Tar-Aldarion

Tar-Aldarion was the sixth King of Númenor, and succeeded his father, Tar-Meneldur. Tar-Aldarion was married to Erendis, a Númenórean woman, who was not a direct descendant of the house of Elros as Aldarion himself, and therefore had a shorter life-span. Aldarion's love for the sea ultimately caused a rift between the couple and they separated in SA 882. The tale of their marriage and estrangement survived the Downfall of Númenor as "Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife".
== Biography ==
Tar-Aldarion was called "The Mariner", and his name signifies "of the trees" because he was a noted tree steward and forester — trees were essential to the construction of his fleets, but he took great care to replenish what was being felled. His first love was the sea, and he was already a great explorer before he became king, founding the Guild of Venturers to promote exploration. He made several journeys to Middle-earth and established contact with Gil-galad in his realm in the Grey Havens making friendship and alliance with him. He also established the first Númenorean port in Middle-earth, named Vinyalonde, built on the river Gwathló, and during his reign the deforesting of Enedwaith and Minhiriath began.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Two: The Second Age, chapter IV: "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", Appendices: Appendix D, The Port of Lond Daer
His only child was a daughter, Tar-Ancalimë, so he changed the rules of succession, replacing the principle of agnatic primogeniture with that of fully equal primogeniture. She became the first ruling Queen of Númenor. If not for the change, the throne would have passed to his sister's son Soronto, heir presumptive at the time.
The partial story of Aldarion and Erendis can be found in Tolkien's Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, (ed. Christopher Tolkien). Though the actual story was left incomplete, the book does give some hints on how it continued. The story also contains the first hints of the return of the Shadow, i.e. Sauron, to Middle-earth.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Two: The Second Age, chapter I: "A Description of the Island of Númenor"
==Etymology==
Aldarion is a Quenya word meaning "Son of trees" from alda ("trees")The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names and -ion ("son").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ጣር፡ዓልዳሪኦን
Arabic 	تار إلاريون
Armenian 	Տար-Ալդարիոն
Assamese 	টাৰ-আলডাৰিয়ান
Belarusian Cyrillic	Тар-Алдарион
Bengali 	টার্-আল্দারিওন
Bhojpuri 	तार-अल्डारियन
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Тар-Алдарион
Catalan 	Tar Aldàrion
Chinese 	塔爾-阿達瑞安
Chinese (Classical)	塔爾-阿勒達瑞安
Danish 	Tar-Aldarion (6. konge af Númenor)
Dogri 	तार-अल्दारियन
Georgian 	ტალ-ალდარიონი
Greek 	Ταρ-Αλδαριον
Gujarati 	ટાર-એલ્ડેરિયન
Hebrew 	טאר אלדאריון
Hindi 	टर्-आल्दरिओन
Japanese 	タル＝アルダリオン
Kannada 	ಟಾರ್-ಅಲ್ಡಾರಿಯನ್
Kazakh 	Тар-Алдаріон (Cyrillic) Tar-Aldarion (Latin)
Konkani 	तार-आल्डारियन
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Тар-Алдарион
Macedonian Cyrillic	Тар-Алдарион
Maithili 	तार-अल्डारियन
Malayalam 	ടാർ-അൽഡാരിയോൺ
Marathi 	टार-अल्डेरियन
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Тар-Алдарион
Nepalese 	टर्-आल्दरिओन
Pashto 	طار-آلداریون
Persian 	تار-آلداریون
Punjabi 	ਤਾਰ-ਅਲਡਰੀਅਨ
Russian 	Тар-Алдарион
Serbian 	Тар-Алдарион (Cyrillic) Tar-Aldarion (Latin)
Sindhi 	تار-الڊاريون
Sinhalese 	තාර-ඇල්ඩාරියන්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Тар-Алдарион
Tamil 	தார்-அல்டாரியன்
Telugu 	టార్-అల్డారియన్
Thai 	ทาร์-อัลดาริออน
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Тар-Алдаріон
Urdu 	تار الداریون
Uzbek 	Тар-Алдарион (Cyrillic) Tor-Aldarïon (Latin)
Yiddish 	טאַר-אַלדאַריאָן
== References ==
de:Tar-Aldarion
es:Tar-Aldarion
it:Tar-Aldarion
pl:Tar-Aldarion
ru:Тар-Алдарион
Category:Númenóreans
Category:Númenórean Kings
Category:Characters in Unfinished Tales
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Quenya names & words