Orcs of Isengard

"Orcs of the White Hand" by John Howe
People
Orcs of Isengard
General Information
Other names	Isengarders
Origins	Orcs controlled and bred by Saruman (including the Uruk-hai, Northern Orcs, Half-orcs)
Locations	Isengard
Affiliation	Saruman
Rivalries	Rohirrim, Ents
Languages	Debased Westron, Orkish dialects (with minor Black Speech elements)
Members	Uglúk, Mauhúr, Snaga

The Orcs of Isengard or Isengarders were the collective terms to describe an entirety of the Orcs that served the corrupted Wizard Saruman, a traitor to the White Council. Making up the bulk of his manpower, they had settled in the pits within the Ring of Isengard and were sent to harass and assail the neighboring kingdom of Rohan.

History

Saruman began to draw Orcs of the Misty Mountains to his service as mercenaries as early as T.A. 2990, and these troops were kept in the muddy pits tunnelled beneath Isengard in preparation for Saruman's attack on Rohan. The fiercest and largest of those in the service of the White Hand were the fighting Uruk-hai, perilous black Orc-soldiers of great size and strength. However, even although these Uruks still disliked it, they were resistant to sunlight, presumably due to an exhaustive training.

Furthermore, the wizard fell so terribly low in his corruption and malice that he also experimented with cross-breeding of Orcs with Men to improve Orkish stock, and thus Half-orcs and Goblin-men appeared, being large, treacherous, vile, and cunning. These Isendardes indeed resembled more wicked Men than 'pure' Orcs.

After renouncing the White Council and secretly becoming the duplicitous servant of the Enemy in T.A. 3000, Saruman began to harass the kingdom of Rohan by throwing in with its enemies. As the Shadow of Sauron extended, Orcs began to pillage the eastern villages of the Rohirrim and were joined by others from the Misty Mountains, some being in the service of Saruman such as great Uruks.

He continued to gather Orcs, among them Wolf-riders, to Isengard by the time he held Gandalf captive in Orthanc.

During the War of the Ring, Saruman sent a large force of Orcs, including two armour-clad battalions of black Uruks, backed by Dunlendings in T.A. 3019 in the First Battle of the Fords of Isen, with Prince Théodred being slain per his special order. This was done both to allow him and his master, Sauron, full control over Rohan as part of the latter's war on the West, but also to more easily allow Saruman himself to dispatch parties of Orcs on routes the Fellowship of the Ring was likely to take. Such a troop joined by Orcs of Mordor and "northerners" ambushed the company at Amon Hen, mortally-wounding Boromir and capturing the halflings Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. Near the eaves of Fangorn Forest however, the Orcs were attacked by the Riders of Rohan led by Éomer and slain to the last.

Saruman's host overwhelmed Rohirrim defenders in the Second Battle of the Fords of Isen, allowing his army of ten thousand Orcs (the Uruk-hai and Wolf-riders), reinforced by a rearguard of Dunlendings alongside Half-orcs, to push through towards Helm's Deep where King Théoden had chosen to make his stand. Though initially gaining the upper hand due to superior numbers and the machinery they had, the Battle of the Hornburg ended with the crushing defeat of Saruman's forces. Bitter at the destruction the wizard had dealt to their forest, the Ents of Fangorn set out towards Isengard, laying down the walls, crushing the Orcs and flooding the fortress.