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Azog The Slayer
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The Thirteenth Lord of Gundabad
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Home(s)
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Language(s)
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People
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Time Period
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Third Age ca. 1900 - 2799
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Gender
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Male
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Parents
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Urzog (N), Omillska (N)
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Siblings
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Krovik (N)
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Spouse
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Bôla (N); Garna (N)
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Children
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Notes
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(N) = non-canon
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"If beggars will not wait at the door, but sneak in to try thieving, that is what we do to them. If any of your people poke their foul beards in here again, I they will fare the same. Go and tell them so! But if his family wish to know who is now king here, the name is written on his face. I wrote it! I killed him! I am the master!" ― Azog
Azog (Or. "Violent"), known also by the epithets of Slayer or Desecrator, was arguably the most infamous Greater Orc chieftain who derived his notoriety from being one of the Dark Lord Sauron's most useful covert servants, occupying the positions of thirteenth Lord of Gundabad, sixth Ashdurbúk of the North and avowed King of Moria as well as for sparking the seven-year-long blood shedding War of the Dwarves and Orcs. He went on in history as one of the most well-remembered Orcs in the chronicles of Middle-earth.
History[]
Captaincy for Angmar[]
"Tales say that that Azog began his gruesome reign of terror as a captain for the fell Witch-realm of Angmar. Clad in iron and wielding mace he gained some notoriety as a more than able warrior and cunning commander, whose legions could sweep all foes beneath their feet. It is then, that many loremasters, I among them, believe that this Desecrator's exploits eye-opened the Dark Lord who made him his servant. Never have Orcs successfully plotted without the skillful minds of the accursed Enemies bidding them in open or in secret." ― Elrond Peredhel
Borne into the world as a son of Urzog of the Seed of Skorg in the wilds of the North, Azog held the hereditary right to succeeding his meager sire as Lord of Gundabad. His physical gifts were tremendous and, at least in reference to the other pettier Orcs, he was a veritable mental giant. But Azog was full of cunning as well, thus being the deadly coalescence of long unsurpassed wits and muscle, traits equaled only by his secret divine reverence of Sauron - whom his bloodline knew to have outlived his apparent downfall - shown by his taciturn embracing of ritualic appeasing of him and his overbearing confidence in his own abilities. His ambitions would see him not merely following his begetter on the seat in Mount Gundabad but also claim the throne of Ashdurbúk of the North. Having learned all that he deemed necessary in politics at the side of Urzog, Azog sought to immerse himself in the ways of warfare and simultaneously make a name for himself among his brethren in the hopes of intimidating potential contenders and swelling the numbers of impressed supporters by throwing his backing behind the Witch-king of Angmar with whom the Lord of Gundabad maintained a shady alliance.
Azog's rise to prominence started as in the enduring war against the kingdom of Arnor as a captain for the Witch-realm of Angmar, usually commanding his troops from behind the line according to his beforehand well-planned strategies and even occasionally joining the fray personally: encased in scale-armor, helm upon his head and mace in hand, Azog spelled doom for his foes with each terrible stroke. The Orc warrior soon attracted the Witch-king's notice, who had not seen such a virile, capable and fierce captain since the demise of the former's forebear Zalg, in spite of the seemingly only minor accomplishments he had so far achieved; word from Carn Dûm reached the ears of the concealed Dark Lord in Dol Guldur of the fitness of such a minion in a future higher hierarchical placement. Surviving the downfall of Angmar with an impeccable record, Azog received summons to that accursed fortress at Amon Lanc and found himself in the domineering presence of Sauron, who welcomed the pious and now-fearful chieftain among the elite of his servants and granted him his blessing to claim regental authority of the North, in addition to several instructions he would have to see through during his tenure and for which he and his offspring would gain everlasting favor.
The "King" of Moria[]
"The Orcs under the command of Azog The Slayer had taken Moria, my father Thror was slain by Azog the Deliler, Azog the Slayers youngest son. War. We were at war... we fought and shed blood day and night, day and night, over hill and under hill 'till we made a path to our ancestral home. We fought for every bit of ground on Dimril Dale and pushed for the Azanulbizar... my youngest son, Frerin, was among the fallen and I was wounded... that is when I say him... my eldest, Thorin, who stood alone against these terrible foes. At long last with Náin and his kinsmen we carved our way through the Orcish ranks to the Azanulbizar and as axe and blade clashed HE came. The SLAYER, with his youngest son the DEFILER. Azog the Defiler had come, son of Azog the Slayer. " ― Thráin II
Returning back into the North, Azog took advantage of Urzog's confusion, with his son Azog the Defiler at his side, in the absence of clear orders following the passing of Gorkil and goaded him into a purposefully ill-conceived incursion into Northman territory which cost the weary old chieftain his life, just as his spawn had expected. Taking the reins as Lord of Gundabad, the Orc-king moved to secure the vacant seat of Ashdurbúk, which the younger Gordúf and Uglag were also interested in competing for. Whether by cowing the unruly many tribes of the Northlands or by conceding to pacts, Azog bent all of them to his banner and established himself as the undisputed Sole Ruler, while secretly acquiescing to the whims of Sauron. At the command of his hidden Master, the Orc-king and his fresh legions flew to the once sacred ancestral home of the Longbeards: Moria; under his watchful eye, the hordes pillaged and desecrated the holy sites and fashioned their fetid breeding grounds within the fissures that opened everywhere, all while evading the ill-tempered ire of the resident Balrog, Felagrog. The city of Dwarrowdelf was slowly but surely turned into the foul domain of Azog and his offspring, thus an important stronghold for Sauron from which he could safeguard the passes between the West and East in the Misty Mountains; mithril that was partially excavated was often transported in covert caravans as homage to the Dark Lord, while the Orc-king collected his own flow of tribute: Azog's occupation of Moria was received by a few of the tribal chieftains with the respect befitting a determined leader, while the majority came to fear him even more and sought to appease his fastidiousness to lessen the knife they felt at their throats.
