Barad Eithel

Barad Eithel was the main fortress and capital of the realm of Fingolfin and Fingon while it endured.
It was located in the mountainous eastern foothills of the Ered Wethrin, at Eithel Sirion, the source of the River Sirion, just outside Hithlum, some sixty miles from Thangorodrim. It was attacked and besieged many times during the First Age by the forces of Morgoth. It survived the Dagor Bragollach but was conquered and occupied by the enemy after the Nírnaeth Arnoediad.The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Beleriand and the Lands to the North"
== History ==
Barad Eithel guarded a pass over the Ered Wethrin into Hithlum, the realm of Fingolfin, the High King of the Ñoldor. There were several mountain fortresses along the eastern border, but Barad Eithel was Fingolfin's primary stronghold. During the Siege of Angband, Barad Eithel lay at the heart of the Ñoldor defences, and Elven cavalry would patrol the green fields of Ard-galen, holding Morgoth within his fortress at Angband, close by to the north.
That changed in the Dagor Bragollach, when the plains of Ard-galen were overrun with rivers of fire and turned to scorching dust, the Anfauglith. Armies of Orcs assailed Fingolfin's fortress, but it held firm, though Hador, the Lord of Dor-lómin and his younger son Gundor were both lost in its defence, in front of the fortress's walls. Looking out across the burning desert in despair, Fingolfin set out from Barad Eithel to challenge Morgoth to single combat, and was lost. His son Fingon became the High King of the Ñoldor in his place, and took up his rule from Eithel Sirion.
Though the Siege of Angband had been broken, Barad Eithel still held, and so the passes into Hithlum remained secure. Morgoth resolved to break this defence, and sent another army seven years after the Dagor Bragollach to overcome Fingon's forces. Again they were repulsed, but Galdor was slain in the attack, where his father Hador had fallen just seven years before. Galdor was killed by an arrow. His son Húrin then drove the enemy forces back from Barad Eithel and pursued them across Anfauglith.
When the Elves came together for a vast new assault on Morgoth, Barad Eithel was the staging post for the western armies. It was from there that the soldiers of Fingon swept across the dusty Anfauglith, in the beginning of the battle that would turn to the tragedy of the Nírnaeth Arnoediad. Gelmir's brother Gwindor was on the outworks of Barad Eithel, and in his anger he launched a premature attack against Morgoth's forces. Fingon ordered his troops to follow and advance on Angband, but despite their initial success they were ultimately defeated. Fingon was killed and no Elves returned to Hithlum, which Morgoth gave to the Easterlings. 
Though the fate of Barad Eithel in that battle is not described, the fact that Fingon's realm was destroyed and Hithlum occupied must mean that the fortress at Eithel Sirion was captured or destroyed. By the last years of the First Age, if Fingolfin's mountain fortress was not in the hands of the Orcs, it would have fallen into ruin and decay.The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
== Etymology ==
The name Barad Eithel means "Tower of the Well" in Sindarin from barad meaning "tower" and eithel meaning "well, spring".The Silmarillion; Index of Names
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ባራድ ዐኢትሀል
Arabic 	باراد ايثيل
Armenian 	Բարադ Էիթելը
Belarusian Cyrillic	Барад Еітhел
Bengali 	বারাদ ইথেল
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Барад Ейтел
Chinese 	湧泉之塔
Danish 	Barad Eithel (Kildetårnet)
Georgian 	ბარად ეიტელი
Greek 	Βαραδ Ειθελ
Gujarati 	બરડ એઇટલ
Hebrew 	באראד אייתל
Hindi 	बराद एइथेल
Hungarian 	A Forrás
Japanese 	バラード・アイテル
Kannada 	ಬರಾದ್ ಈಥೆಲ್
Kazakh 	Барад Эитель (Cyrillic) Barad Éïtel (Latin)
Korean 	바라 대 에텔
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Барад Эитhэл
Macedonian Cyrillic	Барад Еитхел
Marathi 	बरड इथेल
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Барад ител
Nepalese 	बाराद एइथेल
Persian 	باراد ای‌تیل
Punjabi 	ਬਾਰਡ ਆਇਟਲ
Russian 	Барад Эйтель
Serbian 	Барад Еител (Cyrillic) Barad Eitel (Latin)
Sinhalese 	බැරාඩ් ඒටේල්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Барад Еитҳел
Tamil 	பாரத் ஈத்ஹெல்
Telugu 	బరద్ ఈథెల్
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Барад - Ейтель (Barad Eithel)
Ейтель - Сіріон (Eithel Sirion)
Urdu 	باراڈ ایاٹہال
Uzbek 	Барад Эитҳел (Cyrillic) Barad Eithel (Latin)
Yiddish 	באַראַד ײיטהעל
== References ==
de:Barad Eithel
es:Barad Eithel
fr:Barad Eithel
it:Barad Eithel
nl:Barad Eithel
pl:Barad Eithel
ru:Барад Эйтель
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Fortresses
Category:Beleriand