Ar-Pharazôn

"A man of great beauty and stature after the image of the first kings, indeed in his youth not unlike the Edain of old in mind also..."

—The Fall of Númenor, pg. 167

Alcon-Hender, Ar-Ph and Sauron — Sauron influencing Pharazôn, by Soni Alcorn-Hender

Ar-Pharazôn, later titled "the Golden", was the twenty-fifth and last King of Númenor. Of all the rulers of Númenor, he wielded the most power, but used it most unwisely; his desire for eternal life caused the Downfall of Númenor and the Change of the World.

Biography[]

Ar-Pharazôn was the son of Gimilkhâd, leader of the King's Men during the reign of Tar-Palantir of Númenor. He grew into a man of great will, strength, and stature, and in early years was a good friend of his distant kin Amandil, future Lord of Andúnië and leader of the Faithful. However, he was raised deeply in the ways of the King's Men, a faction to soon become the Faithful's adversary.

In time, Ar-Pharazôn was a very proud man, gradually desiring wealth and glory. He grew restless in his homeland, and so went often abroad, leading like-minded Númenóreans in wars against Men of Middle-earth's coasts whom Númenor had begun to seek control of. In this he fared well on both land and sea, winning great respect as a captain and great wealth, wherefore his fame in Númenor grew also.

Upon the death of his uncle, Tar-Palantir, who had no son, Ar-Pharazôn decided to wed his daughter, Míriel, against her will and against Númenórean law. As Tar-Míriel was the rightful Ruling Queen of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn was able to usurp the throne. He gave to his wife the name Ar-Zimraphel, refusing to use the Elven speech, whilst persecuting the last vestiges of the Faithful.

As time passed, it came to his attention that Sauron, the Lord of Mordor, was expanding his power throughout Middle-earth and was being called the Lord of Men. Ar-Pharazôn, ever prideful, resolved to challenge him lordship of the earth. In SA 3261, he marched upon Mordor with an army so powerful that Sauron's forces simply deserted him. But Sauron was cunning, and he feigned to be overawed at Ar-Pharazôn's might. The king did not trust Sauron, and brought him back to Númenor as a hostage. However, Sauron quickly took advantage of his situation to gain Ar-Pharazôn's trust, and by way of careful flattery, lies and half-truths, he soon became the king's closest and most trusted advisor. He was able to corrupt Ar-Pharazôn, convincing him to worship Morgoth in the hope that he would be able to cheat mortality. Some results of Sauron's cunning were the erecting of a great Temple for Morgoth, intense persecution of the Faithful, and the chopping down of the White Tree of Númenor. Soon, the king and his followers were worshiping Morgoth openly and burning innocents at the altar of the temple as sacrificial offerings to appease the false god.

Then, as Ar-Pharazôn felt the bite of old age upon him, Sauron was able to convince him to attack Valinor and claim the right to immortality by force. He began the building of a huge fleet, the Great Armament, to attack Valinor in SA 3310; and for nine years, his men toiled on the western coasts of Númenor in the making and training of a great host of war. In this way he became the most powerful tyrant in Arda since the days of Morgoth himself, though in truth Sauron ruled all from behind the throne. In fact, so great was the power of his fleet that it was said that they might have been able to overthrow the Valar themselves, had they reached Valinor.^[3] Finally in SA 3319, he and his great force set sail for the west breaking the Ban of the Valar, coming to the shores of the Undying Lands after thirty-nine days at sea. When he first gazed upon Taniquetil shining white as snow yet as terrible as the might and supremacy of Eru Ilúvatar himself and so even he, Ar-Pharazôn, the mighty King of Men and of the seas, became afraid and nearly turned back. Despite all that he saw, neither fear nor wisdom would prevail, for pride was the master of the king and so he was resolved to go onward. He led his troops onto land passing through the Calacirya. Here he proclaimed the land his if no one would challenge him for it. Then by nightfall, he led his men to the hill of Túna and made camp there.

The Valar then laid down their guardianship of the world and called upon Eru, the One. By mid-morning, he sank Ar-Pharazôn's fleet and all of Númenor beneath the ocean, changing the shape of the world. Valinor was no longer connected to Middle-earth, and mortals could no longer find it. Afterwards, only Elves and a few remarkable exceptions could reach it, following the Straight Road into the far west. Ar-Pharazôn and his mighty host who landed on Aman were buried by mounds of dirt and remain in the Caves of the Forgotten until the last battle, or Dagor Dagorath. He and his great army's role in the end of days has not been made clear.

