Sack of Erebor
| Sack of Erebor | |
|---|---|
| Conflict: Isolated event | |
| Date: 2770 | |
| Place: Erebor | |
| Outcome: Destruction of the Kingdom under the Mountain, slaughter of thousands of Dwarves | |
| Combatants | |
|
Dwarves, and Men |
Smaug the Dragon |
| Commanders | |
| |
| Strength | |
|
Unknown est. 5-10,000 Dwarves, and Est. 1-3,000 Men of Dale |
Smaug the Dragon |
| Casualties | |
|
Unknown but many, est. thousands of Dwarves, hundreds of Men including Girion |
None |
The Sack of Erebor occurred when Smaug descended upon the Lonely Mountain and drove the Dwarves from their kingdom.
The Battle
Smaug the dragon had heard of the great wealth of the Dwarves of Erebor. One night in Third Age 2770, Smaug descended upon the mountain in flames, catching the Dwarves and Men of Dale off guard. The warriors of the mountain came out of the great gate to engage the dragon, but all were killed. Then Smaug attacked Dale whose warriors were all called to arms, and he destroyed most of them. He then returned to the mountain and routed the remaining Dwarves. Afterwards he piled up all the gold within the mountain and made it his dwelling, emerging only ever so often to eat maidens from Dale which eventually caused its abandonment.
Aftermath
In the end the Kingdom under the Mountain was destroyed, and likely thousands of Dwarves and several hundred people (including King Girion) of Dale were killed. King Thrór himself along with his son Thráin II barely escaped out of the secret entrance. Most of the Dwarves who escaped fled to the Iron Hills.
With his family and a small company of followers, the King went into a homeless wandering southward but not before cursing Smaug. It would be over two hundred years before Thrór's grandson Thorin would return to the mountain to reclaim his home and treasure.
