
The first King, Elros Tar-Minyatur, took the throne in II 32; the last, Ar-Pharazôn, was lost in II 3319
A line founded by Elros son of Eärendil
The royal seat of Númenor was at Armenelos
Númenor is pronounced 'noo'menorr' (the final 'r' should be pronounced - 'rr' is used here to emphasise this)
Númenor means 'land in the west'
Other names
Title of
Twenty-two rulers of Númenor from Elros Tar-Minyatur to Ar-Pharazôn
(There were also three Ruling Queens)


About this entry:

  • Updated 2 February 2006
  • Updates planned: 11

King of Númenor

Ruler of ancient Westernesse

Elros Tar-Minyatur
Vardamir Nólimon
Lords of Andúnië
Kings of Gondor and Arnor
Five Kings from
Tar-Minastir to
Five Kings from
to Ar-Sakalthôr
The descent of the Kings of Númenor from Elros the first King to Ar-Pharazôn the last. Names shown in bold were accounted true Kings or Queens. Note that some known marriages and siblings are omitted from this diagram where they are not directly related to the descent of the Kings.

The title of twenty-two lords of the Númenóreans (there were also three Ruling Queens of Númenor), from Elros Tar-Minyatur down through the long years of the Second Age to Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, who brought about the Downfall.

I Elros Tar-Minyatur (Ruled for 410 years to II 442)
He was the son of Eärendil and brother of Elrond. As one of the Half-elven, he was given a choice of fate, and he chose to live as a mortal Man, though with a lifespan far longer than normal. He took up the rule of Númenor on its foundation in the year II 32, and ruled it until his death more than four hundred years later. Elros' descendants also had exceptional longevity, though none approached his incredible span of five hundred years.
II Vardamir Nólimon (Officially ruled for one year to II 443)
Because of Elros' long life, his son was already very old - even by Númenórean standards - at the time he inherited the Sceptre. Accordingly, he passed the Kingship directly to his own son, though the Númenórean records counted Vardamir as having ruled for a single year.
III Tar-Amandil (Officially ruled for 147 years to II 590)
IV Tar-Elendil (Ruled for 150 years to II 740)
He followed his grandfather Vardamir in his love of lore and legends, and was famous as a maker of books. He was the father of Silmariën, from whom the Lords of Andúnië were descended, and so he was the last ancestor of the Kings of Arnor and Gondor to have held the Sceptre of Númenor.
V Tar-Meneldur (Ruled for 143 years to II 883)
His true name was Írimon, but he took the King-name Meneldur ('servant of the heavens') because of his love of the stars. During his reign, the first stirrings of Sauron were felt in Middle-earth, and Tar-Meneldur resigned the Sceptre to his son Aldarion, who knew more of Middle-earth and its peoples.
VI Tar-Aldarion (Ruled for 192 years to II 1075)
He was a great sailor and adventurer, who travelled to Middle-earth many times and became a firm ally of Gil-galad in Lindon. He had no sons, and caused the law of succession to be changed so that his daughter, Ancalimë, could become the first Ruling Queen of Númenor.
VII Tar-Ancalimë (Ruled for 205 years to II 1280)
The first of the three Ruling Queens, Tar-Ancalimë's long reign saw her abandon the policies of her father, and send no further aid to Gil-galad in Lindon. She was succeeded by her only child, her son Anárion.
VIII Tar-Anárion (Ruled for 114 years to II 1394)
His eldest child was a daughter, who by right could have become the second Ruling Queen. However, neither she nor her younger sister would accept the Sceptre, so Tar-Anárion was succeeded by his third child, his son Súrion.
IX Tar-Súrion (Ruled for 162 years to II 1556)
X Tar-Telperiën (Ruled for 175 years to II 1731)
She was the second Ruling Queen. Because she refused to marry, she left no heirs, and so the Sceptre passed to her nephew Minastir, the grandson of Tar-Súrion.
XI Tar-Minastir (Ruled for 138 years to II 1869)
He was an ally of Gil-galad, and sent a fleet to Middle-earth to aid the Elves against Sauron.
XII Tar-Ciryatan (Ruled for 160 years to II 2029)
He was rumoured to have forced his father Tar-Minastir to give up the Sceptre before he was ready to do so, an act that has been seen as the first seed of the evils that later befell Númenor.
XIII Tar-Atanamir (Ruled for 222 years to II 2251)1
