Minas Tirith

For a long time, Men called it Minas Anor, even when it became the capital of Gondor and the seat of power of its Kings and Ruling Stewards. Minas Anor was a heavily fortified 7-tiered city initially meant to guard the former capital Osgiliath against Men from the White Mountains. Much later, they renamed it Minas Tirith when its sister-city Minas Ithil fell to the Nazgûl. The city stood on the shoulder of the Mindolluin, the White Mountains’ easternmost peak in Anórien and near the Anduin’s western banks.

Layout and Structure

Minas Tirith faced the east, and in front of it lay a vast expanse of townlands lush and rich, with hills and promenades descending to deep Anduin. This level extended further to the north. It was called the Pelennor Fields and surrounding it was the Rammas Echor, a long wall built during the time of the Ruling Steward, Denethor, near the end of the Third Age. The nearest point of the Rammas Echor was from the south, where it began from foothills of Mount Mindolluin and enclosed the Pelennor Fields all the way around until it reached the northern foothills. Its furthest end intersects the sloping main road and is closer to the ruins of Osgiliath than the gates of Minas Tirith. There, the walls were highest and protected by a guarded entrance and towers with battlements.

The city itself was carved out of a hill to form seven concentric tiers. The bottom was the widest, and each circle above got progressively smaller. The smallest circle reached 700 feet over the plains and contained the ruling citadel. Except at the bottom level, a narrow and sharp rocky outcrop jutted east from the hill like the bow of a giant ship. It divided the city in the middle up to the highest level. At the top, it extended the High Court eastward and was crowned by parapets. Tunnels were carved into this rock, connecting the street on each level to reach the other side. Each level had a tall white wall with a single gate.

The main entrance at the bottom faced east, while the higher ones were alternating partly south or half north. They dug the uppermost tunnel to form a ramp going east and down to the next lower level. The highest gate also faced east and was guarded by citadel guards dressed in the livery once worn by Elendil’s heirs. The Houses of Healing and its gardens were on the sixth level. So too were the stables and lodgings of errand-riders. At the bottom-most level, there was an inn called the Old Guesthouse. It had a lawn on each side and an open one that led to Lampwright’s Street. Within the top walls surrounding the citadel is the white Tower of Ecthelion, which stood another 300 feet. At its highest point, it reaches 1000 feet from the bottom of the city. Near the tower’s base outside was a fountain. Hence it was named the Court of the Fountain. Beside the pool of water was a dead tree. This Tree was from the same seedling that Isildur planted there after the War of the Last Alliance.

The Second Age

The Downfall of Númenór

Near the end of the Second Age, Sauron suffered a second crushing defeat on Middle-earth from the Númenórians. He realized that there was no way he could defeat them by military means and surrendered willingly. When he pretended to be asking for their mercy, he was taken back to the island of Númenór and held prisoner there. However, through his powers of persuasion, he slowly gained their trust and eventually rose to become a close adviser to their King, Ar-Pharazôn. Númenórians had long been resentful of the Valar because they weren’t granted immortality and became jealous of the Deathless in the Undying Lands. There was a Ban of the Valar that prohibited them from sailing far into the west to try and reach those lands. Sauron used this fear of death to corrupt their minds into following his will. He told them that they could cheat death by offering human sacrifices to Melkor. When the King grew old, Sauron convinced him to sail to Aman in full force to demand eternal life from the Valar. Among the Númenórians, some still loved the Valar and were called the Faithful. Amandil led them, and he knew that going against the might of the Valar spelled Númenór’s doom. He instructed his son Elendil to make preparations for their escape to safety. Amandil sailed west intending to beg the Valar for mercy, but he never returned. Elendil, his sons and the remaining Faithful, set sail on nine ships towards Middle-earth. Númenór was inundated with giant tidal waves and finally sank into the sea in SA 3319.

The Realms of Exile

It was a tumultuous sea voyage, and their ships became separated. Elendil and the people with him arrived on the north-western edge of Middle-earth near Lindon. On the other hand, his sons Isildur and Anárion landed on shores further down south. It was the reason for there being two kingdoms established by the exiled Númenórians known as the Realms of Exile. In the north, the Faithful would establish Arnor, the North-Kingdom. It’s here where Elendil founded Annúminas, the capital city, and the seat of the Kings of Arnor in SA 3320. At the same time, Gondor became known as the South-Kingdom. Isildur and Anárion jointly ruled Gondor in Elendil’s name from the capital Osgiliath that they built. Elendil governed from Arnor, and as the High King of the Dúnedain, he had overall sovereignty over both Kingdoms.

