Editing Barad-dûr

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{{location infobox
| name=Barad-dûr
| image=[[File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Barad-dur.jpg|250px]]
| caption="Barad-dûr" by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
| pronun=
| othernames=''Lugburz'' ([[Black Speech|BS]])<br />''Taras Lúna'', ''Lúnaturco'' ([[Quenya|Q]])<br />The Dark Tower
| location=North-western [[Mordor]], on the [[Plateau of Gorgoroth]]
| type=Tower
| description=Gargantuan tower
| regions=
| towns=
| inhabitants=[[Sauron]], [[Nazgûl]], [[Orcs]]
| created=c. {{SA|1000}}
| rebuilt={{TA|2942}}-{{TA|2953|n}}
| destroyed={{TA|3019}}
| events=[[Siege of Barad-dur]], [[Downfall of Barad-dûr]]
}}

<center>{{quote|...wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant... Barad-dûr, fortress of Sauron.|Vision of [[Frodo Baggins]] in ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', "[[The Breaking of the Fellowship]]"}}</center>

'''Barad-dûr''', also known as the '''Dark Tower''', was the chief fortress of [[Sauron]], on the [[Plateau of Gorgoroth]] in [[Mordor]]. Known in [[Black Speech]] as '''''[[Barad-dûr#Etymology|Lugbúrz]]''''', the Eye of Sauron kept watch over [[Middle-earth]] from its highest tower.

==Description==
Barad-Dûr was built upon the end of a long southern spur of the [[Ered Lithui]] in the northern part of the Plateau of Gorgoroth. It stood about 30 miles east of [[Mount Doom]] and about 100 miles southeast of the [[Black Gate]]. There was both a road leading north to the Black Gate and Sauron's road to the [[Cracks of Doom|Sammath Naur]] leading west to Mount Doom.<ref name="Mount Doom">{{RK|Doom}}</ref> The latter ran from the Dark Tower's western gate over a deep abyss, the plain and around the mountain to the dark entrance of the Chambers of Fire.

Barad-Dûr was the greatest fortress ever built since the Fall of [[Angband]]. It was founded upon a mighty iron mountain throne above immeasurable pits and appeared even blacker and darker than the mantling clouds and shades in which it stood. It was immeasurably strong with its countless gargantuan towers, walls and battlements and was made of very hard and unbreakable substances.<ref name="Breaking">{{FR|Breaking}}</ref> Usually it was described as made of steel, iron or adamant. It had gaping gates, great courts and dungeons with deep and terrible prisons.<ref name="Mount Doom"/>

==History==
===First Building===
Sauron began to build Barad-dûr in around {{SA|1000}}, choosing Mordor as a land to make into a stronghold.<ref name="Tale">{{App|SA}}</ref> Around {{SA|1600}} he secretly forged the [[The One Ring|One Ring]] in the fires of [[Mount Doom]] and completed his fortress after 600 years of the construction with the power of the Ring.

During the following years Sauron was able to consolidate his power and extend it into the east.<ref name="Rings">{{S|Rings}}</ref> However, in {{SA|3262}}, [[Ar-Pharazôn]], king of [[Númenor]], landed at the [[Umbar|Haven of Umbar]] with a great host and marched north to Mordor. Their splendor and might was so great that Sauron humbled himself before the king and came to Númenor as a hostage.

The year after the Downfall of Númenor in {{SA|3319}} Sauron's spirit secretly returned to Barad-dûr.<ref name="Tale"/> There he worked a terrible shape for himself, took up again the One Ring and prepared for war against the Eldar and the Exiles of Númenor, who had established their realms in [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]].<ref name="Rings"/> He succeeded in taking [[Minas Ithil]] but in {{SA|3430}}<ref name="Tale"/> [[Elendil]] and [[Gil-galad]] forged the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] and defeated Sauron four years later in the [[Battle of Dagorlad]].<ref name="Rings"/> Then they passed into Mordor and besieged Barad-dûr. The siege lasted for seven years, Gil-galad and Elendil were slain and in {{SA|3441}}<ref name="Tale"/> Sauron was finally defeated.<ref name="Rings"/> Isildur son of Elendil cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand and took it for his own instead of destroying it. The Dark Tower was finally leveled but its foundations remained<ref name="Tale"/> since Barad-dûr was created using the power of the One Ring and couldn't be destroyed as long as that existed.

===Reconstruction===
[[File:John Howe - The Dark Tower 01.jpg|thumb|''The Dark Tower'' by [[John Howe]]]]
Around {{TA|1050}} Sauron returned and secretly made a stronghold at [[Dol Guldur]]. [[Gandalf]] did not discover that Sauron was the master of Dol Guldur until {{TA|2850}}, and in {{TA|2941}} the [[White Council]] attacked the fortress, forcing Sauron to retreat to Barad-dûr, which the [[Nazgûl]] had prepared for him, and began to rebuild it in {{TA|2951}}.<ref name="Tale"/> It was completed in {{TA|2953}},<ref name="Tale"/> and from then on Sauron stayed in Barad-dûr and conducted his war on the free people of Middle-Earth from there.

On [[25 March|March 25]], {{TA|3019}} the ring-bearer [[Frodo Baggins]] succeeded in destroying the One Ring, although it was the creature [[Gollum]] who actually held the Ring as it fell into the [[Cracks of Doom]]. With the Ring destroyed Barad-dûr ultimately collapsed to ruin and Sauron was finally defeated.

