- "A long-tilted valley, a deep gulf of shadow, ran back far into the mountains. Upon the further side, some way within the valley's arms, high on a rocky seat upon Ephel Dúath, stood the walls and towers of Minas Morgul. All was dark about it, earth and sky, but it was lit with light. Not the light welling through the marble walls of Minas Ithil long ago, fair and radiant in the hollow of the hills. Paler indeed than the moon ailing in some slow eclipse was the light of it now, wavering and blowing like a noisome exhalation of decay, a corpse-light, a light that illuminated nothing."
- —The Two Towers, "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol"
Minas Morgul was once a fortress of Gondor, called Minas Ithil. As the easternmost fortification in the kingdom of Gondor, Minas Ithil safeguarded the eastern borders of the Kingdom of Gondor and protected the capital Osgiliath from the forces of Mordor during the early part of the Third Age. As Gondor's armies weakened, it was then taken by the forces of Mordor, and used as a base to attack Gondor and in the process, decayed into the dark fortress and was renamed as a result.
Minas Morgul was located in the upland valley known as the Morgul Vale at the feet of the Mountains of Shadow. It overlooked the region of Ithilien and controlled the only passes through the mountains that led into Mordor, the Morgul Pass and the Pass of Cirith Ungol.[1]
History
Minas Ithil
Minas Morgul located on this map
Minas Ithil was built by the faithful Númenóreans, who escaped Númenor's destruction in the Second Age, as a defense against Mordor, and was the dwelling of the House of Isildur.[2] Minas Ithil housed a palantír, the Ithil-stone and the First Tree of Gondor (Minas Ithil).
Description
In its heyday, Minas Ithil was described as a beautiful sight, with light filling its inner courts with silver light and causing its walls to gleam silver and white. It was a walled city of white marble built on a high shelf of rock. Within the walls, there were white houses and a tall tower. The walls and the tower had many windows, and the top of the tower revolved slowly back and forth. A road ran from Osgiliath on the Anduin through Ithilien to the city and crossed the Mountains of Shadow into Mordor via the pass.
Siege of Minas Ithil
In SA 3428, Sauron sent a great army to Minas Ithil and after about a year of siege, it was captured and the White Tree was burned (Isildur recovered a sapling and planted it in Minas Anor in TA 2). However, in SA 3430, Anárion recaptured the city, though he died in the following War of the Last Alliance. After Sauron was defeated at the culmination of that war in SA 3441, a watch was kept at Minas Ithil to prevent the return of evil to Mordor.[2]
The Nazgûl, led by the Witch-king of Angmar, the most fearsome of Sauron's minions, returned to Mordor in 1980 to prepare for Sauron's return. Soon Mordor started to attack and conquer parts of Gondor. In TA 2000, the forces of the nine Nazgûl laid siege to Minas Ithil. In TA 2002 after a long siege, the city fell and was transformed into a bastion of evil. As a result, it came to be called Minas Morgul.[2]
Minas Morgul
The Witch-king's true look, as seen in the The Fellowship of the Ring film
Terror and war were directed at Gondor from Minas Morgul until Ithilien was deserted. During the War of the Ring, the army that attacked Osgiliath and undertook the Siege of Gondor came from Minas Morgul.
In fashion Minas Morgul seems to have been much like Minas Tirith, only corrupted. The topmost course of the tower revolved slowly, and the walls were illuminated by a pale luminous glow.
The city had a strange watchfulness about it, and intruders to Morgul Vale were always noted. Most who approached the city could not stand to set eyes on it, and felt watched.
In the War of the Ring, Aragorn and Gandalf broke the bridge and set the fields by it on fire to keep its troops from the Cross-road.
After the War, Aragorn (as King) counseled Faramir to make his abode in the Emyn Arnen southeast of Minas Tirith, in Ithilien, and decreed that Minas Ithil in the Morgul Vale, despoiled by its years as Minas Morgul, be completely destroyed, for although it might in time come to be made clean, no man might dwell there for many long years[3]. Eventually, the city was rebuilt as Minas Ithil and the evil that tainted the land was at last gone.
