The Black Gate of Mordor was originally a gate built by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, to prevent invasion at the gap between the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Duath. It was probably built with the power of the One Ring, like the Barad-Dur. After Sauron's fall, it became a Númenorean garrison. Backed up on the other side by the Isenmouthe, and protected by the castle of Durthang to the west, it was redesigned to keep all of Mordor's evil inside, shielding the outside from it - and it from the outside. The reconstruction of Minas Ithil, Tower of the Rising Moon, as well as the construction of Cirith Ungol were also done for the same purpose.
However, during the aftermath of the Kin-strife in Gondor the watchfulness of the guards in these strongholds relaxed. Thus the Ringwraiths and Orcs re-entered Mordor, eventually overrunning the garrisons and inhabiting them for themselves. It was at this time that the tower of Minas Ithil was taken by the Nazgul, having its name changed to Minas Morgul, Tower of Sorcery.
During the War of the Ring, the Army of the West, numbering some 7,000 men, arrived at the Black Gate with the the intention of drawing the Eye of Sauron away from Mount Doom, to allow Frodo the Ringbearer to cast the One Ring into the Crack of Doom within it. This they acheived, and The Ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, following which the Black Gate and the Towers of Teeth immediately collapsed.
It seems reasonable to consider the Morannon as part of this fortification, which would mean that it stood for most of the Second Age, as shown in the timeline above.
At the very least, we know it was in place by the end of that Age, because it is mentioned in accounts of the War of the Last Alliance.
It is not known what happened to the Morannon during the Third Age, before its final destruction in the War of the Ring.
The Black Gate was the common name for the Morannon, the gates which guarded Mordor.
Named Morannon by the Sindarin Elves, its translation was "fl gate," and it was the main entrance into Mordor.
The Black Gate was set in an impregnable fl stone and iron wall that stretched from the Mountains of Ash in the north to the Mountains of Shadow in the west.
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