Mountain Orcs (Misty Mountains, Mt. Gundabad, Grey Mountains)

"...A huge orc chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot...His broad face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red; he wielded a great spear. With a thrust of his huge hide shield he turned Boromir's sword and bore him backwards, throwing him to the ground. Diving under Aragorn's blow with the speed of a striking snake, he charged into the Company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo."

- J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings: FotR. "The Bridge of Khazâd-dûm"

Racial Attributes

The Orcs of the Misty Mountains consist mainly of the few survivors of the War of Wrath at the very end of the First Age in which their master and creator Morgoth Bauglir was finally overthrown.

There are numerous Orc races: some are small as the Snaga (Slave), and the more common ones like the Mountain Orcs (Warrior) are larger. They have black or swarthy skin, protruding fangs, a flattened forehead, deep-sunken eyes, long arms, and strong legs, which give them considerable speed, even in the narrow tunnels of their underground strongholds. The smallest Orcs are smaller than Dwarves; their largest and strongest warriors almost measure up to a grown man. They favour any kind of weapon, so long as it's hideous to look at, be it knife, scimitar, mace, spear, or bow.

The Orcs are a cruel race, born into a hostile world where only the strongest may prevail. There is hardly any loyalty amongst them - they are only united by fear of their chieftains or with the prospect of killing, mutilating, torturing or pillaging some unexpecting prey.

Orcs often partner with the Wargs (wild wolves), and together they carry out many raids and fell deeds among surrounding lands.

Geographical Location

Mount Gundabad lies at the junction of Ered Mithrin (Grey Mountains) and Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains).

Capital: Gundabad (SA ca. 1700 - ????, TA ca. 1300 onward)
Places of Importance: Goblin Town, Mount Gram, Moria (after TA 2480)
Historical Setting: Second and Third Age

Historical Overview

After Morgoth's fall in the War of Wrath and finally freed of his black will, the Orcs migrated eastwards till they came upon the northernmost ranges of the Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains) and the Ered Mithrin (Grey Mountains).

Upon arrival they came upon a dwarven city in Mount Gundabad - a holy place for the Dwarves, for it was the Place of Awakening of Durin I. (The Deathless) of the Longbeards. Although they were met with firm resistance by an alliance consisting of Dwarves and Men of the Éothéod, they established numerous outposts in Ered Mithrin and managed to spread their area of influence.

During the war that erupted between the Dark Lord Sauron and the Elves of Eregion (beginning in SA 1693) the northern Orcs, their numbers swollen by Orcs from Mordor, relaunched their offensive against the Dwarves of Mt. Gundabad. After years of steady skirmishes and minor battles, the Orcs were able to wear down the defences of the dwarven stronghold, in part because the Dwarves had no access to reinforcements from southern Khazad-dûm, and, ironically, the Dwarven forces defending Mt. Gundabad had been cut back in order to bolster the Dwarven army in Khazad-dûm. The Orcs finally breached the gates and claimed Gundabad as their own - making it their prime stronghold in the North.

In the years that followed, numerous Orc-strongholds were established in the Misty Mountains to secure the passes in all strategic locations. The most prominent of these was 'Goblin-town' in the vicinity of Rivendell (prominently featured in 'The Hobbit').

In SA 1701 Sauron's hold on Eriador was shattered by the combined forces of Númenor and Lindon, but the Orcs still held the passes over Hithaeglir and were probably supported by Sauron, since these were the only strategic positions left in the north that weren't overrun by the armies of the West. During this time the alliance between the Dwarves and Northmen came to an end when, after years of warfare, the mannish settlements were all but destroyed. From then on the Dwarves swore bitter revenge on the Orcs.

Unfortunately it is not recorded when exactly the Orcs were evicted from Mt. Gundabad, but it clearly happened before the end of the Second Age (cf. HoME vol.12 pp301+), effectively giving control over their holy site of Mt. Gundabad back to the House of Durin.

During the Last Alliance (SA 3429 - 3441) the amount of Orcs in the northern mountains was significantly reduced and, with the fateful battle of the Gladden Fields, which brought Isildur's demise, the last remaining elite troops where destroyed. The North was freed from the Orcish menace for many years, but still the strongholds along the Misty Mountains could not be completely eradicated.

When the returned Sauron dispatched the Lord of the Nazgûl to the north to found the evil kingdom of Angmar and to make war upon the northern Dúnedain of Arnor, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains seized the opportunity and renewed their attacks upon Mt. Gundabad. The founding of Angmar with its capital of Carn Dûm (around TA 1300) coincided with the second fall of Gundabad to the Orcs, making it once again the chief Orcish city in the north. The Witch-king of Angmar made much use of the Orcs in Gundabad, securing his eastern flank from any enemy coming out of this direction and using the Orc forces to his advantage against the Dúnedain. The Orcs grew bolder and bolder and once more travelling over the Hithaeglir became unsafe.

Gundabad remained at the end of Angmar in TA 1975 relatively unmolested, and it spread its sphere of influence to the war-torn lands. When Dwarves fled their ancient home Khazad-dûm in TA 1981 there was little danger to be expected from that side as well.

This was all to change in the year 2794 of the Third Age, when the dreadful War of the Dwarves and Orcs broke out. The Dwarves, enraged by the murder of their King Thrór by Orc-chieftain Azog in Moria, made tireless war upon the Orcs for six years. Gundabad was besieged and stormed, and every Orc-keep in the Misty Mountains was cleared when the decisive Battle of Nanduhirion with the remaining Orc-forces took place in TA 2799. The Dwarves won the day and Dáin II Ironfoot managed to slay the Orc-chieftain Azog. The victory was dearly bought, with heavy losses on both sides. The Dwarves could not reclaim neither Moria (due to the still lurking Durin's Bane) nor Gundabad. Too few of their numbers remained.

Eventually the Orcs reclaimed their strongholds, found deserted Gundabad, and quickly took it for their own again. From there Bolg, the son of Azog rebuilt the might of the Orcs in the north.

The events that led to the Battle of the Five Armies at the feet of Erebor are detailed in 'The Hobbit'. Suffice to say that after the defeat of Bolg and his army the Orcish threat in the north was again diminished.

It is however not recorded that Gundabad was retaken during the remaining years of the Third Age, but one can imagine that it was 'liberated' again by the Dwarves some time in the Fourth Age, maybe alongside the re-settlement of Khazad-dûm by Durin VII.

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