Durthang

It is possible that Durthang was originally a fortress of Gondor. The Gondorians had constructed several fortresses overlooking the entrance to Mordor in the aftermath of the War of the Last Alliance like the Towers of the Teeth or the Tower of Cirith Ungol. After the Great Plague devastated Gondor in Third Age 1636, the watch on the borders of Mordor ceased and the fortresses that guarded the passes were unmanned in Third Age 1640 because of a lack of troops, which possibly included Durthang. It is possible that Durthang was later reoccupied and manned by troops from Gondor, because in Third Age 1944 when king Ondoher of Gondor and both his sons fell in a battle against the Wainriders north of the Morannon the Morannon and the Towers of the Teeth were still manned by troops from Gondor. It is possible that Durthang was occupied by Orcs in Third Age 1980 when the Witch-king came to Mordor and gathered the Nazgûl there. At the time of the War of the Ring Durthang was an Orcish stronghold.

War of the Ring

On 18 March, Third Age 3019, a troop of Orcs from Durthang caught up with a band of Orcs that was marching eastward in Mordor. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee were in that band, disguised as Orcs and they were forced to march along with the troop for some distance before they were able to slip away.

Durthang is Sindarin for "Dark Oppression" or "Dark Press", from dûr ("dark") + thang ("oppression").

The draft map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor that was drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien contains a symbol for Durthang in the same location as on the Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor that was drawn by Christopher Tolkien. It also seems to contain a faint label Durthang in the valley of Udûn to the right of its location.

1987-96: Middle-earth Role Playing:

In the Gates of Mordor adventure module it is mentioned that Durthang was built by the Dúnedain of Gondor at the beginning of the Third Age after the fall of Sauron to keep evil things from re-entering Mordor and to monitor the interior of Mordor. It is mentioned that the Gondorian troops abandoned Durthang after the plague and that it was afterwards occupied by the immortal demonic werewolf Gaurhir and a garrison of orcs. The castle of Durthang consists of five interconnected towers with its spire surpassing a height of 200 feet. Durthang consists of a ground floor, three levels and caverns below the ground floor.

In the Gorgoroth campaign module it is described that Sauron called the Ringwraith Hoarmurath of Dír to Mordor in Third Age 1640 and that he met with seven of the other Ringwraiths except the Witch-king at the castle of Ostigurth and then occupied the abandoned castle Durthang and resided there until Third Age 2000 when he joined the other Ringwraiths in the siege of Minas Ithil. After the Ringwraiths conquered Minas Ithil in Third Age 2002 the Ringwraith Hoarmurath of Dír took Minas Morgul as his permanent residence. From Third Age 2000 on the demonic werewolf Gaurhir took command of Durthang and remained there as Hoarmurath's servant. It is mentioned that the basic garrison of Durthang consists of 36 Uruk-hai and 90 orcs.

In the Teeth of Mordor module in the Fortresses of Middle-earth series it is described that Isildur began a grand plan to seal off Mordor and that the construction of Durthang began before the end of Third Age 1 and was completed during the reign of Anardil (Third Age 324 - Third Age 411). It is mentioned that by Third Age 1640 the last citadel guarding Mordor was abandoned. It is said that in the same year of the closing of the Dúnadan fortresses guarding Mordor Sauron sent all Ringwraiths except the Witch-king and Khamûl to lake Núrnen with the mission to ready Mordor for his return. It is described that they sent scouts north who found that the Gondorian fortresses were abandoned and that the Ringwraith Hoarmurath of Dír occupied Durthang. It is further said that Gondor concerned with internal matters scarcely noted the activity.

2014: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor:

Durthang is one of the strongholds in Udûn, which is the starting location of the game.

2017: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Durthang was added, along with a number of landmarks in Mordor, in the game's sixth major expansion.

It was originally called "Durthand", and was the stronghold of an order known as the "Thandrim". During the reign of Eärnil II, Durthand was cut off from support from Gondor, leaving many Thandrim to starve. In a year, the sixty survivors surrendered to "Ugrukhôr", one of Sauron's chief lieutenants, in exchange for safe passage through the Black Gate. Ugrukhôr let the Thandrim leave Mordor, only to have archers slay them all as soon as they passed the Black Gate, save one he spared to report these events to Gondor: "Halannon the Survivor".

Shortly after Sauron's fall, Durthang is still occupied by Orcs and Black Númenórean servants of Ugrukhôr.

1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 25/05/2026.