Gondor

Gondor

Gondor was founded by Isildur and Anárion, who were brothers and exiles from Númenor. It was the most prominent Kingdom of Men in Middle-earth. Its first capital was Osgiliath, but in TA, 1640 changed to Minas Tirith. Minas Tirith remained its capital in the Third Age and part of the Fourth Age. Rohan bordered Gondor in the North, and on its south was Harad. Towards the West was the cape of Andrast and the Sea and with Mordor to its east. Osgiliath, a city on the Anduin., and Dol Amrothin Belfalas remained strong fortresses.

Arnor, whose line of king chieftains came from Isildur, was the main ally to Gondor, whose line of kings came from Anarion. Owing to the military might and the ships that Gondor possessed in its early years, it is no surprise that it was at the height of its power. Persistent calamities in the Third Age, including civil war, attacks by allies of Sauron, and a devastating plague, saw the gradual downfall, Up until the crowning of Aragorn II Elessar after the final defeat of Sauron. Later the Kingdom rose again till Arnor was assimilated into the Reunited Kingdom.

After Anárion was slain before Barad-dûr at the Siege of Barad-dûr, Gondor had a total of thirty-one kings.

Contents

History

Gondor was a Mannish kingdom, like Arnor that was founded by Anárion, the youngest son of Elendil. It rose after the Downfall of Númenor after the AnarioN and his brother Isildur went into exile. Elendil became the first king of  Gondor.

Isildur planted the White Tree of Gondor in Minas Tirith as a symbol and coat of arms of Gondor.

Early years

Elendil, the first King of Gondor

Gondor had many Numenorean colonists before the collapse of Númenor. These either mingled with the native Middle Men or displaced them into Ras Morthil, Dunlandand Drúadan Forest.  Gondor, which can be compared to current Venice, had a more significant population before Anarion and Isildur arrived since its soil was very fertile. It also had an already established city called Pelargir.

Elendil, also called” The Faithful,” were well received by those who had already colonized the Middle Earth, including the Dor-en-Ernie, a branch of Numenorean Royalty. Those colonists that had settled north of Anduin also accepted Elendil as their King. The newly exiled Numenorens that had settled South of the Great River were, however, against Elendil’s kingship claim over them.

Gondor was founded after the spit of the Faithful and the King’s men, and all the southern colonies, including Umbar, were enemies to The Faithful.

Gondor became part of the Last Alliance of Elves, and Men who overthrew Sauron for the first time at the end of the Second Age when Isildur cut Sauron’s finger.

Gondor’s power grew well into the 9th century Third Age only being interrupted by the Easterling Invasion in TA 492. Arnor’s power grew to its height before it was shattered later into several successor states. Gondor’s cities Minas Anor, Minas Ithil, Osgiliath, and Pelargir continued to grow and ruled over a larger perimeter of the lesser people.

Golden Age

Gondor’s power reached its Golden Age under the four “Ship-kings”:

• Tarannon Falastur r. TA 830 – TA 913. First of the Ship-Kings, died without a child.
• Eärnil I r. TA 913 – TA 936. Nephew of Tarannon
•  Ciryandil r. TA 936 – TA 1015
• Hyarmendacil I (Ciryaher) r. TA 1015 – TA 1149. Last of the Ship-Kings. In the reign of the powerful King, Hyarmendacil I (c. 12th century TA), Gondor reached the height of its power. During Hyarmendacil’s reign, Gondor’s borders reached their furthest extent. The Kingdom extended east to the Sea of Rhûn, south to the nearest lands of the Haradrim, as far north as Mirkwood, and west towards the borders of Arnor.

Gondor enjoyed military prowess, and this saw them stay in peace for many centuries. It accumulated so much wealth that people from other lands would enviously say ‘In Gondor’s precious stones are but pebbles for the children to play with.’

Decline

Although Gondor experienced several revivals, decadence under the kings brought about a long period of decline. The main reasons for this decline, which happened in the second millennium of the Third Age, were said to be the great tree misfortunes that struck the vast land. These were the kin strife, the great plague, and the invasion of the Wainriders, which were a tribe of Easterlings.

