Moria
Also calledKhazad-dûm, The Dwarrowdelf, Hadhodrond, The Black Pit, The Mines of Moria, Phurunargian
Khazad-dûm, called Moria by the Elves, was the greatest of all dwarvish mansions, delved beneath the three Mountains of Moria by Durin the Deathless in the Elder Days. Source of the only mithril in Middle-earth, it flourished for two ages until the Dwarves woke a Balrog in its depths in T.A. 1980. Orcs, the Balrog and a failed dwarvish colony held it thereafter, and the Fellowship of the Ring lost Gandalf on its bridge in 3019.
Description
The Dwarrowdelf
Khazad-dûm was not a city carved into a mountainside but a whole realm beneath the range. It ran under Caradhras, Celebdil and Fanuidhol from the western feet of the Misty Mountains to Dimrill Dale on the east, a distance of some forty miles by the road the Fellowship walked. Above the level of the eastern gate rose Seven Levels of halls, chambers and galleries, and beneath it went the Deeps, mine-shafts and cuttings that descended farther than any record measured. The Dwarves lit their work with lamps of crystal, and in the great days the halls were said to shine like polished silver.
Its two doors stood at opposite ends of the mountains. On the east the Dimrill Gate opened onto the steps above Mirrormere, the gate that Thrór walked through alone and before which the Battle of Azanulbizar was fought. On the west were the Doors of Durin, the Hollin Gate, made in the Second Age by the dwarf-smith Narvi and inscribed by his friend Celebrimbor of Eregion in ithildin, a substance that showed only by starlight or moonlight. The doors were invisible when shut and opened at a spoken password, and in the Third Age a dark lake had crept up to their threshold. Between the gates lay the works of two ages: the Second Hall with its double row of pillars and the fiery chasm crossed by Durin's Bridge, a slender arch of stone made as a defence that no enemy could cross except in single file; the Twenty-first Hall of the North-end; the Chamber of Mazarbul, the chamber of records, where Balin's tomb was later set; and the Endless Stair, which climbed in an unbroken spiral from the lowest dungeon to Durin's Tower on the summit of Celebdil.
Wealth and craft
The mountain gave the Dwarves gold, gems and iron, but its glory was mithril, the true-silver, found in the roots of Caradhras and nowhere else. Out of it came the mail-shirt of Bilbo and the helms of Gondor's guard; the Elves of Eregion worked it into ithildin; and Sauron coveted it. The Dwarves of Khazad-dûm also built the Dwarf-road across Eriador and traded with the Elves of Eregion in the only close friendship the two kindreds ever kept.
Moria's people were the Longbeards, Durin's folk, who counted their kings from Durin I and believed that he was reborn in his line. The name Moria, the Black Pit, was given by the Elves after the darkness came and was never used by the Dwarves.
History
Founding and the Elder Days
Durin I awoke at Mount Gundabad in the Years of the Trees and journeyed south until he came to Mirrormere and saw the crown of stars above his reflection. He delved his halls in the caves above the lake, and Khazad-dûm grew through the First Age while Nogrod and Belegost flourished in the Blue Mountains. When Beleriand was drowned at the end of that age, many of the Dwarves of the two western cities came east to Durin's halls, swelling its people and its skill.
The Second Age and the Ring of Durin
Around S.A. 750 the Noldor under Celebrimbor founded Eregion at the western feet of the mountains, and for nearly a thousand years Elves and Dwarves passed freely through the West-gate. Narvi made the Doors of Durin in this time. When Sauron destroyed Eregion in 1697 the Dwarves shut their doors and the gates were not opened again to strangers. In the same age Durin III received the first of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves, by dwarvish tradition from Celebrimbor's own hand before the fall of Eregion; it gave wealth but bred greed. Durin's folk fought on the side of the Last Alliance in 3434.
