Changes: Minas Tirith

Revision as of 02:13, 26 September 2019

This article is about the capital city of Gondor. For the list of other namesakes, see Minas Tirith (disambiguation).

Minas Tirith, formerly and eventually again known as Minas Anor, was from the year TA 1640 the capital city of Gondor.

Many important events took place in and in front of the city, such as the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the coronation of Aragorn II Elessar.

History

Minas Anor

The city was built to guard against the men of the White Mountains in the year SA 3320 by the Faithful, those Númenóreans who escaped the destruction of Númenor ten years prior. It was at that time named Minas Anor, meaning "Tower of the Sun". It served as the home of the House of Anárion, as Minas Ithil, built to guard against Mordor, became the dwelling-place of the House of Isildur. The South-kingdom, however, was jointly ruled from Osgiliath by both houses.^[1]

In the year SA 3429, Sauron invaded Gondor, capturing Minas Ithil and forcing Isildur to flee. Anárion successfully defended Osgiliath, driving Sauron back for a time, but in the following War of the Last Alliance, even though Sauron was defeated by Isildur, Anárion was slain and rule of Gondor passed to his descendants, who would continue to rule from Osgiliath.

King Ostoher rebuilt the city in TA 420, establishing his summer court there. Gradually, it eclipsed Osgiliath in importance as the original capital slowly declined into ruin, and in TA 1640 King Tarondor permanently moved the King's House to Minas Anor. In the year TA 2002, the city of Minas Ithil on the borders of Mordor was captured by the Ringwraiths, and renamed Minas Morgul. It was then that Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, meaning "Tower of Guard". Soon afterwards, the last king of Gondor, Eärnur, was slain in the Morgul Vale, and rulership of Gondor passed to the Stewards. It was also around this time that the Rammas Echor, the great wall encircling the rich farmlands and suburbs of the city, was built.^[2]

Minas Tirith

The might of Gondor would decline into the late Third Age, and although the White Tower was rebuilt by Ecthelion I in the year TA 2698, the White Tree died in the year TA 2872 with no replacement. After Sauron openly declared himself in the year TA 2951, Ecthelion II strengthened the city's defenses. Only a few years later, Aragorn traveled to the city under the name of Thorongil, and was said to have done great deeds there.^[2]

Siege of Minas Tirith

Minas Tirith was eventually, during the War of the Ring in the year TA 3019, besieged by the armies of Mordor, under the Great Darkness generated by Sauron's power. The immense Battle of the Pelennor Fields took place in the fields surrounding the city. Although Gondor and its allies were victorious, Theoden, the King of Rohan was severly 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. 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 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 and by the Dwarves of Erebor, particularly Gimli, who built a new gate for the city 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 because of these two renovations.

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 I: "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.

Screen shot 2010-12-07 at 6.32 — The Citadel and Tower of Ecthelion, with the embrasure in the foreground

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

Images (8) — The bottom three levels of Minas Tirith

The First Level was the lowest tier of the city, at which the main gate was located.

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 Gandalf ordered a retreat and then made their way up.

Portrayal in adaptations

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films

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 film and 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 he march into the city as 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.

Conceptualization

The full model of Minas Tirith, seen only in full shots of the city with the mountains behind it in the films, was made by John Baster and Mary Maclachlan of the Miniatures department of the crew.^[3]

The Battle for Middle-earth

In Electronic Arts' RTS The Battle for Middle-earth series, Minas Tirith can be played at in Skirmishes, and appears in the Campaign of the first installment The Battle for Middle-earth. The city's scale and depth are accurate to its depiction in the films.

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ሚናስ ጢሪጥ
Arabic	ميناس تيريث
Armenian	Մինաշ Տիրիտհ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Мі́нас Ты́рыт
Bengali	মিনাস তিরিথ
Bosnian	Minas Tirit
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Минас Тирит
Burmese	မိနသ္ဋိရ္ထ္
Chinese (Hong Kong)	米那斯提力斯
Georgian	მინას ტირითი
Greek	Μίνας Τίριθ
Gujarati	મિનાસ તિરીથ
Hebrew	מינאס טירית
Hindi	मिनस तीरिथ
Japanese	ミナス・ティリス
Kannada	ಮಿನಾಸ್ ತಿರಿತ್
Kazakh	Мінас Тірітһ (Cyrillic) Minas Tirith (Latin)
Korean	미나스 티리스
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Минас Тиритч
Macedonian Cyrillic	Минас Тирит
Marathi	मिनास तिरिथ
Mongolian Cyrillic	Минас Тиритh
Nepalese	मिनस तिरिथ
Pashto	میناس طیریته
Persian	میناس تیریت
Punjabi	ਮੀਨਾਸ ਤੈਰਿਥ
Russian	Минас Тирит
Sanskrit	मिनस् टिरिथ्
Serbian	Минас Тирит (Cyrillic) Minas Tirit (Latin)
Sindhi	مڳناس تڳرڳته ?
Sinhalese	මිනස් ටිරයිට්
Tamil	மினாஸ் திருத்தி
Telugu	మైనాస్ తిరిత్
Thai	มินัสทิริธ
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Мінас-Тіріт
Urdu	ماناس ٹاراٹہ
Uzbek	Минас Тиритҳ (Cyrillic) Minas Tirith (Latin)
Yiddish	מינאַס טיריטה

