Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced [ˈmɔrdɔr]; from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow) is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to the south of Mirkwood. Mount Doom, a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring. Mordor was surrounded by three mountain ranges, to the north, the west, and the south. These both protected the land from invasion and kept those living in Mordor from escaping.
| Mordor | |
|---|---|
| Middle-earth location | |
Flag displaying the Red Eye of Sauron, Lord of Mordor | |
| First appearance | The Lord of the Rings |
| In-universe information | |
| Other name(s) | the Land of Shadow, the Black Land, the Nameless Land |
| Type | Realm and base of operations of Sauron |
| Ruler | Sauron |
| Locations | Barad-dûr (the Dark Tower), Mount Doom, the Morannon (Black Gate), Cirith Ungol, Gorgoroth, Udûn |
| Geography | East of Gondor |
| Lifespan | Second Age – Fourth Age |
| Capital | Barad-dûr |
Commentators have noted that Mordor was influenced by Tolkien's own experiences in the industrial Black Country of the English Midlands, and by his time fighting in the trenches of the Western Front in the First World War. Another forerunner that Tolkien was very familiar with is the account of the monster Grendel's unearthly landscapes in the Old English poem Beowulf. Others have observed that Tolkien depicts Mordor as specifically evil, and as a vision of industrial environmental degradation, contrasted with either the homey Shire or the beautiful elvish forest of Lothlórien.