Minas
Tirith - Capital of War,
Osgiliath
- Capital of Peace
We all know that
Gondor has changed two capitals; Osgiliath, and Minas Anor,
later to be renamed Minas Tirith. I have come today to ask why
there was a need to change the capital of the Kingdom, for that
is rarely done, and to answer this question, prooving that while
Osgiliath was the biggest of the two, and, it is said, the fairest,
it did not fit the position so close to the border with Mordor.
Let us begin at the beginning of both cities. Both were built
when Isildur and Anarion came to Middle-earth after the downfall
of Numenor. At the same time Minas Ithil also was built, but
it served mostly as an outpost on the very border of the Enemy’s
land, and had never laid up the claim for being the capital
city. Minas Ithil has always been a fortress, a tower watching
the dark Land, until the vigilence of Gondor failed, and it
was abandoned, and taken by the Nazgul.
When the three cities were first built, Minas Ithil was Isildur’s
city, and Minas Anor was Anarion’s, but Osgiliath was the
Capital, where both brothers set and ruled the Southern Kingdom.
While Minas Tirith and Minas Anor were both towers, as their
names suggest, fortresses ready for war, Osgiliath was a city
more fit for times of peace than for warfare. What gives me
the right to claim this, you may ask.
Let me explain. While Minas Anor (as well as Minas Ithil, but
that is not my subject today, so I will leave this city at peace)
stood in the mountains, Osgiliath was located on the Anduin
itself. Which of the two it would be harder to defend, which
would easier fall to invasions. Osgiliath, standing in the middle
of the plain, is open from all sides. The only thing that prevents
enemy forces to stream down at it from both east and west are
the two towers - Minas Ithil, and Minas Anor protecting the
passes. But without them, it is open to any invasion, as indeed
may be prooved by Castamir’s success to destroy the city
in his battle with Eldacar. It is very hard to protect a city
when it is attacked from both sides. In such a case the defending
forces are forced to be split in two, each separate force defending
its own side of the river.
Should one side need help, the other side would fail to give
it. though many bridges may run across the river, only a limited
number of men may be crossing at the same time; my estimation
would be that it would take 100 men 10-15 minutes to cross and
reform on the other bank; that is much too slow to give any
aid in battle. And I have not yet mentioned the possibility
of attacking from the river. When the anduin traverses Osgiliath,
it is already a wide river. Coming on its own, without any backup,
an enemy fleet might not be able to land in the city, but should
it be attacked on both sides, I doubt that there would be enough
men to bar the way also of a fleet, expecially if it comes from
both north and south. Had I to fight a city of Osgiliath’s
kind, I would have used the following strategy: even if I did
not have contorl of both banks of the river, I would have let
part of my force cross it both above the city and below it,
and thus would have attacked the city from all sides, surrounding
it, and forcing the defenders to spread all round the perimeter.
Then, after the battle has raged for an hour or so, I would
have let in ships, either from one side, or from both, depended
on my possibilities. With the defenders broken over so many
different fighting points, my forces would have been bound to
breach the defence somewhere, and from the moment that happened,
the city would be mine. As you must know, fighting inside a
city is very different from fighting in the open. Within the
city the enemy is unpredictable, and the defenders run the risk
of hurting peaceful citizens. In order to push me out of the
city, the defenders would have to cut off those of my soldiers
already inside, and then kill them all. But closing a breach
in the defence is far harder than not allowing it to open. Once
such a breach is open, it is virtually impossible to close it,
not without leaving other places with insufficient defending
force. The city would be mine.
Minas Anor, or Minas Tirith is a wholly different story. First
of all, it stands in the mountains, thus having a wide view
of the plains below it. Thus, it is impossible to attack it
by surprise. Then, there is only one side from which an enemy
may come at the fortress - from the east. The west of the city
is protected by the White Mountains, since it is very hard to
lead an army through the mountains. If the defenders of such
a place are vigilent, and watch their back even though they
do not expect an attack to come from that direction, it is impossible
for an army to come from there. Discovered, any enemy would
be destroyed in the narrow passes and the high ridges of the
mountain range. That means that in case of attack, all the defending
forces of the city will stand together, rather than being separated
over many points. I needn’t tell any of you that it is
far harder to attack from a lower point than from a higher one.
