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Finduilas's Tolkien Page Timeline of Events in the History of Middle-Earth

For detail as to the years of the War of the Ring, see Calendar of the years 3018 and 3019 of the Third Age.

Age: Date (when available): Place: Event:
Before the Ages of the Lamps: The Creation of Arda
The Ages of the Lamps: Middle-Earth The creation of the two Lamps
Almaren The creation of the dwelling place of the Valar
The North of Middle-Earth Melkor re-enters Middle-Earth
Middle-Earth Melkor destroys the Lamps
Between the Ages of the Lamps and the Ages of the Trees: Aman The Valar move to Aman, essentially abandoning Middle-Earth
Aman The Valar build Valimar and raise the Pelori
The Ages of the Trees: Aman The Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin grow and start to put out light
Aman Aule creates the race of Dwarves
Aman Varda begins to create new and brighter stars, including the Valacirca, The Sickle as a warning to Melkor
Middle-Earth The Elves awaken
Middle-Earth The Valar make war on Melkor and take him prisoner to Valimar
Middle-Earth and Aman The three leaders of the Elves travel to Aman as ambassadors
Middle-Earth The Elves begin the journey to Aman
Middle-Earth and Aman The Noldor and the Vanyar travel over the Sea
Middle-Earth Elwe, the leader of the Teleri is lost in the woods and meets Melian the Maia.
Middle-Earth and Aman Many of the Teleri take Elwe's brother as their leader and travel over the Sea though they choose to remain on the island, later called Tol Eressa, within sight of Aman. The others continue searching for Elwe. They become the Sindar
Aman The Noldor build the city Tirion
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Luthien, the daughter of Elwe (Thingol) and Melian
Aman The Noldor discover the gems of the Earth
Aman The Teleri learn the art of ship-building
Aman Feanor learns how to make gems
Aman Melkor is given the freedom of Valimar
Aman Feanor makes the Silmarils
Aman and Avathar Melkor meets Ungoliant and returns to Valinor in a time of festival
Aman Melkor stabs the Two Trees and Ungoliant sucks them dry, poisoning them so they die
Aman Melkor steals the Silmarils and many other gems and Finwe is slain
Between the Ages of the Trees and the First Age of the Sun Aman Feanor and his sons swear an oath to recover the Silmarils
Aman The Noldor set out
Aman Ungoliant receives all the lesser gems that were stolen
Aman The Doom of the Noldor is spoken. Feanor and his sons continue in spite of it
Aman The Noldor reach the Helcaraxe
Aman Laurelin bears a single fruit of gold and Telperion a flower of silver then both die
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Sons of Feanor reach Middle-Earth
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Dagor-nuin-Giliath (Battle under the Stars) is fought, and the Elves are victorious, though Feanor is slain
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Maedhros is taken by Morgoth and held captive
Middle-Earth and Aman The Rising of the Moon, the flower of Teleperion
The First Age of the Sun Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Awakening of Men
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Host of Fingolfin arrives on the shores of Middle-Earth with the Rising of the Sun
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Fingon, the son of Fingolfin, frees Maedhros from the torment upon Thangorodrim, where he had been hanging by one hand. This deed heals the rift between the Sons of Feanor and of the host of Fingolfin
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Caranthir, son of Feanor, meets the Dwarves, the first of the Noldor to do so
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Finrod finds and builds the fortress Narogthrond
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Turgon finds the valley of Tumladen
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Dagor Aglareb (the Glorious Battle) is fought and the Elves are victorious
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Turgon begins the building of Gondolin (as it was known in the Sindarin tongue)
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Glaurung, the first of the Uruloki, Fire-Drakes, is first seen in battle
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Long Peace, lasting nearly two hundred years
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Finrod meets Men of the house of Beor, and teaches them in the Elven-tongue
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame is fought. Against the Elves were Glaurung, balrogs and orcs
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Barahir, one of the Edain, rescues Finrod Fegalund from the orcs during the Dagor Bragollach.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Fingolfin fights MorgothFingolfin challenges Morgoth to single combat. This was the only time that Morgoth ever actually fought in combat. Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times before he himself was killed. Fingolfn's body was rescued by Thorondor who in the process scarred Morgoth's face with his talons
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Sauron captures Minas Tirith, the watchtower of Finrod. It is after called Tol-in-Gaurhoth, the Isle of Werewolves
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Swarthy Men enter Beleriand. Many of them were in the service of Morgoth
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Hurin and Huor are taken to Gondolin by eagles
