Poros
The Poros was a river in south of Gondor.
Course
About 400 Númenórean miles long, it began in the Ephel Dúath of Mordor and then flowed south-west for about 300 miles, when it bent to the north-west and met the Anduin just before the Anduin began its delta.[1] The Poros was crossed by the Harad Road.
History
It formed the northern border of the region of Harondor (South Gondor), and the southern border of Ithilien. During the later Third Age it was the effective southern border of Gondor.
Around T.A. 1944 some Haradrim had crossed Poros to South Ithilien, but they were defeated by the Southern Army.[2]
In T.A. 2885, the Haradrim crossed the Poros and invaded Ithilien with great strength. Reinforced by Rohan, Steward Túrin II won a victory at the crossings of Poros, though the Rohirrim princes Fastred and Folcred were slain.[3] The Haudh in Gwanûr was made where Poros was crossed by the Road.[4]
Etymology
The meaning of the name Poros is unknown.[5]
See also: ros
Other verions of the legendarium
A map that was drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien and that was drawn after the First Map carries a note where "Boundary" is written after Poros. Other rivers except the Anduin and the Poros on this note are either under a a heading "From East" or under a heading "From West", which probably refers to on which side of the river Anduin in Gondor they are located.[6] This probably means that the river Poros was at the boundary of Gondor.
Portrayal in adaptations
Karen Wynn Fonstad speculated in The Atlas of Middle-earth that the Sea of Helcar drained into the Great Gulf and that Poros is what remained of the narrow region called the Straits of the World that once separated the Sea from the Gulf.[7] Fonstand's interpretation was predicated on the idea that Mordor was created in the Second Age where the Sea of Helcar once lay.[8] However, in The Peoples of Middle-earth (which was published after Fontstad's Atlas), Melkor was said to have created Mount Doom in Mordor during the "long First Age".[9] Additionally, it is told in Unfinished Tales that the migration of the Drúedain from Hildórien brought them westward through lands south of Mordor, and that they became the first Men to cross the Anduin.[10]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", "The Kings of the Mark"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards"
- ↑ The Poros and the Bosphorus at Lingwë.blogspot.com (accessed 12 October 2011)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "XV. The First Map of The Lord of the Rings", "The original element in the First Map", p. 312
- ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth
- ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XIII. Last Writings" p. 390 (note 14)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Drúedain", pp. 339-340
