.gif)
Moria (Middle-earth)
Encyclopedia
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
, Moria (Sindarin for "Black Chasm") was the name given by the Eldar to 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 Longbeard
s.
According to Tolkien's fiction, the city and one-time centre of dwarven industry was also called Hadhodrond by the Sindar
, Casarrondo by the Noldor
and Phurunargian in the Common Speech, all meaning the Dwarrowdelf. For over a thousand years of the Third Age
it was widely known as Moria, "Black Chasm" or "Black Pit", from Sindarin
mor="black" and iâ="void, abyss, pit".
It has been suggested that Tolkien — an ardent Catholic — may have used this name as a reference to the mountains of Moriah
, where (according to the book of Genesis) Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Isaac. However, Tolkien categorically denied such derivations, saying that "As to Moria…it means…Black Chasm [in Sindarin
]. …As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever."
'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
", all the while "under attack from the orcs
of Morgoth
". According to legend, Durin ultimately found "a glen of shadows between two great arms of the mountains, above which three white peaks were shining". 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". Perceiving these stars as a crown glittering above his head, Durin took this as an auspicious sign, and named the lake Kheled-zâram, the 'Mirrormere'.
The three peaks overshadowing the lake he named Barazinbar '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. Durin chose the caves above Kheled-zâram as the earliest beginnings of his stronghold: Khazad-dûm, 'the Dwarrowdelf'.
All of these places became revered amongst Durin's people in later days. His descendants erected a rune-carved stone monolith at the site whereupon he had first looked into the Mirrormere, and although it had become indecipherably weatherworn by the end of the Third Age — broken, cracked and faded — the influence of Durin I, the founding king of Khazad-dûm, was never forgotten.
Khazad-dûm waxed continuously in size and population in Durin's long lifetime, until it became the "greatest of all the mansions of the Dwarves", even before the return of the Noldor
to Middle-earth. By that time, Khazad-dûm was already "a name and a rumour from the words of the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains" to all the Eldar of Beleriand.
After his death, the reputation of Durin's realm continued to grow, not merely due to his spiritual ascendancy over the other Fathers of the Dwarves
as the eldest amongst them, or the Dwarrowdelf's growing size, but to its great wealth, which was founded upon the uniquely precious metal mithril
, which was universally prized yet found nowhere else in Middle-earth.
, and in fact gained a respite from orc attacks throughout the First Age
, "when Morgoth needed all his strength" elsewhere. The Longbeards maintained contact with all the other six dwarf clans, and after early Men
arrived in Rhovanion
, Khazad-dûm quickly began trading with them, exchanging the products of their growing metallurgical and masonry skills for food, to the great profit of both peoples.
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." 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". Ultimately, these Men then assisted the dwarves of Khazad-dûm "in the ordering of the lands that they had secured".
With the foundation of the Noldorin realm Eregion
to the west of Khazad-dûm around the year 700, friendly relations between the Longbeards and the Elves became firmly established. Many of the Elves then became involved in the development of Khazad-dûm's mansions as a consequence, and it "became far more beautiful" during this period. This friendship also resulted in a massive subterranean extension westwards: the Dwarrowdelf's habitable parts remained in the eastward side, but passages were delved through miles of rock that terminated at a gigantic stone portal outside this elven realm — The West Gate — "which opened out into their country and was chiefly used by them." Celebrimbor
, the Lord of Eregion, used mithril lettering on the dwarf 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 Hollin drew these signs."
The West Gate allowed the Elf lady Galadriel
to pass eastwards through Khazad-dûm and establish Lothlórien beneath Azanulbizar, and the Nandorin elves that had earlier evacuated the area to escape Khazad-dûm's growing power, returned to settle there.
All of the Dwarrowdelf was originally illuminated by many "shining lamps of crystal", 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 Great 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". Below the level of the Gates lay mines, treasuries and even dungeons, 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", that spanned a fifty feet wide chasm of indeterminate depth, allowing enemy soldiers to cross it only in single file (one after another), not side by side. Another, steeped in legend, was The Endless Stair, which ascended "from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak", where it terminated within Durin's Tower, carved from the solid rock at the tip of Zirakzigil.
