Númenor
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In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Númenor is a fictional place in the same world as, but separate from, Middle-earth. If Middle-earth is a fictional prehistoric version of the Eurasian continent (plus Africa), then Númenor is intended to represent Atlantis[1]. The name derives from the Quenya Númenórë (literally, "West-land"), which Tolkien translated as Westernesse; in the fictional Adûnaic ("language of the west") that is the Númenórean language, the name translated as Anadûnê. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit] HistoryNúmenor was the kingdom of the Dúnedain, located on an island in the Great Sea, between Middle-earth and Aman. The land was brought up from the sea as a gift from the Valar to the faithful Men who had stood against Melkor. For this reason it was also called Andor ("Land of the Gift"). Another name for it was Elenna ("Starwards") because the Dúnedain were led to it by the Star of Eärendil, and because the island was in the shape of a five-pointed star. At the centre of the island was a mountain named Meneltarma, upon the summit of which was a sanctuary to Eru. The largest city and capital of Númenor was Armenelos. Númenor had only two rivers: Siril which began at Meneltarma and ended in a small delta near the city of Nindamos, and the Nunduinë, which reached the sea in the Bay of Eldanna near the haven Eldalondë. Elros son of Eärendil was the first King of Númenor, taking the name of Tar-Minyatur ("First King"). Under his rule (year 32 to 442 of the Second Age), and those of his descendants, the Dúnedain rose to become a powerful people. The first ships sailed from Númenor to Middle-earth in the year 600 of the Second Age. The Númenóreans were forbidden by the Valar from sailing so far westward that Númenor was no longer visible, for fear that they would come upon the Undying Lands, to which Men could not come. For a long time, Númenor remained friendly with the elves, both of Eressëa and of Middle-earth, and between 1693-1700 S.A., they assisted Gil-galad in the War of the Elves and Sauron, which broke out after the forging of the Great Rings, in particular the One Ring. King Tar-Minastir and the forces of Númenor were without peer in war, and together with the elves, they were able to temporarily defeat Sauron. Over time the Númenóreans became jealous of the elves for their immortality, and began to resent the Ban of the Valar and to rebel against their authority, seeking the everlasting life that they believed was begrudged them. They tried to compensate for this by going eastward and colonizing large parts of Middle-earth, first in a friendly manner, but later as cruel tyrants. Soon the Númenóreans came to rule a great coastal empire that had no rival. Few (the "Faithful") remained loyal to the Valar and friendly to the Elves. In the year 3255 of the Second Age, the 25th king, Ar-Pharazôn(Tar-Calion), sailed to Middle-earth and landed at Umbar. Seeing the might of Númenor, Sauron's armies fled and Sauron surrendered without a fight. He was brought back to Númenor as a prisoner but he soon became an advisor to the king and promised the Númenóreans eternal life if they worshipped Melkor. With Sauron as his advisor, Ar-Pharazôn had a 500 foot tall temple to Melkor erected, in which he offered human sacrifices to Melkor (those selected to be sacrificed were Elendili, Númenóreans who were still faithful to the Elves). During this time, the white tree Nimloth the Fair, which stood before the King's House in Armenelos and whose fate was said to be tied to the line of kings, was chopped down and burned as a sacrifice to Melkor at Sauron's direction. Isildur, heroically and at great personal risk, rescued a fruit of the tree which became the White Tree of Gondor, preserving the ancient line of trees. Prompted by Sauron and fearing death and old age, Ar-Pharazôn built a great armada and set sail into the West to make war upon the Valar and seize the Undying Lands, and by so doing achieve immortality. Sauron remained behind. In the year 3319 of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazôn landed on the shores of Aman. As the Valar were forbidden to take direct action against Men, Manwë, chief of the Valar, called upon Eru. The Undying Lands were removed from the world forever, and the formerly flat Earth was made into a globe. Númenor was overwhelmed in the cataclysm and sank beneath the sea, killing its inhabitants, including the body of Sauron who was thereby robbed of his ability to assume fair and charming forms, forever appearing in the form of a Dark Lord thereafter. Elendil, son of the leader of the Faithful during the reign of Ar-Pharazôn, his sons and his followers had foreseen the disaster that was to befall Númenor, and they had set sail in nine ships before the island fell. They landed in Middle-earth, and founded the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. After its fall Númenor was called Atalantë, meaning "the Downfallen", in the Quenya language. (The similarity with Atlantis is obvious, although Tolkien described his invention of the name as a happy accident when he realised that the Quenya root meaning "fallen" could be incorporated into a name referring to Númenor.) Other names after the Downfall include Mar-nu-Falmar ("Land under the Waves") and Akallabêth ("the Downfallen" in Adûnaic). The story of the rise and downfall of Númenor is told in the Akallabêth. [edit] Geography
 Númenor was a rather large island in the middle of the Western Sea. The island itself was in the shape of a 5-point star, each point having its own geological and physical features. It was considered to be made up of six distinct regions, the five points plus a central area.
