Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Day 27

Day 27 - Isengard or Mordor?
I would definitely have to say Isengard here.  Mordor, in my opinion, isn't nearly as interesting and doesn't have as much unique history.  I enjoy history, real or fictional, so the fact that Isengard has a fairly diverse history makes it more appealing to me.  So, for today's history lesson we are going to learn about Isengard.

Isengard was built in the Second Age by exiled Numenoreans around the tower Orthanc which

was also built during the Second Age.  The river Isen flowed to the north so Isengard was very green with many large trees and fields.  Isengard and the land all around belonged to Gondor up until Cirion, Steward of Gondor, gave Eotheod the land that became Rohan.  Isengard, however, remained under control of Gondor though it was nearly forgotten.  A small guard had been left there to guard the fortress, but overtime they intermarried with the Dunlendings until Isengard

became Dunlending in all but name.  Orthanc, however, remained closed off to them since the Steward of Gondor held the keys.  By around 2710, the Dunlendings had become openly hostile toward the Rohirrim and begun to raid Rohan.   It was during the rule of Helm Hammerhand that the Dunlendings attacked and almost destroyed the Rohirrim.  The Rohirrim retaliated and defeated the Dunlendings, eventually taking Isengard.

At that point the issue became one of what was to be done with Isengard since Gondor did not wish to give it up but lacked the strength and inclination to garrison it.  The solution came when

Saruman suddenly reappeared and very conveniently offered to guard it.  The keys to Orthanc were handed to Saruman and he settled into his new home.  Saruman remained Warden of Isengard on behalf of Gondor until 2953 when he took advantage of Sauron's return and the distraction of the Stewards and took Isengard for himself.  During the War of the Ring, Isengard was Saruman's base of operations as he sought to destroy the Rohirrim.  Eventually an army of Ents and Huorns attacked Isengard and took the fortress.

During the Fourth Age, Isengard was restored and the entire valley was given to the Ents.  The Ents tore down Isengard's walls and the new forest that grew there was renamed Treegarth of Orthanc.  And that is a very general history of Isengard, which, again, I find quite interesting and why I certainly prefer it to Mordor.