The West Gate and the Great Gates 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". Despite this, "its people began to dwindle" from this time, possibly due to the loss of foodstuffs that had been provided by Men in the vales of Anduin.
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, for steel and stone had no effect on the ancient being, 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, attempted to re-enter his ancestral home despite warnings not to. He was slain by the Orc chieftain Azog, a 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 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", had any power over Durin's Bane.
The Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in 3019, and although the Great Gates lay shattered by this date, they passed beyond Narvi's doors in the west only with difficulty and in great peril. Many of the 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 many Orcs, before being approached by Durin's Bane itself. Gandalf
confronted the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, near the remains of the Eastern Gates, where the two duelled 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 top of the Stair.
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, retrieving what they could of Khazad-dûm's once-mighty riches.
by the Dwarf Narvi, as the western entrance to Khazad-dûm. In these times, they stood open and were guarded by a doorwarden, allowing free and friendly trade between the Elves and the Dwarves.
The doors bore a design engraved in ithildin, which mirrored only starlight and moonlight. When the moon was out in full and ancient words long-forgotten were spoken, fine silver lines would appear, outlining the secret door. The designs on the arch, which were made by the Elf Celebrimbor
, included a hammer and an anvil (the emblems of Durin); a crown and seven stars; two trees surmounted by crescent moons; and a single star (the Star of the House of Fëanor
). The inscription at the top of the arch read: "Ennyn Durin aran Moria. Pedo mellon a minno" - "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter."
In the original novel The Fellowship of the Ring, a comment by Merry led Gandalf to think that the message was actually intended literally: "Say 'friend' and enter." He then spoke the Elvish word for "friend" (mellon) and the doors opened. In the 2001 film, though, Frodo
had the inspiration to ask for that word and saw it as a riddle.
Shortly after Gandalf opened the doors, the Watcher in the Water
attacked the Fellowship as they entered the Mines, ripping down the holly trees that flanked the doors and barricading the gate; the Watcher also piled rocks in front of the gates. In the film, the Watcher caused a cave-in instead, apparently destroying the gate.
The Dimrill Gate had two great doors that hung from tall doorposts. The doors bore messages in several languages inscribed in runes. In Khuzdul, the language of the Dwarves, there were spells of prohibition and exclusion. There were also warnings against entering without the permission of the King of Khazad-dûm written in Quenya
, Sindarin, the Common Speech, and the languages of Rohan
, Dale, and Dunland.
Gandalf entered Moria through the Dimrill Gate while searching for Thráin II who disappeared in 2845. Aragorn
also passed through the Dimrill Gate during his journeys in Middle-earth.
Gollum
entered the Dimrill Gate in August of 3018 and made his way through Moria to the West-gate. The Fellowship entered Moria through the West-gate on January 13, 3019, and journeyed eastward followed by Gollum. Gandalf confronted the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm and fell into the abyss. Aragorn led the others out of Moria through the Dimrill Gate.
. It was located to the right of a pathway that branched off the north end of the Twenty-first hall. When the Fellowship found the chamber as they passed through Moria, Balin's tomb was located inside it, and a bright shaft of sunlight streamed in from outside the mountain to land directly on the tomb. There were two stone doors leading into the chamber. Many deep recesses were cut into the chamber rock containing chests that had been recently looted by the orcs inhabiting Moria. In one of these was found the Book of Mazarbul. The book told of Balin's expedition to Moria. The last words in the book were written by Ori and he wrote: "We have barred the gates, but can not hold them for long. We can not get out. They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. Frár and Lóni
and Náli
fell there. The pool is up to the wall at the Westgate. The Watcher
in the water took Óin. We can not get out. The end comes. Drums, drums in the deep. They are coming." It was in the Chamber of Mazarbul that the Fellowship engaged in a brief fight with a band of Moria orcs and where Gandalf
made his first stand against the Balrog.
