Nurn

Nurn
Region
"Nurn" by Mark Fisher
General Information
Location	Southern Mordor
Type	Region
Description	Quite fertile, with Lake Nurnen in the middle of it
Inhabitants	Orcs, Men

Nurn was the name given to the southern regions of Mordor. It was much, much more fertile than Gorgoroth, a literal desert. The great Lake Núrnen laid in the center of the region. At the time of the War of the Ring slaves worked fields by the dark, sad water of Lake Núrnen to feed the armies of Sauron.

After the War of the Ring, King Elessar liberated the slaves of Mordor and gave them all the land around Lake Núrnen to be their own. The region of Nurn most likely escaped the desolation caused by the eruption of Mount Doom, unlike in northern Mordor.

Etymology

Nurn, appearing in the compound Núrnen ("sad-water"), apparently means "sad" in Sindarin.

Portrayal in adaptations

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Gorgoroth contains two maps of north-western Mordor that include the north-western part of Nurn. It also contains descriptions of the fortresses of Barad-wath and Ostigurth that guard the gap of Nurn which spreaded between Gorgoroth and Nurn.

2014: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor:

Nurn is a location in the game that the player can visit. Nurn was originally the domain of the Tribesmen of Nurn whom were descended from Corsairs, who have settled around the Sea of Nurn following Gondor’s retreat hundreds of years before the events of the story.