Dilgul

Dilgul (Ul. “Rockpoint”) was one of the oldest cities in the whole surrounding area of the Sea of ​​Rhûn. It is unknown who were the first to settle in this ravine and build the distinctive white stone pyramids that characterize the city. Some say that were the ancient Talatherim who built the city but not another place with the same ancient architecture was discovered near. Today, the settlement is only the memory of what was, and is a feared and uninhabited ruin. It is believed that the first inhabitants of Dilgul were the ancient Arhûnerim before they split into multiple branches that differentiate them today. The ancient Ulgath baptized the city and given that name because of the rocky natural bay that forms in the cliffs. It is an arid and rugged area and one can access to the sea through a small pebble beach and a tunnel through the cliffs enough big to let a small boat pass, that leads to the center of the bay. In the core of the bay a big rock hides the entrance to the tunnel and the city stands hidden behind the cliffs. It has long been a fishing settlement of the Donath during the second Age, until they were oppressed by the Ulgath tribes westward.

The Ulgath used the settlement as a midway trading point between the cities of southern Rhovanion and south of Dorwinion. But then, the kings of Mistrand forced the rulers of Dilgul to pay tribute and gradually the city began to impoverish and reduce their commercial activities since Mistrand was a much more accessible place to all kinds of trading activities. In addition, Dilgul was located in the driest part of the Bay of Mistrand and agricultural activity was very low. The people finished abandoning the ruins of Dilgul to seek a better life in other surrounding settlements.

The Sagath tribes populated the area for a while and used it as a training ground and even built prisons for war hostages inside the pyramids. But then came the Variag invasion in the thirteenth century of the Third Age of the Sun and Dilgul resumed for a while the commercial activities. When Avas I, King of the Igath (Wainriders) ascended the throne of Mistrand, Dilgul returned to be uninhabited. In the following centuries, the ruins of the city became a place avoided by travelers because the road from Mistrand to Lest was much faster, accessible and frequented than the old road along the coast.

During the Wainriders Wars, the Corsairs of Rhûn used the ruins of Dilgul as the main settlement of their fleets, for its strategic position in the Sea of ​​Rhûn, and its natural defenses. For many centuries, the ruins were repopulated by these rebel pirates. The Balchoth they not even bothered to remove them from there, because for them, the boating activity was negligible. It was not until the reign of Yuktîr the old, second Lôke-Khan of Bozorganush, who built the Scarlet Fleet, that the rulers of Rhûn turned back to care about the ancient ruins of Dilgul. Joghûl, the third and youngest Ji-Khanu (son) of the Lôke-Khan, commanded a fleet by sea and an army by land to end the threat of the pirates on the lands of Bozorganush. The victory was overwhelming, but Joghûl was counted among the casualties.

A small garrison was established in Dilgul by order of the Lôke-Khan Yuktîr after the recapture, but the city never was repopulated, and until today, the ruins are avoided by travelers.