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Old 10-20-2011, 01:00 PM   #11
Puddleglum
Wight
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 145
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aiwendil View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Akallabeth
Already in the days of Tar-Minastir, the eleventh King of Niimenor, he had fortified the land of Mordor and had built there the Tower of Barad-dur
The second problem is that the reign of Tar-Minastir was, according to 'The Line of Elros', from 1731 to 1869. So, even if we assume that the Akallabeth is meant to place only the completion of Barad-dur, and not its whole construction, in the reign of Tar-Minastir, that still puts it more than a century later than is said in ToY.
I've always understood the Akallabeth quote to mean that by the time Tar-Minastir became king (by the time we reached his days) Sauron had already accomplished his goal of fortifying his land of Mordor (which included building Barad-dur).

That is, the quote is
  • Not "In the days of Tar-Minastir... he fortified the land of Mordor and..."
  • But rather "Already in the days of Tar-Minastir... he had {which can signify past-tense} fortified the land of Mordor and..."
Taken this way, the problem dissolves.
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