• c. -16000 DR

  • The first dwarf settlements appear in the great mountain range known as the Yehimal, which lies at the juncture of the three great continents of Faerun, Kara-Tur, and Zakhara. From there, the earliest dwarves migrated into all three lands. »

  • c. -15000 DR

  • The first great kingdom of the dwarves of Faerun is centered in the great cavern of Bhaerynden (present-day Great Rift), deep beneath the Shaar. »

  • -11900 DR

  • Dwarves settle the Firepeak Mountains. »

  • -11000 DR

  • Taark Shanat the Crusader and his eight sons, lead a great exodus of dwarves out of Bhaerynden to a new kingdom in the west. These emigrates eventually become known as shield dwarves and establish the great empire of Shanatar beneath the lands of Amn, Tethyr, Calimport, and the Lake of Steam. »

  • The First Age of Shanatar

  • -10800 DR to -8137 DR:
    The Wyrmskull Throne is created. Taark renames the wyrm's lair of the blue dragons he slew to Brightaxe Hall and founds the kingdom of Alatorin. Shield dwarves mark the founding of Alatorin as the beginning of the First Great Age of Shanatar. »

  • The Founding Time

  • -9000 DR to -3000 DR
    This era signals the rise of all the humanoid civilizations, in a time when the many dragons and giants were long overthrown and the elf wars no longer loomed over everyone as a treat. The elf realms of Evereska and Evermeet grow by colonization along with other realms, from the human lands of Unther and Coramshan to the dwarf realms of High Shanatar and Oghrann. »

  • -9000 DR

  • The drow of Telantiwar overwhelm the dwarves of Bhaerynden (present-day Great Rift) and take their rift-city for their own. Surviving dwarves flee to other regions with one large group traveling to the Chultan penninsula before splintering into small tribal groupings, eventually becoming known as the wild dwarves. »

  • As part of the great migration caused by the loss of Bhaerynden to drow, one isolated branch of dwarves settles amid the isolated peaks of the Novularond, eventually becoming known as the arctic dwarves. »

  • Spawn Wars
    Skirmishes break out between the eight subkingdoms of Shanatar as each fights to extend its borders at the expense of its neighbors. Over time, the skirmishes evolve into open warfare, pitting thousands of dwarves against one another. This series of conflicts is known as the Spawn Wars because the dwarves make extensive use of deepspawn-bred legions. »

  • c. -8640 DR

  • Dwarves are believed to live in great numbers in the eastern mountains of present-day Semphar. »

  • c. -8500 DR

  • Dwarves migrate north from the Great Rift and enter the cavernous realms beneath the Sword Coast South. »

  • The First Spider War

  • -8170 DR to -8150 DR
    The drow of Guallidurth take advantage of the dwarves civil war of Shanatar to attack the caverns of Alatorin, which were far removed from the front line of fighting. Brightaxe Hall is captured, and the kingdom of Alatorin falls. »

  • The Second Spider War

  • -8145 DR to -8137 DR
    Aghast at their folly, the eight reigning kings of Shanatar forge an armistice and turn their armies against the drow. The drow are overcome and retreat from the caverns of Alatorin. In triumph, the eight kings march their armies back into Brightaxe Hall and pledge never again to fight one another. »

  • Second Age of Shanatar

  • -8137 DR to -5960 DR
    The eight shield dwarf tribes of Shanatar are united under the rule of the king of Ultoksamrin. Within 150 years, trade is under way with surface elves. »

  • c. -8100 DR

  • Deep Shanatar is at its greatest expanse beneath southwestern Faerun (present-day Amn, Tethyr, Erlkazar, Calimshan, and Alimir Pennisula). The empire is ruled from the Wyrmskull Throne in Alatorin's Brightaxe Hall. Within 150 years, trade is underway with surface elves. »

  • -7950 DR

  • Full trade exists between dwarves od Deep Shanatar and the elves of Darthiir, Tethir, and the dwindling remnants of Shantel Othreier. »

  • -7690 DR

  • Calim negotiates the border of his empire with the elves and dwarves and finally claims the lands south of the River Agis and east to the western slopes of the present-day Alimir Mountains. Calim continues warring with the giants and dragons of the Marching Mountains. »

  • c. -7600 DR

  • The dwarves return to their ancestral home, now the Great Rift, and establish the Deep Realm. In the millennia that follows, the Stout Folk of the Deep Realm become known as the gold dwarves. »

  • -7500 DR

  • Dwarves establish the realm of Sarphil. »

  • -6452 DR

  • Founding of the dwarven House Axemarch in Shanatar. »

  • -6400 DR

  • The elves meet the dwarves of Sarphil on the battlefields of the Vast and forge a tenuous alliance since the elves save the dwarves from death at the orc's hands. »