Arnor- Designed For Failure?

[Inziladun]

There are stark differences apparent between the Númenórean Kingdoms in Exile in Middle-earth, Arnor and Gondor.

One would think Arnor had the greater importance to the Númenóreans, since that was the realm of Elendil himself, and after the war of the Last Alliance, was to be ruled by his elder son, Isildur. Yet, it fell into decay, conquered by the Lord of the Nazgûl and his army of evil men. Why was that? The fact of disunity among the Northern Dúnedain, splitting Arnor into smaller realms, was an obvious problem. But it has always seemed to me that the Witch-king's victory over them was easier than it should have been. Their Tower of Amon Sûl was taken and razed. The capital city of Annúminas was deserted, and the other city, Fornost, was captured. The reader is told comparatively little about the Arnorian cities and fortifications, but they seem to have been less strong than their southern counterparts.
Arnor also lacked a port of its own, whereas Gondor was a sea-power.

Orthanc was made of an apparently unbreakable rocklike substance and had never been captured. The walls of Minas Anor were fashioned of the same stuff.
Why did the Southern Kingdom have those advantages the Northern Realm lacked, especially considering Arnor was to have been the seat of Elendil?

[Galadriel55]

I think a big factor is that Gondor was not subservient to Arnor, but an equal and independent country. It wasn't some kind of colony. Therefore, it wasn't obliged to keep Arnor militarily stronger than itself.

The second big factor is men. Fortifications and towers mean nothing if there are no men to defend them. Arnor could have had the strongest cities, but because of the divide between men they were all weakened from inside.

[tom the eldest]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I think a big factor is that Gondor was not subservient to Arnor, but an equal and independent country. It wasn't some kind of colony. Therefore, it wasn't obliged to keep Arnor militarily stronger than itself.

The second big factor is men. Fortifications and towers mean nothing if there are no men to defend them. Arnor could have had the strongest cities, but because of the divide between men they were all weakened from inside.

The lack of men could be because of the great plague,and the disunity between the kingdom.but arthedain semm to be able to push back angmar for a while,with the help of the elves.then,angmar attack again,this time arthedain was pushed to fornost.it could be because of winter,evil creature,plague,and wight make men dwindle in arnor.

[cellurdur]

After the destruction of Morgoth, I don't think evil was ever strong enough to defeat the West by might alone. It needed to corrupt them to gain the victory.

Apart from the lack of men power that has been noted due to plague etc we have to take into account exactly who Arnor was fighting for the most part. It was not the Witch King that destroyed Arnor, but the civil wars for me. Just look at how the Civil War in Gondor destroyed the capital city. It was probably the Numenoreans themselves that found ways to destroy the fortresses and cities of Arnor. Think what happened to Osgiliath and then remember than Minas Morgul was going to be completely destroyed. Once Arnor had sufficiently destroyed themselves, they became easy pickings for the Witch-King.

[tom the eldest]

nah,there are civil war in arnor,but it was mainly rhudaur vs cardolan,arthedain still maintain peace,although maybe there are some difference with rhudaur.the witch-king is the one that make arnor fell,but maybe the harsher climate of the north that make arnor dont have as much population as gondro,i think that many northern men(of numenorean descent)move to gondor because of the climate in gondor is nicer.when angmar attack,arnor would have much less population than it used to be.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

nah,there are civil war in arnor,but it was mainly rhudaur vs cardolan,arthedain still maintain peace,although maybe there are some difference with rhudaur.

I agree with cellurdur. It is said, "There was often strife between the kingdoms, which hastened the waning of the Dúnedain." [Appendix A., The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain] Remember, the Witch-king, "came north with the purpose of destroying the Dúnedain in Arnor, seeing hope in their disunion". They themselves aided in their own demise and their constant fighting gave the Witch-king hope that he might overcome them from Angmar in the north.

