Cirith Ungol
The Tower of Cirith Ungol is located in the mountains right next to Minas Morgul. Access from outside Mordor was first deterred due to its location near that city. The path into Mordor past Minas Morgul is quite narrow, high and steep, so getting an army though would be very difficult and could be blocked with minimal enemy resistance. Steep stairs had to be climbed, as were areas of steep inclines with no stairs. Even if one were to get through that, a narrow pass in the mountains occupied by a giant spider is still in your way. The tight, dark, winding passages would force any large group coming in to go at most 3 across while vulnerable to a giant spider. Then there is the smell and webs that would slow progress to a crawl and weaken morale the whole time. Granted, there were many side passages, but the resulting maze would disperse the attackers to the point defeat in detail is risked. Even if Shelob did not stop the invaders, it would still take a long time to reorganize the army into a force ready for battle. This would allow for spoiling attacks and raids to seriously bleed the attackers before they became a threat.
Purpose / Function
It was built by Gondor to keep orcs in, but had a garrison loyal to Mordor stationed there at the time of the War of the Ring. On one hand Cirith Ungol was essentially a ready built fortress for Mordor, but on the other it would be vulnerable to surprise attacks from behind. The fortifications and narrow pass are also primed for defense by a small number of highly skilled troops. It also protected the road below it connecting Minas Morgul to the Black Gate and Barad-dur. After the Witch King occupied it, the tower became a tool more for domestic political control rather than external defense. It was used to prevent slave escapes from Nurn. This tower was also garrisoned and sent out patrols, so that it was unlikely that any attackers strong enough to get to the tower would be able to do so undetected.
Alterations
One interesting addition that seems to be the work of Sauron was The Watchers. These were statues of grotesque creatures that overlooked the entrance to the courtyard. They were somewhat sentient - possibly due to Sauron's dark magic. Their will alone was able to create an invisible barrier so powerful that it kept enemies out. Sam had to use the phial given to him by Galadriel in order to force his way in. They were able to sense even invisible intruders and use their shrieking to sound an alarm should they not be able to keep them out.
Architecture
It had a single back entrance coming straight into the base of the tower from the mountains behind it. Which was the main way an invading army would approach. No indication of a gate though, which is a problem. Though the terrain allows for this entrance to still be a powerful choke point. The rest of the tower consists of three levels made of black stone. Each was smaller than the one below it, allowing battlements to be built. The back of these are flush against the mountain. These create a bastion pointing east. Then there is a round turret on top that provides a view over the mountain. A 30 feet tall wall with battlements and possible machicolations is 50 feet out from the tower provides extra defense. This enclosed a paved courtyard. So, all in all a pretty solid tower.
Because of its origin as a fort protecting from assaults from inside Mordor rather than from without, most of the defenses were oriented towards the interior. But the back was accessible only via a dangerous and difficult pass occupied by a massive spider. So attacks here would be unlikely.
History
Like so many of the defenses of Mordor, The Tower of Cirith Ungol was not built for that purpose. Instead, Gondor built it to control the evil inside. But Gondor declined and Mordor reoccupied by the servants of evil. The Tower itself was taken by an attack by the Witch King. The assault on Minas Morgul that led to its fall also was coordinated from here.
But the distrust between the local garrison and orcs from Minas Morgul led to Sauron's occupation to collapse. Frodo was taken to the tower by a mixed force. His possessions were taken and tortured for information. But each commander wanted those possessions, which led to the two sides massacring each other. Over 80 orcs were killed, leaving only 5 when Sam arrived. He killed three and at least one escaped. A Ring Wraith did show up to get the situation under control. But by that time the hobbits were able to escape.
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments