No one knew it was a balrog. We don't hear much about it. Gandalf mentions "Durin's Bane" before they enter Moria, but he doesn't give any details. The connection between Durin's Bane and the balrog only happens when Legolas recognizes the thing as a balrog and Gimli as Durin's Bane.
Gandalf declares himself: 'I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow.
There had been no communication from Moria for quite some time, but no one knew exactly what had happened there, or why the colony had gone silent. Gandalf definitely did not know about the Balrog, or even about the orc attacks that had sent Balin and all who were with him to an early grave.
While the colony was initially successful, Orcs and Durin's Bane, the Balrog, attacked them five years later, killing all of the Dwarves. However, Gimli did not know about the Dwarves' fate in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Gandalf's Speech To The Balrog & What It Means | Tolkien Explained
Who woke the Balrog in Moria?
The Balrog killed Durin VI, the Dwarf-King of Khazad-dûm, whereafter it was called Durin's Bane by the Dwarves. Avarice, principally for mithril, drove the dwarves to go too deep and awaken the Balrog.
Secondly, Balrogs were the epitome of malice and power while Sauron only ever won one of three fights he ever had. Sauron was the great deceiver. His power lies in planning, subterfuge, manipulation, and corruption.
After sleeping deep within the Misty Mountains for thousands of years, he was awoken by the Dwarves of Moria in the Third Age, responsible for the death of King Durin VI and the ruin of Moria; it was the Balrog encountered by the Fellowship of the Ring.
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.
The company fled with Gandalf, but the Orcs and the Balrog, taking a different route, caught up with them at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. At the Bridge, Legolas instantly recognized it as a Balrog, and Gimli recognized it as Durin's Bane.
When The Fellowship is taken to Galadriel, she and Boromir have a telepathic conversation which immediately causes Boromir to burst into tears. She senses his desires for the Ring but tells him not to give in because even now, there is hope.
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.
The Hobbit dwarves Óin, Balin and Ori all die prior to The Lord of the Rings, when a colony is sent from Erebor to reclaim the Mines of Moria. Óin is killed by the Watcher in the Water, Balin is shot by an orc, and Ori dies in Balin's Tomb, his corpse featuring briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Only King Dain Ironfoot knew that Durin's Bane was a Balrog. But his knowledge didn't save him from being a fool. He let Balin lead a team of Dwarves into Moria -- and they all died just before Gandalf and company arrived.
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.
From TA 2989 to TA 2994, the re-colonization of Moria was an attempted expedition led by Balin to re-take the ancient Dwarven Kingdom of Khazad-dûm. An initial effort was successful in reclaiming some of Moria from the Orcs.
There is no account of any dwarf ever killing a Balrog, let alone multiple. The only recorded instances of Balrogs having been slain are Gandalf's slay of Durin's Bane, Echtelion's slay of Gothmog and Glorfindel's slay of an unnamed Balrog.
The fear of Elves is more spiritual, so the demonic creatures of shadow and flame are unsurprisingly horrifying to them. Legolas doesn't appear to have any hesitation in his actions throughout the films, but it's clear that his blood runs cold when a Balrog appears in the Mines of Moria.
If the Balrogs are corrupted Maiar, then would Saruman eventually become one? Saruman wouldn't become a Balrog, because his nature is inherently different and he's kind of stuck in the body he's in.
As a Valar, Morgoth led a whole slew of Balrogs in the First Age, but because Sauron was only a Maia, the Balrog would have had no loyalty to him. He was his own master in Moria, and no Dark Lord was going to ruin that.
Gandalf wasn't about to let the Balrog get away after pulling him from the fellowship, so he pursued the beast. The two would eventually continue their battle on Durin's Tower, where Gandalf would finally manage to best the beast. He would throw it from the mountain, and the Balrog would die as it fell.
