Moria was an immensely powerful realm, and that this act of loyalty by the Dwarves was seldom remembered in the histories can probably be attributed to the likelihood that they were only a small contingent in that battle. Thus, when Sauron declared war on the Elves, the Dwarves of Moria came to their aid. The chief of those Elves, Celebrimbor, was the one who learned the secrets of ring-making from Sauron and forged the Three (Elvish rings). Durin’s line, with its great capital of Moria, was extremely close (geographically and diplomatically) to the High Elves of Eregion. Unlike the Nine rings given to kings of Men, the power of Sauron could not take significant hold on the Seven of the dwarf-kings, for the will of the Dwarves is not easily broken. In fact, we never really see Dwarves of the other six Houses in either the movies or the books, apart from the cities of Nogrod and Belegost in the First Age, described in The Silmarillion, and the brief glimpse of the seven Dwarf-Lords at the very beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001): Thorin Oakenshield and Dáin Ironfoot, as well as Gimli son of Glóin, were all of this heritage. The “kindred of Durin” refer of course to the First House of the Dwarves, descended from the eldest of the Dwarf-fathers. But let’s dig a little further (but not too greedily or too deep!). So there is the evidence: the Dwarves were in that battle.

Of the Dwarves few fought upon either side but the kindred of Durin of Moria fought against Sauron.

They alone were undivided and followed Gil-Galad.

The Silmarillion, “Of the Rings of Power”:Īll living things were divided that day, and some of every kind, even of beasts and birds, were found in either host, save the Elves only.

The short answer to the question is that yes, there were Dwarves in that battle! At least, so say the books. Thus ended the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This battle, of course, ended in the deaths of Gil-Galad and Elendil both, though Isildur, son of Elendil, cut the Ring from Sauron’s hand, breaking his power and scattering his armies. The armies of the Elves of Middle-Earth, led by Gil-Galad, joined with the armies of the Men of the West, led by Elendil, in a great effort to topple the power of Sauron. One of the questions a friend asked me that prompted me to start this blog was, ‘where were the Dwarves during the first war against Sauron?’ She was referring to the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the end of which was the cataclysmic battle opening the first of the Jackson movie trilogy.

War of the elves and sauron