Osgiliath
From the One Wiki to Rule Them All, the Lord of the Rings Encyclopedia.
Osgiliath was founded by Isildur and Anarion at the end of the Second Age and became the capital city of the Kingdom of Gondor. The city is located between Minas Tirith and Minas Ithil on either side of the Anduin River.
In its heyday Osgiliath was a large and populous city.
It had a single stone bridge spanning the width of the Anduin. At the middle of the bridge was the Tower of Stone, where the chief Palantír of Gondor was kept. Also, the court of Isildur and Anarion was seated there. The Palantír probably fell in the great Anduin when Osgiliath was destroyed.
At the time of Gondor's founding, Isildur and Anarion jointly ruled the kingdom from Osgiliath.
As Gondor declined, war and plague had taken its toll on the population and people gradually moved away from Osgiliath. Later kings had moved the capital to Minas Tirith as Osgiliath had fallen into ruin and disrepair. During the time of the War of the Ring, Osgiliath had become an outpost of war. After Sauron was defeated it is presumed that Aragorn, the new king of Gondor, had the city rebuilt but kept the capital at Minas Tirith. (He rebuilt the northern city of Annúminas as a summer capital; see: The Reunited Kingdom.)
[edit] Assault on Osgiliath
Before the forces of Minas Morgul could begin their attack on Minas Tirith, they first had to penetrate and defeat the outer defenses of Gondor, including Osgiliath. These forces, led by Captain Boromir at first, but later, after he left for Rivendell, Faramir took command. They had to prepare a resistance to keep the armies of Mordor out. The first wave that came after Boromir left, was only a small host of Orcs to test their strength. Next, as seen as in the Two Towers, they bring in catapults. The third and final time, they were commanded by the Witch-king and came in secret at night. They came from a place on the river barely gaurded, and shot the guard on the wall. They came in rafts and ran onto the beach. They thought that they had not been noticed, but soon an angry Faramir jumps into the center of the Orc squad. The Gondorian forces counter their attack at the river, but more orcs soon invade by the repaired bridges of Osgiliath, which once connected West Osgiliath (held by Gondor) and East Osgiliath (held by Mordor). The bridges had to be repaired because Boromir destroyed them in an attempt to stop them. With Orcs coming at every end, and few soldiers available, the forces of Gondor are forced to retreat to Minas Tirith, and the outer defenses were conquered.
Video of Osgiliath |
|
Places of Middle-earth and Arda
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Dunland | Ithilien | Rohan | Arnor | Ettenmoors | Gondor | Lindon | Minhiriath | Rhûn | The Shire | Mordor | Harad | Forochel Forests & Mountains: Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Old Forest | Redhorn Pass | Tower Hills | Weather Hills City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost | Helm's Deep | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Osgiliath | Rivendell | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Cair Andros | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens | Buckland | Enedwaith | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Fords of Isen | Weathertop | Argonath The rest of Arda:
Valinor | Númenor | Dark Land | Aman | Tol Eressëa |
