Upon the defeat of Melkor/Morgoth, the Vaiar wished to grant their warriors great rewards at the End of the First Age. The Elves were allowed, if they wished, to return back to the Undying Lands, along with their immortality. For Men, the Vaiar created a Great Island west of Middle Earth, and allowed Men to settle and rule it, as long they made one promise: that they would never sail so far west that they could not see Numenor, for Men were never to come to the Undying Lands. The Men of Numenor at this time agreed, for they did not see immortality as a thing not be wished for -- an idea that would change over time.
Numenor, a star-shaped island with its holiest mountain at its center, soon became the base of the greatest Kingdom ever seen until that time. Numenor soon became the land with the greatest blacksmiths (called "Western" Made, often used to great effect against evil), the greatest horses, the greatest technology, the greatest warriors, and the greatest leaders. It is no surprise that once Numenor, the island, was made as great as it could be, Numenor expanded into Middle Earth into the lands of Arnor and Gondor. Making quick friends with the various Elf Kingdoms, peace and prosperity was ensured. But while they were honorable rulers at first, they soon ruled Middle Earth with more of a tyrant's hand.
The Numenorians, after nearly three thousands years of prosperity, became divided into two philosophies: one, the Faithful, wanted to continue the old ways, respect the Gods and be friends with the Elves. These would become the Dunedain, for it was not the who would cause the end. The other desired immortality, great power, and more land. These men, called the King's Men, would eventually become the Black Numenorians. The leader of this group, Ar-Pharazon, would eventually marry the King's daughter and usurp the throne. Defeating Sauron in Mordor, Sauron became his adviser... and soon, Ar-Pharazon converted to Morgoth, and sailed against the Undying Lands. The Gods repaid this defiant act by sinking the Island of Numenor, forcing the survivors to flee to Middle Earth. Thus, the Second Age ended. The Third would start with the founding of Gondor and Arnor... and Sauron leading his legions into battle once more.
Trivia: The Event of Numenor's downfall is called in Quenya (High Elvish) Atalante, a.k.a. Downfallen. Just in case you couldn't guess what Numenor was supposed to be referencing.
Showing posts with label Numenor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Numenor. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Preview: Akmentu/Ar-Pharazon
Ar-Pharazon, Son of Gimilkhad, eventually nicknamed the Golden King, was born about 3100 years into the Third Age, and quickly made a name for himself as a Great Warrior Captain, leading Numenor's forces into wars against the remaining free Men of Middle Earth, consolidating the Great Kingdom's control over Middle Earth, and inadvertently creating the basis for the future kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. Leader of the elite soldier unit called the King's Unit, he married the King's daughter - and then usurped the throne for himself. Probably not a good sign for the kingdom.
Initially he focused his efforts on defeating the Faithful Faction, a group of Men who focused on preserving the old ideals of Numenor's origins, attempting to be allies to the Elves and to the Gods (The Faithful would eventually become the Dunedain). Then, however, he heard of the power of Sauron, growing greatly in Mordor. Leading a huge army, he fought, captured and dragged Sauron all the way back to Numenor to execute him in his capital. But Sauron bowed to Ar-Pharazon's glory, and he became an adviser. Sauron soon advised Ar-Pharazon to destroy the Faithful (forcing them to run to Middle Earth) and to defy the Gods, for the Gods kept Numenor weak, kept them mortal, kept them from sailing away from Numenor. Soon, all of Numenor had but one God - Morgoth.
Sauron advised Ar-Pharazon to build the largest temple ever built to Morgoth on the holy mountain, and to burn down the Great White Tree of Numenor as a sacrifice (part of the tree was saved and planted in Minas Tirith). Numenor thus became a Kingdom of Evil, only ruled tangentially by Ar-Pharazon. As Ar-Pharazon became old, he sought the gift of immortality. Sauron told him to sail to the Undying Land. Ar-Pharazon built the greatest fleet ever assembled, and left Numenor. His forces went so far as to land on the God Lands and fight a skirmish there. The Gods (Vaiar), not pleased with this blatant disregard of the ways things were supposed to be, sought the Great Creator God Eru's help.
Eru destroyed the entire fleet by changing the shape of the world (from Flat to Round - yes, seriously), sinking Numenor into the ocean...and burying the army of Numenor, including Ar-Pharazon into the Caves of the Forgotten, never to be seen again...until Dagor Dagoroth (aka Ragnarok for Middle Earth) where Ar-Pharazon is supposed to be a good guy again. As a side note, Sauron's form was killed off... and yet somehow became all better for the big battle at the start of the LOTR movies at the beginning of the Third Age. Survivors of Numenor who still supported Ar-Pharazon created the port city of Umbar and called themselves the Black Numenorians.
Is is currently unknown how Akmentu, Ar-Pharazon's son, escaped death, where he was or what he was doing at the time of Numenor's destruction, or how he alone became immortal. Ar-Pharazon's story was detailed in the Silmarillion.
Initially he focused his efforts on defeating the Faithful Faction, a group of Men who focused on preserving the old ideals of Numenor's origins, attempting to be allies to the Elves and to the Gods (The Faithful would eventually become the Dunedain). Then, however, he heard of the power of Sauron, growing greatly in Mordor. Leading a huge army, he fought, captured and dragged Sauron all the way back to Numenor to execute him in his capital. But Sauron bowed to Ar-Pharazon's glory, and he became an adviser. Sauron soon advised Ar-Pharazon to destroy the Faithful (forcing them to run to Middle Earth) and to defy the Gods, for the Gods kept Numenor weak, kept them mortal, kept them from sailing away from Numenor. Soon, all of Numenor had but one God - Morgoth.
Sauron advised Ar-Pharazon to build the largest temple ever built to Morgoth on the holy mountain, and to burn down the Great White Tree of Numenor as a sacrifice (part of the tree was saved and planted in Minas Tirith). Numenor thus became a Kingdom of Evil, only ruled tangentially by Ar-Pharazon. As Ar-Pharazon became old, he sought the gift of immortality. Sauron told him to sail to the Undying Land. Ar-Pharazon built the greatest fleet ever assembled, and left Numenor. His forces went so far as to land on the God Lands and fight a skirmish there. The Gods (Vaiar), not pleased with this blatant disregard of the ways things were supposed to be, sought the Great Creator God Eru's help.
Eru destroyed the entire fleet by changing the shape of the world (from Flat to Round - yes, seriously), sinking Numenor into the ocean...and burying the army of Numenor, including Ar-Pharazon into the Caves of the Forgotten, never to be seen again...until Dagor Dagoroth (aka Ragnarok for Middle Earth) where Ar-Pharazon is supposed to be a good guy again. As a side note, Sauron's form was killed off... and yet somehow became all better for the big battle at the start of the LOTR movies at the beginning of the Third Age. Survivors of Numenor who still supported Ar-Pharazon created the port city of Umbar and called themselves the Black Numenorians.
Is is currently unknown how Akmentu, Ar-Pharazon's son, escaped death, where he was or what he was doing at the time of Numenor's destruction, or how he alone became immortal. Ar-Pharazon's story was detailed in the Silmarillion.
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