By the time of the 7th ruler of Arthedain there were no descendants of Isildur in the other 2 divisions of Arnor, although there were still a few Dúnedain still abiding in Rhudaur even though it was controlled by a lord of the Hillmen. In the 1600s a plague wiped out the Dúnedain of Cardolan and their last prince died in the war of 1409 with Angmar.

Originally Posted by Inziladun

it fell into decay, conquered by the Lord of the Nazgûl and his army of evil men. Why was that?

It was because the kingdom was not united.

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Their Tower of Amon Sûl was taken and razed.

They really dwindled in numbers quickly up north. About 200 years after this war the whole population of Dúnedain in Cardolan was wiped out by a plague. The Elves helped get them out of this jam.

Originally Posted by Inziladun

it has always seemed to me that the Witch-king's victory over them was easier than it should have been

Perhaps. I don't know. The Dúnedain had few children, had them late, or not at all, and were dying a lot. Gondor was the greater kingdom in any case. Consider as late of the 2nd to last king of Gondor, when he sent a small fleet to aid the last king of Arnor.

"Then Eärnil sent his son Eärnur north with a fleet, as swiftly as he could, and with as great strength as he could spare. Too late.... when Eärnur came to the Grey Havens there was joy and great wonder among both Elves and Men. So great in draught and so many were his ships that they could scarcely find harbourage, though both the Harlond and the Forlond were also filled; and from them descended an army of power, with munition and provision for a great war of kings. Or so it seemed to the people of the North, though this was but a SMALL sending-force of the whole might of Gondor." [Appendix A., Gondor and the heirs of Anárion]

This minor force seemed to the Men up north to be great. That's the difference between the two kingdoms and this is a Gondor in its decline.

[tom the eldest]

But arthedain and cardolan wereable to hold the witch king for hundreds of years,with cardolan and arthedain working together,they could prevent angmar from invading.they cant directly assault cardolan because arthedain can sent armies from weather hills and struck their flank and rear.angmar was forced to make all-out assault,with several armies to distract the defenses while the main one going to cardolan.this show that if angmar dont use such tactics,then earnil(ur?)couldarrive in time.

[tom the eldest]

And from tolkien gateway,in the fall of fornost,arthedain have at least 10.000 troops,with several thousand elves,and 500 hobbits.that 10.000 is quite a lot,and surely able to man every wall of fornost.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I sort of see Arthedain's reaction to Earnur's GEF as not unlike that of the beleaguered sixth-century more-or-less "Romans" (of the Papal City and not much else) when Belisarius' vast Eastern Roman force landed in Italy.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

But arthedain and cardolan wereable to hold the witch king for hundreds of years,with cardolan and arthedain working together,they could prevent angmar from invading.they cant directly assault cardolan because arthedain can sent armies from weather hills and struck their flank and rear.angmar was forced to make all-out assault,with several armies to distract the defenses while the main one going to cardolan.this show that if angmar dont use such tactics,then earnil(ur?)couldarrive in time.

Early on they were able to hold back the Witch-king for a while but they did have need of help. However, they were able to be invaded because they were fighting over territory, namely the Weather Hills. The Weather Hills were part of Arthedain territory and the other 2 wanted it and it bordered on their realms. Also the Kings of Arthedain were claiming lordship over the whole of Arnor since the other descendants of Isildur died out in the other 2 realms, which resisted this claim.

"In token of this claim all the kings of Arthedain, and the chieftains after them, take names with the prefix aran, ar(a) signifying 'high king'." [PoM-E; ch. 7, The Heirs of Elendil]

"In the days of Argeleb son of Malvegil, since no descendants of Isildur remained in the other kingdoms, the kings of Arthedain again claimed the lordship of all Arnor." [Appendix A., The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain]

(7) Argeleb l
(8) Arveleg l
(9) Araphor
(10) Argeleb
(11) Arvegil
(12) Arveleg ll
(13) Araval
(14) Araphant
(15) Arvedui

When the Dúnedain were fighting each other, Arthedain/Rhudaur over Weathertop, the latter had men in league with Angmar. "The Witch-king of Angmar taking advantage of war among the Dunedain comes down out of the North. He overruns Cardolan and Rhudaur." [PoM-E; ch. 7, The Heirs of Elendil] Cardolan did aid Arthedain, but Weathertop was overrun with a huge army from Angmar 50 years later. The people of Angmar chased and killed the remaining Dúnedain of Rhudaur and those of Cardolan took refuge at or by the Barrowdowns.

