Who was the old man?

[alatar]

Originally Posted by The Might

Keep in mind alatar, that many of the new abilities that Saruman may have had were unknown to Gandalf.
Saruman was well learned in the lore of the rings and had forget a ring of power of his own, indeed of lesser power, but still - who knows what he could achieve with it?

Problem with that (you knew I would find one ) is, does any being have this power in Arda or in Middle Earth? A general trend in Tolkien's history is to go from the fantastic to the more normal that resembles much of our world today. Valar and Maiar and Elves retreat and leave humans and a stray hobbit or two. Silmarils give way to ordinary gems. The White Tree in Minas Tirith, though possibly a descendant of Telperion, is still just a tree.

What I am saying is that Saruman may make a new thing or two, but to create a completely new phenomenon never used before or afterwards? Unlikely, at least to me.

If he had indeed come close to the secret of the making of the Rings of Power, that shows his Ring wasn't that weak at all... so why not believe he could conjure up phantoms unknown to Gandalf.

Did any other ring give such a power?

Unfortunately no clear examples of him doing so are known or at least I recall none.

That never stops me...