The Old World before the War of the Beard.
Kazad Kro was the capital of the Hill Dwarfs, who eschewed life in the mountain holds of the Dwarfs in the time before the War of Vengeance.
Kazad Kro was one of the richest cities of the era, and its trade with the Elves and the realms of Men in the Far East literally allowed its people to pave the streets with gold. Gold was also used for flagstones and viaducts, which the mountain-dwelling Dwarfs of the Karaz Ankor criticised as ostentatious waste.[1a] The city's inhabitants had positive relations with the Asur, so much so that if a Dwarf felt wronged by the Elves, he would travel to Kazad Kro to address the grievance.[1a]
Kazad Kro had been built upon a hill, with massive walls and parapets coiling around it until no trace of rock remained.[2a] The Grand Hall of Kazad Kro was opulent, with the throne of King Skarnag Grum mirrored after the Throne of Power. Shining columns of stone held its roof and flagstones made out of pure silver lead up to the throne, with warriors hidden behind opulent tapestries.[1a]
With the end of trade with the Asur in the rising hostilities that escalated into the War of Vengeance, Kazad Kro refused to join with their kin of the Karaz Ankor, despite protests from the population. King Skarnag Grum had succumbed to the Yellow Fever of gold obsession, and retreated into his hoard. Many Skarrenawi renounced him to join their mountain kin in the conflict.[1a] What remained of Kazad Kro was full of refugees from the holdings of the Dwarfs outside the mountains, until the armies of the Asur marched to take it in -1805 IC.[2a]
An ambitious High Elf Mage from the Grey Lords named Ilendril had wrung the secret of binding a Dragon to one's will from a captured Dark Elf sorceress. He had bound a wild Dragon of the Old World, a beast the Dwarfs named Malok, to his will and directed it to lay waste to the Hill Dwarf city, hoping that this would prove the effectiveness of his enchantments.[2a] Malok and his master Ilendril devastated Kazad Kro, burning King Skarnag in his own treasure hall and leaving the ruin abandoned.[2a]
The location of Kazad Kro roughly corresponds to that of the Imperial city of Nuln. It is unknown if the Tilean traders that originally founded the city did so upon its ruins. The Tileans claimed to have built on Asur ruins,[3a] yet the city is connected to the Dwarfish Underway.[4a]