The Kings of Númenor
from Elros Tar-Minyatur to Ar-Pharazôn
Definition
The Kings of Númenor are the royal successors of the Sceptre of the island kingdom of Númenor — the line from the first king Elros (Tar-Minyatur) to the last, Ar-Pharazôn, in whose pride the land was swallowed by the Downfall told in the Akallabêth. The succession runs unbroken through the reigns of the whole Second Age, with three Ruling Queens among them.
The Line of the Kings
- Elros Tar-Minyatur (S.A. 32–442) — the son of Eärendil and Elwing, of the Half-elven, who chose the lot of Men and became the first king.
- Vardamir Nólimon (442–443) — who held the Sceptre but one year.
- Tar-Amandil (443–590)
- Tar-Elendil (590–740)
- Tar-Meneldur (740–883)
- Tar-Aldarion (883–1075) — “the Mariner”, of the tale Aldarion and Erendis.
- Tar-Ancalimë (1075–1280) — the first Ruling Queen.
- Tar-Anárion (1280–1394)
- Tar-Súrion (1394–1556)
- Tar-Telperiën (1556–1731) — a Ruling Queen.
- Tar-Minastir (1731–1869) — who sent help against Sauron to Gil-galad, the last aid Númenor gave to the Elves of the West.
- Tar-Ciryatan (1869–2029)
- Tar-Atanamir the Great (2029–2221) — who first spoke openly against the Valar and the Ban, and from whose time the shadow grew.
- Tar-Ancalimon (2221–2386)
- Tar-Telemmaitë (2386–2526)
- Tar-Vanimeldë (2526–2637) — a Ruling Queen.
- Tar-Alcarin (2637–2657)
- Tar-Calmacil (2657–2737)
- Ar-Adûnakhôr (2737–2962) — the first to take his royal name in Adûnaic, forsaking the Elven-tongue.
- Ar-Zimrathôn (2962–3033)
- Ar-Sakalthôr (3033–3102)
- Ar-Gimilzôr (3102–3177) — who opposed the Faithful and wed Inzilbêth of the lords of Andúnië.
- Tar-Palantir (3177–3255) — who repented and took again a Quenya name, the last king of the old faith.
- Ar-Pharazôn the Golden (3255–3319) — who seized the Sceptre from Tar-Palantir’s daughter and, sailing against the Lords of the West, brought the Downfall.
Notes on the Succession
The Sceptre passed generally from a king to his child of either sex, and the three Ruling Queens (Tar-Ancalimë, Tar-Telperiën, Tar-Vanimeldë) are recorded in the annals. From Ar-Adûnakhôr the royal names were taken in the tongue of the Númenóreans (Adûnaic), and the Quenya names were laid aside except by the repentant Tar-Palantir. As the shadow deepened, the length of the kings’ lives and reigns waned, as the king-list itself records.
Through Tar-Elendil’s elder child Silmariën the royal blood also flowed into the house of the lords of Andúnië and so — through the Faithful — to Elendil, who after the Drowning carried the kingship across the Sea into the Realms in Exile.
In the Texts
The order and the years of reign above follow, in substance, the full king-list of Unfinished Tales (“The Line of Elros”), which agrees with the briefer form in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings; the tale of the ending of the line is the Akallabêth.
Significance
The Kings of Númenor bind the First Age to the Third: from Elros, brother of Elrond, the line runs through the whole long shadow of the Second Age to its ruin under the pride of Ar-Pharazôn — and through the Faithful remnant passes into the kingships of Gondor and Arnor and the restoration of the kingly line in the days of the Return of the King.
The First Kings
Of the earliest of the line, Vardamir (the second in name) was already old at his father’s death and yielded the sceptre at once to his son, so that he is counted king only in the roll; Tar-Amandil (the third) was the first who came to the office in his youth, and his long and peaceful reign opened the great calm of the island-kingdom.