The Downfall of Sauron

The Downfall of Sauron is the decisive and final event of the War of the Ring, marking the end of the Third Age and the breaking of the Dark Lord's power over Middle-earth. It occurs not through a military victory by the armies of the West, but through the destruction of the One Ring, the vessel of Sauron's own power, in the Sammath Naur, the Chambers of Fire within Mount Doom. The moment of the Ring's unmaking triggers a cataclysmic chain reaction that annihilates Sauron's physical form, shatters his stronghold, and scatters his armies in terror and confusion.

The Moment of the Ring's Destruction

At the very brink of the Sammath Naur, Frodo Baggins, the Ring-bearer, succumbs to the Ring's power and claims it for his own, vanishing from sight. Gollum, who has followed them, attacks the invisible Frodo, biting off his finger and seizing the Ring. In a frenzy of triumph, Gollum dances on the edge of the chasm, but he steps too far, topples, and falls with a shriek into the fiery depths below, taking the Ring with him. As the Ring plunges into the fire, a great roar and confusion of noise erupts. Fires leap up and lick the roof of the cavern, and the Mountain itself begins to shake.

The Collapse of Barad-dûr and the Breaking of Sauron's Power

Far away, in the heart of his realm, the Dark Lord Sauron is suddenly and utterly aware of his peril. The magnitude of his own folly is revealed to him in a blinding flash. His wrath blazes, but his fear rises like a vast black smoke to choke him. The whole mind and purpose of the Power that wielded his armies is bent upon the Mountain, but it is too late. The foundations of Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower, are shaken. Towers fall and mountains slide; walls crumble and melt, crashing down. Vast spires of smoke and steam billow up, toppling like an overwhelming wave. The earth shakes, the plain heaves and cracks, and Orodruin, Mount Doom, reels. Fire belches from its riven summit, and the skies burst into thunder seared with lightning. A torrent of black rain lashes down. The Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths, caught in the fiery ruin of hill and sky, crackle, wither, and go out.

The Aftermath on the Battlefield

At the Black Gate, the armies of the West, surrounded and facing annihilation, witness the cataclysm. The earth rocks beneath their feet. A vast soaring darkness, flickering with fire, springs into the sky. The Towers of the Teeth sway, totter, and fall; the mighty rampart crumbles; the Black Gate is hurled in ruin. A long, echoing roll of ruinous noise fills the air. Gandalf the White declares, "The realm of Sauron is ended! The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest." The Captains of the West see a huge shape of shadow, impenetrable and lightning-crowned, rear above the world and stretch out a vast threatening hand. But a great wind takes it, and it is all blown away and passes. The power of Mordor scatters like dust in the wind. The creatures of Sauron—orcs, trolls, and spell-enslaved beasts—run hither and thither mindless, some slaying themselves, others fleeing to hide in dark places. The Men of Rhûn and Harad, seeing the ruin of their war and the majesty of the Captains of the West, either gather for a last desperate stand or cast down their weapons and sue for mercy.

The End of the Dark Lord

With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron himself is utterly defeated. He loses the best part of the strength that was native to him in his beginning. All that was made or begun with that power crumbles. He is maimed for ever, becoming a mere spirit of malice that gnaws itself in the shadows, unable again to grow or take shape. The great evil of his world is removed. The victory is not achieved by arms, but by the successful completion of the Quest to destroy the Ring, a plan that relied on secrecy, courage, and the strange workings of fate, including the final, unwitting role played by Gollum.