Beleriand, Middle-Earth A year later, Hurin and Huor are returned to their people by the eagles
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Beren, escaping betrayal entered Doriath, the first of the Atani to do so. There he met Luthien, the daughter of Thingol and they fell in love
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Beren departs Doriath, on the quest of a Silmaril
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Beren enters Narogthrond
Beleriand, Middle-Earth With the help of Finrod Felagund, Beren makes it as far as Tol-in-Guarhoth, with his aid, where they are captured, Luthien coming after, frees Beren, though Finrod had been killed. Together they gain a Silmaril. At the gates of Angband, Carcharoth, the greatest of the werewolves ever to live, bit off Beren's hand containing the Silmaril. Beren and Luthien return to Doriath.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Carcharoth, driven mad by the pain of the Silmaril, ravages Doriath. He is killed by Huan, though both Huan and Bereb are mortally wounded. Luthien chooses to die and to follow Beren from the world.
Aman For the first and only time, Mandos is moved to pity by the power of Luthien's song. Both Luthien and Beren are granted a second mortal life.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears. In this battle was Hurin captured, and Fingon, the High King of the Noldor, died
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Turin, the son of Hurin, is sent to Doriath to be fostered by Thingol
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Turin joins an outlaw band
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Tuor and UlmoTuor, escaping out of Hithlum comes to Nevrast where Ulmo speaks to him and bids him go to Gondolin. He is aided by an elf from Gondolin, Voronwe. Eventually they make it to the gates.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Beleg finds Turin and eventually joins them on Amon Rudh where they were later betrayed by Mim the Dwarf. Turin was captured by orcs. Beleg finds and frees Turin, though Turin mistakes him for an Orc and slays him
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Tuor marries Idril, the daughter of Turgon
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Earendil, the son of Tuor and Idril is born in Gondolin.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Eventually Turin is enspelled by Glaurung, as is his sister Nienor
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Gondolin is destroyed. Many survivors, including Tuor, Earendil and Idril, escape to the north
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Unknowing, Turin marries his sister, who was at that time called Niniel
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Turin slays Glaurung, and the dragon-spell falls from his mind. Niniel find him and Glaurung, dying tells her who he is and who she is. In horror and despair she throws herself off a cliff, and Turin falls upon his sword and dies.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Morgoth frees Hurin
Beleriand, Middle-Earth Earendil marries Elwing, the granddaughter of Beren and Luthien
Beleriand, Middle-Earth After an attack on the Havens of Sirion by the surviving sons of Feanor, led Earendil to attempt to sail into the West to beg for aid.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth and Aman With Elwing and the Silmaril, Earendil was finally successful in his search for Aman. Earendil is set in the sky with the Silmaril as a star, later known as Earendil the Evening star. Elwing resides on the northwest coast of Aman.
Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Valar aid in the destruction of Morgoth. In the process, Beleriand was destroyed. Morgoth was thrust beyond the Gates of Night never to return.
Aman and Beleriand, Middle-Earth The Elves are summoned to return to Aman and the Edain are given an island nigh to Aman as a reward. The Edain set sail, following Earendil the Evening Star
The Second Age of the Sun Year 32 Numenor Elros became the first king of Numenor, under the name Tar-Minyatur
Year 442 Numenor Elros lays down his life of his own free will
Around the year 500 Middle-Earth Sauron begins to make himself known
Around the year 600 Middle-Earth Numenorean ships land again in Middle-Earth
Year 883 Numenor and Middle-Earth Tar-Meneldur resigns the sceptre to Tar-Aldarion, his son. It is first known that Sauron was stirring again
Around the year 1000 Middle-Earth Sauron begins to build Barad-dur
Around the year 1500 Eregion, Middle-Earth The Elven-Smiths, with the aid and instruction of Sauron begin to forge the Rings of Power
Around the year 1600 Mordor, Middle-Earth Sauron forges the One Ring and finishes the building of Barad-dur
Between the years 3102 and 3177 Numenor The Eldar are forbidden to land in Numenor, and the Elven-tongues are forbidden
Around the year 2251 Middle-Earth The Nazgul first appear
Year 3177 Numenor Tar-Palantir takes the throne and prophesied that when the White Tree died, so too would the line of the Kings of Numenor
Year 3255 Numenor The last king of Numenor, Ar-Pharazon the Golden, takes the throne.
Year 3262 Numenor Ar-Pharazon takes Sauron hostage to Numenor.
Year 3319 Numenor and Aman Ar-Pharazon under the council of Sauron, breaks the ban and sails to Aman to claim it. Eru changes the shape and fate of the World, in the process removing Aman and destroying Numenor. Only nine ships escape. These were the ships belonging to Elendil, Isildur and Anarion
