Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power season 1 finale.Sauron is the primary antagonist of The Lord of The Rings and Amazon’s The Rings of Power, and takes on various corporeal and incorporeal forms across all iterations of Tolkien’s story, making how old he is a complicated affair. In Jackson’s trilogy, Sauron appears as a flaming eye atop the tower of Barad-dûr, whereas in The Rings of Power – as revealed in the series finale – he appears in the form of Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), a seemingly young man who masquerades as the true king of the Southlands. Sauron’s spiritual form is far older than either of these physical manifestations, and can be traced back to long before the events of either Jackson’s films or the prequel Amazon series.
In short, Sauron is as old as creation itself, and was created before the physical world was established. He is one of the Maiar, primordial spirits who were created by Eru – the original essence and creator of the universe – to assist the Valar in shaping the physical world. Like the Valar, the Maiar are immortal beings who can freely change their shape and physical appearance. ANother important example of the Maiar in The Lord of The Rings is Gandalf, which explains how he appears as both Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White, and also why the Dwellers confuse him for Sauron – “the other one” – in The Rings of Power.
How Old Sauron Is In Rings Of Power & Lord Of The Rings
Since his creation precedes time and physical reality altogether, it is impossible to provide a totally accurate age for Sauron. It is possible, however, to estimate his age in terms of the history of the created universe. While The Rings of Power combines and condenses major events from Tolkien’s books into a singular timeline, the series takes place somewhere in the Second Age of Middle-Earth. The Second Age begins after the defeat and imprisonment of Morgoth – who Sauron served as chief lieutenant – and lasts a further 3,441 years according to Tolkien’s timeline. In the books, the forging of the rings of power occurs around 1500 years into the second age and seeing as the line of Southlands kings is said to have been broken for 1000 years before the events of the show, this seems a reasonable period to situate the show’s events. Since the First Age spanned 590 years, this means that Sauron is at least 1500 years old in The Rings of Power – at least in terms of the history of Middle-Earth.
The Lord of The Rings is set some 3000 years into the Third Age of Middle-Earth, beginning in 3018 T.A and a minimum of 4950 years after The Rings of Power. While Sauron does not openly declare his presence in Mordor until the year 2951 of the Third Age, his spirit remains alive for the entire 3000-year period between his defeat by the Last Alliance in the Second Age and the events of The Lord of The Rings. This suggests that Sauron is at least over 6000 years old when the events of The Lord of The Rings begin, again only in terms of the history of the created world.
How Can Sauron Die & Come Back To Life?
Sauron is most famously defeated at the end of the Second Age when Isildur, wielding the broken sword (Narsil) of his dead father, cuts the ring from Sauron’s finger. Instead of dying after his defeat, Sauron becomes the eye that has become synonymous with the character since Peter Jackson’s trilogy. This is because Sauron, as one of the Maiar, is an immortal being. While his physical form may be killed, his true essence cannot be destroyed so easily. Furthermore, since Sauron poured so much of his will and power into the One Ring, Isildur’s failure to destroy it allows for Sauron’s spirit to endure for as long it survives. Conversely, it is for this exact reason that Sauron is completely defeated at the end of The Lord of The Rings, and the life of the ancient being is finally ended.
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