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Mordor

2013-02-08T17:34:18Z

24.171.168.128: /* Geography */

{{disambig-more|Mordor|[[Mordor (disambiguation)]]}}
{{kingdom
| image = [[Image:Ted Nasmith - Across Gorgoroth.jpg|250px]]
| name = Mordor
| meaning = The Black Land
| type = Dictatorship
| headofstate = [[Sauron]]
| executive =
| legislative =
| judicial =
| capital = [[Barad-dûr]]
| language = [[Black Speech]]
| location = East of [[Gondor]], West of [[Rhûn]]
| populous= [[Orcs]], [[Trolls]], [[Nurn]] slaves
| currency =
| religious =
| holiday =
| anthem =
| formed =
| established = c. {{SA|1000}}
| fragmented = {{SA|3441}}
| reorganized = {{TA|2943}}
| dissolved = {{TA|3019}}

}}
'''Mordor''' was the dwelling place of [[Sauron]], in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] went there to destroy [[the One Ring]]. Mordor was unique because of the three enormous mountain ridges surrounding it, from the North, from the West and from the South, that protected this land from an unexpected invasion by any of the people living in those directions.

== Geography ==
Mordor was protected from three sides by mountain ranges, arranged roughly rectangularly: [[Ered Lithui]] in the north, [[Ephel Dúath]] in the west, and an unnamed (or possibly still called Ephel Dúath) range in the south. A narrow pass led through Ephel Dúath and the fortress of [[Minas Morgul]] (earlier [[Minas Ithil]]) was guarding that; an even more difficult pass was guarded by the giant spider [[Shelob]] and the fortress of [[Cirith Ungol]]. Another known fortress was [[Durthang]] in northern Ephel Dúath.

In the northwest corner of Mordor the deep valley of [[Udûn (valley)|Udûn]] was the only entrance for large armies, and that is where Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor. In front of the [[Morannon]] lay the [[Dagorlad]] or the ''Battle Plain''. Sauron's main fortress [[Barad-dûr]] was at the foothills of [[Ered Lithui]]. To southwest of Barad-dûr lay the arid plateau of [[Gorgoroth]] and [[Mount Doom]]; to the east lay the plain of [[Lithlad]]. The land in the western parts of Mordor were largely infertile, producing only sparse [[Brambles of Mordor|brambles]].

The southern part of Mordor, [[Nurn]], was slighly more fertile, and moist enough to carry the inland [[sea of Núrnen]]. Nurn was made somewhat fertile because the ash blown from Mount Doom left its soil nutrient rich, thus allowing dry-land farming. Unfortunately, the inland sea of Núrn was salty, not freshwater.

To the west of Mordor was the narrow land of [[Ithilien]] with the city of [[Osgiliath]] and the great river [[Anduin]], to the east [[Rhûn]], and to the southeast, [[Khand]].

== Formation ==
Mordor was a relic of the devastating works of [[Morgoth]], apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions. It was given the name Mordor already before Sauron settled there, because of its volcano [[Orodruin]] and its eruptions. Sauron however was the second to settle there, just after [[Shelob]].

== History ==

'''See also:''' [[Timeline]]

=== Early history ===

Sauron settled in Mordor 1,000 years after the end of the First Age, and it remained the pivot of his evil contemplations for the whole of the [[Second Age|Second]] and Third Ages of Middle-earth. In the north-western corner of this land stood Mount Doom or [[Orodruin]], where Sauron had forged [[the One Ring]]. Near Orodruin stood Sauron's stronghold [[Barad-dûr]]. After this time, Sauron was known as the [[Dark Lord|Dark Lord of Mordor]].

For two and a half thousand years, Sauron ruled Mordor uninterruptedly. Having wrought the Ring, it was from there that he launched the attack upon the Elves of [[Eregion]]. He was repelled by the Men of [[Númenor]]. He fought against the Men again, almost a thousand years later; that time, he was captured by the Númenóreans and brought to their island kingdom, eventually causing its destruction (see ''[[Akallabêth]]''). Immediately after [[Númenor]]'s destruction, Sauron returned to Mordor as a spirit and resumed his rule.

=== The Last Alliance and Third Age===

Sauron's rule was interrupted yet again when his efforts to overthrow the surviving Men and Elves failed, and they fought their way back to their foe's domain. After several years of siege, forces of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men came into Mordor. Sauron was defeated in a final battle on the slopes of Orodruin. For about a thousand years, Mordor was guarded by [[Gondor]] in order to prevent any evil forces from breaking out.

