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Timeline Event

Battle between Arthedain and Rhudaur: Overview

Event Type: Military/Strategic

Age: 3rd Age - The Kings

Year: 1356

Description:

Table of Contents:

The Combatants
— Attacking Forces
— Defensive Forces
The Timeline
The Prelude
The Battle
The Aftermath
Notes

The Combatants

The Combatants: Attacking Forces
In Rhudaur the Heirs of Isildur had waned, and its rule had been taken over by evil Hill-men, who were secretly receiving support from Angmar. Fomenting war between the petty realms was a means of furthering the Witch-king's policy of destroying the Dúnedain of the North.

The Combatants: Defensive Forces
Only in Arthedain did the line of Isildur still reign, so the kings of Arthedain, beginning with Argeleb I, felt entitled to declare themselves overlords of all three petty realms; however, Rhudaur took strong issue with that claim. Aid in this battle came to Arthedain from Cardolan and also from the Elves of Lindon.

The Timeline
circa 1300
Evil things begin to multiply again. Orcs increase in the Misty Mountains.... The Nazgûl reappear. The chief of these comes north to Angmar....

[See: Witch-king comes to Angmar to destroy the Dúnedain in Arnor]

[1349]
[See: Argeleb I becomes King of Arthedain]

[See: Arthedain claims lordship over all Arnor]
[See: Argeleb I fortifies the Weather Hills]

1356
King Argeleb I slain in battle with Rhudaur. About this time the Stoors leave the Angle, and some return to Wilderland.

[See: Argeleb I, King of Arthedain, slain]
[See: Arveleg I becomes King of Arthedain]

[See: Rhudaur attempts to seize the Palantír of Amon Sûl]
[See: Arveleg I repels Rhudaur]

[1356 - 1409]
[See: Arthedain and Cardolan hold the Weather Hills]
[See: Stoors flee the Angle]

1409
The Witch-king of Angmar invades Arnor. King Arveleg I slain.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age


The Prelude
[After the Division of Arnor:]
In Arthedain the line of Isildur was maintained and endured, but the line soon perished in Cardolan and Rhudaur. There was often strife between the kingdoms, which hastened the waning of the Dúnedain. The chief matter of debate was the possession of the Weather Hills and the land westward towards Bree. Both Rhudaur and Cardolan desired to possess Amon Sûl (Weathertop), which stood on the borders of their realms; for the Tower of Amon Sûl held the chief Palantír of the North, and the other two were both in the keeping of Arthedain.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

The... Witch-king... came north with the purpose of destroying the Dúnedain in Arnor, seeing hope in their disunion....

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

In the days of Argeleb son of Malvegil, since no descendants of Isildur remained in the other kingdoms, the kings of Arthedain again claimed the lordship of all Arnor. The claim was resisted by Rhudaur. There the Dúnedain were few, and power had been seized by an evil lord of the Hill-men, who was in secret league with Angmar. Argeleb therefore fortified the Weather Hills....

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain


The Battle
Argeleb... was slain in battle with Rhudaur (with secret aid of Angmar); the enemy tries to seize the [palantír1] of Amon Sûl.

The Peoples of Middle-Earth, HoME Vol 12, Part 1, Ch 7, The Heirs of Elendil: The Northern Line of Arnor: The Isildurioni

Arveleg son of Argeleb, with the help of Cardolan and Lindon, drove back his enemies from the Hills....

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain


The Aftermath
[For] many years Arthedain and Cardolan held in force a frontier along the Weather Hills, the Great Road, and the lower Hoarwell.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur: The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain

About this time the Stoors leave the Angle, and some return to Wilderland.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix B, The Tale of Years: The Third Age


Notes
1 This text is from one of Tolkien's early drafts. For the sake of clarity, earlier versions of proper names used by Tolkien in this draft have been replaced with the versions in use in the canon sources. All substitutions are marked with brackets.

Contributors:
Loquacious 07.03.03
Added quotes: Elena Tiriel 10Jul06

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