What Tolkien Wrote About the Fall of Eregion Before The Rings of Power Season 3

This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Rings of Power and Tolkien’s Second Age writings.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s account, Sauron destroyed the Elven realm of Eregion in the Second Age year 1697, killed Celebrimbor and drove Elrond and the survivors to the valley that became Rivendell. By then, Sauron had already forged the One Ring. That last detail is the biggest difference to remember before The Rings of Power Season 3.

Prime Video’s third season premieres November 11, 2026, and picks up five years after Eregion’s fall. The show has already depicted the siege and Celebrimbor’s death, while Amazon’s Season 3 preview still describes the forging of the One Ring as approaching. In Tolkien’s chronology, 97 years separate those events, and they happen in the opposite order.

Why did Sauron attack Eregion?

Eregion, also called Hollin, was an Elven realm on the western side of the Misty Mountains. Its chief city, Ost-in-Edhil, was home to Celebrimbor and the smiths who made the Rings of Power. Their proximity to the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm helped make Eregion a center of craftsmanship. The Doors of Durin that the Fellowship encounters much later preserve a trace of that friendship. The Dwarf Narvi made the doors, and Celebrimbor drew the signs on them.

Sauron gained the trust of Eregion’s smiths in the guise of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. They learned from him, but Celebrimbor made the Three Elven Rings without Sauron’s direct involvement. Sauron secretly forged the One Ring in Mordor to control the other Rings of Power. When he put it on, the Elves recognized what he had done and took off their rings. The Three were hidden, and Sauron went to war to seize the rings he had hoped to rule from afar.

Tolkien’s timeline of the fall of Eregion

What happened to Celebrimbor in Tolkien’s account?

Appendix B records Celebrimbor’s death in the same year as Eregion’s fall. Unfinished Tales supplies the details in Part Two, “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn.” Celebrimbor makes his stand at the doors of the smiths’ house, where Sauron takes him captive. Sauron finds the Nine there and tortures Celebrimbor for information about the Seven and the Three. Celebrimbor reveals where the Seven had been bestowed and keeps the Three’s whereabouts secret. Sauron kills him and later has his body carried as a banner against Elrond’s forces.

Celebrimbor’s final act gives the story its sharpest reversal. As a smith, he helps Sauron gain a foothold by sharing his workshop and his trust. As a prisoner, he protects the Three by keeping one piece of knowledge to himself. There’s a straight line from that decision to the world of The Lord of the Rings, where the Elves can still use their rings to preserve places such as Rivendell and Lothlórien while Sauron is separated from the One.

How did the fall of Eregion lead to Rivendell?

Gil-galad sends Elrond from Lindon to help Eregion, but his forces are too few to save it. In Unfinished Tales, Dwarves from Khazad-dûm and Elves from Lórinand attack Sauron’s army from behind, giving Elrond room to withdraw with survivors. Elrond establishes Imladris, the place readers know as Rivendell. Other refugees escape through Khazad-dûm, and the Dwarves shut their gates against Sauron.

Think about the two places the Fellowship visits in the Third Age. Rivendell is a refuge where people can gather and plan what to do about the One Ring. The western gate of Moria bears the Elvish word for “friend,” a remnant of the partnership that once connected the two realms. Reading the fall of Eregion makes those familiar stops feel like two surviving pieces of the same history.

What did The Rings of Power change?

What should you remember before Season 3?

Tolkien’s Sauron has already tried to use the One Ring by the time he attacks Eregion. The Elves see through him, and the siege is his response to losing the chance to control them by stealth. The show enters Season 3 from a different point. Eregion is gone, Sauron has the Nine, and he is still pursuing the means to dominate the other rings. That changes what the forging can mean for the characters who survived the siege. They already know what Sauron can accomplish without the One.

Tolkien’s chronology also gives Númenor an important role after the fall. Its forces help break Sauron’s advance in Eriador. Prime Video’s preview describes a Númenor divided by political factions, so the island’s ability to respond to the war is one of the book-to-screen threads to watch.

Where to read Tolkien’s account of the fall of Eregion

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• For the fullest account of the siege, start with “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn” in Part Two of Unfinished Tales. It covers Celebrimbor’s capture, Elrond’s retreat and the Dwarves’ intervention. Find Unfinished Tales in paperback on Amazon.
• For the dates, turn to Appendix B, “The Tale of Years,” in The Lord of the Rings. The Second Age entries show how far apart Tolkien placed the making of the One Ring and the destruction of Eregion. Find the one-volume paperback of The Lord of the Rings on Amazon.
• For the bigger picture, read “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age,” the final section of The Silmarillion. It puts Sauron’s deception and the making of the rings in the context of the ages that follow. Find The Silmarillion in paperback on Amazon.

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