Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien,alt.fan.tolkien Subject: Minas Morgul's Chain of Command X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test70 (17 January 1999) From: <<>> (Steuard Jensen) Lines: 168 Message-ID: <2o548.72$s4.4030@news.uchicago.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.135.12.7 X-Trace: news.uchicago.edu 1011933822 128.135.12.7 (Thu, 24 Jan 2002 22:43:42 CST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 22:43:42 CST Organization: The University of Chicago X-SessionID: 2o548-18102-s4-4332@news.uchicago.edu X-Hash-Info: post-filter,v:1.4 X-Hash: 1dbd1ce3 4d7ec188 33467645 05592cbf 24f7a221 Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 04:43:42 GMT [First, a warning: I've drawn some diagrams using ASCII characters below. If you're using a proportional width font or if your news reader does funny things with whitespace, they'll probably look pretty bad. Google's "View message in original format" option might be useful to you in that case.] I have been thinking a little bit about the Nazgul and their role among Sauron's forces at Minas Morgul. In particular, I've tried to work out all of the reasonable "chains of command" that might have existed there. We don't have all that much to go on; one minimal piece of evidence comes from Khamul's assignment as Sauron's lieutenent at Dol Guldur, with one other Nazgul with him as a messenger. Because a "messenger" can't really be expected to be a regular part of the chain of command, we can assume that the chain of command there was something like: Khamul |--------------- Nazgul Messenger | (other forces at Dol Guldur) I've tried to figure out a minimal set of constraints on the power structure, but it's hard to know what really deserves to be required and what is personal prejudice, so I've tried to keep it short. I think that the following rules are pretty certain: 1. No Nazgul should answer to a non-Nazgul. 2. The Witch-king probably had a specific second in command. 3. One or more Nazgul were probably kept outside the chain of command as messengers, as seems to have been the case at Dol Guldur. 4. All of the Nazgul were either at Dol Guldur or Minas Morgul. (It is possible, of course, that one or two were stationed at Barad-dur instead, which could cause minor changes to some arrangements.) 5. No chain of command includes loops: orders are passed from the top to any given person in a tree-like structure. (As a professor of mine once said, "You show me a tree with loops, and I'll show you a sick tree.") Given those rules, here are a few possibilities, each followed by comments. [Any notation like "(other forces)" implies its own internal and unspecified chain of command. I haven't necessarily been consistent about whether such blocks would include a single "local commander" or whether they would spread out right away.] 1. "Chain o' Nazgul" Witch King |--------------- Nazgul Messenger Nazgul |--------------- Nazgul Messenger Nazgul |--------------- Nazgul Messenger Nazgul | Non-Nazgul Commander | (other forces at Minas Morgul) Variations: Some or all of the messengers shown here could instead be tacked on between the lowest Nazgul and the non-Nazgul forces. Conversely, one or two Nazgul in the direct chain of command could be messengers instead (possibly stationed at Barad-dur). Advantages: A well defined chain of command will remain if any or all of the Nazgul are killed, detained, or sent away on special missions (finding Baggins, for example). Disadvantages: There's no need for four (or more) layers of overall commanders before responsibilities become divided; in fact, such a structure would turn two or three good commanders into little more than players in a game of telephone. (Even a single Nazgul between the Witch-king and the top non-Nazgul leader would have virtually no importance for the power structure.) 2. "Nazgul Tree" Witch King |--------------- Nazgul Messenger Nazgul |--------------- Nazgul Messenger ________________|________________ | | | Nazgul Nazgul Nazgul | | | Non-Nazgul Non-Nazgul Non-Nazgul | | | (other forces) (other forces) (other forces) Variations: The number of messengers and of "top-level" divisions could easily be adjusted. Each Nazgul "division leader" could easily have more than one direct underling. A two-way split in which each Nazgul "division leader" has a Nazgul second is also possible (after reassigning a messenger). As a larger variation, the three Nazgul "division leaders" could instead be messengers or a "special operations" force, leaving just the non-Nazgul leaders in their place. Advantages: Takes maximal advantage of leadership abilities of the Nazgul. (Not nearly so much in that last possible variation.) Disadvantages: Not at all robust if the top two Nazgul are not available, and even worse if all the Nazgul are gone. Even if the top "division leaders" who were present (Nazgul or not) managed to agree on who would be in charge, their "promotion" to overall commander would require a massive reorganization of the entire chain of command. Yes, real world groups have to deal with this same issue, but in most cases the top figures will only be absent in the case of death or permanant disability: you would _never_ send the general and his chief of staff away on a special mission (let alone the next layer of the command structure as well). 3. "Nazgul Ninja Squad" Witch King |--------------- 6 other Nazgul, as messengers | or a "special operations" force Non-Nazgul | (other forces) Variations: None, really. Advantages: Most of the Nazgul are available for special missions without harm to the chain of command (e.g. circling over Gondor to dismay the enemy, kill Faramir on the field, go find out what Saruman is up to). Even if all of the Nazgul are sent on a mission (e.g. find Baggins), no radical reorganization of the chain of command is necessary: the lower echelons are already used to reporting to the non-Nazgul second in command. Disadvantages: Fails to make use of the leadership abilities of the other Nazgul. I think those are the most likely cases. If anyone can think of another reasonable command structure or variation, I'd be interested in seeing it. Similarly, anyone who sees additional advantages or disadvantages for any of the above should mention them. My own opinion at this point is that the massive disadvantages associated with sending away large fractions of the chain of command on a regular basis are a fatal objection to the "Nazgul Tree" structure. Even in the final variation listed there, sending away the top two officers at Minas Morgul would cause serious upheavals in the chain of command. On the other hand, the "Chain o' Nazgul" structure just seems silly: there's no purpose to a long string of officers with only one subordinate each. That pretty much leaves only the "Nazgul Ninja Squad" structure as a viable option. This isn't unreasonable: it is essentially the same command structure that was already shown for Dol Guldur, just with a larger and more versatile "special missions" group of Nazgul. (The Nazgul _do_ seem to have been used quite often in that sort of role at the time of the War of the Ring.) A clear precedent for high-ranking non-Nazgul leaders is found in the Mouth of Sauron. Not only is it likely that he was Sauron's second in command at the Dark Tower (a very reasonable interpretation of "Lieutenant of Barad-dur"), but he seemed to be in line to take command of Orthanc after the surrender of the West, ahead of the seven Nazgul without fortresses of their own to manage. So... any thoughts? Steuard Jensen