However Gondor had failed in the long run, and deprived of guard, Mordor began to fill with evil things again. [[Minas Ithil]] was conquered by the Nine [[Nazgûl|Ringwraiths]]; other fortifications that were supposed to defend Gondor from the menace inside Mordor were turned into a means of shielding Mordor. By the time Sauron returned into Mordor after his false defeat in [[Dol Guldur]] (in the events that took place at the time of [[Bilbo Baggins]]'s [[The Hobbit|quest]]), Mordor was protected too well to be captured by any military might that was available in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. In the north of Mordor during the War of the Ring were the great garrisons and forges of war, while surrounding the bitter inland Sea of Núrnen to the south lay the vast fields tended for the provision of the armies by hordes of slaves brought in from lands to the east and south.

=== War of the Ring ===

During the War of the Ring, Sauron gathered all his forces to Mordor. After the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], a Host of the West went to the Black Gate. Sauron sent his army to destroy the Men of Gondor and Rohan, but then [[Frodo Baggins]] destroyed the One Ring and Mordor fell. The Dark Tower, the Black Gate and the Towers of Teeth collapsed to ruin. Mount Doom exploded. Both Sauron and his Ringwraiths were apparently destroyed.

After the ultimate defeat of Sauron, Mordor became mostly empty again as the [[Orcs]] inside it fled or were killed. Crippled by thousands of years of abuse and neglect, but capable of sustaining life, the land of Mordor was given to the defeated foes of Gondor as a consolation, as well as to the freed slaves of Nurn who were formerly forced to farm there to feed the armies of Mordor.

== Etymology ==
The term ''Mordor'' translates to "The Black Land" or "The Dark Land" in [[Sindarin]]. [[mor]] = "dark, black", [[dôr]] = "land" ([[The Silmarillion]], Appendix - Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names). ''Mordor'' is also coincidentally [[Quenya]] for "shadows" (plural), though the direct calque of Sindarin ''Mordor'' was ''Morinórë'' or ''Morinor'', a name also used for the [[Dark Land]].

==Inspiration==
It is not uncommon for names in Tolkien's fiction to have relevant meanings in several languages, both those invented by Tolkien, and "real" ones, but this of course happens with any two languages.

*A proposed etymology is [[Old English]] ''morðor'', which means "mortal sin" and later "murder".
*''Mordor'' is also a name cited in some Nordic mythologies referring to a land where its citizens practice evil without knowing it, imposed on themselves by the society long created for that purpose.

Tolkien is reported to have identified Mordor with the volcano of [[Stromboli]] off Sicily.<ref>[[Clyde S. Kilby]], [[Dick Plotz]] ([[1968]]), "Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 [[Mythopoeic Society|TSA Meeting]]", ''Niekas'' (Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, USA) (19): 39–40 Referred to at tolkienguide.com and by another publication of the Niekas editor. Referred to at [http://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/wordpress/?p=3 tolkienguide.com ] and by [http://efanzines.com/ERM/veh36.htm another publication of the Niekas editor].</ref>

==Portrayals==
In ''[[The Atlas of Middle-earth]]'', [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]] assumed that the lands of Mordor, [[Khand]], and [[Rhûn]] lay where the inland [[Sea of Helcar]] had been, and that the [[Sea of Rhûn]] and [[Sea of Núrnen]] were its remnants. The atlas was however published before ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'', where it turned out that the [[Sea of Rhûn]] and Mordor existed already in the First Age.

The close proximity of Mount Doom and Barad-dûr in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]] is non-canonical.

==See also==
* [[Sauron]]
* [[Barad-dûr]]
* [[Orodruin]]
* [[Black Gate]]

{{references}}
[[Category:Mordor| ]]
[[Category:Regions]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]

[[de:Mordor]]
[[fi:Mordor]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/regions/mordor]]

Mordor

2013-02-08T17:33:36Z

24.171.168.128:

{{disambig-more|Mordor|[[Mordor (disambiguation)]]}}
{{kingdom
| image = [[Image:Ted Nasmith - Across Gorgoroth.jpg|250px]]
| name = Mordor
| meaning = The Black Land
| type = Dictatorship
| headofstate = [[Sauron]]
| executive =
| legislative =
| judicial =
| capital = [[Barad-dûr]]
| language = [[Black Speech]]
| location = East of [[Gondor]], West of [[Rhûn]]
| populous= [[Orcs]], [[Trolls]], [[Nurn]] slaves
| currency =
| religious =
| holiday =
| anthem =
| formed =
| established = c. {{SA|1000}}
| fragmented = {{SA|3441}}
| reorganized = {{TA|2943}}
| dissolved = {{TA|3019}}

}}
'''Mordor''' was the dwelling place of [[Sauron]], in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] went there to destroy [[the One Ring]]. Mordor was unique because of the three enormous mountain ridges surrounding it, from the North, from the West and from the South, that protected this land from an unexpected invasion by any of the people living in those directions.

