Summary
Lord of the Ringshas a long history of wars and strife between races. After the first age, man freed himself from the horrors of the first dark lord, Morgoth. Through a great battle, the dark lord was defeated and vanquished. At his peak of strength, Morgoth’s former subordinate Mairon, later known as Sauron, took his time to build his own power using cunning and deceit and instituted his age of darkness.
Sauron’s rule of darkness covered much of Middle Earth, building his army, enslaving other races and destroying anything that stood in his way. His power would cause the races of men to band together to oppose him and eventually usurp control over the lands. This turmoil occurred during the second age, the latter half, which constituted the peak ofSauron’s rule and desire for conquestover Middle Earth. As Sauron was of a race that lived for a long time, his rule could last almost indefinitely.
When did the Accursed years start?
The Accursed Years, also called the Dark Years, occurred when Sauron ruled Middle Earth during the second age. During the second half of the second age, Numenor rose to power while the elves of Middle Earth lost control. Though Numenor attempted in the early days to stop Sauron’s advances, they were unsuccessful in putting an end to him. Due to Sauron’s atrocities, much of humanity was enslaved by the dark lord, and kingdoms had no means of fighting against his oppressive rule.All of the living racessuffered while he continued to rise in power. During this time, Sauron’s rule was at its most potent.
Sauron had an army of orcs that could defeat most other armies. During this time in the second age,Sauron would craft the one ring, resulting in him having even more power.The One Ring, meant to ruleother rings created for other races, gave him more authority over those who had accepted the calls, transforming them into soulless enslaved people to do his bidding. He convinced them they would receive something and, in their greed, they took them, which caused their downfall. They became shadows of men who served him and his desires for ultimate power.
Why were they known as the Accursed Years?
The first age was the beginningof the creation of different races. Although there were wars, people were still able to flourish. Sauron, formerly named Mairon, used his cunning and intelligence totake the place of his master Morgothand build himself more power, and when the time came, he acted on his desires in the second age. Sauron is patient, and able to bide his time and wait for the right time to strike, and in his patience, he was able to usher in his plans for Middle Earth swiftly.
The decline of man and elf constituted the name accursed years or dark years. At this time, man’s power was dwindling, and many men were slaves to Sauron. The once great Elvin race was slowly losing any control or influence they held. Saurondid not want to share power with any other race; his cunning and greed drove other races to death and extinction if they did not bow down to him. Anyone who chose to bow down to him, whether through fear or survival, would be enslaved, or he wouldtrick others into his service.
How did the Accursed years end?
As the name states, the Accursed years were dark times for all.Sauron’s army was powerful, and no single kingdom could topple him. Sauron created his army of orcs from elves, so his forces grew more potent as they fell in battle. Elves fell in battle, andSauronwould manipulate and alter them, corrupting their spirit to serve in his army. Morgoth was the first to use orcs as his weapon, and Sauron, a former servant of his, followed in his footsteps in this regard.
The remaining clans of Middle Earth made one final attempt to do battle against the dark lord; with the combined power of all living races, they faced Sauron’s armies to usurp his reign and destroy his hold on Middle Earth. It was known as the War of the Last Alliance and lasted 12 years. The decisive battle took place before Mordor on the plains of Dagorlad. The United Company managed todefeat the dark lord’s forces.Many lost their lives in this war in the pursuit of victory. They went on to breach the black gates of Mordor and faced down Sauron himself. It was finally all over after defeating him. The dark tower fell, and the Accursed years ended due to Sauron’s mortal wounds. Of course, this would only be a temporary defeat.
