The origins of Middle-Earth
Before we learn about Sauron, it's important to understand the origins of the land of The Lord of the Rings, called Middle-earth.
The deity who created everything is called Eru, the One (also called Ilúvatar). He was alone in the beginning, so he decided to create the Ainur (the Holy Ones), who were his offspring. The Ainur sang in harmony before Eru, bringing their voices together to fashion a Great Music.
However, Melkor, the greatest of the Ainur, grew impatient with the Void and sought to increase his own power and glory. He sowed discord into his music, throwing many Ainur into despondency and creating a raging storm of warring sound. Eru fought against Melkor's discord by raising a new and beautiful, yet sorrowful model. The music, when finished, formed a new world as a physical representation of what had been sung. The name of this world was Eä.
Many of the greatest and most beautiful Ainur chose to descend into Eä, and upon entering, they became bound to it, named the Valar (the Powers of the World). Since they entered at the beginning of time and nothing had yet shaped, the Valar labored across vast multitudes of space until they established Arda, the Kingdom of Earth, and prepared it as a place for the Children of Ilúvatar, Elves and Men.
Within Arda, the most notable regions are Aman and Middle-earth. Aman is on the westernmost borders of Arda and is the blessed realm of the Valar, the home of the immortals. This is the land where nothing decays, withers, or dies. Only elves are allowed to return to Arda from Middle-earth, which is hidden from men. Separated by the Great Sea, the land of Middle-earth lies on its eastern edges and is home to the mortal races. Since it is far from Aman, it has been marred by dark presences. It is a land of time, decay, and will lead to death for anyone who remains there, even elves. This is where the time and events of The Lord of the Rings take place.
Sauron
In the beginning, Sauron was a Maia known as Mairon. Maia were spirits of the same order as the Valar, but of a lesser degree, who served as their helpers. Sauron served under Aulë the Smith, the Valar whose lordship was over the physical substances, metals, and gems of Arda. He was exceptionally mighty in the craft and lore of physical creation, admired by the Dwarves, who would later be created by Aulë.
Mairon was not created evil. However, his downfall stemmed from a deep and personal obsession: he loved order and had a profound distaste for chaos, discord, and confusion. He began to admire the power of the Valar Melkor, later known as Morgoth, and his forceful attempts to shape the world according to his own design.
Mairon abandoned his allegiance to his master Aulë and became the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. Due to his horrific deeds, he was known to the Elves of Middle-earth as Gorthaur, which translated to "Terrible Dread," and in High-elven he was named Sauron, meaning "The Abhorred". During the ancient wars of the First Age, he was deemed "only less evil than his mater in that for long he served another and not himself." (The Silmarillion). He acted as a loyal chief under Melkor's malice.
In the early days of Arda, there were two fortresses in the far north of Middle-earth: Utonmo and Angband. Sauron served as the commander of Angband and escaped the fate of his master, Melkor, who was besieged by the elves and dragged back to Valinor in chains. After his master's defeat and the loss of Angband, Sauron evaded capture for nearly 3,000 years.
Melkor was eventually released and returned to Middle-earth to wage war against the Elves. It was during this time that Sauron was left in command of the war in Beleriand. During this First Age, Sauron became a dreadful sorcerer who created monstrous wereloves by imprisoning evil spirits in wolves' bodies.
After Melkor (Morgoth) was absolutely defeated in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age and tossed into the Timeless Void, Sauron took on a fair form and surrendered to Eönwë, the herald of the Vala Manwë. Sauron may have genuinely repented upon meeting the Valar, but he was too proud to return to Aman and receive formal judgment. When the Valar left, Sauron hid himself in Middle-earth and refused to return to the West to face his judgment. After centuries of silence from the Valar, Sauron, thinking that the Valar had forgotten about Middle-earth, began to plan his conquest of Middle-Earth.
Sauron's Goals:
- To bind all peoples of Middle-Earth under his will to ensure obedience, order, and avoid chaos
- using his magical rings. Forging the One Ring and infusing it with his own strength and will, he sought to create a perfect hierarchy of mental dominion: "while he wore the One Ring he could perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them" (The Silmarillion).
- by recovering the One Ring, which was lost
- Following his physical downfall in Nûmenor and his subsequent defeat by the Last Alliance, Sauron's primary, long-term goal became recovering the One Ring. Because "much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that One Ring," retrieving it was the only way he could fully rebuild his power, permanently bind his enemies, and finally establish his unchallenged, immutable order over Middle-earth (The Silmarillion).
- through surveillance. Sauron's fortresses served as unblinking eyes over the lands of his enemies. The Eye of Sauron - a piercing gaze rimmed with fire, which represented his unrelenting vigilance and perception over his enemies in his chief stronghold of Barad-dûr (The Dark Tower). He also used the Palantir (seeing stones) to control the Steward of Gondor and the sorcerer Sarumon.
- bind the Elves. He assumed a fair guise as Annatar ("Lord of Gifts") and worked with the Elven-smiths of Eregion. His true, secret goal was "to set a bond upon the Elves and to bring them under his vigilance" (The Silmarillion).
- bind Men. Finding Men, "the easiest to sway of all the peoples of the Earth," Sauron distributed nine of the Rings of Power to mortal kings and sorcerers (The Silmarillion). Through this power, he dissolved their independent wills entirely, turning them into the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths). his most terrible, perfectly obedient, and invisible servants. In the East and South of Middle-earth, his ordered dominion was absolute: "To them Sauron was both king and god; and they feared him exceedingly, for he surrounded his abode with fire" (The Silmarillion).
- bind Dwarves. He distributed the Seven Rings of Power to the Dwarven-lords, who proved difficult to control.
2. Destroy those who seek to impede his mission
- The Numenor. He started a cult worshipping Melkor, performed human sacrifices of the Fiathful, and manipulated the King into invading the Undying Lands, which led to their absolute destruction.
- Extermination of the Line of Isildur. After losing his One Ring to Isildur, Sauron spies and constantly tries to murder anybody related to the line of Isildur.
- Eradication of Gondor and Arnor. Kingdoms founded by remnants of the Numenorean exiles were hated by Sauron because of their ties to Numenor. Sauron preemptively struck and attacked these kingdoms to leave them isolated and alone