Could a 🐲dragon have taken Khazad dum?

[ConnorJones7970]

Hello friends, I have a burning question that I can’t quite give myself a satisfying answer too and I’m hoping some of you Tolkien enthusiasts will answer for me. Could Smaug or perhaps a dragon like him/more powerful have successfully attacked and or taken Khazad-dum/Moria like Smaug took erebor and other dragons took other strongholds in the blue mountains? Would it depend on the time of the attack? Like would an attack in the second age be a lot more difficult for a dragon than an attack in the third age given there were more dwarves? I’m interested to hear your opinions.
Many thanks.

 

[Sihtric]

That's actually a really interesting question...Well, supposedly, Moria was greater and older than Erebor, and due to the number of mentions (which I believe is smaller), the Blue Mountains have-Moria was most likely still the strongest hall of the dwarves. And at that point, dragons seem to have diminished somewhat in their stature and power.

The way that the Erebor was set-Smaug would still have been able to eat (In the Hobbit, I'm fairly sure it is stated he used to take people from Laketown/surrounding settlements). In Moria, a reliable food source would have been hard to come by.

It also may have depended upon the Balrog status of Moria as they are fallen Maia compared to a fire-drake or wyrm.

The final thing I'll say is about the number/size of dragons. Smaug was a fairly small-and one of the last (or the very last) left, meaning that, while he was able to wreak a considerable amount of chaos and damage, it wouldn't have been akin to the other dragons, such as Ancalagon, Glaurung, or even The Fire Drake of Gondolin.

These are just some of the thoughts I had while reading your questions, I hope you maybe got an answer/clearer idea out of that!