Kin-strife

A great civil war, named Kin-strife, took place in the 15^th century TA.  The then king Eldacar was of mixed blood, his mother was of the Northmen. This did not augur well most people, and he was overthrown by Castamir and his son slain. Castamir was the admiral of Gondor’s navy forces and was of royal blood. King Eldacar fled north after the death of his son. Castamir was ofter referred to as Castamir the Usurper. He ruled with an iron fist for ten years. He, for instance, directed all his attention and resources to the coastal region while altogether shunning the interior provinces.

Eldacar later returned with an army comprising his troops from the North. He joined forces with the forces of the Men of Gondor, including Anorien from the interior provinces. During this war, Osgiliath was destroyed, and  Its Palantír demolished.  The bridge was wholly shattered. Eldacar first slew Castamir before reclaiming his throne. However, Castamir’s sons and their forces were besieged in Pelargir, the Great port of Gondor.later; they retreated to  Umbar, where they conflicted with Gondor fo a long period before they descendants died out.

The Great Plague

The White Tree of Gondor, which had been planted by Isildur as a symbol and coat of arms of Gondor, later died when the Great Plague struck. This plague swept through the whole of Middle Earth, expanding to the successor states of Arnor, and the Hobbits of the Shire in the North. Later, King Tarondor moved the capital from Osgiliath to Minas Anor, anarion’s city, after he found a sapling of the White Tree. During this period, Gondor became very depopulated that the towers protecting Mordor for the attack were abandoned. Had it been attacked by the outsiders, like Haradrim and the Easterlings, they would have conquered it. The plague had, luckily, affected all the states, and hence none would have the capacity to wage war against the other.

Invasion of the Wainriders

After Gondor recovered the devastation of the plague, Misfortune struck again. The Wainrider invaded and destroyed the Northern army of Gondor. This conflict lasted for almost a century. However, survivors joined forces with the southern army, and together they killed the Haradrim, led by General Eärnil, as they crossed river Poros. They defeated the Wainriders as they celebrated their victory during the Battle of the Camp.

The Line of the Kings Fails

Reunification Rejected

When King Ondoher and his sons were slain in battle, in TA 1944, Gondor faced succession problems. Arvedui. Prince of Arthedain, son in law of Ondoher and General Earnil, a distant blood relative of Ondoher, all claimed the throne. Arvedui backed himself with the reintroduction of the old Numenoren law of accession, which stipulated that the eldest remaining child should succeed the king. If this was reintroduced, arvedui’s wife Fíriel, who was Ondoher’s daughter and last remaining child, automatically took the throne, making their descendants Kings of both a=Arnor and Gondor. Arvedui also claimed to be Isildur’s heir. The council of Gondor agreed that Isildur’s name was held in reverence in Gondor but ruled that the Southern Kingdom was to be ruled by Anarion’s heir. More than a millennium later, Aragorn Elessar claimed to be the heir of both Isildur and Anarion owing from his ancestry from Firiel and Arvedui.

Due to the popularity that earnil had earned as the general who had saved Gondor from the Wainriders, and  that he was a direct descendant of King Telumehtar Umbardacil, his claim to the throne was significantly cemented. Steward  Pelendur, temporarily serving as a judge of succession, intervened in his favor, and thus, he came to rule as Eärnil II.

The Last Heir of Anárion

Ernul, Earnil II’s heir, later led the forces of  Gondor in the war against the Witch-king of Angmar, also known as Lord of the Nazgûl in the Battle of Fornost. Eärnur had hoped to fight him but was disappointed when his horse became terrified and fled, and this allowed the Witch King to escape. This was lucky for him as Glorfindelthe Elf had told him that it was better not to fight the witch king as ‘never by the hand of man would he fail.

When Earnul later took the throne, he ruled from Minas Anor popularly known as the Tower of the Sun. It was during this time that the Ringwraiths took control of Minas Ithil’Tower of the Moon’ and renamed it Minas Morgul ‘Tower of Dark Sorcery,’ making it their lair. Ultimately, Earnul named Minas Anor Minas Tirith” Tower of Guard.”The witcxh king time and time again taunted Earnul that he had fled the battle of fornost out of cowardice and challenged him for single combat, King Earnul finally heeded overcome by wrath and took some few knights and rode to Minas Morgul. That was the last that was heard of them, consequently ending the line of Anárion

The Stewards of Gondor

The Ruling Stewards

Following the disappearance of Eärnur, no one gained enough support to ascend the throne as none was sure of the death of the king. Another Kin-strife would have messed Gondor and thus was unwilling to risk it. This resulted in a long line of hereditary Stewards, who would swear an oath to yield the throne back to the king should he come back or to an heir of Isildur. This oath was, however, not taken seriously as no one could claim direct descent from Isildur, and the line of Anarion had practically disappeared. The stewards, therefore, ruled as kings only without the title.  In the era of the war of the Ring, Denethor II was the ruling Steward of Gondor, he had two sons, Boromir and his younger brother Faramir, with the younger being the Gondor’s last ruling stewards.
 

