Last Alliance of Elves and Men

The Last Alliance of Elves and Men was the great coalition of the free peoples of Middle-earth that overthrew Sauron at the end of the Second Age. Formed of the Elves and the Dúnedain of the realms in exile, it was the last time those two kindreds stood together in arms against a common foe on so great a scale.

Formation

In the Second Age, Sauron had grown to dominate much of Middle-earth from his stronghold in Mordor. After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion founded the realms of Arnor and Gondor in exile. When Sauron assailed Gondor, Elendil joined with Gil-galad, the High King of the Noldor, to form the Last Alliance, marshalling a host such as had not been seen since the fall of Beleriand.

The War

The host of the Alliance mustered at Imladris (Rivendell) and marched east, defeating Sauron's forces at the great Battle of Dagorlad before the gates of Mordor. They then laid siege to the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr for seven years.

At the last, Sauron himself came forth to do battle upon the slopes of Mount Doom. Gil-galad and Elendil were both slain in overthrowing him, but Isildur took up the broken shards of his father's sword Narsil and with the hilt-shard cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Sauron's bodily form was destroyed and his spirit fled, though he was not wholly unmade because the Ring endured.

Aftermath

Isildur kept the Ring for his own rather than destroying it in the Cracks of Doom, a fateful choice that allowed Sauron eventually to return. The victory of the Last Alliance ended the Second Age, but the failure to unmake the Ring set the stage for the War of the Ring three thousand years later.