War of the Great Jewels

This article is about the war itself. For the 1994 book, see The War of the Jewels.

The Jewels were coveted by Morgoth the Enemy, who stole them and, after destroying the Trees, took them to Middle-earth, and guarded them in his great fortress of Thangorodrim. Against the will of the Valar Fëanor forsook the Blessed Realm and went in exile to Middle-earth, leading with him a great part of his people; for in his pride he purposed to recover the Jewels from Morgoth by force. Thereafter followed the hopeless war of the Eldar and the Edain against Thangorodrim, in which they were at last utterly defeated.
—The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Númenor"

War of the Great Jewels
Date	YT 1497 - FA 587
Place	Beleriand and the lands northward
Outcome	Pyrrhic victory for the Valar and allies Expulsion of Morgoth from Arda Destruction of most of Beleriand Loss of two Silmarils Elves migrate west or settle Lindon Edain migrate to Númenor soon thereafter
Combatants
Hosts of Angband, Host of the North, and Easterlings
Hosts of Angband, Host of the North, and Easterlings
Host of the Valar, Ñoldor, Sindar, Dwarves of the Blue Mountains, Easterlings, and Edain
Host of the Valar, Ñoldor, Sindar, Dwarves of the Blue Mountains, Easterlings, and Edain
Commanders
Morgoth (cast into the void) Sauron Ancalagon† Gothmog† Glaurung† Ulfang†
Morgoth (cast into the void) Sauron Ancalagon† Gothmog† Glaurung† Ulfang†
Eönwë Thorondor Ingwion Thingol Círdan Denethor† Fëanor† Sons of Fëanor Fingolfin† Fingon† Turgon Finarfin Finrod Eärendil Azaghâl† Bór†
Eönwë Thorondor Ingwion Thingol Círdan Denethor† Fëanor† Sons of Fëanor Fingolfin† Fingon† Turgon Finarfin Finrod Eärendil Azaghâl† Bór†
Casualties
Near total; only a few survived
Near total; only a few survived
Very heavy
Very heavy

The War of the Great Jewels, or simply War of the Jewels or Wars of Beleriand, was a series of conflicts in the late First Age, between the forces of Morgoth and the Elves of Beleriand, with their Edain (and sometimes Dwarf) allies.

The conflict was instigated when Morgoth stole the Silmarils, the three Great Jewels of Fëanor, and fled with them to Middle-earth. The Ñoldor, who at that time lived in Valinor, were convinced by Fëanor to pursue Morgoth in the belief that they could win back the Jewels and establish mighty kingdoms in Middle-earth. However in leaving Valinor, the Ñoldor committed the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, a horrific and unjustifiable slaughter of their Teleri brethren. For their crime, the Valar banished them forever from Valinor and vowed to let them reap the folly of their pursuit of Morgoth.

Though the Elves did indeed establish great and beautiful realms, their war against Morgoth was entirely without hope. Though they did not realize it, as a fallen Vala Morgoth was simply too powerful by nature for the Elves and their allies to ever overcome. Ultimately Morgoth destroyed all the great kingdoms of Beleriand, and though the two lovers Beren and Lúthien would manage to retrieve one of the Silmarils, it caused terrible infighting amongst the Elves as the Sons of Fëanor sought with violence to claim it for themselves.

The War came to an end when Eärendil the Mariner managed to sail to Valinor, where he begged for the Valar to aid the overmatched Elves and Edain. Though the Valar had vowed to let the Ñoldor suffer the consequences of their foolishness, Manwë was yet moved to pity by Eärendil's plea, and mashled the forces of the Valar to overthrow Morgoth. Though the final battle was hard fought, the Host of Valinor would ultimately prevail. Morgoth's armies were destroyed, his great fortress of Angband was unroofed, and Morgoth himself was captured. The Valar then thrust him into the Timeless Void where he could no longer directly influence Arda. However, the Host suffered terrible casualties in the final battle, and the fighting was so intense that the region of Beleriand itself was utterly destroyed and sank into the sea.

