In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow) is the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River Angmar ( Sindarin: 'Iron-home' ˈaŋgmar is a fictional kingdom in J In the fictional Legendarium of J R R Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Bay of Belfalas was a large southern bay in the Great Sea. For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Belegaer, the Great Sea or the Sundering Seas, is the sea of Arda that is west of Middle-earth The Ered Luin or Blue Mountains, also known as Ered Lindon, is the mountain range at the far west of Eriador, in J Bree is a fictional town in J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth east of the Shire and south of Fornost Erain. In the fictional Legendarium of J R R Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador Literature Once the ancient battlefield of Dagorlad, the Dead Marshes lie north-west of the Morannon, the principal entrance to Mordor. Dol Guldur ( Sindarin: "Hill of Sorcery" was Sauron 's stronghold in Mirkwood in the fictional world of J Adaptations For Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema, a fully realized set for Edoras was In J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth Legendarium, the Lonely Mountain ( Sindarin Erebor) is a Mountain in the northeast Eriador (the "Lone Lands" is a large region in J R R Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth. Fangorn ( Sindarin:; "Beardtree") in JRR Tolkien's Legendarium, is a forest located in the fictional world of Middle-earth Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, the Ered Mithrin or Grey Mountains was a large mountain range to the north of Rhovanion. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy legendarium, Harad ( Sindarin: South, in Quenya: Hyarmen) was the name for the Aglarond Aglarond and Angrenost (later Isengard) were the two fortresses built by Gondor guarding the Fords of Isen. The Iron Hills are a range of mountains located in the northeastern part approximately in the middle of both Rhovanion and Rhûn of J For the assault on Isengard by the Ents see Destruction of Isengard. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In J R R Tolkien 's fiction Lothlórien is a Welsh -sounding name given to the fairest forest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth This article is about the city in the Third Age. For the First Age tower of the same name see Minas Tirith (First Age. Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J The Elven ports of Mithlond or the Grey Havens was an Elvish port on the Gulf of Lune in the northwest of J In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the Rivendell ( Sindarin: Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a Fictional realm created by J In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. In the fictional Legendarium of J R R Tolkien, Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J R R Tolkien, Rhûn is a large region of eastern Middle-earth Rohan, is a fictional realm in J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy era of Middle-earth. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains (also known by its Sindarin name of Hithaeglir The Shire is a region of J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works The White Mountains, a loose translation of the Sindarin Ered Nimrais "Whitehorn Mountains" is a fictional Mountain range in J Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Sindarin is an Artificial language developed by J R R Tolkien. Quenya 'kwɛɲa is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi, "those who speak with voices" because when Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River Orodruin, the sole mountain in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring (and later Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee) in the quest to destroy the One Ring. The Fellowship of the Ring, or Company of the Ring, as described in the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, which bears the same name is Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly known as Sam, is a Fictional character in J Mordor was unique because of the three enormous mountain ridges surrounding it, from the North, from the West and from the South. The mountains both protected the land from an unexpected invasion by any of the people living in those directions and kept those living in Mordor from escaping. Tolkien is reported to have identified Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli off Sicily. Stromboli (Strongyle is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy ^[1]

Geography

Mordors influence carried over the mountain ranges to Near Harad, South Gondor, Khand and Rhûn. Including these territories, and Mordor itself, it's range of sway was about 462,500 square kilometres.

On three sides, its walls were mountain ranges, arranged in a rough rectangle: Ered Lithui in the north, Ephel Dúath in the west, and an unnamed (or possibly still-called Ephel Dúath) range in the south. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In J R R Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth, the Ephel Dúath or Mountains of Shadow are a range of mountains that guard Mordor In the northwest corner of Mordor, the deep valley of Udûn formed the castle's gate and guard house. Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once That was the only entrance for large armies, and that is where Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor, and later where Gondor built the Towers of the Teeth. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with Behind the Black Gate, these towers watched over Mordor during the time of peace between the Last Alliance and Sauron's return. In front of the Morannon lay the Dagorlad or the Battle Plain. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

Within this mountainous castle, Sauron's main fortress Barad-dûr formed its tower, at the foothills of Ered Lithui. For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with To southwest of Barad-dûr lay the arid plateau of Gorgoroth, forming the castle's keep, and Mount Doom its forge. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with To the east lay the plain of Lithlad. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

Mount Doom and Sauron's tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor, as depicted in the Peter Jackson film. For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given Peter Robert Jackson, CNZM (born 31 October 1961 is a three-time Academy Award -winning New Zealand director producer and writer best known for directing ^[2]

