March of Maedhros

The eastern border

When Maedhros gave up the kingship of the Noldor to Fingolfin to heal the feud between the houses, he led his brothers out of Hithlum and took for himself the most dangerous ground in Beleriand: the open north-east, where the hills that guarded Doriath and the Fëanorian lands ran out toward the Blue Mountains and an army from Angband could come down around the end of the highlands into the eastern plains. The country he held was called the March of Maedhros. Its heart was Himring, the Ever-cold, a bare hill where he built his fortress, and around it his people held the lesser hills that ran east to Mount Rerir. Between Himring and Rerir lay Maglor's Gap, a wide opening in the hills through which the upper waters of the Gelion flowed, and there Maglor kept his cavalry. To the west the pass of Aglon between Himring and Dorthonion was held by Celegorm and Curufin from their land of Himlad, while Caranthir in Thargelion guarded the eastern end beneath Rerir.

Wars of the March

The March held through the Siege of Angband, and Morgoth's first sudden assault against it was thrown back by Maedhros' riders. In the Dagor Bragollach the fire from Ard-galen broke Aglon and drove Celegorm and Curufin west, and Glaurung came through Maglor's Gap and burned the lowlands, but Himring itself stood, and Maedhros gathered the survivors of his brothers' peoples there and closed the pass again. After the battle the Easterlings of Bór and Ulfang came over the mountains and were given lands in the March, and it was there that Maedhros formed his Union and mustered the eastern host for the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. In that battle the sons of Ulfang turned on the Fëanorians, the eastern host was broken, and the sons of Fëanor escaped only as fugitives. Himring was taken by the orcs, the March was lost, and Morgoth's power ran unchecked to the Blue Mountains for the rest of the Age.