Barad-dûr

Barad-dûr ("Dark Fortress") was Sauron's central stronghold in Mordor, serving as his seat of power in Middle-earth in the Second Age and late Third Age.
== Overview ==
Barad-dûr was sustained by dark magic and was the greatest fortress in Middle-earth of its time. It was originally built in the Second Age, and leveled after Sauron's defeat in the War of the Last Alliance. Sauron had Barad-dûr rebuilt late in the Third Age as he regained his power, but the tower was forever destroyed immediately upon the destruction of the One Ring.
In his writings, J.R.R. Tolkien describes little of the tower besides its terror, color, and surreal size.
==History==
Barad-dûr was built by Sauron in the land of Mordor, not far from the volcano known as Mount Doom. The construction of the tower began around the SA 1000, and took six hundred years to complete. It was the greatest fortress built since the fall of Angband during the War of Wrath., Akallabêth (The Downfall of Númenor)
Barad-dûr was besieged for seven years by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men during the Second Age, and was leveled after Sauron's defeat at the hands of Isildur. But because it was created using the power of the One Ring, its foundations could not be destroyed while the Ring itself still existed., Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age As Isildur failed to destroy the Ring, the tower was eventually re-built when Sauron returned to Mordor thousands of years later in TA 2942., Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iv): "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
Some time near the end of the Third Age (TA 3009-TA 3017), Gollum was captured by Orcs and taken to Barad-dûr, while Gandalf and Aragorn were also searching for him. He was brutally tortured for information regarding the whereabouts of the One Ring, as Sauron had learned that he had once possessed it, and thus Sauron learned that the One Ring had been found. Then, after a very long time, they managed to wring the words Shire and Baggins from Gollum. Satisfied that he had learned all he could from the creature, and hoping to learn more by tracking him, Sauron released Gollum in TA 3017.
Only when Frodo Baggins, with the unwitting aid of Gollum, destroyed the One Ring within Mount Doom, was Barad-dûr finally and permanently destroyed. Without Sauron's power from the Ring to sustain it, it could not stand. In the same moments as the finish of the Battle of the Black Gate, Barad-dûr collapsed into ruin, never to be rebuilt., Book Six, Chapter III: "Mount Doom"
== Etymology ==
Barad-dûr means "Dark tower" in Sindarin, from barad ("fortress, tower") and dûr ("dark").Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
In Black Speech, Lugbúrz also means "Dark tower".
== In adaptations ==
=== The Return of the King (1980) ===
In film created by Rankin/Bass and directed by Ralph Bakshi, Barad-dûr is only shown a few times. It is depicted as a castle-like fortress on the side of a mountain. The Eye of Sauron is not a part of the tower; rather it appears in the skies of Mordor.
=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy ===
For (2001 - 2003) directed by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor and his design team built a 27-foot-tall "bigature" of Barad-dûr for use, at 1:66 scale, basing its appearance on an illustration by John Howe done originally for Tolkien Calendar 1991(, Extended Edition appendices) Part Four: The Battle for Middle-earth Begins, Visual Effects, Big-atures, 5:10Gary Russell, The Art of The Two Towers, pg. 10 Using the size scale for the model, the tower is shown to be around 5,000 feet tall, with the Eye of Sauron at its apex. Barad-dûr's entirety is seen in an upward-panning vision Frodo has in the first film, at Amen Hen.
In the final battle in , at the Black Gate, the Dark Tower is shown to be in much closer proximity than it would have been according to Tolkien's maps. The animation of the tower's climactic destruction, when the One Ring has been destroyed, was rendered by Gray Horsfield.(, Extended Edition appendices) Part Six: The Passing of an Age, Visual Effects, Wētā Digital
=== Middle-earth: Shadow of War ===
Barad-dûr is visible, though not a playable location, in the region of Gorgoroth in . It is depicted similarly to its appearance in The Lord of Ring Film trilogy. However, it's appearance changes as the events of the game progress. Initially, it's height is half that of Orodruin, and it's under heavy construction, and is very small on the map. During the middle of the game, it's much larger, but still uncompleted. After the game's over, it's at it's true massive size, and complete with the eye of Sauron at it's peak.
== Gallery ==
File:John howe- barad-dur sketch.jpg|Barad-dûr as imagined by John Howe
File:Alan lee - barad-dur 1.jpeg|The pinnacle of Barad-dûr as depicted by Alan Lee
File:Barad-dur - alan lee 2.jpeg|Barad-dûr as rendered by Alan Lee
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ባራድ፡ዱር
Arabic 	باراد-دور
Armenian 	Բարադ-դուր
Belarusian Cyrillic	Барад-дур
Bengali 	বারাদ্-দুর
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Барад-дур
Catalan 	Bàrad-dûr
Chinese (Hong Kong)	巴拉多
Danish 	Det Sorte Tårn (Barad-dûr)
Georgian 	ბარად-დური
Greek 	Μπαράντ-Ντούρ
Gujarati 	બરદ્-દુર
Hebrew 	באראד-דור
Hindi 	बाराद-दूर
Japanese 	バラド＝ドゥーア
Kazakh 	Барад-дұр (Cyrillic) Barad-dur (Latin)
Korean 	바랏두르 (Hangul) Baradureu (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Барад-дур
Macedonian Cyrillic	Барад-дур
Marathi 	बारादा-दुर
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Барад-дур
Nepalese 	बाराद-दूर
Norwegian 	Mørketårnet (Barad-dûr)
Pashto 	باراد-دور ?
Persian 	باراد-دور
Portuguese 	Torre Negra
Russian 	Барад-Дур
Sanskrit 	बरद्-द्ûर्
Serbian 	Барад-дур (Cyrillic) Barad-dur (Latin)
Sinhalese 	බරාඩ්-ඩර්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Барад-дур
Tamil 	பாரட்-கதவு
Telugu 	బరద్-దుర
Thai 	บารัดดูร์
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Барад-Дур
Urdu 	بارادءدور
Uzbek 	Барад-дур (Cyrillic) Barad-dur (Latin)
Yiddish 	וואַראַד-סופּ
== References ==
Category:Towers
Category:Sauron's fortress & strongholds
Category:Mordor
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Places having held a palantír
ca:Bàrad-dûr
de:Barad-dûr
es:Barad-dûr
fr:Barad-dûr
it:Barad-dûr
pl:Barad-dûr
pt-br:Barad-dûr
ru:Барад-дур