The ultimate chronological timeline for all Lord of the Rings related media
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2004
Berethor of Gondor and his companions follow in the footsteps of the Fellowship and fight alongside them in the great battles of the War of the Ring.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released April 1991 - April 1991
Frodo leaves the Shire with the Ring and sets out with the Fellowship, in a low-budget Soviet television play shown once in 1991 and rediscovered thirty years later.
Third Age
Released September 1989
After the perilous halt in the Mines of Moria, the Fellowship ventures into the uncharted lands south and east of the Misty Mountains.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released September 2010
Sam tells his children the story of Aragorn, the Ranger who became King, in this family-friendly retelling of the film trilogy.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released March 1993 - May 1993
An old Sam tells young hobbits the story of the Ring, from Bilbo's adventure to Frodo and Sam's long road to Mount Doom.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2003
The War of the Ring is fought on every front, from the Iron Hills to Osgiliath, as the free peoples of Middle-earth face the armies of Sauron.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2011
While the Fellowship carries the Ring south, a Ranger, a Dwarf and an Elf fight Sauron's forces in the north to stop his lieutenant Agandaûr.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released October 2002
The Two Towers tells the story of the fractured Fellowship of the Ring as they continue their quest to defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released December 2004
Command the armies of Rohan, Gondor, Isengard or Mordor and fight the great battles of the War of the Ring in this real-time strategy game based on the films.
Third Age, 3018 - 3019
Released November 2005
Lead the Fellowship, or the servants of Sauron, through the battles of the War of the Ring in this tactical game for the PSP.
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.
