Throughout the Lord of the Rings, we are aware of Sauron’s fortress of Barad-dur in Mordor. However,
he long held a second fortress in the lands of Rhovanion. It was a realm that
once belonged to the elves, but it would come to be used for the dark lord’s re-emergence,
and for his northern campaigns in his War of the Ring.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the history of Dol Guldur.
Before it would fall to darkness, this region would be ruled as part of realm of
Greenwood the Great. King Oropher, the father of Thranduil, ruled the silvan elves from Amon Lanc,
“the bald hill”, the capital of his kingdom. However, throughout the Second Age, Oropher moves
his people north multiple times. It is believed that the first of these migrations took place
because Oropher wanted to distance himself and his people from both the Dwarves of Khazad-dum and
out of resentment for what he perceived as being intrusions by Galadriel and Celeborn in Lorien.
Oropher would be killed during the War of the Last Alliance in what would later become
the Dead Marshes, leaving his people to be led by Thranduil. As we fast forward to 1000 years later,
Amon Lanc remains empty, and a mysterious presence finds a prime location for its re-emergence.
By 1050 TA, this presence has come to be known as the Necromancer, and with its shadow falling upon
Greenwood, the forest comes to be called Mirkwood. Because of this evil influence,
Thranduil moves his people for the final time, relocating further from the source of this malice,
settling north of the Forest River. The hill and fortress of Amon Lanc also comes to be
known as Dol Guldur, the hill of sorcery. Not only does this fortress lie in an area
where Sauron could potentially launch attacks on his northern enemies,
but it is also near the last known location of The One Ring - the Gladden Fields.
Some among the wisest elves and wizards of Middle-earth suspect that this Necromancer
could actually be Sauron, and in 2063, Gandalf the Grey ventures into the old fortress. Not
yet ready to be revealed, and lacking in power, Sauron flees Dol Guldur, returning to the East.
After 400 years of hiding in Rhun, Sauron returns to Mirkwood. And just three years later,
in 2463, the One Ring is found by Stoor Hobbits in the Anduin River.
While Smeagol would take the ring deep within the Misty Mountains,
Sauron would remain in Dol Guldur under the guise of the Necromancer and all the while, his power
grows. In 2510, as Gondor’s Ruling Steward is facing defeat against a group of Easterlings,
their northern allies the Eotheod ride to their aid. To reach Gondor, they must pass near Dol
Guldur, which is known to have a dark shadow and a great cloud that flows from the fortress,
infecting the surrounding lands. However, at this time, Galadriel uses her power to send
forth a golden mist out of Lorien to strive against the darkness. Eorl and his riders
pass through the mist, coming to the Field of Celebrant in time to save Steward Cirion.
For centuries, Sauron would continue to gather and disperse his evil forces in the region
as his power grows and he searches for the One Ring. In 2845, the dwarven king
Thrain II, father of Thorin Oakenshield, sets out from their home in the Blue Mountains
in an effort to return to Erebor. However, on their way, the King is separated from the group
under the eaves of Mirkwood. He is captured by Sauron’s servants
and taken prisoner to Dol Guldur. There, Thrain is tortured and his Ring of Power is taken from
him - the last of the dwarven rings to either be destroyed by dragons or reclaimed by Sauron.
Five years later (2850), Gandalf once again enters the old fortress in secret.
There, he finds a dying Thrain, who gives him the Map and Key to Erebor. At this time,
Gandalf confirms that the Necromancer is indeed Sauron. Returning to the White Council,
Gandalf urges the wise to launch an attack upon the fortress. However, Saruman, who had been
secretly searching the area of the Gladden Fields for the One Ring, overrules Gandalf, saying that
the ring had been swept out to sea, and that Sauron could not pose a threat without it.
Gandalf, having the foresight to realize what a terrible situation could arise between
Sauron and Smaug, proceeded to organize the Quest of Erebor with Thrain’s son Thorin.