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 in her lair of Torech Ungol and the fortress of Cirith Ungol. Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the Literature Shelob was an "evil thing in Spider form" living high in the Ephel Dúath mountains that border Mordor; the “last child of In J R R Tolkien 's legendarium Torech Ungol or Shelob 's Lair was the home of the giant spider Shelob Cirith Ungol (ˈkiriθ ˈuŋgɔl is a location in J R R Tolkien 's fictional universe of Middle-earth in his fantasy work The Lord of the Rings. Another known fortress was Durthang in the northern Ephel Dúath. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

The southern part of Mordor, Núrn, was slightly more fertile, and moist enough to carry the inland sea of Núrnen. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with Núrn 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. Farming in this region supported the armies of Sauron. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy

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. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Osgiliath is a city of Middle-earth, the old Capital city of Gondor. In J R R Tolkien 's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest River In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J R R Tolkien, Rhûn is a large region of eastern Middle-earth Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with To the northwest lay the Dead Marshes. Literature Once the ancient battlefield of Dagorlad, the Dead Marshes lie north-west of the Morannon, the principal entrance to Mordor.

In the chapters in The Lord of the Rings describing Frodo and Sam's journey in Mordor, the valleys in an area called the Morgai, on the land's "outer marges [. The Lord of the Rings is an epic . . ] under the westward mountains", are described as a "dying land [but] not yet dead". The vegetation clinging to life in this area of Mordor included "low scrubby trees", "coarse grey grass-tussocks", "withered mosses", "great writhing, tangled brambles", and thickets of briars. This vegetation grew near water trickling down from higher up the valleys. Sam and Frodo sheltered under a curtain of these brambles, which had long stabbing thorns and hooked barbs. The briars also had thorns, and when Sam and Frodo fall into some briars, Sam says that the thorns feel "a foot long". The fauna described in this area included maggots, midges and flies marked with "a red eye-shaped blotch".

Formation

Mordor was a relic of the devastating works of Morgoth, apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions. The name The name Morgoth is Sindarin, one of Tolkien's invented languages and means "Black Enemy" Bauglir is also Sindarin meaning It was given the name Mordor already before Sauron settled there, because of its volcano and its eruptions. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the However, only Shelob had settled there before Sauron did. Literature Shelob was an "evil thing in Spider form" living high in the Ephel Dúath mountains that border Mordor; the “last child of

History

Further information: Timeline of Arda

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 and Third Ages of Middle-earth. This article includes several chronologies relating to J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. Sauron (ˈsaʊrɒn Quenya: /sawrɔn/ literal meaning "Abhorred") is the title character and the principal Antagonist of the Fantasy The Second Age is a time period from J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings 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. For the album by black metal band Summoning, see Lugburz. Barad-dûr ( Sindarin "Dark Tower" sometimes given After this time, Sauron was known as the Dark Lord of Mordor. There are many elements that show up throughout the fantasy genre in different guises

For 2500 years, Sauron ruled Mordor uninterrupted. Having wrought the Ring, it was from there that he launched the attack upon the Elves of Eregion. In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age He was repelled by the Men of Númenor. Númenor (ˈnuːmɛnɔɹ is a Fictional place in J R R Tolkien 's writings which the author intended to be an allusion to the legendary Atlantis. Almost a thousand years later he fought the Númenóreans again; this time, he was captured by the Númenóreans and brought to their island kingdom, eventually causing its destruction (see Akallabêth). Akallabêth is the fourth part of the Fantasy work The Silmarillion by J 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 of Númenor and the Elves failed, and they formed a Last Alliance of Elves and Men whose army advanced on Sauron's land. J R R Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings include many wars and battles set in the lands of Aman, Beleriand, Númenor, and A great battle took place on the Dagorlad in which Sauron's forces were destroyed and the Black Gate was stormed. Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with The Barad-dûr was then besieged by the Alliance's forces. After seven years of siege, Sauron broke out and was defeated in a final battle on the slopes of Orodruin. After his defeat the Barad-dûr was levelled and great fortresses were built at the entrances to Mordor to prevent Sauron's return. For over a thousand years, Mordor was guarded by Gondor and remained desolate, although the watch was lessened somewhat during the reigns of some of the Kings. Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the

