Orthanc

Orthanc was the black, impenetrable tower of Isengard built by the Dúnedain. By the Great Years and the War of the Ring, it was the seat of power of the Wizard Saruman. It stood in the center of the Ring of Isengard, a daunting defensive wall built by the early Men of Gondor.
== Description ==
Orthanc was constructed out of four piers of stone and then hardened by an unknown process. No weaponry or magic that existed on Arda was known to be able to harm it. Until the Ents that besieged Isengard during the War of the Ring managed to inflict slight damage on the tower, but their efforts ultimately proved to be futile. When Gríma Wormtongue later threw the palantír of Orthanc from a high window, it fell on the stairs, causing the rail to snap and part of the staircase to break.
The only entrance to the tower was reached by a stair of twenty-seven steps, the door could only be opened with the Key of Orthanc. Above the door there was a balcony, and many tall windows higher up.
== History ==
=== Second Age ===
The exact date of construction of Orthanc and establishment of Isengard is untold; however it was likely built between SA 3320, the time of the establishment of Arnor and Gondor, and SA 3430, when the Last Alliance of Elves and Men was formed. Within the fortified walls of the tower was placed one of the palantíri, the Stone of Orthanc. Thus, Orthanc was now known as one of the seven towers of the Dúnedain, housing the seventh Seeing Stone brought back from Númenor by Elendil.
=== Third Age ===
Angrenost suffered greatly during the Great Plague of TA 1636, and the garrison steadily dwindled through the Age. Eventually the tower was closed and locked and its keys were taken to Minas Tirith to be kept by the Stewards of Gondor.
Eventually, in TA 2710 the hereditary Captains of the fortress died out, and, bereft of garrison, Isengard came under the control of the Dunlendings. While they held the fortress, using it as a base for attacks on the Westfold, they could not gain access to the impenetrable tower. Following the Long Winter of TA 2758, the Dunlendings were besieged and starved into surrender by the Rohirrim king, Fréaláf Hildeson. Then the Wizard Saruman put in an offer for the control of Isengard and both King Fréaláf and Steward Beren embraced the proposition with open arms. Thus, he was handed the keys to the tower as its warden on behalf of the White City. Saruman's offed had partially been motivated by the presence of a palantír in Orthanc, which he began using behind his allies' back. 
After using the Seeing Stone, the Wizard was ensnared by the Dark Lord, becoming his vassal. Seeking to become a ruler of Middle-earth at Sauron's side or in his place, Saruman took Orthanc for his own in TA 2953. Having allied with the Orcs of the Misty Mountains and the Dunlendings, he began assembling an army around Orthanc to both invade Rohan for Sauron and hunt the Ring-bearer.
In TA 3018, Gandalf rode to Isengard to take counsel with Saruman. It was then that the corrupted Wizard declared his true intentions: to rule together with the Dark Lord or usurp him. Gandalf refused Saruman's offer to join with Sauron or reveal the One Ring's whereabouts to him instead. Subsequently, Saruman held Gandalf captive on Orthanc's pinnacle until he told of the Ring's whereabouts or until Sauron won the War of the Ring. After many weeks of imprisonment, Gwaihir, the Lord of the Eagles, came and looked for Gandalf and bore him away.
Only months later, the Ents of Fangorn Forest launched their attack on Isengard. By the next day, only the tower of Orthanc remained, as it was hewn of one piece of impenetrable rock, and the plains below had been completely destroyed, leaving a desolate land of water and mud. Three days after the battle, Théoden, Éomer, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli approached Orthanc past a desolation of wreckage caused by the Ents including a huge blood-ridden white hand, and climbed its stair. They parleyed with the Dark Lord's puppet, who remained inside the tower and spoke to them from a balcony above the door. After Saruman refused to cooperate and attempted to sway the Rohirrim riding with them, Gandalf expelled him from both the Order of Wizards and the White Council, breaking Saruman's staff. After the confrontation, Saruman's footman, Gríma Wormtongue—who was inside the tower at the time—threw the Stone of Orthanc at the party outside as a parting shot, missing both Gandalf and Saruman.Several months later, Saruman was able to convince Treebeard to release him and Gríma, and Treebeard demanded and received the Keys of Orthanc from Saruman. He would hand them over to their rightful owner, King Elessar, when Aragorn later visited Isengard. 
