114 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
114 lines
7.9 KiB
Plaintext
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From the Complete Guide to Middle-earth / Robert Foster
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The entry about Sauron and his history.
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Adapted by Amit Margalit and Assaf Nehoray.
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===========================================
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Sauron The Abominable. Ainu, one of the Maia of Aule. Seduced by Melkor early
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------ in the First Age, Sauron became chief of his servants and anchored the
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front line of his defense against the Valar and the Eldar. While Melkor
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dwelt in Utumno, Sauron held Angband; he escaped capture during the Battle
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of the Powers.
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When Melkor returned to Middle-earth with the Silmarils, Sauron joined him
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Angband and even directed the War during Melkor's attempt to corrupt Men
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soon after their awakening. After the breaking of the Seige of Angband,
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Sauron again ventured forth to secure Melkor's south-western front. In 457
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he took Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion, filling it with his warewolves and
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opening West Beleriand to the ravages of Orcs. A few years later Sauron
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secured Dorthonion by capturing Gorlim and using a sorcerous trick to make
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him betray Barahir's outlaws. In 466 Sauron capture Finrod and Beren,
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overcame Finrod in a wizard's dwell, and killed Finrod and his Elves one by
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one in his dungeons. But retribution came soon after, when Luthien and Huan
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came to rescue Beren. After Huan slew his warewolves, Sauron assumed wolf
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form and fought the hound. Overcome by Huan's strength and Luthien's magic,
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Sauron surrendered the tower and fled in vampire form to Taur-Nu-Fuin, where
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he remained, dreadful but passive for the rest of the First Age.
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After the Great Battle Sauron submitted to Eonwe, but was told that he
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would have to return to Aman to be judged by the Valar. Although his
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repentance may have been sincere, his pride would not allow him to endure
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such humiliation, and he fled and hid himself somewhere in Middle-earth.
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About Second Age 500 he began to reveal himself again, and by 1000 he had
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gathered enough power to establish a stronghold in Mordor and begin building
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the Barad-dur. In the long millennia of the Dark Years, Sauron corrupted
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many races of Men. Under the name of Annatar and wearing a fair body, he
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seduced many groups of Elves, notably by the Gwaith-i-Mirdain of Eregion.
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The combination of Sauron's skill and Noldorin creativity enriched both
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parties, until about 1500 they began forging the Rings of Power, by which
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Sauron hoped to ensnare the Free Peoples. Sauron placed much of his power in
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the One Ring, with which he completed the Barad-dur. When Celebrimbor of
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Eregion discovered Sauron's treachery with the Rings, Sauron resorted to
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force and began the War of the Elves and Sauron (1693-1700), in which he
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destroyed Eregion and overrun Eriador, but was defeated by Gil-galad and a
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fleet sent to Middle-earth by Tar-Minastir of Numenor.
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After this Sauron revealed himself openly, gathering in his service Orcs
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and other monsters of Morgoth, ruling great areas (especially in the east)
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by force and terror, and apparently converting his vassals to the worship
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of Melkor, for Sauron remained ever true in his allegiance. In his pride
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Sauron claimed the title King of Men, thus arousing the equal pride of Kings
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of Numenor. In 3262 Ar-Pharazon landed at Umbar with a vast force. Deserted
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by his armies, Sauron was forced to submit to Ar-Pharazon, who took his back
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to Numenor. In fifty years Sauron played on the Numenoreans' fear of death
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so effectively that the majority utterly repudiated the Valar and worshipped
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Melkor at Sauron's temple. Finally he persuaded Ar-Pharazon to seize
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immortality by invading Aman. To his surprise, the Valar reacted by calling
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on Iluvatar; Sauron's body was caught in a terrible catastrophe of the
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destruction of Numenor, and thereafter he was unable a fair seeming form.
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Sauron returned to Mordor and marshalled his forces. In 3429 he attacked
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Gondor, taking Minas Ithil and destroying the White Tree, a hated symbol of
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the Light of Aman. In 3434, however, he was defeated in the Battle of
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Dagorlad by the army of the Last Alliance and was besieged in the Barad-dur.
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In 3441, in a final battle on the slopes of Orodruin Suaron was overthrown
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by Gil-galad and Elendil, but killed both his foes. Isildur cut off his
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finger and took the Ring.
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In the Third Age, without the One Ring which formed the base of his power,
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Sauron was extremely cautious. His policy was to twofold: to weaken the
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Dunedain kingdoms without provoking massive retaliation, and to recover the
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Ring. The latter policy was clouded by Sauron's uncertainty about the fate
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of the Ring, which should have been destroyed by Isildur. After Sauron rose
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again about Third Age 1000, he hid his identity and was known as the
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Necromancer or the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur. Since Mordor was guarded by
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Gondor, he dwelt in Dol Guldur. About 1300 he began to attack the Free
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Peoples, especially the Dunedain. He sent the Lord of the Nazgul to the
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North, where he founded Angmar. In the South, Sauron stirred up the Haradrim
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and the Easterlings against Gondor.
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After the Great Plague of 1636, which may have been sent by Sauron,
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Gondor's watch was relaxed, and the Nazgul re-enterd that realm and prepared
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it for Sauron. In 2002 the Nazgul took Minas Ithil, thus obtaining a
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palantir for Sauron, which he later used to ensnare Saruman and trick
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Denethor II. In 2063, Gandalf went to Dol Guldur to learn the identity of
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the Necromancer, but Sauron fled to the East. He returned to Dol Guldur in
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2460 with increased strength and renewed his plots until 2941, when he was
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driven out of Dol Guldur by the White Council. Sauron willingly retreated to
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Mordor, where he openly proclaimed himself, rebuilt the Barad-dur, and
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prepared to defeat the West by overwhelming Gondor and the smaller realms of
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the North with his vast armies of Orcs, trolls, Haradrin, Easterlings, and
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creatures more foul.
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Even though Sauron did not have the Ring, its very existence gave him
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enough strength to crush the West. Gandalf and Elrond, realizing this, saw
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that the only way to defeat Sauron was to destroy the Ring. Frodo Baggins
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volunteered to undertake the Quest of Mount Doom and, escaping Sauron's
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servants searching for him and the Ring, destroyed the Ring in the Fire of
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Doom. The Nazgul were destroyed and Sauron so weakened that he was unable
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ever to take shape again.
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It is almost imposible to describe all the plots of Sauron, the master of
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deceit and treachery, and so only and outline of his policies is presented
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here. Among Sauron's other accomplishments stand the invention of the Black
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Speech; the creation of the Nazgul, his most powerful servants ensnared by
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the Nine Rings of Men; and the breeding of the Olog-hai and, perhaps, the
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Uruk-hai.
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After the ruin of his body in the destruction of Numenor, Sauron had the
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form of a Man; his skin was black and burning hot. In the Third Age he most
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frequently appeared as a fearsome, ever-searching Eye.
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Sauron comes fro the earlier Quenya Thauron; the Sindarin name was
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Gorthaur the Cruel. Also called Sauron the Deceiver, the Lord of the Earth
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(in the Second Age), the Enemy, the Master, the Dark Power, the Dark Lord,
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Lord of Mordor, the Power of the Black Land, the Black Master, the Black
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One, the Lord of Barad-dur, the Lord of the Dark Tower, and the Shadow. He
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was also called, attributively, the Great Eye, the Red Eye, the Eye of
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Barad-dur, the Lidless Eye, and the Evil Eye. Also called the Unnamed, the
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Nameless, the Nameless One, the Nameless Eye, and He or Him. Also the Lord
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of the Rings, the Lord of the Ring, and the Ring Maker. Also, by Gollum, the
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Black Hand.
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