Saruman, also known as Saruman the White, was the first of the Istari (Wizards), the emissaries of the Valar sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age to help the Free Peoples of the World to counter the possible return of Sauron. He was originally the chief and greatest of the Five Istari, as well as the head of the White Council that for a time opposed the re-emergence of the Dark Lord. For many years he was regarded as an ally of Gondor and Rohan, and was even granted guardianship of the tower of Orthanc as part of the defense of the West.
