starts with breakup of arnor

================================
Arnor's capital was Annminas on Lake Evendim, but by T.A. 861 Fornost Erain had b
ecome
the capital instead as Annminas became depopulated and was slowly abandoned.

After the death of its tenth king, Erendur, in T.A. 861, Arnor was shaken by civi
l war
between the three sons of Erendur. The eldest son, Amlaith, claimed Kingship over
all Arnor
but was reduced to only ruling the region of Arthedain as his kingdom, while th
e other sons
founded the breakaway kingdoms of Cardolan and Rhudaur.

angmar formed and attacks

==============================
Angmar was founded ca T.A. 1300 in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the L
ord of the
Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar". The Witch-king cam
e north to
attack the Dnedain of Arnor, whose disunity made them an easier target than Gond
or at that
time. Angmar straddled the northern reaches of the Misty Mountains, where many e
vil men
gathered on both sides of the mountains. The chief fortress of Angmar was Carn Dm
.

Soon after Angmar was founded, it waged war against the divided Dnedain realms of
Arthedain,
Cardolan and Rhudaur. The Witch-king subverted Rhudaur, the weakest of Arnor's
successor
kingdoms, and replaced its Dnedain king with one of the native Hillmen. Now under
the
Witch-king's control, Rhudaur invaded Arthedain in T.A. 1356, Argeleb I of Arth
edain
fortified the border against Rhudaur along the Weather Hills, but was killed in
battle
with Angmar and Rhudaur. However, with the aid of the armies of Cardolan, Arthe
dain
managed to maintain a line of defence along the Weather Hills.

Argeleb- 17th king of arnor[7th king of athedain]

=================================================
By the time Argeleb came to power, the line of kings had failed in the kingdoms
of
Cardolan and Rhudaur, so Argeleb claimed sovereignty over all of Arnor (taking t
he
royal prefix ar(a)- as a token of this). He was thus not only the seventh King o
f
Arthedain, but also the seventeenth King of Arnor. Cardolan accepted this rule,
but
by then Rhudaur had fallen under the control of Angmar, and resisted his claim.
In response,
 Argeleb fortified the hills, but he was killed in T.A. 1356 fighting evil men f
rom Rhudaur
and Angmar.
It was about this time that the remaining Stoors[hobbits clan] in the Angle left
the area
due to hostile nature of Rhudaur. They either returned to Wilderland or went we
stwards
like other hobbits.

Argeleb ruled for only seven years, and was succeeded by his son, Arveleg I, upo
n his death
in T.A. 1356.
Argeleb's name is Sindarin for "Silver King" from ar meaning "royal", and celeb
(becoming lenited to geleb) meaning "silver".
cardolan[2nd state of arnor]
============================
The borders of Cardolan extended from the river Brandywine to the west, the rive
r
Hoarwell to the east and the river Gwathl (Greyflood) to the east and south. Its
northern
border was the Great East Road, but Cardolan also claimed the Arthedain-controll
ed Weather
Hills, which contained the fortress of Weathertop and its valuable Palantr. For t
his reason
the Weather Hills were claimed by all three kingdoms - Arthedain, Cardolan and
Rhudaur. This
territorial dispute continued until Rhudaur became a vassal of Angmar after the
line of the
Dnedain kings failed there. When the kingdom of Angmar arose in northern Eriador
, Cardolan
became the most important ally of Arthedain. It had to fight the combined armie
s of both
Angmar and Rhudaur. It soon became apparent that Cardolan could not hold back t
he forces
of Angmar and in its last years the people became entrenched in the hill region
, Tyrn
Gorthad (the Barrowdowns). This position became untenable after Angmar sent evi
l spirits
to inhabit the downs (the Barrow-wights). Arthedain could provide little aid, a
s it was
itself under attack. Around TA 1409 Cardolan was destroyed, and its former inha
bitants
accepted the King of Arthedain as their lord. Arthedain managed to reconquer th
e land
briefly, but few people wished to live there on account of the Barrow-wights, an
d so
Cardolan was never re-populated.

