The Nine Rings: How Kings Became the Nazgûl

Before The Rings of Power season 3 premieres on November 11, 2026 (more episodes on November 18 and 25), here is the origin of the Nazgûl as J.R.R. Tolkien wrote it: how Sauron seized the Nine Rings when Eregion fell, who received them (including three great lords of Númenor), what the rings actually did (long life, invisibility, and the slow fading into wraiths), and what Tolkien tells us about the Witch-king and Khamûl. We finish with what to watch for in season 3, using only officially announced information, clearly marked [SHOW] and separated from book lore [BOOK]. ▶ Previous video: Sauron's Plan Explained: How the One Ring Was Made:    • Sauron's Plan Explained: How the One Ring ...   ▶ Also watch:    • The Magician's Nephew Explained: How Narni...   Sources: The Silmarillion ("Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age", "Akallabêth"), The Lord of the Rings ("The Shadow of the Past", Appendices A and B), Unfinished Tales ("The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "The Hunt for the Ring") and Tolkien's letters. Season 3 info: Prime Video / About Amazon; Empire (J.D. Payne and Zubin Varla interview, July 2026). Paraphrased; no film or series footage or imagery is used. ⏱ CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open: nine rings, nine slaves 00:21 Where we left off 01:04 The fall of Eregion: Sauron takes the Nine 02:11 Who received them 03:37 What the Nine actually do 04:36 Fading: how a king becomes a wraith 06:05 The Witch-king and Khamûl 07:51 What to watch for in Rings of Power season 3 09:36 Outro This is unofficial lore commentary and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Amazon, Prime Video, the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins. "Tolkien", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Rings of Power" are trademarks of their respective owners; used here only for commentary and identification. AI disclosure: the narration (ElevenLabs), the music and sound effects (ElevenLabs) and all paintings (OpenAI image generation) are AI-generated or AI-assisted, and the script was written with AI assistance. Lore claims are checked against Tolkien's published texts. #Tolkien #RingsOfPower #Nazgul