Angmar, also known as the Witch-realm of Angmar[1] and the Land of Angmar,[2] was a kingdom established around TA 1300 by the Lord of the Nazgûl, who was later titled the "Witch-king of Angmar". It was located in a vale south of the Mountains of Angmar, and founded with the sole purpose of destroying the successor kingdoms of Arnor. The land was known in part for its cold and snowy weather.
History[]
The Witch-king arose in Angmar during the reign of Malvegil of Arthedain, at some time between TA 1272 and TA 1349. Men became aware of the growing evil in the mountains, but Angmar was still preparing its power. No assaults on the Dúnedain came until Argeleb I, the son of Malvegil, assumed the throne of Arthedain.
In TA 1356, Angmar's vassal Rhudaur was forced to invade Arthedain; and many were slaughtered including the king, Argeleb I. However, with the help of Cardolan, Arthedain maintained a strong line of defense at the foot of the Weather Hills. During this time, the forces of Angmar mounted the Second Siege of Imladris.
The Witch-king, ruler of Angmar
Then, in TA 1409, Angmar annexed Rhudaur and attacked Cardolan, destroying all the settlements in the kingdom (except the Barrow-downs and Tharbad). The Tower of Amon Sûl was razed and burned, and the Dúnedain were forced to flee westward. Help came from the Elves of the Grey Havens, Rivendell, and Lothlórien. Angmar's armies were repelled from Fornost Erain and the North Downs, and forced to withdraw to Angmar. The shadow of the North was contained for a time; but Arthedain was now the sole remaining northern kingdom, locked in a long struggle with Angmar lasting over five hundred years.
After the Great Plague, which started from the east of Mordor in TA 1636, the last of Cardolan's people died, allowing Barrow-wights to be sent from Angmar into the Barrow-downs.
During the 19th century of the Third Age, Angmar lost a war with King Araval of Arthedain, containing it for awhile. However, Angmar's assaults on the North Kingdom of Arnor resumed during the Wars of the Wainriders; and in TA 1974, Angmar gathered its forces and launched a final assault on Arthedain. Subsequently, they took its capital Fornost, thereby ending the last northern kingdom of the Dúnedain.
Sometime later, Prince Eärnur - heir to the throne of Gondor - arrived to aid Arthedain, but he found he was too late. His army defeated the forces of Angmar in the Battle of Fornost, and the Witch-king fled to Mordor, leaving the kingdom of Angmar to fall in TA 1975.[3][4]
Etymology[]
Angmar is a mutation of both Angbar and Angamar, meaning 'Iron home' in Sindarin and Quenya respectively.[5]
In adaptations[]
The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king[]
Angmar is a playable faction in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king, and serves as the main protagonist faction in the included campaign. The campaign follows Angmar's founding by the Witch-king and it's subsequent war with Arnor. The faction's various units are comprised of Orcs of Gundabad, Black Númenóreans, hill-trolls, snow-trolls, and Hill-men of Rhudaur. In comparison to other factions in the game, Angmar can be considered an evil counterpart to the Dwarven faction; they are strong and sturdy, but slow. They also have mixed units, similar to Mordor, combining expendable units with elite infantry and heavy support units. Additionally, many upgrades of the Angmar faction are almost all oriented around magic and ice, as the Witch-king, its lord, dealt in sorcery, and his domain of Angmar has always been a land of snow.
Rogash and Hwaldar, leaders of the trolls and hill-men, respectively, who also serve as hero units and are among the Witch-king's lieutenants, do not appear in Tolkien's works.
Glorfindel, who narrates in the campaign, describes that Angmar had been home to Black Númenóreans by the arrival of the Witch-king. Likely due to an oversight, Glorfindel also mistakenly states that Angmar was founded during the reign of eighth king of Arthedain, as Angmar's founding occurred during Malvegil's (the sixth king) reign, and Arveleg I's (the eighth king) reign began during the war with Angmar.
Angmar itself, is portrayed as slightly more fertile then most other evil realms as is contains dark forests in addition to the snowy mountains.
The Lord of the Rings Online[]
Angmar's territory and history is further fleshed out in The Lord of the Rings Online. The latter has a sizable amount of landmass to the south and east of Carn Dûm available for exploration and adventuring. In The Lord of the Rings Online, a large size of land is occupied by friendly tribes. This was used as a primary zone for rest and shopping. There are several locations occupied by rangers and locals, sometimes even Elves. However, all of these are past the Rammas Deluan where a line of death-dealing statues stand tall.
Map of Angmar, as seen in The Lord of the Rings Online
These statues will cause any player who has not done the proper story quests to cower in fear and completely lose all morale. The majority of players however, cannot access Angmar due to free to play. Quest packs and areas must be purchased. Angmar's area is inexpensive when compared to Moria or Isengard, and VIP player or those who had an active subscription before free to play have access to everything. Also, Carn Dûm and the embassies of the Dourhands, Uruks, and of Mordor, as well as the sorcerers embassies, are playable areas and dungeons in The Lord of the Rings Online.
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies[]
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), it is stated that Sauron's final goal is to restore Angmar and gain dominance over the North of Middle-earth by conquering the Lonely Mountain due to its strategic position.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | አንግማር |
| Arabic | أنغمار |
| Armenian | Անգմար |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Bengali | আংমার |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Catalan | Àngmar |
| Chinese | 安格馬 |
| Georgian | ანგმარი |
| Greek | Άνγκμαρ |
| Gujarati | અંગમાર |
| Hebrew | אנגמאר |
| Hindi | एंजमर |
| Japanese | アングマール |
| Kannada | ಆಂಗ್ಮಾರ್ |
| Kazakh | Ангмар (Cyrillic) Angmar (Latin) |
| Konkani | आंगमार |
| Korean | 앙그마르/앙마르 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Latvian | Angmāra |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Marathi | अंगमार |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Nepalese | एङ्गमार |
| Pashto | آنګمار ? |
| Persian | آنگمار |
| Punjabi | ਅੰਗਮਾਰ |
| Russian | Ангмар |
| Sanskrit | आङ्मर् |
| Serbian | Ангмар (Cyrillic) Angmar (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ඇන්ග්මාර් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ангмар |
| Tamil | அங்மர் |
| Tatar | Ангмар |
| Telugu | అంగ్మార్ |
| Thai | อังก์มาร์ |
| Tigrinya | ኣንግማር |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Анґмар |
| Urdu | انگمہر |
| Uzbek | Ангмар (Cyrillic) Angmar (Latin) |
| Yiddish | אַנגמאַר |
| Realms of the Dark Lords | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees | Utumno |
| First Age | Dor-na-Daerachas |
| Second Age | Mount Gundabad • Mordor |
| Third Age | Witch-realm of Angmar • Mordor |
| Fortresses | |
| Beleriand | Angband • Tol-in-Gaurhoth |
| Middle-earth | Barad-dûr • Black Gate • Carn Dûm • Dol Guldur • Durthang • Minas Morgul • Tower of Cirith Ungol • Towers of the Teeth |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book I, Ch. VIII, "Fog on the Barrow-downs"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iii): "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Third Age, "Wainriders and Angmar"
- ↑ Wayne Hammond & Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pg. 20