Places in Middle-earth
Minas Ithil
Type: Cities, Towns, Settlements
Region: Gondor
Meaning: Tower of the Moon
Other Names
Tower of the Rising Moon.
After Minas Ithil fell to the Nazgûl, it was called Minas Morgul, meaning Tower of Sorcery.
Location: On the western slopes of the Ephel Dúath, "upon a shoulder of the Mountains of Shadow as a threat to Mordor."
The Silmarillion, Akallabêth
Description: "... that city was once a strong place, proud and fair, Minas Ithil, the twin sister of our own city [Minas TIrith]."
TTT, Book IV, Ch 6 TheForbidden Pool
"... the imprisoned moonlight welling through the marble walls of Minas Ithil long ago, Tower of the Moon, fair and radiant in the hollow of the hills."
TTT, Book IV, Ch 8 The Stairs of Cirith Ungol
The house of Isildur was built in Minas Ithil, and he originally planted the White Tree there. According to Peoples of Middle-earth, Sauron attacked and took Minas Ithil near the end of the Second Age, at which time he burned the White Tree; Isildur escaped down the Anduin and eventually joined his father in the Last Alliance.
Additionally, one of the palantírs was in Minas Ithil. There is no mention of its being taken in the first conquest of the city, but it is assumed to have been taken by Sauron when Minas Ithil fell to the Nazgûl.
The Silmarillion, Akallabêth
Peoples of Middle-earth, Part 1, Ch VI, The Tale of Years of the Second Age,
Contributors: Lyllyn 6.07.04
