Angband (Middle-earth)

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Angband (Sindarin for 'iron prison') is the name of the fortress of Melkor, constructed before the First Age, located in the Iron Mountains in the enemy's land Dor Daedeloth north of Beleriand.

The fortress is described in Tolkien's The Silmarillion. It was built by Melkor (later called Morgoth) to guard against a possible attack from Aman by the Valar. Nonetheless, the Valars' attack succeeded in capturing Morgoth and destroying his main stronghold Utumno.

However, while the Valar had focused on destroying Utumno utterly, Angband, though devastated, was only partially destroyed. Over time, the dark creatures in Morgoth's service would gather in its ruined pits. After three ages of imprisonment, Morgoth returned to Middle-earth and set himself up in Angband, raising the volcanic Thangorodrim over the fortress as protection. He seldom came out of it again, but did when challenged to single combat by the Elven king Fingolfin and earlier to investigate the first appearance of Men. He reigned there until the end of the First Age, when it was destroyed in the War of Wrath. In earlier versions of Tolkien's mythology (see The History of Middle-earth) it was called Angamando, the Quenya form of the name.