# How did one Balrog wipe-out Moria??



## VECT (Mar 3, 2015)

Khazad-dûm is supposed to be the Dwarves' ancestral home, founded by Durin himself in the First Age, pretty much the strongest kingdom they have.

Back in the First Age elves were able to match Balrogs, one-to-one in several cases. Dwarves might not be that strong, but still, one Balrog?

It doesn't add up..


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## Halasían (Mar 11, 2015)

One Balrog backed by millions of Orcs?


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## Inglorion22 (Mar 16, 2015)

Yeah the Orcs might have played a part in the utter eradication, but this topic reminded me of an equi-interesting question. 

It is said that Dwarves withstand dragonfire better than any other race. I wonder how they'd fare against Balrog fire.


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## Huor (Mar 19, 2015)

My understanding is that the orcs started to worship and follow the Balrog after it had already driven the Dwarves out of Khazad-dun. My guess is that this was a particularly powerful Balrog, who had grown stronger after surviving so long deep in the earth, and who grew even more powerful with the rise of Sauron. Also, the elves of the first age who faced Balrogs were much more powerful then most of those who were alive in the third age.


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## Matthew Bailey01 (Mar 21, 2015)

One Balrog would be all that was required.

Balrogs are angelic beings, fallen angels, who do not have the limitations on their powers which constrain the actions of the Valar or Maia (such as the Istarì) while within Middle-earth.

In the First Age, the only elves capable of taking on Balrogs were the Noldorim who had returned to Middle-earth from Valinorë, and were also at the height of their power. Plus, in every case of an elf fighting a Balrog, it was a case of one of the mightiest elves, hallowed by Valinorë and unstained by the curse of Fëanor, who happened to lose their own lives in the process.

Even Gandalf, a fellow Maia was only able to destroy a Balrog by the sacrifice of his own life in the process.

Only Sauron was a real equal to the Balrogs (and then, by the Third Age, only with The Ruling Ring, as he had lost several bodies in the interim, and the Ruling Ring helped to amplify what power remained).

So, even though Dwarves were heartier than were men, they were no match for even an Elf, much less a Balrog.

Add to this that they had to fight the Balrog within the confines of Moria, where it would be difficult to bring numbers to bear, and the Balrog is at an even greater advantage.

The Balrog of Moria was probably not even as strong as it was in the First Age, as, like the Elves, the passage of time and fading of their power occurred with the passage of time. 

One of the common comments regarding the Balrog is its relationship to Sauron.

Sauron was Morgoth's chief Lieutenant, but the Balrogs were a sort of personal Guard of Morgoth; his special shock troops (their numbers remain unknown, with Tolkien stating later in his life that there were probably only seven - nine Balrogs... Including Gothmog), and thus it is likely that without Morgoth around to maintain the hierarchy, that the Balrog of Moria might not have acknowledged Sauron's suzerainty and authority. No doubt the two would have worked out something during the War of the Ring, had Gandalf failed to destroy the Balrog (his real reason for going through Moria - he knew that he absolutely had to destroy that Balrog, or there really would have been no hope of defeating The Shadow).

But as for the Dwarves.... The Balrog needed no help to take Moria from Durin's folk. He (the Balrog) is a manifestation of The Shadow falling over Durin's line as a result of the presence of one of The Seven Rings by Durin's line causing their greed to overcome them. He is their "wages of sin" so to speak.

MRB


I obviously take Middle-earth too seriously!


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## King Naugladur (Apr 25, 2015)

The Balrog did not wipe out Khazad-dum. He killed two Kings of Durin's Folk, Durin VI in TA 1980 and Nain I in TA 1981. Afterwards, the Longbeards, under Thrain I, abandoned the old realm of the Dwarves and relocated to Erebor. This was done for fear of the Balrog.
The Balrogs were elite fighters of Morgoth's First Age armies. They played a key role in Morgoth's victory at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and the Fall of Gondolin.
Finally, the Orcs started populating the ruins of Khazad-dum two centuries after the Dwarves abandoned it. They vanqished Balin's colony in TA 2994.
King Naugladur.


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## Odin (May 2, 2015)

Durin's Bane did not wipe out the entire population of Moria, rather his sudden awakening and murder of Durin IV caused the surviving dwarves to flee Khazad-Dum in terror. However, even if they had stayed, they would have been no match for the power of the Balrog. In Tolkein's works, the Balrog is described as having a "streaming mane (that) kindled and blazed behind it" and being armed with "a blade like a stabbing tongue of fire". With fiery skin like that, there was no weapon in the dwarvish arsenal that could truly harm the Balrog, and with a blade of pure fire, it could slaughter the children of Aule with ease. Simply put, the dwarves of Moria were out of their weight class when faced with the fury of Durin's Bane.


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## King Naugladur (May 3, 2015)

Precisely what I stated earlier, Odin. Gandalf could fight the Balrog because he was a Maia and because his sword, Glamdring, was forged in Gondolin.
King Naugladur.


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