Durin's Bane
Moria endured almost two thousand years of the Third Age while the north-kingdom rose and fell. Its ruin came from within. In T.A. 1980 the Dwarves, mining ever deeper for mithril beneath Caradhras, released a Balrog of Morgoth that had hidden in the roots of the mountains since the fall of Thangorodrim. It slew King Durin VI that year and his son Náin I the next, and the Dwarves fled. Thráin I led most of them to Erebor in 1999. The Balrog ruled the dark alone until Sauron, returning to Dol Guldur, filled the halls with orcs in 2480 and made Moria a barrier against passage between Eriador and Wilderland.
The War of the Dwarves and Orcs
In 2790 the aged Thrór, driven out of Erebor by Smaug, came to the East-gate and went in alone. The orc chieftain Azog killed him and flung his branded head down the steps. Thráin II raised all seven houses of the Dwarves for vengeance, and after six years of hunting the orcs through their holds the war ended before the East-gate at the Battle of Azanulbizar in 2799. Dáin Ironfoot slew Azog, but when he climbed to the gate and looked in he saw that Durin's Bane still waited, and the Dwarves went home without entering.
Balin's colony
In 2989 Balin, one of Thorin's companions, led a company from Erebor to retake Moria, with Óin and Ori among them. They cleared the eastern halls, found mithril, and Balin was proclaimed lord. In 2994 an orc-arrow killed him at Mirrormere; orcs stormed the East-gate, Óin was taken by the Watcher in the Water at the West-gate, and the last defenders died in the Chamber of Mazarbul, where Ori wrote the final lines of their record.
The Fellowship in Moria
On January 13, 3019, the Fellowship opened the Doors of Durin and escaped the Watcher into the mines. Two days later, in the Chamber of Mazarbul, Gandalf read Balin's book and the company was attacked by orcs and a cave-troll. On the Bridge Gandalf turned to face the Balrog, broke the span beneath it, and was dragged down by its whip. He fought it through the deep places and up the Endless Stair to Durin's Tower, where on January 25 he cast it down and died, to be sent back with greater power.
The Fourth Age
With the Balrog dead and Sauron gone, the way was clear for Durin's folk. Appendix A records that a seventh Durin arose in the line of Dáin's heirs, and that under Durin VII the Dwarves returned to Khazad-dûm and held it until the world grew old and their kindred dwindled.
Geography
Beneath the central Misty Mountains between the Doors of Durin in the west, at the edge of Hollin, and the Dimrill Gate in the east above Mirrormere. Its halls lay under Caradhras, Celebdil and Fanuidhol; the Endless Stair rose inside Celebdil to Durin's Tower.
Associated figures
Fought at
Chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North
Aragorn II
Dúnedain of the NorthAragorn II, son of Arathorn, was the last Chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North and the first King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. Fostered in Rivendell as Estel, he spent sixty years as a Ranger and a captain in foreign lands before the War of the Ring, in which he guided the Fellowship, walked the Paths of the Dead, won the Pelennor Fields and the Black Gate, and took the crown as King Elessar. He reigned for a hundred and twenty years with Arwen as his queen.
Arnor and GondorCaptain of the White Tower
Boromir
Men of GondorBoromir, elder son of Denethor II and Captain-General of Gondor, was the man of the Fellowship of the Ring. Proud, valiant and devoted to his city, he tried to take the Ring from Frodo at Amon Hen and then died defending Merry and Pippin against Saruman's Orcs, redeeming his fall with his last breath.
GondorWizard
Gandalf
IstariGandalf, called Olórin in Valinor and Mithrandir by the Elves, was the wisest of the Istari, a Maia sent by the Valar to rouse the free peoples against Sauron. Bearer of Narya, the Ring of Fire, he uncovered the Necromancer, set the quest of Erebor in motion, unmasked the One Ring, led the Fellowship, died against the Balrog of Moria and returned as Gandalf the White to guide the West to victory in the War of the Ring, after which he sailed into the West.