Minas Anor and Minas Ithil

Elendil’s eldest son Isildur took Arnen, which was later called Ithilien. There he built the fortress tower of Minas Ithil or “Tower of the Moon.” [1] He had it constructed to guard the eastern borders and serve as a threat to Mordor. He also planted the White Tree there, which would become a symbol of Gondor. Elendil’s younger son Anárion had Minas Anor or the “Tower of the Sun” built within Anórien. It was another fortress meant to guard against Men who harassed Gondor from the White Mountains. These two strongholds grew into larger settlements and later became sister-cities.

Sauron’s Return

Moving like a shadow and dark wind across the sea, Sauron returned to Middle-earth only a year after the Downfall of Númenór. With his body destroyed in the aftermath, only his spirit went back to the fortress Barad-dûr in Mordor. There, he fashioned a terrible shape for himself, and with his One-Ring, he set the wheels in motion to destroy the Faithful. He thought that with the demise of Númenór, no one could stop him from regaining complete control of Middle-earth. In SA 3428, a massive army of Sauron arrived in Minas Ithil and laid siege to it. It finally fell the following year in SA 3429, and he burned the White Tree that stood there. Isildur managed to escape to Arnor, taking his family and a seedling from the Tree with him. From Minas Anor, Anárion sent his forces to guard Osgiliath. A year later, in SA 3430, he managed to liberate Minas Ithil from the enemy.

The War of the Last Alliance

In the same year, Elendil formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with Gil-Galad, the High King of the Noldor. They set out in SA 3431 with Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell, Oropher, the Lord of Northern Mirkwood, and Amdir, the King of Lórien. Later, the Númenórians of Gondor led by Anárion, and a Dwarven army from Khazad-dûm sent by Durin IV joined them. This combined force marched towards Mordor and engaged Sauron and his orc armies in what was to be known as the Battle of Dagorlad in SA 3434. The alliance suffered huge losses that included Elendil and Gil-Galad, as well as Anárion. Elendil’s sword Narsil broke, but Isildur managed to pick up the hilt shard. With it, he cut the finger of Sauron wearing the One-Ring. With his power dispersed, they crushed his army, and he fled back to Barad-dûr.

The Third Age

Isildur’s Bane

After the victory, Isildur didn’t heed Elrond and Cirdan’s advice to destroy the One-Ring. He was quickly seduced by it and claimed it as an heirloom. Thus, Sauron survived, and although severely weakened, his spirit lingered on Middle-earth. With the Elendilmir, Isildur was proclaimed King of Arnor with lordship over the North and South Kingdoms. He planted the White Tree seedling at the citadel of Minas Anor and stayed in the south for a year to put Gondor’s affairs back in order. He left the South-Kingdom to his nephew Meneldil and set out from the capital Osgiliath on TA 2 with his three sons.

A month later, Isildur and his Guard of about 200 men, including his knights, were ambushed by a massive band of Orcs in the Gladden Fields. His three eldest sons perished in the ensuing battle, and they killed him in the Anduin while trying to escape. He had the One-Ring with him, but it abandoned him in the waters of the Great River. With his death, they handed the kingship of Arnor to his eleven-year-old son Valandil when he reached the lawful age. Meanwhile, Meneldil became the King of Gondor.

Minas Anor Becomes the Capital

During the Great Plague in TA 1636, [2] Osgiliath was the hardest hit settlement outside of Rhovanion, where the Plague originated a year before. Several thousand died, and the capital became mostly deserted. Since then, it never regained its former glory and continued to deteriorate so that by the end of the Third Age, it lay in ruins. After four years, the capital of Gondor permanently transferred to Minas Anor in TA 1640.

Invasion of the Wainriders

The Rhovanion came under severe attack from Wainriders from the east in TA 1851. Gondor got increasingly involved in the conflict and cost the life of King Narmacil II in TA 1856. It also forced most of the Northmen to abandon Rhovanion and seek refuge in the Vales of Anduin. His heir Calimehtar managed to fend off the invaders for several years until he died in TA 1936. In TA 1944, the Wainriders staged a massive attack on Gondor from the east, while their allies, the Haradrim, were attacking from the south. The Gondorians managed to defeat the enemies but lost Calimehtar’s successor, King Ondoher, along with his two sons, Artamir and Faramir. With Ondoher and his heirs dead, the decision to choose the new King fell on the Council of Gondor. Pelendur, who was the Steward to the King of Gondor, ruled for a year while they were searching for a valid heir of Anárion. He also helped dismiss all other claimants, and upon his recommendation, the Council deemed that Eärnil II deserved to be King. He was the hero Captain who saved Gondor from the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp. Eärnil II also belonged to the “fifth line” of the Kings of Gondor.

