Ithilien, Moon Over Gondor - Page 7
© Michael Martinez
In the 29th century, Turin, Ruling Steward of Gondor, gave Ithilien's people some relief. He fortified Cair Andros and began establishing secret refuges throughout the land. The Rangers of Ithilien were probably formed in this time. But Gondor was attacked from the south, and Turin was forced to call upon Rohan for aid. Although Turin won the war, his power seems to have been diminished. In 2901, nearly all of Ithilien's people fled across Anduin, as the Uruks increased their attacks. In 2951, Sauron returned to Mordor and openly declared himself its lord. In 2954, Orodruin erupted and the last of Ithilien's people realized that war wouldn't be long in following. They fled across the river, and Ithilien was left to the Orcs and Rangers to fight over.
Gondor never gave up control over Ithilien the way it had abandoned its eastern territories. Denethor II maintained the Rangers and asserted Gondor's presence there. But the region became more a symbol of the resistance against Sauron than anything else. It no longer represented a frontier of opportunity, or the power of the Kings of Gondor. A land which must have once been filled with towns, farms, and villages, was reduced to an empty and disputed region. Gondor claimed it, but couldn't prevent Sauron from using Ithilien as a roadway to the Morannon.
Ironically, the fortresses which Ithilien had once supported against Sauron's return, were themselves turned to Sauron's purposes. But though Sauron was able to exploit Ithilien strategically, he was never able to benefit from it economically. Economics in Middle-earth were simple, and really didn't have much to do with the grand strategies. No one made a grab for the Mithril vein of Khazad-dum or the raw gems of Erebor. But a people had to sustain themselves, or be sustained. Sauron was unable to colonize Ithilien or use it as a base of operations. When the War of the Ring began, Mordor's invasion was launched from Minas Morgul (formerly Minas Ithil). Everything the army required had to be brought with it, even the boats and rafts which had long been prepared in secret.
Much like the scribblings of the Orcs on the head of the fallen statue that Frodo and Sam beheld, the Orcs' depredations in Ithilien were mostly superficial. The Rangers of Ithilien, and the native defense forces the earlier inhabitants of Ithilien had maintained, made it impossible for the Orcs to leave a lasting mark on the land. Arnor had lost Rhudaur in the north, but Aranarth's people eventually reclaimed the Angle. Similarly, Gondor never fully gave up on Ithilien. Ithilien is in many ways a testimony to the strength of Gondor even in the days of its decline. But it is also a statement of the character of the people who said, "This is our home. We will not give it up, except that we must give up our lives."
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