Dol Guldur

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Place in Arda Dol Guldur
Name	Dol Guldur (Hill of Sorcery)
Other Names	Amon Lanc (Bald Hill)
Description	Outpost of Sauron
Constructed By	Sauron
Realm	Mirkwood
Lord	Sauron, later Khamûl
Type	Fortress
Lifespan	TA 1000 - TA 3019

Dol Guldur, or Hill of Sorcery, was a stronghold of Sauron located in the south of Mirkwood.

Dol Guldur was established by Sauron after his return to Middle-earth somewhere after TA 1000. Sauron became known as the Necromancer, and his identity was long kept secret. Dol Guldur was originally known as Amon Lanc (bald hill), and had been the capital of Oropher's Silvan realm. The Silvan Elves had fled north to the Black Mountains (later the Mountains of Mirkwood) after Sauron's return from the Downfall of Númenor. Later, after Sauron captured Amon Lanc, Thranduil, son of Oropher, led his people over the Forest river, where they remained.

[edit] The Fortress of Sauron

The White Council long feared the power in Dol Guldur might be Sauron, and in TA 2063 Gandalf went to Dol Guldur. Sauron, not yet powerful enough to challenge him, fled to the east. In TA 2460 Sauron returned there, just as the One Ring was found by Sméagol the Stoor. However, the Ring disappeared with Sméagol under the Hithaeglir.

Sauron continued to increase his power over the next 380 years, and searched for the Ring the whole time.

[edit] Sauron Discovered

In TA 2845 Thráin II, holder of the last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves, was imprisoned in Dol Guldur's dungeons. In TA 2850 Gandalf again entered Dol Guldur, and found the dying Thráin. Gandalf was entrusted with the map and key to give to Thorin Oakenshield, Thráin's son, although Thráin could not tell Gandalf his own name or the name of his son before he died. Gandalf confirmed Sauron was the master of Dol Guldur at that time.

[edit] Sauron Flees to Mordor

Gandalf returned to the White Council and urged an attack on Dol Guldur, but was overruled by Saruman, who had begun searching for the One Ring in that area, by then. In TA 2941 Saruman finally agreed to an attack, which occurred at the same time as the Quest for Erebor. This was carefully planned by Gandalf, so that Sauron and Smaug could not assist each other, as otherwise they surely would have done. The White Council attacked Dol Guldur, and drove out Sauron. Sauron fled to Mordor, his plans now ready. Dol Guldur remained staffed by Khamûl, a lieutenant of Barad-dûr, second in command of the Nazgûl.

[edit] Dol Guldur Destroyed

During the War of the Ring, the forces of Dol Guldur made three assaults upon Lórien and Thranduil's realm in Mirkwood, causing grievous damage to the outlying woodlands, but they were driven back each time by the power of Nenya, Galadriel's Ring of Power, which only Sauron himself could have overcome. The elves, led by Thranduil of Mirkwood and Galadriel of Lorien, led an assault on Dol Guldur. Galadriel herself threw down its walls, and lay its pits bare. (Note that Galadriel did this with her own strengths, as Nenya would have been nearly powerless after the destruction of the One Ring.) Absolutely nothing of the fortress that had stood for 2,019 years was left. Renamed back to Amon Lanc, it became the capital of Celeborn's realm of East Lorien in the Fourth Age, while he remained in Middle-Earth.

[edit] Role in the Battle for Middle-earth II PC Game

In Battle for Middle-earth II, Dol Guldur is commanded by the Mouth of Sauron, not Khamul. Dol Guldur (or Mordor itself) sent a huge army of Orcs, Haradhrim, and Trolls to assault Erebor, the Lonely Mountain and greatest Kingdom of the Trolls. The attack fails, and the Mouth of Sauron is killed along with all the attacking force. Dol Guldur is then itself attacked by a combined army of Elves and Dwarves led by Elrond, Arwen, Glorfindel, Gloin, and Dain Ironfoot. After a long and hard struggle, the Elves and Dwarves finally overrun Dol Guldur and lay waste to the evil that dwelled there, ending Sauron's war campaign in the North once and for all (unless Sauron had gotten the Ring, which never happened).

It is presumed that, following the destruction of Dol Guldur, it would have been returned to its former state as Amon Lanc and taken as East Lorien, just like it had happened in the storyline.

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Valinor | Númenor | Dark Land | Aman | Tol Eressëa

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