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A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 2 - Page 4

© Michael Martinez

But though the Silvan Elves again suffered grievous losses⁵¹, Gil-galad and the Alliance broke into Mordor, pushing Sauron all the way out of Udun and into Barad-dur, where they took up the seven-year siege. By this time Anarion must have brought Gondor's army into Mordor, perhaps passing through Ephel Duath to ensure Sauron could not escape to the south.

Sauron's defense of the Barad-dur was not passive. He sent out many sorties⁵². The fortress itself used missile weapons to inflict great losses on the armies of the Alliance, including the taking of Anarion's life in 3440⁵³.

Elrond's brief description of the last struggle between Sauron and his foes implies that Gil-galad had taken up a position on Orodruin. This seems to be quite a distance from Barad-dur, but it may be that during the years of the siege Gil-galad had to contend with forces outside the Barad-dur in the lands to the east and south. If so, then Orodruin would have made an excellent command post, but this would also imply that the armies of the Alliance (weakened by the battles in the north) must have been spread thin.

It thus seems that Sauron was either able to take Gil-galad by surprise or he led a last, massive charge against Orodruin. Once Sauron reached the slopes of the fiery mountain, only Elendil stood close enough to directly aid the Elf-king, though Elrond, Cirdan, and Isildur were closer than others. How did Sauron manage to get so close to Gil-galad? Did the Elven-king perhaps offer Sauron a challenge to single combat (like his grandfather Fingolfin had challenged Morgoth)? Did Sauron hope to murder Gil-galad and thus discourage his enemies?

In the event, Gil-galad fell before Sauron's assault and it was Elendil who struck the "mortal" blow that felled the Dark Lord. Sauron must nonetheless have retained enough strength and presence of mind to throw himself upon Elendil, since it was the heat of his body which killed the Dunadan king. Isildur then charged up the slope to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, but did he do this knowing that Sauron's spirit would flee or was he immediately drawn to the Ring's power?

The final combat must have resulted in a near complete loss of will among the surviving Orcs and Trolls⁵⁴. If any Easterlings or Haradrim continued to exist outside Barad-dur, they either fled or fought until they were destroyed, as happened among Sauron's forces at the end of the Third Age⁵⁵. But the Barad-dur itself had to be razed, and fortresses were built in the Ephel Duath and Udun to maintain a watch on Mordor⁵⁶.

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