The Wizards feared Sauron, and though the Balrog was a major threat to the Fellowship, there were no concerns that it could conquer Middle-earth like Sauron nearly did. Compared to every other being in The Lord of the Rings, the Dark Lord seemed to be in a league of his own. So why was Sauron so much more powerful than the rest of his kind? Some Maiar were naturally stronger than others, as was the case for Men, Elves, and Dwarves. Even the Valar varied wildly in the levels of power they displayed; while some created and destroyed entire mountain ranges, others did little more than run quickly. This may have played a part in the Dark Lord’s rise to power, but it was not the main factor. Sauron towered over his fellow Maiar due to a combination of his unique training, his determined yet cruel mindset, and perhaps most importantly, a lack of key weaknesses that the others possessed.
Sauron Learned From the Original Dark Lord
Maiar in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
Valar Teachers and Masters
Sauron
Aulë, Morgoth
Gandalf
Saruman
Aulë
Radagast
Yavanna
Durin’s Bane
Morgoth
Sauron was not the first Dark Lord in Tolkien’s lore. Before he was a world-conquering warlord, Sauron was the lieutenant and chief spy of Morgoth, the fallen Vala. In the section “Ainulindalë” from The Silmarillion, Tolkien stated that, out of all the Valar, Morgoth “had been given the greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he had a share in all the gifts of his brethren.” It was from this mightiest of the Valar that Sauron learned the arts of deception and sorcery. Morgoth also provided Sauron with more tangible resources, such as strongholds and countless Orc minions. When Morgoth was defeated at the end of the First Age, Sauron took over what remained of his master’s army, giving him a head start in his military conquests. Morgoth was not Sauron’s only teacher. Before he turned evil — or at least, before it was obvious that he was evil — he served Aulë, the Vala of crafting and forging. The knowledge that Sauron gained from working under Aulë was instrumental in his eventual creation of the Rings of Power. Most Maiar only served a single Vala each, so in this way, Sauron held an advantage over them. That alone did not account for his strength, however, as Gandalf also learned from multiple Valar.
Sauron was single-minded and determined. He was obsessed with conquering Middle-earth, and everything he did was for the sole purpose of growing stronger. The other Maiar led more balanced lives. Gandalf, for example, had hobbies and a social life. He made fireworks, smoked pipeweed, and partied with the hobbits of the Shire. Even before he came to Middle-earth, he spent most of his time in Valinor leisurely. He was also selfless; his magical abilities primarily focused on inspiring and empowering others. Likewise, Radagast wanted to protect nature. He spent most of his time caring for the plants and animals of Middle-earth’s ancient forests. As for the Balrog, it lacked motivation. It had also served Morgoth, but unlike Sauron, it did not want to take his place. It was content to hibernate deep underground until it was disturbed, first by the Dwarves of Moria and later by the Fellowship. Sauron had no attachments. He did not care about anyone aside from himself, and he did not waste time on fun or relaxation; instead, he constantly furthered his goals.
Sauron Had Nothing Holding Him Back
Sauron honed his skills as a shapeshifter. All Maiar — except the Wizards, for reasons that will be discussed later — could change their forms at will, but Sauron was more proficient at this than most. This ability had combat applications, such as a moment from The Silmarillion in which he turned into a werewolf to fight and then a bat to fly away, but it was more useful as a tool for trickery and manipulation. He could assume a fair guise that resembled a beautiful Elf to lull the Free Peoples of Middle-earth into a false sense of security, or he could become an incomprehensibly terrifying monster to intimidate those who crossed him. Sauron lost his ability to shapeshift after the fall of Númenor because his evil had become too great to hide, but at that point, he did not need to; he had amassed so much power by the end of the Second Age that he was able to wage war by brute force. The Balrogs were some of the deadliest and highest-ranking soldiers in Morgoth’s army, so it is likely that they similarly committed too many evil deeds and became unable to change their forms.
Though Sauron’s evil nature robbed him of one ability, it granted him more options than the heroic Maiar. Sauron was more than willing to do heinous things to obtain power. For example, during the Siege of Eregion, he tortured Celebrimbor for information about the Rings of Power and then mutilated his body and proudly displayed it to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Many of Sauron’s minions hated him, but he forced them to serve him either through threats of violence or by magically dominating their minds, as was the case for the Nazgûl. Gandalf likely could have influenced the minds of his enemies in much the same way, but he would never have stooped to taking away someone’s autonomy. The heroes of The Lord of the Rings tried to show mercy even to Sauron’s vilest servants; sometimes, they prioritized doing the right thing over doing what was most tactically advantageous. By contrast, Sauron was a ruthless warmonger, and there was no line that he would not cross.
Gandalf and Saruman Could Not Use Their Full Power
Morals did not restrict Saruman, of course, but he and the other Wizards — or Istari, as they were known in the Elvish language of Quenya — had further limitations. The appearances that they took on in The Lord of the Rings were not their natural forms. When they were sent to Middle-earth, the Valar placed them within mortal bodies from which they could not transform. The Istari’s bodies weakened them, which was intentional on the Valar’s behalf. The War of Wrath, which had caused Morgoth’s defeat in the First Age, devastated Middle-earth because the Maiar who participated in it were so powerful. To prevent such collateral damage in the Third Age, the Valar sent five representatives to guide the people of Middle-earth rather than personally fight Sauron. If Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast had been in their original spirit forms, they might have been able to overpower the Dark Lord, but that was not their role.
It is also worth noting that Sauron was not that physically strong. As the prologue of Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring proved, ordinary soldiers were no match for him, but he was not an untouchable god, either. Throughout Middle-earth’s history, he lost in combat to Men, Elves, and in one instance from The Silmarillion, even a dog. He had been so thoroughly trounced in the War of the Last Alliance that he was scared to set foot on the battlefield during the War of the Ring, instead remaining within the safety of his tower of Barad-dûr. Sauron’s true strengths were as a leader rather than a warrior. He could devise cunning plans, masterfully manipulate his opponents, and instill absolute loyalty in those who served him. With luck, an Istar might have been able to best Sauron in a one-on-one duel, but before he could, he would have needed to fight his way through the Dark Lord’s massive army and penetrate Mordor’s defenses.
