Angband (Hells of Iron)
Peaks of Angband
Place in Arda
Aliases	Melkor's Stronghold, Dark Castle, Fortress of Doom
Summary	Underground fortress/prison of Morgoth
Built by	Morgoth, Sauron
Realm	Middle-earth Iron Mountains (Ered Engrin)
Lord	Morgoth, later Sauron, then Morgoth again
Type	Fortress
Lifespan	Built and destroyed in the First Age

Angband was the name of the fortress of Melkor, constructed before the First Age, located in the Iron Mountains (Ered Engrin) north of Beleriand.

HistoryEdit

Melkor built Angband to guard against a possible attack from Aman by the Valar, and put Sauron in command of it. Nonetheless, the Valar's attack succeeded in capturing Melkor and destroying his other stronghold Utumno. After three ages of imprisonment, Morgoth returned to Middle-earth and set himself up in Angband, raising the volcanic Thangorodrim over the Fortress as protection. He reigned there until the end of the First Age, when it was destroyed in the War of Wrath.

Earlier versions of the legendariumEdit

In earlier versions of Tolkien's mythology (see: The History of Middle-earth) it was called Angamando, the Quenya form of the name.

EtymologyEdit

Angband is a Sindarin word that meant 'Hells of Iron', although the literal meaning is 'iron prison'.

See alsoEdit

• Siege of Angband

External linkEdit

• Angband at Tolkien Gateway