| This article refers to the tower. For other namesakes, see Cirith Ungol (disambiguation). |
The Tower of Cirith Ungol, or Cirith Ungol, was a fortress in western Mordor that guarded the Pass of Cirith Ungol.
Description[]
At the top of the pass was a cleft with two rock horns on each side, with the tower on the northernmost. The tower was built of black stone against the eastern rock face. There were three tiers, each set back from the last. The two sides faced northeast and southeast, and met to form a bastion pointing eastward. At the top of the tower was a tall round turret overlooking the pass. A high, outer wall surrounded the bottom tier, and formed an overhanging parapet to prevent enemies from climbing over.
The Tower of Cirith Ungol in The Return of the King film
A road ran from the pass of Cirith Ungol to the tower, with the fortress to the north and a sheer precipice to the south. In the southeastern side of the outer wall was the main gate, guarded by two hideous statues on each side, called Watchers. Each statue was of three bodies connected to one vulture-like head. Also on the southeastern wall of the lowest tier of the tower itself was the gateway leading inside. A hallway with rooms branching off traveled back through the building to a curved archway called the Undergate, which led to Shelob's Lair. To the right of the Undergate was a spiral staircase leading up through the tower, opening up onto the roof of the third tier. On the western side of the roof was the round turret. A winding staircase went up to a passageway running across the turret. Above the passage was a trapdoor leading to a room in the very top of the tower.
The fortress was associated with the mountain fortress of Durthang in northwestern Mordor, and the Towers of the Teeth at the Morannon. All had been part of Gondor's defensive scheme that proved too costly to maintain in the course of long hardship.[1]
History[]
Under Gondor[]
The tower was built by the Men of Gondor after the War of the Last Alliance to guard the province of Ithilien and to prevent evil from returning to Mordor. For this reason its two bastions were directed to the north and south-east. At some date prior to the fall of Minas Ithil and possibly through treachery, the tower fell to the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar.
Under Sauron[]
The tower itself became a stronghold of the enemy and was garrisoned by Uruks and Orcs. After Sauron's second return it was used by Orcs to watch the lands of Mordor to prevent the desertion of any of Sauron's forces. During the War of the Ring, Frodo Baggins was imprisoned here after being captured by Shagrat's Orc party as he lay on the ground paralyzed by the poison of Shelob. They intended to hold him for questioning; when he was searched, his mithril-shirt was found, to the Orcs' great amusement. Afterwards, Orcs from Minas Morgul led by Gorbag battled with Shagrat's Orcs to possess the shirt. By the end of this skirmish, Orcs and Uruks from both sides had slain each other almost entirely, allowing Samwise Gamgee to enter the tower unopposed and rescue Frodo.[2]
In adaptations[]
The Tower of Cirith Ungol in The Lord of the Rings Online
In The Lord of the Rings Online, after Shagrat makes his report to Lugburz, a new garrison is sent from Durthang to reoccupy the Tower. These orcs soon discover that something has happened to Shelob, who is summoning to her side all of her children from across the Middle-earth. The Undergate is breached by spiders who then overrun the Tower.
| Realms of the Dark Lords | |
|---|---|
| Years of the Trees | Utumno |
| First Age | Dor-na-Daerachas |
| Second Age | Mount Gundabad • Mordor |
| Third Age | Witch-realm of Angmar • Mordor |
| Fortresses | |
| Beleriand | Angband • Tol-in-Gaurhoth |
| Middle-earth | Barad-dûr • Black Gate • Carn Dûm • Dol Guldur • Durthang • Minas Morgul • Tower of Cirith Ungol • Towers of the Teeth |
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Toring van Cirith Ungol |
| Arabic | برج سيريث اونغول |
| Armenian | Կիրիտհ Օնգոլ աշտարակ |
| Assamese | চিৰিথ উংগল টাৱাৰ |
| Azerbaijani | Cirith Ungol qülləsi |
| Basque | Cirith Ungoleko dorrera |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Кірыт Унгол вежа |
| Bengali | সিরিথ আনগোল টাওয়ার |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Кула на Кирит Унгол |
| Catalan | Torre de Cirith Úngol |
| Croatian | Toranj Cirith Ungol |
| Czech | Cirith Ungol Věž |
| Danish | Tårnet i Cirith Ungol |
| Dutch | Toren van Cirith Ungol |
| Esperanto | Turo de Cirith Ungol |
| Estonian | Cirith Ungoli torn |
| Filipino | Tore ng Cirith Ungol |
| Finnish | Cirith Ungolin torni |
| French | Tour de Cirith Ungol |
| Galician | Torre de Cirith Ungol |
| German | Turm von Cirith Ungol |
| Greek | Πύργος του Κιριθ Ονγολ |
| Gujarati | સિરિથ અનગોલ ટાવર |
| Hebrew | מגדל קירית אונגול |
| Hungarian | Cirith Ungol tornya |
| Irish Gaelic | Túr Cirith Ungol |
| Indonesian | Menara Cirith Ungol |
| Italian | Torre di Cirith Ungol |
| Japanese | シリスアンゴルの塔 |
| Konkari | सिरिथ उंगोल गोपुर |
| Korean | 키리스 웅골 탑 |
| Latin | Turris Cirith Ungol |
| Latvian | Cirith Ungol tornis |
| Lithuanian | Cirith Ungol bokštas |
| Luxembourgish | Tuerm vu Cirith Ungol |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Кирит Унгол кула |
| Malagasy | Tilikambon'i Cirith Ungol |
| Malayalam | സിരിത്ത് അങ്കോൾ ടവർ |
| Malaysian | Menara Cirith Ungol |
| Marathi | सिरिथ उंगोल टॉवर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Кирит Унголын цамхаг |
| Norwegian | Tårnet i Cirith Ungol |
| Persian | برج کیریت آنگول |
| Polish | Wieża Cirith Ungol |
| Portuguese | Torre de Cirith Ungol |
| Punjabi | ਸਿਰਿਥ ਅਨਗੋਲ ਟਾਵਰ |
| Russian | Башня Кирит Унгол |
| Sinhalese | සිරිත් උන්ගොල් කුළුණ |
| Slovak | Veža Cirith Ungol |
| Slovenian | Stolp Cirith Ungol |
| Spanish | Torre de Cirith Ungol |
| Swedish | Tornet av Cirith Ungol |
| Tagalog | Torre ni Cirith Ungol |
| Tamil | சிரித் உங்கோல் கோபுரம் |
| Thai | หอคอยคิริธอุงโกล |
| Turkish | Cirith Ungol Kulesi |
| Turkmen | Cirith Ungol Diňi |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Кіріт Унґол вежа |
| Vietnamese | Tháp Cirith Ungol |
| Welsh | Tŵr Cirith Ungol |
| Yiddish | טורעם פון כּיריטה ונגאָל |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, pgs. 92 & 143-5.
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. I: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"