Legacy and successors[]

Ar-Pharazôn's tyrannical rule and rebellious resolve to break the Ban of the Valar and make war upon the west led to the end of the royal Númenórean line and of Númenor itself. Instead, the House of Elros was continued from the long line of the Lords of Andúnië, begun through Elros' great-granddaughter Silmariën and her son Valandil, the first Lord of Andúnië. As Amandil of Andúnië did not return from his venture into the west, his son Elendil became the founder of new kingdoms created in Middle-earth in exile. Elendil's two surviving sons, Isildur and Anárion followed him into exile and their descendants would rule as Kings for thousands of years. Ar-Pharazôn was remembered by the surviving Númenórean lineage with a sort of grudging respect. Despite his errors, he was the first and last Man capable of beating and humiliating the powerful dark lord Sauron by himself. In remembrance to this feat, a Great white pillar was erected in Umbar to the Golden King of Númenor: a dark crystal globe, on a tall white column, which absorbed and radiated the sun's rays and glimmered in the night for everyone to see. The monument was destroyed by the Corsairs of Umbar after Sauron's return to Mordor in the late Third Age.^[1]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Etymology[]

His chosen royal name of Pharazôn which means "Golden" was in Adûnaic; his name in Quenya was Tar-Calion with Calion meaning "Son of Light".

In adaptations[]

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War[]

Suladan taking Annatar's ring — Suladân and a defeated Sauron as seen in *Middle-earth: Shadow of War*

In flashback scenes in the video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War, a Númenórean king named Suladân besieged Sauron's fortress, Sauron surrendered and offered Suladân one of the nine rings of power. Suladân accepted and due to the ring's influence slowly became corrupted by it, making Sauron his most trusted advisor before becoming fully corrupted and turning into one of the Nazgûl. It is likely that Suladân was based on Ar-Pharazôn, the last King of Númenor who took Sauron captive in canon, with "Suladân" being Ar-Pharazôn's birth name as opposed to his ruling name.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power[]

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Pharazôn's character is altered considerably: instead of a war-leader and frequent seafarer involved with Middle-earth, he is the chancellor to Queen Regent Míriel, and of a different personal appearance than Tolkien describes. He has a son, named Kemen.

Pharazon speech - TRoP — Pharazôn makes a populist-tinged speech

First appearing when Galadriel enter's the Queen's court in Armenelos, Pharazôn's allegiances are initially unclear; while serving Queen Regent Míriel well, there seem hints of his own, secret agenda at work. When the Queen Regent expresses her support for the elves and an intention to sail with Galadriel using ships of the Númenórean navy to the aid of the Southlands, Pharazôn publicly supports her, though to the confusion of his son Kemen. Pharazôn details his ambitions to use a connection to Middle-earth to Númenor's political and financial advantage, reassuring his son of his opposition to the Elves, which earlier he had emphasized by giving an impromptu speech to disgruntled guildsmen in Armenelos who were angry at Míriel's perceived friendliness to Galadriel.

In Míriel's absence, the health of her father Tar-Palantir declines further, leading Pharazôn to charge the draftsmen of Númenor to design for him a tomb. Tar-Palantir dies before her return from Middle-earth, and Pharazôn stands over the king's body, deciding what his next move will be.

In season 2, the old King Tar-Palantir and the regent queen Míriel, who has become blind, return from Middle-earth. Pharazôn has many supporters who would see the queen regent's cousin, close to the elves, on the throne. Among them, Belzagar, a lord from the north of the island, actively supports him. He intrigued to increase Pharazôn's influence. During a dinner in town, Eärien provides them with a precious help, she has stolen the Palantir, forbidden elven magic, from the King's Tower.

At Míriel's coronation, as she is about to grab the Sceptre of Númenor, someone in the audience calls her the queen of lies. Míriel then tries to defend herself, but Eärien then enters and points to the Palantir, accusing the regent of ruling the kingdom with elven magic. Pharazôn takes up the discourse calling her a false Númenórean. Elendil tries to take the Palantir but it emits a strong glow and the captain is thrown several meters away. Panic sets in, and many people fight.