=== Fourth Age ===
One of Elessar's first tasks he had set was the restoration of Orthanc. He ordered that the palantír should be recovered and returned to the tower. Then Orthanc was searched and many secrets were revealed. It was clear that Sauron's puppet had been hoarding many ancient treasures and heirlooms during his time there.
With the aid of Gríma, Saruman had acquired many jewels and heirlooms belonging to the House of Eorl. Soon a hidden door was found by Gimli and inside a casket they found two precious objects: one of which was a small gold case attached to a chain - this was used by Isildur to bear the One Ring; and second of which was the Elendilmir - the 'white star of Elvish crystal upon a fillet of mithril' that had been lost since Isildur's demise. Elessar received the Elendilmir with reverence and took it with him as he established his full kingship of Arnor. It was thus revealed that Saruman had found items worn by Isildur himself, and was speculated to have found and burned Isildur's bones as an insult.
Orthanc and the plains of Isengard around it remained part of the Reunited Kingdom. However, King Elessar granted the Ents complete self-governance of the area surrounding the tower. This new forest became known as the Treegarth of Orthanc.
== Pinnacle of Orthanc ==
The Pinnacle of Orthanc was the summit of the tower. Its corners were razor-edged points with room for at least two men to stand. It was accessed by a flight of thousands of stairs, which Saruman would use to reach the top and observe the stars.
It was here where Saruman imprisoned Gandalf at the start of the War of the Ring, which caused him to be delayed in meeting with Frodo. He was rescued by the Great Eagle Gwaihir, sent by Radagast.
== Etymology ==
According to J.R.R. Tolkien, its name is both Sindarin for "Mount Fang", and Rohanese for "Cunning Mind". The latter is more likely to be its real meaning, as the word Orthanc is a real Old English word (Old English being the linguistic basis for Rohanese); the Sindarin name being no more than a poetic coincidence. In Old English, Orþanc means "cunning device", but Tolkien has said this is merely a coincidence.
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ዖርትሃንች
Arabic 	اورثانك
Armenian 	Որտհանծ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Артханк
Bengali 	অরথ্যাংক
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Ортанк
Catalan 	Òrthanc
Chinese (Hong Kong)	歐散克塔
Czech 	Orthank
Georgian 	ორთანქი (ორთანჩი)
Greek 	Ορθανκ
Gujarati 	ઑર્થન્ચ
Hebrew 	אורתאנק
Hindi 	ऑर्थैंक
Japanese 	オルサンク
Kannada 	ಒರ್ಥನ್ಚ್
Kazakh 	Ортанц (Cyrillic) Ortanc (Latin)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Ортhанц
Macedonian Cyrillic	Ортанц
Marathi 	ऑर्थँक
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Ортhанц ?
Nepalese 	ॐर्थन्च
Pashto 	ورتهانچ
Persian 	اورتانک
Polish 	Orthank
Russian 	Ортанк
Sanskrit 	ॐर्थन्च्
Serbian 	Ортанк (Cyrillic) Ortank (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඕර්ථන්ච්
Slovak 	Orthank
Tajik Cyrillic 	Ортанч
Tamil 	ஓர்த்ஹந்ச்
Telugu 	ఓర్థన్చ
Thai 	ออร์ธังค์
Turkish 	Ortank
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Ортанк
Urdu 	ارٹہانک
Uzbek 	Ортанч (Cyrillic) Ortanc (Latin)
Yiddish 	אָרטהאַנק
== References ==
Category:Isengard
Category:Places having held a palantír
Category:Towers
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ru:Ортанк