Gondor was the most prominent kingdom of
Men in Middle-
earth, bordered by
Rohan to the north, Harad to the south, the cape of Andrast and the Sea to the west, and Mordor to the east. Its first capital was Osgiliath, moved to Minas Tirith in TA 1640. The city of Minas Tirith remained the capital of Gondor for the rest of the Third Age and into the Fourth Age; other
major fortresses included Dol Amroth in Belfalas and Osgiliath, which was a city on the Anduin.
Gondor was founded by the brothers Isildur and Anárion, exiles from Númenor. Gondor was an allied kingdom with Arnor, whose
line of
king chieftains came from Isildur, while the
Line of the Kings of Gondor descended from Anárion. Gondor was at the height of its
power in its early years due to the ships and the military might that its armies possessed. However, continued attacks by allies of Sauron, civil war, and a devastating plague caused it to gradually decline over the course of the Third Age until Sauron's final defeat and the crowning of Aragorn II Elessar. Following that time the
power of Gondor once again expanded, and the former lands of Arnor were united with it under the banner of the Reunited Kingdom.
Gondor means 'Land of
Stone', from Sindarin gond (
stone) + (n)dor (land), most likely given to it because of the White Mountains (Ered Nimrais) and other
mountain chains in the land (hypothetical Quenya name Ondonórë).