After the final fall of Arnor, and the destruction of Angmar at the Battle of F
ornost,
Cardolan remained an unpopulated area until the reestablishment of the northern
kingdom
under King Aragorn II Elessar at the end of the Third Age. Until then, the regio
n was
largely unclaimed and known as Minhiriath
.
However, in T.A. 1409 a great host issued from Angmar and invaded Cardolan and t
ook
Weathertop. A remnant of the Dnedain of Cardolan held out in the Barrow-downs and
the Old
Forest. The last prince of Cardolan was interred in the Barrow-downs in this yea
r.

barrowdowns...inside old cardolan[from lord of rings book]

==============================================================
Fleeing the Black Riders, Frodo and his fellow Hobbits were ensnared by a wight
in one of
the numerous barrows. The four were separated from one another in a dense fog, a
nd, all
captured, ended up in the same barrow. Three of the Hobbits seemed under a spel
l, but Frodo,
almost succumbing to the wight, was able to call out to Tom Bombadil. Tom, hear
ing his song,
came with haste to the barrow and dispelled the evil spirit from the tomb. Tom
Bombadil,
whose house dwells in the Old Forest near to the Barrow-downs, had told them ea
rlier to
pass by barrows on the western side; the hobbits stopped for lunch on what must
have been
a barrow, and promptly fell asleep in the shade on the east side. After their r
escue, the
hobbits each took from the spoils of the tomb a finely crafted Dnedain knife, and
continued their journey towards Bree.
weather hills
==============
The Weather Hills, called Emyn Sl ("Hills of the Wind") in Sindarin, run some nin
ety
miles northwest to southeast. Local inhabitants work a few small mines or keep
grazing
sheep.

Weather Hills was the name among Men for the north-south range of hills that lay
in central
Eriador, and in ancient times marked part of the border between the lands of Art
hedain and
Rhudaur. Weathertop, or Amon Sl, lay at the southern end of the range. When Angm
ar was
formed and Rhudaur became hostile to Arthedain, Argeleb I fortified the range b
ut was
later slain there by men of Rhudaur. Marks of this fortification still existed i
n the path
Aragorn led the hobbits on to reach Weathertop.

Arveleg I {Son of Arveleg I , and 18th king of arnor, 7th king of athedain]
===============================================================================
During his lifetime, the father of Arveleg, Argeleb son of Malvegil, was the onl
y King
in Arnor that still had Isildur's heritage. As such, he claimed lordship over Rh
udaur
and Cardolan. The men of Rhudaur resisted this claim, and a captain of the Hill
-men of
that land formed a secret alliance with Argeleb's enemy, the Witch-king of Angma
r. Thus
Arveleg grew up in an era of War. The armies of Angmar and Rhudaur laid siege to
the Weather
Hills, and Argeleb fell. And so, in T.A. 1356, Arveleg became the eighth King o
f Arthedain.
With the help of the Dnedain of Cardolan and the Elves of Lindon, Arveleg managed
to drive
out the enemies from the Weather Hills. Arthedain and Cardolan kept a guarded b
order
along the Weather Hills, the Great East Road and the lower Hoarwell. This defen
se was
apparently effective, as Angmar shifted its attention to Rivendell instead.
Arthedain and Cardolan kept a watchful guard at the line of the Weather Hills ar
ound Weathertop,
the Great Road, and the lower reaches of the river Hoarwell. During this time R
ivendell was besieged
by Angmar.

