Isengard
History of Isengard
Isengard, Saruman’s domain by the War of the Rings, was originally built by the exiled Númenoreans during the Second Age. Its location was in a fertile valley in the southern Misty Mountains, a location chosen to protect Calenardhon. A round wall of stone, the Ring of Isengard, surrounded the Orthanc, while the Isen or Angren river formed the northern wall. The single gate faced the south. The Orthanc was a 500 foot tall tower built from a single stone which housed one of the Palantíri.
The region of Calenardhon was slowly deserted, first as the result of plague, and then by enemy onslaughts. When the Steward of Gondor gave the land to Éothéod it became known as Rohan. Isengard at that time was occupied and maintained by a small company of men, who intermarried with the Dunlendings, who used it as a base from which to raid Rohan. The Rohirrim fought back and won, guarding Isengard for Gondor.
In 2759 of the Third Age, Beren, Steward of Gondor, gave the keys to the Orthanc (still housing the Palantíri) to Saruman for safe-keeping. When Saruman moved in the valley became known as Nan Curunír, or the Valley of Saruman. Saruman, of course, did not prove trustworthy; a few years after moving in he began fortifying Isengard, damming the Isen river and chopping down the trees. He built machinery and built up an army of evil Men, Orcs and Uruk-Hai. During the War of the Ring, the Ents destroyed Isengard, imprisoning Saruman in the Orthanc until he finally escaped. The Ents revitalized the valley, planting trees and naming the new forest the Treegarth of Orthanc.