Portrayal in adaptations
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Minas Morgul is shown as a massive spectral fortress on the other side of a moat. Frodo is drawn to it by the power of the Ring, but Sam and Gollum hide him just as the city shot fire into the sky. Afterward, the Morgul army of orcs leave the city and pass the group; the Nazgûl on their mounts are not seen, except for the Witch-king who leaves the fortress on his Fell beast. It also makes a brief appearance in the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, when the Ringwraiths (mounted on horses) are shown exiting the fortress en route to the Shire far away.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War
The city shortly after its capture by the Witch-king
The video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War features Minas Ithil throughout the game, and depicts its transformation into Minas Morgul after being besieged by the Nazgûl. In the game, the main character, Talion, aided by the wraith of the Elf-smith Celebrimbor, attempts to hold back the siege only to be betrayed from within. The city falls into the hands of Sauron and becomes Minas Morgul. After Talion is betrayed by Celebrimbor and takes possession of one of the Nine Rings of Power, he recaptures the city as his stronghold. Decades later, Talion finally succumbs to the power of the Ring and becomes one of the Nine, and Minas Morgul once again falls back under the control of the Witch-king until his fall.
Gallery
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Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ሚናስ ሞርጉል |
| Arabic | ميناس مورغول |
| Armenian | Մինաս Մորգուլ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Мі́нас Мо́ргул (Minas Morgul)
Мінас Ітыль (Minas Ithil) |
| Bengali | মিনাস মর্গাল |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Минас Моргул (Minas Morgul)
Минас Итил (Minas Ithil) |
| Catalan | Minas Mórgul (Minas Morgul)
Minas Íthil (Minas Ithil) |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 米那斯魔窟 (Minas Morgul)
米那斯伊希爾 (Minas Ithil) |
| Georgian | მინას მორგული |
| Greek | Μίνας Μόργκουλ |
| Gujarati | મિનસ મોર્ગુલ્ |
| Hebrew | מינאס מורגול (Minas Morgul)
מינאס איתיל (Minas Ithil) |
| Hindi | मीनास मोर्गुल |
| Japanese | ミナス・モルグル (Minas Morgul)
ナス・イシル (Minas Ithil) |
| Kannada | ಮೈನಸ್ ಮಾರ್ಗುಲ್ |
| Kazakh | Мінас Моргұл (Cyrillic) Minas Morgul (Latin) |
| Korean | 미나스 모르굴 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Минас Моргул |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Минас Моргул |
| Marathi | मिनस मॉरगुल |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Минас Моргул |
| Nepalese | मीनास मोर्गुल |
| Pashto | میناس مورګول |
| Persian | میناس مورگول (Minas Morgul)
میناس ایتیل (Minas Ithil) |
| Punjabi | ਮਿਨਸ ਮੋਰਗੂਲ |
| Russian | Минас Моргул |
| Sanskrit | मिनस् मोर्गुल् |
| Serbian | Минас Моргул (Cyrillic) Minas Morgul (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | මිනස් මොර්ගුල් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Минас Моргул |
| Tamil | மிநஸ் மொர்குல் |
| Telugu | మినస మొర్గుల్ |
| Thai | มินัสมอร์กูล (Minas Morgul)
มินัสอิธิล (Minas Ithil) |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Мінас Морґул (Minas Morgul)
Мінас-Ітіль (Minas Ithil) |
| Urdu | میناس مورگول |
| Uzbek | Минас Моргул (Cyrillic) Minas Morgul (Latin) |
| Yiddish | מינאַס מאָרגול |
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Places of Middle-earth and Arda
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
References
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "Mordor (and Adjacent Lands)"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Silmarillion, Akallabêth (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter V: "The Steward and the King"