Suddenly, an Eagle, a symbol of blessing of the Valar, lands in front of the room. Pharazôn steps forward and is accepted by the eagle. The entire room, at Belzagar's initiative, then chants his name and brandishes his sword as a sign of acceptance of his destiny.

He is now King of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn. But he needs more, and he's jealous of the elves' immortality. He confides to his son, Kemen, for whom he has nothing but contempt, that his mother has prophesied a violent end for him. He promises to reveal to him the exact words of the prophecy if he carries out a mission. He must get rid of the threat of the Faithful to Míriel and the elves.

Hungry for power and knowledge, Ar-Pharazon consults with the Palantir and dismantles the Sea-Guard, then led by Elendil.

Following Kemen's intervention in the Old Quarter and the death of Valandil, Elendil was arrested. He was tried by the king, accused of inciting violence and rebellion, as well as high treason, which deserved death. In view of his service to the island, Ar-Pharazôn offered him amnesty if he renounced his crimes and swore an oath of fidelity to him. But the captain refuses to recognize the new king and is loyal only to the real queen, Míriel. The lord of the north then suggests that he be judged according to the ancient tradition, the Trial by Abyss. He will be exposed to a giant sea worm, which will devour him or leave him alive according to the will of the Valar.

As Elendil is brought to the sea to undergo his trial, Míriel appears and asks to take his place, as he is accused because of her. This is his right according to the tradition of Númenor. Belzagar confirms that the law allows it. She submits to the judgment and the sea worm does not devour her, but throws her back on the beach. She is innocent, the crowd then chants the name of Tar-Míriel, Queen of the Sea, to the great disappointment of Ar-Pharazôn.

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	አር-ፋራዞን
Arabic	آر-فرازون
Armenian	Ար-Փարազոն
Assamese	আৰ-ফাৰাজন
Belarusian Cyrillic	Ар-Фаразон
Bengali	আর-ফরাজন
Bosnian	Ar-Farazon
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Ар-Пхаразон
Cambodian	អា-ផារ៉ាហ្សូន
Chinese (Hong Kong)	亞爾·法拉松
Danish	Ar-Pharazôn (25. og sidste konge af Númenor)
Dogri	आर-फराज़ोन
Georgian	არ-ფარაზონი
Greek	Άρ-Φάραζον
Gujarati	અર-ફારાઝોન
Hebrew	ארעפּהאראזון
Hindi	अर-फ़राज़ोन
Japanese	アル＝ファラゾーン
Kannada	ಅರ್-ಫರಾಜನ್
Kazakh	Ар-Фаразон (Cyrillic) Ar-Farazon (Latin)
Konkani	आर-फाराझोन
Korean	아르파라존
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Ар-Пhаразон
Laotian	ອາ-ຟາຣາຊອນ
Macedonian Cyrillic	Ар-Фаразон
Malayalam	അർ-ഫറാസൺ
Marathi	अर-फॅराझोन
Mongolian Cyrillic	Ар-Пhаразон
Nepalese	अर-फराजोन
Pashto	آر-پهارازون
Persian	آر-فارازون
Punjabi	ਅਰ-ਫ਼ਰਾਜ਼ੋਨ
Russian	Ар-Фаразон
Serbian	Ар-Пхаразон (Cyrillic) Ar-Pharazon (Latin)
Sindhi	ار-فرازون
Sinhalese	ආර්-ෆැරසසන්
Tajik Cyrillic	Ар-Пҳаразон
Tamil	அர்-பாராசன்
Telugu	అర్-ఫరాజోన్
Thai	อาร์-ฟาราโซน
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Ар-Фаразон
Uzbek	Ар-Пҳаразон (Cyrillic) Ar-Pharazon (Latin)
Yiddish	אַר-פאַראַזאָן

King of Númenor
Preceded by Tar-Palantir	Ar-Pharazôn	Succeeded by Númenor destroyed
SA 3255 - SA 3319

Ar-Pharazôn

Biography[]

Legacy and successors[]

Etymology[]

In adaptations[]

In Middle-earth: Shadow of War[]

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power[]

Appearances[]

House of Elros[]

Translations[]

References[]

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