None; a wanderer through the West of Middle-earthLord of the Glittering Caves
Gimli
LongbeardsGimli son of Glóin was the Dwarf of the Fellowship of the Ring. He walked from Rivendell to the Black Gate through Moria, Lothlórien, Helm's Deep and the Paths of the Dead, became the devoted friend of the Elf Legolas and of the Lady Galadriel, and after the war founded a Dwarf-colony in the Glittering Caves. Tradition says he sailed West with Legolas, the only Dwarf ever to do so.
Erebor; later the Glittering Caves of AglarondBalrog of Morgoth
Durin's Bane
BalrogsDurin's Bane was a Balrog of Morgoth that escaped the War of Wrath and lay hidden beneath the Misty Mountains until the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, delving for mithril, released it in T.A. 1980. It slew two Dwarf-kings, emptied Moria, and ruled the dark there for a thousand years until Gandalf fought it from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm to the peak of Zirakzigil and cast it down.
Moria- Nameless Things
A many-armed creature of the dark lake before the West-gate of Moria, which took the Dwarf Óin of Balin's colony and, a generation later, seized Frodo Baggins and sealed the Fellowship inside the mines. What it was is never explained.
The pool before the West-gate of Moria Lord of the Iron Hills
Náin
LongbeardsNáin, son of Grór and father of Dáin Ironfoot, was Lord of the Iron Hills. He brought fresh forces to the Battle of Azanulbizar in T.A. 2799, fought his way to the gate of Moria, and was slain there by Azog before his son avenged him.
Iron Hills
Founded
Father of the Longbeards
Durin I
LongbeardsDurin the Deathless was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, the first to awaken, and the founder of Khazad-dûm. He lived so long that his people believed he would return among them, and his name was borne by six later kings of his line.
Khazad-dûmKing of Durin's Folk
Durin VII
LongbeardsDurin VII, called the Last, was the seventh and final king to bear the name of the first of the Dwarves. A descendant of Dáin Ironfoot in the Fourth Age, he led Durin's Folk back to Khazad-dûm and refounded the kingdom there, and his people held it until the race of the Dwarves came to its end.
Khazad-dûmMaker of the Doors of Durin
Narvi
LongbeardsNarvi was a Dwarf-craftsman of Khazad-dûm in the Second Age who made the West-gate of Moria, the Doors of Durin, in partnership with the Elven-smith Celebrimbor of Eregion. His name and Celebrimbor's are written together on the doors.
Khazad-dûm
Ruled
Father of the Longbeards
Durin I
LongbeardsDurin the Deathless was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, the first to awaken, and the founder of Khazad-dûm. He lived so long that his people believed he would return among them, and his name was borne by six later kings of his line.
Khazad-dûmChieftain of the Orcs of Moria
Azog
OrcsAzog was the great Orc who ruled Moria after the Dwarves had abandoned it, and whose murder and mutilation of King Thrór in T.A. 2790 provoked the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. He slew Náin of the Iron Hills at the Battle of Azanulbizar and was beheaded there on the doorstep of Moria by Náin's son Dáin.
MoriaLord of Moria
Balin
LongbeardsBalin son of Fundin was the eldest and wisest of Thorin's companions on the quest of Erebor and the Dwarf who became closest to Bilbo. In T.A. 2989 he led an expedition to refound the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, ruled there as Lord of Moria for five years, and was killed by an Orc arrow at Mirrormere; the Fellowship found his tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul.
Erebor; Moria from T.A. 2989King of Khazad-dûm
Durin VI
LongbeardsDurin VI was the last King of Khazad-dûm before its fall. In his reign the Dwarves, delving for mithril beneath Caradhras, released the Balrog that had hidden there since the War of Wrath, and it slew him in T.A. 1980; from that day it was called Durin's Bane.
Khazad-dûmKing of Khazad-dûm
Durin III
LongbeardsDurin III was King of Khazad-dûm in the days of Eregion and, by the tradition of the Dwarves, received the first of the Seven Rings from Celebrimbor himself. He reigned when Sauron destroyed Eregion and the gates of Moria were shut.
