Black Númenóreans

The Black Númenóreans, initially named the King's Party or the King's Men, were a fallen group of Númenóreans descended from those who were loyal to the Númenórean Sceptre but in opposition to the Valar and relations with the Elves. After Sauron was brought as a captive to Númenor in fair form, these Númenóreans listened to his words, and were soon corrupted by him. They worshipped the Darkness and the Dark Lords, and oppressed the Men left in Middle-earth. Ever since, they were the servants of the Enemy and bitter adversaries of the Men of Gondor.
== History ==
=== Second Age ===
==== Origins ====
As the power and knowledge of the Númenóreans grew throughout the course of the Second Age, they became increasingly preoccupied with the limits placed on their contentment in the world - and eventually their power - by mortality, the purpose of which they began to question.
As time went on they began to fear Death more and more and ultimately wished to escape it. So the Númenóreans became envious of the immortal Elves (the Eldar), whom they had come to physically resemble as part of their reward from Ilúvatar for having been their allies. The Eldar sought ever to remind the Men of Númenor however, that death was a gift from Ilúvatar to all Men, and to lose faith in Ilúvatar would be heretical.thumb|left|Depiction of Ar-Pharazôn with some of the last of the "King's Party", by Paula DiSanteNevertheless, after SA 2221, when Tar-Ancalimon became King of Númenor the majority began to break from the ways of their forefathers, forsaking the reverence of Eru and the Valar. These 'King's Men' therefore were already predisposed to the corruption of Sauron when he came to Númenor.
Eventually, in Númenor's last years, its hugely powerful but elderly King Ar-Pharazôn, who had become "frightened of old age" (The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, no. 156), was persuaded by Sauron that Ilúvatar was a lie invented by the Valar, and seduced him into worship of Morgoth. Within Númenor, the majority immediately followed suit, and this worship quickly passed across the ocean to most of Númenor's colonies in Middle-earth where the group started in proper.
The group thrived in Middle-earth, particularly in Umbar after the destruction of Númenor. They continued to oppose the Faithful, from which came the Kings of Arnor and Gondor. The King's Party remained loyal to Sauron and their lifespans began to wane even before the Downfall. After this time they became known as the Black Númenóreans.
Three of the nine Ringwraiths, who could be considered among the first and most powerful Black Númenóreans, were corrupted by Sauron, 1000 years before the Downfall. They served Sauron, being enslaved to his will, having become so because of their lust for power or knowledge.
These sacrilegious 'black arts' and 'follies', which arose as a consequence of their worship of the 'Dark' and Melkor, marked the final, irrevocable division between the 'King's Party' and the minority known as the 'Faithful' Númenóreans, or the 'Elendili', who kept to their old faith in Ilúvatar. They were also presumably the earliest cultural traits of those who became known afterwards as Black Númenóreans.
==== After the Fall of Númenor ====
For many centuries after the Downfall, the descendants of the 'King's Men' held onto colonies in Middle-earth, what became the most northerly and famous of their settlements in exile, Umbar.
Most of those few Númenóreans who had never disavowed the Eldar, and had always remained true to their belief in Ilúvatar, also survived the destruction of their homeland, and they established their own Realms in Exile north of Umbar. The Faithful Númenóreans saw their southern counterparts as renegades and as being responsible for the Downfall of Númenor. The Black Númenóreans held a similarly low opinion of the 'Faithful' and their descendants.
Only two Black Númenórean lords are named from the time of the late Second Age: Herumor and Fuinur. Like all Black Númenóreans and 'King's Men' before them, Herumor and Fuinur desired power over men of other, lesser races, and they "rose to (great) power amongst the Haradrim", the peoples neighbouring Umbar. Their fate is unknown, but they were likely defeated along with Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance.
==== Third Age ====
The triumph of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and the subsequent growth in the power of Gondor marked the decline of the Black Númenórean race and the end of their racial superiority. Nevertheless, the Black Númenórean elite survived at least in Umbar for over a thousand years after Númenor's fall, maintaining much influence in Harad.
The Black Númenóreans are absent from recorded history after their defeat by Hyarmendacil I of Gondor in TA 1050, which broke their power for good, but a population of sorts evidently lived into the latter part of the Third Age. Queen Berúthiel, wife of Gondor's King Tarannon Falastur was a Black Númenórean, from a realm somewhere south of Gondor. Her marriage was a loveless union, and was presumably a political accommodation. Additionally, the Mouth of Sauron, who mocked the army of the west in front of the Black Gate was described both as a Black Númenórean and a "Renegade".
