Cardolan

Cardolan was a realm once part of the Dúnedain Kingdom of Arnor. After the death of Arnor's tenth High King, Eärendur, his sons divided the kingdom into three parts: Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. Of the three kingdoms, Cardolan was middle in size.
== Geography ==
The borders of Cardolan extended from the River Brandywine to the west, the River Hoarwell to the east (southward from the Last Bridge) and the River Greyflood to the south. In the southwest bordering the Great Sea was the region of Minhiriath, a large region of untilled plains and sparse woodlands, long inhabited by the reclusive Forest-folk. The northern border of Cardolan was the East-West Road, just south of which was a deep dike and steep wall. Cardolan also claimed the Arthedain-controlled Weather Hills, which contained the Tower of Amon Sûl and its valuable palantír. For this reason the Weather Hills were claimed by all three kingdoms of the former Arnor. This territorial dispute continued until Rhudaur became a vassal of Angmar after the line of the Dúnedain kings failed there. 
Notable features within Cardolan included the dark cape of Eryn Vorn in Minhiriath, the Old Forest just east of The Shire, the Barrow-downs and the South Downs near Bree-land (between which was the narrow defile of Andrath), the Greenway road traveling through the center, and the fortified town of Tharbad on the Greyflood.
== History ==
When Angmar arose in northern Eriador, Cardolan allied with Arthedain and accepted the overlordship of Argeleb I. For over fifty years between TA 1356 and TA 1409 Cardolan aided Arthedain in holding back the forces of Angmar. However in that latter year Angmar invaded in strength and Cardolan was destroyed. The remaining people became entrenched in the hill region, Tyrn Gorthad (the Barrow-downs). Arthedain could provide little aid, as it was itself under attack.
Cardolan was badly afflicted by the Great Plague; the population of Minhiriath was decimated, and the remaining Dúnedain inhabitants of the Barrow-downs perished, allowing evil spirits, the Barrow-wights, to inhabit the region. Arthedain managed to reconquer the land briefly in the 19th century, but few people wished to live there on account of the Barrow-wights, and so Cardolan was left unpopulated.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenórean Kings", iii. "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
After the final fall of Arthedain, and the destruction of Angmar at the Battle of Fornost, Cardolan presumably remained unpopulated save for the city of Tharbad. This was abandoned and fell into ruin in TA 2912 in the great floods following the Fell Winter. Only long after this was the land was resettled with the re-establishment of the northern kingdom under King Aragorn II, at the end of the Third Age.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Third Age, "The Kingdoms of the Dúnedain" It is also said that the Barrow that Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Sam were trapped in belonged to the last prince of Cardolan.The Lord of the RingsAppendix A
== Etymology ==
The name Cardolan may have been dialect Sindarin for 'Red hill land', though J.R.R. Tolkien never specified the name's meaning.
== Gallery ==
Cardolan1650_copy.jpg|A non-canonical map of Cardolan
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ካርዶላን
Arabic 	كاردولان
Armenian 	Քարդոլան
Assamese 	কাৰ্ডোলান
Belarusian Cyrillic	Кардолан
Bengali 	কার্ডোলন
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Кардолан
Cambodian 	ខាដូឡាន
Chinese 	卡多蘭
Georgian 	კარდოლანი
Greek 	Κάρδολαν
Gujarati 	કાર્ડોલન
Hebrew 	קרדולאן
Hindi 	कार्डोलन
Japanese 	カルドラン
Kannada 	ಕಾರ್ಡೊಲಾನ್
Korean 	카르돌란
Malayalam 	കാർഡോളൻ
Macedonian Cyrillic	Кардолан
Maithili 	कार्डोलन
Marathi 	कार्डोलन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Кардолан
Nepalese 	कार्डोलन
Pashto 	کارډولان
Persian 	کاردولان
Punjabi 	ਕਾਰਡੋਲਨ
Russian 	Кардолан
Serbian 	Кардолан (Cyrillic) Kardolan (Latin)
Sindhi 	ڪارڊولن
Sinhalese 	කාඩෝලන්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Кардолан
Tamil 	கார்டோலன்
Telugu 	కార్డోలన్
Thai 	คาร์โดแลน
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Кардолан
Urdu 	کارڈولن
Uzbek 	Кардолан (Cyrillic) Kardolan (Latin)
Yiddish 	קאַרדאָלאַן
== References ==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Kingdoms of Men
Category:Arnor
Category:Eriador
Category:Númenórean settlements
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