vIn TheLord of the Rings, Tolkien has made a few of the races that make up his stories more powerful than others as part of the lore and history of his world. The people and cultures that populate Middle-earth have had some epic adventures and built some amazing things, starting thousands of years before the One Ring was even created, and some of them were still just as powerful when the Fellowship of the Ring was formed.

The history of Middle-earth includes volumes of tales about building fantastic cities, slaying powerful demons, and legendary adventures covering thousands of years and various peoples. On the other hand, some of the most mysterious and powerful races have less conventional achievements, which is part of what makes them stand out.

The Khazâd

The Oldest Race In Middle-earth

Notable Characters: Thorin Oakenshield (The Hobbit trilogy), Durin and Dys (Rings Of Power)

Known more colloquially as Dwarves, the Khazâd were created by the Vala Aule directly from stone, which is part of why they make such fine craftspeople and construct their homes beneath hills and mountains. Their power comes not only from their engineering and design talents, but also from their natural resilience to magic, which makes them dangerous enemies for wizards or Elves.

Dwarves had to be tough and smart to defend their homes from dragons, balrogs, and goblins, and deal with other natural perils like deep cliffs, underground lakes, and active volcanoes. They were naturally resistant to the power of Sauron and his gifts, and didn’t need to remove the rings he had given them, unlike the Elves, who had to remove theirs immediately.

Númenóreans

The Peak Of Human Society

Notable Characters: Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Isildur, and Elendil the Tall (The Fellowship of the Ring, Rings Of Power)

Some early Men who lived in Middle-earth during the First Age fought against Morgoth and Sauron. These were the Edain, an early tribe of Men, and their reward for joining the War of Wrath on the side of the Valar was the island of Númenór.

The human society that evolved there marked a Golden Age in Middle-earth, and for several generations, they were ruled by Elros, the brother of Elrond, and his descendants. No nation could stand against them, and when this great race was destroyed, it came from within, when they turned to the worship of the Dark Lord Melkor, and rejected the Valar.

Ents

Ancient And Stubborn

Notable Characters: Treebeard, Quickbeam (The Two Towers)

A hidden race, thought to be extinct, and disrespected if not outright forgotten by Saruman, who used to walk among them and speak to them. The Ents, a race of walking trees that lived in the Valley of Isenguard, were prompted to action against the local wizard when he started ripping down their fellow trees and growing orcs in the newly torn ditches.

Once the Ents were awakened, nothing in Saruman’s considerable power could stop them. They laid waste to his machines and goblins that destroyed most of the valley, trapping Saruman in his tower where he waited helplessly to be “rescued” from the fearsome Ents and their even more fearsome Hobbit allies.

The Ñoldor

The Most Admired And Skilled Of All Elves

Notable Characters: Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Rings of Power)

Reading about the Elves in The Lord of the Rings universe means going down a long but fascinating rabbit hole, as there are several different races of Elves, and all of them seem to have their own distinct powers. Also known as Deep Elves or Sword Elves, some of the most famous and legendary figures in the history of The Lord of the Rings were Ñoldor.

Their roots go back to Valinor, where the Ñoldor elf Feanor crafted the Silmarils and the orb that would carry the Sun, among other things. The Ñoldor were the race that stayed in Middle-earth, and built places like Lothlorien and Rivendell. They were instrumental in the early battles against Morgoth, and later Sauron, which is one of the reasons they were so few by the time the War of the One Ring began.

Hobbits

The Race That Bows To No One

Notable Characters: Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)

Obscure, non-threatening, and hidden in a benign and mostly forgotten corner of Middle-earth known as the Shire, nobody in the Third Age would have chosen Hobbits as a powerful race, or ranked them high on a list of the most powerful races in Tolkien’s universe. As King Ellessar declared, however, this is the race that bows to no other, and might be the most powerful in all of Middle-earth.

It wasn’t Elves, Humans, or even the Ishtari that carried the One Ring from the depths of the Anduin to various places in Middle-earth before finally carrying it to Mount Doom and destroying it. It was Hobbits, who showed an impressive amount of resilience to its evil charms, and bravery in the face of all the dangers that plagued their journey along the way.

Frodo and Sam traveled most of the way to Mordor on their own, and before them, it was Bilbo who carried the Ring from Gollum’s Cave to the Shire. Even Gollum used to be a type of Hobbit, and he carried the One Ring for hundreds of years.