The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power - The Kingdom Of Numenor, Explained

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• Creation Of The Kingdom Of Numenor

• The Culture And People Of Numenor

• Numenor Versus Sauron

• The Downfall Of Numenor

• Numenoreans Migrate To Middle-Earth

The scale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is huge and with such a big budget they have a lot to show. Middle-earth’s spectacular sites and the Elven cities are amazing to look at, but the first time we see Numenor in the first season is something else.

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The kingdom of Numenor is unlike anything you’ve seen in the Tolkienverse thus far. It’s a huge and advanced island of Men, ruled by a monarch. The Numenorians are also different from Middle-earth humans, and there is a lot to know about them and their kingdom.

Creation Of The Kingdom Of Numenor

Numenor is an island kingdom that was created by the Valar as a gift to the Men who had fought alongside the Elves against Morgoth during the First Age. After Morgoth's defeat, the Valar rewarded these men with a land between Middle-earth and Valinor.

The Numenoreans were also given long lives and wisdom compared to the humans of Middle-earth for their contribution in the fight against Morgoth.

Their ruler was Elros who was a brother to Elrond, and chose to live as a mortal to become the first King of Numenor. Under his leadership, the Kingdom of Numenor thrived, marking the beginning of the Second Age.

The Culture And People Of Numenor

Numenor quickly became one of the most advanced civilizations in the Tolkienverse, reaching its golden age in the second age before Galadriel and Halbrand had reached the place. While still mortal, the Numenoreans lived significantly longer than ordinary men.

Because of this, their culture was somewhat like that of the elves. Through their close friendship, they learned a lot from them about the lore, craft, language, and the arts of the elves.

The island was rich in culture, and the Numenoreans pursued many arts, establishing architectural marvels and buildings that stood tall. Numenor is seen in all its greatness in The Rings of Power, and it’s an amazing sight.

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The Numenoreans were also incredible sailors, as seen with Captain Elendil in the TV show. They built great ships and explored much of Middle-earth by sailing the seas and establishing outposts.

The Numenoreans honored the Valar, the supreme beings of Tolkien's world. They even built a special place called Meneltarma, as a sacred space to honor Eru, the creator of the world.

Though they slowly moved away from this faith, it was initially what drove the Numenoreans to greatness.

Numenor Versus Sauron

As the Second Age progressed, Numenor's relationship with the Valar and the Elves started to deteriorate, which we can clearly see in The Rings of Power.

Many Numenoreans began to criticize the elves and wanted little to do with them, with some even renouncing their faith. The Numenoreans became divided between the faithful and the king’s men.

Those who remained loyal to the Valar and maintained ties with the Elves, including those who would later settle in Middle-earth and become leaders of the Kingdom of Gondor, were the faithful.

Those who sought power and were corrupted by darkness were the king’s men, with Ar-Pharazon leading the pack.

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During the reign of Ar-Pharazon, the last king of Numenor, Sauron, who had regained power in Middle-earth, became Numenor's greatest threat.

Ar-Pharazon sailed to Middle-earth to confront Sauron after being asked by the elves and their army was so mighty that Sauron surrendered without a fight and was taken as a prisoner to Numenor.

However, this was part of Sauron's plan. Over time, Sauron uses his manipulations to further corrupt Ar-Pharazon and Numenor's people by having them build temples to worship Morgoth and more.

He convinced the king that if they could conquer Valinor, they could gain immortality, a mistake that the royals of Numenor eventually made.

The Downfall Of Numenor

Sauron's manipulation led to Numenor's greatest catastrophe, known as the Drowning of Numenor. Ar-Pharazon launched an invasion of the Undying Lands, which was considered a blasphemous act forbidden by the Valar.

In response, Eru Iluvatar directly intervened and caused the world to be reshaped, with Numenor being sunk underneath a great flood.

Ar-Pharazon and his fleet were destroyed in the process. The vision seen by Queen Miriel in the Palantir shows this doom that is yet to come to Numenor in the show.

Sauron had been in Numenor during this time and lost his physical form in the destruction but survived as a spirit, just like how Adar destroyed his physical form at the beginning of Season 2.

He returned to Middle-earth, where he would continue to pose a threat to the people of Middle-earth in the Third Age, but was no longer able to conjure a fair form and manipulate people with his trickery.

Numenoreans Migrate To Middle-Earth

Not all Numenoreans were caught in the corruption of Sauron. The Faithful, which included Elendil and his son Isildur, fled Númenor before the drowning. They set sail for Middle-earth, escaping destruction by the grace of the Valar.

Upon arriving in Middle-earth, Elendil and his sons established Arnor in the north and Gondor in the south.

These kingdoms became what was left of Numenorean culture. The line of kings would eventually lead to the return of the throne of Gondor in the Third Age with Aragorn, a direct descendant of Elendil.

These Numenoreans, also called the Dunedain, became crucial in the fight against Sauron. Elendil, along with Gil-galad, led the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in a great war against Sauron, which resulted in Sauron’s temporary defeat and the cutting of the One Ring from his hand by Isildur.

Elendil unfortunately died in the battle along with Gil Galad, but Sauron was temporarily defeated right up until the beginning of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies.

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