In the final assault that finally broke the last defense I believe there was ONLY Arthedain at this point. The other lands had long been ravaged and the Dúnedain too diminished at this point. When Arvedui came to Gondor to claim the kingship it was not Arnor that they saw as a small thing, "to most men in Gondor, the realm in Arthedain seemed a small thing" [Appendix A, Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion]. So there was no other Dúnedain kingdom left for the armies of Angmar to go through before assaulting Fornost in 1974. They were fighting the people of Angmar even before "the Witch-king was preparing a last stroke against it in 1973." Over 300 years before that in 1636 the Great Plague had wiped out the remaining Dúnedain of Cardolan. So for some time it was really Angmar vs. Arthedain and "King Araphant continued with dwindling strength to hold off the assaults of Agmar, and Arvedui when he succeeded did likewise;" it was in 1964 when Arvedui had become king.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

But it has always seemed to me that the Witch-king's victory over them was easier than it should have been.

The division of the kingdom was a significant contributor, as has been stated. The Lord of the Nazgûl "came north with the purpose of destroying the Dúnedain in Arnor, seeing hope in their disunion, while Gondor was strong."
In terms of the "ease" of Angmar's conquest, however, might it also be a factor in the failure of Arnor that it is where Sauron struck hardest first? Gondor endured war and strife through the Third Age as well, of course, and events like the Wainrider wars and the Balchoth invasion were orchestrated by Sauron, but they were largely indirect. It was to the dismantling of Arnor that Sauron brought his strength to bear more directly in the shape of the Lord of the Nazgûl and more traditionally "Sauronic" forces: Orcs, Troll, wolves, evil spirits and the like. The attacks on both realms are calculated, but Angmar's war against Arnor seems more directly "managed" to me, whereas it feels like the invasions of Gondor mostly involved Sauron giving the Easterlings a push in that direction and leaving the rest up to them.

Angmar arose in 1300 but Arthedain didn't fall until 1974. 674 years doesn't seem like too easy a defeat, although of course by comparison to real history the nations of Men in Middle-earth always seem to endure for an implausibly long time. I suppose the longevity of the Dúnedain might account somewhat for that.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

In terms of the "ease" of Angmar's conquest, however, might it also be a factor in the failure of Arnor that it is where Sauron struck hardest first? Gondor endured war and strife through the Third Age as well, of course, and events like the Wainrider wars and the Balchoth invasion were orchestrated by Sauron, but they were largely indirect.

There seems to be a manpower issue as well. Arnor seems not to have had the population from which to draw soldiers that Gondor displayed. What would be the reason for that? Of course, the loss of Isildur and his knights at the Gladden Fields was a blow, but we're only talking a couple of hundred people. The infighting between the mini-kingdoms would split resources, certainly, but then again Gondor endured the Kin-strife, in which "much of the best blood in Gondor was shed".
Gondor had embraced the Northmen as allies, and indeed as marriage material. If Arnor had found some "wild" Men to bring into their fold, I wonder if that could have helped them.

I still wondered, too, why Gondor got an indestructible tower and similar wall, while Arnor lost out. An answer presents itself now, that in the South was where the obvious threat was nearer. Mordor was the main concern, so if you have only a certain amount of a strong building material, you put it in Gondor.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Arnor seems not to have had the population from which to draw soldiers that Gondor displayed. What would be the reason for that?

