in the Grey Mountains
2430 - Approximate birth year of Sméagol
2460 - Sauron returns to Middle-earth; establishes himself in Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood. The Watchful Peace ends.
2463 - Sméagol (later known as Gollum) becomes the fourth bearer of the One Ring, after killing his cousin Déagol
2475 - First Uruks appear out of Mordor in attacks on Gondor.
2501–2510 - Eorl the Young, lord of the Éothéod and first king of Rohan (2510–2545).
2509 - Cirion, Steward of Gondor, sends summons to the Éothéod for military aid; Celebrían is waylaid by Orcs, receives a poisoned wound, and consequentially departs Middle-earth
2510 - The alliance between Rohan and Gondor comes into existence. The Easterlings launch a massive invasion of Gondor. The Balchoth invade Rhovanion (which disappears as an independent realm) and Gondor, conquering much of Calenardhon, but are driven back by the people of Éothéod; Gondor gives the now-uninhabited province of Calenardhon to the people of Éothéod
2545 - Eorl the Young, king of Rohan, dies in the battle in the Wold against the Easterlings. Brego succeeds him as the second king of Rohan
2570 - Aldor, aged only 26, becomes third king of Rohan at the death of his father Brego; Dragons attack the Dwarf settlements in the Grey Mountains
2589 - Dáin I and his son Frór are killed by a cold-drake
2590 - Thrór, son of Dáin I, leaves the Grey Mountains and resettles The Lonely Mountain, his brother, Grór, settles in the Iron Hills
2645 - Fréa becomes fourth king of Rohan after the death of his father Aldor ('the Old')
2659 - Fréawine, fifth King of Rohan
2680 - Goldwine, sixth King of Rohan
2699 - Déor, seventh king of Rohan
2718 - Gram, eighth king of Rohan
2741 - Helm Hammerhand ninth king of Rohan ascends the throne as last king of the first line
2746 - Amrothos, fifteenth Prince of Dol Amroth, falls while defending Dor-en-Ernil against the Corsairs of Umbar
2747 - Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took leads a force of hobbits and defeats invading Orcs of the Misty Mountains in the Northfarthing at the Battle of Greenfields
2758 - Dunlendings, under Wulf, invade Rohan, supported by the Corsairs of Umbar
Long Winter of 2758–2759 - The Dunlendings lay siege to Hornburg
2759 - Helm Hammerhand, king of Rohan, freezes to death outside the fortress of Helm's Deep, where he and his loyal subjects have taken refuge from the Dunlendings. He is succeeded by his nephew Fréaláf Hildeson; Saruman settles in Isengard
2770 - Smaug lays waste to the town of Dale and captures Erebor with all of its treasure. The surviving dwarves there are driven into exile.
2790 - Thrór enters Moria and is killed by Orc chieftain Azog, starting the War of the Dwarves and Orcs
2798 - Fréaláf Hildeson, tenth king of Rohan, dies. He is followed by his son Brytta Léofa
2799 - The Battle of Azanulbizar, the culmination of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, is fought on Moria's East Gate, in which the Dwarves defeat the Orcs of Moria, including slaying their chieftain Azog, but lack the strength to retake Moria.
2802 - Thráin II, son of Thrór settles in the Blue Mountains
2842 - Brytta Léofa, eleventh king of Rohan, dies. Succeeded by his son Walda.
2845 - Thráin II is captured by forces of Sauron and imprisoned in Dol Guldur after having wandered for four years trying to reclaim the lost treasure at Erebor and the last of the Dwarven Rings of Power is taken from him
2850 - Gandalf enters Dol Guldur and confirms that the evil thereby found is indeed Sauron returned; Thráin II, broken, raving, and dying, gives Gandalf his map and key to be passed on to his son, Thorin Oakenshield
2851 - Walda, twelfth king of Rohan, is killed by an orc, his son Folca succeeds him
2864 - Folca, thirteenth king of Rohan, is killed by the Boar of Everholt. He is succeeded by his son Folcwine
2879 - Birth of Gimli
2885 - Harondor is once again claimed by the Haradrim, supported by the Corsairs of Umbar. Fastred and Folcred, the twin sons of king Folcwine, were killed during the Battle of Crossings of Poros
September 22, 2890 - Bilbo Baggins is born
2903 - Folcwine, fourteenth king of Rohan, dies and is succeeded by his youngest son Fengel
2907 - Birth of Gilraen (later wife of Arathorn II)
Fell Winter of 2911–2912 - wolves invade the Shire. Tharbad is ruined in the following floods.
2930 - Arathorn II becomes the Chieftain of the Dúnedain
2931 - Birth of Aragorn, son of Arathorn II and Gilraen
2933 - Arathorn II is killed while hunting Orcs
March 15, 2941 - Thorin Oakenshield meets with Gandalf the Grey at the Prancing Pony in Bree, the Quest of Erebor begins
July, 2941 - Bilbo Baggins obtains the One Ring; the White Council drives Sauron out of Dol Guldur
October, 2941 - Esgaroth is attacked by the dragon Smaug, who is consequentially killed by Bard the Bowman; Thorin Oakenshield, Fíli, and Kíli killed at the Battle of Five Armies along with Bolg son of Azog; Dáin II Ironfoot becomes King of The Lonely Mountain; Town of Dale reestablished by Bard
June 22, 2942 - Bilbo Baggins returns to Bag End
2951 - Sauron reveals himself in Mordor, and starts raising Barad-dûr anew. Estel, later known as Aragorn, comes of age and is told about his heritage; the Corsairs of Umbar officially ally themselves with Mordor and destroy great monument commemorating Ar-Pharazôn's victory over Sauron
2953 - Last meeting of the White Council. Fengel, fifteenth king of Rohan, dies. His son Thengel returns to Rohan to succeed him.
2956 - Aragorn first meets Gandalf the Grey
2957-2980 - Aragorn as Thorongil serves in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan, and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor
September 22, 2968 - Frodo Baggins is born
2978 - Birth of Boromir
2980 - Arwen pledges her hand in marriage to Aragorn; Frodo Baggins loses both of his parents in a boating accident; Aragorn, in the service of the Steward of Gondor Ecthelion II leads a taskforce south and kills the Captain of the Haven, ruler of Umbar; Samwise Gamgee born; Théoden, son of Thengel, becomes seventeenth king of Rohan after the death of his father.
2982 - Birth of Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry)
2983 - Birth of Faramir
2989 - Frodo Baggins comes under the guardianship of Bilbo Baggins; a company of Dwarves, led by Balin, try to recolonize Moria
2990 - Birth of Peregrin Took (Pippin)
2991 - Birth of Éomer
2994 - Balin is killed; the dwarf-colony in Moria is destroyed
2995 - Birth of Éowyn
3001 - Bilbo Baggins turns 111, passes the One Ring on to Frodo Baggins, and leaves the Shire. From now on Aragorn and Gandalf intermittently hunt Gollum
3002 - Lalia Clayhanger, the matriarch of the Took clan, dies, aged 119, and possibly pushed by Pearl Took; Bilbo settles in Rivendell
3007 - Gilraen, Aragorn II's mother passes away at the age of 100 years
3014 - Saruman begins using his influence to weaken Théoden, king of Rohan
3017 - Gollum is released from Mordor; Aragorn finally tracks him down in the Dead Marshes, and brings him as a captive to King Thranduil's halls in Mirkwood