Why thank you kindly! THERE IS STILL TIME TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
I actually don’t think of Barad-dûr so much as the various Temples of Freedom for ziggurat architecture?
Barad-dûr in its first incarnation I want to be an imposing, well-defended palace (later reconstructions becoming more and more fortress-like) where the god-king/Zîgur of the greater kingdom of Mordor and its satrapies might admit supplicants and hold court.
The Temples of Freedom would have the stair structures leading up to an altar room containing a gold idol of Melkor and a brazier for making burnt and blood offerings. There, a high-priestess would officiate and communicate whatever message was supposedly sent to her from the Giver of Freedom (who dwells in the Void but could be persuaded to inhabit his statues), predicting good or ill fortunes depending on whether the sacrifice was well received.
–In actuality, High-Priestesses in each major temple share a direct connection with the Zîgur (much like the ringwraiths), and report to him what sorts of offerings are made, what confessions are given, what prayers are made and what miracles people are in the market for; that sort of thing. In return they can tailor their “prophecies” and gifts of insight from “Melkor” to suit the daily political needs of the empire.
The lower floors would house other sects of priestesses, whose duties include both Cult of Melkor activities and the inherited functions absorbed from the resident religions of Harad, Khan, and Nurn; these might include planning the calendar year, astronomy, astrology, harvest and weather prediction, population management, marriages, funerals, birth ceremonies, communing with the dead, ghost and demon management, moderate-to-severe exorcisms, as well as organizing religious festivals and public sacrifices. Priestesses are powerful and respected officials who work in close accord with the Zîgur and are effectively a branch of government.
Typically in the regions of Mordor and Harad, the “blood sacrifice” is little more than a ritual prick of the finger for most things, or a slaughtered animal, or sometimes dedicating the execution of a criminal to the Temple if you’re REALLY trying to make a good impression– However, after Sauron’s removal to Numenor, the Temples of Freedom in Numenorian-held cities began to adopt the huge, excessive sanguinary displays of the capital (Sauron aggressively upped the blood-orgy game in Numenor with the intent to destabilize and terrify the populace in a way that he would never do on his home turf). This led to a schism between Numenorian Melkor-worship and Haradrim Melkor-worship, where Numenorian temples changed to accommodate mass public worship and ceremonies led by a high-priest rather than a priestess, who addressed a large congregation and led them in unified prayer and increasing numbers of ritual executions throughout the year. Numenorian style Temples of Freedom therefore abandoned the ziggurat format and adopted buildings closer in style to cathedrals or theaters, while traditional Haradrim Temples retained the step-structure and monastic orders of priestesses, even in the absence of the Zîgur in Mordor.
Thank you for coming to my presentation; if you have any que–OOH OOH WAIT I GOT ONE:
Okay so, a Numenorian supplicant walks into Mordor and he asks a priestess “Where’s the ziggurat?” and she says: “I dunno, I haven’t seen him since Year of the Sun 3261 S.A.!”
—-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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