What is Numenor in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

After confining himself to largely familiar scenes of Middle-earth in his first two episodes, That Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has finally shown us a place that has never before been portrayed on screen: Númenor. In fact, much of the running time of the Prime video The third episode of the series, “Adar,” takes place in the island kingdom that – despite its legendary status – does not appear in either JRR Tolkien’s original trilogy or the Peter Jackson films it inspired.

That’s right: the history, culture and geography of Númenor are all covered Lord of the Rings‘ Appendices, as well as hard-to-access tomes published after Tolkien’s death, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Stories. For this reason, Númenor’s introduction to The Rings of Power Almost certainly, casual fans have been scratching their heads over how the island kingdom fits into the broader lore of Middle-earth.

If you are, this handy summary will have you up to speed on all things Númenórean in no time – including the location of the kingdom, origins, current ruler and connection to Lord of the Rings.

[Ed. note: The following covers events not yet depicted in The Rings of Power.]

Where is Numenor located?

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The star-shaped Isle of Númenor (also known by other names, including Westernesse), is, as Galadriel states in “Adar,” the westernmost point of Middle-earth. Tolkien describes his position in the Seas Parting as closer to Valinor, the continent inhabited by the godlike Valar, than to Middle-earth.

It’s the logical place where Galadriel ends after being so close to Valinor. And it also touches on the seafaring culture of Númenor, as their civilization was known for the skill of their shipbuilders and seamen. The nautical skills of the Númenóreans also enabled them to make numerous voyages to Middle-earth The Rings of Power‘s setting, despite their relative distance from the continent (read more the later).

Who founded Númenor?

As with so many aspects of Tolkien’s Legendarium, it quickly becomes complicated to discuss Númenor’s early days. For starters, there is the origin of the island itself, created by the Valar specifically for the ancient race of humans who allied with the elves in the war against Morgoth. Then there was the mass migration of humans from Middle-earth to newly minted Númenor, which lasted half a century and relied heavily on the help of the elves. So if Galadriel gives the elves credit for the kingdom it even exists in The Rings of Power Episode 3, there’s a grain of truth in what she says.

Nor is this the end of the elves’ role in Númenor’s origin story. As addressed in “Adar,” the founding king of Númenor was an elf – albeit one with a few mortals in his lineage. Like his brother Elrond (of Rivendell fame), Númenor’s first ruler, Elros, was of mixed bloodline. But while Elrond ultimately chose to live among the elves, Elros chose to embrace his male roots. This meant giving up his immortality, though he still possessed a ridiculously long lifespan and was as intellectually and physically formidable as a non-elf can get.

Elros’ progeny also benefited from their supercharged half-elven DNA, which explains why his progeny Aragorn is such a formidable specimen. But even better from an egalitarian standpoint, Númenóreans not directly related to Elros also received an overall XP boost and scored some more birthdays than their mainland counterparts. All in all, Elros’ decision to stay with Team Men worked out pretty well for everyone.

Who rules Númenor now?

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Elros’ reign lasted just over 400 years, which is why he is no longer on the scene The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Twenty-four monarchs sat on the throne of Númenor between Elro’s death and the events of the show, although this is one area where the adaptation begins to take great liberties with the canon established by Tolkien.

In “Adar,” the rightful king of Númenor – unnamed hereafter, but presumably Tar-Palantir based on the books – currently lives in exile on a tower after being deposed by his own people. Meanwhile, his daughter Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) reigns in his place as queen regent, aided by her influential advisor, Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle). All of this is material invented by The Rings of Power Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay and their writing team.

According to Tolkien, Tar-Palantir died of old age and was never dethroned by anyone, let alone his own subjects. There is also very little in Tolkien’s writings to suggest that Tar-Míriel (to use her regnal name) was in cahoots with the treacherous Pharazôn (her cousin in the books), especially considering he coerced her to marry him to usurp the throne. Of course, there’s a possibility that Míriel is just pretending to snuggle up to Pharazôn on the show, but right now this whole subplot is spinning very out of the book.

That’s not to say The Rings of Power has completely abandoned its source material when it comes to Numenorean royalty. If nothing else, Episode 3’s characterization of Tar-Palantir as someone still loyal to the Valar and sympathetic to the Elves is on the money. It’s also pretty clear that Payne and McKay are laying the groundwork for Pharazôn to gamble for the throne at some point in the show’s planned five seasons, just like he does in the books.

And more broadly, the way “Adar” portrays Númenórean society (including those in its upper echelons) as increasingly resentful towards the Elves and the Valar follows largely Tolkien’s own story. Similarly, Elendil’s portrayal as a highborn lord bucking this trend applies to Tolkien as well.

Where is Númenor in the Lord of the Rings series?

So why not visit Númenor in Lord of the Rings? To put it bluntly: because it sank. Tolkien saw the island kingdom as the Middle-earth analogue of Atlantis, which is why – as is told in The Silmarillion titled section Akallabeth – it lands on the seabed. Furthermore, as in the original Atlantean legend, the cause of Númenor’s downfall ultimately boils down to two words: divine vengeance.

After Pharazôn (now known as “Ar-Pharazôn”) defeats Sauron’s army and takes him hostage, the dark lord wastes no time in turning him and most of the kingdom into evil Morgoth worshipers. Eventually, Sauron manages to convince Ar-Pharazôn and his followers that they too could become immortal if they went to war against the Valar and conquered Valinor. Not surprisingly, this turns out to be bad advice, and after the Valar’s call to Eru Ilúvatar (the supreme being in Tolkien’s cosmology) things Yes, really escalate. Eru Ilúvatar wipes out the Númenórean fleet along with the entire kingdom in a cataclysmic event of literally world-changing proportions (we’re talking about moving from flat earth to round earth).

The few Númenóreans who survived Eru Ilúvatar’s judgment were mostly those who remained faithful to the old ways. Led by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion (unlike in The Rings of Powerneither does he have a daughter) they set out for the shores of Middle-earth and founded the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor – the latter playing an important role Lord of the Rings.