Places of Middle-earth and Arda

Middle-earth Locations:

Provinces/Regions:

Forests & Mountains:

City/Fortifications:

Miscellaneous:

The rest of Arda:

References

↑ The Silmarillion, Akallabêth (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I. The Númenórean Kings, iv. "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
↑ The Art of The Return of the King, Introduction, pg. 11

[1] The Silmarillion, Akallabêth (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I. The Númenórean Kings, iv. "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"

[3] The Art of The Return of the King, Introduction, pg. 11

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 |name= Minas Tirith
 |image= Minas Tirith.jpg
-|type= City
+|type=
-|location= Easternmost point of the [[White Mountains]], close to [[Anduin]]
+|location= Easternmost point of the [[White Mountains]], close to the [[Anduin]]
 |realms= [[Gondor]]
 |capital=
 |founded/built= [[SA 3320]]
+|lifespan=
-|summary= White city of seven levels
+|ruler = [[King of Gondor]]<br/>[[Steward of Gondor]]
-|lifespan= [[SA 3320]] –
+|names = Minas Anor
-|ruler = [[Kings of Gondor]], [[Stewards of Gondor]], [[Kings of the Reunited Kingdom]]
+|inhabitants = [[Men of Gondor]]
-|names = Minas Anor, Mundburg, The Guarded City|inhabitants = [[Númenóreans]] (originally), [[Dúnedain]], [[Men of Gondor]]|languages = [[Westron]], [[Sindarin]], "Gondor Sindarin"}}
+}}
-'''Minas Tirith''' <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Sindarin]]; ''minas'' (tower) + ''tirith'' (watch/guard)] ([[IPA charts#Sindarin|IPA]]: {{IPA|tiriθ}}) 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.
+'''Minas Tirith,''' formerly and eventually again known as '''Minas Anor''', was from the year [[TA 1640]] the capital city 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 II Elessar|Aragorn]] after the battle, and the coronation of [[Aragorn II Elessar]].
+Many important events took place in and in front of the city, such as the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Crowning of King Elessar|coronation]] of [[Aragorn II Elessar]].
-==Layout==
+==History==
+===Minas Anor===
+The city was built to guard against the [[men]] of the [[White Mountains]] in the year [[SA 3320]] by the [[The Faithful|Faithful]], those [[Númenóreans]] who escaped the destruction of [[Númenor]] ten years prior. It was at that time named Minas Anor, meaning "Tower of the Sun". It served as the home of the [[House of Anárion]], as [[Minas Ithil]], built to guard against [[Mordor]], became the dwelling-place of the [[House of Isildur]]. The [[South-kingdom]], however, was jointly ruled from [[Osgiliath]] by both houses.<ref>[[The Silmarillion|''The Silmarillion'']], [[Akallabêth|''Akallabêth'']] ([[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]])</ref>
-{{quote|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}}
+In the year [[SA 3429]], [[Sauron]] invaded Gondor, capturing Minas Ithil and forcing [[Isildur]] to flee. [[Anárion]] successfully defended Osgiliath, driving Sauron back for a time, but in the following [[War of the Last Alliance]], even though Sauron was defeated by Isildur, Anárion was slain and rule of Gondor passed to his descendants, who would continue to rule from Osgiliath.
-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.
-[[File:Screen_shot_2010-12-07_at_6.32.19_PM.png|thumb|left|The Citadel and Tower of Ecthelion, with the embrasure in the foreground]]
+King [[Ostoher]] rebuilt the city in [[TA 420]], establishing his summer court there. Gradually, it eclipsed [[Osgiliath]] in importance as the original capital slowly declined into ruin, and in [[TA 1640]] King [[Tarondor]] permanently moved the King's House to Minas Anor. In the year [[TA 2002]], the city of [[Minas Ithil]] on the borders of Mordor was captured by the [[Ringwraiths]], and renamed Minas Morgul. It was then that Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, meaning "Tower of Guard". Soon afterwards, the last king of Gondor, [[Eärnur]], was slain in the [[Morgul Vale]], and rulership of Gondor passed to the [[Stewards of Gondor|Stewards]]. It was also around this time that the [[Rammas Echor]], the great wall encircling the rich farmlands and suburbs of the city, was built.<ref name=":0">[[The Lord of the Rings|''The Lord of the Rings'']], [[Appendix A]], Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I. The Númenórean Kings, iv. "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"</ref>
-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===
+=== Minas Tirith ===
+The might of Gondor would decline into the late [[Third Age]], and although the [[White Tower of Ecthelion|White Tower]] was rebuilt by [[Ecthelion I]] in the year [[TA 2698]], the White Tree died in the year [[TA 2872]] with no replacement. After Sauron openly declared himself in the year [[TA 2951]], [[Ecthelion II]] strengthened the city's defenses. Only a few years later, Aragorn traveled to the city under the name of Thorongil, and was said to have done great deeds there.<ref name=":0" />