Cirion and Eorl

In TA 2510, Gondor experienced a great misfortune, when Steward Cirion was King. Balchoth, an Easterling tribe, attacked with immense force. When Gondor charged, they were cut off at Minas Tirithand and pushed back towards Limelight.

Gondor asked for help from Éothéod, which was a tribe that lived in the northern vales of Anduin. Nobody expected the messengers to get there anyway. When disaster struck Gondor, the Eotheod turned the tables of the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. They were then awarded the fields of Calenardhon, which were at the North of the White Mountains, from the gap of Rohan at the southern end of ther Hithaeglir, Fangorn forest. Rivers Limlight to Anduin, western Emyn Muil, the Mering Stream, where the Kingdom of Rohan was built. Eorl the Young became its first king. Cirion and Earl the young, made an oath to a permanent alliance between the two kingdoms.

The War of the Ring and the Restoration

In TA 3018, Sauron’s forces overran Ithilien but were pushed back at the Osgiliath after the destruction of the bridge on the Anduin. The year that followed, Minas Tirith had a huge attack from Mordor and was additionally attacked by Corsairs of Umbar. Arargon, summoning the dead men of Dunharrow, devastated the forces of Umbar, in the process setting fcree the forces south of gondor to help Minas Tirith. unharrow, devastated the forces of Umbar, in the process setting fcree the forces south of gondor to help Minas Tirith. Gondor deafeated Mordor with help from Rohirrim, i with help from Rohirrim, in the battle of the Pelennor fields even though they incurred heavy losses. This  combined army tricked Sauron by taking the battle to Sauron at the  Bttle of Morranon  distracting him from Frodo Baggin’s quest to destroy the one RING AT Mount Doom. This led to the final defeat of Sauron.

After Sauron’s final defeat,the  kingship was restored ands Aragorn was crowned and served as King Ellesar of the Reunited Kingdom og Gondor ad Arnor. Faramir retained his hnis position as the Steward of the King and he governed Ithilien, between the rver of Anduin and Ephel Duath. The oaths between Gondor and Rohan were renewed and the remnants of the easterlings and the haradriim were defeated, thus its power and wealth restored.  Several Tolkien’s writings state that “…of Eldarion son of Elessar it was foretold that he should rule a great realm, and that it should endure for a hundred generations of men after him, that is until a new age brought in again new things; and from him should come the kings of many realms in long days after”.^[1]

Armies

Second Age

The soldiers of Gondor were recognized in the Second Age for their ruthlessness and skills. The training of these soldiers instilled within them a martial spirit and ardor, making them fight to death their opponents of Mordor, Rhûn and Harad. Every one ofd them was hugely built, very tall, broad and very strong and fought ruthlessly especially at the War of the Last Alliance. They used three main weapons; spears, longbows nand longswords. They also defended themselves  and attacked their opponents by using elaborate box formations. They wore heavy plate armour and guarded themselves with huge shields made from multilayed wood  and with metal edges for reinforcements.

Third Age

The army of Gondor, protected Middle Earth from Mordor, and it was very crucial due to its closeness to Mordor, so it had to be on guard and vigilant at all times. Due to this they were arguably the strongest Kingdom that opposed Sauron. During the Third Age armies in Minas tirith were trained to fight in tight infantry tactics, supported by archers and cavalry. Their arnmament included Chainmail undercoats with either a black tabard or plate armor on top of it. Their weapons were  longswords, longspears  and longbows, reinforced by tower shields.