== Geography ==
Mordor was protected from three sides by mountain ranges, arranged roughly rectangularly: [[Ered Lithui]] in the north, [[Ephel Dúath]] in the west, and an unnamed (or possibly still called Ephel Dúath) range in the south. A narrow pass led through Ephel Dúath and the fortress of [[Minas Morgul]] (earlier [[Minas Ithil]]) was guarding that; an even more difficult pass was guarded by the giant spider [[Shelob]] and the fortress of [[Cirith Ungol]]. Another known fortress was [[Durthang]] in northern Ephel Dúath.

In the northwest corner of Mordor the deep valley of [[Udûn (valley)|Udûn]] was the only entrance for large armies, and that is where Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor. In front of the [[Morannon]] lay the [[Dagorlad]] or the ''Battle Plain''. Sauron's main fortress [[Barad-dûr]] was at the foothills of [[Ered Lithui]]. To southwest of Barad-dûr lay the arid plateau of [[Gorgoroth]] and [[Mount Doom]]; to the east lay the plain of [[Lithlad]]. The land in the western parts of Mordor were largely infertile, producing only sparse [[Brambles of Mordor|brambles]].

The southern part of Mordor, [[Nurn]], was slighly more fertile, and moist enough to carry the inland [[sea of Núrnen]]. Nurn was made somewhat fertile because the ash blown from Mount Doom left its soil nutrient rich, thus allowing dry-land farming. Unfortunately, the inland sea of Núrn was salty, not freshwater.

To the west of Mordor was the narrow land of [[Ithilien]] with the city of [[Osgiliath]] and the great river [[Anduin]], to the northeast [[Rhûn]], and to the southeast, [[Khand]].

== Formation ==
Mordor was a relic of the devastating works of [[Morgoth]], apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions. It was given the name Mordor already before Sauron settled there, because of its volcano [[Orodruin]] and its eruptions. Sauron however was the second to settle there, just after [[Shelob]].

== History ==

'''See also:''' [[Timeline]]

=== Early history ===

Sauron settled in Mordor 1,000 years after the end of the First Age, and it remained the pivot of his evil contemplations for the whole of the [[Second Age|Second]] and Third Ages of Middle-earth. In the north-western corner of this land stood Mount Doom or [[Orodruin]], where Sauron had forged [[the One Ring]]. Near Orodruin stood Sauron's stronghold [[Barad-dûr]]. After this time, Sauron was known as the [[Dark Lord|Dark Lord of Mordor]].

For two and a half thousand years, Sauron ruled Mordor uninterruptedly. Having wrought the Ring, it was from there that he launched the attack upon the Elves of [[Eregion]]. He was repelled by the Men of [[Númenor]]. He fought against the Men again, almost a thousand years later; that time, he was captured by the Númenóreans and brought to their island kingdom, eventually causing its destruction (see ''[[Akallabêth]]''). Immediately after [[Númenor]]'s destruction, Sauron returned to Mordor as a spirit and resumed his rule.

=== The Last Alliance and Third Age===

Sauron's rule was interrupted yet again when his efforts to overthrow the surviving Men and Elves failed, and they fought their way back to their foe's domain. After several years of siege, forces of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men came into Mordor. Sauron was defeated in a final battle on the slopes of Orodruin. For about a thousand years, Mordor was guarded by [[Gondor]] in order to prevent any evil forces from breaking out.

However Gondor had failed in the long run, and deprived of guard, Mordor began to fill with evil things again. [[Minas Ithil]] was conquered by the Nine [[Nazgûl|Ringwraiths]]; other fortifications that were supposed to defend Gondor from the menace inside Mordor were turned into a means of shielding Mordor. By the time Sauron returned into Mordor after his false defeat in [[Dol Guldur]] (in the events that took place at the time of [[Bilbo Baggins]]'s [[The Hobbit|quest]]), Mordor was protected too well to be captured by any military might that was available in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. In the north of Mordor during the War of the Ring were the great garrisons and forges of war, while surrounding the bitter inland Sea of Núrnen to the south lay the vast fields tended for the provision of the armies by hordes of slaves brought in from lands to the east and south.

=== War of the Ring ===

During the War of the Ring, Sauron gathered all his forces to Mordor. After the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], a Host of the West went to the Black Gate. Sauron sent his army to destroy the Men of Gondor and Rohan, but then [[Frodo Baggins]] destroyed the One Ring and Mordor fell. The Dark Tower, the Black Gate and the Towers of Teeth collapsed to ruin. Mount Doom exploded. Both Sauron and his Ringwraiths were apparently destroyed.

