The White Council

Re: Minas Ithil ( again!!) (and again and again....)

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : : : I was just reading about Minas Ithil at the bottom of the : : : : board and it struck me - was Minas Ithil of the same : : : : configuration as Minas Tirith and if so, how did it get : : : : captured when Gondor was at the time more powerful?( I think : : : : Minas Tirith is described as being untakeable if any within : : : : could bear arms.. If my memory is ok!)

: Three words: Hunger "...a weapon that has brought low many strong places since the world began..." : Despair: "For yet another weapon, swifter than hunger, the Lord of the Dark Tower had: dread and despair." : Treachery: "But such falls and betrayals, alas, have happened before."

I agree with these weapons as being the major cause of The Nazguls' army's victory over Minas Ithil. As we all know, the siege lasted for two years. Minas Tirith, in the battle of the Pellenor Fields had only a hasty storage of food for the inhabitants, minus the nonessential personnel that skipped out before the foreseen siege. (i.e. women, children, etc... excluding of course those with valuable skills such as husbandry for horses, food preparation, medical abilities, etc.) This food probably would have lasted them many a month, but only because they knew they would be recently besieged. They had time to aquire all the food possible from the surrounding lands, which were far more bountiful than the forests of Ithilien. The attack upon Minas Ithil came without warning, so there was no emergency store of food, which would have taken quite a while to obtain due to the relative unavailability of food in Ithilien. Since the attack came as a surprise, the nonessential personnel was still in the city. So hunger played a vital role. I imagine that they managed to ration their food, and possibly obtain more, by growing very limited crops within the walls, and raising the animals rounded up right before the siege. Fear, especially concerning the Nazgul, was a determinant factor. No one could gather the will and strength to confront a Nazgul successfully (save Eowyn) and the wrath and strength of the Nazgul was reflected in their armies. When the Ring was destroyed, the Orcs fled, having lost their driving force. Besides, if you comprehend the sheer experience of being cooped-up in that city besieged by the Nazgul, with little food, and no sign of a successful rescue, wouldn't that drive you crazy? I imagine many people went insane, and commited suicide.... or on the other hand, decided to aid the Nazgul by betraying their comrades. These traitors felt that the city would have fallen anyways.... so why not be on the winning side?

As for why a city, not just a fortress would be on the slopes of the Ephel Duath... Every military installation needs support. Army bases of today make cities thrive (communities in the bases, and cities that reside outside the bases' limits) which may not have been very successful otherwise. If you were going to put a vigilant defense against mordor on its very doorstep, you would need people to defend, maintain the city, grow food, and those people need somewhere to live, and they need material posesssions in their homes, so they need trade, and trade profits enlarge the populace and the city... and families that live in the city may not wish to leave out of loyalty... I imagine the Architects of Minas Ithil had to take this all into consideration when designing this fortification. Thus, in order to maintain a successful Fortress to guard against onslaught from Mordor, a city must thrive within it. (besides, the troops, with knowledge of the region, would be trained from the populace of the city, thereby making more successful troops for that particular area. They would be accustomed to the conditions.

Konquerer