Gandalf knew that if such a dreadful alliance were to be formed,
the lands of Rivendell, Lorien, and even Eriador itself would be directly threatened.
In that same year (2941), Saruman finally agrees to an attack on Dol Guldur, for Sauron’s forces
had also begun searching for the ring and the white wizard wished to eliminate the competition.
Indeed, it is in large part thanks to both Gandalf’s planning and Saruman’s devices
that the White Council’s assault is a success. Gandalf leaves Thorin and Company on the borders
of Mirkwood, riding south, he joins the rest of the White Council and they march upon the
fortress. Sauron is driven out of Dol Guldur. Yet, having already prepared for such an event,
Sauron is able to re-enter his realm of Mordor, where they begin rebuilding Barad-dur.
Victorious, the White Council goes their separate ways. However, though Sauron was gone, Dol Guldur
would not remain deserted. Ten years after fleeing his northern fortress, Sauron sends Khamul,
the second greatest of the Nazgul, and two other ringwraiths to re-enter his domain.
Over the following years, the Nazgul rebuild the power of Dol Guldur. By the time of the
War of the Ring, the fortress played host to some of Sauron’s northern orc armies. In 3019,
the orcs of Dol Guldur would attack the realm of Lorien three times. The first comes on March 11,
and the orcs are repelled by the elves and the power of Galadriel. The second assault is a
coordinated one. On March 15, as the Rohirrim arrive at Minas Tirith, Dol Guldur launches
simultaneous attacks on the Woodland Realm of Thranduil in the north, and Lorien to the
south. Once again, Galadriel and her people repel the orcs. Likewise, the Elves of Mirkwood defeat
the orcs in the Battle under the trees, though it is said that there was a great ruin of fire.
This date is significant in the eventual defeat of Sauron, not only was he defeated
and his chief servant slain in Gondor, but his army from Dol Guldur has been defeated as well.
However, at this time, he still holds a mighty force in Mordor,
and an army of Easterlings is successfully laying siege to Dale and Erebor in the far north.
Dol Guldur would organize one last assault upon Lorien. On March 22, they attack once more,
and for the third time, they are repelled by Celeborn and Galadriel, wielding her great ring.
The turning point for Dol Guldur is the same turning point for all Middle-earth.
On March 25, the One Ring is destroyed in the fires of Orodruin,
and Sauron’s power is undone. With this, the shadow of Sauron is lifted from the free peoples,
and the dark lord’s servants are filled with fear and despair. The dwarves and
men are victorious in the Battle of Dale, driving away the Easterlings on March 27th.
On March 28th, Celeborn and the army of the Galadhrim
take their boats across the Anduin and make war upon Dol Guldur. They took Dol Guldur,
and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.
Though likely aided by the dwindling power of her ring, Galadriel’s feat of destroying the
fortress is incredibly impressive, and it harkens back to a much earlier event featuring another
of Tolkien’s great heroines. In the First Age, we see Luthien unmake the fortress of Tol-in-Gaurhoth
in Beleriand after rescuing Beren. As with Dol Guldur, it too was a fortress of Sauron’s.
Dol Guldur played a pivotal role in Sauron’s northern campaign. It afforded him the opportunity
to re-enter the western lands of Middle-earth, and may indeed have led him back to his ring,
had fate not intervened. Were it not for the acts of brave heroes like Gandalf,
Elrond, Galadriel, and even the selfish acts of Saruman, Dol Guldur may have paved the way
for a huge northern conquest - the resurgence of Angmar, the destruction of Rivendell and Lorien,
and most frightening of all - Sauron gaining Elrond and Galadriel’s rings of power.
Fortunately, in the end, Dol Guldur is destroyed once and for all. Mirkwood is made fair once more.
Now known as Eryn Lasgalen, it is divided into three parts. The North is ruled by Thranduil,
the central region is given to the Beornings, and the south, including the former Dol Guldur,
is made East Lorien, given to the elves who had striven against this dark fortress for so long.
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