Not only does the high-standing force have a better view of
all that is happening, the force of gravitation works in its
advantage. Arrows, stones, hot oil, may all be rained on the
attackers. Attacking such a city, I would be forced to try and
breach the walls, or to starve the men out. In other words,
I’d lay the city under siege, rather than start my attack
at once. That was indeed the Enemy’s strategy during the
War of the Ring. The vast forces arround Minas Tirith stood
in the way of any force that might try to give help the the
besieged, while the attack was focused on opening a passage
into the city, and lessening the defence against such attempts.
All that the Lord of the Nazgul, who commanded then the attacking
forces, was doing, may be summed under this title. By setting
the first circle of the city aflame, he prevented any actions
that the defence could have taken to prevent his eventual passage
in. By throwing in the heads of our dead soldiers, oh Eru, accursed
may be the day when the idea came to his dark mind, he was trying
to achieve the same goal - to break the spirit of our soldiers.
But all his might he cast at the gate, knowing that only by
breaching it would he be able to enter Minas Tirith, for its
walls were unbreackable. And yet, there is one more aspect that
makes Minas Tirith even stronger than a usual fortress positioned
on a mountain-top; its division into seven circles. When a leak
is discovered in a chamber on a ship, this chamber may be closed,
so that water would not get from it into the other parts of
the ship. So, when an enemy manages to take one circle of the
city, the next one may be closed and defended, and the enemy
would have to fight once again in order to break in. In short,
while Osgiliath is a city that is hard to defend, Minas Tirith
has everything that would help it stand long, and endure against
the might of the Enemy, for his might was very great in the
past age, and still, we are not entirely rid of his creatures.
Let us now take a look at the time at which the cities were
constructed. As I’ve said, both were built when Isildur
and Anarion, having escaped the downfall of Numenor, came at
last to Middle-earth. Knowing that with the downfall of their
home, fell also all who have hunted them, and that Sauron also
must have perished in this cataclysm, they could hope for peace.
Yet, they could not be sure that the Enemy has been destroyed
forever, nor was all darkness errased from his land. Thus, they
built Osgiliath hoping for peace, but they built also Minas
Ithil and Minas Anor, preparing for whatever might come. Their
calculations didn’t prove wrong, for though more than a
hundred years had passed between the downfall of Westerness,
and the Battle of the Last Alliance, the battle did come.
But after the battle, it seemed peace was ensured, and it was
in Osgiliath that Meneldil remained when Isildur departed never
to return. Not until the year 420 of the Third Age was Minas
anor rebuilt, by King Ostoher. And not too soon; in his days
the Easterlings first attacked. One might say that the two events
were not linked, for indeed 70 years had passed between them,
but it seems a strange coinsidence that both should take place
during the reign of the same King. Could it not be that seeing
that the Easterlings were growing strong again, Ostoher, still
wise after the fasion of the men of Numenor, would rebuild this
old fortress in advance?
In the next years many battles take place. Gondor remains a
mighty empire, but more and more does it have to fight for its
peace. At the same time, the importance of Minas Anor grows,
while Osgiliath begins to wain. A hard blow on Osgiliath was
the kin-strife for then the city was burnt, but it wasn’t
until 200 years later that the seat of the King was moved to
Minas Anor. This prooves that it wasn’t the burning that
caused the move, for in such a long time the city was bound
to have been restored. But the shadow was lengthening both in
the North and in the South. There was need for more safety than
Osgiliath could provide, and this safety was found in Minas
Anor.
Thus, though Osgiliath had been built in hope of peace, it was
later deserted, for it wasn’t a city well-prepared for
war, and war was the general state of affairs in Gondor during
the Third Age. Of the two existing capitals, Minas Anor was
more fitted to the position close to the dark Land, and for
this reason it was preferred over the fair Osgiliath. Notice
that though the ruins of Osgiliath have been defended even to
the days of Lord Denethor, there had never been an attempt to
rebuild the city, for there was war, and war was not the time
for such a place. Only now have the works of rebuilding begun,
for now the Enemy has fallen, and the King has returned. And
glad I am at the rebuilding of that city, for I hope that it
signifies the coming of peace at last!
