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in: Fortresses, Locations

Dol Guldur

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Dúnedain of Arnor

The Nazgul at Dol-Guldur

Dol Guldur (Orc. "Nazburz" Rhov. "Naquath Hlain") was the great dead volcano and fortress stronghold of Sauron in the southern regions of Mirkwood, where he dwelt in secret as the Necromancer, until discovered by the Wise. When they assaulted him, he withdrew to Mordor, but the Nazgûl soon returned to reclaim Dol Guldur. It was the capital and often even synonymous with the Realm of the Necromancer.

  • Political Organization: Divine Autocracy (Dictatorship).
  • Rulers: The Necromancer, Khamûl, Captain of Dol Guldur.
  • Administrative Organization: All offices appointed by Necromancer: all land held directly by Necromancer.
  • Population: 2,100 Orcs; 25 Trolls.
  • Military: 820 Orc Warriors, 15 Trolls, 100 Wolves, plus numerous Fell Beasts, Spiders, and other creatures under the indirect influence of Sauron.
  • Products: No exports.
  • Symbol: None (The Red Eye).

Lore[]

Dol Guldur is the seat of power and stronghold of Sauron in Mirkwood. The hill of Dol Guldur was originally called Amon Lanc, the Naked Hill, because it was bare of trees with a stony summit. Amon Lanc was on the western edge of the forest across the Anduin from Lothlórien. It was the highest point in the southwestern part of the forest. King Oropher of the Woodland Realm and his people originally lived around Amon Lanc but they gradually moved northward.

Dol Guldur was, for a time in the Second Age, the cheerful home of Drúin's Folk for a few years after they left their ancestral home of Moria and before they moved into the distant East and out of the tales of Men and Elves. The tunnels in the barren cinder cone stood vacant for centuries, until a sinister presence moved into them.

Around the year 1050 of the Third Age, Sauron began to regain strength after his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance. He came to Amon Lanc and built a great tower and stronghold on the hill, poisoning the surrounding forest, twisting and corrupting the Greenwood until even the Elves shunned the southern reaches of the forest. As the shadow fell over the forest, it came to be called Mirkwood.

The gloom was especially heavy around Dol Guldur and Great Spiders came to dwell around the hill. The hill was renamed Dol Guldur, the Hill of Black Magic, and the stronghold was referred to by this name as well. Disguising himself as the "Necromancer", an evil Sorcerer of great stature, Sauron delved new passages into Amon Lanc, creating breeding pits for his Orcs, Trolls, and other horrors.

Silently, the Dark Lord bided his time in his lair, now known as the Hill of Sorcerv, and brooded over his lost Ring while he rebuilt his power and his army. Already, he was secretly re-fortifying Mordor, and most of his new Orcs headed south for the plains of Gorgoroth and Núrn. Since Sauron had to abide in secret while he gathered his strength, he frequently acted through his lieutenant, Khamul the Easterling, a Nazgûl second in might only to the Witch-King of Angmar. While Sauron bred his troops. Khamul gathered the most powerful and corrupt Men from throughout Middle-earth to directly serve their Black Master.

Aside from these no living Man, Dwarf, or Elf had seen the interior of Dol Guldur and escaped in a condition to tell the tale. Sauron feared action by the White Council and did not hesitate to stoop to any atrocity to avoid their intervention. For the time being, subtlety was his watchword. The slow corruption of the Greenwood (soon known as Mirkwood) and the gradual waning of Gondorian power in Rhovanion were his immediate goals, and they are being met without the need for an open display. The mass migration of many tribes of Easterlings under his sway into the region formed the next stage of his plan, and already tribes of Sagath and Asdriags moved into the valley of the River Running. The chaos in Rhovanion caused by the mass migrations weakened Gondor's grasp on the area and allowed Sauron to refortify Mordor undiscovered and unmolested.

It was not known at first that the Necromancer was Sauron; it was thought that it might be one of the Nazgûl. But as the power grew in strength, Gandalf became suspicious and he went to Dol Guldur to investigate in 2063. Sauron fled and went into hiding for a while. The Watchful Peace lasted until 2460, when Sauron returned to Dol Guldur.

In 2845, Thrain was captured and thrown into the dungeons of Dol Guldur. Thrain had the last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves, and Sauron tormented him and took it from him. Gandalf came to Dol Guldur in disguise in 2850 and found Thrain near death. Before he died, Thrain gave Gandalf a map and key to the Lonely Mountain to be passed on to his son Thorin Oakenshield.

Gandalf explored the secrets of Dol Guldur and discovered that the evil presence was in fact Sauron. At a meeting of the White Council in 2851 he urged an attack on the stronghold. Saruman overruled him, saying that Sauron could not regain his full strength without the One Ring. Saruman claimed that the Ring had most likely been washed down the Anduin to the Sea, but in fact he believed it lay hidden in the Gladden Fields where Isildur had perished. Saruman coveted the Ring and he hoped that it might reveal itself by seeking its master if Sauron remained in nearby Dol Guldur.

Gandalf remained troubled by Sauron's presence, and at a White Council meeting in 2941 he once again proposed that they attack Dol Guldur. This time Saruman agreed because he had learned that Sauron was also searching for the One Ring in the Gladden Fields. The Council put forth their full strength and drove Sauron from Dol Guldur with the help of the devices that Saruman had developed during his study of the Enemy. But Sauron had been prepared for the assault and he went in secret to the Dark Tower, his great stronghold in Mordor.

Sauron maintained an outpost at Dol Guldur and in 2951 he sent the Ringwraith known as Khamûl the Easterling to command the stronghold. Khamûl was accompanied by one or two of the other Nazgûl. A number of Orcs were stationed there as well.

