Minas Tirith

Minas Tirith [ Sindarin; minas (tower) + tirith (watch/guard)] (IPA: ) was the capital of Gondor in the Third Age and the Fourth Age of Middle-earth. Originally known as Minas Anor, the "Tower of the Setting Sun", it replaced the city Osgiliath as the new capital and stockade of Gondor.

When the Enemy began to take shape again, Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, the "Tower of Guard." The city was also called The White City, as the courtyard in the front of the city's Citadel contained the White Tree. Many important events took place in and in front of the city, such as the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the healing of Éowyn by Aragorn after the battle, and the coronation of Aragorn II Elessar.

Layout
"For the fashion of Minas Tirith was such that it was built on seven levels, each delved into the hill, and about each was set a wall, and in each was a gate. But the gates were not set in a line: the Great Gate in the City wall was at the east point of the circuit, but the next faced half south, and the third half north, and so to and fro upwards; so the paved way that climbed toward the citadel turned this way and that and then that across the face of the hill."

- The Return of the King, Chapter 1: Minas Tirith

Minas Tirith was surrounded by the Rammas Echor, a large ringwall encircling the city and the Pelennor Fields. This wall was built after Minas Ithil fell and was renamed Minas Morgul. It was repaired by Ecthelion II during the time of the War of the Ring, but it had not the strength to defend the city from the Dark Lord Sauron's legions of Uruk-hai from Mordor. The city itself lay on a hill beneath Mount Mindolluin, which rose above the city's citadel, by a length of a couple of thousand feet. Mount Mindolluin was where Aragorn found the seedling of the White Tree.

The city was divided into seven one-hundred-foot high levels, each surrounded by white walls, except the first walls which had the same kind of black stone as Orthanc as a face. The gates connecting the levels did not lay behind one another in a line, but faced in different directions. A spur of rock, whose summit was level with the city's uppermost tier, jutted out from the front of the city in an easterly direction, dividing all but the first level into two. Each level was scattered with many alleys, narrow passageways, and full-fledged houses (which were probably quite rare in the city). On the sixth level were located the Houses of Healing, surrounded by pleasant gardens. Finally, within the seventh wall, was the Citadel of Minas Tirith, with the White Tower of Ecthelion - three hundred feet high, so that its apex was one thousand feet above the plain.

Levels


The First Level of Minas Tirith was the lowest level of Minas Tirith where was the Main gate.

During the Siege of Minas Tirith, Uruk-hai cast fire into the First Level, burning many buildings and causing general havoc to many of the defenders. Later on, the Main Gate was breached when Grond was finally used against it, and the soldiers of Gondor and Uruk-hai clashed in the streets of the First Circle but Aragorn ordered a retreat and then made their way up.

History
Minas Tirith (as Minas Anor) was built in SA 3320. King Ostoher rebuilt the city in TA 420, and, gradually, it became more important than Osgiliath, the original capital, which in later years fell into ruin. King Tarondor finally moved the King's House to the city in TA 1640, thereby making it the official capital of the kingdom of Gondor. In the year TA 2002, the White City's companion tower Minas Ithil (the "Tower of the Moon") on the borders of Mordor was captured by the Ringwraiths and renamed Minas Morgul (the "Tower of Sorcery"). Minas Anor was then renamed Minas Tirith, meaning the "Tower of Guard", to indicate that, since the fall of Minas Ithil, Minas Tirith was the only thing that defended Gondor and all the other lands around and behind it against the darkness from Mordor. The Rammas Echor, the great wall encircling the rich farmlands and suburbs of the City, was built at this time.

War of the Ring
Minas Tirith only has gondorian soldiers while the civilians dwell in Osgiliath with several gondorian soldiers. After the Uruk-hai attacked and overran Osgiliath a thousand soldiers were killed while the remaining thousand soldiers fled to Minas Tirith while the civilians were evacuated to Rohan. The remaining gondorian soldiers entered Osgiliath and once the uruk-hai were slain the civilians departed from Rohan and returned to Osgiliath.

Siege of Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith was besieged by the armies of Mordor, under the Great Darkness generated by Sauron's power. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields took place on March 15, 3019 in the fields surrounding the city. It was a very large battle. Theoden, the King of Rohan was wounded during this battle by the Witch-king of Angmar. At about the same time, the Witch-king was destroyed by Éowyn, lady of Rohan, who was then killed by his blade. It was also there that Aragorn took command of the City's defenses from the Ruling Steward Denethor after he fell to despair. Gandalf later arrived at the hour of need with Gondor's Army of the South which he had liberated from defending the port city of Pelargir, turning the tide of battle in favor of the Free Peoples. After the battle, the stench of death was heavy in Minas Tirith's air, and the Pelennor Fields lay strewn with bodies.

Fourth Age
On 1 May 3019, the Crowning of King Elessar took place on the plain outside Minas Tirith. After his coronation, he entered the city as the King of Gondor, as he was destined to become from the start of his lifetime. With his coronation, King Elessar refounded the line of the Kings of Gondor, and as he was also the King of the Kingdom of Arnor, Minas Tirith became Capital of the Reunited Kingdom.

Minas Tirith was repaired by its new king (who grew plants inside of its walls to add to its luster and beauty) and by the Dwarves of Glittering Caves, particularly Gimli, who built a new gate for the city (made of mithril and steel) and altogether fixed the layout of the city as well. Minas Tirith was said to have been made even more beautiful than when it was at the time of its founding. The city is known to have stood firm and strong well into the Fourth Age because of these two renovations.

In The Silmarillion, as Of The Ring Of Power And The Third Age says, after War of the Ring, the city is referred to as Minas Anor again after the overthrow of Sauron and the destruction of Barad-dûr.

Portrayal in adaptations
Minas Tirith appears briefly in Peter Jackson's first movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf learns about the One Ring; as well as his second film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where it is seen as a glimpse in the distance when the rangers of Ithilien hold Frodo and Sam captive. It is a central and major location in Peter Jackson's third movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Tolkien's description of the physical layout of Minas Tirith is largely followed in Peter Jackson's movie. The films crew built a model of Minas Tirith closely based on Tolkien's description, although there are a few of assumptions made by the director and differences from the book. One of these is the assumption that the top of the courtyard of the White Tree was flattened and paved. Another difference between the movie and the book is that in the book the coronation of Aragorn takes place not in the courtyard atop the city but outside the city, and only after his coronation does Aragorn march into the city as the new King of Gondor.

Despite the book's describing the first wall as dark in colour (similar to Orthanc), unusually high and almost indestructible, in the movies it is not only white and several times lower than the rest of the walls, it's also heavily damaged because of attacks. The film also shows the old White Tree with blossom at the arrival of Aragorn, though in the book Gandalf and Aragorn discover a new sapling on the slopes of Mount Mindolluin and replant it in the place of the old tree.

The Great Gate of Minas Tirith in the films was flanked by towers and bastions made from the white (though black in the book) almost indestructible stone (similar to that of Orthanc) which makes up the entire lower level. The Gate was replaced by one that was made in the Lonely Mountain. In addition there is a wall surrounding Pelennor fields called Rammas Echor which was breached during the siege of Gondor.

Translations around the World
Minas Tirith Minas Tirith (Gondor) Minas Tirith Minas Tirith (Gondor) Minas Tirith Minas Tirith Minas Tirith pt-br:Minas Tirith Минас Тирит