Suladân I

"*Kneel before your king!*"
—Suladân to his captains
**Suladân I**, also known as **Suladân the Conquerer**, was a Númenórean prince who was son of Er-Pharazônthôn, grandson of Ar-Pharazôn, and one of the nine Nazgûl that pledged their eternal oath to the Dark Lord Sauron. Before becoming a servant of the enemy, Suladân was born at the time when his father and grandfather led their armies to wage war on the Humans of Middle-Earth. After his father ruled the kingdom for fifty-five years and met his demise at the hands of his sons before the Downfall of Númenór, Suladân became the second King of Harad, and commanded the Númenóreans who lived in Harad that survived Númenor’s destruction.

A year later after Númenór's fall, he led his army to lay siege on one of Sauron’s fortresses in Mordor and slew Jí Indûr, one of the nine Nazgûl. Once he confronted Sauron, he was surprised that the Dark Lord surrendered and offered Suladân the Ring of Power that belonged to Indûr. Suladân accepted due to the ring's influence and slowly became corrupted by it, making him one of the new Nazgûl. When the One Ring was cut from the hand of Sauron by Isildur Elendilion and was overthrown, Suladân and the rest of the Nazgûl vanished also from the face of the earth. He was revived after death by Sauron and summoned to Dol Guldur by his master along with the other eight. He faced off the White Council when they arrived and held off for a while after eventually being defeated by Saruman. Upon returning to Mordor, he was named Captain of Barad-Dûr, chief defender of Mordor, and a chief champion of Sauron.

## Biography

### Faithful to the Valar

Suladân was born in the year SA 3261 in the kingdom of Harad. His mother died from childbirth and was left under the care of his father, a member of the King's Men. Years after when his grandfather returned to Númenór with the Dark Lord Sauron as a hostage, Suladân was to learn from his father about the policies of the King's Men and majority to oppose the Ban of the Valar. During his tutoring sessions inside one of the the city's libraries, he was tutored by a young human man, who revealed himself to be one of the messengers who worshipped the Valar and a loyal ally to the Faithful, a faction of Númenóreans who remained friendly with the Elves and the Valar. Rather than ignoring his pleas, Suladân chose to listen and learn a lot on what the messenger told him.

His father learned of what he had been doing for the past couple of years and was sentenced to be locked away for three days while his tutor was executed under the orders of the king. He was released a few days later and was given a lesson from his father that those who chose to remain loyal to Valar and turn aside from the policies are to be arrested and executed. Angered over his mentor's death, Suladân saw in his father as a very tyrannical man and planned to usurp his rule since he feared that rebelling against the Valar for lead to certain punishment for defying the ban. As he followed what his mentor left for him, he taught many dissidents in every part of the kingdom about mortality and wisdom.

Three years before the Númenor's fall, Suladân heard from his father that he and the King's Men were now being incited to worship Melkor and sacrifice any person who were members of the Faithful due to Sauron corrupting the King's Men. Angered by this, Suladân considered that as an act of treason and insanity, and so forged a resistance to remove his father out of power and prevent any more sacrifices. The resistance was a success, in which Suladân confronted his father with his people that followed him. Rather than killing him, Suladân chose to show mercy and banished his father as punishment. With that, Suladân became the new ruling king.

### Fallen King

Following the destruction of Númenór, Suladân was deeply angered and believed that Sauron was responsible for its destruction. Now in command of his father's armies, Suladân led his people to confront Sauron and his followers. He also came across one of the nine Nazgûl Jí Indûr and his forces. Suladân slew him in combat by slicing his hand off with the Ruling Ring of Power.

Upon arriving at the fortress, the brave King called the Dark Lord out to face him. As the front doors open, he and his forces were ready to confront the Dark Lord face-to-face, but by surprise, the Dark Lord surrendered and offered the same Ring of Power that belonged to Jí Indûr. The temptation was too great, and Suladân accepted the offer and moved Sauron from the position of enemy to advisor. Believing he won, he was deceived when Sauron set him up as the king's advisor and began steadily corrupting him which granted the king immortality.

Returning home to the capital city to announce his victory to his people, Suladân fell completely under Sauron's will and would fade away to become one of the new Nazgûl to serve the dark lord forever. His rule over Harad didn't last long when his own people, including Messengers of the Valar and members of the Faithful, sought to rid Sauron and free their beloved king from the Dark Lord's power. This forced Sauron to call in an army of Haradrim warriors from different tribes to lay siege on the city.

### War of the Last Alliance

After abandoning his home and serving the Dark Lord as one of the Nine, he was reduced to doing the bidding of the very man he'd once thought he'd conquered. Eventually, Suladân and the other Nazgûl rallied together in Mordor to prepare for the upcoming war in Middle-Earth. For the remaining 121 years of the Second Age, he engaged in the struggle against the Last Alliance of Elves and Humans but, like Sauron and the other Nazgûl, the Shadow of the South passed into the shadows outside of Arda.

### War of the Ring

#### Hunt for the One Ring

During the War of the Ring in TA 3002, Suladân and the rest of the Nazgûl led by Er-Mûrazôr He travelled with the Witch-King in search of the One Ring in T.A. 3018, encountering the Company on Weathertop and losing his mount at the confrontation at the Bruinen Ford. Later, he oversaw the preparations for the Mumakil assault during the ill fated campaign against Minas Tirith. His end came after the skirmish with the Great Eagles over the Battle of Morannon, for as Indûr and the other Fell Riders flew to intercept the Hobbits at Mount Doom, they became engulfed in the destruction resulting from unmaking of the One Ring. Thus, the Shadow of the South disappeared from Ea.

## Appearances

* *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies*
* *Middle-Earth: Shadow of War*
* *The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* (First appearance)
* *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers*
* *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*