Azaghâl was king of the Broadbeam Dwarves of Belegost during the First Age. He was slain by the dragon Glaurung after wounding him in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad. The Helm of Hador was originally made for him by Telchar.

Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain is a major character in The Hobbit and is mentioned in passing in The Lord of the Rings. He was the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aimed to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon, and was the son of Thráin II, the King of Durin's Folk in their exile from Erebor, and the grandson of King Thrór.

Náin II (TA 2338 - TA 2585) was a dwarf of Durin's Folk and a King of Durin's Folk.
Náin was born in the Grey Mountains (Ered Mithrin), and the son of Óin. He succeeded his father in TA 2488. Under Náin II, the dwarves lived peacefully in the mountains but the time of the Watchful Peace had come to an end and many dangers were growing from the West and North. During the final years of his reign, the dragons came down from the northern wastes and began to make war upon the dwarves.
Náin was 247 years old when he died. He was succeeded by his son, Dáin I. He had a younger son Borin, from whom several of Thorin Oakenshield's companions were descended.

Glóin, the son of Thorin I, succeeded his father as the king of Durin's folk. He expanded the mines of the Ered Mithrin, and further abandoned Erebor.

Gimli, the son of Glóin, was chosen by Elrond to be one of the nine members of the Company of the Ring. He remained with Aragorn throughout the War of the Ring, fighting at the Hornburg, Pelargir and Pelennor Fields. His friendship with Legolas and love for Galadriel earned him the title of Elf-friend.

BofurBofur was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor. The cousin of Bifur and brother of Bombur, he was not descended from Durin. Bofur liked mince-pies and cheese at tea, and like his cousin Bifur, played the clarinet and sported a yellow hood. He didn’t have as rough a barrel-ride as most of his companions, but was still too stiff to help de-keg the other dwarves. Along with his brother Bombur he was nearly trapped at the bottom of a cliff on the Lonely Mountain by Smaug before being rescued by the others.

He will be portrayed by James Nesbitt in Peter Jackson's forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit.

Dáin II Ironfoot was a descendant of Grór and lord of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. Dáin joined his father's contingent in the Battle of Azanulbizar, at which time he slew Azog. After Thorin's death in the Battle of Five Armies, Dáin was proclaimed king of Durin's Folk. He fell in the Battle of Dale and was succeeded by his son Thorin III Stonehelm.

Glóin, son of Gróin, was one of the twelve companions of Thorin II Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of Erebor. He was a descendant of Durin the Deathless, and brother of Óin. Glóin and his son Gimli were sent to Rivendell as an embassy from Dáin II to bring news of Erebor, Moria, and what they knew of Sauron's plans; they arrived in time to attend the Council of Elrond. The name Gloin is found in the Voluspa. He is played by Peter Hambleton in Peter Jackson's feature film adaptation The Hobbit. He was a playable hero in the Dwarven Faction in the Electronic Arts Real-Time Strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, and specialized in attacks that would either destroy or disable the opponents' buildings.

Náin, son of Grór was killed at the Battle of Nanduhirion when Azog the Orc Chieftain broke his neck. The rule of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills passed to his son, Dáin II Ironfoot, who avenged his father's death by killing Azog.

Óin, son of Gróin, was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo on the Quest of Erebor. Along with his brother Glóin, he was counted on to start the campfires, though the brothers bickered over the task. He was also one of the Dwarves who entered Moria with Balin. He was killed by the Watcher in the Water while trying to escape via the Western Door.

Thráin II was the father of Thorin Oakenshield and the son of Thrór. After the death of his father he went wandering, and was captured by the Necromancer in Dol Guldur at which time the last of the Seven Rings of Power was taken from him.

He will be portrayed by Mike Mizrahi in Peter Jackson's forthcoming adaptation of The Hobbit.

King Durin I of Khazad-dûm, better known as Durin the Deathless, was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, first created by Aulë the Vala.

He was a Dwarf leader, the son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin. Balin was among the dwarves who travelled with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf in the Quest of Erebor, which the plot of The Hobbit centers around.

Balin was part of the company assembled by Thorin Oakenshield to kill the dragon Smaug and retake the mountain kingdom of Erebor. He is the only one explicitly said to have been at the Mountain prior to the coming of the dragon. Curiously, The Hobbit states he was companions with Thorin on the day the dragon came, but according to Appendix A in The Return of the King he was only 7 years old while Thorin was 24.

He was the second dwarf to arrive at Bilbo's house at the beginning of The Hobbit, preceded by his brother Dwalin. Like Dwalin, he played a viol.


An artist's rendition of Balin's tomb. The inscription as devised by Tolkien translates to "Balin Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria".[1]Among the dwarves in The Hobbit, Balin was the second-eldest dwarf (after Thorin), and so he spoke for the party when they were captured by the Elvenking, as Thorin wasn't present.

He is described as "always their look-out man": He spots Bilbo approaching the Green Dragon Inn at Bywater, he spots the trolls' fire, and he is the first to spot the elves in Mirkwood. Naturally he could not notice Bilbo (hidden by wearing the One Ring) as look-out for the company after escaping the goblins in the Misty Mountains, and after this incident he came to respect Bilbo's abilities. He was the only dwarf who volunteered to accompany Bilbo down the secret passage to Smaug. Of all the dwarves in the quest, he was the only one Tolkien describes as visiting Bilbo afterwards at Bag End.

In T.A. 2989 Balin left Erebor and entered Moria with a company of dwarves including Flói, Óin, Ori, Frár, Lóni, and Náli. He discovered Durin's Axe. Balin's colony was overrun by orcs soon afterward, and Balin was killed by an orc archer in the Dimrill Dale in 2994.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, the title characters discover Balin's tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul. Gandalf finds the dwarves' book of records, and discovers from it that Balin was killed by orcs.

Upon Balin's tomb is written in Dwarven Runes: "Balin Fundinul Uzbad Khazad-Dûmu". An inscription in smaller runes below this gives the translation into English: "Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria".