Moria (Middle-earth)
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Place from Tolkien's Legendarium Location of Moria shown in red |
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| Name | Moria (The Black Pit) |
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| Other names | Hadhodrond Dwarrowdelf Khazad-dûm (Mansions of the Dwarves) |
| Description | Greatest of all the dwellings of the Dwarves |
| Constructed by | Durin the Deathless |
| Realm(s) | Moria (Middle-earth) |
| Lord | Kings of Khazad-dûm |
| Type | underground city and mines |
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria was an ominous name given by the Eldar to what had once been an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains. There, for many thousands of years, lived the Dwarf clan known as the Longbeards.
Known by other, brighter names over the course of its long history, this subterranean city and one-time centre of industry was also called Hadhodrond by the Sindar, Casarrondo by the Noldor and Phurunargian in the Common Speech, all meaning the Dwarrowdelf. In its latter days of darkness, however, for over a thousand years of the Third Age it was widely known as Moria, meaning 'The Black Chasm' or 'The Black Pit'.
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[edit] The Valian Years
The Dwarrowdelf was founded by Durin 'the Deathless' in the far distant past, long before the creation of the Sun and Moon. Durin had awoken at Mount Gundabad not long after the Elves first awoke, and as eldest amongst the Fathers of the Dwarves was acknowledged as preeminent amongst them, a status subsequently inherited by his descendants, the kings of the Longbeards.
From Gundabad, Durin's growing clan "spread southward down the vales of Anduin"[1], all the while "under attack from the orks (sic) of Morgoth"[1]. According to legend, Durin ultimately found "a glen of shadows between two great arms of the mountains, above which three white peaks were shining"[2]. Within this heavily wooded valley, a long series of short water falls led down to a long, oval lake, which appeared to have a magical quality: "There, like jewels sunk in the deep shone glinting stars, though sunlight was in the sky above"[2]. Perceiving these stars as a crown glittering above his head, Durin took this as an auspicious sign, and named the lake Kheled-zarâm, the 'Mirrormere'.
The three peaks overshadowing the lake he named Baranzinbar 'the Redhorn', Zirakzigil 'the Silvertine' and Bundushathûr, 'Cloudyhead'. The icy cold springs feeding it he called 'Kibil-Nâla', of unknown meaning, although to the valley itself he gave the name 'Azanulbizar', The Dimrill Dale: all of these became revered amongst the Longbeards in later days.
Durin chose the caves above Kheled-zarâm[2] as the earliest beginnings of his stronghold: Khazad-dûm, 'the Dwarrowdelf'. It grew mightily in size and numbers in Durin's long lifetime, until it became the "greatest of all the mansions of the Dwarves"[3] even when the Firebeards and Broadbeams first told of it to the Sindar of Beleriand, long before the Dawn of Man. Its reputation was enhanced not merely due to the spiritual ascendenscy of Durin over the other Fathers of the Dwarves as the eldest amongst them, nor to the Dwarrowdelf's growing size, but also to its wealth, founded upon the uniquely precious metal mithril, which in Middle-earth was universally prized yet found only beneath Khazad-dûm's three peaks.
[edit] The later First Age
The Dwarrowdelf played no part in the wars of Beleriand, and in fact Khazad-dûm gained a respite from orc attacks throughout the last centuries of the First Age, "when Morgoth needed all his strength" elsewhere[1], although the Longbeards maintained contact with all the other six dwarf clans. After early Men arrived in Rhovanion, the Longbeards quickly began trading with them, exchanging the products of their growing metallurgical and masonry skills for food, to the great profit of both peoples.
[edit] The Second Age
40 years after the destruction of Beleriand, many Dwarves from the recently ruined cities of Nogrod and Belegost came to the now great and ancient Dwarrowdelf, increasing its power still further, although at the same time, orcs once again became "well-armed and very numerous, cruel, savage, and reckless in assault. In the battles that followed the Dwarves were outnumbered, and though they were the most redoubtable warriors of all the Speaking Peoples they were glad to make alliance with Men."[1] The Orcs were all the more easily defeated by the new combination of Khazad-dûm's heavy infantry and the horsed archers provided by Men, and the Longbeards consequently came to dominate the northern and central Hithaeglir and the lands east of there, although Khazad-dûm had always "regarded the Iron Hills, The Ered Mithrin, and the east dales of the Misty Mountains as their own land"[1]. Ultimately, these Men then assisted the dwarves of Khazad-dûm "in the ordering of the lands that they had secured"[1].
