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Aman (Quenya; "blessed realm") was a continent that lay west of Middle-earth, across the great ocean Belegaer. It contained Valinor, home of the Valar and Maiar, as well as Eldamar, home to the three kindreds of Elves: the Vanyar, the Ñoldor and the Teleri. The island of Tol Eressëa lay just off the eastern shore.

History[]

Upon the destruction of Almaren in very ancient times of Arda, the Valar fled to the great continent of Aman in the far west of Arda, and there established the realm of Valinor. Seeking to isolate themselves, they raised a great mountain fence, called the Pelóri, on the eastern coast, and set the Enchanted Isles in the ocean to prevent travellers by sea from reaching Aman.

For reasons untold, the Valar left two lands outside the wall of the Pelóri: Araman to the northeast and Avathar to the southeast. Ungoliant, a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar. When Melkor was released from his captivity, he fled to Avathar, scaled the mountains with Ungoliant's help, and wrought the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor

The first navigator to succeed in passing the Isles of Enchantment was Eärendil, who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called Morgoth. His quest was successful, the Valar went to war again, and also decided to remove the Isles.

Valinor Robert Zigo

Valinor, in Aman, depicted by Robert Zigo

Soon after this, the great island of Númenor was raised out of Belegaer, close to the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the Edain were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the Dúnedain, or Men of the West, and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared— rightly— that the Númenóreans would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west of the westernmost promontory of Númenor. In time, and not without some corrupting help from Sauron, the Númenóreans violated the Ban of the Valar, and sailed to Aman with a Great Armament under the command of Ar-Pharazôn the Golden. Eru Ilúvatar collapsed a part of the Pelóri on this army, trapping but not killing them. It is said that the army still lies beneath the pile of rock in the Caves of the Forgotten.

As a result of the Númenórean attack, the Valar laid down their governance of Arda and called upon Eru Ilúvatar, and he changed the shape of the world, making Arda round and removing Aman from it, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, he crafted a Straight Road that peeled away from the curvature of the earth and passed to Aman.[1] A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including the Hobbits Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and the Dwarf Gimli.[2]

Etymology[]

The Quenya name Aman is glossed as "Blessed Land"[3], "blessed, free from evil"[4], or "The Unmarred State".[5]

The etymology of the name Aman changed over time in Tolkien's writings. In early linguistic writings, Aman was intended to be a "native Quenya form", derived from the root MAN ("good"). However, in later writings (such as Quendi and Eldar), the name is said to derive from a Valarin word.[6]

Notes[]

  • Tolkien may have based Aman on Heaven from his own religion, Christianity, as Aman, like Heaven, is accessible only to beings whose (first) life on Earth has ended, and is inaccessible to any still-mortal beings.

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Amharic ዓማን
Arabic آمان
Armenian Աման
Assamese অমান
Belarusian Cyrillic Аман
Bengali আমান
Bulgarian Cyrillic Аман
Cantonese 阿曼
Chinese (Hong Kong) 阿門洲
Danish Aman (De Udødelige Lande)
French Terres Immortelles (Immortal lands)
Georgian ამან
German Aman (Unsterbliche Länder)
Greek Άμαν
Gujarati આમન
Hebrew אמאן
Hindi आमन
Hungarian Halhatatlanföld
Japanese アマン
Kannada ಅಮನ್
Kazakh Аман (Cyrillic) Aman (Latin)
Korean 암안
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Аман
Laotian ະມະນ
Macedonian Cyrillic Аман
Malayalam അമൻ
Marathi आमन
Mongolian Cyrillic Аман
Nepalese आमन
Pashto آمان
Persian امان
Russian Аман
Sanskrit आमन्
Sinhalese ආමන්
Tajik Cyrillic Аман
Tamil ஆமந்
Telugu ఆమన
Thai อามัน
Ukrainian Cyrillic Аман
Urdu امان
Uzbek Аман (Cyrillic) Aman (Latin)
Yiddish ײַמאַן
Places of Middle-earth and Arda

Middle-earth Locations:

Provinces/Regions:

Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire

Forests & Mountains:

Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill

City/Fortifications:

Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno

Miscellaneous:

Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens

The rest of Arda:

Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa

Places in the Undying Lands (Aman and Tol Eressëa)
Places and regions of the Valar
ValinorEzelloharGardens of LòrienHalls of MandosHalls of NiennaHouse of TulkasIlmarinMáhanaxarPastures of YavannaWells of VardaWoods of OromëPlain of ValinorTwo Trees of Valinor
Other regions
EldamarAlalvinórëAramanAvatharEnchanted IslesHaerastOiomúrëSindanóriëGalathilion
Mountains and passes
PelóriTaniquetilHyarmentirTúnaCalaciryaCaves of the Forgotten
Bodies of water
AfrosBay of EldamarGruirHíriLórellinShadowy SeasSirnúmen
Cities and strongholds
ValmarAlqualondëAvallónëFormenosKôrtirionTavrobelTirionLumbi
Houses and towers
Cottage of Lost PlayHouse of the Hundred ChimneysMindon EldaliévaTower of AvallónëTower of TavrobelTram Nybol


References[]

  1. The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Introduction"
  2. The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "Later Events concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Eldarin Hands, Fingers & Numerals and Related Writings — Part Three" (ed. by Patrick H. Wynne) in Vinyar Tengwar, no. 49, pgs. 26-7
  4. The War of the Jewels, Part Four: Quendi and Eldar, pg. 399
  5. The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", Notes and Commentary
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