The War of the Dwarves and Orcs was a great war fought between the two races from TA 2793–2799, mostly taking place in and around the Misty Mountains.[1]
Dwarves fighting the Orcs
History[]
Prelude[]
In TA 2790[1], the elderly Dwarven King Thrór, the heir of Durin in exile, journeyed to Moria with a single companion, Nár. When they arrived at the East-gate, Nár begged him to take caution and refrain from entering. His words went unheeded by Thrór, who went and entered Moria proudly as a returning heir. Nár hid nearby for three days waiting for Thrór, but he did not return.
Three days after, the Orc Azog had Thrór's body flung out onto the steps of the gate for Nár to see, Azog's name carved into Thrór's face. Azog then called out to him from the gate, demanding that he deliver a message back to Thrór's people, warning that beggars who dared to enter Moria would meet a similar fate. Azog then proclaimed that he had killed Thrór and now therefore ruled Moria as king. Nár was barred from retrieving the head of Thrór, and was struck with a small pouch of coins of little worth as a final gesture of scorn. Nár took the pouch and turned and fled. When he looked back, goblins had emerged from the Gate and were hacking apart the body and flinging the pieces to the ravens.[2]
When Nár returned to Dunland many weeks later, and told of this to Thráin II who wept in great dismay and then fell silent in his grief. After a week he stood up and declared, "This cannot be borne!", and sent out messengers in all directions to deliver the tale. From TA 2790 to TA 2793 the Longbeards, Durin's Folk, responded by mustering their forces, summoning the other houses of the Dwarves, for 'the dishonor to the heir of the eldest of their race filled them with wrath'.[2]
Conflict[]
In TA 2793 the Dwarves were gathered, and advanced together, sacking every Orc-hold in the Misty Mountains from Mount Gundabad of the North to the peak of Methedras. Most of the war was fought underground, the Dwarves bent on finding Azog. This stage of the war was said to be so grim and pitiless that few Dwarven veterans afterwards ever recounted what took place.[2]
Depiction of the Battle of Azanulbizar
The war reached its climax in TA 2799, when a final battle was fought in the valley outside the eastern gates of Moria, the Battle of Azanulbizar. The Dwarves won when reinforcements arrived late on the scene from the Iron Hills. After the battle, Thráin II son of Thrór wanted to enter Moria and reclaim it, but the Dwarves not of Durin's folk refused, saying they had honored Durin's memory by fighting, and this was enough. The Dwarves feared Durin's Bane was still present and were reluctant to enter Moria while it still dwelt there.[2]
Near the end of the battle, Azog was pursued to the East-gate of Moria and killed by Dáin Ironfoot, who had just watched his father Náin die at Azog's hands. Afterward Azog's head, its mouth stuffed with the same coin-filled purse that he had flung at Nár after he had killed Thrór nine years before, was left impaled on a spike.[2]
Aftermath[]
The war was very costly for the Dwarven race, as nearly half of their warriors had been killed. Náin son of Grór, Frerin second son of Thráin II, and Fundin son of Farin, the father of Balin, were among the more noted casualties. Thráin II himself lost an eye and was wounded in the leg, and Thorin was wounded when his shield broke and he had to use an oak branch to defend himself. For this he was given the name Oakenshield.
