Dol Guldur

Dol Guldur was the Dark Lord Sauron's base of operations and stronghold while he secretly recovered his powers as “The Necromancer.” Mostly referred to as the “Dark Sorcery Knoll.” The evil place existed in the Third Age for more than two thousand years, located south of Mirkwood.​

Sauron built Dol Guldur when he returned to Middle-earth approximately in the year 1000 of the Third Age. Sauron assumed the name “The Necromancer,” keeping his true identity a highly guarded secret for a very long time. Dol Guldur was constructed on the “Amon Lanc” or ‘bald hill,’ which had previously been the capital of the Silvan Elves’ realm. The Silvan Elves prospered in Amon Lanc, particularly during the time of Oropher, father to Thranduil, and grandfather of Legolas. When Sauron returned triumphant from the "Fall of Numenor" and took over, the Elves sought refuge in the Black Mountains (renamed as the Mirkwood Mountains). After the death of Oropher, Thranduil led the Silvan Elves to the Forest River, where they stayed permanently.​

The White Council, headed by Saruman the White, feared for a long time that the power behind Dol Guldur was Sauron. Saruman, for some reason, vehemently opposed any assault on the evil fortress. However, Gandalf the Grey went to Dol Guldur and confirmed that Sauron was indeed the Necromancer. When Gandalf reported this grave matter to the Council, Saruman could not protest. Thus, the White Council launched an attack on Dol Guldur, and since Sauron was still too weak to fight them, he was forced to flee to Mordor. There, Sauron bided his time while increasing in power, and for a century, continued his search for the “One Ring.” In the year 2845 of the Third Age, Thrain II, holder of the last of the Seven Dwarf Rings, was a prisoner in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. After five years (the year 2850 of the Third Age), Gandalf went back to Dol Guldur and discovered Thrain almost dead. The poor Dwarf did not even recall his name nor that of his son, Thorin II Oakenshield. When Thrain succumbed to his wounds, Gandalf became certain that Sauron was Dol Guldur’s master. Gandalf rode back advising the White Council to launch an immediate assault against Dol Guldur, however, Saruman disagreed with him.

However, in the year 2941 of the Third Age, almost a century later, Saruman relented to the attack. By sheer skill and cunning, Gandalf was able to arrange the Quest of Erebor to coincide with the attack. That coincidence prevented Smaug the Dragon and Sauron to support each other by being preoccupied separately. The White Council succeeded in its attack on Dol Guldur and chased Sauron away. In the year 2951 of the Third Age, Sauron revealed himself and sent three of his Nazgul, with Khamul leading, to retake Dol Guldur.​

In the “War of the Rings,” Khamul, the vice-commander of the Nazgûl or Ringwraiths (second to the Witch King of Angmar), attacked Mirkwood (Thranduil's kingdom) and Lothlorien. The assault caused horrendous damage to the adjacent woodlands but was repulsed by Nenya, the Ring of Power belonging to Galadriel, which only Sauron himself could defeat. On March 28, in the year 3019 of the Third Age, the Elves, led by Lothlorien’s Galadriel and Mirkwood’s Thranduil, assaulted Dol Guldur. Galadriel tore down its walls, obliterating the evil tower, and leaving not one stone unturned. No trace of Dol Guldur that existed for two millennia remained at its site. The White Council then renamed Dol Guldur back to its original name, Amon Lanc. It subsequently became the capital of East Lorien, the realm of Celeborn (Galadriel’s husband) in the Fourth Age.​

Dol Guldur is a Sindarin word that means “Hill of Dark Sorcery.” It comes from “dol” (hill) and “Guldur” (dark sorcery). The place was previously known as "Amon Lanc," meaning the "Bald Hill," where "amon" is a hill, and “lanc” is bald.​

Dol Guldur can be seen briefly in “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” [1] It was shown as a large, deteriorating castle placed on a hilltop. In one scene that only exists in the film adaptation, “Radagast the Brown” wizard enters the dark fortress to probe the lurking evil entity inside. A brief battle ensues between Radagast and the Witch-King of Angmar, here depicted without his garments and in complete spirit state. While fighting his foe, Radagast had a glimpse of the Necromancer, who was shown as a dark silhouette within the trees in the forest. Wasting no time, Radagast eluded the Witch King of Angmar and fled to report back to Gandalf about the incident. In the second installment of the trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” [2] Gandalf, having left Bilbo and the company of Dwarves, set out to find the tombs belonging to Sauron’s nine servants.

These nine servants were all previously kings who bore the “Nine Rings of Power” given to Men as gifts. Slowly, they were consumed by the power rings and were entombed in the “High Fells of Rhudaur.” Gandalf found all nine tombs open, which meant that Sauron had raised them from death to do his bidding, thus becoming Ringwraiths called the Nazgûl. After a short while, Radagast arrives to report to Gandalf about seeing Sauron and his fight with the Witch King of Angmar. Having concluded that the nine Ringwraiths have indeed left the High Fells to answer the Necromancer's call in Dol Guldur, Gandalf and Radagast set off to follow them. The two wizards intended to investigate the matter further and possibly confront the evil force lurking in Dol Guldur. Before leaving, Gandalf cast a powerful spell that removed the deception hiding the castle as an abandoned ruin.