The Chamber's depiction in Peter Jackson
's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film is loosely based on the description in the books; however the walls are covered with inscriptions in Khuzdul
and the Common Speech not found in Tolkien's work.
crossing a chasm within the eastern gates of Moria. It lends its name to Chapter 5 in Book II of The Lord of the Rings
, in which Gandalf referred to it as Durin's Bridge.
The bridge was built to guard the East Gate of Khazad-dûm. It narrowly spanned a deep chasm built under the high arches common in Khazad-dûm. This gave the bridge powerful defensive value, for if an enemy were to breach the East Gate of Khazad-dûm, he would be forced to cross the span of the Bridge (some fifty feet) in single file line, exposing the crossing enemy to the arrows of the Dwarven defenders.
The Eastern end of the bridge connected to the First Hall and through that toward the East Gate of Khazad-dûm. The Western end of the bridge connected to the superstructure of the main city itself.
In The Fellowship of the Ring
, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings
, the eponymous Fellowship were forced to seek a path through Moria, long since abandoned by Durin's Folk. Through the course of this journey, the Fellowship encountered Durin's Bane, a balrog
that had survived the destruction of Thangorodrim
.
Seeing that the Fellowship was over matched, Gandalf
challenged the Balrog on the span of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. In the course of this fight, Gandalf shattered the Bridge (and with it, his staff), allowing the rest of the Fellowship to flee out of Moria by the Eastern Gate as he was dragged into the depths.
confirmed its existence to Gimli
when he recounted his battle with Durin's Bane (a balrog
). Durin's Tower and the top of the Stair were destroyed in that struggle. The height of the Stair is not known, but Gandalf said that it climbed many thousands of steps in an unbroken spiral. The Stair would have to be of truly mythical proportions indeed, as it allowed Gandalf and the Balrog to travel from a subterranean lake underneath a chasm several thousand feet up to the top of one of the tallest mountains in Middle-earth.
Peter Jackson
's portrayal of Moria in his The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie was mostly inspired by Alan Lee's illustrations. Apart from the bridge spanning the chasm, its architecture consists entirely of polygons and contains no curves.
computer game Moria
was modeled on The Lord of the Rings events. The goal in the game is to reach the bottom of a maze-like simulation of the Mines of Moria and kill a Balrog. Moria has also been featured in board games such as the Lord of the Rings (board game)
created by Reiner Knizia.
Several other roguelikes and MUDs feature Moria as a dungeon similar to the one described in the book, usually containing a creature akin to a Balrog.
The first expansion pack of the MMORPG
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
named Mines of Moria
takes place almost entirely in Moria.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Moria (Sindarin for "Black Chasm") was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, 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
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
clan known as the Longbeard
Durin's folk
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Durin's folk, also known as the Longbeards, were the most important clan of Dwarves. Their name comes from that of their first king, Durin I "The Deathless". They were the eldest and greatest of the seven Dwarf-clans.They originally...
s.
According to Tolkien's fiction, the city and one-time centre of dwarven industry was also called Hadhodrond by the Sindar
Sindar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the fictional Sindar are Elves of Telerin descent. They are also known as the Grey Elves. Their language is Sindarin...
, Casarrondo by the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
and Phurunargian in the Common Speech, all meaning the Dwarrowdelf. For over a thousand years of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
it was widely known as Moria, "Black Chasm" or "Black Pit", from Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
mor="black" and iâ="void, abyss, pit".
It has been suggested that Tolkien — an ardent Catholic — may have used this name as a reference to the mountains of Moriah
Moriah
Moriah is the name given to a mountain range by the Book of Genesis, in which context it is giv. the location of the sacrifice of Isaac. Traditionally Moriah has been interpreted as the name of the specific mountain at which this occurred, rather than just the name of the range...
, where (according to the book of Genesis) Abraham was to sacrifice his son, Isaac. However, Tolkien categorically denied such derivations, saying that "As to Moria…it means…Black Chasm [in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
]. …As for the 'land of Morīah' (note stress): that has no connection (even 'externally') whatsoever."
