Smaug poses a menacing threat in The Hobbit, raising the question of why he’s the only dragon to appear in the Lord of the Rings saga. In the story of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and their crew of dwarves set out for the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the dwarven kingdom of Erebor. Prior to the story’s events, the once-magnificent city under the mountain was invaded by the fire drake Smaug, who was drawn to the vast wealth accumulated by the dwarves. In the Lord of the Rings chronology, The Hobbit occurs roughly 60 years before The Fellowship of the Ring.

One dragon single-handedly ruining an entire kingdom is a power that surely would’ve factored into the War of the Ring. Unlike the famous dragons in HBO’s Game of Thrones series, dragons in J.R.R. Tolkien’s world are gigantic, sentient, and talk. The films in the The Hobbit trilogy aren’t the best Lord of the Rings movies, but Smaug is a compelling villain with a fascinating performance from Benedict Cumberbatch. His human-like qualities differentiate him from the other antagonists in the series, even offering more complexity than Sauron in the films.

Many Dragons Existed During The Lord Of The Rings’ Past Ages

Dragons Were Created By Morgoth And Used For War In The First Age

Seeing as The Lord of the Rings is a quintessential fantasy story, it’s strange that dragons don’t play a more significant role. While they’re not prominent in the main trilogy, they’re undoubtedly prevalent in the histories of Middle Earth and are examined in Tolkien’s writing. Dragons existed in all ages of Middle-Earth, initially created by Morgoth in the First Age to serve in his forces. In The Silmarillion, which depicts the War of the Jewels, Morgoth utilized the first dragon, Glaurung, to wage war against the Elves.

Smaug is one of the only dragons alive in the Third Age, but he wasn’t the most powerful of his species. Smaug is considered one of the “great dragons,” while Ancalagon the Black was known as the greatest and most powerful in history. Ancalagon also played a significant role in a major event, the War of Wrath, which concluded the First Age. By the Second Age, as depicted in The Rings of Power TV show, dragons were less prevalent in war and instead focused their attention on capturing treasure, becoming a terror to Dwarves and Men.

Why Dragons Became Less Common In Middle-earth

The Power Of Dragons Dissipated Over Time After Morgoth’s Downfall

After the First Age, dragons generally ceased to be used as forces in war and went off instead to pursue their own desires for wealth. It’s not that they couldn’t be used for war. One of the reasons that Gandalf took part in the Quest of the Lonely Mountain was that he wanted to avoid Smaug joining forces with Sauron upon the Dark Lord’s return. Dragons are immensely powerful, so very few evil beings, like Morgoth and Sauron, could possibly subjugate them. Without the leadership of such characters and without Morgoth creating new great dragons, they naturally dissipated.

Dragons could reproduce, and many lesser dragons were made, many of whom were likely alive during the War of the Ring, even after Smaug’s death. Why Sauron never sought them out is unclear, but it could be because they were sentient and would have to be bargained with. Most of the great dragons were killed in battles, with Smaug considered the last of the great dragons by the Third Age. Ultimately, dragons still existed in the Third Age but were spread too thin and suffered from disorganization.

How Smaug Survived (& Are Any Other Dragons Still Alive?)

Smaug Wasn’t The Only Dragon Left Alive, But He Was The Only One That Mattered

Smaug’s history before his attack on the Lonely Mountain isn’t recorded, including his birth origin or age, making it difficult to pinpoint exactly how he lasted as long as he did. He wasn’t the only great dragon during the Third Age, as Scatha the Worm was a threat to the Dwarves roughly 700 years prior to Smaug’s dominion over Erebor. Scatha was slain by a man named Fram, Lord of the Éothéod, in physical combat. The assumption can be made that this was the case for other lesser dragons, with them being killed in their exploits by Men or Dwarves.

Smaug’s survival until the near end of the Third Age could be due to passivity before his assault on Erebor, or it could be that he was skilled enough in picking his targets to avoid death. There may be other dragons alive during The Lord of the Rings, but they lack the power of those that came before. In Fellowship, Gandalf states: “It has been said that dragon-fire could melt and consume the Rings of Power, but there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough.”