The Mines of Moria sequence inLord of the Ringsled to what is arguably one of the most famous moments in film history. However, before the Fellowship even arrived these mines had a storied past leading up to their storied end. There’s a very good reason behind why Gimli was so excited to have come across the Mines of Moria, and it’s understandable why he was so crushed by what they found.
Appearing in the first of theLord of the Ringstrilogy, the fellowship comes across the mines while marching over the Misty Mountains, specifically mountain Caradhras. They plan to simply cross here but are forced into the mines after Saruman summons a storm. Upon entering the mines, the fellowship discovers that the Dwarves are all dead and there are only bones remaining. They are soon attacked by orcs and a troll and are mostly able to fend off the onslaught. Despite their best efforts, however, the fellowship is driven deeper into the mines where they encounter a Balrog.
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The History Of Moria
The Mines of Moria, also known as Khazad-dûm, were no ordinary set of mines. As told in Durin’s Song from the Silmarillion, these legendary caves were actually founded by Durin himself, who was the creator of Dwarves andwas their first king. This god among Dwarves led them in the mining of the lightweight, but incredibly strong, mithril. This highly-valued metal can be used as an alloy in weapons, arms, and more. While once plentiful enough to be expensive, it soon came to be that Moria was the sole supplier of Mithril.
Durin’s progeny continued his work, and in the second age, Durin III provided Mithril for a very important purpose. When the rings of power were first forged, what would become Galadriel’s ring was forged out of Mithril provided by Durin III. While these rings were ultimately intended to be a trap by Sauron, there was still passion put into them by Celebrimbor and thus the expensive Mithril. This ring, the Ring of Water, was one of the three rings gifted to the elves andentrusted to Galadriel to hide from Sauron.
It’s difficult to pinpoint when next on the timeline it happened, but the Dwarves of Moria were also instrumental inthe founding of Rivendell. In the war between the Elves and Sauron during the second age, Elrond was tasked with supporting Eregion in his fight. After arriving too late and finding the battle lost, Elrond retreated with his army of Elves and made a stronghold that would become Rivendell. In their fight to defend the stronghold against Sauron, the Elves found themselves fighting alongside the Dwarves of Moria who had come to help. These battles were successful, and Elrond was able to turn the stronghold into the sanctuary it was later known to be.
The Third Age
By the coming of the third age, Mithril in the mine had slowly begun to dry up. Durin VI encouraged the Dwarves to dig deeper in search of Mithril. However, in their search for the metal, the Dwarves dug too deepand awoke a Balrog. This Balrog slew Durin VI and ended the lives of many other Dwarves, thus earning the moniker Durin’s bane. Not long after this defeat, Durin VI’s son, Náin, took charge of the Dwarves and attempted to hold out against the Balrog. However, he too found himself slain by Durin’s Bane after only ruling the kingdom for one year. The line of Durins were all entombed at Moria.
The forge’s fires had gone cold, but by the time ofThe Hobbit, interest in Moria had been sparked once more. Balin,one of Bilbo’s companions, returned from the Lonely Mountain to recolonize the mines. While he was successful in establishing a clan of Dwarves who called Moria home once more, his reign would only last five years. His colony was overtaken by Orcs and they were all slain on the same ground as their ancestors. It is his journal that the hobbits from the fellowship would later read, and it was in his tomb that they hid. This was such a hard hit for Gimli since he is actually related to Balin.
With this, Moria remained relatively quiet until the fellowship came across it. While the Orcs had made their own attempts at mining Mithril, they were unsuccessful in getting past Durin’s Bane. It wouldn’t be until Durin VII, in the fourth age following the defeat of the Balrog by Gandalf the Grey, that Dwarves would once again populate Moria. Durin VII ruled as the last true king of Moria “until the world grew old and the Dwarves failed and the days of Durin’s race were ended." While theLord of the Ringsfilms certainly make these mines out to be ancient and storied, theydon’t quite do enough justiceto how intertwined these mines were with the very creation of Dwarves.
