Arthedain

Arthedain was the largest of the three Dúnedain realms (along with Rhudaur and Cardolan) born in the schism of Arnor, in the Third Age.
==History==
thumb|250px|Fornost Erain, Arthedain's capital city|left
During the reign of the High King Eärendur of Arnor, his sons were in an open discord that erupted into civil war after Eärendur's death in TA 861. Amlaith, true heir to the throne of Arnor, was opposed by his two brothers. Unable to resolve the situation, he was reduced to ruling the region of Arthedain, which consisted approximately of the lands west of the Brandywine River and north of the East-West Road. (His brothers created the kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur to the south and east.)
The Kingdom's capital was at Fornost Erain, and Bree was one of its most important towns. Annúminas, the former capital of Arnor, was in the territory of Arthedain, but mostly abandoned and falling into ruin.
In TA 1300 the kingdom of Angmar appeared at Arthedain's north-eastern border. Its King was the chief of the Ringwraiths, although this was not known to the Dúnedain. When this new threat came Cardolan placed itself under the suzerainty of Arthedain. Cardolan repeatedly sent aid to Arthedain when needed but in TA 1409 Cardolan was destroyed and Rhudaur annexed by Angmar. Fornost was attacked but the city was successfully defended by King Araphor and the realm survived thanks to aid from the Elves of the Grey Havens, Rivendell and Lothlórien.
The Kingdom was not much affected by the Great Plague but Arthedain's population continued to dwindle, with some of the best farmlands being granted to the Hobbits in TA 1601 to form the Shire as they had become deserted. In TA 1851 King Araval won a war with Angmar and attempted to re-settle Cardolan, but the settlers were driven off and killed by the Barrow-wights.
In TA 1940, perceiving that both realms were under attack by a coordinating malice, Arthedain renewed contact with Gondor and Fíriel, the daughter of King Ondoher, was married to Arvedui of Arthedain. Shortly afterward the Witch-king's attacks resumed and the Wainriders again invaded Gondor, preventing either kingdom from aiding the other. With the death of Ondoher, Arvedui claimed the crown of Gondor, citing his own descent from Isildur and his wife's as the daughter of the late king. The council of Gondor denied his claim, preventing the reunification of the Dúnedain.
Arthedain's desperate resistance continued with dwindling resources, but in TA 1974 the kingdom was finally overrun and Fornost fell into the hands of Angmar. It fell just one year too soon for help was underway from Gondor led by Eärnur. This army reached Arthedain in TA 1975 and destroyed Angmar at the Battle of Fornost.
Its last King, Arvedui, drowned just before the battle was fought. The son of Arvedui, Aranarth, decided not to rebuild the kingdom, and so became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain. From him Aragorn was descended. The Kings of Arthedain were also the lords of the Shire, and the Hobbits would later choose the Thain to replace the kings.
==People==
The Arthedain (Sindarin for Edain of the Realm) were the Dúnedain of the old Kingdom of Arthedain. They were the purest-blooded descendants of the Númenóreans among the Dúnedain of Arnor. Arthedain also came to an end and its lands remained mostly empty (except for the Shire) and its people became Rangers. Rangers of the North, or simply the Rangers, were the northern wandering people of Eriador, the last remnant of the Dúnedain of Arnor.
==Etymology==
Arthedain is a Sindarin word meaning 'Realm of the Edain'.
==See also==
*Kings of Arthedain
*Chieftains of the Dúnedain
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	አርቴዲን
Arabic 	أرثيداين
Armenian 	Արթէդայն
Assamese 	আৰ্থেডেইন
Belarusian Cyrillic	Артедайн
Bengali 	আর্থেডেইন
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Артедаин
Chinese 	阿塞丹
Czech 	Ártedain
Dogri 	अर्थेदैन
Georgian 	ართჰედაინ
Greek 	Αρθεδαιν
Gujarati 	આર્થેડેન
Hebrew 	ארתהידאין
Hindi 	आर्थेद्ऐन
Japanese 	アルセダイン
Kannada 	ಅರ್ಥೆಡೈನ್
Kazakh 	Артедаін (Cyrillic) Artedain (Latin)
Konkani 	आर्थेदाईन
Korean 	아르세다인
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Артэдаин
Macedonian Cyrillic	Артедаин
Marathi 	आर्टहेडेन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Артедаин
Nepalese 	अर्थडेन
Russian 	Артэдайн
Persian 	آرت‌اداین
Sanskrit 	अर्थेदैन्
Serbian 	Артедаин (Cyrillic) Artedain (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ආර්තේඩයින්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Артедаин
Tamil 	ஆர்த்தெய்ன்
Tatar 	Артедаин
Telugu 	అర్థెడైన్
Thai 	อาร์เธเดน
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Артедайн
Urdu 	ارٹہیداان
Uzbek 	Артедаин (Cyrillic) Artedain (Latin)
Yiddish 	אַרטהעדאַין
==References==
ca:Arthedain
de:Arthedain
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fr:Arthedain
it:Arthedain
nl:Arthedain
pl:Arthedain
ru:Артэдайн
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Kingdoms of Men
Category:Arnor
Category:Eriador
Category:Númenórean settlements