Arnor had become divided by 861 & Gondor did not have it's Kin-strife until 571 years later in 1432. I do not know the specifics of the populations of each realm. Gondor has at times taken into its ranks other Men, namely their Edain relatives in the North. During the reign of the 16th King, Atanatar ll, who lived for 249 years in luxury, Gondor was beginning to go into it's long, slow decline. The signs of the decline was the level of reproduction rates of the Dúnedain which began even before Atanatar:

"the signs of decay had then already appeared; for the high men of the South married late, and their children were few. The first childless king was Falastur, and the second Narmacil l, the son of Atanatar Alcarin." [Appendix A., Gondor and the heirs of Anárion]

Narmacil lived 245 years and Falastur lived for 259 years. I suppose they couldn't find the time to make it happens in all those years. I mean even as old men I'd think they could still have kids. Atanatar was descended from the nephew of Falastur. It seems to me that these guys were pretty much out and about a lot, on adventures, fighting and exploring, like the 6th King of Númenor who had only one kid and lived for 398 years. The last king of Gondor of Anárion's line was around 122 when he perished and he had no children at all, not even a wife "he would take no wife, for his only pleasure was in fighting". He maybe had 80 years left to him at most.

In any case, in either kingdom, Arnor or of Gondor, the Dúnedain were few. "All told the Dúnedain were thus from the beginning far fewer in number than the lesser men among whom they dwelt and whom they ruled, being lords of long life and great power and wisdom." [Appendix F] So clearly they must have made use of other men. Rómendacil took Northmen into his armies, his son married a Northwoman and their son became king of Gondor and replenished it's people by bringing the Northmen into their fold.

Arnor:

- Seperated into 3 kingdoms at odds with each other, although Cardolan did support Arthedain against Angmar.

Gondor:

- Remained one kingdom and had a Kin-strife "where many of the great had been slain".

- Known to have replenished their population with Northmen, even to some degree many houses of the Dúnedain, including the King's, mixed with them.

Both kingdoms were fighting for a long time, either among themselves or with their enemies. Gondor dealt with it better and even expanded its territories. There is some information on where Gondor may have drawn in others for manpower, but where Arnor? They had the aid of Hobbits and Elves in some of their wars, but what of inclusion of a people into their realms? There were Hillmen in Rhudaur.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

The attacks on both realms are calculated, but Angmar's war against Arnor seems more directly "managed" to me, whereas it feels like the invasions of Gondor mostly involved Sauron giving the Easterlings a push in that direction and leaving the rest up to them.

Good point. Arnor was chosen because of it's disunion. How Sauron would have went had Arnor remained intact may have been a toss of the coin. Perhaps the indirect attacks, or the use of people inside the realms to cause disruptions may have been used anyways. He did make use of Dúnedain and clearly they are susceptible to his influence. He made a mess with them on Númenor. I think he'd have tried to slowly chip away in any case and yea Arnor did not fall so fast even though it did fall. It was around for nearly 2000 years and fighting about 600 years with Angmar.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I still wondered, too, why Gondor got an indestructible tower and similar wall, while Arnor lost out.

It may also be that these structures were fashioned from geologic features (as Fonstad suggests in "The Atlas of Middle Earth"), perhaps the remnants of a basaltic flow which the Numenoreans simply worked and carved, rather than "built" from scratch.

"Gondor" does, after all, mean (literally) "Stone-Land" and so would be more likely to have such features to be used and shaped than Eriador (where Arnor was established).

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Belegorn

Arnor did not fall so fast even though it did fall. It was around for nearly 2000 years and fighting about 600 years with Angmar.

Good perspective. Arnor lasted longer than the mighty Roman Empire!! That's not too shabby.

[Alfirin]

I'd go with the second, since if played correctly it might, theoretically leave Sauron with a Numenor like situation; an Arnor corrupted, under his control, and still pretty unified and undiminished. With that Sauron might actually be able to play on the pride of the Kings of Arnor enough to make them attempt to invade Gondor to try and claim it's throne as well. And if that happened Sauron would benefiet no matter what. If Arnor actually accomplished such a conquest, Sauron would rule all of the West and would have pretty much won everything. If not, the war would have likely weakened Gondor significantly; and Sauron could have simply had the WK sweep down from Angmar with his armies and take over while they were too damaged to put up sufficient resistance. Gondor is stronger than Arnor, and with it's indestrucable city probably always was, but I tend to think Unified Arnor was probably not so weak that an assault by them would be a cakewalk for Gondor to repulse.

