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What Happens in the 3rd Age of Middle-earth?

Lasting 3,021 years, the Third Age of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth is the best known era, as it contains the events of *The Hobbit* and *The Lord of the Rings*. It is a time of decline for the older races and a slow but steady rise to power for Men, marked by a final confrontation with the shadow of Sauron.