After the ultimate defeat of Sauron, Mordor became mostly empty again as the [[Orcs]] inside it fled or were killed. Crippled by thousands of years of abuse and neglect, but capable of sustaining life, the land of Mordor was given to the defeated foes of Gondor as a consolation, as well as to the freed slaves of Nurn who were formerly forced to farm there to feed the armies of Mordor.

== Etymology ==
The term ''Mordor'' translates to "The Black Land" or "The Dark Land" in [[Sindarin]]. [[mor]] = "dark, black", [[dôr]] = "land" ([[The Silmarillion]], Appendix - Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names). ''Mordor'' is also coincidentally [[Quenya]] for "shadows" (plural), though the direct calque of Sindarin ''Mordor'' was ''Morinórë'' or ''Morinor'', a name also used for the [[Dark Land]].

==Inspiration==
It is not uncommon for names in Tolkien's fiction to have relevant meanings in several languages, both those invented by Tolkien, and "real" ones, but this of course happens with any two languages.

*A proposed etymology is [[Old English]] ''morðor'', which means "mortal sin" and later "murder".
*''Mordor'' is also a name cited in some Nordic mythologies referring to a land where its citizens practice evil without knowing it, imposed on themselves by the society long created for that purpose.

Tolkien is reported to have identified Mordor with the volcano of [[Stromboli]] off Sicily.<ref>[[Clyde S. Kilby]], [[Dick Plotz]] ([[1968]]), "Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 [[Mythopoeic Society|TSA Meeting]]", ''Niekas'' (Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, USA) (19): 39–40 Referred to at tolkienguide.com and by another publication of the Niekas editor. Referred to at [http://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/wordpress/?p=3 tolkienguide.com ] and by [http://efanzines.com/ERM/veh36.htm another publication of the Niekas editor].</ref>

==Portrayals==
In ''[[The Atlas of Middle-earth]]'', [[Karen Wynn Fonstad]] assumed that the lands of Mordor, [[Khand]], and [[Rhûn]] lay where the inland [[Sea of Helcar]] had been, and that the [[Sea of Rhûn]] and [[Sea of Núrnen]] were its remnants. The atlas was however published before ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'', where it turned out that the [[Sea of Rhûn]] and Mordor existed already in the First Age.

The close proximity of Mount Doom and Barad-dûr in [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]] is non-canonical.

==See also==
* [[Sauron]]
* [[Barad-dûr]]
* [[Orodruin]]
* [[Black Gate]]

{{references}}
[[Category:Mordor| ]]
[[Category:Regions]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]

[[de:Mordor]]
[[fi:Mordor]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/regions/mordor]]

Easterlings

2013-02-08T17:31:19Z

24.171.168.128: /* Easterlings of the Third Age */

[[File:John Howe - Easterlings.jpg|thumb|''Easterlings'' by [[John Howe]]]]
'''Easterlings''' were [[Men]] who lived in the east of [[Middle-earth]], and were enemies of the Free Peoples.

== Easterlings of the First Age ==

During the [[First Age]], the term was applied to the sons of [[Bór]] and [[Ulfang the Black|Ulfang]], or the ''Swarthy Men'', who came into [[Beleriand]] much later than the [[Edain]], and who were for a part secretly in league with [[Morgoth]].

The Easterlings of the First Age should not be confused with those of later ages. The term in the First Age was used to refer to any peoples who came from the east of the [[Ered Luin]], and as such, the Easterlings of the First Age could well have come from [[Eriador]], rather from the further east in the [[Wilderland]] of the area of the [[Sea of Rhûn]].

===Sons of Bór===
[[File:Angus McBride - Easterlings.jpg|thumb|left|''Easterlings'' by [[Angus McBride]]]]
[[Bór]] was a leader of Men who came into Lothlann, Beleriand, in the year 463. His sons were [[Borlach]], [[Borlad]] and [[Borthand]]. Bór was welcomed by [[Maedhros]], who gave him and his followers land north of the [[March of Maedhros]], and south of it. Bór and his sons swore allegiance to Maedhros, and remained faithful, though he was told by Morgoth to betray the banner of [[Caranthir]]. All of them were wiped out during the [[Nirnaeth Arnoediad]].