Year 3320 Middle-Earth Foundation of the Realms in Exile, Arnor and Gondor. The High King of both was Elendil. Joint rule of Gondor was given to Isildur and Anarion
Year 3429 Gondor and Mordor, Middle-Earth Sauron attacks Gondor, prompting the Last Alliance
Year 3440 Mordor, Middle-Earth Anarion was slain by a falling boulder from the walls of Barad-Dur
Year 3441 Mordor, Middle-Earth Elendil and Gil-Galad are slain on the slopes of Orodruin. Isildur cuts the One Ring off of Sauron's hand and claims it for himself.
The Third Age of the Sun Year 2 Gondor, Middle-Earth Isildur was marching north along the banks of the Anduin and was ambushed by orcs. He was betrayed by the Ring to his death, trying to swim the River
Year 241 Rivendell (Imladris), Middle-Earth Arwen, daughter of Elrond, is born
Around the year 1000 Middle-Earth The Istari are sent to Middle-Earth from the Undying Lands
Around the year 1100 Middle-Earth It was discovered by the Istari, that an evil power had made its home within Greenwood the Great, in the stronghold Dol Guldur. It was thought to be one of the Nazgul
Around the year 1300 Angmar and Middle-Earth The Nazgul reappear and the chief of them goes north to Angmar. He is known afterwards as the Witch-King of Angmar
Year 1601 Eriador, Middle-Earth Hobbits were given lands north of the Brandywine
Year 1636 Middle-Earth The Great Plague spread throughout Middle-Earth. The King of Gondor and his family died. At this time it was that many parts of Eriador became desolate
Year 1975 Arnor, Middle-Earth The last king, Arvedui dies, and the heirlooms are given into the keeping of Elrond
Year 1976 Arnor, Middle-Earth The line of the Chieftains of Arnor begins with Aranarth
Year 1999 Erebor, Middle-Earth Thrain I founds the Kingdom Under the Mountain
Year 2002 Gondor, Middle-Earth The Nazgul take Minas Ithil and it is renamed Minas Morgul
Year 2050 Gondor, Middle-Earth Earnur rides to the challenge of the Witch-king. He never returns and the line of the kings of Gondor falls. Gondor is after ruled by the Stewards
Year 2060 Greenwood the Great, Middle-Earth The power in Dol Guldur grows. It is feared by the Istari that it might be Sauron
Around the year 2463 The Gladden Fields, Middle-Earth Deagol finds the Ring and is murdered by Smeagol, who is after known as Gollum
Year 2510 Gondor/Rohan, Middle-Earth Eorl the Young given the lands which later are known as Rohan
Year 2770 Erebor, Middle-Earth Smaug settles on the Lonely Mountain. At this time Dale was destroyed
Year 2850 Dol Guldur, Middle-Earth Gandalf the Grey discovers that the power in Dol Guldur is Sauron. While there he recovers the map and key from Thrain II
Year 2890, September 22 The Shire, Middle-Earth Bilbo Baggins is born
Year 2931, March 1 Arnor, Middle-Earth Aragorn II born
Year 2941 The Shire and Erebor, Middle-Earth Bilbo joins the Quest for Erebor. Fore more information, see his book, The Hobbit. The White Council agrees to attack Sauron
Year 2942 Erebor and the Shire, Middle-Earth Bilbo returns to the Shire
Year 2951 Mordor, Middle-Earth Sauron returns to Mordor and declares himself again
Year 2953 Middle-Earth Saruman begins to spy on Gandalf, and to lie to the White Council in its last meeting
Year 2968 The Shire, Middle-Earth Frodo Baggins is born
Year 2989 Erebor and Moria, Middle-Earth Balin leaves the Lonely Mountain to colonize Moria
Year 2994 Moria, Middle-Earth Balin is killed and the colony fails, with all the dwarves being killed
Year 3001, September 22 The Shire, Middle-Earth Bilbo gives his farewell feast on his 111th birthday, Frodo is given the Ring
Year 3017 Mordor and the Dead Marshes, Middle-Earth Gollum is released from Mordor, and Aragorn captures him in the Dead Marshes
Year 3018 Middle-Earth The beginning of the War of the Ring. For more information see either the account given by Frodo and his friends in the book The Lord of the Rings, my Calendar of Events, or the section The Lord of the Rings.
Year 3018 Erebor, Middle-Earth Battle in Dale
Year 3019 Middle-Earth The War of the Ring ends in March. For more information see any of the following: The Calendar of Events and The Lord of the Rings, or the account by Frodo and his friends in the book The Lord of the Rings
Year 3021, September 29 The Grey Havens, Middle-Earth Bilbo and Frodo depart over the Sea, into the West with the Keepers of the Three Rings
The Fourth Age of the Sun Year 10 The Shire, Middle-Earth Merriadoc Brandybuck became Master of Buckland
Year 12 The Shire, Middle-Earth Peregrin Took became the Thain of the Shire
Year 60 The Shire and the Grey Haven, Middle-Earth Sam's wife Rose dies and Sam is reported to have sailed into the West
Year 62 The Shire, Rohan, and Gondor, Middle-Earth Merry and Pippin left the Shire for Rohan at the request of Eomer, then the King of Rohan. After his death in the same year, the two went to Gondor where they died a few years later
Year 120, March 1 Gondor, Middle-Earth Aragorn laid down his life of his own free will, and died. In the same year, Legolas sailed into the West in a ship of his own construction. It is reported that Gimli went with him.

These are some of the books that I have used in creating this document:

    - The Complete Guide to Beleriand, Middle-Earth from the Hobbit to the Silmarillion by Robert Foster
    - The Hobbit
    - The Return of the King
    - The Silmarillion
    - The Unfinished Tales
   
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