Tar-Atanamir was a powerful and proud King, whose wealth and military might earned him the title 'Great'. He was the first King to openly question the Ban of the Valar, and the first since Elros to remain King until the end of his life (his predecessors had traditionally given up the Sceptre some time before their deaths).
XIV Tar-Ancalimon (Ruled for 135 years to II 2386)
In Tar-Ancalimon's time, the political rift between the King's Men and the Faithful became entrenched. This was a division that would remain until the end of Númenor itself.
XV Tar-Telemmaitë (Ruled for 140 years to II 2526)
Tar-Telemmaitë's father and grandfather had both defied tradition by ruling until their deaths, rather than giving up the Sceptre before their old age. In Tar-Telemmaitë's time, this new principle of life-long rule became accepted as the norm, and he and all his successors ruled until their deaths.
XVI Tar-Vanimeldë (Ruled for 111 years to II 2637)
She was the third and last of the Ruling Queens, though she gave little thought to the management and maintenance of her realm. Instead, she granted such power to her husband Herucalmo that he essentially ruled Númenor in her place.
Tar-Anducal (Ruled for 20 years to II 2657)
After Tar-Vanimeldë's death, her husband Herucalmo claimed the Sceptre for himself under the name of Tar-Anducal. He had no legal right to withhold power from his son Alcarin, and so Tar-Anducal is not accounted one of the true Kings of Númenor.
XVII Tar-Alcarin (Ruled for 100 years to II 2737)
Though he was de jure King for a century, his father's wresting of the Sceptre meant that Tar-Alcarin ruled de facto for only eighty years.
XVIII Tar-Calmacil
(Ruled for 88 years to II 2825)
In his youth, he was a great warrior, and his victories in Middle-earth were said to be a significant cause of Sauron's hatred for the Númenóreans. He was the first King to have his name rendered into the Adûnaic tongue, as Ar-Belzagar.
XIX Tar-Ardamin2
(Ruled for 74 years to II 2899)
XX Ar-Adûnakhôr
(Ruled for 63 years to II 2962)
He finally broke the tradition of taking the King's name in the Elvish tongue, using instead the native Adûnaic language of the Númenóreans. He went further, and banned the use of Elvish tongues on the island of Númenor, though his name was recorded in the Scrolls in its Quenya form of Tar-Herunúmen, Lord of the West.
XXI Ar-Zimrathôn
(Ruled for 71 years to II 3033)
XXII Ar-Sakalthôr
(Ruled for 69 years to II 3102)
XXIII Ar-Gimilzôr
(Ruled for 75 years to II 3177)
He finally overturned the last of the old traditions, going so far as to ban the Elves from Númenor's shores. Unknown to him, his wife Inzilbêth belonged to the party of the Faithful, and secretly schooled Ar-Gimilzôr's Heir in the old ways.
XXIV Tar-Palantir
(Ruled for 78 years to II 3255)
Being raised by his mother in the ways of the Faithful, Tar-Palantir did what he could to return to the ancient traditions of Númenor, including taking a name in Quenya (in which language Palantir means 'far-sighted'). Tar-Palantir's Heir was his daughter, who should have become Queen Tar-Míriel, but she was forced into marriage by the grandson of Ar-Gimilzôr who thus usurped the throne.
XXV Ar-Pharazôn
(Ruled for 64 years to II 3319)
He brought Númenor to the height of its military might. His armies were so powerful that they were able to invade Middle-earth and take Sauron hostage. In Númenor, Sauron slowly corrupted Ar-Pharazôn, convincing him that his power was great enough to attack the Valar themselves. The result was a Great Armament, a vast navy whose landing in Aman triggered nothing less than the Downfall and destruction of Númenor itself.



Earlier editions of The Lord of the Rings contain a chronological error, listing II 2251 as the start of Tar-Atanamir's reign (which cannot possibly be correct within this chronology). Later editions have been amended to show this year as the end of Tar-Atanamir's long rule, and the date of accession of his son Tar-Ancalimon.


Tar-Ardamin was omitted from the lists of Kings and Queens in earlier editions of Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings, which passed directly from Tar-Calmacil to his grandson Ar-Adûnakhôr. This omission has been corrected in more recent editions of the book.

See also...

Adûnakhôr, Ailinel, Alcarin, Alcarondas, Aldarion, ‘Aldarion and Erendis’, Almarian, Almiel, Aman, Amandil, Amandil, Anardil, Anardil, Anárion, Ancalimë, [See the full list...]


About this entry:

  • Updated 2 February 2006
  • Updates planned: 11

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