During and after the conflict many Northern Orcs fled south through Rohan, trying to claim a refuge in the White Mountains and they troubled the Rohirrim for two generations. Another effect of the war was the virtual disappearance of the Northern Orcs as a threat to Eriador and Wilderland for a long while; the Northern Orcs of the High Pass near Rivendell were some of the few survivors. A century and a half later the Northern Orcs still had not fully recovered, and their population was further reduced during the Battle of Five Armies in TA 2941, in which Bolg, son of Azog, tried to avenge his father. Bolg was killed by Beorn during the battle.[3]
In adaptations[]
The Battle of Azanulbizar as portrayed in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Peter Jackson changed the story line of the war considerably for his film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). Jackson had Azog kill Thrór during the Battle of Azanulbizar, excluded Dáin Ironfoot from the event completely, and portrayed Thorin Oakenshield as having cut off Azog's arm in the battle, such that (in the films) Azog survived the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, and was able to later pursue Thorin and his Company out of revenge.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Oorlog van die Dwerge en Orke |
| Albanian | Lufta e Xhuxhëve dhe Orkeve |
| Amharic | ስለ ጦርነት ዽዋርቨስ ና ዖርችስ ? |
| Arabic | حرب من الأقزام والعفاريت |
| Armenian | Պատերազմ Դւարվես եւ Ործս |
| Azerbaijani | Cırtdanlar və Orkların Müharibəsi |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Вайна гномы і Oркі |
| Bengali | অর্ক বামন যুদ্ধ |
| Bosnian | Rat Patuljaka i Orka |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Войната на джуджетата и орките |
| Catalan | Guerra Dels Orcs i Nans |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 矮人與半獸人之戰爭 |
| Croatian | Rat Patuljaka i Orka |
| Czech | Válka Trpaslíků a Skřetů |
| Danish | Krigen mellem Dværgene og Orkerne |
| Dutch | Oorlog van de Dwergen en Orks |
| Esperanto | Milito de la Enanos kaj Orkoj |
| Estonian | Vabadussõja Päkapikud ja Orkid |
| Finnish | Örkkien-Kääpiöiden sota |
| French | Guerre des Nains et des Orques |
| Frisian | Oarloch fan 'e Dwergen en Orken (Western) |
| Friulian | Vuere Jenfri i Nanui e i Orcs |
| Galician | Guerra dos Ananos e Orcos |
| Georgian | ომი ჯუჯებსა და ორკებს შორის |
| German | Der Krieg der Zwerge und Orks |
| Greek | Πόλεμος των Vάνων και Ορκς |
| Gujarati | ઓર્ક વામન યુદ્ધ |
| Hebrew | מלחמת הגמדים אורקים |
| Hindi | ऑर्क बौना युद्ध |
| Hungarian | A Törpék és az Orkok Háborúja |
| Icelandic | Stríð Dverga og Orkar |
| Indonesian | Perang Kurcaci Orc |
| Irish Gaelic | Cogadh na áit fosta agus Orcs |
| Italian | Guerra tra i Nani e gli Orchi |
| Japanese | ドワーフとオークの戦争 |
| Kannada | ಡ್ವಾರ್ವೆಸ್ ಮತ್ತು ಓರ್ಕ್ಸ್ ಯುದ್ಧ |
| Kazakh | Гномдар мен орктардың соғысы (Cyrillic) Gnomdar men orktardıñ soğısı (Latin) |
| Konkani | ऑर्क वामन झुज |
| Korean | 드워프와 오크의 전쟁 |
| Kurdish | Şer yên Hacûckan û Orcs (Kurmanji) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Эргежээлдердин жана Орктардын согушу |
| Latvian | Rūķu un Orku karš |
| Lithuanian | Karas Nykštukai ir Orkai |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Војна на Џуџиња и Орцс |
| Maltese | Gwerra ta ' l-nanu u Orcs ? |
| Marathi | ऑर्क्स बटू युद्ध |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Орк одой дайн |
| Nepalese | ओर्कहरू बौना युद्ध |
| Norwegian | Krig av Dvergene og Orkene |
| Occitan | Guèrra dels Nans e dels Orcs |
| Persian | جنگ دورفها و اورک ها |
| Polish | Wojny krasnoludów i Orków |
| Portuguese | Guerra dos Anões e Orcs |
| Punjabi | ਓਰਕ ਡਵਾਰਫ ਯੁੱਧ |
| Romanian | Războiul gnomilor si al orcilor |
| Russian | Война орков и гномов |
| Sardinian | Gherra de sos Nanos e de sos Orcos |
| Serbian | Рат Патуљака и Орка (Cyrillic) Rat Patuljaka i Orka (Latin) |
| Sicilian | Guerra dî Nani e di l'orchi |
| Sinhalese | ඕර්ක් වාමන යුද්ධය |
| Slovak | Vojna Trpaslíkov a Ohyzdov |
| Slovenian | Vojna Škrati in Orke |
| Spanish | La Guerra de los Enanos y los Orcos |
| Swedish | Kriget mellan dvärgar och orcher |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ҷанги Дурҳо ва оркҳо |
| Tamil | குள்ளர்கள் மற்றும் ஒட்டடை போர் |
| Telugu | ఓర్క్-డ్వార్ఫ్ యుద్ధం |
| Thai | สงครามของคนแคระและผี |
| Turkish | Cüceler ve Orklar Savaşı |
| Turkmen | Derwüşler we Orklar Söweşi |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Війна гномів і орків |
| Urdu | اورکس اور بونوں کی جنگ |
| Uzbek | Миттилар ва орклар уруши (Cyrillic) Mittilar va orklar urushi (Latin) |
| Venetian | Guera dei Nani e degli Orchi |
| Vietnamese | Chiến tranh của người lùn và Orc |
| Yiddish | מלחמה פון די דוואָרווז און אָרקס |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "Durin's Folk"
- ↑ The Hobbit, Chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst"