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The story of the Second Age is a story driven by it’s villain.
His attempts to conquer Middle-earth would take the form of secret infiltration, outright
war with overwhelming strength of arms, and the manipulation of an entire kingdom to its
destruction.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the life of Sauron in the Second Age.
While this topic was covered in one of my first videos here on the channel, I realized
that video was incredibly condensed given the importance of this character and this
time period - not to mention, my videos have come a long way since then.
So today, we’re doing an all new Extended Edition look at the Dark Lord.
At the start of the Second Age, Sauron has just experienced the massive defeat of his
master in the War of Wrath.
He is told by Eonwe, the leader of the Host of the West, that he should go to Valinor
and be judged for his actions if he truly wished to repent.
Instead, Sauron flees hiding in the lands of Middle-earth.
500 years later, Sauron comes to the conclusion that the Valar have turned a blind eye to
Middle-earth, and he realizes that he can continue his master’s work, becoming the
new dark lord.
Sauron begins to work in the East and the South, among people who had centuries earlier
been influenced by Morgoth.
Preying upon these old alliances, he finds followers who fall under his Shadow.
By 882 SA, Gil-galad, the high king of the Noldor, senses a shadow rising in the East.
He sends a warning to Numenor - though the great darkness had been defeated centuries
earlier in Beleriand, a new power is rising and they must prepare for an eventual war.
Around 1000 SA, Sauron is alarmed at the growing power of the Numenoreans.
Knowing he must create a stronghold of his own, he chooses the lands of Mordor and begins
the construction of Barad-dur near Mount Doom.
Always a master at manipulation, Sauron must decide who next to pursue - the elves of Eriador
or the Men of Numenor.
Despite knowing that men were easier to sway, he decides on the elves due to their innate
power.
He lies hidden for 200 years, all the while increasing his power.
Finally, in 1200 SA, he puts on a fair visage with which to trick the elves.
He calls himself Annatar, the Lord of Gifts.
Traveling to Eriador, he claims to be an emissary from the Valar themselves.
He wishes to infiltrate Lindon, as it is the greatest and mightiest of the elven realms,
and home of the high king.
However, Gil-galad and Elrond do not trust this mysterious entity.
While they cannot perceive his true identity, they do not trust him, and refuse him entry
into their realm.
Instead, Annatar turns to another elven realm in Eriador - Eregion.
There, he is gladly received by the Lord Celebrimbor.
We are told that among the people of Eregion, Galadriel alone held distrust for Annatar.
However, Celebrimbor is swayed by the lord of gifts.
The elven lord leads the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, the Brotherhood of Jewel-smiths, and from
Annatar they learn much in both art and magic.
Sauron, who was once a servant of Aule, the smith of the Valar, leads the Gwaith-i-Mirdain
to become the greatest smiths of the age.
It is said that Celebrimbor became more skilled than any smith to ever live, save for his
grandfather Feanor.
By 1500 SA, after studying under Annatar for nearly 300 years, the Gwaith-i-Mirdain have
reached the pinnacle of their skill and begin forging the Rings of Power.
For Annatar had promised them that these rings would help preserve their realms and powers
over Middle-earth.
After 90 years, the first 16 Rings of Power are completed.
At this time, Annatar takes his leave from Eregion, traveling back to Mordor.
There, in 1600 SA, he creates The One Ring - a master ring into which he pours most of
his own power so that he may control the bearers of the 16.
The ring is inscribed with the iconic phrase: Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash
nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.
In one of his first acts using the ring, he completes the construction of Barad-dur, binding
the very foundations of the dark tower to the One Ring.
However, the elves would perceive his deception as the Dark Lord places the ring upon his
finger.
Celebrimbor and the other elves are immediately aware of him, realizing they had been betrayed.
Celebrimbor locks the 16 within a vault in Eregion and sends the three rings, which he
had made himself after Sauron’s departure, to Gil-galad in Lindon and Galadriel in Lorien.
Above all others, Sauron covets the three elven rings.
He demands that the elves give to him all the Rings of Power.
The elves refuse and the War of the Elves and Sauron is now inevitable.
Next, Sauron builds the Black Gate of Mordor to prevent invasion into his lands and begins
amassing an army of Orcs, Trolls, and Men who had come to worship him as a god-king.
We are told that despite finding many followers among the Easterlings and Southrons, there
are still those who oppose him.
Due to their resistance, and possibly thanks to the work of the Blue Wizards, it takes
Sauron much longer than expected to raise his army.
Finally, 95 years after the creation of the One Ring, Sauron launches his war upon Eriador.
As Eregion comes under attack, Gil-galad sends an army commanded by Elrond to aid the elves,
while also calling for aid from Numenor.
After two years of bloody conflict, the capital of Ost-in-Edhil is sacked, Celebrimbor is
captured, and the realm of Eregion is laid to waste.
Sauron has Elrond and his forces cornered and facing their own destruction when the
dwarves of Khazad-dum attack Sauron’s rear flank, diverting his attention.
Elrond leads the survivors, including Galadriel’s husband Celeborn, north where he would found
the refuge of Rivendell.
The dwarves retreat and shut the gates of Moria, which would not open from the outside
again until the time of the Fellowship.
Sauron tortures Celebrimbor, and while he would claim the 16 rings (or 15 depending
on the version of the story) from the vaults of Eregion, Celebrimbor would not divulge
the location of the three elven rings.
The elf lord is killed, pierced by arrows, and his body placed on a spike and used as
a war banner as Sauron continues his brutal war.
By 1699, Sauron has conquered nearly all of Eriador and the elves in Lindon and Rivendell
are facing a vast and powerful army seeking their destruction.
At this moment, Sauron’s control over Middle-earth is as vast as it will ever be.
At no time before or after would he rule over a larger area.
As the situation is at its most dire, the Numenoreans answer Lindon’s call (1700 SA).
They reinforce the elves and drive Sauron back from the frontlines along the River Lhun.
Sauron retreats to Sarn Ford, where he is defeated again.
He retreats further to Tharbad, where he is reinforced from the South-east.
However, Sauron was not aware of a second fleet sent by Numenor’s king to the mouth
of the Gwathlo.
This force attacks from the southwest, while Gil-galad and the other Numenoreans attack
from the North.
Sauron’s army is decimated and the dark lord barely escapes himself.
By the time Sauron returns to Mordor (1701 SA), he is left with just a small personal
guard.
Gil-galad defeats the cut off forces laying siege to Imladris, and Sauron’s defeat in
Eriador is complete.
While Sauron’s might would never again equal what it was during his conquest of Eriador,
his enemies had been decimated as well, so he faced no immediate threat.
He held a deep hatred, however, for the Numenoreans - those who had snatched away his ultimate
victory.
Eventually he would turn his attention to the island realm, using other means than strength
of arms.
Still possessing 16 rings of power, all of which were originally intended for the elves,
Sauron decides instead to target the other races of Middle-earth.
Seven rings come to be possessed by dwarven lords, who would prove too hardy to be enslaved
by the One.
The Nine however, are given to men - three corrupted lords of Numenor, an easterling
King named Khamul, and five other men whose identities are a mystery.
While initially becoming great rulers, warriors, and sorcerers, the nine would fade and in
2251 SA, they first appear as the Ringwraiths - the greatest of Sauron’s slaves.
Over 1500 years after his defeat in Eriador, Sauron is confident that will again rise to
great power and dominate all of Middle-earth, Sauron declares himself King of Men, Lord
of the Earth, and many similarly boastful titles.
By this time, Numenor has fallen under shadow, its leaders becoming oppressive and cruel,
and turning their backs upon the Valar and Eldar.
Sauron’s titles offend one of the most evil of all Numenor’s kings - Ar-Pharazon.
In 3262, Ar-Pharazon lands a great fleet at the Haven of Umbar, marching to Mordor.
So great was the splendor of Numenor that Sauron’s armies flee and desert him.
Knowing he cannot match Numenor with military might, he again takes his fair form, surrendering
to Ar-Pharazon.
Sauron is taken back to Numenor as a captive, but as we see time and again, the dark lord
has far more dangerous weapons than brute strength.
He quickly goes from prisoner to the king’s chief adviser with that very year.
Sauron seduces the king with his words, turning him further away from the Valar, and toward
his dark master…
'It is he whose name is not now spoken; for the Valar have deceived you concerning him,
putting forward the name of Eru, a phantom devised in the folly of their hearts, seeking
to enchain Men in servitude to themselves.
For they are the oracle of this Eru, which speaks only what they will.
But he that is their master shall yet prevail, and he will deliver you from this phantom;
and his name is Melkor, Lord of All, Giver of Freedom, and he shall make you stronger
than they.'
Known as Zigur the Wizard, the dark lord convinces the king to cut down the sacred White Tree
and in its place, they build a great temple for the worship of Morgoth.
There, he serves at the High Priest of the Cult of Melkor, practicing human sacrifices
among both slaves, and the Numenoreans faithful to the Valar.
Finally, in 3310 SA, Sauron convinces an aging Ar-Pharazon that the only way he can avoid
death, the Doom of Man, is to take the lands of the Valar by force.
For the next nine years, Ar-Pharazon and the evil Numenoreans construct the Great Armament
- the mightiest naval force ever assembled.
As Ar-Pharazon sails for Valinor, Sauron remains behind in the temple of Melkor.
As the Numenoreans land in Valinor, Eru himself intervenes.
He breaks the very world - Pharazon and his army is buried under the earth and Numenor
is plunged into the sea.
Sauron is caught in the destruction of the island and while his body is destroyed, his
spirit endures.
Despite being weakened, his spirit flees back to Middle-earth in 3320.
Once again, he sets to work, slowly but surely regaining his strength.
However, from this point on, he is no longer able to take on his fair form.
With this development, he abandons his attempts to manipulate to gain power and instead embraces
ruling through terror and force - truly becoming the next great dark lord.
Some of the evil Numenoreans who had lived in places like Umbar survived the downfall,
becoming known as the Black Numenoreans and remaining loyal to Sauron.
Meanwhile, those among the Faithful also survive and found the realms of Gondor and Arnor.
These people of Elendil remain Sauron’s most hated enemies and in 3429, he launches
an attack in an attempt to not allow them to grow too great in power.
Driven from his city of Minas Ithil, Isildur reports to his father in the north.
There, Gil-galad would once again ally with the men of Numenor in working against Sauron,
forming the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
Hearing of this new threat, Sauron sends orcs from Mordor to the Misty Mountains in an attempt
to ambush them and burns the gardens of the Entwives in an effort to slow the army’s
march to Mordor.
Despite these moves, the Last Alliance reaches the Black Gate in 3434 SA, where they are
victorious in the Battle of Dagorlad - the very battle that resulted in the Dead Marshes.
For the next seven years, Sauron’s tower of Barad-dur is under siege.
Finally, in 3441, Sauron himself comes forth to face his enemies in combat.
The appearance of the Dark Lord drives back the Last Alliance to Mount Doom.
Elendil and Gil-galad, the mighty kings of the men and elves, fight Sauron upon the slopes
of Orodruin.
Elendil and Gil-galad would succeed in vanquishing the dark lord, yet the deed would cost both
their lives.
Coming up to Sauron’s fallen body, Isildur, the son of Elendil, cuts the One Ring from
his finger, claiming it as his own in recompense for his fallen father and brother.
Sauron’s spirit would once again flee, this time to the East.
It would take the dark lord 1000 years to return to the western lands of Middle-earth.
Without his Ruling Ring, his path to regaining a body would be slow and as we enter the Third
Age, we find a Sauron who uses his servants to fight his battles, as he seeks to isolate
and destroy those who would oppose him.
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