War of the Last Alliance

The War of the Last Alliance was fought by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men against the Dark Lord Sauron in response to his threat of conquest. It finished the Second Age, and lasted for twelve years, with four distinct stages.
==Significance==
The conjoined army of Elves under Gil-galad, High King of the Ñoldor, King Oropher of the Woodland Realm and King Amdír of Lothlórien joined with Elendil's host from Arnor and Gondor to create the most significant force assembled in Middle-earth since the landing of Ar-Pharazôn. The Last Alliance was the largest military union of the Free Peoples of the world, and the only large-scale war fought until the climax of the War of the Ring an age later. After this war, the Elves of Middle-earth could never muster a force of this strength again.
===Dwarves===
Durin IV, King of Durin's Folk during the War of the Last Alliance, sent an army of Dwarves of Khazad-dûm to fight alongside the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in the battles. It is said that very few Dwarves fought on either side, but the Longbeards fought alongside the Last Alliance.
==History==
=== Prelude ===
Having been weakened in the Downfall of Númenor it took Sauron some time to rebuild his physical form. Once he had done so he became aware that Elendil had survived the Downfall and that his sons Isildur and Anárion had founded a realm next to Mordor itself. Determined to crush the Númenórean exiles before their realms could take root, Sauron launched a surprise attack on Minas Ithil in SA 3429, taking the city and burning the White Tree of Gondor.
However he struck before his own power was fully rebuilt and in his absence the power of Gil-galad had grown stronger, even drawing nigh to Mordor itself. While Anárion defended Osgiliath, Isildur sailed north to Arnor to take counsel with Elendil. Realising that they had sufficient power to strike back, Elendil and Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, with the aim of putting an end to Sauron for good.
Because Elendil and Gil-galad had taken the initiative, they had the luxury of time to prepare for the coming battles. Both kings spent two years gathering their forces; Elendil and Isildur met Gil-galad at the watchtower of Amon Sûl on Weathertop, and together they led their hosts to Rivendell, where they were joined by Elrond and his company of Elves. In Rivendell, they spent a further three years making plans, forging weapons, and training for the great battle ahead of them. This was the reason Rivendell was also known as "The Great Forge".
=== Conflict ===
Crossing the Misty Mountains, they journeyed south down the River Anduin, gathering Elves led by Oropher and Amdír, the kings of Greenwood and Lórien, respectively, and eventually were joined by the army of Gondor led by Isildur's brother Anárion and an army of Dwarves of Khazad-dûm.
The decisive battle took place before Mordor, on the plains of Dagorlad. It was here when the Last Alliance destroyed Sauron's main force. Although this was a victory, many were lost, including both kings Amdír and Oropher, due to their annoyance at following the supreme command of Gil-galad, the High King of the Ñoldor, and thus charging prematurely at the enemy. Many Silvan Elves were also killed alongside Oropher, and so were many Elves and Men. Many of Oropher's army fell in the face of the Black Gate, but Amdír and his army were driven back all the way to the Dead Marshes, where they were slain bitterly. The bodies of these Elves stayed preserved in the Marshes up until Frodo and Sam passed with Gollum.
After this battle, the Black Gate was breached by the Alliance and the Siege of Barad-dûr began, lasting seven years, during which Anárion, son of Elendil and King of Gondor, was killed by a rock cast from Barad-dûr. The war ended when Sauron himself came forth and fought Gil-galad in combat, who was then joined by Elendil. Although they both fell, they managed to defeat Sauron and bring him down. Isildur in the same hour then subsequently cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, dispersing his spirit.
It should be noted that while the Last Alliance was named as of Elves and Men, J.R.R. Tolkien states that in fact, all living races came to battle that day, even birds and beasts and that all were found on either side except for the Elves, who fought solely under the banner of Gil-galad.The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter II: "The Council of Elrond"
===Aftermath===
After this defeat of Sauron, several notable things occurred. The war brought a close to the Second Age and began the Third Age. The High Kingship of the Dúnedain passed to Isildur, son of Elendil; however, the death of Gil-galad ended the line of High Kings of the Ñoldor, and the titles of King of Lindon and High King of the Elves in Middle-earth ceased to be, because no one had the authority to claim them. Also, Thranduil and Amroth became the kings of Greenwood and Lothlórien, respectively, after the deaths of their fathers Oropher and Amdír.
Three years after the war, Isildur was killed at the Gladden Fields, and the One Ring was lost in the river for two-and-a-half millennia. Sauron fled to the East, returning after a thousand years to Dol Guldur and becoming known as "the Necromancer".
== In adaptations ==
=== Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring ===
The war's portrayal in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring differs in some ways from canon, supplying more details and changing some aspects. The Elves use "lhangs" (two-handed, curved swords somewhat reminiscent of Dacian falxes), and Sauron wields a giant mace. The original concept for the battle included Sauron and Gil-galad's duel in which Sauron seizes Gil-galad by the throat and burns him - however, this scene was cut.
The remainder of the event is in the film. Elendil tries to avenge Gil-galad, but a blow from Sauron's mace throws him against some rocks, and he is killed. His son Isildur rushes to his side to weep and cradle Elendil's body. Sauron approaches, and in anger Isildur lunges to grab his father's sword, Narsil, but Sauron crushes it with his foot. Sauron attempts to grab Isildur, but Isildur uses the remnant of the blade to slice off Sauron's fingers including that which bears the One Ring. Sauron's body trembles and glows, and explodes as his life-force is expelled and flees.
Círdan and Anárion are both omitted. Gil-galad can be spotted briefly before Sauron's entrance, skewing an Orc with his spear, Aiglos.
