The Great East Road stretched from the Grey Havens, through the Shire and Bree to Rivendell, and eastward over the Misty Mountains even through Mirkwood.
History
The Great East Road was originally laid by the Dwarves during the First Age before the first rising of the Sun, and ran from the Iron Hills through Rhovanion to Khazad-dûm, from which it continued across Eriador to the Blue Mountains, and then on into Doriath in Beleriand. The western parts were built to facilitate the passage of companies of Dwarf craftsmen (and later, their armed escort) across eastern Beleriand, before the Sack of Doriath by the dwarfs of Nogrod ended their trade.[citation needed]
The Great East Road meets the Greenway just outside Bree, as seen in The Lord of the Rings Online
First Age
After the First Age, and the ruination of Nogrod and neighbouring Belegost, focus shifted to the eastern part of the ancient road, which had been built by the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm in the Misty Mountains. Khazad-dûm's inhabitants, the Longbeard dwarves, continued to grow in power and influence, and their trading needs meant that the road from the Iron Hills that traveled through Mirkwood to their gates became widely known. On the western side of the Misty Mountains, after traversing the High Pass, the road continued to the Blue Mountains, and this part ultimately became known as the Men-i-Naugrimor ("Old Dwarf Road"). When the Númenórean realm in exile of Arnor was founded, the Arnorians took over the maintenance of the Men-i-Naugrim, and built several fortresses on or near it (including Weathertop), and expanded or created bridges over the rivers Brandywine and Mitheithel. After Arnor was divided in TA 861, the Great East Road formed the boundary between two of its successor states, Cardolan and Rhudaur.[citation needed]
Third Age
By the time of the War of the Ring in the late Third Age, where the Great East Road met the Greenway lay the ancient village of Bree. A days ride east lay The Forsaken Inn, beyond which lay Rivendell. West of the crossroads the hobbits had colonized the Shire, and their most important towns lay athwart the East Road; (Hobbiton and Michel Delving to name two).[citation needed]
Aftermath
After the War of the Ring, sections of the road that ran through the Shire would have been off-limits to Men, under a proclamation of King Elessar.
Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Groot Oos Pad |
| Albanian | Rruga e Madhe lindore |
| Arabic | الطريق الشرقي العظيم |
| Armenian | Մեծ Արեւելյան ճանապարհը |
| Azerbaijani | Böyük şərq yolu |
| Basque | Ekialdeko errepide bikaina |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Вялікі Усход дарога |
| Bengali | গ্রেট ইস্ট রোড |
| Bosnian | Veliki istok ceste |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Велик Източен път |
| Cambodian | ផ្លូវខាងកើតដ៏អស្ចារ្យ |
| Catalan | Gran Orient Carretera |
| Cebuano | Maayo sidlakan dalan |
| Chinese | 伟大的东路 |
| Croatian | Velika istočna cesta |
| Czech | Velká východní silnice |
| Danish | Stor Øst Vej |
| Dutch | Oude Oosterweg |
| Esperanto | Granda orienta Vojo |
| Estonian | Suur Ida Tee |
| Filipino | Dakilang Silangan Daan |
| Finnish | Suuri itäinen tie |
| French | Grande route de l'est |
| Galician | Gran estrada ao leste |
| Georgian | დიდი აღმოსავლეთი გზა |
| German | Große Oststraße |
| Greek | Μεγάλη Ανατολική Οδό |
| Gujarati | ગ્રેટ ઇસ્ટ રોડ |
| Hebrew | כביש מזרחי גדול |
| Hindi | महान पूर्वी सड़क |
| Hungarian | Nagy Keleti út |
| Icelandic | Frábær austurvegur |
| Indonesian | Jalan timur yang bagus |
| Italian | Grande Strada Orientale |
| Japanese | グレートイーストロード |
| Javanese | Agung Wetan dalan |
| Kannada | ಗ್ರೇಟ್ ಈಸ್ಟ್ ರೋಡ್ |
| Kazakh | Ұлы Шығыс жолы (Cyrillic) Ulı Şığıs jolı (Latin) |
| Korean | 위대한 동쪽 도로 |
| Kurdish | Mezin Rohilat Rê (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Улуу Чыгыш жол |
| Latin | Magnam viam orientalem |
| Latvian | Lielais Austrumu Ceļš |
| Lithuanian | Puikus rytinio kelio |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Велики Источен Пат |
| Malaysian | Jalan besar Timur |
| Maltese | Triq il-lvant kbira |
| Marathi | महान पूर्वेकडील रस्ता |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Агуу их Зүүн Зам |
| Norwegian | Flott Østvei |
| Persian | جاده شرق بزرگ |
| Polish | Wschodni Gościniec |
| Portuguese | Grande estrada do leste |
| Punjabi | ਮਹਾਨ ਪੂਰਵੀ ਸੜਕ |
| Romanian | Drumul Mare de Est |
| Russian | Великая Восточная дорога |
| Serbian | Сјајно Исток Пут (Cyrillic) Sjajno Istok Put (Latin) |
| Slovak | Veľká Východná cesta |
| Slovenian | Velika Vzhodna cesta |
| Spanish | Gran camino al este |
| Swahili | Barabara kuu Mashariki |
| Swedish | Stor Öst Väg |
| Tajik Cyrillic | роҳҳои бузурги шарқӣ |
| Tamil | பெரிய கிழக்கு சாலை |
| Telugu | గ్రేట్ ఈస్ట్ రోడ్ |
| Thai | ถนนสายตะวันออกที่ดี |
| Turkish | Büyük Doğu Yolu |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Велика Східна дорога |
| Urdu | عظیم مشرق روڈ |
| Uzbek | Буюк Чарқ йўли (Cyrillic) Buyuk Sharq yo'li (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Đường lớn phía đông |
| Welsh | Ffordd Dwyrain Mawr |
| Yiddish | גרויס מזרח וועג |