Posted: May 11, 2000 at 00:41:11: by Aelmer
: : (Has this been discussed before?)
: : So how many orcs were there at any one time? Not that many, it seems to me.
: : The only places in the west of Middle-Earth where we know orcs dwelt were the Misty and Grey Mountains and Mordor(Oh, Dol Guldur too). The fact that the Misty and Grey mountains were almost emptied of orcs due to the Battle of Five Armies indicates that the majority of an orc population took part in wars, instead of a small portion as it is with Men. (Makes sense, since Melkor would have bred them to be efficient tools instead of your 'normal' population.) There couldn't have been very many of them, otherwise the Battle would have been lost. At other times these orc populations could have been considerably bigger, but still not comparable with the populations of human realms. Otherwise their military strength would have been overwhelming, given the high proportion which could partake in battle. There don't seem to have been many orcs in the East, since Sauron's reinforcements from that direction appeared to be exclusively men, if I remember rightly Frodo's vision on Amon Hen. Though, all of the orcs from that direction may already have migrated to Mordor earlier when Sauron was exerting his power to gather all evil things thither. But I believe that the Mordor Orc Spawning Program was quite impressive itself, sufficient to account for the orcs we see in the Return of the King, and if there were eastern orcs, their numbers could not have been very great.: The orcs in the Misty and Grey Mountains had already largely been destroyed in the War between Dwarves and orcs. The remainder were only beggining to recover their strength when the Battle of Five Armies took place. In the War of the Rings Sauron seems to have no shortage of orcs. : : Another thought. Why would the orcs have wanted to live in the north-west where there were so many strong and hostile peoples, instead of the East where they could have lived and gathered strength in relative peace? Perhaps they enjoyed the challenge, but I guess the main reason was Sauron, who would have liked the mountains to be populated with a race that would always remain hostile and cause trouble for the Free Peoples. : : -Foradan : What strong peoples? The woodman of the Mirkwood were still not very strong. The men of Dale and the Dwarves of the Mountain had either been destroyed or driven off. Thrainduil's realm was more concerned with Dol Guldur than the Misty Mountains. Lorien was caught between a Balrog and Dol Guldur. Who else was very strong? Radagast? : Thorin Why would orcs live in the northwest?
It was the part of the lands of their first birth, the lands where they first walked beneath the stars. It was the lands were their ancient enemies, the elves, still dwelt. The is no mention, I can recall, of elves ever migrating farther eastward than Mirkwood. I doubt orcs went further eastward than Mordor. ~Aelmer
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