== Language ==
The Black Númenóreans did not speak Westron, but probably retained their old tongue Adûnaic, speaking a dialect of it. (In The Notion Club Papers, part of Sauron Defeated, Arundel Lowdham cited two descendants of classical Adûnaic. One of these must have been Westron, the other the tongue of the Black Númenóreans).
== Gallery ==
== In adaptations ==
thumb|209x209px|A Black Númenórean in the 1980 film
=== The Return of the King (1980 animated film) ===
In The Return of the King (1980), a leader of a Black Númenórean battalion is seen briefly yelling at a group of Orcs. He is voiced by Don Messick.
=== Video games ===
In The Lord of the Rings Online, the Black Númenóreans serve the Angmarim and live in Carn Dûm in Angmar, and served at first Mordirith, then Amarthiel.
In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Agandaûr, the prime antagonist, is of Black Númenórean origin.
In the story-line of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king, the Black Númenóreans had already inhabited Angmar prior to its founding as a realm, enslaving and waging war against the Troll tribes until both groups are subjected by the Witch-king. The Black Númenóreans serve as the Angmar factions' elite units. They are portrayed as wearing fearsome iron masks, proud of their heritage as the "King's Men". They are split into Thrall Masters, Swordsmen, Dark Rangers, and Sorcerers from the "Temple of Twilight". Angmar is portrayed as a frozen wasteland, with units including the Black Númenóreans focusing upon this aspect in terms of clothing and weaponry. 
In The Third Age: Total War (A Medieval II Total War modification), the Black Númenóreans are an elite bodyguard and soldier unit, either mounted or dismounted. They can do far more damage than Uruk-hai Berserkers, Troll-men of Harad, or Arnor Longswordmen put together.
Later, they were divided into the Temple units in Mordor and the Ar-Adûnaim (King's Men) units in Umbar in Divide and Conquer.
In Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the Tower of Sauron, one of the Black Captains of Sauron and a primary antagonist, is said to be a Black Númenórean. 
=== Games Workshop ===
In one of his letters, J.R.R. Tolkien stated that three of the Nazgûl were Númenórean; in the non-canon Games Workshop models only two of the Nazgûl are identified as Númenórean: The Dark Marshal - The most black-hearted and unrelentingly cruel of all the Nazgûl, his name is a byword for misery and death. Where the Dark Marshal passes, evil creatures fight harder, fearful of their lives whilst good warriors feel the icy touch of death upon their hearts. By his armour it is guessed that he is one of the three Númenórean Ringwraiths (the best match for this particular Nazgûl is Herumor or Fuinur) and The Knight of Umbar - The third of the Númenórean Lords to become one of Sauron's servants, the Knight of Umbar's past is shrouded in mystery. If the rumours pertaining to him hold any truth, he was once one of the great Númenórean kings who ruled the Southlands prior to the days of the Last Alliance. (the best match for this particular Nazgûl is also Herumor or Fuinur who came from Númenor island to the south during the second age, even though either one or both of them became the Lords of Haradrim. It is also known that both Haradrim and Umbar were in league to destroy Gondor).