Khazad-dûmKing of Durin's Folk
Durin VII
LongbeardsDurin VII, called the Last, was the seventh and final king to bear the name of the first of the Dwarves. A descendant of Dáin Ironfoot in the Fourth Age, he led Durin's Folk back to Khazad-dûm and refounded the kingdom there, and his people held it until the race of the Dwarves came to its end.
Khazad-dûmKing of Khazad-dûm
Náin I
LongbeardsNáin I, son of Durin VI, was King of Khazad-dûm for a single year. He was slain by the Balrog in T.A. 1981, and at his death the Dwarves abandoned Moria; his son Thráin I led them to Erebor.
Khazad-dûm
Buried in
Father of the Longbeards
Durin I
LongbeardsDurin the Deathless was the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, the first to awaken, and the founder of Khazad-dûm. He lived so long that his people believed he would return among them, and his name was borne by six later kings of his line.
Khazad-dûmLord of Moria
Balin
LongbeardsBalin son of Fundin was the eldest and wisest of Thorin's companions on the quest of Erebor and the Dwarf who became closest to Bilbo. In T.A. 2989 he led an expedition to refound the kingdom of Khazad-dûm, ruled there as Lord of Moria for five years, and was killed by an Orc arrow at Mirrormere; the Fellowship found his tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul.
Erebor; Moria from T.A. 2989
Visited
Ring-bearer
Frodo Baggins
HobbitsFrodo Baggins, Bilbo's heir, was the Ring-bearer who carried the One Ring from the Shire to the fire of Mount Doom. Wounded in body and spirit by the journey, he saved the Shire but could not enjoy it, and sailed into the West with the last of the Elves.
The ShireLady of Lothlórien
Galadriel
NoldorGaladriel, only daughter of Finarfin and the greatest of the Noldor after Fëanor, left Valinor in the rebellion, learned wisdom from Melian in Doriath, and outlived every other leader of the Exiles by three Ages. Bearer of Nenya, founder with Celeborn of the realm of Lórien, and a member of the White Council, she refused the One Ring when Frodo offered it, threw down Dol Guldur, and at last sailed West with the Ring-bearers.
Lothlórien- Stoors
Gollum, once the Stoor-hobbit Sméagol of the Gladden Fields, murdered his friend Déagol for the One Ring and was hollowed out by it over five centuries in the dark. Guide and betrayer of Frodo, he took the Ring at the Cracks of Doom and fell with it into the fire, accomplishing the quest that the Ring-bearer could not.
The Gladden Fields; later the caverns beneath the Misty Mountains Prince of the Woodland Realm
Legolas
Silvan ElvesLegolas, son of Thranduil of the Woodland Realm, was the Elf of the Fellowship of the Ring. A peerless archer and tracker, he walked from Rivendell to the Black Gate beside Aragorn and Gimli, forged the first true friendship between Elf and Dwarf in an age, and after the death of the King Elessar built a ship and sailed into the West with his Dwarven friend.
The Woodland Realm, later IthilienLord of Lothlórien
Celeborn
SindarCeleborn, a Sindarin prince of Doriath and the husband of Galadriel, outlasted three Ages of Middle-earth as lord of the Galadhrim. He shared the rule of Lothlórien with his wife, led the host that stormed Dol Guldur at the end of the War of the Ring, held East Lórien for a season of the Fourth Age, and at last, when the Golden Wood had emptied, went to Rivendell and thence over the Sea.
LothlórienLord of Eregion
Celebrimbor
NoldorCelebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor, renounced his father Curufin's deeds and became the greatest smith of the Second Age. As lord of the Elven-smiths of Eregion he was deceived by Sauron in the guise of Annatar and forged the Rings of Power, but he made the Three alone and hid them when he perceived the One. Sauron destroyed Eregion and slew him, and his body was borne as a banner before the enemy host.
EregionLord of the Iron Hills
Dáin II Ironfoot
LongbeardsDáin Ironfoot slew the Orc Azog at the gate of Moria when he was thirty-two, ruled the Iron Hills, led five hundred Dwarves to the Battle of Five Armies, and succeeded Thorin Oakenshield as King under the Mountain. He ruled Erebor for seventy-eight years of prosperity and died in the War of the Ring defending the body of King Brand at the gate of the Mountain.
