Osgiliath


 * A city of Middle-earth, the old capital city of Gondor. Osgiliath is a Sindarin word that means Citadel of the Host of Stars. Founded by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárionat the end of the Second Age, Osgiliath was located on either side of the Great River Anduin. Osgiliath was burned during the Kin-strife and its palantír was lost in the Anduin. Later Osgiliath was badly affected by the Great Plague which wiped out a substantial part of the city's population. The capital was shifted to Minas Anor in T.A. 1640 and the city began to fall into ruin. The half-ruined city was completely abandoned in T.A. 2475 when Uruks from Mordor invaded Ithilien and destroyed the city's great bridge. They were driven back by Boromir, son of Denethor I.
 * Osgiliath was the scene of some of the earliest fighting in the War of the Ring, when in 3018, Sauron's forces attacked and captured East Osgiliath. The orcs were driven back from the western shore by Boromir and the last bridge was thrown down. During the assault on Gondor, the army of Sauron again attacked the western city and after overcoming the defence, surrounded Minas Tirith, beginning the siege of Gondor and leading directly into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In Peter Jackson's film of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Osgiliath, where they witness a battle. This does not occur in the book.