First Siege of Imladris
|First Siege of Imladris|
|Conflict: War of the Elves and Sauron|
|Date: S.A. 1697 - 1700|
|Outcome: Victory for Elrond's forces|
Elves and Men
In S.A. 1200 Sauron came to Eregion in disguise, claiming to be an emissary of the Valar sent to offer aid to the Eldar. Although rejected by Gil-galad he was able to win over Celebrimbor and the smiths of Eregion. The brotherhood of smiths, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain, profited from his knowledge and around 1500 they began forging the Rings of Power, finishing them in 1590. Unbeknownst to them, Sauron (who had returned to Mordor) created a master Ring to rule the others. However, Celebrimbor perceived the designs of Sauron and prevented use of the Three Rings.
Infuriated by Celebrimbor's defiance, Sauron led a host out of Mordor. In 1695 this army invaded Eriador from the south. Gil-galad sent out a force under the command of Elrond which joined with Celebrimbor, but they were unable to prevent Sauron from conquering Eregion. Celebrimbor was captured and killed. Elrond too would have been overwhelmed but for an attack upon Sauron's force from the rear by Dwarves from Khazad-dûm. Elrond was able to gather what remained of the Elves of Eregion and retreated northward.
 The Battle
In 1697 Elrond founded the refuge of Imladris. Sauron did not immediately pursue Elrond, turning his attention upon the Dwarves and Elves from Lórien. Once they were driven back into Khazad-dûm and the gates were shut, Sauron sought to overrun all of Eriador. Small groups of Men and the remaining Elves fled to Elrond, swelling his forces. While Sauron sent most of his army west to attack Lindon he had to leave a strong detachment behind to contain Elrond.
The siege lasted until 1700 when a great Númenórean navy, sent by Tar-Minastir, arrived in Lindon. The might of Númenor broke Sauron's army at the Lhûn and crushed his forces at the Battle of the Gwathló. The army he had left besieging Imladris was caught between Elrond and Gil-galad and utterly destroyed, thus ending the siege.
A Council was held in the wake of Sauron's defeat. Given the devastation of Eregion it was decided that Imladris should become the new Elvish stronghold in eastern Eriador. In recognition of his efforts, Gil-galad bestowed the ring Vilya upon Elrond at this time and made him his vice-regent. Elrond maintained Imladris from then on until the end of the Third Age when he departed from Middle-earth.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Second Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Chief Days from the Fall of Barad-dûr to the End of the Third Age"