Sauron's fortress of Dol Guldur in southern Mirkwood was deserted in III 2941 when the White Council launched an attack on it. Sauron had prepared for their stroke and retreated to Mordor, where he reestablished himself in his Dark Tower of Barad-dûr. A further ten years passed, and then he openly declared himself, and at the same time sent out three Ringwraiths to reoccupy the abandoned Dol Guldur.
The chief of the Ringwraiths of Dol Guldur was Khamûl, the Black Easterling, and he remained there for some years. His companions changed, but he always had at least one other Ringwraith with him in the tower. As the War of the Ring began, the Ringwraiths were needed for other tasks, and Dol Guldur was abandoned by them once again as they set out to search for Sauron's Ring.
Notes
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In his guise as the Necromancer, Sauron had occupied Dol Guldur for more than 1,800 years. In all this time, it seems hard to imagine that none of the Ringwraiths would ever have at least visited the fortress, even if only to receive instructions or relay messages. Nonetheless, our first definite dating of the Ringwraiths in connection with Dol Guldur was in III 2951, when Sauron sent three of them to reoccupy it after the attack by the White Council ten years beforehand.
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At some point during this period, one of the Ringwraiths of Dol Guldur returned to Minas Morgul, but Khamûl and one other were known to have remained there until III 3018. In that year they departed and passed southwestwards, crossing Anduin to reach the Field of Celebrant. There they joined the other seven Nazgûl coming north from Minas Morgul, and so the Nine Ringwraiths were together when they began their search for the land of 'Shire'.
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- Updated 16 November 2022
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