The Lord of the Ringsmakes reference to figures and events of a mythical and distant past, of which Ar-Pharazôn is a part. Genius J.R.R. Tolkien wanted to create a realistic set of myths, hence the fully realized universe behind his masterwork,The Lord of the Rings.Ar-Pharazôn is referred to in the extensive appendices to the novel, which are full-on storybooks in their own right. Due to his lack of significance in the primary plot ofThe Lord of the Rings, Ar-Pharazôn doesn’t feature inPeter Jackson’sThe Lord of the RingsorHobbitmovies.
However, Amazon Prime Video’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powershow is featuring Ar-Pharazôn. Ar-Pharazôn may not be a main character inThe Lord of the Rings, but he is one of the main characters ofThe Silmarillion, which is summarized in the appendices toThe Lord of the Rings. With rights to adapt any content contained inThe Lord of the RingsorThe Hobbit,Rings of Poweris forging ahead with its depiction ofSilmarillionstars like Pharazôn inthe Second Age of Middle-earth. This makes it a prequel series to Jackson’s movies, which are set in the Third Age.
Pharazôn Becomes King Of Númenor In The Second Age
Pharazôn Rises To Power In S.A. 3255
In the Second Age (S.A.), Pharazôn rose to power on the island kingdom of Númenor, otherwise known as Westernesse, due to its westerly location in Arda.Pharazôn wasn’t exactly first in line to be the rulerof Númenor and made his way to the throne through very nefarious means indeed, rendering him a villainous presence in Tolkien’s lore. Pharazôn’s cousin was first in line to the throne when her father died. The cousin in question was Tar-Míriel, who has also been adapted inThe Rings of Power,and “Pharazôn took her to wife against her will” (viaThe Silmarillion).
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Once married to Míriel unlawfully, Pharazôn seized the scepter, “taking the title of Ar-Pharazôn… and the name of his queen he changed to Ar-Zimraphel” (viaThe Silmarillion).Pharazôn was an absolute renegade of a leader, breaking multiple laws to seize the scepter, including laws about incest and non-consensual marriage. Tolkien didn’t go into detail about exactly what force was used by Pharazôn to wed Míriel and seize power, but presumably, a combination of military and personal, physical force was used.
Pharazôn Falls Under Sauron’s Influence & Triggers Númenor’s Downfall
Sauron Manipulates Pharazôn
Ar-Pharazôn made the fatal faux pas of underestimating Sauron, which led tothe downfall of Númenor. Ar-Pharazôn was the product of centuries of maturation of familial greed, hubris, and corruption in a once-pure nation. Númenor was as close to “holy” as a civilization of Men got in Middle-earth, at its start, as an island raised by the Valar - Tolkien’s demigods - and frequented by Elves.Men grew envious of the Elves' gift of immortalityand ungrateful for their gift, which was mortality. This sentiment carried most grievously to Ar-Pharazôn, who decided to confront the Valar about his complaint.
Ar-Pharazôn was the product of centuries of maturation of familial greed, hubris, and corruption in a once-pure nation.
Ar-Pharazôn’s woes began after he had just taken the scepter and began hearing ofSauron’s rise to power in Middle-earthand the threat he posed to Númenor. Seeking to confront Sauron’s threat directly, with more than a little Machiavellian desire for world domination fueling him,Ar-Pharazôn sailed to Middle-earth and captured Sauron. Sauron was flabbergasted at the might of Westernesse, which was one of the most technologically advanced societies of its time. Sauron saw that he couldn’t beat Númenor in a fight, so he decided to go willingly and lie his way back to freedom.
Sauron was actually alive before time even existed, so he had more military, political, and social experience than any unit of time could even measure.
As a mere mortal, Ar-Pharazôn was no match forSauron’s 51,000 years of experienceor semi-divine biological faculties. Sauron was actually alive before time even existed, so he had more military, political, and social experience than any unit of time could even measure. Sauron was keen to invade Númenor, as Pharazôn suspected, so he was glad to be captured. His usefulness as a semi-divine being soon granted him favor with the king, even as a prisoner.Sauron eventually exploited Pharazôn’s fear of deathto persuade him to sail to Valinor to attempt to wrest immortality from the Valar by force.
Pharazôn Leads An Invasion Of Valinor & Fails Spectacularly
Pharazôn Can’t Compete With Valinor
Ar-Pharazôn’s mission broke the Ban of the Valar -the Men of Númenor were not permitted to sail so far westthat they couldn’t see their own shores, lest they became too “enamoured of the immortality of the Valar” (viaThe Silmarillion). Whether or not Pharazôn was breaking a ban, he was spiritually and politically betrayingthe 15 Valar, who were the spokespeople of the One creator, Eru Ilúvatar. Ar-Pharazôn ignored multiple warnings sent by the Valar to sail an almighty fleet of ships to Valinor’s shores in a confrontational assault, but he paid the price.
Ar-Pharazôn had been sent on a fool’s errand by Sauron, who knew that the Valar would decimate his fleet and neutralize him. But Sauron hadn’t accounted for the severity of the Valar’s response. In an unprecedented shock move,Eru Ilúvatar himself intervened to rupture the seabed, causing Númenor and its fleet to sink. While a few wise Men escaped Númenor’s fate, Ar-Pharazôn was buried under hills near the shore and Sauron drowned. Unfortunately, “Sauron was not of mortal flesh” and rose again inThe Lord of the Rings,slowly taking a new shape in Mordor.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
