Per "The Fellowship of the Ring," the dwarves were driven out of their home after they awakened a Balrog in TA 1980, who ended up killing King Durin VI. This led to the creature being dubbed "Durin's Bane," as it symbolized the downfall of what was once a powerful, prosperous dwarven rule.
The Balrog killed Durin VI, the Dwarf-King of Khazad-dûm, whereafter it was called Durin's Bane by the Dwarves. Avarice, principally for mithril, drove the dwarves to go too deep and awaken the Balrog. The Dwarves attempted to fight the Balrog, but its power was far too great for them.
However, in the Tolkien novel, Gandalf actually never knew about the Balrog. All he knew was that Moria had been evacuated because of something called Durin's Bane, and that it still lurks inside. And while he does know that Orcs attacked the Dwarven kingdom, it was many years ago, and so he hoped they were gone.
Durin's Bane was one of the Maiar spirits that existed before the world was created (of the same race as Gandalf and Saruman), who descended into Arda with the Valar. It was eventually seduced and corrupted by Melkor, becoming one of the Valaraukar and joining with the other Balrogs in Morgoth's service.
In January of 3019, the Fellowship of the Ring travelled through Moria on the way to Mount Doom, reaching the Bridge of Khazad-dûm in 15 January. There they encountered the terrible creature: the Elf Legolas instantly recognized it was a Balrog, while Gimli dropped his axe in awe, recognizing Durin's Bane.
He recognized it immediately as a Balrog, and it is the only recorded time he was ever truly afraid: a Balrog held far more terror for an Elf than for any other, for only they remembered where the Demons of Fire had come from and whom they had first served.
It seems likely to me that Legolas has not encountered a Balrog before in his life, yet when the fellowship first sees the Balrog in Moria he is able to immediately identify it.
Yes,it was Balrog of Morgoth. Sauron has no power to summon Balrogs or command them. They are the same kind of spirit,Maiar. Morgoth was their Master. Balrog is a fallen Maiar who served Morgoth during War of Wrath and ultimately somehow survived and hid in Moria.
Answer and Explanation: Yes, Sauron knew about the balrog in Moria, as did Saruman, Sauron's lieutenant. However, Sauron did not attempt to recruit the Balrog to his side. The Balrog is a supernatural being who is on a similar level with Sauron.
Gimli didn't know about Moria's fate because there had been no communication between Erebor and Moria for 25 years, and the Dwarves were hopeful and did not want to accept failure until there was certain news.
The final blow came when the Fellowship of the Ring, including the wizard Gandalf, encountered the Balrog deep within Moria's ancient halls. In the battle that ensued, Gandalf sacrificed himself to defeat the Balrog, but the cost was the complete loss of Moria to the forces of darkness.
Early life. Born in TA 2879, Gimli was the son of Glóin and a nephew of Óin, both former companions of Bilbo Baggins. He was a descendant of Durin the Deathless, father of the first house of the Dwarven people. Gimli was descended from, but was not a member of the royal line.
Thorin I (Third Age 2035 – 2289, died aged 254) was the King of Durin's Folk for 99 years, succeeding his father, Thráin I, on his death in T.A. 2190. Thorin was the heir of Durin the Deathless being the great-grandson of Durin VI.
He will fight in the Last Battle against the Valar and their allies, but will ultimately be slain by Túrin Turambar, the Man he cursed. By finally defeating Morgoth, Túrin will avenge not only himself, but all members of the race of Men.
No. Sauron is a Maia, Balrogs are Maiar, both are Ainur, they are of the same order of being, but differ in power and temper, just as Yavanna differs from Melkor and Ulmo from Varda. Ainur can take different forms and countenances so that they hardly seem to belong to the same order of spirits.
The most powerful of all the Balrogs, one of the chief servants of Melkor, who held an authority hardly less than Sauron himself. A wily commander and fearsome fighter, Gothmog was often accompanied by others of his fiery kind, and at least in the Nirnaeth he had a personal guard of dozens of Trolls.
In th Book of Lost Tales Part 2 - Tolkien wrote a detailed account of the Fall of Gondolin. It clearly states that Ecthelion slew three balrogs and Tuor slew five. And several others were killed my many of Turgon's elf lords during the fall of tha…
Hence it would be right to say that Balrog, being a great warrior could also he able to defeat Sauron in a duel physically. And lastly Sauron couldn't control nor order Balrog to do anything even if he defeated and humbled him, because they were of the same order. Both Sauron and Durin's Bane were Maiar.
Gandalf was ultimately able to kill the Balrog, but he never considered fighting Smaug. Instead, Gandalf sent Thorin and his company of dwarves while he dealt with the Necromancer in southern Mirkwood. That leads to the understandable presumption that Smaug is the more powerful of the two monsters.
The Balrogs are powerful, shadowy beings in JRR. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, particularly featured in ``The Silmarillion'' and referenced in ``The Lord of the Rings.'' They were originally Maiar, lesser Ainur, who were corrupted by Melkor (Morgoth) during the First Age.
The fear of Elves is more spiritual, so the demonic creatures of shadow and flame are unsurprisingly horrifying to them. Legolas doesn't appear to have any hesitation in his actions throughout the films, but it's clear that his blood runs cold when a Balrog appears in the Mines of Moria.
Yes, the Balrog could probably sense Gandalf's latent power and perceive that he was also an immortal being. No, it probably did not recognize Gandalf specifically — nor would it have known much (if anything) about the Istari.
Glorfindel fought the Balrog and succeeded in slaying the monster, but was himself mortally wounded. His body was recovered by the great eagle Thorondor and buried under a stone cairn, where afterward grew yellow flowers.