The two Silmarils remaining to Morgoth were also lost to the Host, for though they were retrieved by Eönwë, they were ultimately given to the two remaining Sons of Fëanor, Maedhros and Maglor. However, the two brothers had committed many evil deeds in their pursuit of the Silmaril that Beren and Lúthien had recovered, and the brothers could not hold the blessed Jewels without suffering unbearable pain. And so Maedhros case himself and his Silmaril into a fiery chasm, and Malgor threw his into the sea.

Most of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth returned to Valinor with the victorious Host, and the Edain that fought alongside the Host were given the island of Númenor to dwell upon. However, Morgoth's chief lieutenant Sauron remained in Middle-earth, and after a time he took up the mantle of Dark Lord in Morgoth's stead. He would go on to cause great strife throughout the Second and Third Ages before finally being defeated in the War of the Ring.

Battles of Beleriand

The following were the major battles in this long, extended conflict:

1. The First Battle of Beleriand was fought before the Ñoldor arrived, and was fought by the Sindar and Laiquendi.
2. The Second Battle was the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, or Battle-under-Stars, fought by the Ñoldor following Fëanor and his Seven Sons.
3. The Third Battle was the Dagor Aglareb, or Glorious Battle, which led to the Siege of Angband.
   • Various minor battles were fought during the Siege which are not counted.
4. The Fourth Battle was the disastrous Dagor Bragollach, or Battle of Sudden Flame, which broke the Siege.
5. The Fifth Battle was the Nírnaeth Arnoediad or Battle of Unnumbered Tears, in which the Ñoldor armies were utterly destroyed.
6. The Sixth and Last Battle of Beleriand was the War of Wrath, which ended the First Age of Arda and destroyed Beleriand.

Other battles

In addition to the six Great Battles of Beleriand, there were other battles in Beleriand against the Dark Lord Morgoth, and even Elves against Elves and Dwarves against Elves. These conflicts were directly or indirectly part of the War of the Great Jewels.

• Kinslaying at Alqualondë - Battle in which the armies of Feanor and Fingon killed the Teleri elves who refused to give them the ships
• Battle of the Lammoth - Fingolfin against the Orcs of Morgoth in Lammoth
• Battle of the Firth of Drengist* - Fingon against the Orcs of Morgoth in the Firth of Drengist
• Defense of the Gelion-Ascar stockade - The battle the Haladin forces and the Noldor forces led by Caranthir against the forces of Morgoth.
• Battle of the Aglond Pass - The battle between the forces of Maedhros and Maglor and the Orcs trying to cross the Pass of Aglond in FA 402
• Battle of the Pass of Aglond - Battle in which the Sons of Fëanor were forced to retreat towards Himring
• Fall of Tol Sirion - A battle in which Orodreth retreated to Nargothrond and Sauron and the Orcs captured the island of Tol Sirion and Minas Tirith
• Second Assault on Hithlum - The battle between Morgoth's orc armies attacking Hithlum and the forces of Fingon and Cirdan.
• Assault on Doriath - Morgoth's failed attack to take Luthien back to Angband
• Fall of the Falas - in which the havens of Brithombar and Eglarest were sacked and fell, took place after the Nirnaeth.
• Skirmishes on the marches of Doriath - Military operation by the Guardians of Northern Doriath on the borders of Doriath.
• Skirmishes of the Land of Bow and Helm - Military battles fought by the Dor-Cúarthol in West Beleriand
• Sack of Amon Rûdh - The Gaurwaith are destroyed and Dor-Cúarthol is lost.
• Battle of Talath Dirnen - The Elves of Nargothrond against Orc forces
• Skirmishes of the Falas - The military battles of the Nargothronders between Sirion and Falas
• Battle of the Crossings of Taeglin - The battle in which the Orcs attacked the Forest of Brethil and killed the Handir.
• Battle of Tumhalad - The Elves of Nargothrond against Glaurung and the Orcs of Morgoth
• Fall of Nargothrond - Battle in which Glaurung and the Orcs destroy Nargothrond and its defenders
• Battle of the forest of Brethil - The battle between the Orcs of Glaurung and the Brethil men led by Turin
• Battle in the Thousand Caves - Dwarves of Nogrod attack Doriath and sack it.
• Battle of Sarn Athrad - Beren Erchamion, the Laiquendi of Ossiriand and Ents against the Dwarves of Nogrod
• Second Kinslaying - Dior against the forces of the Sons of Fëanor in Menegroth
• Fall of Gondolin - The forces of the Gondolindrim against the forces of Morgoth
• Third Kinslaying - The remaining forces of the Sons of Fëanor against the Elves living in the refugees at the Havens of Sirion, in the land of Arvernien

