A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1 - Page 5
© Michael Martinez
Oropher was probably the greatest of the other Elven lords. Proud and independent, a survivor of Doriath, his realm dominated southern Greenwood the Great beyond Anduin. Although unfriendly to both the Noldor and the Dwarves25, he may have revered Elrond's Sindarin ancestry, and clearly saw the need for joining in the alliance against Sauron. Oropher was strong-willed and proud, however, and he refused to march under Gil-galad's banner, but held himself an equal26.
Amdir, known also as Malgalad27, was probably the least powerful of the Elven kings of the Second Age. He ruled fewer people than Oropher yet was friendly toward the Noldor, taking many refugees from Eregion into his kingdom. He must also have been on friendly terms with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum, his neighbors and perhaps sometimes allies28.
Isildur was the most rash of the Dunadan kings. He was proud and brave, renowned for his rescue of a sapling of Nimloth, the White Tree of Numenor, despite Sauron's precautions against such an attempt29. He boldly planted himself (and the sapling) in the Ephel Duath on Sauron's border. But Isildur may have been less a captain in war than his father and brother, and perhaps was not the leader of Men that Elendil was. Yet it was Isildur's city which Sauron singled out for the first assault, perhaps seeking revenge against the Dunadan lord for his deeds in Numenor.
Elendil the Tall was a mighty sea-captain, a master of lore, and as High King of the Dunedain-in-Exile assembled a great host of Men in Arnor. He seems to have had no disputes with subject peoples and allies, unlike Isildur, though the distance between Sauron and the peoples of Eriador surely made his influence there quite weak. Elendil was deeply affected by the destruction of Numenor, and by the loss of his father, Amandil.
After Isildur departed for Arnor, Anarion ruled Gondor alone, defending it against Sauron's forces30. Anarion seems to have commanded the entire southern campaign for the Alliance. He not only drove Sauron's armies back into Mordor, he eventually passed over the mountains himself.
Durin IV of Khazad-dum joined the Alliance as well31. Since his realm lay so close to Lorinand he must have mustered his army close to Amdir's. And yet, Oropher's reputed dislike for Dwarves may have forced Durin to march beside Gil-galad's army, perhaps even to stand as a fourth equal among the leaders of the full alliance: Gil-galad as lord of the Elves of the West, Elendil as lord of the Men of the West, Oropher as lord of the Elves of the East, and Durin as lord of the Dwarves of Khazad-dum (encompassing two or three Dwarven kindreds). Because the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost had long before swelled Khazad-dum's numbers, Durin's army may have been the largest Dwarf-host assembled to that time or any time since.
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