Mordor

The Mountains of Mordor, seen from Ithilien

"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful.
It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash, and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

— Boromir, The Lord of the Rings

Description

Mordor was a relic of the devastating works of Morgoth, apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions. In Sindarin it was given the name Mordor (the Black Land) before Sauron settled there, because of its volcano and its eruptions. However, only Shelob had settled there before Sauron in the Second Age

After the destruction of the strongholds of evil in the north of Middle-earth at the end of the First Age, Sauron fled southwards seeking new lands. At the end of the first millennium of the Second Age, he chose a land walled by mountains, and there built his great fortress of Barad-dûr.

After the defeat of Sauron by The Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Mordor was taken under the control of Gondor, and the Gondorians built fortifications around it to prevent the return of evil things. As Gondor's power faded, however, Mordor once again fell into the hands of the Enemy, and after two thousand years of relative peace, the Nazgûl returned and claimed the land once again in the name of Sauron. Sauron himself, however, dwelt at Dol Guldur in Mirkwood as the Necromancer, and did not himself return openly to Barad-dûr until some seventy years before the War of the Ring.

In the Third Age, Mordor is again the dwelling place of Sauron.

Geography

Located in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of the Anduin, the great river, it is the land covering the volcanic plateau, a relic of the works of Morgoth before his banishment to the Void.

Frodo and Sam traveled through Mordor enroute to find the Crack of Doom in order to destroy the One Ring in the fires where it was forged.

Mordor's geography is 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.

Ephel Dúath (the Mountains of Shadow) rise in the west bordering the Ithilien region of Gondor, and extending round to the south.

Ered Lithui (the Ash Mountains) form the northern boundry with the pass of Cirith Gorgor leading into the enclosed plain of Udûn.

Sauron constructed the Black Gate of Mordor (the Morannon) across the pass, joining the Towers of the Teeth, two earlier guard towers built by Gondor to keep a watch on this entrance.

Map

In the Game

With the release of Update 19: March of the King - October 18, 2016, Mordor was released as a new landmass set piece. Part of it includes an east segment of Gondor with Anorien and North Ithilien.

In the Producer's Letter - September 2016, it is hinted that Mordor will be an Expansion in 2017

In the Producer's Letter - January 2017, it is hinted that Dagorlad will come with Update 20 prior the Mordor Expansion slotted for Summer 2017. It will contain 3 sub-regions.

March of the King

March of the King is the name of a release in 2016. See Update 19: March of the King - October 18, 2016.

The name may refer to various things:

• This release comprised two regions: see Anórien (After Battle) and Ithilien for details of quests and other information.

• It is the name of a quest pack: See March of the King

• It is the name of the deed group and tab in the deed finder. See March of the King Deeds.

• It is the name of a map that covers both regions:

The march of the King

Note: Originally the wiki had the the region set up as March of the King, but in game this is split in two as detailed above, and the wiki now matches this, which then accommodates other releases such as Minas Tirith (Midsummer) and the Allegiance quest system that happen after the march. Template:March of the King Template:North Ithilien

Locations

• Barad-dûr ("Lugbúrz in Black Speech) - visible from all of Mordor

• The Black Gate ("Morannon") - Probably the largest, blackest gate you will ever see, spanning as it does all of Cirith Gorgor.

• Mount Doom ("Orodruin in Sindarin") - the home of the Crack of Doom.

• The Plateau of Gorgoroth - Normally thought of as the gateway to Mount Doom. As there is no water or plant growth of any type, the area is uninhabited and a bit dusty.

• The Sea of Núrnen The largest body of water in the region is located in the relatively fertile southern Nurn area. Desertification is a large problem here though, as is the water boiling off when near-molten boulders land in the lake.

• Shelob's Lair

File:Mordor2.jpg