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Swart Númenóreans
Albanian 	E zezë Númenórean
Amharic 	ጥቁር ኙመኖረኣን
Arabic 	نومينوريان أسود
Armenian 	Սև Նումենորյաններ
Azerbaijani 	Qara Númenóreans
Basque 	Númenóreako beltzak
Belarusian Cyrillic	Цёмныя Нуменорцы
Bengali 	ব্ল্যাক নিউমেনোরিয়ানস
Bosnian 	Crni Númenóreans
Breton 	Du Númenóreans
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Черни нуменорци
Catalan 	Númenóreans Negres
Cebuano 	Itom Númenóreans
Chinese (Hong Kong)	黑暗努曼諾爾人
Cornish 	Du Númenóreans
Croatian 	Crni Númenóreans
Czech 	Černí Númenorejci
Danish 	Sort Númenóreans
Esperanto 	Nigraj Númenóreans
Estonian 	Must Númenóreans
Faroese 	Svartur Númenóreans
Fijian 	Númenórean loaloa
Filipino 	Itim na Númenóreans
Finnish 	Mustat Númenórlaiset
French 	Númenoréens Noirs
Frisian 	Swart Númenóreans
Galician 	Númenóreanos negros
Georgian 	შავი ნუმენორეანი
German 	Schwarze Númenórer
Greek 	Μαύροι Νουμενόρειοι
Gujarati 	બ્લેક ન્યુમેનોરિયન્સ
Haitian Creole 	Nwa Númenóreans
Hebrew 	נומנורים שחורים
Hindi 	ब्लैक न्यूमेनोरियन्स
Hmong 	Xim dub Númenóreans
Hungarian 	Fekete Númenori
Icelandic 	Svartur Númenóreans
Indonesian 	Hitam Númenóreans
Irish Gaelic 	Dubh Númenóreans
Italian 	Númenóreani Neri
Jamaican Creole 	Blak Númenóreans
Japanese 	黒ヌーメノール
Javanese 	Ireng Númenóreans
Kannada 	ಕಪ್ಪು ನ್ಯೂಮೆನೋರಿಯನ್ಸ್
Kazakh 	Қара Нуменориялықтар (Cyrillic) Qara Nwmenorïyalıqtar (Latin)
Korean 	검은 누메노르인
Kurdish 	Reş Numenoreans (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	кара Нумэнорэан
Latvian 	Melna Númenóreans
Lithuanian 	Juoda Númenóreans
Luxembourgish 	Schwaarz Númenóreans
Macedonian Cyrillic	Црни Нуменореци
Malayalam 	കറുത്ത ന്യൂമെനോറിയൻസ്
Malaysian 	Númenórean hitam
Maltese 	Sewda Númenóreans
Manx 	Númenórean Doo
Maori 	Pango Númenóreans
Marathi 	ब्लॅक न्यूमेनोरियन्स
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Хар нуменорчууд
Nahuatl 	Tlīltic Númenóreans
Nepalese 	कालो न्यूमेनोरेन्स
Norwegian 	Svart Númenóreans
Occitan 	Negre Númenóreans
Old English 	Sweart Númenóreans
Pashto 	تور نومېنورېان
Pennsylvania Dutch 	Schwatz Númenóreans
Persian 	سیاه نومهنورهان
Polish 	Czarni Númenorejczycy
Portuguese 	Númenórean preto
Punjabi 	ਕਾਲੇ ਣੁਮੇਨੋਰੇਅਨ
Romanian 	Negru Númenórean
Romansh 	Númenórean Nair
Russian 	Чёрные нуменорцы
Sanskrit 	कृष्ण वर्णःणुमेनोरेअन्
Scottish Gaelic 	Dubh Númenóreans
Serbian 	Црни Нуменорејци (Cyrillic) Crni Numenorejci (Latin)
Sicilian 	Nìuru Númenóreans
Sinhalese 	කළු නියුමෙනෝරියන්
Slovak 	Čierni Númenórejci
Slovenian 	Črna Númenórean
Somali 	Madaw Númenóreans
Spanish 	Numenóreanos Negros
Sundanese 	Hideung Númenóreans
Swahili 	Númenórean nyeusi
Swedish 	Svart Númenóreanskt
Tagalog 	Itim Númenóreans
Tajik Cyrillic 	сиёҳ Нуменореан
Tamil 	கறுப்பு நியூமெனோரியன்கள்
Telugu 	నల్ల న్యూమెనోరియన్లు
Thai 	ชาวนูเมนอร์ดำ
Turkish 	Kara Númenórlu
Turkmen 	Gara Númenóreans
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Чорні Нуменорці
Urdu 	سیاہ نمانورین
Uzbek 	Қора Нуменореан (Cyrillic) Qora Númenórean (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Đen Númenóreans
Welsh 	Du Númenóreans
Xhosa 	Mnyama Númenóreans
Yiddish 	שווארץ נומענאָרעאַן
Yoruba 	Dudu Númenóreans
== References ==
*The History of Middle-earth: Sauron Defeated
*The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien
Category:Servants of Sauron
Category:Minions of Angmar
Category:Númenor
Category:Númenóreans
Category:Harad
Category:Men
de:Schwarze Númenórer
it:Númenóreani Neri
pl:Czarni Númenorejczycy
ru:Чёрные нуменорцы