Sauron’s Evil Dwarves: Which Clans Served Him?

No, Sauron never created “evil Dwarves,” but some Dwarves did fight for him. The Seven Rings given to Dwarf-lords didn’t enslave them like the Nine Rings turned Men into Nazgûl. Dwarven minds were too tough to dominate. Instead, the Rings fueled their natural greed, which often led to their ruin. Tolkien confirms that some eastern Dwarf clans marched with Sauron’s armies during the War of the Last Alliance. While Durin’s Folk remained fierce enemies of the Dark Lord, not all Dwarven houses resisted him.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:

• Which Dwarves served the Dark Lord
• How eastern clans fell under shadow
• Why some Dwarves allied with Sauron
• What roles they played in war
• How Sauron corrupted some Dwarves
• Resistance among eastern Dwarven kingdoms

Who Were Sauron’s Evil Dwarves?

Tolkien’s Confirmation: The Divided Peoples

In The Silmarillion, Tolkien explains the divisions during the War of the Last Alliance.

He states: “All living things were divided in that day and some of every kind, even of beasts and birds, were found in either host, save the elves only.”

Tolkien then specifies the Dwarves: “Of the dwarves, few fought upon either side, but the kindred of Durin of Moria fought against Sauron.”

This passage confirms that Dwarves fought on both sides. The Elves stood united against Sauron. Every other race—including Dwarves—had members in both armies.

Tolkien reinforced this idea in his notes. In The Peoples of Middle-earth, he wrote it was “probable that… the Dwarves of the far eastern mansions… came under the Shadow of Morgoth and turned to evil.”

These weren’t corrupted creatures like Orcs. They were Dwarves who chose to serve the Enemy, whether through deception, coercion, or genuine allegiance.

Identifying the Eastern Clans

The seven Dwarf clans originated in different locations across Middle-earth.

The Longbeards (Durin’s Folk) awoke under the Misty Mountains and founded Khazad-dûm. The Firebeards and Broadbeams settled in the Blue Mountains, establishing Nogrod and Belegost.

Four Dwarf clans lived in the East:

• Blacklocks
• Stonefoots
• Stiffbeards
• Ironfists

These eastern houses inhabited mountain ranges beyond Rhûn, in territories that had fallen under Morgoth’s control during the First Age. Later, these same lands became Sauron’s strongholds.

Geography matters here. While Durin’s Folk developed close ties with Elves and fought alongside them against Orcs, the eastern clans had minimal contact with the Free Peoples.

Their neighbors were Easterling tribes who worshipped Morgoth as a god-king, then later bent knee to Sauron.

The Hobbit mentions that “in some parts, wicked dwarves had even made alliances with them [Orcs].” This casual reference suggests these alliances were known facts, not rare exceptions.

Were All Eastern Dwarves Evil?

Not all eastern Dwarves served Sauron. The evidence points to splits even within the eastern clans.

Frodo saw Dwarves in the Shire who had abandoned their eastern homes as Sauron’s power rose. They sought refuge in the Blue Mountains, joining communities established by Thorin’s grandfather.

These were eastern Dwarves escaping the Enemy, not serving him.

The appendices note: “They are not evil by nature, and few ever served the enemy of free will, whatever the tales of men may have alleged.”

This suggests most Dwarves who fought for Sauron did so under duress or deception, not willing allegiance.

When Durin’s Folk went to war against Orcs in the Misty Mountains, “the other houses of the dwarves came to join their kin.” Some eastern Dwarves honored these ancient bonds, proving resistance existed even in the shadow of Mordor.

The Blue Wizards probably played a role here. Tolkien’s later writings suggest they traveled east to foment rebellion against Sauron among eastern peoples, including Dwarves.

Without their work, Sauron’s eastern armies might have been far larger.

The Origins of Dwarven Corruption

The Shadow of Morgoth in the First Age

Early in the First Age, some Men who awoke in the East met Dwarves of “evil mind.”

According to Tolkien’s notes, these early Men “regarded the dwarves askance, fearing that they were under the shadow… For they had met some far to the east who were of evil mind.”

These accounts come from long before Sauron’s time. This suggests Morgoth’s influence was the original source of corruption.

The connection makes sense when you look at geography. Morgoth’s fortress of Angband lay in the northwest, but his power extended eastward through his servants and corrupted followers.

The eastern Dwarf mansions sat in territories he dominated.