Years of the Trees
The Dwarrowdelf was founded by DurinDurin
Durin is the name of seven Kings of Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They were held by the Dwarves to be the reincarnations of the first one, Durin the Deathless, resembling him in appearance and said to have preserved memories of their 'earlier lives'.Tolkien took the name Durin, like...
'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
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
first awoke, and as eldest amongst the Fathers of the Dwarves
Fathers of the Dwarves
In Norse Mythology and in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race....
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
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
", all the while "under attack from the orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
of Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
". According to legend, Durin ultimately found "a glen of shadows between two great arms of the mountains, above which three white peaks were shining". 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". Perceiving these stars as a crown glittering above his head, Durin took this as an auspicious sign, and named the lake Kheled-zâram, the 'Mirrormere'.
The three peaks overshadowing the lake he named Barazinbar 'the Redhorn
Caradhras
In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Caradhras, also called the Redhorn , and known in the Dwarves' language as Barazinbar, is one of the mightiest peaks in the Misty Mountains...
', 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. Durin chose the caves above Kheled-zâram as the earliest beginnings of his stronghold: Khazad-dûm, 'the Dwarrowdelf'.
All of these places became revered amongst Durin's people in later days. His descendants erected a rune-carved stone monolith at the site whereupon he had first looked into the Mirrormere, and although it had become indecipherably weatherworn by the end of the Third Age — broken, cracked and faded — the influence of Durin I, the founding king of Khazad-dûm, was never forgotten.
Khazad-dûm waxed continuously in size and population in Durin's long lifetime, until it became the "greatest of all the mansions of the Dwarves", even before the return of the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
to Middle-earth. By that time, Khazad-dûm was already "a name and a rumour from the words of the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains" to all the Eldar of Beleriand.
After his death, the reputation of Durin's realm continued to grow, not merely due to his spiritual ascendancy over the other Fathers of the Dwarves
Fathers of the Dwarves
In Norse Mythology and in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race....
as the eldest amongst them, or the Dwarrowdelf's growing size, but to its great wealth, which was founded upon the uniquely precious metal mithril
Mithril
Mithril is a fictional metal, originally used in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. It is described as silvery and stronger than steel but much lighter in weight. The malleability, lack of tarnishing and use of the metal in jewellery suggest some similarity to the non-fictional metal...
, which was universally prized yet found nowhere else in Middle-earth.
First Age
Khazad-dûm played no part in the wars of BeleriandBeleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
, and in fact gained a respite from orc attacks throughout the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, "when Morgoth needed all his strength" elsewhere. The Longbeards maintained contact with all the other six dwarf clans, and after early Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
arrived in Rhovanion
Rhovanion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. It extended to the east as far as the inland Sea of Rhûn; north to the Grey Mountains and Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves; west to the range of the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains; and south to...
, Khazad-dûm quickly began trading with them, exchanging the products of their growing metallurgical and masonry skills for food, to the great profit of both peoples.
Second Age
Following the defeat of Morgoth and the dawn of a new Age, the Broadbeams now found themselves living amidst the ruins of their ancient home, which had been rent asunder and had collapsed, along with the destruction of much of Beleriand in the cataclysmic final battle against Morgoth. After forty further years of struggle, many of them made the difficult decision to leave behind what remained of Belegost and cross Eriador, to the now great and ancient Dwarrowdelf, which increased its power still further. Whether these remained a separate clan or group within their new home, or became merged with the Longbeards is not known.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." 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
Misty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
and the lands east of there, although Khazad-dûm had always "regarded the Iron Hills
Iron Hills
The Iron Hills are a fictional range of mountains in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are remnants of the Iron Mountains of the First Age and are located east of the Lonely Mountain in the northeastern part of Rhovanion and the northwest of Rhûn. In the Third Age, they are home to a...
, The Ered Mithrin, and the east dales of the Misty Mountains as their own land". Ultimately, these Men then assisted the dwarves of Khazad-dûm "in the ordering of the lands that they had secured".
