A map made by Thrór the King under the Mountain, after he was exiled from his kingdom by the appearance of Smaug the Dragon.

It was a map showing the lands around Erebor 'the Lonely Mountain'. It was drawn with East at the top, as were all dwarven maps. It also contained information about a secret entrance to the mountain, and written in ithildin were instructions pertaining to the hows of opening that door.

Once quite old, Thrór set out to wander the lands of Middle-earth. Before departing he gave the heirlooms of his house to his son Thráin II, including his Map.

After a time, Thráin II set out into Middle-earth, seeking to recover Erebor himself, taking with him the Map to guide his way. Sadly he was captured in the Wild by the servants of Sauron, but the Dark Lord captured Thráin for the Ring of Power he bore, and so overlooked the Map he carried.

Gandalf secretly entered Sauron's lair at Dol Guldur while Thráin II was a prisoner there, and managed to escape with the Map and the key that opened the secret door but Thrain II could not be saved.

Using Thrór's Map, his grandson Thorin Oakenshield was able to lead a small group of Dwarves and a Hobbit-thief named Bilbo on his own quest to refound the ancient Dwarf-realm.

After many trials they were finally able to recover Erebor and bring about the destruction of Smaug, so dealing Sauron a serious blow.
Encyclopedia entry originally written by astro1014