In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria, also named Khazad-dûm, is an ancient subterranean complex in Middle-earth, comprising a vast labyrinthine network of tunnels, chambers, mines and halls under the Misty Mountains, with doors on both the western and the eastern sides of the mountain range.
Khazad-dûm, also known as the Dwarrowdelf, the Mines of Moria, or simply Moria, was an underground kingdom beneath the Misty Mountains. It was known for being the ancient realm of the Dwarves of Durin's Folk, and the most famed of all Dwarven realms.
He was a descendant of Durin the Deathless, father of the first house of the Dwarven people. Gimli was descended from, but was not a member of the royal line. Through his father, Gimli was also the first cousin once removed of Balin, Lord of Moria, and his brother Dwalin, two more former companions of Bilbo.
Erebor becomes the home of the Folk of Durin, a clan of Dwarves known as the Longbeards, after they are driven from their ancestral home of Khazad-dûm. In the latter days of the Third Age, this Kingdom under the Mountain holds one of the largest dwarvish treasure hoards in Middle-earth.
The Dwarves prospered so well that, eventually, they returned to Khazad-dûm, better known as the Mines of Moria: a true homecoming considering that they originally settled in Erebor after the Balrog destroyed Khazad-dûm.
The History of Moria (Khazad-dûm) | Tolkien Explained
Is Gimli the last Dwarf?
Though Gimli has no children, he is not the last Dwarf of Middle-earth. After the fall of Sauron, his people continued to thrive in the Lonely Mountain. Gimli made his home in Rohan, in the Glittering Caves of Aglarond, and many of his kinsfolk came with him.
Khazad-dûm was only populated by Dwarves once more when Balin, one of Thorin Oakenshield's company in The Hobbit, returned to Moria to reclaim it as they had with Erebor, but it was not to be. Balin and the rest of his kin were slain by Sauron's monsters a few years after returning.
Described as a "long-worm", although this imprecise term seems to be more of an expression rather than a separate taxonomic group. Smaug — the last great dragon of Middle-earth, slain by Bard of Esgaroth.
With Thorin's death in the battle, Dáin became King of Durin's Folk and King under the Mountain, the first not of the main line. After the battle, Dáin thanked the Great Eagles for their timely intervention, crowning their chief with gold and swearing the Dwarves to everlasting friendship with them.
One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Mines of Moria.
Gimli was born in the Ered Luin in the Third Age, son of Glóin. Gimli had wanted to accompany his father on the quest to reclaim Erebor, but at age 62 he was deemed too young. He was a remote descendant of Durin the Deathless, chief of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves and ancestor of the Longbeards.
In the end Tolkien stated that there were probably "at most" seven Balrogs: In the margin my father wrote: 'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most 7 ever existed. '
Balin was distantly related to him, and a descendant of the noble House of Durin. He later went to re-establish the Dwarf presence in Moria, but within five years it was overcome once more by Orcs, and he was killed there along with the rest of his companions.
As we know from Jackson's movie and J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, this particular Balrog is responsible for the downfall of Khazad-Dûm, the wealthiest of all Dwarven realms.
Gimli didn't know about Moria's fate because there had been no communication between Erebor and Moria for 25 years, and the Dwarves were hopeful and did not want to accept failure until there was certain news.
In the mythic beginning of Middle Earth, dwarves were made to slumber inside the earth before they could awake (long story), and in “The Rings of Power,” the city of Khazad-dûm combines strong, sharp, angular lines of the dwarf-made architecture with a natural curvature that comfortably surrounds them — the embrace of ...
Their deaths and Thorin's did not end Durin's line, although did end the branch which had Thror, Thrain, and Thorin Oakenshield. Thorin's cousin, Dain Ironfoot, became King after Thorin's death. Dain's son, Thorin Stonehelm, became King after Dain died in the Battle of Dale. The line continued on after that.
In the final battle, Thorin fights Azog with Orcrist, which he recovers from Legolas. Azog attempts to stab Thorin, but is prevented when Thorin uses Orcrist to block his blade. In the end, Thorin gives in, and is stabbed by Azog.
Gimli is the son of Glóin who is introduced in The Hobbit as a member of Thorin Oakenshield's company, also being one of his four third cousins. Thorin himself is a direct descendant of Durin I, even becoming the King of Durin's Folk in his lifetime.
Smaug is aware of the return of Sauron, and was apparently intent on joining forces with him (although there was some amount of confusion as to whether the dragon's motives for an alliance with Sauron were).
Like the Balrog, Smaug was too powerful for Sauron to dominate. Sauron might have made use of him, but likely would have had to wheel-and-deal with him as an equal.
Gandalf's main reason for supporting Thorin's quest in The Hobbit was to eliminate the threat of the dragon Smaug, who would be a powerful ally for Sauron. Despite popular belief, the Balrog known as Durin's Bane was more powerful than Smaug in Middle-earth, being a literal, primordial demon.
In the following year, Durin's son, Náin I, was also lost, and the Dwarves fled their ancient home. After millennia as one of the richest cities in Middle-earth, Khazad-dûm stood dark and empty, but for the brooding menace the Dwarves had released. In that time it was given a new name, Moria, the Black Pit.
The Bridge was located nearby the East-gate of Moria, fifty feet long, narrow with no railing, and curved slightly upward at the center. It was an ancient defense against any enemy who might get past the East-gate and capture the First Hall and outer passages; walkers on the bridge could only cross it in single-file.
It was the source of Khazad-dûm's huge wealth, but ultimately its mining was the cause of its downfall. Beginning under the Silvertine, the Dwarves mined ever deeper, and down towards the roots of Mount Caradhras. There they unearthed the Balrog, which drove the Dwarves into exile.
