One possible theory to Mordor's creation, based upon maps of Middle-Earth in the First Age is that it may be the dried seabed of the once inland Sea of Helcar.Īt the time of the War of the Ring, Sauron had gathered great armies to serve him. Sauron however was the first to settle there with the exception of Shelob and her ancestors. It was given the name Mordor already before Sauron settled there, because of its volcano Mount Doom and its eruptions. Mordor was a relic of the devastating works of Morgoth, apparently formed by massive volcanic eruptions.
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One might assume that the easiest route to Mount Doom would be for the Fellowship to journey through the 'unguarded' section of the east, where no mountains guard however, we are told in the Fellowship of the Ring that the area was heavily defended by a line of border forts facing Sauron's allies in Rhûn. The east of Mordor is by far the least mentioned of any of Mordor's geographic notes and descriptions. To the west of Mordor was the narrow land of Ithilien with the city of Osgiliath and the great river Anduin, while directly East of it was Rhûn, and to the southeast, Khand. Nurn was made somewhat fertile because the ash blown from Mount Doom left its soil nutrient-rich, thus allowing dry-land farming. The southern part of Mordor called Núrn was slightly more fertile, and watered enough to hold the inland Sea of Núrnen. To escape the vigilance of Morgul, to enter Mordor one would still have to get past the lair of Shelob, and the Tower of Cirith Ungol- a feat only Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (led by Gollum) ever accomplished- though not without being waylaid by the great fearsome spider Shelob, and Frodo being taken prisoner to the Tower of Cirith Ungol. It became the home of the Ringwraiths and was renamed Minas Morgul, and was thereafter a great stronghold of evil, ever at war with Gondor to the west until the end of the War of the Ring. Isildur originally built the city of Minas Ithil to guard the western end of both passes from any threat from Mordor, but in the Third Age the population of the city waned and it was conquered by the Nazgûl. The only other paths for armies to cross into Mordor from the west, over the Ephel Duath were the Morgul Pass and the Pass of Cirith Ungol. Mordor's dry and blasted geography would also be extremely unfriendly to any army bivouacked on the plains, forcing a withdrawal within days (unless they have stores sufficient for months). Mordor's geography was excellent for defense against enemies attacking on all fronts, for nearly un-scalable mountains defended Mordor on three sides, while the broken, jagged land of Gorgoroth and Núrn would greatly impede any army that managed to break through.
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To the southwest of Barad-dûr lay the arid plateau of Gorgoroth and Mount Doom to the east lay the plain of Lithlad. Sauron's main fortress of Barad-dûr was at the foothills of Ered Lithui.
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In front of the Black Gate lay the Dagorlad or the Battle Plain. In the northwest corner of Mordor the deep valley of Udûn was one of the few entrances for large armies, and that is where Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor. Mordor was protected from three sides by large mountain ranges, arranged roughly in a rectangular manner: the Ash Mountains ('Ered Lithui') in the north, and Ephel Dúath in the west and south.