With the foundation of the Noldorin realm Eregion
Eregion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Eregion or Hollin was a kingdom of the Noldorin Elves in Eriador during the Second Age, located near the West Gate of Moria under the shadow of the Hithaeglir . Its capital was Ost-in-Edhil...
to the west of Khazad-dûm around the year 700, friendly relations between the Longbeards and the Elves became firmly established. Many of the Elves then became involved in the development of Khazad-dûm's mansions as a consequence, and it "became far more beautiful" during this period. This friendship also resulted in a massive subterranean extension westwards: the Dwarrowdelf's habitable parts remained in the eastward side, but passages were delved through miles of rock that terminated at a gigantic stone portal outside this elven realm — The West Gate — "which opened out into their country and was chiefly used by them." Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin ....
, the Lord of Eregion, used mithril lettering on the dwarf 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 Hollin drew these signs."
The West Gate allowed the Elf lady Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
to pass eastwards through Khazad-dûm and establish Lothlórien beneath Azanulbizar, and the Nandorin elves that had earlier evacuated the area to escape Khazad-dûm's growing power, returned to settle there.
All of the Dwarrowdelf was originally illuminated by many "shining lamps of crystal", 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 Great 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". Below the level of the Gates lay mines, treasuries and even dungeons, 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
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
. 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", that spanned a fifty feet wide chasm of indeterminate depth, allowing enemy soldiers to cross it only in single file (one after another), not side by side. Another, steeped in legend, was The Endless Stair, which ascended "from the lowest dungeon to the highest peak", where it terminated within Durin's Tower, carved from the solid rock at the tip of Zirakzigil.
The West Gate and the Great Gates 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
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
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". Despite this, "its people began to dwindle" from this time, possibly due to the loss of foodstuffs that had been provided by Men in the vales of Anduin.
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. By that time, the more easily accessible veins 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 balrog, an ancient demon from long before, forgotten, and powerful. This balrogBalrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
of Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
killed King Durin VI in that year, and in the following year Náin, his son. The Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
were unable to defeat Durin's Bane, or even drive it away, for steel and stone had no effect on the ancient being, 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
Smaug
Smaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
, Thrór, heir of Durin, attempted to re-enter his ancestral home despite warnings not to. He was slain by the Orc chieftain Azog, a 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
Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
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
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
. Those slain were honoured in future years with the appellation "Burned Dwarf". After this Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
, Thrór's son Thráin II
Thráin II
Thráin II is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is first mentioned in The Hobbit, and more of his history is given in Unfinished Tales.A Dwarven king, Thráin is the son of Thrór and father of Thorin Oakenshield...
attempted to re-enter the Mines, but Dáin stopped him and prophesied that some power other than the Dwarves must come before Durin's folk could return to Moria.
Towards the close of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
a few generations later, the dwarf Balin
Balin (Middle-earth)
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.-In the books:...
led a company to reopen the city, including Flói, Óin, Ori, Frár, Lóni, and Náli, although Balin's mission was against King Dáin
Dáin II Ironfoot
Dáin II Ironfoot was a Dwarf and king of Erebor in J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium concerning Middle-earth. His story is told primarily in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, and he appears briefly in The Hobbit....
'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
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
, 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
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
. The offer was refused, but it is not known whether Sauron "the base master of treachery", had any power over Durin's Bane.
The Fellowship reluctantly passed through Moria in 3019, and although the Great Gates lay shattered by this date, they passed beyond Narvi's doors in the west only with difficulty and in great peril. Many of the 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 many Orcs, before being approached by Durin's Bane itself. Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
confronted the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, near the remains of the Eastern Gates, where the two duelled 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 top of the Stair.
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", 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.."With the death of the Balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
, 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
Fourth Age
In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
, 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, retrieving what they could of Khazad-dûm's once-mighty riches.
West-door
The Doors of Durin, also called the West-door or the West-gate of Moria, were created in the Second AgeSecond Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
by the Dwarf Narvi, as the western entrance to Khazad-dûm. In these times, they stood open and were guarded by a doorwarden, allowing free and friendly trade between the Elves and the Dwarves.