[Belegorn]

I'm checking Appendix F and it seems that some of the other men that inhabited Arnor, were the Dunlendings who used to live by the White Mountains north of Dol Amroth, and went north to the southern Misty Mountains and from there to the Barrowdowns. The Men of Bree are their descendants, "but long before these had become subjects of the North Kingdom of Arnor".

[Ivriniel]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

There are stark differences apparent between the Númenórean Kingdoms in Exile in Middle-earth, Arnor and Gondor.

One would think Arnor had the greater importance to the Númenóreans, since that was the realm of Elendil himself, and after the war of the Last Alliance, was to be ruled by his elder son, Isildur. Yet, it fell into decay, conquered by the Lord of the Nazgûl and his army of evil men. Why was that? The fact of disunity among the Northern Dúnedain, splitting Arnor into smaller realms, was an obvious problem. But it has always seemed to me that the Witch-king's victory over them was easier than it should have been. Their Tower of Amon Sûl was taken and razed. The capital city of Annúminas was deserted, and the other city, Fornost, was captured. The reader is told comparatively little about the Arnorian cities and fortifications, but they seem to have been less strong than their southern counterparts.
Arnor also lacked a port of its own, whereas Gondor was a sea-power.

Orthanc was made of an apparently unbreakable rocklike substance and had never been captured. The walls of Minas Anor were fashioned of the same stuff.
Why did the Southern Kingdom have those advantages the Northern Realm lacked, especially considering Arnor was to have been the seat of Elendil?

I've often wondered about Arnor on similar veins, though I had not drawn the corollary about Orthanc-stone and Amon Sul. It is hard to understand how Numenorean fortifications of Elendil's primary realm should be more vulnerable than the Gondor fortifications. Nice point Inziladun.

Of the materials I have never been able to disambiguate, one was about the Amon Sul Palantir. We know it was large, like the Osgiliath master stone of the South, but was Amon Sul oriented as the Osgiliath subordinate or not? Just speculating, but it seems that knowing which way this item goes, may be an insight into Elendil's ideas about the distribution of power in the realms. For example, it seems that a lot of fortifications went into hedging in Mordor after he Last Alliance, where there was recognition of victory, but not of eternal vanquishment of Sauron. I wonder if that was part of Elendil's planning, where sovereignty over the North Realm emphasised something else. What, I don't quite know.

We also knew that Arnor was a less densely populated realm, covering a very large area of governance. Strategically, I imagine this was pivotal in its conquest. I never understood why, after Arvedui and Earnil, why Aragorn's ancestor was not encouraged to take up, if not the High Kingship, then the rule of the realm of Arnor. I never understood why the kingdom was not rebuilt. Though, I recall reading that it was the presence of the Barrow Wights in the resting mounds of the Kings that did have a big part in this. We're told that the presence of the Wights was anathema to the Realm, yet Aragorn did not seem to mind in FA.....

just some thoughts.

[Belegorn]

Gondor

Orthanc-stone - Isengard, had a fixed orientation.
Arnor-stone = Minas Tirith, had a fixed orientation.
Ithil-stone = Minas Ithil, it was thought to be either lost or captured by Sauron. It had a fixed orientation.
Osgiliath-stone = Osgiliath, it was the master stone and could eavesdrop on 2 other stones in communion, other stones could not do this, they would just see the stones as blank. It was a big stone that could only be lifted by more than one man. It was lost in the waters when King Eldacar was attacked the the tower burned. It could be revolved and still see in any direction.

