Woodland Realm

The Woodland Realm was a kingdom of Silvan Elves located deep in Mirkwood, the great forest of Rhovanion, beginning in the Second Age. Following the War of the Last Alliance, Thranduil of the Sindar ruled over the Silvan Elves. Those of the Woodland Realm were known to be less wise and more dangerous than other Elves, but by the late Third Age were the only remaining Elven realm with a king.
Legolas, a key member of the Fellowship of the Ring in the Third Age, hailed from there.
==History==
===Early===
During the latter half of the Years of the Trees of the First Age, the Nandorin and Avarin Elves populated the forest between the Misty Mountains and the far eastern lands, eventually intermarrying and becoming Silvan Elves, or Wood-elves as they were more commonly known.
===Second Age===
After the War of Wrath and the destruction of Beleriand, Oropher, a Sindarin prince formerly of Doriath who chose to stay in Middle-earth, came to the forest known as Greenwood the Great. He and his company were well received and accepted as they had once lived with King Thingol, whom the Silvan Elves regarded as distant kin. The Sindarin company intended to live like the Wood-elves: natural and undisturbed. This notion was appealing to the Wood-elves and Oropher was soon named their king, adopting their language and way of life.
After being named 'King of the Woodland Realm', Oropher established his capital on Amon Lanc in the southern part of the forest. The Woodland realm flourished in peace with its boundaries unchanged and way of life undisturbed for over a millennium. Sometime after SA 1000, Oropher had his capital moved further north to around the Mountains of Mirkwood. The main reason for this was the growing threat of Sauron in Mordor. Oropher and his people also felt threatened by the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and by the presence of Celeborn and Galadriel in the forest of Lothlórien. Despite these problems, the Elves of the Woodland Realm still continued to roam the south of the forest freely.
Over one hundred years after the Downfall of Númenor, the threat of Sauron once again grew into a very real threat to Middle-earth. Oropher and the Elves of Lórien under Amdír both agreed that peace could not be expected until Sauron was completely defeated. A large army was created and a combined force of Wood-elves and Galadhrim marched to support the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Though they were as determined to defeat Sauron as the others, Oropher and Amdír's army was lightly armed and less experienced in open warfare. They also refused to submit to the supreme authority of Gil-galad due to past disputes with the Ñoldor, and so fought independently. They suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dagorlad and Oropher and Amdír were both killed. Oropher's son Thranduil survived the war and took his father's place as King of the Woodland Realm.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Three: The Third Age, chapter I: "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields"
===Third Age===
Despite the heavy losses their people had suffered during the War of the Last Alliance, the Elves of the Woodland Realm survived and continued living peacefully in the forest for the next millennium. The peace was broken in TA 1050 when a mysterious being known as the Necromancer began living in the abandoned halls of Amon Lanc. Afterwards, the forest became dark and tainted, infested with Orcs, great spiders, and other mysterious and savage beings. The Elves were then forced to remove themselves to the northernmost part of the forest. All settlements in the Mountains of Mirkwood were withdrawn and the capital and realm's people relocated to a Cave settlement under a wooded hill, in the northeastern region of the forest. From then on, the Woodland Realm remained confined to the north. It was at this time that the Elves renamed the forest Mirkwood, along other with other places they formerly occupied.
The Elves of the Woodland Realm survived but lived more cautiously considering the increased danger. They traded with the neighboring realms of the Lonely Mountain and Dale. This, however, was not to last, as in TA 2770 the dragon Smaug came down from the north and destroyed both the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the city of Dale. Afterwards, the Elves moved about the forest in secret and were very distrustful of any strangers and their only contact with the outside world was trade and occasional visitation with the refugees of Dale living in Lake-town on the Long Lake. It was probably during this time that the Elves made the Elf-path which ran across the northern forest as the only safe passage, as the main road that ran through it was no longer safe.
In TA 2941, Thorin and Company came through the Woodland Realm on their way to the Lonely Mountain on Quest of Erebor. Thranduil considered them trespassers and had them imprisoned save for Bilbo Baggins, who remained invisible with the use of his Magic Ring, later releasing the Dwarves.The Hobbit, Chapter VIII: "Flies and Spiders" After the death of Smaug, Thranduil offered relief to the Men of Lake-town for Bard’s valiant slaying of the dragon and assembled an army to claim part of the treasure, but Thorin II refused to share it and so both parties prepared for war. Bilbo tried to help the situation by delivering the ancient artefact known as the Arkenstone to the Elves and Men.The Hobbit, Chapter XIV: "Fire and Water"The Hobbit, Chapter XV: "The Gathering of the Clouds"
The situation did not improve, and with arrival of five-hundred Dwarves under Dáin Ironfoot it seemed as if they would be at war with the Elves and Men, but the timely arrival of Gandalf with a warning of an army of Goblins and Wargs coming to do battle for the treasure changed everything. The Elves, Men, and Dwarves were forced to join forces and fight a common enemy. The Wood-elves and their allies, including the late-arriving Eagles, defeated the Orcs and many lay dead, but peace finally returned to the region with the Orcs defeated and news of the White Council having driven the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur.The Hobbit, Chapter XVII: "The Clouds Burst"
Peace for the Elves of the Woodland Realm lasted only for a decade, for with the open return of Sauron to Mordor, the Dark Lord sent three Nazgûl to re-occupy Dol Guldur. The Woodland Realm became involved directly in the War of the Ring when the creature Gollum was captured by Aragorn and imprisoned there, but an Orc raid allowed him to escape. Afterwards, Thranduil sent his son Legolas to Rivendell as a representative of the Woodland Realm and to inform the Council of Elrond of Gollum’s escape.