{{blockquote|A brief vision he had of swirling cloud, and in the midst of it towers and battlements, tall as hills, founded upon a mighty mountain-throne above immeasurable pits; great courts and dungeons, eyeless prisons sheer as cliffs, and gaping gates of steel and adamant: and then all passed. Towers fell and mountains slid; walls crumbled and melted, crashing down; vast spires of smoke and spouting steams went billowing up, up, until they toppled like an overwhelming wave, and its wild crest curled and came foaming down upon the land. And then at last over the miles between there came a rumble, rising to a deafening crash and roar; the earth shook, the plain heaved and cracked, and Orodruin reeled.|Vision of [[Samwise Gamgee]] from the downfall of Barad-Dûr<ref name="Mount Doom"/>}}

==Etymology==
{{Pronounce|Barad-dur.mp3|Ardamir}}
''Barad-dûr'' translates from [[Sindarin]] as "Dark Tower". The word ''[[Barad]]'' [in this instance] means "tower" (according to many Tolkien resources, ''barad'' also means "fortress or stronghold"); ''[[dûr]]'', means "dark".<ref name="App">{{S|Appendix}}</ref>

'''''Lugbúrz''''' was the name of Barad-dûr in the [[Black Speech]], composed of the Black Speech words ''lûg'' ("fortress, lock-up, prison") and ''[[búrz]]'' ("dark").<ref>{{TT|III3}}</ref><ref name=Eldarin>{{PE|17}}</ref>{{rp|79}}

The [[Quenya]] versions of ''Barad-dûr'' are '''''Taras Lúna''''' ("Dark Tower") and '''''Lúnaturco''''' ("Dark Stronghold"), never used within the narration.<ref name=Eldarin></ref>{{rp|22}}

==Portrayal in adaptations==
<center><gallery>
File:The Return of the King (1980 film) - Barad-dûr.jpg|<center>[[The Return of the King (1980 film)|''The Return of the King'' (1980 film)]]</center>
File:The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - Barad-dûr collapsing.jpg|<center>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]''</center>
File:The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (video game) - Barad-dur.png|<center>[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]]</center>
Image:Barad-dur_BFMEI.jpg|<center>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]''</center>
Image:Barad-dur_BFMEII.jpg|<center>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]''</center>
</gallery>
</center>

'''1980: [[The Return of the King (1980 film)|''The Return of the King'' (1980 film)]]:'''
:Barad-dûr is portrayed as a simple fortress. During a [[The One Ring|ring]]-induced dream, [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] dreams of taking the Ring and storming the Tower, but his common sense gains the upper hand in time.<ref>[[The Return of the King (1980 film)|''The Return of the King'' (1980 film)]], "Samwise the Strong"</ref>

'''1981: [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (1981 radio series)]]:'''
:Barad-dûr is one of the first sites visited. After the [[Witch-king]] captures [[Gollum]] snooping on the edge of Mordor, the [[Mouth of Sauron]] questions the creature in the Dark Tower.<ref>[[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (1981 radio series)]], "The Shadow of the Past"</ref>

'''2001-03: [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]:'''
:In the [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''Lord of the Rings'' movies]] by [[Peter Jackson]], [[Richard Taylor]] and his design team built a 9 foot high miniature ("[[Bigatures|big-ature]]") of Barad-dûr for use in the film.  Using the size scale for the model implemented for the films, the Dark Tower is  depicted as being over 1500 meters (5,000 feet) tall.
:''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'' also shows Barad-dûr as clearly visible from the [[Black Gate]] of Mordor. Even granting its enormous size, it was located one hundred miles away and to the east of the Gate, and behind the inner mountain ridges of [[Udûn (valley)|Udûn]] so [[Aragorn]]'s army would probably not have been able to see it. In the film version, the geography of Mordor seems generally to have been compressed somewhat, perhaps for artistic reasons related to rendering such complex stories in a visual medium. In the case of the Black Gate scene, having Barad-dûr visible from the Gate means that the army can see the Eye of Sauron staring at them.

'''2002: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (video game)]]:'''
:The Tower is briefly visible in the opening scene. [[Galadriel]] narrates a vision from her [[Mirror of Galadriel|Mirror]]. It is only referred to as "The Dark Tower of Mordor", and it is the base of the [[Nazgûl|Ringwraiths]] (as opposed to [[Minas Morgul]]). The Eye of Sauron is portrayed as a fiery eye at the top, but is only visible for a split second.

'''2004: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth]]'':'''
:Barad-dûr is shown in the introduction scene. It's design is similar to that of the tower in the movies. It does not play a role in any of the campaigns, and does not appear on any of the maps.

'''2006: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'':'''
:Like in its predecessor, the tower of Barad-dûr plays no active role in this game. In the "War of the Ring" mode, it can be seen in the territory of Mordor, but is absent on the map itself.

==See also==
* [[Siege of Barad-dûr]] 
* [[Mordor]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barad-dur}}
[[Category:Fortresses]]
[[Category:Mordor]]
[[Category:Towers]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]

[[de:Barad-dûr]]
[[fi:Barad-dûr]]
[[fi:Musta Torni]]
[[fr:encyclo:geographie:villes_tours_et_forteresses:mordor:barad-dur]]

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