Amon Anwar

Amon Anwar, originally Eilenaer and later Halifirien (Rohanese for "The Holy Mountain"), was the location of several great events in the history of Gondor, and was originally considered Gondor's center. Amon Anwar stood up out of a great wood around its feet. The hill was long and sloping and the woods went almost to the summit.The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "The White Mountains"
Until TA 2510 it was regarded as the centre of Gondor, as it was the high place nearest to the center of a line from the inflow of the Limlight down to the southern cape of Tolfalas and the distance to it was equal from the Fords of Isen and Minas Tirith.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
== History ==
=== Tomb of Elendil ===
After the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur defined the bounds of Gondor and, upon discovering that this was the centre of Gondor, he entombed his father Elendil here and it was at this time that the hill's name became Amon Anwar, as Isildur had called the protection of the Valar upon that hilltop, and they had granted it. Isildur swore all those present to secrecy and forbade anyone save an Heir of Elendil from disturbing it. The tomb then stayed untouched by any save the Kings of Gondor and later, their Stewards.
=== Oath of Cirion and Eorl ===
In the time of the twelfth Ruling Steward, Cirion, Gondor was faced with a massive invasion of a land they could not protect, Calenardhon, which had been depopulated since the Great Plague of 1636. Cirion called upon the aid of the Éothéod and in return for their aid at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, he surrendered Calenardhon to them, until the King should return. Although by this time the lives of eleven Stewards had passed before him, no one in Gondor ever expected that the King would return.
Cirion took Eorl, the Lord of the Éothéod to the hallowed site of Amon Anwar and there before the Tomb of Elendil they swore what would be in later days known as the Oath of Cirion and Eorl, giving Calenardhon to the Éothéod, and promising eternal friendship between the two kingdoms. As Amon Anwar was no longer the centre of Gondor, but now on its border, Cirion removed the casket that Isildur had set upon the hill two thousand years earlier to Rath Dínen, the Silent Street, where all other Kings of Gondor were entombed.
=== Warning beacon ===
Amon Anwar then became the seventh and last of the Beacon-hills of Gondor that summoned Rohan in the event of an invasion of Gondor. It stood overlooking the Firien Wood which was just outside the border of Rohan near the Mering Stream. A chain of Warning Beacons was established along the line of the White Mountains to warn Minas Tirith of danger in Calenardhon, and vice-versa. Later this was used to warn Anórien of danger to Gondor and Rohan also. The westernmost and last beacon to be built was situated upon Amon Anwar, and was only created after the Tomb of Elendil was removed to Rath Dínen, as no Lord of Gondor had permitted the construction of a beacon while Elendil still remained there.
Even after Elendil was removed to Minas Tirith, the Beacon-wardens would live close to the summit only for short watches in specially constructed cabins. Except when there was a noise of animals in the forest, or of folk along the road, they would find themselves speaking to their companions in whispers, as if they expected a great voice from long ago to speak. The mound of Elendil's Tomb remained upon the top of the hill from the time that Isildur hallowed it until the Changing of the World, always in a well-kept, green field.
==Etymology==
Amon Anwar is Sindarin for 'Hill of Awe'.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	አሞን አኑዋ
Arabic 	أمون أنور
Armenian 	Ամոն Անվար
Belarusian Cyrillic	Амон Анвар
Bengali 	আমন আনোয়ার
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Амон Анвар
Burmese 	မုန်အန်နဝါ
Chinese 	阿蒙安瓦尔 (Amon Anwar)
哈力費理安 (Halifirien)
Danish 	Amon Anwar ("Ærefrygtens Bjerg")
Greek 	Αμον Ανυαρ
Gujarati 	અમોન અનવર
Hebrew 	אמון אנואר
Hindi 	आमोन अनवर
Japanese 	アモン・アンワル
Kannada 	ಅಮನ್ ಅನ್ವರ್
Kazakh 	Амон Анвар (Cyrillic) Amon Anvar (Latin)
Korean 	아몬 안와르
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Амон Анвар
Macedonian Cyrillic	Амон Анвар
Marathi 	आमोन अन्वर
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Амон Анвар
Nepalese 	अमोन अनवर
Persian 	انور آمون
Punjabi 	ਆਮੋਨ ਅਨਵਰ
Russian 	Амон Анвар (Amon Anwar)
Халифириен (Halifirien)
Serbian 	Амон Анвар (Cyrillic) Amon Anvar (Latin)
Sindhi 	امون انور
Sinhalese 	අම්න් අර්වින්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Амон Анвар
Tamil 	அமோன் அன்வர்
Telugu 	అమోన్ అన్వర్
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Амон Анвар
Urdu 	امون انور
Uzbek 	Амон Анвар (Cyrillic) Amon Anvar (Latin)
Yiddish 	ײַמאָן ײַנװאַר
== References ==
Category:Beacon-hills of Gondor
Category:Gondor
Category:Hills of Middle-earth
Category:Sindarin names & words
de:Amon Anwar
fr:Halifirien
it:Amon Anwar
pl:Halifirien
ru:Халифириэн