| Revision as of 14:46, 23 July 2002 editEd Poor (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers59,217 edits I will go to Mordor, although I do not know the way← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:52, 23 July 2002 edit undoEd Poor (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers59,217 edits no one wants to go here, even the redirect didn't workNext edit → | ||
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| Dwelling place of ], in the southeast of ]. ] and ] went there to destroy the ]. 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 that direction. | |||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| == Second Age == | |||
| Mordor was created in the War of Wrath that marked the end of the First Age. ] settled in it shortly after this time; and it remained the pivot of his evil contemplations for the whole of Second and Third ages of Middle-Earth. In the north-western corner of this land stood Mount Doom, Orodruin, where Sauron had forged the ]. Near Orodruin stood Sauron's stronghold, Barad-Dûr. | |||
| For two and a half thousand years, Sauron ruled Mordor uninterruptedly. Having wrought the rings, it was from there that he launched the attack upon Elves of Eregion. He was repelled by Men of Númenor. He fought against Men yet again, almost a thousand years later; however that time, he was captured by Númenorians, and brought to their island kingdom, eventually causing its destruction (see ]). Immediately after Númenor's destruction, Sauron had returned to Mordor as a spirit, and resumed his rule. | |||
| == The Last Alliance and afterwards == | |||
| 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, and 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 ]s; 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 ]'s ]), 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. | |||
| After Sauron's ultimate defeat, Mordor again became mostly empty as the ]s inside it fled or were killed. Crippled by thousands of years of neglect and abuse, but nevertheless not incapable of sustaining life, the land of Mordor was given to Gondor's defeated foes as a consolation. | |||
| == Naming == | |||
| Mordor means "dark land" in Tolkien's contrieved language ]. The root "mor" (dark) also appears in Moria. "Dor" (land) also appears in ](stone-land) and ] (fenced land). An Out-Of-Middle-Earth etymology is ] ''morthor'', which means "mortal sin" or "murder" (it is the ancestor of the latter word). It is not uncommon for names in Tolkien' fiction to have relevant meanings in several languages, both those invented by Tolkien, and "real" ones. | |||
| '''Compare:''' ] | |||
Revision as of 14:52, 23 July 2002
Dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle-earth. Frodo and 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 that direction.
Second Age
Mordor was created in the War of Wrath that marked the end of the First Age. Sauron settled in it shortly after this time; and it remained the pivot of his evil contemplations for the whole of Second and Third ages of Middle-Earth. In the north-western corner of this land stood Mount Doom, Orodruin, where Sauron had forged the One Ring. Near Orodruin stood Sauron's stronghold, Barad-Dûr.
For two and a half thousand years, Sauron ruled Mordor uninterruptedly. Having wrought the rings, it was from there that he launched the attack upon Elves of Eregion. He was repelled by Men of Númenor. He fought against Men yet again, almost a thousand years later; however that time, he was captured by Númenorians, and brought to their island kingdom, eventually causing its destruction (see Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age). Immediately after Númenor's destruction, Sauron had returned to Mordor as a spirit, and resumed his rule.
The Last Alliance and afterwards
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, and 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 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 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.
After Sauron's ultimate defeat, Mordor again became mostly empty as the Orcs inside it fled or were killed. Crippled by thousands of years of neglect and abuse, but nevertheless not incapable of sustaining life, the land of Mordor was given to Gondor's defeated foes as a consolation.
Naming
Mordor means "dark land" in Tolkien's contrieved language Sindarin. The root "mor" (dark) also appears in Moria. "Dor" (land) also appears in Gondor(stone-land) and Doriath (fenced land). An Out-Of-Middle-Earth etymology is Old English morthor, which means "mortal sin" or "murder" (it is the ancestor of the latter word). It is not uncommon for names in Tolkien' fiction to have relevant meanings in several languages, both those invented by Tolkien, and "real" ones.
Compare: Moria