Isengard

Type

Organization

First appears

Book 2 · Ch. 8

Books

3

Isengard begins as the fortified stronghold of the wizard Saruman, its black tower Orthanc rising amid a once-green valley that has been industrialized into a war-machine. By the time of the War of the Ring its pits and forges have been destroyed by the Ents, leaving the vale a garden under Treebeard’s care. In later memory it becomes a peaceful waypoint on the road home rather than a battlefield, symbolizing the complete reversal of Saruman’s dominion.