The doors bore a design engraved in ithildin, which mirrored only starlight and moonlight. When the moon was out in full and ancient words long-forgotten were spoken, fine silver lines would appear, outlining the secret door. The designs on the arch, which were made by the Elf Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor is a fictional character In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. His name means "silver fist" or "Hand of silver" in Sindarin ....
, included a hammer and an anvil (the emblems of Durin); a crown and seven stars; two trees surmounted by crescent moons; and a single star (the Star of the House of Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
). The inscription at the top of the arch read: "Ennyn Durin aran Moria. Pedo mellon a minno" - "The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter."
In the original novel The Fellowship of the Ring, a comment by Merry led Gandalf to think that the message was actually intended literally: "Say 'friend' and enter." He then spoke the Elvish word for "friend" (mellon) and the doors opened. In the 2001 film, though, Frodo
Frodo
Frodo may mean:*Frodo Baggins, a character in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien*"Frodo", a song by New Zealand folk-duo Flight of the Conchords*Fróði, the name of a number of Danish kings, Latinized as Frodo*Frodo...
had the inspiration to ask for that word and saw it as a riddle.
Shortly after Gandalf opened the doors, the Watcher in the Water
Watcher in the Water
The Watcher in the Water is a fictional creature in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium; it appears in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings...
attacked the Fellowship as they entered the Mines, ripping down the holly trees that flanked the doors and barricading the gate; the Watcher also piled rocks in front of the gates. In the film, the Watcher caused a cave-in instead, apparently destroying the gate.
East-gate
The East-gate of Moria was known as the Dimrill Gate.The Dimrill Gate had two great doors that hung from tall doorposts. The doors bore messages in several languages inscribed in runes. In Khuzdul, the language of the Dwarves, there were spells of prohibition and exclusion. There were also warnings against entering without the permission of the King of Khazad-dûm written in Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, Sindarin, the Common Speech, and the languages of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
, Dale, and Dunland.
Gandalf entered Moria through the Dimrill Gate while searching for Thráin II who disappeared in 2845. Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
also passed through the Dimrill Gate during his journeys in Middle-earth.
Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....
entered the Dimrill Gate in August of 3018 and made his way through Moria to the West-gate. The Fellowship entered Moria through the West-gate on January 13, 3019, and journeyed eastward followed by Gollum. Gandalf confronted the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm and fell into the abyss. Aragorn led the others out of Moria through the Dimrill Gate.
Chamber of Mazarbul
The Chamber of Mazarbul, the chamber of records, was a room in Moria containing the Tomb of BalinBalin (Middle-earth)
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.-In the books:...
. It was located to the right of a pathway that branched off the north end of the Twenty-first hall. When the Fellowship found the chamber as they passed through Moria, Balin's tomb was located inside it, and a bright shaft of sunlight streamed in from outside the mountain to land directly on the tomb. There were two stone doors leading into the chamber. Many deep recesses were cut into the chamber rock containing chests that had been recently looted by the orcs inhabiting Moria. In one of these was found the Book of Mazarbul. The book told of Balin's expedition to Moria. The last words in the book were written by Ori and he wrote: "We have barred the gates, but can not hold them for long. We can not get out. They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. Frár and Lóni
Loni
Loni is a town of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh, National Capital Region INDIA.It is very close to Delhi just 8 KM from Shahdara Metro Station.It comes under Ghaziabad .As per the notification No. 282/UP/2006 it also become a spearate Assembly Constituency as 53-loni. Loni has its own...
and Náli
Nali
Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî Nalî also known as Mullah Xidir Ehmed Şawaysî Mîkayalî (1800-1873 in Istanbul, Turkey, was a Kurdish polymath, who is considered to be one of the greatest Kurdish poet in Kurdish...
fell there. The pool is up to the wall at the Westgate. The Watcher
Watcher in the Water
The Watcher in the Water is a fictional creature in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium; it appears in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings...
in the water took Óin. We can not get out. The end comes. Drums, drums in the deep. They are coming." It was in the Chamber of Mazarbul that the Fellowship engaged in a brief fight with a band of Moria orcs and where Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
made his first stand against the Balrog.