Iron Hills; Erebor from T.A. 2941Thain of the Shire
Peregrin Took
HobbitsPeregrin Took, youngest of the Fellowship, was the heir of the Thain whose curiosity drew Sauron's eye through the palantír and whose loyalty saved Faramir from the pyre. He fought at the Black Gate, roused the Tookland against the ruffians, and ruled the Shire as its thirty-second Thain.
The Shire- Beasts and Birds
A half-starved pony bought from Bill Ferny at Bree, nursed back to strength by Sam Gamgee, and taken as the pack-beast of the Fellowship of the Ring as far as the West-gate of Moria. He found his own way home to Bree and was reunited with Sam a year later.
Bree, then the Shire
Born in
King of Khazad-dûm
Durin VI
LongbeardsDurin VI was the last King of Khazad-dûm before its fall. In his reign the Dwarves, delving for mithril beneath Caradhras, released the Balrog that had hidden there since the War of Wrath, and it slew him in T.A. 1980; from that day it was called Durin's Bane.
Khazad-dûmKing of Durin's Folk
Thráin I
LongbeardsThráin I, son of Náin I, led Durin's Folk out of Moria after the Balrog slew his father and grandfather, and in T.A. 1999 founded the Kingdom under the Mountain at Erebor, where he discovered the Arkenstone.
EreborKing of Khazad-dûm
Náin I
LongbeardsNáin I, son of Durin VI, was King of Khazad-dûm for a single year. He was slain by the Balrog in T.A. 1981, and at his death the Dwarves abandoned Moria; his son Thráin I led them to Erebor.
Khazad-dûm
Died in
King of Khazad-dûm
Durin VI
LongbeardsDurin VI was the last King of Khazad-dûm before its fall. In his reign the Dwarves, delving for mithril beneath Caradhras, released the Balrog that had hidden there since the War of Wrath, and it slew him in T.A. 1980; from that day it was called Durin's Bane.
Khazad-dûmKing of Durin's Folk
Thrór
LongbeardsThrór, grandfather of Thorin Oakenshield, restored the Kingdom under the Mountain in T.A. 2590 and ruled it in its greatest wealth until Smaug came in 2770. Driven to wander by exile and by his Ring, he entered Moria alone and was murdered there by the Orc Azog, and his death began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.
EreborKing of Khazad-dûm
Náin I
LongbeardsNáin I, son of Durin VI, was King of Khazad-dûm for a single year. He was slain by the Balrog in T.A. 1981, and at his death the Dwarves abandoned Moria; his son Thráin I led them to Erebor.
Khazad-dûm- Longbeards
Óin, elder brother of Glóin and uncle of Gimli, was one of Thorin's companions on the quest of Erebor. He later followed Balin to Moria and was taken by the Watcher in the Water at the West-gate when the colony fell.
Erebor; Moria - Longbeards
Ori, kinsman of Dori and Nori, was one of Thorin's thirteen companions on the quest of Erebor. He went with Balin to Moria in T.A. 2989 and wrote the final page of the Book of Mazarbul before dying with the last of the colony beside Balin's tomb.
Blue Mountains; Erebor; Moria
Dwelt in
Balrog of Morgoth
Durin's Bane
BalrogsDurin's Bane was a Balrog of Morgoth that escaped the War of Wrath and lay hidden beneath the Misty Mountains until the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, delving for mithril, released it in T.A. 1980. It slew two Dwarf-kings, emptied Moria, and ruled the dark there for a thousand years until Gandalf fought it from the Bridge of Khazad-dûm to the peak of Zirakzigil and cast it down.
Moria- Nameless Things
A many-armed creature of the dark lake before the West-gate of Moria, which took the Dwarf Óin of Balin's colony and, a generation later, seized Frodo Baggins and sealed the Fellowship inside the mines. What it was is never explained.