With the foundation of Eregion to the west of Khazad-dûm around the year 700[4], friendly relations between Khazad-dûm and the Eldar became firmly established, prompting a massive subterranean extension westwards through the mountains. The Dwarrowdelf's habitable parts remained in the eastward side, but passages were created through miles of rock that terminated at hidden doors opening out onto the west. The Noldorin elf Celebrimbor used mithril lettering on Narvi's behalf when the latter built these, to create an inscription that read Im Narvi hain echant. Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin: "I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Eregion drew these signs."
Elves other than Celebrimbor now became involved in the development of Khazad-dûm's mansions, as it "became far more beautiful"[4] with their help during this period, and even the Nandorin elves, who had earlier evacuated their homes west of Anduin to escape it's growing power, returned when the Elf lady Galadriel passed eastwards through Khazad-dûm and established Lothlórien.
All of Khazad-dûm was originally illuminated by many "shining lamps of crystal"[2], although the halls of the highest level were also lit with windows and shafts carved through the mountain sides. These levels lay between flights of fifty or more stone steps, with seven hollowed out of the mountains above ground level, and many more subterranean levels - or 'Deeps' - beneath the main gates at the head of the Dimrill Dale. Every level comprised a multitude of arched passages, chambers and many pillared halls, often with "black walls, polished and smooth as glass"[2]. The lower Deeps also comprised of mines, treasuries and even dungeons[2], although far below the lowest Deep of Khazad-dûm, lay primordial tunnels in perpetual darkness, gnawed by 'nameless things' that had lived there since the earliest beginnings of Arda. Few if any actually ever glimpsed these creatures, and no description of them is extant.
One important feature of the Dwarrowdelf was the defensive structure known as Durin's Bridge, "a slender bridge of stone, without kerb or rail"[2], that spanned a fifty feet wide chasm of indeterminate depth. Another, steeped in legend, was The Endless Stair, which ascended "from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak"[2], where it terminated within Durin's Tower, carved from the solid rock at the tip of Zirakzigil.
Narvi's western doors and the original Gates in the east remained the only two known exits from Khazad-dûm, however, which proved fortunate during the War of the Elves and Sauron in the middle of the Second Age: the Dark Lord's victorious host in Eregion was unexpectedly distracted by a powerful assault of dwarves from Khazad-dûm, who subsequently retreated behind Narvi's impregnable doors after their purpose was achieved. Afterwards, Sauron harboured deep hatred for Khazad-dûm and ordered his Orcs to trouble Durin's folk at every turn, even though "the halls of Khazad-dûm were too deep and strong and filled with a people too numerous and valiant for Sauron to conquer from without"[2]. Despite this, "its people began to dwindle" from this time[2], possibly due to the loss of foodstuffs that had been provided by Men in the vales of Anduin.
[edit] The Third Age
With the defeat of Sauron, Khazad-dûm was able to recover somewhat, and it was not until 1300 years later that the Longbeards came under renewed attacks by Orcs[2]. Disaster was not to strike Khazad-dûm from the outside, however: by that time, the more easily accessible seams of mithril had become exhausted, and eventually, in the year 1980, the miners of Khazad-dûm delved so deep that they disturbed or released a very powerful and evil entity. This Balrog of Morgoth killed King Durin VI in that year, and in the following year Náin, his son. The Dwarves were unable to defeat Durin's Bane, or even drive it away, and so were forced to flee their ancient home, relocating to Erebor. Khazad-dûm was deserted, and the elves renamed it Moria. Thereafter, Orcs of the Misty Mountains made Moria their home: at the command of Sauron, according to some sources.
Many centuries later, in 2790, driven from Erebor by the dragon Smaug, Thrór, heir of Durin, foolishly attempted to re-enter his ancestral home despite warnings not to. He was slain by the Orc chieftain Azog, an infamous murder that precipitated The War of the Dwarves and Orcs culminating in a bloody battle outside Moria's eastern gates nine years later. The Dwarves were victorious and Azog himself was beheaded by Dáin II Ironfoot before the great orc could reach the safety of the gates, but the Dwarves had suffered great losses and remained unwilling to face Durin's Bane. Casualties were so high that the dwarves were unable to craft sufficient crypts for the slain, as was their wont, and were forced instead to burn their dead. The felling of trees to accomplish this was so great that the Valley of Azanulbizar (the "Dimrill Dale") was forever deforested. Those slain were honoured in future years with the appellation "Burned Dwarf". After this Pyrrhic victory, Thrór's son Thráin II attempted to re-enter the Mines, but Dáin stopped him and prophesied that some other power other than the Dwarves must come before Durin's folk could return to Moria.
