Have Island, Will Rebel - Page 9
© Michael Martinez
The establishment of the fortress of Umbar and the city of Pelargir ("Royal garth of ships") within 100 years after the first appearance of the Nazgul seems to imply that Numenor felt it necessary to oppose Mordor militarily. The earlier kingdoms established by Sauron's Ringwraiths may have vanished or passed into the hands of other rulers. Now the Nazgul might more effectively serve their lord as captains of his armies, vassals in buffer regions between Mordor and the Numenorean colonies, and emissaries sent abroad.
Numenorean captains such as Ar-Pharazon had been in his youth were achieving victories against Sauron's armies in Middle-earth. The implication is that Numenor made territorial gains or repelled invasions launched by Sauron against the colonies. It would appear that Numenor's ability to finance large overseas expeditions prevented a feudal breakdown of authority. The Kings of Numenor became true imperials. Their wealthy aristocratic families, therefore, must either have become confined to traditional, non-expanding spheres of influence or else were incorporated into a growing Numenorean bureaucracy and military machine. The Kings would need administrators for their colonies and they would need auditors to make sure they got their taxes and fees from all enterprises in Middle-earth.
Ar-Pharazon effectively stripped Amandil of his lands and title. This reduction in autonomy, or increase in royal authority, could arguably be traced directly to Sauron's influence. Ar-Pharazon may have been the first and only King to set aside ancient traditions and boundaries. At least on the scale on which he acted as indicated by "Akallabeth" and related texts. But even where Amandil was concerned Ar-Pharazon may have had some precedent derived from events in Middle-earth. What if the autonomous families did resent the intrusion of the kings into the colonial world? Perhaps the kings, as they became more aggressive and militaristic, found reason and "just" cause to remove some colonial lords from their domains. The Numenoreans seem to have been very serious about following established precedent.
The adherence to precedence and tradition would have been a balancing factor in the early generations. Elros Tar-Minyatur was King of Numenor but he founded the kingdom with the help of Edainic peoples who had hundreds of years of traditions behind them. The Folk of Haleth, for example, had held folkmoots to decide great matters. Their chieftains led them in war, called the moots, and acted as judges, but they were not autocratic rulers. The lords of Dor-lomin and Ladros, on the other hand, were appointed vassals of Elven kings. They seem to have been given some autonomous rights in order to retain a division between cultures (and that was why these lordships were established, because the Elven kings felt that Men and Elves should not always live closely together).
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