Dol Guldur

Dol Guldur appears on the maps published with The Lord of the Rings. The hill rose above the River Anduin across from Lothlórien within the great forest east of the River. Sauron's influence caused a great shadow of sickness and death to fall over the forest, which became known as Mirkwood.[T 11]

To the northeast on the other side of the forest lay Thranduil's kingdom and Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. Further north was Ered Mithrin, the Grey Mountains, where the Dwarves had once prospered.

According to the Appendices of the book, at a meeting in the forest after the defeat of Sauron, Celeborn and Thranduil renamed the forest Eryn Lasgalen, "The Wood of Greenleaves".[T 12] Thranduil claimed the northern regions of the forest as far south as the mountains in the centre of the forest (the Emyn Duir), and Celeborn took the southern part of the forest below the Narrows, calling it East Lórien.[T 12]

The Battle under the Trees.

The fictional history of Dol Guldur is laid out across several of Tolkien's works, including The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. Sauron's history at the site begins in the Third Age, around the year 1100.[T 6] Due to its situation inside Mirkwood and east of Lothlórien, Dol Guldur was a key stronghold in Sauron's return to power.

After Sauron was defeated in the War of the Last Alliance, he retreated to Amon Lanc and built a fortress, where he hid in secrecy while recovering his strength. As the evil force residing there became apparent to the outside world, it was named "the Necromancer".[T 13] It was not known at first that Sauron had regained physical form and power; it was believed that a Nazgûl dominated the tower and land.[T 6] But as the power grew in strength, Gandalf the Grey became suspicious and travelled to Dol Guldur to investigate.[T 13][T 14] Sauron anticipated his coming and withdrew to the East to remain hidden in secrecy.[T 13][T 14] Thus began what later became known as The Watchful Peace, which lasted until Sauron returned to Dol Guldur after years of hiding.[T 15] The Wise (various Elf-lords and Wizards, including Gandalf the Grey) then formed the White Council to determine whether Sauron was alive and regaining strength.

Later Thráin II, the last bearer of one of the seven Rings of Power given to the Dwarves, was captured by Sauron's forces and was kept at Dol Guldur, where he yielded his ring to Sauron under torture.[T 16][T 17] Gandalf went again to Dol Guldur to investigate his suspicions of the power that was rising, learned that this was indeed Sauron, and found Thráin in the dungeons close to death.[T 16] Thráin had forgotten his own name, but gave Gandalf a map and key to the Lonely Mountain for Thráin's son, Thorin Oakenshield.[T 18]

The following year Gandalf pressed the White Council for an attack on Sauron. Saruman, the head of the Council, who had become corrupted by desire for Sauron's One Ring, spoke against this move, reassuring them that without the Ring Sauron could not regain his full strength.[T 13][T 19][T 20] Saruman put the Council off by suggesting that the Ring had most likely been lost in the River Anduin and had been carried out to the sea.[T 19] But in fact, Saruman was himself seeking the One Ring, and in this pursuit secretly betrayed the Council.[2] He believed the Ring lay hidden in the Gladden Fields not far from Dol Guldur, and was searching for it there. For Isildur had perished in the Gladden Fields when his army was ambushed by orcs after the defeat of Sauron – and it was Isildur who had taken Sauron's Ring and was its last known bearer. Saruman therefore did not want Sauron disturbed, hoping that if Sauron continued searching, the Ring might reveal itself while trying to reach Sauron, its one true master.[T 13][T 20]

Sauron thus was left to his devices. Gandalf remained troubled by Sauron's presence, and at the White Council he once again argued that an attack on Dol Guldur was inevitable and necessary for the security of Middle-earth and its peoples.[T 13][T 19] Saruman agreed this time, but only because he had learned two years earlier that Sauron too was searching for the One Ring in the Gladden Fields.[T 21] Saruman hoped too that with Sauron and his servants out of the way, he himself might have more leisure to continue the search.[T 22] The Council gathered its strength and drove Sauron from Dol Guldur.[T 13] But the victory was hollow: Sauron had foreseen and prepared in advance for the assault, and he travelled in secret to Mordor to rebuild Barad-dûr to be his new sanctuary – and Dol Guldur was shortly reoccupied by Nazgûl sent by Sauron from Mordor.[T 13][T 23][T 24] Khamûl (one of the Nazgûl) commanded the fortress in Sauron's absence.[T 25] Scouts from Dol Guldur became aware that Gollum had been brought to Mirkwood and was being held prisoner by Thranduil.[T 26] Orcs from Dol Guldur then attacked the Elves who had imprisoned Gollum; in the chaos, Gollum escaped and disappeared. During the final days of the War of the Ring, Dol Guldur sent forces against Lothlórien and Thranduil's realm in what came to be known as the Battles of Lothlórien and Mirkwood: three attacks on Lórien (March 11, 15, and 22) and one, "The Battle under the Trees", against Thranduil (March 15). All were fiercely fought, but the power of Galadriel and the strength of the Elves proved too great for Dol Guldur to overcome. After the defeat of Sauron on March 25, Celeborn marched on Dol Guldur and overthrew it. Galadriel then destroyed the fortress so that the forest was free from the shadow of the tower.[T 27]

This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.