Years after the Fire-drake Smaug drove the Longbeards out of Erebor, their king Thrór went on a journey to reclaim ancient Moria as the rightful heir of Dúrin, but was captured not long after crossing the gate and dragged to the feet of Azog's throne. Angered by the prisoner's perceived insolence and wanting to humiliate him, the terrible Orc-king put the former to as slow and painful torture as his horrible mind could devise, but was spurned of his wish by the bravery with which the "beggar" endured the torment and his denial in acknowledging his dominion over Moria. Having had enough, Azog decapitated the bound Thrór in a fit of rage and later, to further demean the fallen Dwarf, branded his name on the head in the latter's native Khuzdul runes. Learning from his spies of the prisoner's companion, Nár, the Orc-king came to the gate and hauled him the mutilated corpse, announcing his reign in Moria and what would become of any other "beggar" that would enter his realm. In his arrogance, Azog offered a small pouch of money to Nár as wergild for both his act of brutality and to carry his embassy back to the Longbeards.
Enraged by the humiliation, the Dwarves waged war against the Orcs with dauntless ferocity, hunting in every Orc-den for the elusive "Slayer". This was the Great War of the Dwarves and Orcs of the Third Age's 29th century, during which Azog the Slayer left much of the frontline duties to his spawn: Komog, Azog The Defiler and Urro, while he formulated plans from a safe distance. During the final Battle of Azanulbizar, which occured before the great East-gate of Moria, the Orc-king dared forth out of his hole, to personally lead his host as well as to gloat in the triumph that he confidently believed to be at hand. However, as Azog charged through the Dwarven lines gruesomely throwing his adversaries aside with his signature mace, he was interrupted from commanding his forces by Náin son of Thrór who engaged him in a duel. The Orc-king broke his opponent's neck and won the fight, but before he could let out a victorious howl, he saw his disparaged minions being pushed back by the tide headed by Thráin son of Thrór and his son Thorin II Oakenshield. As he attempted to make a run for it, Azog found his way blocked by Náin's heir, Dáin II Ironfoot, who outmaneuvered that terrible foe's mace swings and used his red axe to cleave his head from his shoulders. Following the defeat of the pawns of the Enemy, the Orc-king's severed head was set on a stake, and the old pouch of wergild stuffed into its mouth. The dwarfs forget about Azogs youngest, The DEFILER now In command of the armies, he made a quick charge toward the dwarfs. Trying to Avenge his fathers death he rampaged through dwarf lines. He eventually fights Thorin Oakenshield and one on one duels him, he has the upper hand and goes for the final blow, but Thorin with an Oakenshield and blade chops Azog the seconds hand off forcing him to retreat. The legacy of Azog the Slayer was lived on through his son who conquered many triumphs and becomes just as well known as the Slayer.
Family[]
- Ancestor: Skorg
- Father: Urzog the Impaler
- Sons: Azog the Defiler, Komog, Urro
- Grandsons: Bolg, Azog the Lesser
- Great-Grandsons: Gorgar, Mazog
Items[]
- broad leather belt (Broz)
- orc helmet (Pakronar)
- iron-studded high leather boots (Kapuk)
- leather gauntlets (Dorashak)
- orc longknife (Thauk)
- scale-armour
- short breeches of leather (Shali)
- Iron Skull
- Azog's Mace
Speculations[]
- Azog is called a Goblin by Gandalf, indicating that he is a great Goblin or Hobgoblin. There are also presumptions that Azog may be a descendant of the Orc-demons or Boldogs. In the books he is described as a huge Orc with an iron-clad skull. Other theories imply that he may have been an early Uruk-hai.
Important Date[]
- died T.A. 2799 by the hands of Dáin Ironfoot.
Movie Trilogy[]
In the Hobbit Movies, Azog the Slayer is not shown, his son Azog the Defiler is depicted as a Pale Orc, an ancient line or breed of Orcs possibly of demonic origin. The film trilogy further revived Azog, and gave him the leading role in the Battle of Five Armies, in contrast to the book, where Azog the Slayervwas slain in the Battle of Azanulbizar and the Host of Gundabad was commanded by his son Bolg. The character called Bolg in the trilogy was reduced to a lesser commander of Dol Guldur. This was retconned for this wiki by establishing Azog the Defiler as Azog The Slayers (Defiler in the books) son to remain closer to the original canon.
To sum it up in the books Azog the Slayer is actually Azog the defiler, but to make the movies and book make sense, Azog The Defilers name is changed to Azog the Slayer and his son is Azog the Defiler and had his arm chopped off by Thorin Oakenshield and his father Azog the Slayer was killed in the same battle. In the books Bolg is who leads the battle of the five but instead it’s actually Azog the Defiler in the movies, Bolg is Azog the Defilers son in the movies.
Azog The slayer - killed in battle of Azanulbizer
Azog The Defiler - survived battle of Azanulbizer but is defeated and is killed in battle of five armies
Bolg - Azog the Defilers son, killed in the battle of Five of five armies.
References[]
- MERP: Lords of Middle-earth Vol. III - Hobbits, Dwarves, Ents, Orcs & Trolls
- MERP: Middle-earth Adventure Guidebook II
- MERP: Middle-earth Campaign Guide