10 Things You Didn't Know About Mordor

The Lord of the Rings movies make an incredible trilogy, but not everything could be adapted from the books, including precious information on Mordor.

The Lord of the Rings movies are, of course, monumental pieces of art. The filmmaking is simply exceptional, and the story transcends the trappings of high fantasy, reaching a wide, mainstream audience.

But as good as the movies are, they were forced to leave a lot of great material out for the sake of pacing and storytelling. As such, audiences may be left in the dark in regards to world building. Not that world building is important to the story, but it adds a lot of character and history to the world. And in that same vein, these are ten things that movie watchers don't know about Mordor.

10 It Was Chosen For The Mountains

Not a lot of time is given towards the physical landscape of Mordor in the movies. To that, fans need to consult the books and the accompanying map of Middle-earth. Upon viewing the map, it's made quite evident that Mordor is surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides, including the one facing Gondor/Rohan and the rest of Western Middle-earth. It was for this seclusion and physical protection that Sauron decided to set up shop in Mordor.

9  Orodruin

Mount Doom admittedly sounds a little silly. But the fiery mountain goes by many names, most prominently Orodruin (it is also known as Amon Amarth). Orodruin is a Sindarin name, a compound of "orod" and "ruin." "Orod" means "mountain" and "ruin" means "burning," so Orodruin roughly translates to "burning mountain." Mount Doom comes from Amon Amarth,"which is a literal translation of "amon" and "amarth," meaning "mountain" and "doom," respectively.

8 Meaning Of "Mordor"

The name Mordor also stems from Sindarin. It means either The Black Land or The Dark Land. It's a compound word of "mor" and "dor." Mor means "dark" or "black," and dor means "land," creating Dark or Black Land. These words can also be found elsewhere throughout The Lord of the Rings. Mor appears in Moria, meaning "black chasm." And dor appears in Gondor, meaning "stone land."

7 Sauron's Road

Movie viewers may briefly glimpse Sauron's Road during shots of Mordor, but they never go into further detail. Sauron's Road is a road connecting Barad-dûr (the tower containing the Eye of Sauron) and the Cracks of Doom.

This road was often traveled by Sauron during his forging of the One Ring. Sauron resided in Barad-dûr and crafted the Ring in the Cracks of Doom, and the road was an easy way for him to traverse between the tower and the volcano.

6 Minas Morgul

Not much info is given to Minas Morgul in the films. This was originally a fortress of Gondor called Minas Ithil, and it was built to contain the forces of Mordor and prevent them from entering West Middle-earth. However, it was later conquered by the Nazgul and the Witch King of Angmar, who turned it into a foul and evil place. It was renamed Minas Morgul and became a defensive fortification for Mordor.

5 Cirith Ungol

Much like Minas Morgul, the Tower of Cirith Ungol was also built by the Men of Gondor. Following the War of the Last Alliance and Sauron's downfall, the Men of Gondor built the Tower to protect Western Middle-earth from the forces of Mordor. However, the Tower was abandoned following King Narmacil II's death (the 29th King of Gondor), allowing the forces of Mordor to enter and claim it as their own.

4 Farming

Mordor is certainly a desolate and arid place, and movie viewers may question how Sauron even supports his enormous army.

The answer may be a bit bland– simple old farming. In the south of Mordor is an area called Núrn, and this area was mostly used for farming. It contains the Sea of Núrnen, which fed its grasslands, and the soil was nutrient rich owing to the ash blowing from Orodruin. This allowed for farming, which in turn fed the armies of Mordor.

3 The Black Speech

Mordor has its own official language, and it's called The Black Speech. The Black Speech was created by Sauron to unify all his forces under one language. There are two "forms" of the Black Speech– "pure" and "debased" forms. Debased Black Speech is spoken by general soldiers. Pure Black Speech is spoken only by Sauron, the Ringwraiths, and the Olog-hai (an advanced form of troll). The Black Speech is inscribed on the One Ring.

2 Sauron Has Ruled Mordor For Thousands Of Years

Mordor has long belonged to Sauron. He settled in the area roughly 1,000 years into the Second Age, and he ruled throughout the entirety of the Second and Third Ages (the Third Age is when The Lord of the Rings takes place). By SA 1000 (1,000 years into the Second Age) Sauron settled in Mordor and began building Barad-dûr. He immediately got to work on corrupting minds and building his army.

1 The Gate's Towers Were Built By Men

The Black Gate protecting Mordor has two very distinct towers at either end. These are not Sauron's creations, but Man's. Sauron built the Black Gate during the Second Age, but it was taken over by the Men of Gondor following Sauron's fall. They added the two towers to the Black Gate. They even have names– Carchost and Narchost. These mean Fang Tower and Fire Tooth, respectively, in Sindarin.

NEXT: Lord Of The Rings: 5 Best Alliances (& 5 Worst)

Next 10 Movies That Would Be Ruined If They Had Sequels, According To Reddit