The Númenóreans were Edain’s descendants, a noble race of men from the First Age. The Valar favored the Edain for their assistance during the War of Wrath. In the Second Age, the Valar gifted the island of Númenor to the Edain. The descendants of the Edain who moved to the island were known to be the Númenóreans.
Characteristics
The Valar blessed the Edain with longer life (average of 300 years), greater wisdom, and a greater height. These were characteristics that the Númenóreans inherited from the Edain. The Númenóreans were very well-bred and considered to be exceptionally strong. The Númenóreans from the House of Hador mostly had fair skin, blue eyes, and golden hair. The Númenóreans from the House of Beor mostly had fair skin, dark hair, and gray or brown eyes. As mentioned earlier, the Númenóreans were tall. Most of the Númenóreans had a height of six feet and above. Some exceeded the average height, the most popular of which is Elendil the Tall, who was over seven feet high. Númenóreans were not immortal as the elves, but they enjoyed generous longevity and aged slower than other races of men thanks to the Valar. The average lifespan of a Númenórean is 300 years. Descendants from the House of Elros was said to live as long as 500 years.
Culture
The Númenóreans were skilled in the arts and forging of armor and weapons. They were skilled in riding horses, although they were not as good as the Rohirrim. Despite their talent in forging, they were mostly peaceful people and not keen on warfare, so the chief art on their island was seacraft and shipbuilding. Most of the men in Númenór became fishermen, and their catch became the primary source of food on the island. The Númenóreans were known to be great mariners. They often traveled to Middle-earth and taught the men their arts and craft. It was said that the Númenóreans traveled to various places except for the Ban of the Valar in the West. The Númenóreans spoke Adunaic from the Mannish dialects in Beleriand. Edain also learned Sindarin and this knowledge was also passed on to the Númenóreans. Aside from Sindarin, the educated Númenóreans were also able to understand the Quenya language.
History
The Númenóreans are considered to be the first descendants of the Edain. They were known to be elf-friends during the First Age. Because they participated in the War of Wrath, the Valar gave the Edain an island in the western sea as their abiding place. This island was later named as Númenor. The island was located between Middle-earth and Aman. The Edain moved to the island in SA 32. Elros, the brother of Elrond, became their first king. Númenor was an island created by Ulmo, the Vala responsible for the oceans of Arda. He shaped the island like a star. The men of Númenor were also referred to as the Dúnedain. There was a strong friendship between them and the elves of Eressëa. [1] Because of this friendship, the white swan ships of the Eldar usually are seen docking in Númenor bearing gifts for the island such as trees, herbs, birds, and many more. But as time passed, the kings of Númenor started to fear death. They envied the elves for their immortality. The kings have sailed the earth in their wooden ships and even reached the Gates of Morning.
They established colonies in the mortal lands they found. Soon, a colonial empire was formed, and the kings of Númenor started feeling powerful. They began to abandon most of the old customs, and they started distancing themselves from the elves. The last Númenórean king, Ar-Pharazôn, was the greediest of all. He had a hunger for power and immortality. Sauron used this hunger to influence the king to go against the Valar. Sauron knew he could not beat Ar-Pharazôn's vast army, so he surrendered and allowed Ar-Pharazôn to take him as a prisoner. Sauron planned to manipulate the king, and in less than 3 years, the dark lord became the king's highest councilor. The royal council started to leave their customs and worshipped Sauron except for Lord Amandil.
The leader of the Faithful. As Ar-Pharazôn felt that death is near, Sauron took this opportunity to sway the king to take down the white tree of Nimloth and built a temple to Melkor. Sauron told Ar-Pharazôn that Melkor was the giver of freedom and life and that if he started doing dark worship, his life might be extended. Fortunately, Isildur was able to save a fruit of the white tree before it was cut down. By SA 3310, Sauron urged Ar-Pharazôn to go to Aman and claim immortality. A vast fleet was prepared, and Ar-Pharazôn boarded his flagship, Alcarondas.
As the king and his men landed in the shores of Aman, the Valar gave Eru full power to guard Arda. Eru instantly sent a great wave that made Aman disappear from the world and drowned Ar-Pharazôn and his men. The huge wave flooded the island of Númenor. The waves knocked down the walls and towers of the island. Míriel, the wife of Ar-Pharazôn and the rightful heir of Númenor, [2] climbed the sacred mountain, Meneltarma, to escape the flood. However, she was overtaken by the flood and perished. Sauron himself was also overtaken by the great flood.
As his last form was destroyed in the waters, he was able to transform into a gale and escape. However, not all Númenóreans perished in the Downfall of Númenor. Amandil had gathered his sons and the faithful in nine ships, and they were spared by the Valar. The same wave that ruined Númenor carried their ships to Middle-earth where they can start over. There, Elendil and his sons were able to build the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. The faithful were not the only Númenóreans who survived. There was a race of Black Númenóreans who were able to escape to Harad during the great flood. They later became known as the Haradrim.
They established colonies in the mortal lands they found. Soon, a colonial empire was formed, and the kings of Númenor started feeling powerful. They began to abandon most of the old customs, and they started distancing themselves from the elves. The last Númenórean king, Ar-Pharazôn, was the greediest of all. He had a hunger for power and immortality. Sauron used this hunger to influence the king to go against the Valar. Sauron knew he could not beat Ar-Pharazôn's vast army, so he surrendered and allowed Ar-Pharazôn to take him as a prisoner. Sauron planned to manipulate the king, and in less than 3 years, the dark lord became the king's highest councilor. The royal council started to leave their customs and worshipped Sauron except for Lord Amandil.
The leader of the Faithful. As Ar-Pharazôn felt that death is near, Sauron took this opportunity to sway the king to take down the white tree of Nimloth and built a temple to Melkor. Sauron told Ar-Pharazôn that Melkor was the giver of freedom and life and that if he started doing dark worship, his life might be extended. Fortunately, Isildur was able to save a fruit of the white tree before it was cut down. By SA 3310, Sauron urged Ar-Pharazôn to go to Aman and claim immortality. A vast fleet was prepared, and Ar-Pharazôn boarded his flagship, Alcarondas.
As the king and his men landed in the shores of Aman, the Valar gave Eru full power to guard Arda. Eru instantly sent a great wave that made Aman disappear from the world and drowned Ar-Pharazôn and his men. The huge wave flooded the island of Númenor. The waves knocked down the walls and towers of the island. Míriel, the wife of Ar-Pharazôn and the rightful heir of Númenor, [2] climbed the sacred mountain, Meneltarma, to escape the flood. However, she was overtaken by the flood and perished. Sauron himself was also overtaken by the great flood.
As his last form was destroyed in the waters, he was able to transform into a gale and escape. However, not all Númenóreans perished in the Downfall of Númenor. Amandil had gathered his sons and the faithful in nine ships, and they were spared by the Valar. The same wave that ruined Númenor carried their ships to Middle-earth where they can start over. There, Elendil and his sons were able to build the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. The faithful were not the only Númenóreans who survived. There was a race of Black Númenóreans who were able to escape to Harad during the great flood. They later became known as the Haradrim.
