War of Wrath

The War of Wrath, also called the Great Battle, was a clash of Elves, Men, and Valar against Morgoth marking both the end of the First Age and of Morgoth's rule in Middle-earth. It was the largest battle to ever occur in Arda. It resulted in the expulsion of Morgoth from Arda and the ruin of Thangorodrim, but the violence and tumult of the clashes between the forces of the Valar and of Morgoth shattered the northwestern portion of Middle-earth, Beleriand, causing it to sink beneath the ocean.
==History==
===Background===
By the early sixth century of the First Age, Morgoth's dominion was completely uncontested in Middle-earth. The effort of Elves, Men, and Dwarves to resist him had failed, and all the great Elven kingdoms had been overthrown. Morgoth was now master of nearly all of Beleriand, save for the havens in Arvernien, which he gave little heed to. To make matters worse, and to the great amusement of Morgoth, the Sons of Fëanor, seeking the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien, had enacted two brutal Kinslayings that destroyed both Doriath and the Havens of Sirion. In this time of direst need, the mariner Eärendil, by the guidance of a Silmaril which he wore on his forehead, searched for and sailed to Valinor on behalf of Elves and Men. There, he begged the Valar to pardon and aid the overmatched peoples of Middle-earth.
===The battle===
Despite having pledged to leave the Ñoldor to reap the bitter harvest of their folly in pursuing Morgoth, Manwë was moved by Eärendil's plea. Along with the Vanyar and the remaining Ñoldor in Aman, the army of the Valar came to Middle-earth in the mightiest gathering of arms in the history of Arda. Though the Edain were known to have joined the Host of the Valar when it landed in Middle-earth, the remaining Ñoldor did not participate in the war. Why is not known, but with their numbers horrifically depleted by Morgoth's forces and by the Second and Third Kinslayings, they may simply not have been able to present any force worth noting. Likewise, there was no known participation from the Sindar still present in Middle-earth, possibly for similar reasons. 
The Teleri of Alqualondë granted the use of their ships to ferry the warriors to Middle-earth, but they remembered the Kinslaying of their people long ago and still harbored much bitterness over it. As such, they sent only what mariners were needed to crew the ships, and none of them set foot on Middle-earth once they arrived. The great force of Aman marched across Beleriand and met the armies of Morgoth in the plains of Anfauglith. Morgoth marshaled the entirety of his forces, which had by this point grown so vast that Anfauglith could not contain their numbers. 
Though the war lasted for over 40 years, the host of the Valar at last annihilated the Orc armies of Morgoth, as well as most of the Balrogs and his myriad other twisted abominations. Many Men from the East fought for Morgoth and were either destroyed or forced to flee back to the far eastern regions of Middle-earth. Facing final defeat, Morgoth released his ultimate weapon, the winged Dragons, which had never been seen before. Their terrible onslaught was accompanied by lightning storms and tempests of fire, and they drove the Valar back and nearly destroyed the Host of the West.
Then, Eärendil arrived in his sky-ship Vingilot, along with the Eagles of Manwë led by Thorondor. In the skies above Angband, they confronted the dragons, and Eärendil himself slew their captain, the mighty Ancalagon the Black, who broke the towers of Thangorodrim in his fall. Angband was then leveled and Morgoth was finally captured in the deepest of his mines. He sued for peace and pardon, but he was bound again with the old chain Angainor and the two Silmarils still in his possession were taken by the Maia Eönwë, the herald of Manwë. Morgoth was taken to Aman and tried for his crimes. In the end, the Valar un-housed Morgoth by beheading him and "thrust him through the Door of Night", beyond the Walls of the World and into the Timeless Void . The Door is forever guarded by Eärendil.
===Aftermath===
The geographical wreckage of the war was immense. Most of the dry land west of the Blue Mountains was destroyed and sank beneath the ocean. Though it is not known exactly how many casualties the Host of the West endured, the war dragged on for decades before they managed to approach Angband, and the attack of Morgoth's winged dragons was said to have been nearly catastrophic for the forces of the Valar.
While Morgoth's hordes were utterly routed, the creatures that composed them were not eradicated, and many (particularly Orcs) remained to trouble the world under the power of Sauron. Additionally, a few Balrogs fled the final battle and hid deep beneath the earth, though only one, known by the title of Durin's Bane, was ever noted by history to have appeared again. Some number of dragons, particularly Cold-drakes, also escaped and hid away in the mountains. These dragons bred over time and became particularly troublesome for the Dwarves in ages to come. Nearly all of the winged Fire-drakes were destroyed by Eärendil, Thorondor, and his Eagles, but two fled.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XI: The War of the Jewels, “The Tale of Years” 
The remaining Elves were bidden by Ëonwë to return with him to the lands of Aman. Most of the Elves went into the West, while others still refused the summons and rather journeyed eastward where they would become lords of the remaining Eldar or those Elves who still dwelt in the East. Gil-galad, Galadriel, Celeborn, and Elrond were chief among these.