The pool before the West-gate of Moria Maker of the Doors of Durin
Narvi
LongbeardsNarvi was a Dwarf-craftsman of Khazad-dûm in the Second Age who made the West-gate of Moria, the Doors of Durin, in partnership with the Elven-smith Celebrimbor of Eregion. His name and Celebrimbor's are written together on the doors.
Khazad-dûm- Longbeards
Óin, elder brother of Glóin and uncle of Gimli, was one of Thorin's companions on the quest of Erebor. He later followed Balin to Moria and was taken by the Watcher in the Water at the West-gate when the colony fell.
Erebor; Moria - Longbeards
Ori, kinsman of Dori and Nori, was one of Thorin's thirteen companions on the quest of Erebor. He went with Balin to Moria in T.A. 2989 and wrote the final page of the Book of Mazarbul before dying with the last of the colony beside Balin's tomb.
Blue Mountains; Erebor; Moria
Peoples
- SettledBalrogs(Durin's Bane, T.A. 1980 to 3019)
- Fought atIstari(Gandalf and the Balrog)
- SettledMaiar(Durin's Bane beneath Khazad-dûm)
- HomelandSpirits and Enigmas(the nameless things far below)
- HomelandNameless Things(the deeps beneath Khazad-dûm; the pool at the West-gate)
- HomelandDwarves(Khazad-dûm, the greatest of Dwarf-mansions, founded by Durin)
- HomelandLongbeards(Khazad-dûm until 1981)
- HomelandCave-trolls
- SettledGoblins of the Misty Mountains(from 1981)
- SettledOrcs(after 1981)
- SettledTrolls(cave-trolls)
Timeline
- Years of the Trees
Durin founds Khazad-dûm
Durin the Deathless delves the first halls above Mirrormere.
- End of the First Age
Refugees from the Blue Mountains
Dwarves of ruined Nogrod and Belegost come to Khazad-dûm and greatly increase its strength.
- c. S.A. 750
Friendship with Eregion
The Elven-smiths settle at the western gate and Narvi and Celebrimbor make the Doors of Durin.
- S.A. 1697
The gates shut
Eregion falls to Sauron and Khazad-dûm closes its doors to the world.
- S.A. 3434
Durin's folk in the Last Alliance
Dwarves of Moria fight against Sauron at Dagorlad.
- T.A. 1980
Durin's Bane awakened
Mining beneath Caradhras frees a Balrog, which kills Durin VI.
- T.A. 1981
Náin I slain; the Dwarves flee
The Balrog kills a second king and Durin's folk abandon Khazad-dûm.
- T.A. 2480
Orcs occupy Moria
Sauron garrisons the halls with orcs to bar the passes.
- T.A. 2790
Thrór slain by Azog
The old king's murder at the East-gate begins the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.
- T.A. 2799
Battle of Azanulbizar
The Dwarves win before the gate but dare not enter because of the Balrog.
- T.A. 2989 to 2994
Balin's colony
Balin retakes the eastern halls and rules for five years before he and his people are killed.
- T.A. 3019, January 13 to 15
The Fellowship passes through
The company crosses Moria; Gandalf falls with the Balrog from Durin's Bridge.
- Fourth Age
Durin VII returns
The Dwarves reclaim Khazad-dûm and dwell there until their kindred dwindles.
Sources
- The Fellowship of the RingBook II, chapters 4 and 5
- The Two TowersBook III, chapter 5
- The Lord of the Rings: AppendicesAppendix A, III 'Durin's Folk'; Appendix B
- The Silmarillion'Of Aulë and Yavanna'; 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age'
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn' on Eregion and the Dwarf-road; 'Of Dwarves and Men'
- The Hobbitchapter 1 on Thrór and Thráin; chapter 13 on the mithril coat
See also
Part of
Elsewhere in The Misty Mountains
- Caradhrasmountain
- Dimrill Dalevalley
- Goblin-towncave
- Mount Gundabadmountain
- The High Passpass