In March of 3018, scouts from Dol Guldur became aware that Gollum had been brought to Mirkwood and was being held prisoner by King Thranduil. On June 20, Orcs from Dol Guldur attacked the Elves who were guarding Gollum. Gollum escaped from the Elves, but he also managed to elude capture by the Orcs.

During the War of the Ring, forces from Dol Guldur attacked Lothlórien three times. The first assault on March 11 was repelled by the Elves and the power of Galadriel. Hosts of the Orcs then turned south and entered the Wold of Rohan where they were confronted by Treebeard and the Ents on March 12. Most of these Orcs were slain or driven into the Anduin. On March 15, the second assault was launched against Lothlórien, while farther north in Mirkwood forces from Dol Guldur engaged the Elves of the Woodland Realm in battle. Both attacks were thwarted by the Elves. The third assault on Lothorien took place on March 22, but it too failed.

After the defeat of Sauron on March 25, Celeborn led a force from Lothlórien across the Anduin on March 28. The Elves captured Dol Guldur and Galadriel threw down the walls of the stronghold and the shadow was lifted from the forest.

End of the Third Age[]

The powerfull fortress of Dol Guldur was apparently abandoned after the Necromancer's defeat. But secretly, a band of Gundabad and Moria Orcs were dispatched by Sauron to inhabit the fortress and began the forging and breeding of new orcs. The infamous Mordú, who had recently joined Sauron also travelled to Dol Guldur, Mordú's influence in the bandits and corrupt Men that lived near to Dol-Guldur was big. Easily, Mordú recruited many Evil Men and started lessons of sorcery to some of the most clever corrupt men.

More Orcs from Gundabad and Moria arrived, the orc chieftain Klarbug was one of the first Guldur Masters and he founded the kitchens of Dol Guldur and the slavery of Elves and men in the pits of Dol-Guldur. Dol Guldur pitmasters began recruiting Trolls and breeding Guldur-Trolls. In that time, Mirkwood was so quiet that even Legolas son of Thranduil did not noted the productions in Dol Guldur.

In T.A 2996, the Ringwraith Khamûl travelled to Dol Guldur while Mordú was summoned by Sauron to Mordor to work in some letters and books that Sauron was requiring. With Khamûl arrival, fell-beasts soon began inhabit the Hill of Sorcery.

In the War of the Ring, Dol Guldur's forces proved to be strong and powerfull while the productions of Dol Guldur (Kitchens, forges etc) were way bigger and powerfull. Dol Guldur attacked Thranduil's fortress two times and attacked elven outposts and camps many times. It also attacked Lorien 3 times. But the Guldur Orcs were defeated in this battles. After Sauron's death, all the nazgul were killed too. So Khamûl could not led the Guldur forces again. Without an powerfull leader, the Guldur Orcs, Men and Trolls were easily defeated in smaller attacks on Mirkwood. Galadriel, Celeborn and Thranduil decided that Dol Guldur should be destroyed. 1 Day after the decision, an army of elves attacked Dol Guldur, Ents arrived and crushed the Guldur-Trolls. In the end, Galadriel used all her power in the fortress and only large amounts of stone and many ruined forges, watchtowers were still in the Volcano.

However, in the Fourth Age, Celeborn and the remaining elves leaved Middle Earth and sailed to Aman. Many orcs and trolls that survived the War of the Ring began inhabit the dark forests of Lorien and Mirkwood, using Dol Guldur as they capital.

Locations[]

  • the 999 Steps
  • Afûkhaush's Residence
  • Ambassador's Quarters
  • Amon Lanc
  • Barad Guldur
  • Celedhring's Residence
  • The Drawbridge
  • Dungeons
  • the Endless Caverns
  • Entrance to the Fortress
  • Eye of Dol Guldur
  • Fennas Guldur - Front Gate (East)
  • Fhalaugash's Residence
  • Forest Maze
  • The Gaol of Sauron
  • First Precipice
  • Second Precipice
  • Third Precipice
  • Front Gate
  • The Grotto
  • Guest Quarters and Elite Guest Quarters
  • The settlement of Helethir
  • The Kitchens
  • Kragor-lug
  • Krîtat's Quarters
  • Lower Gate
  • The Lower Throne
  • Main Hall
  • The Maze of Madness
  • The Nazgûl's Chamber
  • The Necromancer's Gate
  • Necromancer's Halls
  • Necromancer's Vantage
  • Quartermaster's Residence
  • The Pinnacle of Dol Guldur
  • The Red Gate
  • Residence of the Grimbûrz
  • Residence of the Guldur-Mouth
  • Residence of the High Commanders
  • The Ringwraiths' Lair
  • Sammath Gûl
  • Sauron's viewing Chamber
  • Secret Passage
  • The First Stratum
  • The Second Stratum
  • The Third Stratum
  • The Fourth Stratum
  • The Fifth Stratum
  • Sauron´s Graveyard
  • Sauron's Harrow
  • Spider's Lair
  • Stone Troll's Lair
  • Sword-Hall
  • The Tower
  • Tower Gate
  • Upper Gate
  • The Upper Throne
  • Warg-pens
  • The Warlock's Hold
  • Watchpost
  • Watchtower
  • The Web
  • The Wheel

Creatures[]

Tribes[]

Men:

  • Grimburî
  • Grimbúrz
  • Guldurim
  • Kazgûmhoth

Characters[]

Ainur[]

Dwarf Prisoners[]

Elf Prisoners[]


Men Prisoners and Dark Servants[]

Orcs[]

Trolls[]

Undead[]

Sources[]

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