Additionally, the victory was made even more bitter by the loss of the Silmarils. Maedhros and Maglor, the two surviving sons of Fëanor, were yet compelled by their oath to recover the gems. They petitioned Eönwë for them but were refused, for he judged that the crimes they had committed in their attempts to retrieve the Silmarils throughout the centuries had made the brothers unworthy to possess them. Both brothers were by this point sick at heart at the burden of their terrible pledge, and though the oath had been sworn in the name of Eru Ilúvatar himself, Maglor in particular was willing to break it and simply accept the consequences. Ultimately however, Maedhros persuaded his brother that they had no choice but to try, for he judged that it would be better to die in an attempt to fulfill such an oath than to break it. 
Thus the brothers conspired to sneak into the camp of the victorious Host of the Valar, where they slew the guard around the Silmarils and took them. The camp was roused against them, and both brothers prepared to die defending their oath. However, Eönwë permitted them to depart without further resistance, and each brother took a single Silmaril and parted ways. But they soon discovered the truth of Eönwë's initial judgement. Due to the wicked deeds they had performed in recovering the jewels, chief amongst them the three Kinslayings, they could not hold the Silmarils without suffering terrible pain. And so Maedhros cast himself and the Silmaril he bore into a fiery pit, and Maglor threw his jewel into the Sea before wandering until he was lost to time.
For those men of the Edain who fought for the host of the Valar, the land of Númenor (in the full Quenya form Nùmenórë) was given to them. This land was neither of Aman nor of Middle-earth, but was closer to Aman.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIV: "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "The Battles of Beleriand"
==In other versions==
In a prophecy told in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, Ancalagon is killed by Túrin instead of by Eärendil.The History of Middle-earth, vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, chapter IV: "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth"
In earlier versions of the legendarium, the westward trip of Eärendel was in vain, and the Elves of Valinor discovered the enslavement of the Gnomes thanks to a bird that had escaped the Fall of Gondolin.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter V: "The Tale of Eärendel" In order to liberate the Gnomes, the Elves of Kôr, led by Inwil son of Inwë, launched in the Great Lands an expedition against Melko and his army of Goblins, Gongs, Nauglath, and wicked Men, known as First Faring Forth or March of Liberation. However, the Elves were defeated in the Battle of Rôs and started to retreat to the region of Leithian, ruled by Ing, a man that was and Elf-friend. However, after the disappearance of Ing, his realm became an island and it was invaded by unfriendly Men, who defeated the Elves in the Battle of the Heath of the Sky-roof. Thus, most of the Elves in Leithian fled to Tol Eressëa. However, according to an Elvish prophecy, Ing will lead the Elves from Tol Eressëa back to Leithian during the Second Faring Forth.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. II: The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, chapter VI: "The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales"
In another account, the Elves traveled to the Great Lands on Tol Eressëa, which was dragged by Uin, the whale servant of the Vala Ulmo. Thus, a magic bridge was cast between the island and the promontory of Rôs, in front of which it was anchored. However, the Vala Ossë was angered by the uprooting of the island he had placed in front of Valinor long before, and he tried to drag it back. This broke off the western portion of Tol Eressëa, forming as second smaller island. Thus, the larger island was renamed Leithian, while the smaller one became the Isle of Íverin. However, the Elves were utterly defeated and condemned to fade, and groups of evil Men invaded Leithian. In this account Ælfwine/Eriol witnessed the battle and in its aftermath, escaped from the battlefield through the valley of the Brook of Glass, but found the waters "fouled with the war of men and grime of strife". Afterwards, the sons of Ælfwine led their people to the reconquest of Leithian and established themselves in the lands of Tavrobel, Kortirion and Taruithorn.