Arnor

Amon Sûl-stone = The chief stone of the North; it was the largest and most powerful stone, mainly used to communicate with Gondor. It had to be lifted by more than one man. It was lost at sea. It could be revolved and still see in any direction.
Elendil Stone = Emyn Beraid, was not used for communication, but rather to look to the West where even Eressëa could be seen.
Annúminas-stone = Annúminas, Fornost, was lost in the sea. It had a fixed orientation.

[Belegorn]

By fixed orientation, meaning, like to look west, the west side of the palantír had to face west and you had to be on the east side to look in the western direction. Then to look north, or NW/NE you'd have to look through the south, SE/SW sides.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

I never understood why, after Arvedui and Earnil, why Aragorn's ancestor was not encouraged to take up, if not the High Kingship, then the rule of the realm of Arnor. I never understood why the kingdom was not rebuilt.

I'm not sure if the Dúnedain of the south were ready yet to embrace an heir of Isildur and the Rangers were powerless at this point. Arnor was done, "for the Dúnedain were now few and ALL the peoples of Eriador diminished." [Appendix A; The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain]

[Ivriniel]

So, Elendil places the Master Stone in the Southern Kingdom, not the Northern Kingdom, with Anarion overseeing that, although Elendil, we're told, assumed reign from the principal kingdom 'of the North'.

This seems to me a problem. How does the primary overseeing realm get reconnaissance from the Amon Sul stone, where that can be considered wholly reliable, where the possibility exists that the Southern Master Stone can shut out communications to Amon Sul?

There is, at best, a reliance upon trust to ensure fidelity to sovereignty matters, and at worst, the potential for insurrection, covert, Machiavellian events and deception.

Unless, that is, the Amon Sul Stone had other properties we have not been told about.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

So, Elendil places the Master Stone in the Southern Kingdom, not the Northern Kingdom, with Anarion overseeing that, although Elendil, we're told, assumed reign from the principal kingdom 'of the North'.

From Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, "Three Elendil took, and his sons two each. Those of Elendil were set in towers upon Emyn Beraid, and upon Amon Sûl, and in the city of Annúminas. But those of his sons were at Minas Ithil and Minas Anor, and at Orthanc and in Osgiliath." [p. 362] One thing of note is that the towers of Emyn Beraid "were raised by Gil-galad for Elendil". So there are parts of Arnor that were not built by the Númenóreans at all.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

This seems to me a problem. How does the primary overseeing realm get reconnaissance from the Amon Sul stone, where that can be considered wholly reliable, where the possibility exists that the Southern Master Stone can shut out communications to Amon Sul?

It's more like if two stones are in communion, say the Orthanc and the Ithil-stone, any other Stone would see them as blank. The one at Osgiliath of course did not have this limitation. So it can't shut out communications, rather it can eavesdrop on two other stones in communication. Gandalf himself tells Pippen, "at Osgiliath they could survey them all together at one time." [TTT, Bk. 3, ch. 11, p. 240] It is also said how Denethor and Saruman could have had communion between themselves without Sauron being able to see what they were communicating. Between them they were working the Arnor, Orthanc, and Ithil Stones, none of which can do what the Osgiliath-stone could. If Sauron possessed that, he'd be able to see what Saruman and Denethor were communicating about.

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

There is, at best, a reliance upon trust to ensure fidelity to sovereignty matters, and at worst, the potential for insurrection, covert, Machiavellian events and deception.

At first, at least, they were in the possession of Elendil's sons. Did a High King up North figure that maybe he should move the Osgiliath-stone up North so that they alone could look into the conversations between other Stones? I do not know.

The Stones could be a drain mentally and usually the Kings had people below them make use of the other Stones to scan the realm so they could be on top of any potential enemies and to communicate. In fact, remember the episode between Arvedui and the Council in Gondor when he claimed the High Kingship? This was more likely than not done with the Stones. In Note #1 of The Palantíri:

"Doubtless they were used in consultations between Arnor and Gondor in the year 1944 concerning the succession to the Crown."