The defence forces of Minas Tirith, were made of thousands of soldiers stationed across Osgiliath, cair Andros and the Rammas Echor. Ithese units were mostly detachments from the city. Minas Tirith also had at least three kgroups of the elite Guards of the Citadel,, whose duty was to defend the upper levels of tbe  city. Their uniform spotted black robes, surcoats and winged silver crowns. The guards of the city were not allowed to get inside in their uniform. The sixth level of the city had stables for a small force of horsemen. A secretive group of soldiers called the Rangers of Ithilien operated beyond the Anduin and the defencess of minas tirith. Their tactic was geurilla warfare against against allies of Mordor called Southrons. Just like the Rangers of the North, the rangers if ithilien comprised of the remnant of Dunedain, in this case those that once dwelled in Ithillien. (the Rangers of the North were Arnorian Dúnedain, while the Rangers of Ithilien are Gondorian- and were more populous than their northern kin) Armed with their weapons, they guarded against enemies allthrough Ithillien. The commander of the rangers of Ithilien in the war of the ring was Farahir, the younger brother of Boromir nad son to Denethor II.

Each fifdom had a lord who was responsible for its defence. Each fief had their own mode of training, number of soldiers and armament.Lossarnach,for instance, brought axemen to help Minas Tirith while the men of Morthond Vale consisted of archers. Dol Amroth had the largest force in Minas Tirith-the elite Swan Knights, hence was considered the greatest.

The port at Pelargir was important in the defense of Minas Tirith as it was where the ships of Gondor docked during the time of War of the Ring. This is portrayed by the fact that most ship were concentrated at the port. They were however destroyed when the Black ships of Umbar struck, enslaving most of the sailors for service in Mordor.

Song of Gondor

Gondor! Gondor, between the Mountains and the Sea!

West Wind blew there; the light upon the Silver Tree

Fell like bright rain in gardens of the Kings of old.

O proud walls! White towers! O wingéd crown and throne of gold!

O Gondor, Gondor! Shall Men behold the Silver Tree,

Or West Wind blow again between the Mountains and the Sea?

This was sung by Aragorn on his trip with Legolas and Gimli to find Pippin and Merry.

Etymology

Gondor as a name stands for ‘land of stone’. It comes from Sindarin gond (stone) and (n)dor (land). It was most likely came from the White Mountains (Ered Nimrais) and other mountain chains in the land (hypothetical Quenya name Ondonore).

Regions of Gondor

Anórien

Gondor was divide into the following regions;

• Ithilien, along the east bank of the Anduin river under the shadow of the Mountains of Shadow,  Ephel Dúath.  Ithilien was deserted and mostly under Mordor’s control during The War of the Ring. This not wistanding Gondor had secret bases across the region including  Henneth Annûn, and the Rangers of Ithilien used guerilla warfare to fight the enemy throughout Ithilien, and put in disarray supply lines and companies marching to and from Mordor. After the War of the Ring, Faramir was made Lord Paramount of Ithilien by Aragorn.
• South Ithilien, a part of the  Ithilien south of Osgiliath. The road (the Harad Road) the Southrons took to get to Mordor was here.
• Anórien, a strip of land along the northern edge of the White Mountains. Bordered by the Mering Stream and Rohan to the West, Anduin to the east, the Mouths of Entwash to to the North, and the White Mountains and Rammas Echor to the south.
• Lossarnach, a farmland region southwest of Minas Tirith, with very a very large population
• Lebennin, a plain extending from the White Mountains down to the Bay of Belfalas. It bordered Lossarnach.
• Belfalas, a fiefdom ruled by the Princes of Dol Amroth.
• Dor-en-Ernil, a narrow strip of land along the Bay of Belfalas ruled by the Princes of Dol Amroth.
• Lamedon, a plain between the White Mountains and the River Ringló.
• Anfalas or Langstrand, a narrow strip of land along the sea bordered by the Pinnath Gelin.
• Andrast, The western-most province of Gondor located on a narrow peninsula jutting out into the Sea.
• Ringló Vale, a mini-province.
• Morthond or Blackroot Vale, where Duilin comes from.

The unfinished tales imply that The long cape of Andrast was not occupied by the descendants of Númenóreans,but by a small group of Púkel-men.

