Tharbad

Tharbad ('Road-Crossing') was a Dunedain city in southern Eriador. It sat at the intersection of the Gwathló River and the North-South Road.

Summary

Tharbad is a monumental ruin, straddling both sides of the upper Gwathló and surrounded by dense fens and woodlands which are slowly reclaiming the city. Traces of its former glory remain, most especially in the crumbled remains of its Great Bridge.

History

The ford of Tharbad is first mentioned in SA 883, as the place where Galadriel met Aldarion, son of King Tar-Meneldur of Númenor. Sometime around this period a small fort was founded to protect Númenórean logging activities in the region from the native Wildmen. Almost a millennium later during the War of the Elves and Sauron, Sauron's forces are crushed by the Númenóreans at Tharbad, ending that conflict. In the following centuries the Númenóreans gradually expanded their dominion in Middle Earth, and Tharbad was likely expanded and further populated during this period. Upon the fall of Númenór at the close of the Second Age Tharbad came under the rule of Arnor, while the changed coastline of Middle Earth meant that the settlement was accessible to seagoing vessels for the first time. The Bridge of Tharbad was constructed at this time, as were further fortifications, and the settlement developed into a true city.

The early to-mid Third Age represented the height of Tharbad as a prosperous trading city between the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. Tharbad became the chief city of Cardolan, and this period saw the embellishment of the city centre and the establishment of an organised, gridded street plan. Great earthworks, drainage and dykes were built to contain the Gwathló, and long causeways were constructed to cross the fens. The wetlands surrounding Tharbad were extensively drained to create farmland, and the North-South Road between Gondor and Arnor ran through the city. There was significant trade between the two Kingdoms at this time, and Tharbad would have served as a hub for trade with the Kingdom of the Longbeards.

In TA 1409 the Witch King of Angmar devastated much of Cardolan, and the Great Plague of TA 1636 sent the city into a steep decline. Much of the complex infrastructure surrounding the city fell into ruin, and most of the Tharbad's population either died or fled. Tharbad came to be inhabited by Dunlendings, who had ceased to become subjects of Gondor. The Great Bridge became ruinous, replaced by a perilous ford, and the North-South Road became wild and unkept. For some time over the next millennium, the area was occupied by Dunlendings. However, following the Fell Winter in TA 2911 the Gwathló flooded disastrously, making Tharbad uninhabitable.