![Anórien]() Anórien is a region and fiefdom of Gondor, called Sunlending by the Rohirrim. The name does not refer to the West but is 'heraldic', related to the name and the emblem of Anárion, son of Elendil: the land is immediately attached to the Minas Anor.
Anórien lies north of Minas Tirith and the line of the White Mountains and is the only part of the northern half of the realm, Calenardhon, which was not given to the Éothéod to become the Kingdom of Rohan.
Minas Tirith is situated in the south-east of Anórien on the Hill of Guard – the "out-thrust knee" of Mount Mindolluin, connected to the main mass of the mountain by a narrow 'shoulder'. It faces eastward towards Osgiliath, over the Pelennor Fields surrounding the city, fertile townlands stretching from the walls of the city proper to the Rammas Echor.
The city is built on the hill with seven concentric tiers cut on the hill culminating in the Citadel at the summit. The outer wall is called Othram and is of the same material used in Orthanc.
Each of the seven levels stands 100 feet higher than the one below it and is surrounded by a white wall; each wall holds a gate, and each gate faces a different direction such that the path up through the levels winds to and fro rather than following a straight line. An outcropping of rock as high as the seventh level bisects all the lower levels except the lowest on the line of the Great Gate. The winding path through the city therefore passes through tunnels in this 'keel' five times.
The city of Minas Tirith was originally a fortress, Minas Anor, built in S.A. 3320 by the Faithful Númenóreans. It was the western counterpart to Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul): guarding the western flank of the city of Osgiliath from the men of the White Mountains, as Ithil guarded its east from Mordor.
Special Features:
- Main vegetation: grassland
- Special units: Fountain Guard
- Capability to gather local troops when under siege (only AI) |
The Mirror of Galadriel
