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Angband, also known as the Iron Prison, was the ancient fortress of the Dark Lord Melkor in the depths of the Iron Mountains that was built after the destruction of the Two Lamps as an arsenal of Utumno. It would later be the Dark Lord's primary stronghold, the capital of his dark realm known as Dor-na-Daerachas. From this fortress, Melkor relentlessly sought to dominate Arda throughout the First Age. Angband would be destroyed by the Host of the West at the conclusion of the War of Wrath.[1]

Description[]

Karen Wynn Fonstad - North Beleriand

Map of Hithlum and the Northern Lands by Karen Wynn Fonstad from The Atlas of Middle-earth

Angband was a primarily subterranean stronghold under the three volcanic mountains of Thangorodrim, the largest mountains in Middle-earth. Before the Great Gate, there was a somber court area flanked by frightening cliffs and walled by the towers of a great battlement. Through the gate, there was a long great tunnel leading to a 'labyrinthine pyramid' of stairs to corridors, tunnels, and smithy chambers. A tall chimney went from Morgoth's gigantic blast furnaces and smithies, up through the mountain to the smokey towers of Thangorodrim. There were also many tunnels leading to the slave quarters or vaults.[1] At the foundation of Angband was the entrance "to the seat of Morgoth in his nethermost hall". There were also mines within Angband that extended deeper than Morgoth's throne room.[2]

History[]

Melkor originally built Angband to guard against a possible attack from Aman by the Valar, and placed it under the command of Sauron. However, at the initiation of the Battle of the Powers, the assault of the Valar leveled Angband without much difficulty, and they swiftly moved on to Melkor's primary stronghold of Utumno. However, Angband's underground vaults and caverns were left relatively intact after the Valar's onslaught, as they were in great haste to capture Melkor for the sake of keeping the newly-awakened Elves safe. After Melkor's defeat at Utumno, the Balrogs came to Angband and went into hibernation in its ruined foundations. Eventually, the Orcs began to multiply in great numbers in Angband's ruins, and soon made their way south into Beleriand, threatening the Dwarves and Thingol's kingdom. It is possible that Sauron remained in the ruins of Angband with the Balrogs, as he had presumably been commanding the fortress when it was attacked. However, it is not certain where Sauron dwelt during Melkor's imprisonment. After three ages, Melkor was released, destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor, stole the Silmarils and escaped from Aman.

After fleeing, Melkor, now named Morgoth by his enemies, returned to Middle-earth and re-delved the ruins of Angband, raising the volcanic peaks of Thangorodrim over it. These peaks were created from the slag and rubble caused by the re-delving of the fortress, and as such, it is likely that the rebuilt Angband extended for a considerably greater distance underground than its original incarnation. From his dark throne in the nethermost hall, Morgoth directed the war against the Ñoldor who had returned from the West, and all the Free Peoples that supported them in Beleriand. Ultimately, he achieved complete victory over them. At the end of the First Age, the Valar took pity on the Ñoldor and instigated the War of Wrath, which not only utterly destroyed Angband but broke most of northern Middle-earth so thoroughly that it sank beneath the ocean.[2]

Etymology[]

Angband is a Sindarin word that literally meant "Iron Prison" or "Hell of Iron" (from ang + band).[3]

Earlier versions of the legendarium[]

In earlier versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology (see The History of Middle-earth), Angband was called Angamandu in Qenya, the precursor to Quenya.

See also[]

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Amharic ዓንግባንድ
Arabic أنجباند
Armenian Անգբանդ
Assamese আংবন্দ
Belarusian Cyrillic Ангбанд
Bengali আঙ্বান্দ
Bulgarian Cyrillic Ангбанд
Catalan Àngband
Chinese (Hong Kong) 安格班 a.k.a. 鐵之牢獄
Danish Angband ("Jernhelvede")
French Angband a.k.a. Enfer d'Acier
Georgian ანგბანდი
German Angband a.k.a. Eisenkerker
Greek Άνγκμπαντ
Gujarati આઙ્બન્દ
Hebrew אנגבאנד
Hindi अंगबैंड
Japanese アングバンド
Laotian າງບະນດ
Kannada ಆಂಗ್ಬ್ಯಾಂಡ್
Kazakh Ангбанд (Cyrillic) Angband (Latin)
Korean 앙그반드
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Ангбанд
Macedonian Cyrillic Ангбанд
Maithili अंगबन्द
Malayalam അംഗബന്ദ്
Marathi एंगबैंड
Mongolian Cyrillic Ангбанд
Nepalese यान्गब्यान्ड
Pashto آنګباند
Persian انگباند
Portuguese Angband a.k.a. Infernos de Ferro (Brazil)

Angband a.k.a. Inferno de Ferro (Portugal)

Punjabi आंगबँड
Russian Ангбанд
Sanskrit आङ्बन्द्
Serbian Ангбанд (Cyrillic) Angband (Latin)
Sinhalese ඇන්ග්බෑන්ඩ්
Slovak Angbandu
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) Angband a.k.a. Infierno de Hierro
Tajik Cyrillic Ангбанд
Tamil அங்க்பாண்ட்
Telugu అంగ్బాండ్
Thai อังก์บันด์
Tigrinya ኣንግባንድ
Ukrainian Cyrillic Анґбанд
Urdu انگبند
Uzbek Ангбанд (Cyrillic) Angband (Latin)
Yiddish אַנגבאַנד
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


References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Thangorodrim"
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Silmarillion
  3. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
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