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Afrikaans	Juwele oorlog
Albanian	Lufta e xhevahireve
Amharic	የከበሩ ድንጋዮች ጦርነት
Arabic	حرب الجواهر
Armenian	Զարդերի պատերազմ
Assamese	ৱাৰ অৱ দ্য জুৱেলছ
Azerbaijani	Zərgərlik müharibəsi
Basque	Harribitxi gerra
Belarusian Cyrillic	Ювелірная вайна
Bengali	রত্ন যুদ্ধ
Bosnian	Rat draguljima
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Война на бижутата
Cambodian	សង្រ្គាមនៃត្បូងនេះ
Catalan	Guerra de les Gran Joies
Corsican	Guerra di i Ghjuvelli
Czech	Velká Válka klenoty
Danish	Ædelstenskrigen
Dutch	Sieraden oorlog
Esperanto	Milito de la Juveloj
Estonian	Juveeli sõda
Finnish	Iso-Jalokivien sota
French	Guerre des Grande-Joyaux
Frisian	Oarloch fan de Grut-Edelstiennen (Western)
Galician	Guerra de Gran Xoias
Georgian	ძვირფასი ქვების ომი
German	Groß Juwelenkrieg
Greek	Μεγάλη Πόλεμος των Κοσμημάτων (War of the Great Jewels) Μάχες του Μπελέριαντ (Battles of Beleriand)
Gujarati	જ્વેલરી વોર
Haitian Creole	Lagè nan Bijou yo
Hebrew	מלחמת התכשיטים
Hindi	गहना युद्ध
Hungarian	Ékkőháború
Icelandic	Stóra-Gimsteinarstríð
Irish Gaelic	Cogadh na seod
Italian	Guerra dei Gioielli
Japanese	ジュエリー戦争\
Kannada	ಆಭರಣ ಯುದ್ಧ
Kazakh	Зергерлік соғыс (Cyrillic) Zergerlik soğıs (Latin)
Korean	보석 전쟁
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Зергерчилик согушу
Latin	Bellum haud proinde gemmae
Latvian	Dārgakmens karš
Lithuanian	Brangakmenių karas
Luxembourgish	Krich vun de Groussbijouen
Macedonian Cyrillic	Војна на накит
Maithili	रत्नों के युद्ध
Malayalam	ആഭരണങ്ങളുടെ യുദ്ധം
Malaysian	Perang permata
Maltese	Gwerra tal-Ġojjelli
Mongolian Cyrillic	Үнэт эдлэлийн дайн
Nepalese	गहना युद्ध
Norwegian	Juvelenes krig
Pashto	د ګاڼو جګړه
Persian	نبرد گوهرها
Polish	Wojna o Klejnoty
Portuguese	Guerra da Grã-Jóias
Punjabi	ਗਹਿਣੇ ਯੁੱਧ
Romanian	Războiul bijuteriilor
Russian	Война Самоцветов
Serbian	Велика драгуље рат (Cyrillic) Velika dragulje rat (Latin)
Sindhi	زيورن جي جنگ
Sinhalese	ස්වර්ණාභරණ යුද්ධය
Slovak	Veľká Vojna klenotmi
Slovenian	Velika Draguljarska vojna
Spanish	Guerra de las Gran Joyas
Swedish	Stor Ädelstenkrig
Tajik Cyrillic	Ҷанги заргарӣ
Tamil	நகை போர்
Tatar	Jewәүһәрләр сугышы
Telugu	ఆభరణాల యుద్ధం
Thai	สงครามเครื่องประดับ
Turkish	Büyük Mücevher savaşı
Turkmen	Zergärçilik urşy
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Війна самоцвітів
Urdu	زیور جنگ
Uyghur	گۆھەر ئۇرۇشى
Uzbek	Жавоҳирлар уруши (Cyrillic) Javohirlar urushi (Latin)
Welsh	Rhyfel Tlysau
Yiddish	מלחמה פון די דזשולז