Towards the close of the Third Age a few generations later, the dwarf Balin led a company to reopen the city, including Flói, Óin, Ori, Frár, Lóni, and Náli, although Balin's mission was against King Dáin's wishes. At first all went well, but after five years the colony was destroyed by Orcs. King Dáin was then visited twice by a messenger from Mordor, offering to return the remaining three of the Seven dwarf rings and the realm of Moria, if Dáin would cooperate in finding the One Ring. The offer was refused, but it is not known whether Sauron "the base master of treachery"[2], had any power over Durin's Bane.
When the Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in 3019, many of its long deserted lower Deeps had become flooded and inaccessible, and the Fellowship were gambling that most of its Orcs had been killed in the Battle of Five Armies a few decades earlier. After reaching the Chamber of Mazarbul towards the end of their journey, the Fellowship were attacked there by a Troll and many Orcs, before being approached by Durin's Bane itself. Gandalf confronted the Demon on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, near the remains of the Eastern Gates, where the two dueled briefly before plunging together into the abyss beneath it, allowing the rest of the Fellowship to escape. Both Gandalf and the Balrog survived the fall to continue their epic duel from the primordial depths below Moria to the tip of Zirakzigil, ultimately demolishing both the tower and the Stair.
[edit] The Fourth Age
Following their exile from Khazad-dûm, the Longbeard dwarves always yearned for their homeland, even after more than a thousand years had passed; Azanulbizar became "the deep-shadowed valley which we cannot forget"[2], just as they felt compelled to continue incorporating "the image of those mountains into many works of metal and stone, and into many songs and tales. They stand tall in our dreams.."[2].
With the death of the Balrog, the way was at last clear for the Longbeards to reclaim the Dwarrowdelf however, and it is told that a few centuries into the Fourth Age, Durin VII - a descendant (some sources say the son) of Thorin III Stonehelm - at last led his people back to their longed-for ancient homeland early in the Fourth Age, retrieving what they could of Khazad-dûm's once-mighty riches.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f The Peoples of Middle-earth
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n qv.
- ^ The Silmarillion
- ^ a b Unfinished Tales
| Dwarves from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium | |
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Azaghâl | Balin | Bifur | Bofur | Bombur | Borin | Dáin I | Dáin II Ironfoot | Dís | Dori | Durin(s) | Dwalin | Fíli | Flói | Frerin | Frár | Frór | Fundin | Gamil Zirak | Gimli | Glóin | Gróin | Grór | Ibûn | Khîm | Kíli | Lóni | Mîm | Náin I | Náin II | Náin son of Grór | Náli | Nár | Narvi | Nori | Óin | Ori | Telchar | Thorin I | Thorin II Oakenshield | Thorin III | Thráin I | Thráin II | Thrór |
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| Kingdoms of the Dwarves | |
| Belegost | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Nogrod | |
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|---|---|
| Realms of Men: | Arnor • Gondor • Lond Daer • Númenor • Rohan • Umbar |
| Realms of the Elves: | Dorwinion • Edhellond • Eregion • Lindon • Lórinand • Greenwood the Great • Rivendell |
| Realms of the Dwarves: | Belegost • Khazad-dûm |
| Realms of the Ents: | Fangorn forest |
| Realms of the enemy: | Cirith Ungol • Mordor |
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| Realms of Men: | Arnor • Arthedain • Breeland • Cardolan • Corsairs of Umbar • Dale • Dol Amroth • Dunland • Éothéod • Esgaroth • Gondor • Harad • Khand • Rhovanion • Rhudaur • Rhûn • Rohan • Umbar |
| Realms of the Elves: | Lindon • Lothlórien • Northern Mirkwood • Rivendell |
| Realms of the Dwarves: | Belegost • Erebor • Grey Mountains • Iron Hills • Khazad-dûm |
| Realms of the Hobbits: | Breeland • Gladden Fields • The Shire |
| Realms of the Ents: | Fangorn forest |
| Uncertain population: | Dorwinion |
| Realms of the enemy: | Angmar • Barad-dûr • Dol Guldur • Isengard • Mordor |