The Woodland Realm was attacked on March 15, 3019 by forces from Dol Guldur, becoming part of the Battles of the North. Thranduil and the Wood-elves were victorious and Galadriel threw down the walls Dol Guldur, ending its threat and permanently removing the Shadow from the forest. On April 6, 3019, Thranduil met with Celeborn and both agreed to rename the forest Eryn Lasgalen. Soon after the war, the forest was divided with Thranduil left to rule most of the northern part.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Two: The Second Age, chapter IV: "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn, and of Amroth King of Lórien"
=== Fourth Age ===
The Woodland Realm people played an important role during the early years when a group of Elves from the Woodland Realm led by Legolas traveled to Gondor and helped rebuild the city of Minas Tirith and replenished and beautified the war-ravaged lands of Ithilien.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "The Fourth Age" It is presumed that the realm prospered but like the other non-mannish realms it slowly began to fade. Those Elves that did not wish to fade likely took ship into the West. 
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Bos Koninkryk
Albanian 	Pyjor Areal
Arabic 	غابة عالم
Armenian 	անտառ թագավորություն
Azerbaijani 	Ormanda səltənətində
Basque 	Erreinua Oihan
Belarusian Cyrillic	лес Каралеўства
Bengali 	বনভূমি অধিরাজ্য
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Гори царство
Bosnian 	Šumska Područja
Catalan 	Bosc Reialme
Cebuano 	Kalasangan Gingharian
Chinese 	林地王国
Croatian 	Šumsko Područje
Czech 	Lesní království
Danish 	Skov Rige
Dutch 	Bosachtig Koninkrijk
Esperanto 	Maldensarbaro Sfero
Estonian 	Metsamaa Kuningriik
Finnish 	Metsä valtakunta
French 	Royaume Sylvestre
Frisian 	Wâld Ryk
Galician 	Reino do Bosque
Georgian 	ტყის სამეფო
German 	Waldreich
Greek 	Δάσος Βασίλειο
Gujarati 	વૂડલેન્ડ રાજ્ય
Haitian Creole 	Forè Domèn
Hebrew 	וודלנד מַמלָכָה
Hindi 	वुडलैंड दायरे
Hungarian 	Erdei Birodalom
Icelandic 	Skóglendisríki
Indonesian 	Hutan Raya
Irish Gaelic 	Coillearnach Flaitheas
Italian 	Reame Boscoso
Japanese 	ウッドランドレルム
Javanese 	Alas Dunyo
Kannada 	ವುಡ್ಲ್ಯಾಂಡ್ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯದ
Kazakh 	Oрман Корольдік (Cyrillic) Orman Koroldik (Latin)
Konkani 	रान राज्य
Korean 	우드랜드 영역
Kurdish 	Daristan Qiralî (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Токой Падышачылык
Latin 	Nemus Imperium
Latvian 	Meži Valstība
Lithuanian 	Miško Karalystė
Luxembourgish 	Bësch Räich
Macedonian Cyrillic	шумски царството
Malayalam 	വന സാമ്രാജ്യം
Malaysian 	Hutan Kerajaan
Maltese 	Isfera Bosk
Maori 	Kingitanga i Hirimi
Marathi 	झाडीचा प्रदेश रिअल्म
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Модлог Вант
Nepalese 	वुडल्याण्ड प्रभुता
Norwegian 	Skog Riket
Persian 	قلمرو جنگلی
Polish 	Leśnego Królestwa
Portuguese 	Reino Arborizado
Punjabi 	ਰਾਜ ਦੇ ਜੰਗਲਾਤ
Romanian 	Tărâmul Împădurit
Romansh 	Reginavel Guaud ?
Russian 	Лесное царство
Scottish Gaelic 	Coille Rìoghachd
Serbian 	Шумског краљевства (Cyrillic) Šumskog Kraljevstva (Latin)
Sinhalese 	වුඩ්ලන්ඩ් රාජධානිය
Slovak 	Lesné Oblasti
Slovenian 	Gozdni Kraljestvo
Somali 	Boqortooyadiisii Kaynta
Spanish 	Reino Arbolado
Swedish 	Skogsriket
Tajik Cyrillic 	ҷангал олами
Tamil 	உட்லேண்ட் சாம்ராஜ்யத்திற்கு
Tatar 	Урман патшалыгы
Telugu 	ఉడ్ల్యాండ్ రాజ్యం
Thai 	ดินแดนป่า
Tigrinya 	ጫካ መንግስቲ
Turkish 	Ormanlık Krallık
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	лісний царство
Urdu 	جنگل کی بادشاہی
Uzbek 	Ўрмон Қироллик (Cyrillic) O'rmon Qirollik (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Rừng Vương quốc
Welsh 	Coedwig Deyrnas
Yiddish 	ווודלאַנד מלכות
Yoruba 	Inu igi ibugbe
Zulu 	Ehlathini indawo esiyibonayo
==References==
fr:Royaume Sylvestre
it:Reame Boscoso
pl:Leśne Królestwo
Category:Rhovanion
Category:Elven realms
Category:Elven kingdoms
Category:Mirkwood