In the book, both Elrond and Círdan counselled Isildur to destroy the Ring. In the film, Elrond immediately takes Isildur to the Cracks of Doom itself after the battle. There he urges Isildur to destroy the Ring, but Isildur refuses and departs.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Oorlog van die Laaste Alliansie
Albanian 	Lufta e Aleancës së Fundit
Amharic 	የመጨረሻው ጥምረት ጦርነት
Arabic 	حرب التحالف الأخير
Armenian 	պատերազմը վերջին դաշինքի
Azerbaijani 	Son Ittifaqın Müharibəsi
Basque 	Azken Aliantza Gerra
Belarusian Cyrillic	вайна апошняга саюза
Bengali 	শেষ জোটের যুদ্ধ
Bosnian 	Rat Posljednjeg Saveza
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Войната на последния съюз
Cambodian 	សង្រ្គាមនៃសម្ព័ន្ធភាពចុងក្រោយនេះ
Catalan 	Guerra de l'última Aliança
Cebuano 	Gubat sa Katapusan Alyansa
Chinese (Hong Kong)	最後同盟戰役
Corsican 	Guerra di i Noms de Fronti
Croatian 	Rat Posljednjeg Saveza
Czech 	Válka Posledního spojenectví
Danish 	Det Sidste Forbunds krig mod Sauron
Dutch 	Oorlog van de Laatste Alliantie
Esperanto 	Milito de la Lasta Alianco
Estonian 	Sõda Eelmisel Liit
Filipino 	Digmaan ng Huling Alyansa
French 	Guerre de la Dernière Alliance
Galician 	Guerra da Última Alianza
Georgian 	უკანასკნელი კავშირის ომი
German 	Krieg der Letzten Allianz
Greek 	Πόλεμος της Τελευταίας Συμμαχίας
Gujarati 	છેલ્લા એલાયન્સ યુદ્ધ
Hebrew 	מלחמה של הברית האחרונה
Hindi 	पिछले गठबंधन का युद्ध
Hungarian 	Háború Utolsó Szövetség
Icelandic 	Stríð af Síðustu Bandalag
Indonesian 	Perang Aliansi Terakhir
Irish Gaelic 	Cogadh ar an chomhghuaillíocht seo caite
Italian 	La Guerra degli Ultimi Alleanza
Japanese 	最後の同盟の戦い
Javanese 	Perang saka Aliansi Pungkasan
Kannada 	ಕೊನೆಯ ಒಕ್ಕೂಟದ ಯುದ್ಧ
Kazakh 	Соңғы Альянстың соғысы (Cyrillic) Soñğı Alyanstıñ soğısı (Latin)
Konkani 	निमाण्या युतीचें झूज
Korean 	마지막 동맹의 전쟁
Kurdish 	Şer yên Cara Tifaqa (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Акыркы бирикменин согуш
Laotian 	ສົງຄາມຂອງພັນທະມິດທີ່ຜ່ານມາ
Latvian 	Karš Pēdējā Alianses
Lithuanian 	Paskutinio Aljanso Karas
Luxembourgish 	Krich vun de Leschte Allianz
Macedonian Cyrillic	војната на најновиот сојуз
Malayalam 	കഴിഞ്ഞ സഖ്യം യുദ്ധം
Maltese 	Gwerra taʼ l- Aħħar Alleanza
Marathi 	वॉच ऑफ द फायनल अलायन्स
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Сүүлчийн холбоотны дайн
Nepalese 	अन्तिम गठबन्धनको युद्ध
Norwegian 	Krig av den Siste Alliansen
Occitan 	Guèrra de l'Ultima Aliança
Pashto 	da jang akheranay qisa
Persian 	(War of the Last Alliance) جنگ آخرین اتحاد
(Last Alliance of Elves and Men) آخرین اتحاد الف‌ها و آدم‌ها
Polish 	Wojna Ostatniego Przymierza
Portuguese 	Guerra da Última Aliança
Punjabi 	ਪਿਛਲੇ ਗਠਜੋੜ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ
Romanian 	Război al Ultimei Alianțe
Russian 	Война Последнего Союза
Sardinian 	Gherra de s'Ultima Alliàntzia
Scottish Gaelic 	Cogadh nan Air Caidreachas
Serbian 	рат последњег савеза (Cyrillic) Rat Poslednjeg Saveza (Latin)
Sicilian 	Guerra dâ Ultima Alianza
Sindhi 	آخري اتحاد جي جنگ
Sinhalese 	පසුගිය සන්ධානයේ යුද්ධය
Slovak 	Vojna Poslednej aliancie
Slovenian 	Vojna Zadnje Zveze
Spanish 	Guerra de la Última Alianza
Swahili 	Vita ya Muungano Iliyopita
Swedish 	Krig av den Sista Alliansen
Tamil 	கடந்த கூட்டணி போர்
Telugu 	గత కూటమి యుద్ధం
Thai 	สงครามแห่งพันธมิตรครั้งสุดท้าย
Turkish 	Son İttifak Savaşı
Turkmen 	Soňky Birleşigiň Urşy
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	війна останнього союзу
Urdu 	جنگ کے آخری اتحاد
Uzbek 	Ўтган алянсга уруш (Cyrillic) O'tgan alyansga urush (Latin)
Venetian 	Guera de l'Ultima Ałiansa
Vietnamese 	Cuộc chiến của Liên Minh Cuối Cùng
Welsh 	Rhyfel y Gynghrair Ddiwethaf
Yiddish 	מלחמה פון די לעצטע בונד
==References==
Category:Wars
Category:Second Age
de:Letztes Bündnis
es:Guerra de la Última Alianza
fr:Siège de Barad-dûr
it:Ultima Alleanza tra gli Elfi e gli Uomini
pl:Ostatni Sojusz elfów i ludzi
ru:Война Последнего Союза
uk:Війна Останнього Союзу