Unlike Elves captured and tortured into becoming Orcs, these Dwarves retained their forms and much of their independence. But Morgoth planted seeds of corruption that would bear fruit in later ages when his greatest servant continued his work.

Sauron’s Influence in the Second Age

Sauron’s methods were different from his master’s. While Morgoth used brute force, Sauron used deception.

During the Second Age, Sauron walked among Middle-earth’s peoples in fair form as Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts.” He visited Dwarf-lords under this guise, sharing knowledge of smithcraft and offering friendship.

The creation of the Seven Rings happened during this period.

The eastern clans had less contact with Elves. They knew less about Morgoth’s history. They had fewer reasons to distrust Annatar’s gifts.

When he distributed the Seven Rings around SA 1600, four went to eastern Dwarf-lords.

For over 1,500 years before the War of the Last Alliance, these Ring-bearers built their strength in secret. They expanded territories, forged alliances with Easterling tribes, and prepared their kingdoms for the day Sauron would call upon them.

By the time Gil-galad and Elendil gathered their armies, Sauron had four Dwarf armies positioned in the East. Forces the Last Alliance didn’t know existed until they engaged on the battlefield.

The Seven Rings and the Nature of Dwarven Greed

The Seven Rings couldn’t enslave Dwarves the way the Nine enslaved Men.

Tolkien wrote in his letters that “the Dwarves were too tough to be enslaved like Men.”

But the Rings did stoke their natural desires. Dwarves prized wealth, craftsmanship, and the accumulation of treasure.

The Rings turned healthy ambition into consuming fire.

Dragon-sickness—the unhealthy fixation on gold and gems—became more common among Ring-bearing Dwarf-lords. Their kingdoms grew wealthy beyond measure, but their hearts grew cold.

They hoarded rather than traded. They isolated rather than allied. They viewed every neighboring kingdom as a potential threat to their treasure.

This didn’t create mindless servants, but it made them paranoid and easy to manipulate. A Dwarf-lord obsessed with increasing his hoard would listen to promises of undiscovered Mithril veins.

One paranoid about threats to his treasure might accept military alliances to crush perceived enemies.

The Rings didn’t control Dwarves directly—they simply made them easier to control through other means.

The Role of Evil Dwarves in Sauron’s Service

Warriors in the War of the Last Alliance

The War of the Last Alliance lasted seven years—far longer than expected given the combined might of Elves and Men arrayed against Mordor.

Sauron’s forces held out through multiple siege seasons. They repeatedly broke Alliance supply lines and launched counterattacks that anticipated every strategic move.

Dwarves fighting for Sauron could explain this. These weren’t ordinary soldiers—they were master tacticians with centuries of military experience. Their troops carried weapons that matched or exceeded anything the Alliance fielded.

Few in number, yes, but quality mattered. A single company of Dwarf heavy infantry, properly positioned and equipped, could hold a mountain pass against forces ten times their size.

The battles around Dagorlad weren’t just fought on open plains. Mountain fortresses had to be stormed, underground passages secured, and siege works defended against sappers who knew stonework better than any Elven engineer.

Dwarves fighting for the Enemy brought expertise the Orcs lacked.

Master Smiths for the Armies of Mordor

The Hobbit mentions that “wicked dwarves had even made alliances with [Orcs].” These alliances weren’t primarily military—they were industrial.

Dwarves are the greatest smiths in Middle-earth. Even corrupted, they retained this skill.

Rather than marching to battle, many probably remained in their mountain halls, forging weapons and armor for Sauron’s legions.

The Orcish equipment the Alliance faced was unusually well-made. Standardized weapons, properly-fitted armor, siege engines that actually worked—this required master craftsmen overseeing production.

These Dwarven smiths would have also created specialized equipment: siege towers with reinforced frames, battering rams capped with specially-forged heads, scaling ladders that wouldn’t break under the weight of armored Orcs.

Sauron understood what Morgoth never did: you don’t need to corrupt craftsmen into monsters. You just need to point their skills in your direction and let them work.

Building the Fortresses of the Enemy

Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower, was built and rebuilt multiple times during the Second and Third Ages.

The sheer scale of such a fortress points to expert engineering. Only Dwarves had the deep-earth knowledge needed to anchor such a massive structure.

They understood how to sink foundations into bedrock, how to route magma flows away from critical supports, how to ensure structural integrity under conditions that would collapse any surface-built tower.

The same applies to Sauron’s lesser fortifications throughout Mordor and the East. The network of watch-towers, supply depots, and defensive positions didn’t appear by accident.