At different historic periods Gondor had laid claim of the following regions:

• South Gondor or Harondor, an arid region between the rivers Poros and Harnen, which was contested between Gondor and Harad.
• Calenardhon, which was given to the Éothéod and became Rohan. It’s boundaries were the rivers of Anduin in the east, Isen in the West, Limlight in the North, and the White Mountains/ Mering Stream in the south.
• Enedwaith, a region between the rivers Isen and Greyflood. It was never truly populated by Gondor and was soon abandoned.
• Rhovanion, which was never fully under the control of Gondor but under Gondorian control at certain times during the Third Age.
• Ephel Dúath, the Mountains of Shadow, which was the extreme eastern region of Gondor where she kept watch over Mordor with many fortresses and cities such as Minas Ithil, Durthang, and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Evil things re-entered Mordor after Gondor’s watch upon the land slackened during the Second Age.

Major sites

Cities and strongholds in Gondor included:

• Cair Andros, an island-fortress in the river Anduin approximately 40 miles north of Osgiliath. Gondor maintained a steady garrison here, as it was of immense importance to Gondor during the long war with Mordor, so as to keep the enemy out of Anórien.

• Calembel, a city in Lamedon
• Dol Amroth, a city in Belfalas ruled by the Prince of Dol Amroth
• Ethring, a ford and a large township built on each side of the river Ringló
• Henneth Annûn, a hidden haven of Gondorian rangers in the northern part of Ithilien along the Ephel Duath, the Mountains of Shadow.
• Linhir, a port city in Lebennin
• Minas Tirith (originally Minas Anor), City of the Kings, the capital (Third Age) and largest city of Gondor
• Osgiliath, a city and former capital of Gondor on the river Anduin, largely devastated and deserted by the end of the Third Age. During the War of the Ring, Gondor kept a garrison on the west bank to prevent the Enemy from crossing the river and attacking Minas Tirith. Osgiliath was the main point from which to besiege Minas Tirith due to its location and access to the river. The huge Morgul-host led by the Witch-king to besiege Minas Tirith overburdened the garrison and got access to the Anduin, disintegrating the Siege of Gondor that would end with the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
• Pelargir, the great southern port besieged by the Corsairs in the War of the Ring
• Tarnost, a hill-town in Belfalas

Gondor also had the following locations at certain points in its history:

• Angrenost (Isengard), one of the three fortresses of Gondor it held one of the realm’s Palantiri. Its location in Nan Curunir (valley at the end of the Misty Mountains), was at the northwestern corner of the Southern Kingdom of Gondor, protecting the Fords of Isen from enemy incursions into Calenardhon, and together with the fortress of Helm’s Deep to its south guarded the Gap of Rohan. After Calenardhon was given to the Éothéod by Cirion, Steward of Gondor and became Rohan, Isengard remained partly Gondor, Aglarond moved to the northern fortress, although it became almost nonexistent. The small guard mingled with the Dunlendings, until it became a Dunlending fortress except the name. Orthanc, however, remained closed, as the Steward of Gondor still held the keys. Isengard became deserted.
• Durthang, the largest fortress in Mordor, originally built to guard the Ephel Dúath (Mountains of Shadow).
• Erech, a town of Gondor that was abandoned by the end of the Third Age. To the North lay the Paths of the Dead.
• Minas Ithil, a city founded by Isildur that was originally the sister city of Minas Anor. Located in an upland valley at the feet of the Mountains of Shadow, it was built as a fortress city to defend Gondor from Sauron in Mordor. It was later conquered by the Nazgûl and renamed Minas Morgul.
• Tharbad, a city on both sides of the river Greyflood, once held by Gondor in the south and Arnor in the North but abandoned as Gondor’s borders recessed through Enedwaith to the Isen, and later ruined.
• Tower of Cirith Ungol, a Tower Fortress in western Mordor built by Gondor to guard the pass of Cirith Ungol from any evil trying to gain access  to Mordor. The Great Plague devastated the garrison here, hence was easily captured when Sauron’s minions re-entered Mordor.
• Towers of the Teeth, two towers situated on either side of the Black Gate. named Carchost and Narchost, stood on either side of Cirith Gorgor, the Haunted Pass, lies between the Ephel Dúath (Mountains of Shadow), and the Ash Mountains. Originally built by Men of Gondor following the downfall of Sauron at the end of the Second Age, the Towers of the Teeth were later conquered by servants of the Dark Lord. They were then fortified and incorporated into the guards of the pass and gate.
• Umbar, the far southern port which was lost and reclaimed severally, eventually being  home to Black Númenóreans, the Corsairs of Umbar.