Beleriand

Beleriand was a vast region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Originally, its name referred only to the area around the Bay of Balar, but in time the name applied to the entire land. The root of its name, Beler or Balar, is believed to refer to the Maia Ossë, who often dwelt at the shores of Balar. The War of Wrath at the end of the First Age brought the destruction of the entire continent (except Lindon and several island realms), and its descent into the Sea.
==Geography==
To the west and south, Beleriand had a long coast with the Great Sea Belegaer; to the north were the highlands of Hithlum, Dorthonion, and hills of Himring; to the east the Blue Mountains reached nearly to the Sea. The land of Nevrast in the northwest was sometimes considered part of Beleriand.
Sirion, the chief river of Beleriand running north to south, divided the region into West Beleriand and East Beleriand. Crossing it east to west was a series of hills and a sudden drop in elevation known as Andram, the Long Wall. (The river sank into the ground at the Fens of Sirion, and re-emerged below the Andram at the Gates of Sirion.) To the east of the Long Wall, was the River Gelion with its six tributaries flowing from the Blue Mountains, in an area known as Ossiriand or the Land of Seven Rivers. The River Brithon and the River Nenning were the two lesser rivers of the western land of Falas.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms"
In the year FA 587, Beleriand was mostly destroyed by the War of Wrath of the Valar against Morgoth. Only a small section of Ossiriand remained, and was known as Lindon. In addition, fulfilling a prophecy, the graves of Túrin Turambar and Morwen also survived as the island Tol Morwen. Part of Dorthonion became Tol Fuin, and the Hill of Himring became Tol Himling. All of these together were known as the Western Isles.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
The final words of Galadriel to Treebeard at their parting at Isengard, "Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the spring. Farewell!" suggests that Beleriand will be recovered from the Sea again, after the Dagor Dagorath, since it will be like Arda Unmarred but containing all the good things of Arda Marred.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. VI: "Many Partings"
== Etymology ==
The name Beleriand refers either to the continent's initial colonization by the Teleri, who had been ferried there upon the Isle of Balar, or to the land's great Bay of Balar, in accordance with the name's meaning in Sindarin, "land of Balar".
Beleriand had many emended different names in Tolkien's earlier writings (see: The History of Middle-earth): Broceliand, Broseliand, Golodhinand, Noldórinan, Geleriand, Bladorinand, Belaurien, Arsiriand, Lassiriand, and Ossiriand (which was later used as a name for a region of Beleriand).The Silmarillion, Index
== Places ==
=== Regions and realms ===
* Arvernien
* Forest of Brethil
* Dimbar
* Doriath (Kingdom of Thingol and Melian)
* Estolad
* Falas
* Himlad 
* Nan-tathren (Land of Willows)
* Talath Dirnen (Guarded Plain)
* Taur-en-Faroth (Forest of the Hunters)
* Taur-im-Duinath
* Thargelion
* Ossiriand (later Lindon)
=== Cities ===
* Belegost (Dwarven stronghold)
* Nogrod (Dwarven stronghold)
* Brithombar and Eglarest (The Havens of the Falas)
* Gondolin (Hidden city of Turgon)
* Menegroth (Underground stronghold below Doriath)
* Nargothrond (Underground stronghold of Finrod)
* Himring
* Vinyamar
==Gallery==
Karen Wynn Fonstad - South Beleriand.gif|Map of Beleriand by Karen Wynn Fonstad from The Atlas of Middle-earth
Karen Wynn Fonstad - North Beleriand.gif|Map of Hithlum and the Northern Lands by Karen Wynn Fonstad from The Atlas of Middle-earth
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ቤልሪየን
Arabic 	بيليرياند
Armenian 	Բելերիանդ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Белеріанд
Bengali 	বেলেরিঅন্দ
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Белерианд
Catalan 	Beleríand
Chinese (Hong Kong)	貝爾蘭
Danish 	Beleriand ("Balars Land")
Georgian 	ბელერიანდ
Greek 	Μπελέριαντ
Gujarati 	બેલેરીઅન્ડ
Hebrew 	בלריאנד
Hindi 	बेलेरिअन्द
Japanese 	ベレリアンド
Kannada 	ಬೇಲೇರಿಯಾನ್ಡ್
Kazakh 	Белеріанд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin)
Korean 	벨레리안드
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Бэлэрианд
Lithuanian 	Belerijand
Macedonian Cyrillic	Белерианд
Marathi 	भेलेरिअन्द
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Белерианд
Nepalese 	बेलेरिया
Pashto 	بېلېریاند
Persian 	بلریاند
Punjabi 	ਬੈਲੇਰੀਂਡ
Russian 	Белерианд
Sanskrit 	बेलेरिअन्द्
Serbian 	Белерианд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin)
Sinhalese 	බෙලෙරිඅඳ්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Белерианд
Tamil 	பெலேரியாண்ட
Telugu 	బేలేరియాను
Thai 	เบเลริอันด์
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Белеріанд
Urdu 	بیلیریانڈ
Uzbek 	Белерианд (Cyrillic) Beleriand (Latin)
Yiddish 	בעלעריאַנד
==References==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Regions
Category:Realms
 
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