Barad-dûr ( Sindarin is an artificial language (or conlang) developed by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...Sindarin "Dark Tower", sometimes given as The Barad_dûr) (Lugburz in The term Black Speech can also refer to African-American Vernacular English. ...Black Speech) is the fortress of The main part of this article relates to the version of Middle_earths history that is considered canon by most Tolkien fans who accept such labels (see: Middle_earth canon). ...Sauron in the For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ...fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ...J. R. R. Tolkien's Dust jacket of the 1968 UK edition The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy story by J. R. R. Tolkien, a sequel to his earlier work, The Hobbit. ...The Lord of the Rings. The The Eye of Sauron is part of the fictional Middle_earth, a literary universe by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...Eye of Sauron kept watch over A map of the Northwestern part of Middle_earth at the end of the Third Age, courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Arda. ...Middle_earth from its highest tower.

Barad-dûr was built by The main part of this article relates to the version of Middle-earths history that is considered canon by most Tolkien fans who accept such labels (see: Middle-earth canon). ...Sauron, the Dark Lord of In J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle_earth, Mordor is the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle_earth. ...Mordor, with the power of the The One Ring, also known as the Ruling Ring or Ring of Power, is an artifact from J. R. R. Tolkiens fictional Middle_earth universe. ...One Ring, during the The Second Age is a fictional time period from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle_earth. ...Second Age. The building took six hundred years to complete; it was the greatest fortress ever built since the Fall of See Angband (game) for the computer game. ...Angband, and much of Sauron's personal power went into it.

Barad_dûr was besieged for seven years by the The Last Alliance of Elves and Men is an episode in J.R.R. Tolkiens fictional universe of Middle_earth. ...Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and was leveled after Sauron's defeat at the end of the The Second Age is a fictional time period from J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle_earth. ...Second Age, but because it was created using the power of the One Ring its foundations could not be destroyed completely unless the Ring itself should be destroyed. In J. R. R. Tolkiens fantasy universe of Middle_earth, Isildur was a Dúnadan of Númenor, elder son of Elendil. ...Isildur failed to destroy the Ring, and so the tower was re_built when Sauron returned to Mordor thousands of years later.

Only when the One Ring was destroyed did the Tower finally fall; without Sauron's power to sustain it, it could not stand. Barad_dûr collapsed to ruin and Sauron was finally defeated.

The Dark Tower was described as existing on a massive scale so large it was almost surreal, although Tolkien does not provide much detail beyond its size and immense strength. Since it had a "topmost tower" (the location of the Window of the Eye, from which the Eye of Sauron gazed out over Middle_earth), it presumably had multiple towers. It is otherwise described as dark and surrounded in shadow, so that it could not be clearly seen.

Barad_dûr in the movies

In the Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson in Wellington (New Zealand) Peter Jackson CNZM (born October 31, 1961), is a film writer, director and producer born in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand to Bill and Joan Jackson. ...Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor is the creator and head of New Zealand movie prop and special effects company Weta Workshop. ...Richard Taylor and his design team built a 9 foot high miniature (" Bigature was Weta Workshops nickname for the very large filming miniatures (small_scale models) used in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (including some of the films central pieces, including the haven of Helms Deep, the white city of Minas Tirith and the grim towers of...big_ature") of Barad_dûr for use in the film. Using the size scale for the model implemented for the films, the Dark Tower is depicted as being over 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) tall, three times as tall as the A view of the Sears Tower and 311 South Wacker Drive from the Chicago River. ...Sears Tower in Chicago.

The This article is about the 2003 live action film. ...Return of the King film also shows Barad_dûr as clearly visible from the The Black Gate or Morannon is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle_earth. ...Black Gate of Mordor. Even granting its enormous size, it was located one hundred miles away and to the east of the Gate¹, not to mention being behind the inner mountain ridges of In J. R. R. Tolkiens Middle-earth, Utumno (also known as Udûn¹) is the first fortress of Melkor in the far north of Middle-earth. ...Udûn so Promotional poster featuring Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in New Line Cinemas motion pictures directed by Peter Jackson. ...Aragorn's army would probably not have been able to see it. In the film version, the geography of Mordor seems generally to have been compressed somewhat, perhaps for artistic reasons related to rendering such complex stories in a visual medium. In the case of the Black Gate scene, having Barad_dûr visible from the Gate means that the army can see the The Eye of Sauron is part of the fictional Middle_earth, a literary universe by J. R. R. Tolkien. ...Eye of Sauron staring at them.

¹The Encyclopedia of Arda (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/), "The Return of the King: A Movie_goer’s Guide"