Old Khazad-dûm, later called Moria, had two gates: a West-gate that opened onto Eregion, and an East-gate that opened into the valley of Nanduhirion. The term 'Gates of Moria' could in principle refer to either of these gates, or both, but in practice this rare term is used only of the western gate, the one patterned with ithildin, that would be used by the Fellowship of the Ring to gain entry into Moria.
Long, long before the Fellowship entered Moria (specifically, in II 1697, nearly five thousand years earlier) the Gates of Moria had been shut against the forces of Sauron invading Eriador. The fact that they could not be breached by an entire army of Orcs shows how strong (and strongly enchanted) they were.
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These Gates were also known as the Doors of Durin, so they were evidently made during the reign of Durin III, but we have no specific dates for that reign. They were designed by Celebrimbor of Eregion, so they must have been made while Eregion was in existence, hence the range of dates given here. The city of Khazad-dûm was already old when Eregion was founded, and it presumably had earlier Gates on its western side that were replaced by those created by Celebrimbor and Narvi.
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- Updated 15 December 2021
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