Sauron

Other names: Myron, Gortaur, Annatar, Artano, Aulendil, Zigur, Necromancer Title: The Dark Lord Lord of the Rings The Lord of Barad-dura Reign: 1600 A.D. — 3019 A.D. Race: Ainu Culture: Mayar Aule Melkor Paul: Male State: Almaren, Utumno, Angband, Tol-in-Gaurhot, Numenor, Dol Guldur, Mordor Birth: Before the creation of Ea The Halls of Timelessness

one of the first Maiar to defect to Melkor, for whom he was the right-hand man and the most powerful and loyal servant. After Melkor's defeat in the War of Wrath, Sauron soon took the place of the Dark Lord himself, becoming the last physical embodiment of evil in Arda.

Before the fall, he was a master in the retinue of Val Aule. Sauron was Melkor's spy among the Valar for a long time and openly joined him after the collapse of the Lamps. Subsequently, Melkor appointed Sauron as his governor in Angband, until he returned there after being captured in Valinor. During the War of the Gems, Sauron captured the fortress of the Noldor on Tol Sirion, but later was defeated in a battle with Juan and disappeared into the wilderness.

At the end of the First Age, Sauron repented, but out of pride he did not appear at the court of the Valar and turned to evil again. Intent on enslaving Free Peoples, he created Rings of Power with the hands of the deceived Celebrimbor, while he forged a Single Ring to control the rest of the Rings and their bearers. Later, Sauron also managed to destroy Numenor, converting most of its inhabitants to the worship of Darkness. Thanks to the preservation of the Single Ring, he did not die during the overthrow of Numenor and defeat in the War of the Last Alliance. During the Third Age, Sauron weakened his enemies, the elves and Dunedain, eventually gaining enough power for a new attempt to conquer Middle-earth, but suffered a final defeat after the destruction of the One Ring.

The Period before the First Epoch Like the rest of the Ainur, Sauron was created by Eru Iluvatar before the Music of the Ainur. Sauron did not join the dissonance of Melkor in Music and was among those Ainur who joined Ea to prepare it for the coming of the Children of Eru (elves and humans). In Arda, Sauron became one of the mayars of Aule and was known as Myron before his fall.Soon Melkor rebelled against Manwe and tried to appropriate Arda for himself, opposing the rest of the Valar. Sauron was one of those Maiar who sided with Melkor during these years, worshiping his greatness. However, the root cause of Sauron's downfall was his main virtue: his love of order and coordination. He did not tolerate confusion and useless quarrels. Sauron was attracted to the side of Melkor by his will and power, suitable, as it seemed to Sauron at first, for the rapid and imperious execution of his own plans.

For some time, Sauron successfully pretended to be a faithful servant of the Valar, constantly providing Melkor with information. Thus, when the Valar settled on Almaren and lost their vigilance, Melkor knew about everything.

After the destruction of Almaren by Melkor, the Valar left Middle-earth and settled in the lands of Aman, founding Valinor. They still had no idea about Sauron's betrayal, since he also became a resident of Valinor, but at some point Sauron left Aman and began to openly serve Melkor. After the creation of the fortress-arsenal of Angband in the north-west of Middle-earth, Melkor appointed Sauron its commander.

In the war of the Valar with Melkor, the cause of which was the awakening of the elves in 1050 (the beginning of the First Epoch), Angband quickly fell, and Sauron was forced to flee (1090). The Valar besieged Utumno and eventually took it, capturing Melkor and taking him to Valinor to serve his sentence (1099). The Valar could not find Sauron. In Melkor's absence, Sauron hid in the ruins of Angband, rebuilding the army of the orcs and waiting for the return of the lord. In 1497, Melkor (now Morgoth) returned to Middle-earth with the stolen Silmarils of Feanor. He rebuilt Angband and moved the hordes prepared by Sauron against Thingol, the king of the Sindar elves. After Melkor, the Noldor elves arrived, led by Feanor, who intended to return the Silmarils. In the War for Gems with the Noldor, Sauron was the governor of Morgoth, surpassing Gotmog, the lord of the Balrogs and the commander-in-chief of the army of Angband in terms of influence.

In the first year of the Sun of the First Epoch, the first People awoke, and Melkor departed to them, leaving Sauron to lead the war with the Noldor. In the year Dagor Bragollach (455 A.D.), Morgoth sent Sauron to capture the elven island of Tol Sirion, which he did, expelling Orodreth from there; the island has since become known as Tol-in-Gaurhot (the Island of Werewolves). No living creature could pass through the valley without Sauron noticing it from the tower.

In 1695, at the head of a huge army, Sauron invaded Eriador and moved towards Eregion. His army was so large that the combined forces of Celeborn and Elrond were driven back at the same time as Eregion was besieged. In 1697, the capital of the elves, Ost-in-Edil, was captured. Celebrimbor went out to fight Sauron himself on the threshold of Mirdain's House, but lost the duel and was captured.Sauron found Nine Rings and other less valuable creations of Myrdine in the House. However, other rings could not be found, especially Three, which Sauron particularly wanted to take possession of because of the power to stop the world from withering away.

Under torture, Celebrimbor gave away the location of the Seven Rings, as he did not appreciate them, but did not say a word about the Three. Enraged, Sauron ordered Celebrimbor to be executed and his body carried on a pole as a banner. Sauron threw troops at Elrond's troops, and they managed to survive only thanks to the help of the dwarves of Khazad-Doom and the elves of Amroth, who struck Sauron in the rear. Elrond retreated north and fortified himself in Imladris, and Sauron drove the dwarves and elves back, but the Gates of Moria slammed shut. Since then, Sauron has been consumed by hatred for the dwarves of the Durin clan. After completing the devastation of Eregion (1699), Sauron sent armies to Lyndon, correctly assuming that the three Rings would be there. Sauron was close to victory, but he was prevented by the fleet of Numenor, sent by King Tar-Minastir to help the elves of Gil-galad. In 1700, under the Gray Harbors, Sauron's troops suffered a crushing defeat, and in the battle of the Sarn Ford they were driven back to the southeast. In the battle of the Gwatlo River, Sauron barely managed to escape only under the cover of several bodyguards. In 1701, he secretly returned to Mordor and swore revenge on the Numenorians.

In the following years, Sauron focused his attention on the east, gathering allies and distributing Rings. The Nine Rings were distributed among the kings of men and gradually inclined them to evil, eventually turning them into ulairi — the most powerful and loyal of Sauron's servants. The Seven Rings were given to the dwarf lords, but they could not be enslaved because of the natural resilience of this people.

Nevertheless, Sauron was at the peak of his power, becoming almost the supreme ruler of Middle-earth, as his power extended over all of Middle-earth, except for those places where elves and Numenorians lived. He ruled a huge empire from the citadel of Barad-Dur in Mordor, constantly using the Single Ring. Sauron's greed and pride increased enormously. He did not tolerate anyone's will and no one's rivalry, called himself the Lord of the Earth. He could still mislead people if He wanted to, appearing to them in a guise full of wisdom and beauty. But Sauron usually ruled by force and fear, if it was profitable for him. People in the east and south completely submitted to him, calling him God and King, fearing his fiery abode at Orodruin. Others in those years began to call him the Dark Lord and the Enemy.

The armies of Sauron caused considerable damage to the coastal fortresses and settlements of the Numenorians. As a result, Sauron proclaimed himself king over the people, promised to expel the Numenorians and destroy Numenor itself. But Sauron overestimated his power and authority, as in the years of his greatness, the power of Numenor also increased.