Barad-hard

In the universe of the Ground of the Medium of J.R.R. Tolkien, Barad-hard (in Sindarin, “Turn Sinks”) is the tower where remains Sauron.

Description

The principal tower measured several hundred meters height and was in the north of the Mordor, at the top of a rock hill rising with the top of the plate of Gorgoroth, with a few tens of kilometers of Orodruin.

“… of turns, ramparts, tops like hills, founded on a powerful throne of mountains above unsoundable wells; large course and dungeons, blind prisons, escarpés like cliffs, and diamond and open steel doors…” ( the Lord of the Rings )

It is of color black and mainly made up of a very hard metal. The absence of precise description probably intentional, is waited until the tower is wrapped in all times of a dark cloud (one can however note the existence of a drawing of Tolkien representing the base of the tower, published in various calendars and collections of drawings). The two only people to be seen Barad-hard, in the Lord of the Rings , are the Hobbit S Frodo and Sam. Barad-hard is also a kind of counterpart of the fortress of the Master of Sauron, Thangorodrim. (In the film adaptation of Peter Jackson, the Tower in its top is surmounted eye of Sauron.)

History

Sauron with the idea to strengthen the Mordor about the year 1000 of the Second Age, because he fears the power núménóréenne. He decides to create his principal fortress close to his forging mills of Orodruin. The Tower is built only after six hundred years of labor on behalf of the Orque S, but its masterly proportions are also due to the capacity of Sauron which, via the Single Anneau, enchanted the foundations to make them indestructibles.

However, finally, an large army comes from Númenor and prepares to besiege Barad-hard. Sauron knows that it cannot gain the victory by the weapons of its servants, because, following the wars against the Elfe S, their number weakened. It decides to use of the trick to avoid a true seat and to preserve its throne. It gives up Barad-hard intentionally into 3262, with an aim of formenter a rebellion with Númenor. It succeeds and Númenor is devastated, but Sauron loses its body appearance for a time following cataclysm and takes refuge, in the form of spirit only, in Mordor.

In 3434, the Last Alliance of the Elves and Men attack Mordor. The battle of Dagorlad is summarized by a defeat of Sauron which makes gather its troops with Barad-hard. The seat of the tower lasts seven years. After the defeat of Sauron, Barad-hard is shaven, but its foundations, built thanks to the capacity of Single, remain in place.

In 2951 of the Third Age, Sauron undertakes to rebuild the tower. When the Single Ring was destroyed at the conclusion of the Guerre of the Ring the tower was also destroyed because of enchantment which was dependant for him.

References

By its disproportionate height, Barad-hard recalls the biblical episode of the Tower of Babel, but from which the goal is not to reach God; he is to allow the domination of the world.

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