===Sons of Ulfang "the Accursed"===
[[Ulfang]] also came in Lothlann, Beleriand, in 463, shortly after Bór. He was the father of [[Ulfast]], [[Ulwarth]], and [[Uldor]]. Ulfang was welcomed by the sons of [[Fëanor]], and he and his sons swore allegiance to Caranthir. They were given lands to dwell in the north and south of the March of Maedhros. Ulfang and his sons were secretly in the employ of Morgoth, and betrayed the [[Eldar]] and Edain during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in what is now known as the [[Treachery of Men]].

The Easterlings were betrayed by their lord Morgoth, and confined to [[Hithlum]]. After the [[War of Wrath]], those that survived fled back over the [[Ered Luin]] to [[Eriador]] and beyond.

==Easterlings of the Third Age==
[[File:Easterling.jpg|thumb|right|An Easterling in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers]]'']]
In the third age, the Easterlings were a significant threat to Gondor; they were a more regimented force than the Orcs or even the Haradrim. It is likely that Sauron drew much of his inspiration for his Orc armies from these wicked men. Sauron suffered a harsh and heavy defeat from the Last Alliance, who vanquished his numerically superior Orcs with a ranked and ordered army. The Easterlings were all this and more, so Sauron greatly valued his alliance with the men of Rhûn.

The weapons that the Easterlings used were primarily jagged spears, making them especially effective against cavalry, as well as a shorter, odd, glaive-like version used for close combat. They also were known to run their foes down in great Wains, or wagons.

It is told in "The Peoples of Middle Earth" that the Blue Wizards [[Alatar]] and [[Pallando]] were sent into the vast East to "...circumvent Sauron: to bring help to the few kingdoms of Men that had rebelled from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion and after Sauron’s first fall to search out his hiding (in which they failed) and to cause dissension and disarray among the dark East. They must have had very great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disarraying the forces of the East, who would both in the Second and Third Age otherwise have outnumbered the West."

===Wainriders===
{{Main|Wainriders}}

The ''Wainriders'' were a confederation of Easterling tribes who were united by their hate of Gondor, fueled by the dark lord Sauron. Following the Great Plague which weakened Gondor, they started their attacks in Third Age 1856, defeating the Gondorian army and killing king [[Narmacil II]]. They rode in great wagons and chariots (which gave them their name), and raided the lands of [[Rhovanion (Realm)|Rhovanion]], destroying or enslaving its people. Gondor gradually lost all of its possessions east of [[Anduin]] to them. The thirtieth king of Gondor, [[Calimehtar (King of Gondor)|Calimehtar]] son of Narmacil, defeated the Wainriders at the [[Field of Celebrant]], buying some rest for his land. However the Wainriders struck back in 1944, allying themselves with the [[Haradrim]] of Near Harad and the Variags of Khand. They managed to kill king [[Ondoher]] and both his sons, but instead of riding on to [[Minas Anor]] and taking the city, they paused to celebrate. Meanwhile, general [[Eärnil II|Eärnil]] of Gondor's southern army had defeated the Haradrim and rode north to defend his king. He came too late to rescue Ondoher, but managed to decisively defeat the Wainriders. Eärnil was later crowned king. After this defeat the might of the Wainriders was broken, and they retreated east. They still held Rhovanion, but never troubled Gondor again. It later turned out that their attacks were staged by Sauron to allow him to reclaim [[Mordor]] while Gondor's watch was diverted.

===Balchoth===
{{Main|Balchoth}}

The ''Balchoth'' were a fierce race of Easterlings, who attacked Gondor while under orders of [[Dol Guldur]]. In 2150 they overran the plains of [[Calenardhon]] and almost destroyed the army of the Ruling Steward [[Cirion]], but were defeated by the [[Éothéod]] under [[Eorl]] the Young. Like the Wainriders they rode in chariots and wagons, and they may have been descendants of this people.

===Variags===
{{Main|Variags}}

The ''Variags'' (in the real world, this is another name for the Varangians) were from [[Khand]], and they first appeared in the West in 1944 of the [[Third Age]], fighting alongside the Wainriders. They later appeared during the battle of the [[Pelennor Fields]]. Little was known about them, but they appeared to be a race of horse-men much like the [[Rohirrim]], although they were fiercely loyal to [[Mordor]].

[[Category:Men]]
[[Category:Easterlings]]
[[de:Ostlinge]]

East Sea

2013-02-06T13:59:31Z

24.171.168.128:

{{noncanon}}
The '''East Sea''' was the sea between the eastern shores of the continent of Endor, or [[Middle Earth]], the [[Dark Land]], and the Lands of the Sun (See "[[Uttermost East]]").<ref>{{HM|SM}}, "[[The Ambarkanta]]"</ref>

{{references}}

[[Category:Seas and oceans]]