Casualties from the Great Plague, during the reign of King Telemnar, were so high that the fortifications guarding Mordor were abandoned as the troops were called back to Gondor's cities. Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J Telemnar was in J R R Tolkien 's universe of Middle-earth, the twenty-sixth king of Gondor. As the guard slackened, Mordor began to fill with evil things again. The Ringwraiths took advantage of Gondor's defeat in TA 1856 to reenter Mordor and the final fortresses held by Gondor were abandoned and fell into ruin sometime after TA 1944. In 2002 Minas Ithil was conquered by the Nine Ringwraiths; and the fortifications that were supposed to defend Gondor from the menace inside Mordor were turned into a means of shielding Mordor. Minas Morgul (ˈminas ˈmɔrɡuɫ ( Sindarin: Tower of Black Magic) also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil ( Sindarin: Tower of the 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 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. Dol Guldur ( Sindarin: "Hill of Sorcery" was Sauron 's stronghold in Mirkwood in the fictional world of J Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit and also makes an appearance in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy 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. In J R R Tolkien 's fantasy fiction, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is the battle for the city of Minas Tirith between the forces of Gondor 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 the Teeth collapsed to ruin. Mount Doom exploded, clearing the sky over Mordor. 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. In J R R Tolkien 's Fantasy writings Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains Crippled by thousands of years of abuse and neglect, but capable of sustaining life, the land of Núrn was given to Sauron's freed slaves. In J R R Tolkien 's Fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor (from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow Gorgoroth remained desolate in the early part of the Fourth Age.

Naming

Mordor actually has two meanings: "Black Land" in Sindarin, and "Land of Shadow" in Quenya. Sindarin is an Artificial language developed by J R R Tolkien. Quenya 'kwɛɲa is one of the fictional languages spoken by the Elves (the Quendi, "those who speak with voices" because when The root mor ("dark", "black") also appears in Moria, which means "Black Pit". In the fiction of J R R Tolkien, Moria was the name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth Dor ("land") also appears in Gondor ("stone-land"), Eriador, and Doriath ("fenced land"). Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J R R Tolkien 's writings described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Eriador (the "Lone Lands" is a large region in J R R Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth. The Quenya word for Shadow is "mordo".

A proposed etymology out of the context of Middle-earth is Old English morðor, which means "mortal sin" or "murder". (The latter meaning is descended from the former. ) It is not uncommon for names in Tolkien's fiction to have relevant meanings in several languages, both languages invented by Tolkien, and actual historical languages. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon, so his word roots tend to be Anglo-Saxon/Nordic/Germanic. Mordor is also a name cited in some Nordic mythologies referring to a land where its citizens practise evil without knowing it, imposed on themselves by the society long created for that purpose. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland This quite fits with Tolkien's Mordor.

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 of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad is an atlas of J Karen Wynn Fonstad was the author of several atlases of fictional worlds Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J R R Tolkien, Rhûn is a large region of eastern Middle-earth Minor places in Arda#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with: once Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with 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 Peoples of Middle-earth (1996 is the 12th and final volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien from the unpublished Minor places in Middle-earth#Place Name -->;Place name description1 Further description prefix with

Usage outside Tolkien

• "The Mordor National Anthem" is an instrumental by Tupper Saussy and The Neon Philharmonic, appearing on the group's eponymous second album. Frederick Tupper Saussy III ( July 3, 1936 &ndash March 16, 2007) was an American Composer, Musician, The Neon Philharmonic (formed 1967) was a Psychedelic pop band led by Songwriter and Keyboardist Tupper Saussy
• It is the name of a computer game: Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol. Mordor The Depths of Dejenol is a Computer role-playing game released in 1995 for Microsoft Windows.
• It is the name of a series of MUDs, originally inspired by Scepter of Goth. In computer gaming, a MUD ( Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of Scepter of Goth, also spelled Sceptre of Goth, was an early multi-user text-based adventure game a genre now typically called a "multi-user dungeon" or MUD
• The Guitarist of the Dutch death metal band Satans Massacre is named after Mordor. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs fast tempos heavily distorted guitars deep growling vocals morbid lyrics
• Mentioned in Ramble On by Led Zeppelin
• Norwegian Black Metal band Gorgoroth takes its name from the arid plateau near Mt. " Ramble On " is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. Led Zeppelin were Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It often employs fast tempos shrieked vocals highly distorted guitars played with Tremolo picking, Gorgoroth is a Black metal band from Bergen, Norway that was founded by Infernus in 1992 Doom.
• MordorBBS. com is a loosely Mordor-themed, web-based Bulletin Board System with a similarly themed online text-based RPG. A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a Computer system running software that allows users to connect and login to
• A popular meme on the internet involves variations of Boromir's statement, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Boromir is a supporting character in J R R Tolkien 's Legendarium. " These include "One does not simply ROCK into Mordor" and "One does not simply Walken to Mordor. Christopher Walken (born March 31 1943 is an American Film and Theatre Actor. " and, from The Lord of the Rings Online forums "One does not simply walk into Mordor. . . One waits for the update"
• Fort McMordor is a nickname for Fort McMurray used to describe its landscape, ridden with open pit mines and toxic tailing ponds so large that the dam that holds one back is exceeded in size only by the Three Gorges Dam, part of the Tar Sands project there. Fort McMurray is a community within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Alberta. Zh-yue三峽大壩 The Three Gorges Dam ( is a hydroelectric River Dam that spans the Yangtze River in Sandouping,

Notes

References