Angband

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.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Thangorodrim"
==Description==
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. 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.The Silmarillion
==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.The Silmarillion
==Etymology==
Angband is a Sindarin word that literally meant "Iron Prison" or "Hell of Iron" (from ang + band).The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
==In other versions==
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==
*Siege of Angband
==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
==References==
ca:Àngband
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pt-br:Angband
ru:Ангбанд
tr:Angband
uk:Анґбанд
Category:Caves
Category:Far North
Category:Sauron's fortress & strongholds
Category:Sindarin names & words