The ultimate chronological timeline for all Lord of the Rings related media
First Age
Released August 2018
In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband.
First Age - Third Age
Released October 1980
Tuor's journey to Gondolin, the kings of Númenor, Isildur's death at the Gladden Fields and Gandalf's own account of the Quest of Erebor: the tales Tolkien left unfinished, edited by Christopher Tolkien.
Second Age
Released September 2022 - Present
Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history.
Second Age
Released November 2022
The Fall of Númenor recounts the rise and catastrophic downfall of the island kingdom of Númenor, led to ruin by pride and defiance against the Valar.
Second Age
Released September 2021
The first ever publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's final writings on Middle-earth, covering a wide range of subjects, and the perfect next read for those who have enjoyed Unfinished Tales and the History of Middle-earth series and are hungry for more.
Second Age - Fourth Age
Released September 1996
The concluding volume of The History of Middle-earth series, which examines the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings.
Third Age
Released November 1962
A volume of songs, rhymes and poems from "The Red Book"
Third Age
Released November 2006
Long before the War of the Ring, the Witch-king raises the realm of Angmar and sets out to destroy the divided kingdom of Arnor.
Third Age, 2758 - 2759
Released December 2024
The War of the Rohirrim follows King Helm Hammerhand and the origins of Helm's Deep, which Tolkien dates to the years 2758-2759 of the Third Age.
Third Age
Released May 2007 - June 2007
This examination of how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece
Every Middle-earth story on one timeline: Tolkien's books, Peter Jackson's films, The Rings of Power, the animated films, the video games, the BBC radio drama and the stage musical. Sort them by in-universe date, by release date or alphabetically, and filter by media type.
Not every adaptation tells the same story, so the works are split into three timelines. The Tolkien timeline holds his own books and the adaptations that follow them closely, like the BBC radio drama. The cinematic timeline is the world of the Peter Jackson films and of the games made from them. Everything else, from The Rings of Power to Ralph Bakshi's animated film, sits on the standalone timeline.
The Age buttons narrow the list to one part of the history of Arda: the days before the First Age, the First Age and the wars against Morgoth, the Second Age and the fall of Númenor, the Third Age of the Hobbit and the War of the Ring, and the Fourth Age that follows. A work that spans several Ages shows up under each of them.
Each work has its own page with a synopsis, its release date and its place in the chronology, with links to the stories that come just before and after it.
Looking for something specific? See the Lord of the Rings watch order, the Tolkien books reading order, the games in chronological order, or where The Hunt for Gollum fits. You can also try to draw Frodo's road to Mordor.
The First Age tales (The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, The Fall of Gondolin) come first, then the Second Age (The Fall of Númenor, The Rings of Power). The Third Age follows with The War of the Rohirrim, The Hobbit and finally The Lord of the Rings.
The Hobbit takes place in the year 2941 of the Third Age. Frodo leaves Bag End in 3018, 77 years later.
Both. Each entry is placed at the in-universe date of its own story, and the films, series and games that do not follow Tolkien closely are grouped on a separate standalone timeline.
