Great War of the Ring

An occasional term used to describe the warfare that overtook northwestern Middle-earth in the closing years of the Third Age. In those times, more commonly known simply as the War of the Ring, Sauron sought to subjugate the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, and his overwhelming forces brought him close to success. In the end, however, he was overcome and destroyed when his Great Ring, which held much of his power, was taken in secret to Mount Doom and cast into the Fire.

For fuller details of this conflict, see the entry for its more common name, the War of the Ring.