-[[File:Images_(8).jpg|thumb|225px|The bottom three levels of Minas Tirith]]
+====Siege of Minas Tirith====
-The First Level of Minas Tirith was the lowest level of Minas Tirith where was the Main gate.
+Minas Tirith was eventually, during the [[War of the Ring]] in the year [[TA 3019]], besieged by the armies of Mordor, under the Great Darkness generated by Sauron's power. The immense [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] took place in the fields surrounding the city. Although Gondor and its allies were victorious, [[Theoden]], the King of Rohan was severly 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]]. 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 and the Pelennor Fields lay strewn with bodies.
-During the [[The Battle of the Pelennor Fields|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==
+====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|Reunited]] [[Reunited Kingdom|Kingdom]].
-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 [[Ringwraith]]s and renamed [[Minas Morgul]] (the "Tower of Sorcery"). [[Minas Anor|Minas]] Anor was then renamed [[Minas Tirith|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.
+Minas Tirith was repaired by its new king and by the Dwarves of Erebor, particularly [[Gimli]], who built a new gate for the city 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 because of these two renovations.
-====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.
+== Layout ==
-====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.
+{{quote|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 I: "Minas Tirith"}}
-====Fourth Age====
+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]].
-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|Reunited]] [[Reunited Kingdom|Kingdom]].
+[[File:Screen_shot_2010-12-07_at_6.32.19_PM.png|thumb|left|The Citadel and Tower of Ecthelion, with the embrasure in the foreground]]
+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.
-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.
+=== Levels ===
-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]].
+[[File:Images_(8).jpg|thumb|225px|The bottom three levels of Minas Tirith]]
+The First Level was the lowest tier of the city, at which the main gate was located.
-==Portrayal in adaptations==
+During the [[The Siege of Gondor|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 Gandalf ordered a retreat and then made their way up.
+== Portrayal in adaptations ==
+=== Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' films ===
 Minas Tirith appears briefly in [[Peter Jackson]]'s first [[film|movie]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)|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 (film)|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.
+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 film and 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 he march into the city as 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.
@@ Line 61: / Line 66: @@
 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.
+==== Conceptualization ====
-==Translations around the World==
+The full model of Minas Tirith, seen only in full shots of the city with the mountains behind it in the films, was made by [[John Baster]] and [[Mary Maclachlan]] of the Miniatures department of the crew.<ref>''[[The Art of The Return of the King]]'', Introduction, pg. 11</ref>
-{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
-!Foreign Language
+=== The Battle for Middle-earth ===
-!Translated name
+In [[Electronic Arts]]' RTS ''[[The Battle for Middle-earth (series)|The Battle for Middle-earth]]''[[The Battle for Middle-earth (series)| series]], Minas Tirith can be played at in Skirmishes, and appears in the Campaign of the first installment ''[[The Battle for Middle-earth]]''. The city's scale and depth are accurate to its depiction in the films.
+==Translations==
+<div style="overflow:auto; height:300px; width:500px; float:left">
+<!--<div style="overflow:auto; height:200px;">-->
+{| class="itemtable" style="color:#6f3d0b; border:2px solid #FFF; border-top: 0; text-align:left; -moz-border-radius-bottomleft:8px; -moz-border-radius-bottomright:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius:8px; -webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:8px;" bgcolor="#edeeff"
+| width="300" |'''Foreign Language'''
+| width="300" |'''Translated name'''
 |-
 |Amharic
@@ Line 70: / Line 83: @@
 |-
 |Arabic
-|ميناس طيريته
+|ميناس تيريث
 |-
 |Armenian
@@ Line 139: / Line 152: @@
 |-
 |Persian
-|میناس تیریث
+|میناس تیریت
 |-
 |Punjabi
@@ Line 180: / Line 193: @@
 |מינאַס טיריטה
 |}
+</div>
+{{Clear}}
 {{Places}}
+==References==
+<references />
 [[ca:Minas Tirith]]