Minas Arnor Becomes Minas Tirith

In TA 1975, Eärnil II sent his son Eärnur, who helped Cirdan and Glorfindel drive out the Witch-King of Angmar from the north and flee to Mordor. However, in TA 2002, the Nazgûl managed to capture Minas Ithil with little resistance. The Witch-King made it his new fortress and called it Minas Morgul. With the fall of Minas Ithil, Minas Arnor stood as the last defensive stronghold against all of Gondor’s enemies. In that same year, they renamed Minas Anor to Minas Tirith or “Tower of the Guard.” Eärnil II ruled Gondor for 98 years until his death in TA 2043 at age 160.

The Last King of Gondor

When Eärnur succeeded him, the Witch-King again challenged him to a duel as he did back in Angmar. However, Eärnur took the advice of Steward Mardil Voronwë, not to go. Seven years passed, and again, the Witch-King challenged him. This time, nobody could hold Eärnur back. After he entered Minas Morgul in TA 2050, they turned him into a wraith. With no heirs, he became the last King of Gondor before King Elessar. And so, for almost a millennium, the Stewards ruled over Gondor from Minas Tirith.

War of the Ring

[ After Théoden and the Riders of Rohan helped defeat the Wizard Saruman, he received the Red Arrow from Hirgon, an errand-rider from Gondor. It was a token that meant the Ruling Steward Denethor was invoking the Oath of Eorl, which bound Rohan to aid Gondor in battle. From Hirgon, they learned that massive enemy forces were mobilizing and that Minas Tirith would soon fall under siege. Shortly, he mustered the Rohirrim and led them towards Gondor. Gandalf went ahead on Shadowfox and brought Pippin with him. When they arrived in Minas Tirith, they found the Steward deeply troubled by the death of Boromir. Later, they learned that Faramir had a chance encounter with Frodo and Sam. Faramir found out that Boromir tried to take the One-Ring from Frodo.

Realizing the importance of their mission, he let them go after giving them provisions. It angered Denethor, who asked Faramir why he didn’t bring the One-Ring to Minas Tirith. Denethor wished that it were Boromir who lived because he would’ve delivered the Ring to him. He sent his remaining son to hold Western Osgiliath in what amounted to a suicide mission. Faramir and his men were easily routed, and Osgiliath fell quickly to the Witch-King and his army. Faramir left himself behind to oversee their retreat and was struck by a poison arrow.

Fortunately, his uncle Prince Imrahil and Gandalf came in the nick of time to help them. They brought Faramir back to Minas Tirith, gravely wounded. Suddenly, Minas Tirith fell under siege, and the fortress city found itself overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the enemy’s force that was assembled before it. It would only be a matter of time before they breached the main gates. Gandalf was there, and he saw the Lord of the Nazgûl enter the archway. He tried to send it away, but the Witch-King only mocked him back. Then they heard the sound of horns.

It was the Rohirrim who finally arrived and helped turn the tide of the battle. Denethor looked at the Palantir and thought he saw the Ring acquired by the enemy. In despair, he ordered a funeral pyre built for him and his son. Pippin tried to discourage him from burning Faramir, but Denethor was bent on going through with it. Gandalf intervened after Pippin alerted him and Beregond about it. As Gandalf pulled him out of the pyre, Faramir moaned in his dreams. Denethor then pulled out a knife to try to get his son back, but Beregond put himself between them.

Realizing the futility, Denethor lit the pyre and burned himself alive. Outside, on the Pelennor Fields, they were victorious. The Witch-King fell at the hands of Éowyn, Théoden’s sister-daughter, but Théoden became his final victim. Ultimately, they brought the fight to the Black Gates of Mordor. Frodo and Sam succeeded in destroying the One-Ring in Mount Doom, and Sauron was defeated, once and for all.

The Fourth Age

On the plains outside Minas Tirith, Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, was crowned on 1 May, TA 3019, as the rightful King of Gondor and Arnor. He became King Elessar and restored the line of Elendil to the Kingship of the Lands of Exile. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Age. During his reign, Minas Tirith reached the height of its glory and prosperity.​