The Chamber's depiction in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring film is loosely based on the description in the books; however the walls are covered with inscriptions in Khuzdul
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
and the Common Speech not found in Tolkien's work.
Durin's Bridge
The Bridge of Khazad-dûm is a narrow stone bridgeBridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
crossing a chasm within the eastern gates of Moria. It lends its name to Chapter 5 in Book II of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, in which Gandalf referred to it as Durin's Bridge.
The bridge was built to guard the East Gate of Khazad-dûm. It narrowly spanned a deep chasm built under the high arches common in Khazad-dûm. This gave the bridge powerful defensive value, for if an enemy were to breach the East Gate of Khazad-dûm, he would be forced to cross the span of the Bridge (some fifty feet) in single file line, exposing the crossing enemy to the arrows of the Dwarven defenders.
The Eastern end of the bridge connected to the First Hall and through that toward the East Gate of Khazad-dûm. The Western end of the bridge connected to the superstructure of the main city itself.
In The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
, the first volume of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, the eponymous Fellowship were forced to seek a path through Moria, long since abandoned by Durin's Folk. Through the course of this journey, the Fellowship encountered Durin's Bane, a balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
that had survived the destruction of Thangorodrim
Thangorodrim
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Thangorodrim was a group of three volcanic mountains in the Iron Mountains in the north of Middle-earth during the First Age...
.
Seeing that the Fellowship was over matched, Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
challenged the Balrog on the span of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. In the course of this fight, Gandalf shattered the Bridge (and with it, his staff), allowing the rest of the Fellowship to flee out of Moria by the Eastern Gate as he was dragged into the depths.
Endless Stair
The Endless Stair rose from the lowest dungeon of Moria to Durin's Tower at the summit of Celebdil. The Endless Stair was of such legendary status among Dwarves that some considered that it had never existed, but GandalfGandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
confirmed its existence to Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
when he recounted his battle with Durin's Bane (a balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
). Durin's Tower and the top of the Stair were destroyed in that struggle. The height of the Stair is not known, but Gandalf said that it climbed many thousands of steps in an unbroken spiral. The Stair would have to be of truly mythical proportions indeed, as it allowed Gandalf and the Balrog to travel from a subterranean lake underneath a chasm several thousand feet up to the top of one of the tallest mountains in Middle-earth.
Film
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's portrayal of Moria in his The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie was mostly inspired by Alan Lee's illustrations. Apart from the bridge spanning the chasm, its architecture consists entirely of polygons and contains no curves.
Computer games
The roguelikeRoguelike
The roguelike is a sub-genre of role-playing video games, characterized by randomization for replayability, permanent death, and turn-based movement. Most roguelikes feature ASCII graphics, with newer ones increasingly offering tile-based graphics. Games are typically dungeon crawls, with many...
computer game Moria
Moria (computer game)
Moria is a roguelike computer game based heavily on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The game's objective is to kill a Balrog, presumably Durin's Bane, deep within the Mines of Moria. A later port of Moria called Umoria inspired the Angband roguelike game...
was modeled on The Lord of the Rings events. The goal in the game is to reach the bottom of a maze-like simulation of the Mines of Moria and kill a Balrog. Moria has also been featured in board games such as the Lord of the Rings (board game)
Lord of the Rings (board game)
Lord of the Rings is a board game designed by Reiner Knizia based on The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The game was published in 2000 by Kosmos and Fantasy Flight Games, and won a Spiel des Jahres special award for best use of literature in a game. It features artwork by illustrator John...
created by Reiner Knizia.
Several other roguelikes and MUDs feature Moria as a dungeon similar to the one described in the book, usually containing a creature akin to a Balrog.
The first expansion pack of the MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows set in a fantasy universe based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings...
named Mines of Moria
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria
The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria is the first retail expansion pack for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar released on November 18, 2008. It was announced on March 14, 2008 at ....
takes place almost entirely in Moria.