What this is
In brief
Origins
Isengard was built by the Númenóreans of Gondor in the Second Age as the fortress of Angrenost, guarding the Gap of Rohan, with the tower of Orthanc at its centre. The palantír of Orthanc was set there. It was given into Saruman’s keeping by the Steward Beren in T.A. 2759.
Culture
A place of machinery, industry and domination rather than a settled people. Saruman’s Isengard bred a disciplined army, felled the trees of Fangorn and turned the valley into a workshop of war.
Language
Westron among its servants; the Black Speech and Orcish among the Uruk-hai.
History
Long a western outpost, Isengard passed to Saruman, who fortified it and betrayed the free peoples. He loosed the Uruk-hai against Rohan and the Fellowship, and sent his forces to Helm’s Deep, where they were destroyed. The Ents then flooded the Ring of Isengard and broke Saruman’s power; the fortress was later given to the Ents, and Saruman was slain by Gríma at Bag End.
Leaders
Settlements
- orthanc
- isengard
Alliances
- mordor
- orcs
Conflicts
- battle-of-helms-deep
- battle-of-isengard
- war-of-the-ring
Notable members
Sources
The Lord of the Rings · 1954–55
Three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.
Unfinished Tales · 1980
Expanded and alternative accounts of the First, Second and Third Ages.
The Silmarillion · 1977
Posthumously edited. Contains the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power.
Related entries
PeopleIstari
The five Wizards sent from the West in the guise of old men to move the free peoples against Sauron, of whom only Gandalf remained faithful to the end.
LocationRohan
The horse-lords’ kingdom north of the White Mountains, granted to the Éothéod for service to Gondor.
PeopleOrcs
A cruel and warlike race bred or corrupted into the service of the Dark Powers, the standing soldiery of Morgoth and Sauron.
Fangorn
The ancient forest of the Ents at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, hostile to the axes of Isengard.