The Inner Seas was a large body of water in Arda located between the continents of Middle-earth and the Dark Land (South Land).
The sea was over 2500 miles from north to south and about 800 miles from east to west at its widest most point from continent to continent. The straits connecting the Inner Seas to the East Sea in the north and the Belegaer (Great Sea) in the south were no more than 100 miles from continent to continent. It is not known whether these seas were calm or rough but all that can be conjectured is that they probably had both warm and cold currents, due to its proximity to the heats of the south and the darkness of the north.[1][2][3]
History
Years of the Trees and First Age
The origins of the Inner Seas can be traced back to the changes in the overall symmetry of the world as a result of the destructive tumults caused by Melkor and the Valar's confrontations with him for the sake of the Children of Ilúvatar. Its present position and location between Middle-earth and Dark Land seem to date from the end of the Battle of the Powers at the conclusion of the War for Sake of the Elves. From that time on, the Inner Seas were joined with the East Sea and known by the same name.
Second Age and beyond
At the conclusion of the War of Wrath it became known as the Inner Seas. The island of Númenor was raised and its inhabitants became great mariners but with the Ban of the Valar, they could not sail into the furthermost west where the Undying Lands lay. This restricted them to what lies east. They sailed the Inner Seas exploring the whole of its latitudes. After the Change of the World and the Fall of Númenor, the Inner Seas may have remained intact though whether they were still known as the Inner Seas is not known.[4]
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Binnste See |
| Albanian | Dete i brendshëm |
| Amharic | ወደ ውስጥ ያሉ ባህሮች |
| Arabic | البحار الداخلية |
| Armenian | Ներքին ծովեր |
| Azerbaijani | Daxili dənizlər |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Унутраныя моры |
| Bengali | অভ্যন্তরীণ সমুদ্র |
| Bosnian | Unutrašnja mora |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Вътрешни морета |
| Catalan | Mars Interiors |
| Croatian | Unutarnja morima |
| Czech | Vnitřní moře |
| Danish | De Indre Havområder |
| Dutch | Binnenzeeën |
| Esperanto | Internaj Maroj |
| Estonian | Sisemered |
| Filipino | Panloob na karagatan |
| Finnish | Sisämeret |
| French | Mers Intérieures |
| Georgian | შიდა ზღვები |
| German | Binnenmeere |
| Greek | Εσωτερικές Θάλασσες |
| Gujarati | આંતરિક સમુદ્રો |
| Hindi | भीतरी समुद्र |
| Hungarian | Belső-tengerek |
| Icelandic | Innri höfin |
| Indonesian | Laut-laut batin |
| Irish Gaelic | Farraigí intíre |
| Italian | Mari Interni |
| Japanese | 内景海 |
| Kannada | ಆಂತರಿಕ ಸಮುದ್ರಗಳು |
| Kazakh | Ішкі теңіздер (Cyrillic) Işki teñizder (Latin) |
| Korean | 내해 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Ички деңиздер |
| Latvian | Iekšējās jūras |
| Lithuanian | Vidinės jūros |
| Luxembourgish | Bannenzeg Mierer |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Внатрешни мориња |
| Marathi | अंतस्थ समुद्र |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Өвөр тэнгисүүд |
| Norwegian | Innlandethavene |
| Pashto | داخلي سمندرونه |
| Persian | دریاهای داخلی |
| Polish | Morze Wewnętrzne |
| Portuguese | Mares Interiores |
| Punjabi | ਅੰਦਰੂਨੀ ਸਮੁੰਦਰ |
| Romanian | Mări Interioare |
| Russian | Внутренние моря |
| Scottish Gaelic | Cuantan a-staigh |
| Sindhi | اندرون سمنڊ |
| Sinhalese | අභ්යන්තර මුහුද |
| Slovak | Vnútorné more |
| Slovenian | Notranja morja |
| Spanish | Mares Interiores |
| Swahili | Bahari za ndani |
| Swedish | Inrehav |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Баҳрҳои дохилӣ |
| Tamil | உள்நாட்டு கடல்கள் |
| Tatar | Внутренние моря |
| Telugu | లోపలి సముద్రాలు |
| Thai | ทะเลด้านใน |
| Turkish | İç Denizler |
| Turkmen | Içki deňizler |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Внутрішні моря |
| Urdu | اندرون سمندر |
| Uyghur | ئىچكى قۇرۇقلۇق دېڭىز |
| Uzbek | Ички Денгизлар (Cyrillic) Ichki Dengizlar (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Biển bên trong |
| Welsh | Moroedd Mewnol |
| Yiddish | ינלענדיש סיז |
References
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, “Introduction”
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, “Voyages of the Númenoreans”
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Akallabêth