Dates

Built in the early First Age, captured by Sauron in I 457¹

Location

On the island of Tol Sirion, in the Pass of Sirion

Origins

Built by Finrod Felagund

Race

Elves

Division

Noldor

Pronunciation

mi'nas ti'rith (all the 'i' sounds here are short, so Minas is pronounced like 'minnas')

Meaning

'Tower of Guard'

Note

Finrod's tower is not the same 'Minas Tirith' as the seat of the Stewards of Gondor. This is a much older tower, destroyed millennia before the Gondorians began construction on their White Tower. For that later version, see this entry.

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Updated 19 August 2006
Updates planned: 38

Minas Tirith

The tower that guarded the Pass of Sirion

The tower that guarded the Pass of Sirion, after which Minas Tirith in Gondor was perhaps named. Built by Finrod Felagund to keep watch on the western pass of Beleriand, it was mainly in the keeping of his brother Orodreth until captured by Sauron in the late First Age.

Notes

1	Sauron didn't destroy the tower after its capture - instead, he ruled it himself as Tol-in-Gaurhoth for a period of about ten years. The tower was finally destroyed by Lúthien during the Quest of the Silmaril.

Minas Tirith

The tower that guarded the Pass of Sirion

Notes

See also...