Mount Gundabad
From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.
Mount Gundabad is an orc-infested mountain at the northern end of the Misty Mountains.
According to the dwarves, Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Misty Mountains shortly after the Awakening of the Elves. Mount Gundabad remained a sacred place to the Dwarves ever after.
In the middle of the Second Age, however, the orcs (who were ruled over by the servants of Sauron) invaded the mountains again and took Gundabad. The site would not be cleansed until very late in the Second Age, possibly around or after the fall of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring in SA 3441.
In the Third Age, the Orcs of Angmar yet again claimed it as their capital, which was one of the reasons for the dwarves' special hatred of this people. After the fall of Angmar Gundabad remained an Orc stronghold, until it was cleaned of orcs during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. However, hordes of orcs seem to have trickled back to this hotly contested strongpoint and fortified it anew during the events of the Hobbit, menacing Wilderland for yet another time. It was from here that the gargantuan Goblin-horde present during the Battle of the Five Armies attacked and marched from. Their leader, Bolg, son of Azog, was the supreme commander of the Orcs from Gundabad and presumably the northern Misty Mountains.
Mount Gundabad, being a stronghold of myriads of swarming Orcs and grim Dwarves from time to time, must have had extensive forges, fortifications, and barracks. This may have been one of the many breeding areas of the dreaded Wargs that were so feared by the Free Peoples.
It can be assumed that after the War of the Ring Mount Gundabad became a stronghold of the dwarves once more.
| Dwarven Realms of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees & First Age: | Bar-en-Nibin-noeg | Belegost | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad | Nogrod | Nulukkizdîn | Orocarni |
| Second Age: | Khazad-dûm | Mount Gundabad |
| Third Age: | Grey Mountains | Iron Hills | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain | Northern Blue Mountains |
| Fourth Age: | Glittering Caves | Khazad-dûm | Lonely Mountain |
