Minas Tirith

Minas Tirith, meaning “the Tower of Guard” was the name given to Minas Arnor after the fall of Minas Ithil in TA 2002. The city was originally founded by Anárion and was first built to act as a defense for Osgiliath against possible attacks from the west. The city itself was divited into seven levels, each being 100 feet (30.5 m) higher than the one below, and surrounded by a white wall, with the exception of the First Circle, where the wall was black. The outer wall and its face was made of black stone, the same material used in Orthanc; it was vulnerable only to earthquakes capable of destroying the ground where it stood. The Great Gate of Minas Tirith faced eastwards, guarded by large huge fortified stone towers. All of the gates were built with siege in mind; constructed from wood and iron and were extremely difficult to break into. The Great Gate was only destroyed once, during the War of the Ring, and the replacement was made by the Dwarves of Erebor and mainly consisted of mithril.

Each level had a gate that was located in different positions, the second level gate faced south-east, next gate faced north-east – and so forth. This was done to make capturing the heavily fortified city even more difficult. And to make the matters even worse for any attacker, the entire city was divided into two parts, except for the first level, by a spur of rock. On the saddle between the city and Mindolluin was Rath Dínen (The Silent Street), where the tombs of the Kings of Gondor and their Stewards were built. It was only reachable through a door in the sixth level which was almost always closed – hence the name “Closed Door”. This level also contained stables and the Houses of Healing.

The gate of the seventh level was reached by a lit tunnel from the Sixth level. Within the seventh wall was the Citadel with the white Tower of Ecthelion, which was 300 feet (91.5 m) high, so that its pinnacle was one thousand feet above the plain. The Seeing Stone of Minas Anor rested in a secret chamber at the top of the Tower. In a court before the Tower grew the White Tree, the symbol of Gondor. The topmost level also contained lodgings for the Steward of Gondor, the King’s House, Merethrond the Hall of Feasts, barracks for the Guard of the Citadel, and other buildings for guests and other workers.

The first level included an inn, the Old Guesthouse. The wide paved street it was on was called Lampwright’s Street, which led to the gate.

The city itself is located beneath Mount Mindolluin in Anórien, on the western banks of the Anduin in Gondor. The new name was most probably influenced by the Minas Tirith that had stood in Beleriand some 5.000 years earlier, a city built by Finrond to guard the Pass of Sirion.

When Osgiliath got destroyed it became the chief city of Gondor and Minas Tirith was the focal point of the struggle to contain Sauron in the Third Age. However, as Gondor slowly declined over the centuries, Minas Tirith became underpopulated. The city was not attacked until TA 3019, when the forces of Mordor, led by the Lord of the Nazgûl, undertook the Siege of Gondor and broke the Great Gate. However, the enemy was prevented from entering beyond the courtyard of the Great Gate by the arrival of the Rohirrim and the subsequent victory of the West in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

After the War of the Ring the White Tree was replanted, and Minas Tirith remained the capital and chief city of Gondor. Called in Westron the Tower of Guard, and the Guarded City, and in translated Rohirric Mundburg. Also called the Tower of Anor, and the City of the Kings. Ghân-buri-Ghân called it Stone-city and Stone-houses, referring to its position as the chief city of Gondor and to its construction.

Related posts:

1. Minas Anor
2. Gandalf