Someone with architectural expertise planned them.

Some Dwarves may have worked under duress—captured in war and forced to apply their skills. But others probably participated for payment, viewing it as just another commission, another chance to demonstrate their craft’s superiority.

Alliances with Orcs

The idea of Dwarves allying with Orcs sounds impossible. The two races had been bitter enemies since the First Age, when Orcs ambushed Dwarven caravans and raided their halls.

But necessity makes strange bedfellows.

Eastern Dwarves living in Sauron’s territory had limited options: submit, flee, or fight a war they couldn’t win. Some chose submission and made the best of it.

These alliances were transactional, not friendly. Dwarves provided smithing expertise and siege engineering. Orcs provided muscle and numbers.

Neither side trusted the other, but both served the same master and fought the same enemies.

The arrangements probably worked like medieval guild systems more than modern military units. Dwarf smiths worked in their own quarters, under their own supervision, delivering finished products to Orcish quartermasters.

They rarely interacted directly with the Orcs who would use their weapons.

Theories on the Motives for Betrayal

While Tolkien doesn’t give exact reasons, we can speculate on a few possible motives based on what we know of Dwarven culture and Sauron’s methods.

Here are a few theories:

The Petty Dwarves’ Ancient Grudge

Before the Longbeards arrived in Beleriand, another group dwelt there: the Petty-dwarves, called Noegyth Nibin in Sindarin.

When the tall Dwarves came from the East, they drove the Petty-dwarves from their ancestral homes, treating them as vermin rather than kin.

Mîm, the last of his kind in the published stories, betrayed Túrin to Orcs. This wasn’t random cruelty—it was revenge against Elves who had hunted his people and against the tall Dwarves who had dispossessed them.

One theory: Not all Petty-dwarves died when Beleriand sank. Some may have escaped East, settling in wild lands between Rhûn and the mountain ranges.

They could have maintained their identity through one principle: revenge against those who wronged them.

When Sauron’s agents contacted these communities, they would have found natural allies. The Petty-dwarves didn’t need corruption—they needed direction for their existing hatred.

This could explain how supply trains vanished during the War of the Last Alliance. Secret councils were compromised. Safe routes became death traps.

The Alliance blamed spies and traitors, never suspecting an enemy who knew every hidden path through the mountains, every forgotten tunnel, every secret way that predated even the Longbeards’ arrival.

Resentment Over Khazad-dûm’s Mithril Monopoly

Mithril transformed Khazad-dûm from merely wealthy to incomparably rich.

The true silver commanded prices that made other Dwarven exports look like trinkets. More importantly, the Elves of Eregion courted Durin’s Folk with an intensity that made other Dwarf houses feel forgotten.

The eastern clans watched this rise with growing bitterness. For thousands of years, the seven houses had existed in rough equality.

Now one house operated in a different category.

Sauron’s agents could have exploited this resentment. They might have arrived with geological surveys and ore samples, claiming that real Mithril deposits—far richer than the Misty Mountains—lay waiting in the eastern ranges.

The proof could have been convincing: small samples of what appeared to be raw Mithril, charts showing promising formations, demonstrations of extraction techniques more efficient than anything the Longbeards had developed.

The catch? These mining operations required cooperation across multiple kingdoms and expertise that only Sauron’s representatives could provide.

The eastern Dwarf-lords might have thought they were entering a business partnership. In reality, they were placing their kingdoms’ economic future under the Dark Lord’s control.

Within years, they couldn’t imagine functioning without this arrangement. They had traded independence for wealth and didn’t realize it until too late.

Civil War Within the Great Dwarf Kingdoms

Even in Khazad-dûm, not everyone may have supported the growing Elven alliance.

Some older families could have believed the Longbeards were straying too far from ancestral traditions.

This is speculative, but it’s possible these critics had real concerns. Young Dwarves learned Sindarin before mastering Khuzdul. Elven customs crept into traditional ceremonies.

Major kingdom decisions required Celebrimbor’s approval rather than following ancient Dwarven law.

If a traditionalist faction existed, led by prominent lords with impeccable bloodlines, they might have begun meeting in the deep halls to discuss their concerns.

This is where Sauron’s agents could have made contact—not with offers of corruption, but presenting themselves as representatives of the eastern houses who had maintained true Dwarven traditions.