The island had a mountain in the centre known as Meneltarma (Pillar of the Heavens). Meneltarma is the highest location on the entire island and was considered sacred by the Númenóreans as a shrine of God, Eru Ilúvatar. Only the kings of Númenor were allowed to speak on the summit. It was said that on a clear day the 'far-sighted' might see Tol Eressëa, the island in the Bay of Eldamar where the Eldar who survived the Wars of Beleriand settled at the beginning of the Second Age. The lower slopes of the mountain were gentle and grass-covered; however, near the summit the slopes became more vertical and could not be ascended easily. The kings later built a spiralling road to the peak, beginning at the southern tip of the mountain and winding up to the lip of the summit in the north. They also built their tombs at the foot of the mountain. The summit, however, was unique in that it was flattened and somewhat depressed, and was said to be able to "contain a great multitude". It was considered the most sacred spot of Númenor; nothing was ever built throughout the entire history of the island. The island itself was tilted southward and a little westward; the northern coasts were all steep sea cliffs. [edit] Plant lifeNúmenor contained many species of plants that could be found nowhere in Middle-earth, for many of them were given to the Númenóreans from the Valar in Aman. Most important of these was the White Tree that grew in the King's Court at Armenelos; it was the symbol of Men thereafter, in Númenor, Arnor, and Gondor. The other parts of Númenor contained many types of plants, many unique to each of the promontories of the island. Andustar contained great forests of beech and birch at the higher ground, and oak and elm forests are lower altitudes. The greatest delight of the Númenóreans, however, were the flowers and trees given to them by the Eldar. These thrived around the western port of Eldalondë in an area that became known as Nisimaldar, which means the Fragrant Trees. Great stands of the gold leaved and silver trunked Malinornë grew there along with other trees unknown to Middle-earth. As the tales say "They are oft remembered in song and lore, and few have flowered east of Númenor."
In Hyarrostar grew the tree Laurinquë, which the Númenóreans loved because of their flowers. They believed that it came from the Great Tree of Valinor, Laurelin, but it was not so. [edit] CultureThe population of Númenor chiefly consisted of Men (the Edain); although before the Shadow fell on the island the westernmost cities such as Andúnië contained a small population of Elves because of the frequent visits from Tol Eressëa. The people of Númenor, known as the Númenóreans, Westernesse, or rather, Men of the West, usually had great ties of friendship with the Eldar and were able to speak both Quenya and Sindarin. The Númenóreans were extremely skilled in arts and craft, but in later centuries their chief industries were ship-building and sea-craft. They became great mariners, exploring the world in all directions save for the westward, where the Ban of the Valar was in force. They oft travelled to the shores of Middle-earth, teaching the men there the art and craft, and introduced farming as to improve their everyday lives. The Númenóreans, too, became skilled in the art of husbandry, breeding great horses that roamed across the open plains in Mittalmar. Although they were a peaceful people, their weapons, armour, and horse-riding skills could not be contested anywhere else in Arda, save for the Valar. [edit] Trivia
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