Mordor is a wasteland where only Sauron’s servants live. Sauron completely perverted Mordor and raised his kingdom there. The basement of the mountain is in Mordor, and in it, Sauron forged the Ring of Power. The other Ainur who entered Eä were called the Maiar. In the First Age the most active Maia was Melian, wife of the Elven King Thingol; in the Third Age, during the War of the Ring, five of the Maiar were embodied and sent to Endor to help the free people to overthrow Sauron. Those are the Istari (or Wise Ones) (called Wizards by Men), including Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando. There were also evil Maiar, called Umaiar, including the Balrogs and the second Dark Lord, Sauron. Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (2004) [1995]. J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-261-10322-9. The action of the story takes place in the North-west of 'Middle-earth', equivalent in latitude to the coastlands of Europe and the north shores of the Mediterranean. ... If Hobbiton and Rivendell are taken (as intended) to be at about the latitude of Oxford, then Minas Tirith, 600 miles south, is at about the latitude of Florence. The Mouths of Anduin and the ancient city of Pelargir are at about the latitude of ancient Troy. [T 14] The term Middle-earth has come to be applied as a short-hand for the entirety of Tolkien's legendarium, instead of the technically more appropriate, but lesser known terms "Arda" for the physical world and " Eä" for the physical reality of creation as a whole. In careful geographical terms, Middle-earth is a continent on Arda, excluding regions such as Aman and the isle of Númenor. The alternative wider use is reflected in book titles such as The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, The Road to Middle-earth, The Atlas of Middle-earth, and the series The History of Middle-earth. [4] [5] In other works [ edit ]

The Ents, "shepherds of the trees", were created by Ilúvatar at the Vala Yavanna's request to protect trees from the depredations of Elves, Dwarves, and Men. By the end of the age, all that remained of the free Elves and Men in Beleriand was a settlement at the mouth of the River Sirion. Among them was Eärendil, who married Elwing. But the Fëanorians again demanded the Silmaril be returned to them, and after their demand was rejected they resolved to take the jewel by force, leading to the Third Kinslaying. Eärendil and Elwing took the Silmaril across the Great Sea, to beg the Valar for pardon and aid. The Valar responded with the War of Wrath. Morgoth was captured, most of his works were destroyed, and he was banished beyond the confines of the world into the Door of Night. He did confirm, however, that the Shire, the land of his Hobbit heroes, was based on England, in particular the West Midlands of his childhood. [T 15] In the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes: "Those days, the Third Age of Middle-earth, are now long past, and the shape of all lands has been changed..." [T 16] The Appendices make several references in both history and etymology of topics "now" (in modern English languages) and "then" (ancient languages);Hammond, Wayne G.; Anderson, Douglas A. (1993). J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography. St. Paul's Bibliographies. p.376. ISBN 978-1-873040-11-9. McIlwaine, Catherine (2018). Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth. Bodleian Library. p.384. ISBN 978-1851244850. Carpenter, Humphrey (1977). J.R.R. Tolkien: a biography. G. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-0-04-928037-3. OCLC 3046822. Tolkien identified Hobbits as an offshoot of the race of Men. Although their origins and ancient history are not known, Tolkien implied that they settled in the Vales of Anduin early in the Third Age, but after a thousand years the Hobbits began migrating west over the Misty Mountains into Eriador. Eventually, many Hobbits settled in the Shire.

Harper, Douglas. "Midgard". Online Etymological Dictionary; etymonline.com . Retrieved 12 March 2010. In Letter 202 to Christopher Tolkien, Tolkien set out his policy regarding film adaptations of his works: "Art or Cash". He sold the film rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1969 after being faced with a sudden tax bill. The rights are currently in the hands of Middle-earth Enterprises, which has no relation to the Tolkien Estate, which retains film rights to The Silmarillion and other works published since 1969.Rivendell, also known as Imladris, was an Elven town and the house of Elrond located in Middle-earth. It is described as “The Last Homely House East of the Sea” in reference to Valinor, which was west of the Great Sea in Aman. Rohan The Annotated Hobbit, Douglas Anderson, a comprehensive study of the publication history of The Hobbit.