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Why did Sauron create the One Ring and What Were Its Powers?
It was part of Sauron's scheme to ensnare and enslave the users of
all the rings of power and so control the Noldor of Middle-earth.
Sauron planned for the domination of all of Middle-earth and he
needed/wanted to control the Elves to complete this plan. This was
the reason for the forging of the One Ring. Sauron went to
Orodruin, Mount Doom, to forge the Ruling Ring, and by putting a
large part of his own inherent power into the Ring he created a
means by which he could enslave the users of the rings:
" And much of the strength and will of Sauron passed into that
One Ring; for the power of the Elven-rings was very great, and
that which should govern them must be a thing of surpassing
potency; and Sauron forged it in the Mountain of Fire in the
Land of Shadow. And while he wore the One Ring he could
perceive all the things that were done by means of the lesser
rings, and he could see and govern the very thoughts of those
that wore them." [The Silmarillion]
Sauron took quite a risk in placing a major portion of his own
power into an item that could be taken from his control. This is
exactly what happened at the end of the Second Age when the Last
Alliance of Elves and Men defeated Sauron and Isildur cut the One
Ring from Sauron's hand. Separated from his power, Sauron was
vanquished and seemingly disappeared from Middle-earth. Tolkien's
view on the use of power is revealed in another one of his Letters:
"The Ring of Sauron is only one of the various mythical
treatments of the placing of one's life, or power, in some
external object, which is thus exposed to capture or
destruction with disastrous results to oneself. If I were to
`philosophise' this myth, or at least the Ring of Sauron, I
should say it was a mythical way of representing the truth
that potency (or perhaps rather potentiality) if it is to be
exercised, and produce results, has to be externalised and so
as it were passes, to a greater or less degree, out of one's
direct control." [The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien #121]
Yet while Sauron wore the One his powers on earth were actually
enhanced. Its powers were primarily of domination and control. He
used the power of the Ring to rule whole peoples who worshipped him
as a God-king. Through its use he could control the orcs, the
trolls, the Haradrim, wargs, and his most feared servants the
Ringwraiths. Because Sauron could already control the weather and
the Fires of Mount Doom, these too would have been further enhanced
to truly frightening levels if he had regained the One. With the
One, his Eye would have seen every thought or action anywhere in
Middle-earth; no secret could have been kept from him and no one
could have withstood him. With the One, Sauron would have captured
the Three Elven Rings and he would have used them to create
Timeless evil in Middle-earth; all under the control of the One.
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