In the film’s extended cut, Gandalf discovers Thrain in the castle, dying after being subjected to horrendous torture by the Orcs, and rescues him. While escaping, however, they are attacked by Azog the Defiler who stole the “Dwarven Ring of Power” from Thrain by cutting off his index finger. Azog reveals to Thrain and Gandalf that the castle is secretly full of Wargs and Orcs making preparations for war. Gandalf managed to cast a magic spell to ward off Azog and his minions’ attacks and was about to escape when the Necromancer emerged near Dol Guldur. The Necromancer then conjures up smoke tendrils that sucked Thrain, killing him. Gandalf and the Necromancer then battle each other in an epic contest between light and darkness until the Necromancer destroys Gandalf’s staff and defeats him. The truth is made known to Gandalf as the Necromancer reveals that he is indeed Sauron, the Dark Lord. Gandalf is then imprisoned in one of the fortress’ cages looking at the immense horde of Sauron’s forces departing from Dol Guldur.

In the third and last episode of the trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” Saruman, Elrond, and Galadriel gather at Dol Guldur, preparing to battle against Sauron and the Nine Nazgûl (Ringwraiths). During the events of the first film, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," Galadriel promised Gandalf she would come to his aid if ever he was caught in a precarious situation. She fulfills that promise and comes to rescue Gandalf from Dol Guldur.

She finds Gandalf being thrashed about by a huge orc, and despite Gandalf's efforts to hurt the orc, it remains unfazed. It grabs Gandalf by the arm and hits him unconscious. The orc then sees Narya (commonly referred to as the Ring of Fire), one of the three Elven Rings of Power entrusted to Gandalf, and prepares to cut off Gandalf's arm to retrieve the Ring. At this point, Galadriel speaks to the orc and tells him that she is there to rescue Mithrandir (Gandalf's Elvish name), and if he tried to stop her, she would destroy him. The orc ignores Galadriel and howls at her in defiance. With one swift, effortless stroke, Galadriel brought Nenya, her Ring of Power, to bear and blasted the orc to a million pieces. The blast was so powerful that its light was visible for several miles. Galadriel then bears the unconscious body of Gandalf to a safe location, but Sauron musters the Nazgul to make chase. Galadriel is appalled by their mere sight, and upon seeing her reaction, Sauron mocks her for being alone. At this, Galadriel adamantly declares that she is not alone.

Instantly, Elrond appears with a sword drawn, and with Saruman arriving seconds later. Upon seeing the Nazgûl, Saruman immediately realizes that he was gravely mistaken about Gandalf’s reports. Having been taken aback momentarily, Saruman then joins Elrond in fighting the Nazgûl. As the battle raged on, Galadriel healed Gandalf by giving him a kiss. As soon as Gandalf regained consciousness, he and Galadriel came to a distressing conclusion that Sauron has indeed returned to Middle-earth. Moments later, Radagast arrives to take Gandalf to a safe place, but the latter does not want to leave Galadriel. Furthermore, Gandalf persists that Galadriel leaves with them.

At this point, Galadriel enters into a spell and powerfully orders Radagast to take Gandalf and leave. Radagast is petrified and does as he is told. Suddenly, Sauron appears before them, causing Saruman to cower in fear. Galadriel, defiant of Sauron, assumes a terrifying yet beautiful form, directly challenged the Dark Lord, and instantly banished the nine Nazgûl or Ringwraiths. Sauron tries all he could to convince Galadriel to come over to his side, but she rebukes him. Eventually, Galadriel overpowers Sauron, drives him out of Dol Guldur, causing him to flee to Mordor in spirit form. Elrond, on Saruman’s orders, escorts Galadriel out of Dol Guldur and leads her to safety. Saruman assigned himself the task of dealing with Sauron, being a ruse to let him search for the One Ring as later events will show.​

Electronic Art’s offering “Battle for Middle-earth II” [3] shows the Dol Guldur forces as led by the “Mouth of Sauron,” instead of Khamul, one of the Nazgûl. Dol Guldur (or possibly Mordor) amassed a vast army of Haradrim, trolls, and orcs to attack the Lonely Mountain, greatest of the Dwarf kingdoms. The assault fails, with all of the dark forces decimated, including the Mouth of Sauron. After a time, the great alliance of Dwarves and Elves led by Arwen, Dain Ironfoot, Elrond, Gloin, Glorfindel, and Thranduil attacked Dol Guldur.

After a protracted and difficult battle, the forces of Dwarves and Elves defeated Dol Guldur and destroyed the dark force that resided in the tower. That victory effectively ended Sauron’s northern war campaign for all time. In the game, Dol Guldur could call upon dark creatures for aid and possessed several turrets. We must take note that the creatures here are not of the kind most likely to participate in the battle strictly considering Tolkien’s mythology. Furthermore, the "Watcher in the Water," an octopus-like creature, appears many times. There is also the dragon called upon by Isengard and goblins. As the final challenge, the Balrog of Morgoth emerges near the end.​