Such a civil conflict would have pitted Dwarf against Dwarf in halls their ancestors had carved. Both sides would have used weapons forged in the same smithies, spoken the same language, worshipped the same Valar—yet fought to destroy each other.

Both would have believed they fought for their people’s soul. Neither would have realized the true enemy was already among them.

The Curse of the Dragon-Touched Clans

When Smaug and other dragons attacked Dwarf-holds in the Grey Mountains and beyond, survivors carried more than trauma.

This is speculative, but dragon-fire could have left lasting marks in their bloodlines.

Dragon-sickness isn’t just greed. Extended exposure to dragon-breath might cause changes that pass to descendants. These “Dragon-touched” Dwarves could have aged differently, their beards going white early.

Their craftwork, while technically flawless, might have carried a wrongness that made other Dwarves uncomfortable.

More troubling: they could have lost emotional connection to their own culture. Kinship bonds felt hollow. Ancient laws appeared arbitrary.

They understood why traditions mattered but couldn’t feel their importance.

If this happened, Sauron’s agents would have recognized what they found: Dwarves already marked by Morgoth’s servant, already partially separated from their people’s collective soul.

The corruption that would take centuries to accomplish in normal Dwarves might have required mere decades with the Dragon-touched.

These clans might not have served Sauron for wealth or power—they served for purpose. The emptiness dragon-fire had left could be filled, but only by dedicating themselves to a cause worthy of their sacrifice.

The Deceptive Methods of the Dark Lord

Based on what we know of Sauron’s methods and his past, here are some possible ways he could have deceived the Dwarves:

The Theological Lure of Aulë’s Stolen Fire

Before his fall, Sauron was Mairon, a Maia of Aulë the Smith.

Those early ages in Valinor weren’t just about learning craft—they were about understanding the essence of creation itself.

For Dwarves, this mattered. They know in their bones that Aulë created them. Their entire identity revolves around being the Vala’s chosen craftsmen, entrusted with shaping the world.

Sauron could have used this connection. Perhaps he demonstrated smithing knowledge beyond mortal skill. He could have presented himself as a messenger from their creator or claimed to possess fragments of Aulë’s creative fire.

If he brought tools that cut Mithril like clay, hammers that shaped stone with no guidance required, or chisels that revealed hidden beauty within raw rock, these wouldn’t just be superior tools.

They would be evidence that someone possessed the fundamental forces of creation.

The theological implications would have been enormous for Dwarf-lords who saw them. Perhaps Sauron’s rebellion wasn’t corruption but righteous anger against Valar who suppressed power meant for wider use.

Perhaps serving him wasn’t betrayal—it was reclaiming their birthright.

Dwarves who fell under this deception wouldn’t have been driven by greed or fear. They would have believed they were evolving, accessing what Aulë had always intended for his children.

The Corrupted Dwarven Seeing Stones

This is speculative, but before the Palantíri of Númenor, cruder seeing-stones could have existed.

During the early Second Age, Annatar might have taught Dwarf-smiths how to create these stones as gifts to aid communication across vast distances.

The technique could have differed from methods used for the Elendili’s stones. The Númenórean Palantíri had safeguards built into their structure.

The Dwarven stones might have had none—completely open, completely responsive, completely vulnerable.

For centuries, the stones could have functioned as intended. Eastern houses coordinated activities, shared news, maintained contact across dangerous territory.

The stones could have become so integral that making important decisions without consulting distant kinsmen became unthinkable.

The corruption might have started with dreams. Stone-users experienced vivid visions showing possibilities they’d never considered—inspiring glimpses of what Dwarf-houses could accomplish beyond traditional limitations.

These weren’t nightmares or obvious evil temptations. They felt like enlightenment.

Over time, visions could have appeared during waking hours. A Dwarf-lord trying to contact a distant kinsman would see something else: a world where Dwarves ruled surface and underground alike, where other races served Aulë’s children in the rightful order of creation.

By the War of the Last Alliance, Dwarf-lords possessing corrupted seeing-stones could have received Sauron’s influence for over a thousand years.

They no longer saw themselves as rebels—they were visionaries chosen to lead their people into glory.

Twisting the Prophecy of the Last King

Ancient Dwarf-songs spoke of the Last King who would unite all seven houses under a single crown and lead them to dominion over Middle-earth’s kingdoms.

Most scholars dismissed it as grandiose mythology.

Sauron understood prophecy’s power better than almost anyone in Middle-earth. He had seen how hope sustained the Dúnedain through centuries of decline, how promises of victory gave meaning to generations of struggle.

