- "Your grandfather Thrór was killed, you remember, in the Mines of Moria by Azog the Goblin"
- —Gandalf to Thorin
- "Curse his name, yes!"
- —Thorin
Gandalf the Grey to Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit
Azog was the name of a Goblin captain who lived in Moria from about TA 2480 to TA 2799.
History
Azog he claimed rulership over Moria. He started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in TA 2790 by beheading Thrór, who came to revisit the ruins of Khazad-dûm. In the following years, he was the common enemy of all dwarves, and the war he started had its climax in the Battle of Azanulbizar, where he killed Náin, only to be himself slain by Náin's son Dáin. His son, Bolg, inherited the rulership in Moria and continued it for decades until his death at the Battle of the Five Armies.
History
Little is known of Azog's origins. He was the chief of the Goblins of Moria, and apparently the most important Goblin of the northern lands. The average lifespan of a Goblin is unknown, but it is conceivable that he was one of those sent to Moria by Sauron in about TA 2480. He had one son that we know of, Bolg. Thrain cut off his hand.
Azog entered history in the year TA 2790 due to King Thrór's desire to revisit and perhaps refound the lost realm of Khazad-dûm, in whose mighty ruins Azog dwelt. When Thror was found in the armories of Khazad-Dum he was brought before Azog being accused of thieving. He tortured Thrór for two days until he was informed of a second dwarf outside of Moria. He decided to kill Thrór after he defied him with the words “These are the Halls of Durin!". He beheaded Thrór and carved his name in Thror´s head, then threw Thrór's body over the stairs. Azog then called out to Nar from the gate, demanding that he deliver a message back to Thrór's people, warning that beggars who dared to enter Moria and attempted thievery would meet a similar fate.
Azog then proclaimed that he had killed Thrór, and that he now ruled Moria as king. His name in runes was carved onto the brow of Thrór, forever branding his very name into the hearts of the Dwarves. Nar was barred from retrieving the head of Thrór, being struck with a small pouch of coins of little worth as a final gesture of scorn. Nar took the pouch and turned and fled. When he looked back, Goblins had emerged from the Gate, hacking apart the body and flinging the pieces as carrion to the ravens.
When news of this reached Thrór's heir Thráin, he was greatly angered and mustered a force of Dwarves to seek revenge on Azog. So began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. The dwarves hunted Azog, and many battles were fought beneath the earth. After nine years of war, the climatic Battle of Azanulbizar was fought before the gates of Moria itself.
King Thráin and his son Thorin were in that battle (it was here that Thorin gained the surname Thorin Oakenshield). Near the end of the battle, Azog himself emerged and fought with Thráin's cousin Náin. After breaking Náin's neck, his young son Dáin; only 32 years old, swept the head from Azog's shoulders and helped to win the day. After his death, they put inside his mouth the bag of coins he had given Nár nine years before.
Dwarves made no attempt to press their advantage, though, because Dáin had glimpsed Durin's Bane during his battle, and warned the Dwarves not to attempt to enter Moria. Azog's underground dominions in the north, greatly reduced in the War had fallen to his son Bolg, who had held them for more than 150 years, until he too met his end at the Battle of the Five Armies.
He is mentioned briefly in The Hobbit book by Gandalf who says to Thorin 'Your grandfather Thrór was killed, you remember, in the mines of Moria by Azog the Goblin' to which Thorin responds 'Curse his name, yes'.
Portrayal in Adaptations
Video games
Azog is a playable evil hero of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king. Azog was not featured as the goblin leader in BFME2, being replaced by Gorkil the Goblin King. Although he appears in the expansion pack, it is still unclear who the leader of the goblins is.
Peter Jackson's Hobbit film trilogy
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Azog is an orc chieftain of Moria, and is renowned as the Pale Orc. He battles the dwarves when they come to live in Moria after the Lonely Mountain was taken by the dragon Smaug. He kills many dwarves, and beheads the dwarf king Thror, angering his grandson Thorin. In the heat of the dwarves' retreat, Thorin battles Azog in single combat. Azog has the dwarf prince beat, until he blocks the orc's mace with a broken piece of a tree. Before he can finish him, the dwarf grabbed a dead dwarf's sword and sliced off his left arm. Azog is last seen being pulled back by his orcs into the mountain, roaring in rage and pain, and is claimed to be dead by Thorin. Only, he is not dead.
Later in the film an orc, Yazneg, reports back to Azog and is killed by him whilst with an Orc pack camping on Weathertop. Azog now hunts Thorin and Company, having taken an oath to break the line of Durin. He leads a band of Hunter Orcs and rides a huge white Warg. He is shown as a massive pale Orc who, having had his left hand cut off, now wears a huge metal prosthetic hand and forearm impaled through his arm. He is often referred to as 'Azog the Defiler' or the 'Pale Orc'. In a climatic scene of the film, Azog and his band of Warg riders finally catch up with Thorin and Company, who are forced to climb trees to escape the wargs. Thorin cannot hold back his anger and charges at Azog, who easily fells Thorin with his mace. Azog then orders one of his orc followers to bring him Thorin's head, but the wounded Dwarf lord is saved by Bilbo Baggins, and Thorin and Company are rescued by Great Eagles. Most of the orcs and wargs are killed by the Eagles, but Azog and his white Warg are left alive, indicating that he may appear in the next film of the trilogy as well. His son Bolg is due to be in the next films too, played (i.e. voiced) by Conan Stevens.
Unlike any other orcs played yet in the Peter Jackson films, Azog and his band speak using the dark Orcish language rather than in English, indicating that he is probably much older and prouder than most other orcs shown and has possibly lived a more tribal life, less exposed to men. It is also hinted by several comments and actions that he collects his foes heads as trophies, his band of Hunter Orcs could be headhunters. Azog is also a very large orc, as tall if not taller than a Uruk-hai and far more bulky. Unlike other orcs, his skin is bone white, compared to other orcs whose skin color ranges from sickly green to a dark brown.
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