Isildur

Although he was a mighty warrior, he is renowned for cutting the One Ring from Sauron’s hand after the Battle of the Last Alliance. His decision not to destroy the Ring proved to be his undoing, ensuring the persistence of the dark shadow of Sauron in the world.

Isildur was the oldest son of Elendil and the brother of Anárion. With his brother, he founded the exiled realm of Gondor, and together, they ruled it from their capital in Osgiliath, while their father ruled in Arnor in the north.

At the end of the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur cut the One Ring from the Dark Lord Sauron’s hand, vanquishing him, but refused to destroy the Ring. Isildur was later killed by Orcs in Disaster of the Gladden Fields.

Isildur’s Life in Númenor

Isildur was born on the island nation of Númenor in the year 3209 of the Second Age. He was the eldest son of the noble Elendil, heir to the region of Andúnië. Their line was descended from the kings of Númenor through Silmariën, the daughter of Tar-Elendil, the fourth King of Númenor. During the reign of Ar-Gimilzôr, their family and the rest of the Faithful were forcefully moved to the port city of Rómenna on the east coast of the island of Númenor, where the king can keep an eye on them.

Over the long years, the Kings of Númenor began to resent their ancestor’s choice to live as a Man instead of choosing the immortal fate of the Elves, and they desired immortality for themselves. They began to hate the Elves and the Valar and distanced themselves from them. Many turned away from the worship of Eru, who had created them.

The Elendili, the Faithful, who were mostly made up of Númenorians from Andúnië, remained friendly with the Elves and continued worshipping Eru as their ancestors had. They were heavily persecuted by the heathen kings of Númenor, especially Ar-Gimilzor the Usurper.

When Isildur learned that Ar-Pharazôn, under the influence of the prisoner-turned-counselor Sauron, was planning to cut down the White Tree, he stole into the court of the King at Armenelos and stole a fruit from it, thereby protecting its legacy.

With the increase in Sauron’s influence and the worsening persecution, the Faithful prepared to leave Númenor. They and their families boarded nine ships, taking with them many of their prized possessions, including the Seeing Stones which were gifted to the Lords of the Andúnië by the Elves. Isildur brought with him the seedling of the White Tree and Stone of Erech, as well as his wife and his son Elendur.

When Eru destroyed Ar-Pharazon and his forces as they invaded the Undying Lands, the cataclysm that caused the Downfall of Númenor bore the nine ships of the Faithful to safety in Middle-earth.

Realms of Middle-earth

The Faithful arrived safely to Middle-earth, but their ships were scattered as they neared the continent. Elendil landed in Eriador in the north with four ships and founded the northern kingdom of Arnor. Isildur and Anárion landed in the south with five ships and soon took their ships up the Mouths of the Anduin.

Isildur and Anarion found the southern kingdom of Gondor in the vales of Anduin. Isildur built his home in Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Moon, while Anarion built his home in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun. However, they jointly ruled the kingdom and set up thrones side by side in the Great Hall of Osgiliath.

Soon the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron attacked and captured Minas Ithil in the year 3429 of the Second Age. Isildur escaped down the Anduin with his wife and sons and a seedling of the White Tree. He sailed around the coast of Middle-earth, seeking Elendil in Arnor. Elendil consulted with Gil-galad, the last High King of the Ñoldor in Middle-earth, who lived in Lindon. Gil-galad and Elendil formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to oppose Sauron in the year 3430.

Isildur placed the Stone of Erech, which he had brought from Númenor, at the top of the Hill of Erech at the foot of the White Mountains. There, he met with the King of the Mountain Men, who swore an oath of allegiance to him upon the Stone, but the king reneged on his oath during the War of the Last Alliance when Isildur called upon him and his men to join the fight against Sauron, they refused and barricaded themselves in their mountain fortresses. Isildur cursed them, saying they would never rest until they fulfilled their oath, and they haunted the Paths of the Dead.

War of the Last Alliance

In the year 3431 of the Second Age, the army of the Last Alliance, led by the High-king Gil-galad and Elendil, left Elrond’s home in Imladris and crossed the Misty Mountains into the plains of Dagorlad at the border of Mordor, where they utterly defeated Sauron’s forces in the Battle of Dagorlad, and then laid siege to Mordor. In the prolonged siege that lasted seven years, many Elves and Men were lost, including Isildur’s brother Anarion.

As the siege progressed and Sauron’s forces dwindled, the Dark Lord joined the battle himself, but the great warriors Elendil and Gil-galad engaged him in combat. In the end, they defeated Sauron, but he killed the two kings before his body was destroyed. Narsil, Elendil’s sword, broke under him as he fell but Isildur took up the hilt and cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger. Robbed of the Ring wherein he had poured his power and might, Sauron was vanquished, and he lost his physical body.

Entranced by the beauty of the Ring, Isildur claimed it as an heirloom for his family in payment for the deaths of his father and brother, and even though Gil-galad’s herald and lieutenant, Elrond and Cirdan the Shipwright, advised that he destroy the Ring to ensure that Sauron’s destruction, because his spirit will endure and remain potent for as long as the One Ring survives, but Isildur would not listen to them. 

As the heat of Sauron’s hand faded from the Ring, it began to shrink and the magical spell Sauron wrote on it began to fade. Isildur wrote down many of the Ring’s properties he had observed, including the intense heat that had badly burnt his hand when he had first picked it up. he noted that the writing would return when the Ring was heated up.

Death of Isildur

With Sauron vanquished, Isildur set about reordering the realms of Gondor and Anor. While he maintained his rulership of Anor, he ruled Gondor as a regent to Meneldil, Anarion’s son, whom he mentored in the duties of a king. He then planted a seedling of the White Tree in the court of the King in Minas Anor.

With his duties in Gondor done, Isildur set out for Rivendell where his wife and youngest son waited. He also intended to deliver the Ring to Elrond for safekeeping. He was accompanied by his elder sons and a small retinue of knights and soldiers, having sent his army home. As the company marched up the High Pass over the Misty Mountains they were attacked by a large band of Orcs near the Gladden Fields.

Seeing that his men were outnumbered ten to one, Isildur summoned his herald Ohtar and sent him away to Rivendell bearing the shard of Narsil. The Orcs were unaware that Isildur had the One Ring, but they were unwittingly drawn to its power. As the first wave of the Orcs attacked, Isildur’s men formed a shield wall and quickly repelled them.

As night fell, the Orcs came down on the Dúnedain defenders in a large crescent and tried to encircle them. Seeing this, Isildur’s son Elendur begged him to flee from the battlefield to prevent the Ring from falling into the hands of the Orcs. Seeing no other choice, Isildur reluctantly agreed. He put on the Ring, slipped away from the battle unseen, and ran for the river. As he struggled with the strong currents of the river the Ring slipped off his finger and was lost among the reeds. As he cast about searching for the Ring he was spotted by a group of Orcs who shot him with their arrows and killed him.

Isildur’s body was never recovered, but his weapons and armor were found near the scene of the battle where he had discarded them before wading into the river. The One Ring was lost to history until it was discovered by Déagol the Stoor in the year 2463 of the Third Age.

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