The line 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 line of twenty-five Kings of Númenor, from Elros Tar-Minyatur the first King to Ar-Pharazôn the last, who brought disaster on his realm. At first the Kings lived in friendship with the Elves of Tol Eressëa, and the early centuries of Númenor were blissful.
The line of descent of the Kings was not simple. As originally laid down, by the law of Númenor the eldest son would normally inherit the Sceptre, but the eldest child of Tar-Elendil the fourth King was a daughter, Silmariën. Under the law the Kingship passed to Tar-Elendil's third child and only son, who ruled as Tar-Meneldur, while Silmariën gave rise to the Lords of Andúnië from whom the Kings of Arnor and Gondor were descended.
A similar question arose for the sixth King, Tar-Aldarion, who had only one daughter and no sons. He solved the problem by simply changing the law, so that daughters could inherit the Sceptre as well as sons. As an outcome of this new law, Númenor would have three Ruling Queens in its history, starting with Tar-Aldarion's own daughter, who ruled as Tar-Ancalimë.
By the time of the twelfth King, Tar-Ciryatan, a shadow began to fall on the rulers of Númenor. The Kings began falling away from friendship with the Elves and showing greed for power and wealth. Many of the people of Númenor followed them, and this party was known as the King's Men. That lesser part of the Númenóreans who retained their old alliance with the Elves were known as the Faithful.
The penultimate King was Tar-Palantir, who tried in vain to stem the darkness that was spreading across his land by turning back to the old ways. He should have been succeeded by his daughter Miriel, but she was forced into marriage by Ar-Pharazôn, who thus usurped the throne. It was Ar-Pharazôn who brought Sauron to Númenor, and was ultimately so corrupted that he attempted to attack Valinor itself. In punishment, the entire land of Númenor was drawn down beneath the Sea. Only a handful of the Faithful survived to start new realms, and new lines of Kings, in the lands of Middle-earth.
Notes
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Elros, the founding member of the Line of Kings, was strictly Half-elven, with both Men and Elves in his ancestry. The Valar gave him a choice of which kin to belong to, and he elected to be counted among Men. All his descendants were therefore also Men, but all could count Elves among their ancestors.
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- Updated 7 January 2022
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