Angmar

Angmar (Sindarin: 'Iron-home'; pronounced [ˈaŋmar]) is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's continent of Middle-earth, at the north end of the Misty Mountains. It was used by the Lord of the Ringwraiths as a base from which to attack the kingdoms of the Dúnedain in the North, all of which were eventually destroyed. Angmar itself was subsequently destroyed by combined armies of men and elves shortly thereafter.

Fictional history

Angmar was founded ca T.A. 1300 in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar". The Witch-king came north to attack the Dúnedain of Arnor, whose disunity made them an easier target than Gondor at that time. Angmar straddled the northern reaches of the Misty Mountains, where many evil men gathered on both sides of the mountains.^[1][2] The chief fortress of Angmar was Carn Dûm.^[3][4]

Soon after Angmar was founded, it waged war against the divided Dúnedain realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. The Witch-king subverted Rhudaur, the weakest of Arnor's successor kingdoms, and replaced its Dúnedain king with one of the native Hillmen. Now under the Witch-king's control, Rhudaur invaded Arthedain in T.A. 1356, and Arthedain's King Argeleb I was slain. However, with the aid of the armies of Cardolan, Arthedain managed to maintain a line of defence along the Weather Hills.^[1][2]

In T.A. 1409 Angmar attacked Cardolan, destroying the kingdom. At this time, Rhudaur disappeared, leaving Arthedain as the last remaining Dúnedain kingdom in Arnor.^[1][2] With help from Lindon, Arthedain struggled on for another 500 years. The end came in T.A. 1974 when Angmar launched a final assault on Arthedain. Angmar took Fornost, the capital of Arthedain, and destroyed the last kingdom of the Dúnedain in the North. King Arvedui of Arthedain fled north, but he and his party drowned in the Ice Bay of Forochel.^[1][2]

The following summer, Prince Eärnur of Gondor arrived to aid Arthedain, but he was too late. His army, along with the remaining Dúnedain, the elves of Lindon, a company of hobbit archers, and elves led by Glorfindel from Rivendell, utterly defeated the forces of Angmar in the Battle of Fornost. The Witch-king, however, was not slain: he escaped and fled to Mordor.^[1] It was after this battle that Glorfindel made the famous prophecy that the Witch-king would be killed by no man.^[1] (He was in fact killed by a woman, Éowyn of Rohan, and a hobbit, Meriadoc Brandybuck, during the Battle of Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King; hence the prophecy was fulfilled unexpectedly.) The Witch-king had achieved his master's wishes: the power of the Dúnedain of the north was destroyed until the reign of Aragorn as King Elessar in the Fourth Age.

Following this defeat of Angmar, its forces west of the Misty Mountains were completely shattered and it ceased to exist. The parts of it extending to the east of the Misty Mountains were wiped out by the ancestors of the Rohirrim, who settled in this northern territory under Frumgar.^[1]

At the end of the Third Age, Frodo Baggins, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Samwise Gamgee, and Peregrin Took were captured at the Barrow-downs on their journey to Rivendell. When rescued by Tom Bombadil, Merry thought he had been stabbed by one of the men of Carn Dûm, but then realized this was a dream.^[4]

Adaptations

In The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, the remains of Angmar consist of a mountainous, barren wasteland populated by hillmen and a large army of the Witch-king amassed to conquer Eriador. At the northern edge of Angmar are the ruins of Carn Dûm, which have been partially rebuilt and populated with the Witch-king's forces, overseen by Mordirith, the steward of Angmar. Players can venture into Angmar to perform quests and fight the creatures there, as well as entering several instanced dungeons.

In The Battle for Middle-earth II's expansion pack The Rise of the Witch-king the campaign tells the story of the Kingdom of Angmar and the fall of Arnor. Angmar is also added as a seventh faction to the game. A campaign for the Angmar faction was also created, showing the Witch King's Rise to Power and Conquest of Arnor.

In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, the final mission of the game takes place in Carn Dûm, corrupted by the power of Agandaur and set in mountainous and rugged terrain.^[5]

In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, it is stated that Sauron is attempting to capture the Lonely Mountain because controlling its location will give him a strategic advantage and allow him to restore Angmar.

References

External links

"Angmar". Encyclopedia of Arda.