Originally Posted by Ivriniel

Unless, that is, the Amon Sul Stone had other properties we have not been told about.

Except for it being like the Osgiliath-stone, minus the eavesdropping capability, it would be more powerful than the other Stones.

[tom the eldest]

I think it has to do with arnor smaller population.arnor was suffering heavy losses at the war of the last alliance.they were already dwindling when angmar atrack,from migration to the south,harsh winter,and civil war.so,the sucessor state were greatly weakened when angmar attack,although they maybe coud still muster 20.000-30.000,because at the siege of fornost,arthedain had 10.000,remnant of arnor's troops.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

It is hard to understand how Numenorean fortifications of Elendil's primary realm should be more vulnerable than the Gondor fortifications.

Because one kingdom was next-door to Mordor and the other wasn't?

Gondor seems at all times to have been more populous. When Elendil's boys washed ashore there was already a substantial Numenorean town at Pelargir, a population of Numenoreans in Belfalas/Dor-en-Ernil, and fairly considerable non-Dunedain populations in the mountains and coasts.

Arnor wasn't I think as empty as it would become, but still one doesn't get the impression of numbers. Elendil, one is tempted to think, viewed the place strategically, as a bridge-realm linking Lindon in the west with Rivendell in the east.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Elendil, one is tempted to think, viewed the place strategically, as a bridge-realm linking Lindon in the west with Rivendell in the east.

And, perhaps also, he saw it as a place to rest from strife - far from the reminder of evil in Mordor. Leave that to his sons who were young (relatively) and energetic - let him enjoy the peace he had earned (in his view, maybe) in his old age.

And, of course, his very name means "Elf-Friend", so it would be natural for him to reside closer to the largest kingdom of his friends (Gil-galad's realm in Lindon).

That Sauron was still around was something he only learned later (it was over 100 years before Sauron revealed himself and attacked).

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Puddleglum

And, perhaps also, he saw it as a place to rest from strife - far from the reminder of evil in Mordor. Leave that to his sons who were young (relatively) and energetic - let him enjoy the peace he had earned (in his view, maybe) in his old age.

Though 200 when he founded Arnor, Elendil was not old at this point in his life. He was part of the Faithful and they lived much longer than the King's Men. Ar-Pharazôn died when he was 201 and was already "besotted, and walking under the shadow of death". [Akallabêth, p. 340] His father Gimilkhâd died when he was 198! So I'd say if Elendil were one of those who were in rebellion against the Valar then Elendil would be accounted old. However, Elendil was much longer lived and died when he was 322 fighting Sauron. His g.grandon (x8) Siriondil [King of Gondor] was 260 when he died in M-E, & Amlaith [King of Arthedain] was 220.

I do think Elendil probably made Arnor his home in part because of the realms of the High-king of the Noldor in Lindon, & Rivendell. However, he was driven in that direction by the destruction of Númenor, not that this is where he was planning on going in the first place. Just as his sons were driven to the south by the waves. There were apparently many sailors looking for the Meneltarma, and the fear of death was still on them, and they ever longed for the West. Also I believe at this point in time since they did not know that Sauron survived there was probably no thought to building fortifications to prepare for him. Now surely they have powerful enemies because when Sauron did return and build up his forces it is said, "among them were not a few of the high race of Númenor." [Of the Rings of Power and the Thrid Age, p. 363] This is because there were Dúnedain who settled in the East who gladly turned to Sauron. Where Isildur and Anárion came was basically a spot where the Faithful made their homes.

It is said that two of these Dúnedain, "Herumor and Fuinur... rose to power among the Haradrim" [p. 363] since before they moved to the South due to the threat of Gil-galad.

[tom the eldest]

Ar-pharazon wasnt dead,he was buried with those who set foot on aman in the cave of the forgotten

[Belegorn]

Dead or held in suspended animation, my point was that Ar-Pharazôn was already at death's door at this point in his life whereas the Faithful were much longer lived. I do agree with you that he was probably not dead, thanks for the correction.