Scholar
(Scribe)
10th July 2005
The
Death Sentence
The death sentence
had been practiced by both men and elves for many an age. Many
and various were the charges for which this sentence was issued;
Eol, husband of Lady Aredhel of Gondolin, I will recall here,
for example, who was cast over the Caragdur for the crimes he
had committed. Many others there were also, of lesser renown.
Ever have men feared the death sentence, ever have they shunned
it. Nor are new, I believe, the voices that speak against it.
More than once I have heard people muttering that the death
sentence should be abandoned, and replaced with milder punishments.
For indeed, of all punishments, this one alone is unalterable.
A man may be released from prison, he may be allowed to return
to his land after being banished, but once executed, he cannot
be brought back to life. “What if a mistake should be made?”
people ask, “What if one should be executed for a crime
he had not committed?” It is easy to understand those people.
Ever has Illuvatar’s gift of mortality seemed a hard doom
to us. Ever have men feared death, for that which lies beyond
it is unknown, while all that we forsake in dying is known only
too well, and loved dearly. Behold! Was it not the fear of death
that brought decay and destruction unto Numenor? Was it not
by the promise of eternal life that the Enemy corrupted Ar-Pharazon
and our ancestors of old, driving them to transgress the command
of the Valar?
But I am not here to speak against the death sentence, as so
many have done before it. I would here, alone, if I must, speak
in favour of this last measure of justice, for I believe it
is needed, needed far more than most of us realise.
What is a sentence?
What does it serve for? Why is it needed?
Many people think that the purpose of the punishment is to make
one fear committing a forbidden act, or should he commit it,
to quench in him the desire to do it again. I hold this belief
to be wrong. A society that is based on fear is a society of
cowards. Is that what we are? I believe not so. The purpose
of the punishment set for every crime is to set the price that
one would have to pay for committing it. From a first glance,
these two statements appear to mean the same thing, but that
is not so. While the base of the first is threatening a cowering
soul, the base of the second is giving a free man the possibility
to choose freely his way of action. The core of the two perceptions,
their understanding of the human nature is entirely different.
From this understanding, we may go on now to see that while
the law and punishment in the eyes of the first apprehension
must surpass the level of fear of the common man, the goal that
is set before the law and punishment in the eyes of the second
apprehension is entirely different; it must set a just price
for each action. In this case the law doesn’t have to prevent
someone from doing something. It exists merely to let one know
the price, the value, if you wish, of his action. The punishment
is then no more than paying the set price. Thus, the punishment
must be in a direct relationship with the act, for the price
of each act must be set accurately, fairly, justly.
Speaking in these terms, what would the meaning of replacing
the death sentence with milder ways of punishment be? It would
set the value of one’s own life above the value of everything
else. Some people would say that it sets the value of life above
all else, but that is a misperception, for one would not be
executed for the crime of murder. Thus the value of the murderer’s
life would be established as higher than the value of the life
of the victim. Moreover, is life really the most valuable of
all things and principles that we have? Higher than honour,
higher than friendship, higher than loyalty to one’s country?
And now, finally, I come to answer the claims of all people
who fear that a mistake should be made, that one guiltless should
be executed. There is indeed no comfort to a mother whose son
has been killed through no wrongdoing of his. But the justice
in our land lies in the hands of the King. Do we not entrust
to him the safety of our homes and our children? Do we not trust
him to lead us well in peace and in battle? Do we not ever follow
his command, though we might not always understand his purposes?
If we trust him with so much, why shouldn’t we trust him
with this? If we trust him to keep our land safe, to bring the
rangers safely back from a battle, to command us, why don’t
we trust him with the fate of a single man? We have trusted
our King when his mistake could lead to the downfall of all
Gondor, and he hadn’t led us astray. I believe therefore
that justice is also safe in his hands.
For these reasons,
let the death sentence hold.
Scholar
(Sage)
7th September 2005
<< Fanatics Plaza
