There have been great fantasy novels in history but none have been quite as important as The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. And what great story would be where it is without the villains to make it memorable? The following are some of the most important villains in the Lord of the Rings:

l Sauron- This divine being was once the lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. Since the fall of Morgoth, he has ascended to become feared of the second Dark Lord and was more successful than his old master at swaying the hearts and minds of the people of Middle Earth to his evil will. In his quest for complete power, he and the Elves crafted the Rings of Power that conferred great power to the bearers while secretly crafting the One Ring in the volcano of Mount Doom in order to control all of these rings. The story revolves around the consequences of Sauron's malevolent actions and he is widely recognized to indeed be the Lord of the Rings.

l Saruman- Once the head of the Istari, or order of wizards which includes Gandalf, Saruman fell into the temptation of wanting the One Ring, for himself and is seen alternately working under and vying against Sauron because of his pride. In addition to the great power he possesses as the foremost wizard of the Istari, he is said to possess an extremely powerful and beautiful voice that was so charming to hear that all that came from it came out as wise and reasonable.

l Gollum- First introduced in Tolkien's book, 'The Hobbit', he was once a hobbit-like creature that has been transformed into an emaciated being with spidery reflexes and a split personality by the possession of the One Ring, which came into his clutches and warped his personality forever. His constant struggle to take the One Ring back for himself becomes one of the most important angles of the story.

These are just a few of the many villains of Tolkien's universe. Truly a story as grand in scope as The Lord of the Rings would never have lifted off without interesting villains to push the storyline forward and provide true tests to the tale's protagonists.