On January 15, 3019, the Fellowship came to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm pursued by Orcs and a Balrog of Morgoth. Gandalf stopped on the Bridge, standing in the middle of the span, allowing the others to escape. He leaned on the staff in his left hand and held the sword Glamdring, gleaming cold and white, in his right. The Balrog stepped onto the Bridge, facing Gandalf, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised its whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But Gandalf stood firm and declared that the Balrog could not pass. They fought, and the Balrog's sword was destroyed. Then the Balrog leaped full upon the Bridge, and Gandalf lifted his staff and smote it upon the bridge. His staff shattered, but the Bridge cracked at the Balrog's feet. The stone beneath the Balrog broke and fell, taking the Balrog with it into the abyss, but the thongs of its whip snared Gandalf about his knees, and Wizard and Balrog plummeted together into the depths of the mountain. Gandalf cried, "Fly, you fools!" and was gone.

Battle of the Peak was the climax of the fight between Gandalf the Grey and the Balrog (Durin's Bane) atop Zirakzigil after they ascend the Endless Stair from Moria.


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Conflict: War of the Ring
Date: January 25, 3019
Place: Summit of Zirakzigil at Durin's Tower
Outcome: Death of the Balrog (Durin's Bane); Death of Gandalf the Grey; Destruction of Durin's Tower and the Endless Stair
Combatants: Gandalf the Grey† Balrog (Durin's Bane)†
Commanders: Gandalf the Grey Balrog (Durin's Bane)
Strength: One Maia and One Maia
Casualties: Gandalf the Grey Balrog (Durin's Bane)
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After their fight at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf and the Balrog both fell into the deep chasm. Gandalf was burned by the Balrog's fire on the way down, then almost froze in the water at the bottom, then pursued his foe for days through dark tunnels, and then all the way up the Endless Stair and to the top of Durin's Tower in the living rock of Zirakzigil, where the two engaged in a two-day long battle at the pinnacle of the Silvertine above the clouds. They fought in a narrow space upon Celebdil, above the mists of the world. The sun shone fiercely, but all below was wrapped in cloud, so that anyone watching from below would think they saw flashes from lightning and heard thunder. A great smoke of vapor and steam rose about them, and ice fell like rain.
There they fought until at last Gandalf threw down his enemy, and the Balrog broke the mountain-side as it fell. Then darkness took Gandalf, and he passed away. The battle had left Durin's Tower in ruins and caused the destruction of the Endless Stair. The entire battle, from the confrontation on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm to the mutual demise of the Balrog and Gandalf, had taken ten days.


"Then darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell."
—Gandalf the White.


Gandalf's body lay on the peak for nineteen days, until he was resurrected by Eru and sent back to Middle-earth alive. For three days he lay in a trance, until he was found by the Windlord Gwaihir and carried to Caras Galadhon in Lothlórien, where he was healed and clothed in white, and thus became Gandalf the White, more powerful than ever before.

Foreign Language Translated name
Afrikaans Slag van die Piek
Amharic ባትትለ ኦፍ ትሀ ጰኣክ
Arabic معركة قمة البرج
Armenian Բատտլե ոֆ տհե Պեակ
Belarusian Баттле оф тhе Пеак
Bosnian Bitka za Vrh
Bulgarian Битката за Върха
Catalan Batalla del Pic
Chinese (Hong Kong) 頂峯之戰
Croatian Bitka za Vrh
Czech Bitva o Vrchol
Danish Slaget på bjergtinden
Finnish Taistelu Huippu
Dari باتتله وف تهه پهاک
Dutch Slag van de Piek
Esperanto Batalo de la Pinto
Estonian Lahing Tippu
French Bataille de la Crête
German Schlacht an der Spitze
Gujarati બત્ત્લે ઓફ થે પેઅક
Haitian Creole Batay nan Pikwa nan
Hebrew באתתלי וף תהי פּיאך ?
Hindi बत्त्ले ओफ़ थे पेअक
Hmong Sib ntaus sib tua ntawm lub ncov
Hungarian Csata a csúcs
Icelandic Orrustan við Hámarki
Igbo Agha nke elu
Italian Battaglia del Picco
Irish Gaelic Cath ar an Bhuaic
Japanese ピークの戦い
Kazakh Баттле оф тһе Пеак
Korean 피크의 전투
Kurdish باتتله‌ ۆف تهه‌ په‌اک
Kyrgyz Баттлэ оф тhэ Пэак
Latin Bellum Apicem
Latvian Kaujas Pīķa
Lithuanian Mūšis Smailės
Macedonian Баттле оф тхе Пеак
Malagasy Ady 'ny tendrony
Malay Pertempuran di Puncak
Maltese Ġlieda tal-quċċata
Mongolian Баттле оф тhе Пеак
Norwegian Slaget ved Toppen
Nepali बत्त्ले ओफ़ थे पेअक
Pashto باټلې وف تهې پېاک
Polish Bitwa pod Szczytem
Portuguese Batalha do Pico
Punjabi ਪੀਕ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ
Querétaro Otomi Ar Hñäki jar Cima
Romanian Bătălia de Vârf
Russian Битва на Вершине Зирагзигиль
Scottish Gaelic Cath na Mullach
Serbian Битка на врхуc (Cyrillic) Bitka na Vrhu (Latinised)
Sesotho ntoa ea tlhoro ea
Sinhala බත්ත්ලෙ ඔෆ් ථෙ පෙඅක්
Slovak Bitka pri Vrchole
Slovenian Bitka za Vrhunec
Somali Dagaal ee ugu Xumaa
Spanish Batalla del Pico
Sudanese Perang tina puncak nu
Swahili Vita ya Kilele
Swedish Slaget vid Topp
Tatar сугыш -нең теге пик ?
Tajik Батл аз қуллаи
Tigrinya ባትትለ ኦፍ ትሀ ጰኣክ
Turkish Zirve savaşı
Turkmen Söwe bu Depe ?
Ukrainian Битва на піку
Urdu باٹلے وف تهے پےاک ?
Uyghur باتتلە وف تھە پەاك
Uzbek Баттле оф тҳе Пеак (Cyrillic) Cho'qqisiga Jangi (Latinised)
Vietnamese Trận chiến của đỉnh
Welsh Brwydr y Brig
Yiddish באַטטלע אָף טהע פּעאַק
Yoruba Ogun ti awọn tente oke