Dates

Founded c. II 1000; under Gondorian control between II 3441 and c. III 1980; Sauron finally ejected in III 3019

Location

Directly to the east of Gondor

Origins

Chosen as a defensible stronghold by Sauron after his return in the early Second Age

Races

Ruled by one of the Ainur, though largely populated by Orcs

Settlements

Ruled from the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr, but contained numerous other fortresses, including Carchost, Durthang, Narchost and the Tower of Cirith Ungol; Minas Morgul stood on the land's western borders beyond the mountains of Ephel Dúath

Sources

Four unnamed rivers rose in the mountains surrounding the land

Outflows

All four rivers flowed into the central Sea of Núrnen

Important peaks

Orodruin, commonly called Mount Doom

Passes

The main entrance into the land was through Cirith Gorgor and Carach Angren to the northwest; the Morgul Pass, guarded by Minas Morgul, entered the land from the west (with a lesser pass, Cirith Ungol, above it)

Meaning

This land was 'nameless' in the sense that the Gondorians did not willingly speak its name

Other names

The Black Country, The Black Land, The Dark Country, The Dark Land, The Land of Shadow, Mordor

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Updated 25 May 2022
This entry is complete

Nameless Land

The land of Sauron

Years of the TreesFirst AgeISecond AgeIIThird AgeIIIFourth AgeIV

An epithet for the Dark Land occupied intermittently by Sauron during the Second and Third Ages. It was not literally nameless - its name, of course, was Mordor - but the enemies of Sauron often avoided speaking its name aloud. A similar custom held for Sauron himself, who was not usually named by his foes, and is thus referred to as both the Nameless One and the Nameless Enemy.

Nameless Land

The land of Sauron

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