In T.A. 1409, the armies of Angmar and Rhudaur crossed the Hoarwell, occupied Ca
rdolan, and
closed in on Weathertop. In a bloody battle, both Arveleg and the last prince o
f Cardolan
were slain. The palantr of Amon Sl could be saved, however, and was brought to th
e capital
of Arthedain, Fornost.
After his death, Arveleg was succeeded by his 18-year old son, Araphor. Though t
his was a
young age for one of Nmenrean blood, he was valiant. With the help of the Crdan of
Lindon,
he repelled attacks on Fornost and the North Downs.
[edit] Etymology
Arveleg's name is Sindarin for "Mighty King" from aran meaning "royal", and bele
g (becoming
lenited to veleg) meaning "mighty, strong". It is unusual that beleg should bec
ome veleg
in mutation, as (m)beleg is in the Sindarin mb class of words and would normally
stay beleg
after r. This could be marked up dialect of the time.
the battle
===========
However, in T.A. 1409 a great host issued from Angmar and invaded Cardolan and t
ook
Weathertop. A remnant of the Dnedain of Cardolan held out in the Barrow-downs an
d
the Old Forest. The last prince of Cardolan was interred in the Barrow-downs in
this year
When the forces of Angmar reached Weathertop they besieged it, until they broke
through.
The attackers subsequently burned, then razed the fortress to the ground. King
Arveleg I
was killed, but some of the Dnedain retreated and escaped with the Palantr that w
as
stationed there.
battle result[aftermath]
============================
The Witch-king then invaded Cardolan. King Arveleg I of Arthedain was killed def
ending
Weathertop, but the palantr there was saved and moved to Fornost. The last Princ
e of
Cardolan was killed, and most of the Dnedain of Rhudaur were killed or driven ou
t. Later
the Great Plague destroyed many of the remaining Dnedain of Cardolan, and evil s
pirits from
Rhudaur and Angmar infested the burial mounds in the Barrow-downs.
Only Arthedain remained to resist the Witch-king (though with frequent help from
both
Lindon and Rivendell). Araval won a victory over Angmar and sought to reoccupy
Cardolan,
but the barrow-wights terrified all who tried to live near the Barrows. Finally
, as
it became apparent that Angmar was preparing another attack, Arvedui appealed f
or help
from King Ernil II of Gondor. But before help could arrive, Angmar overran Arthed
ain.
The Witch-king captured Fornost Erain, the capital of Arthedain. Arvedui fled no
rth, only
to drown in the Ice Bay of Forochel early the next year when the ship from Lindo
n that
rescued him sank.
Araval won a victory over Angmar and sought to reoccupy Cardolan, but the barrow
-wights
terrified all who tried to live near the Barrows.[4] Finally, as it became appa
rent that
Angmar was preparing another attack, Arvedui appealed for help from King Ernil I
I of Gondor
. But before help could arrive, Angmar overran Arthedain. The Witch-king capture
d Fornost
Erain, the capital of Arthedain. Arvedui fled north, only to drown in the Ice B
ay of Forochel
early the next year when the ship from Lindon that rescued him sank.
The following summer, arriving too late to save Arvedui, Prince Ernur of Gondor
landed at the harbours of Mithlond with an army from Gondor. The Elves of Lindo
n and
the remnant of the northern Dnedain joined his army and the combined forces march
ed against
the Witch-king.[5] On the plains west of Fornost Ernur's army met the army of An
gmar,
which was forced to retreat toward Fornost. As his army was routed, the Witch-k
ing fled
north toward Carn Dm in Angmar; but Ernur and Glorfindel, with reinforcements from
Rivendell, pursued the retreating party and defeated them. In the process the Wi
tch-king
caused the panic of much of Gondor's cavalry, including Ernur's horse. But with t
he
appearance of Glorfindel the Witch-king fled into the gathering darkness. Ernur a
ttempted
to follow him, but Glorfindel stopped the prince and prophesied, "Do not pursue
him!
He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand
of man will
he fall."

sources
==========
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Barrowdowns
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Cardolan
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Arnor
http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Argeleb_I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angmar
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Fall_of_Amon_S%C3%BBl
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Arveleg_I
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Argeleb_I
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Weather_Hills
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-king_of_Angmar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kings_of_Arnor#Arveleg_I