In a third version of the story, Eriol was filled with longing for his home and, against the will of Meril-i-Turinqi, he decided to leave Tol Eressëa, taking his son Heorrenda with him, hoping that his deeds would actually hasten the Faring Forth. However, this action actually doomed the Faring Forth, causing the fading of the Elves.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Oorlog van Toorn
Albanian 	Lufta e zemërimit
Amharic 	ጦርነት የጭንቀት
Armenian 	Ւար ոֆ Ւրատհ
Arabic 	الحرب الغضب
Assamese 	ক্ৰোধৰ যুদ্ধ
Azerbaijani 	Qəzəb Müharibə
Basque 	Haserrearen Gerra
Belarusian Cyrillic	вайна гневу
Bosnian 	Rata Gnjeva
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	войната на гнева
Cambodian 	សង្រ្គាមនៃកំហឹង
Catalan 	Guerra de la Còlera
Cebuano 	Gubat sa Kasuko
Chichewa 	Nkhondo ya Mkwiyo
Chinese (Hong Kong)	憤怒之戰
Corsican 	Guerra di Fureur
Croatian 	Rat Gnjeva
Czech 	Válka Hněvu
Danish 	Vredens Fejde
Dari 	جنگ خشم
Dutch 	Oorlog van Gramschap
Esperanto 	Milito de Kolero
Estonian 	Sõja Viha
Filipino 	Digmaan ng Poot
Finnish 	Vihan Sota
French 	Guerre de la Grande Colère
Galician 	Guerra da ira
Georgian 	რისხვის ომი
German 	Krieg des Zorns
Greek 	πόλεμος της οργής
Gujarati 	ક્રોધ યુદ્ધ
Haiti Creole 	Lagè nan kòlè
Hebrew 	מלחמת החרון
Hindi 	क्रोध का युद्ध
Hmong 	Ua tsov ua rog ntawm txoj kev npau taws
Hungarian 	Izzó Harag Háborúja
Indonesian 	Perang murka
Italian 	Guerra d'Ira
Irish Gaelic 	Cogadh na Feirge
Japanese 	怒りの戦い
Javanese 	Perang Bebendu
Kannada 	ಕ್ರೋಧ ಯುದ್ಧ
Kazakh 	Соғыс гнева (Cyrillic) Soğıs gneva (Latin)
Konkani 	रागाचें झूज
Korean 	분노의 전쟁
Kurdish 	Şer ji Xezeba (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	согуш Каары
Latin 	Bellum Irae
Latvian 	Karš Dusmu
Laotian 	ສົງຄາມຂອງພຣະພິໂລດ
Lithuanian 	Karas Rūstybės
Macedonian Cyrillic	војна на гневот
Maithili 	क्रोध के युद्ध
Malaysian 	Perang Kemurkaan
Manx 	Chaggey ny Ymmoose
Marathi 	राग युद्ध
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Уур хилэнгээс дайн
Nepalese 	क्रोध युद्ध
Norwegian 	Vredens Krig
Pashto 	د غلا جنګ
Persian 	نبرد خشم
Polish 	Wojna Gniewu
Portuguese 	Guerra da Ira
Punjabi 	ਗੁੱਸਾ ਯੁੱਧ
Romanian 	Rrăzboi de Mânie
Russian 	Война Гнева
Scottish Gaelic 	Cogadh de Corraich
Serbian 	Рат Гневa (Cyrillic) Rat Gneva (Latin)
Sinhalese 	උදහස යුද්ධය
Sindhi 	ڏمر جي جنگ
Slovak 	Vojna Hnevu
Slovenian 	Vojna Srda
Somali 	Dagaalkii oo Cadaabka
Spanish 	Guerra de la Cólera
Swahili 	Vita ya Ghadhabu
Swedish 	Vredens Krig
Tajik Cyrillic 	Ҷанги ғазаб
Tamil 	கோபத்திற்கு போர்
Telugu 	ఆగ్రహం యుద్ధం
Thai 	สงครามแห่งความโกรธา
Tigrinya 	ኲናት ቁጥዐ
Turkish 	Öfke Savaşı
Turkmen 	Gahar Söweşi
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Війна Гніву
Uzbek 	Ғазабкорлик уруши (Cyrillic) G'azabkorlik urush (Latin)
Urdu 	غصہ جنگ
Vietnamese 	Chiến tranh của cơn thịnh nộ
Welsh 	Rhyfel o Ddigofaint
Xhosa 	Kwimfazwe ye Ingqumbo
Yiddish 	מלחמה פון צארן
==Affiliations==
===War of the Great Jewels===
===Battles of Beleriand===
==References==
de:Krieg des Zorns
es:Guerra de la Cólera
fr:Guerre de la Grande Colère
it:Guerra d'Ira
pl:Wojna Gniewu
ru:Война Гнева
sk:Vojna Hnevu
Category:Battles
Category:War of the Great Jewels
Category:First Age