About in the middle of Fourth Age, the larger human and a few other intelligent races' settlements were able to defend themselves from attacks by hostile tribes and races. Goblins, who had been driven north by the ogres as a result of the Feldip Hills Civil War, were starting to lose the competition for food resources in Gielinor due to inferior technology and skills. Due to the fact that food was unevenly distributed between different goblin tribes, goblin tribes without food started attacking tribes with food.