The version of the prophecy that began circulating in eastern halls could have been subtly different. Where old songs spoke vaguely of a coming ruler, the new version might have provided specifics.

He would bear a ring commanding Dwarf-kind’s loyalty. He would possess weapons forged from creation’s original fire. He would be chosen by the Flame Imperishable itself, not by birth or achievement.

The implications were clear without being stated. Who but a Ring-bearer could command multiple houses? Who but the possessor of Aulë’s stolen fire could forge such weapons?

Who but a being of divine nature could offer the power the prophecy promised?

Dwarf-lords who accepted this interpretation weren’t simply ambitious. They could have believed they were fulfilling their people’s greatest destiny.

Service to Sauron became an act of faith rather than betrayal—they were leading Dwarves toward their promised future.

A Secret Eighth Ring to Control the Seven

This is pure speculation, but Celebrimbor and Annatar discussed the theoretical possibility of creating a master ring that could coordinate multiple lesser rings.

The Lord of Eregion rejected the idea as too dangerous—too prone to corrupt even well-intentioned wielders.

But Sauron listened. What Celebrimbor feared, the Dark Lord saw as practical.

The Seven Rings weren’t independent artifacts. They could have been components in a larger system that would only reveal its true purpose when the final piece was added.

That piece could have been an Eighth Ring, created secretly in Mount Doom’s fires and given to one Dwarf-lord Sauron trusted above all others.

This master ring could have served a single purpose: control.

Its bearer could sense any of the Seven Rings’ locations, influence their wearers’ thoughts, and compel obedience against their will. It was absolute power, invisible and inescapable.

This could explain mysteries that puzzled the Free Peoples throughout the War: How did Dwarf armies from different regions coordinate with such precision? How did traditional enemies work together as if sharing one mind?

The answer: they did share a mind. The Eighth Ring’s bearer channeled combined wisdom from seven kingdoms, accumulated experience from thousands of years, intimate knowledge of every secret weakness in the Free Peoples’ defenses.

The psychological effect on other ring-bearers would have been devastating. They retained personalities and memories but couldn’t trust their own thoughts.

Any idea might be their own or might be implanted. They became prisoners in their minds.

Resistance in the East

Dwarves Fleeing Sauron’s Rise

Not all eastern Dwarves submitted. During the Third Age, clear evidence shows Dwarves abandoning their eastern homes as Sauron’s power grew.

When Frodo encounters Dwarves traveling through the Shire, they’re heading to the Blue Mountains—the westernmost Dwarf settlement.

These were eastern Dwarves seeking refuge far from Mordor’s shadow.

This migration pattern suggests organized resistance or at least organized flight. Entire families abandoned ancestral halls rather than bend knee to the Enemy.

They carried what they could, left behind everything else, and traveled hundreds of miles through hostile territory to reach safety.

The fact that they survived the journey indicates they had help—either from other Dwarves along the route or from the Rangers who patrolled the wilderness.

Either way, it proves resistance networks existed even in Sauron’s heartland.

These refugees brought valuable intelligence to the Free Peoples: troop movements, supply routes, the locations of hidden fortresses. Information that Gandalf and others used to plan the final resistance.

The Influence of the Blue Wizards

Tolkien’s later writings suggest the Blue Wizards—Alatar and Pallando—traveled east to foment rebellion against Sauron among eastern peoples.

Their mission wasn’t to defeat Sauron directly. They couldn’t. Instead, they worked to divide his forces, creating resistance movements that forced him to station troops in the East rather than concentrating everything against the West.

Among Dwarves, this work would have been effective. The Blue Wizards could share knowledge of Sauron’s true nature, reveal how his gifts and promises were traps, and provide support for Dwarf-lords wanting to resist but lacking the strength to do so alone.

Tolkien noted that without the Blue Wizards’ work, Sauron’s eastern armies would have been far larger—perhaps large enough to overwhelm the Last Alliance despite Gil-galad and Elendil’s combined might.

The success of the resistance becomes clear when you realize what didn’t happen: Sauron never fielded the full might of all seven Dwarf-houses.

Most eastern Dwarves stayed neutral or resisted. Those who fought for him were the minority, not the majority.

That alone testifies to the Blue Wizards’ success and to the fundamental nature of Dwarves themselves—created by a Vala of light, resistant to corruption, and unconquerable even by the greatest of Morgoth’s servants.