Dark Lord Sauron
06-25-2004, 12:31 AM
It brings great joy to my heart to read about the accomplishments of my servant, the Witch-King of Angmar. This man led his armies to victory and ruined the kingdom of the heirs of that rat Isildur. The fact that he lost it all within a period of one year nonwithstanding.
However, I do have some questions concerning the background of this region. It is well known that Arnor was the Northern Kingdom, and together with Lindon, ruled much of the region. In 861, the Kingdom was split among three sons. Thus the realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhuduar were created. Arthedain was considered the greatest of these realms, as the kings of that state were of closest relation to Isildur. This region lived in relative peace until the reign of the sixth king of Arthedain, Malvegil. At this point my great servant, the Lord of the Nazgul, reappeared and created the Kingdom of Angmar to serve as a noble alternative to the pathetic states of the North in III 1300. Rhuduar, sensing the greatness of this Kingdom, forged a military alliance with the witch-king. War between Athedain and the alliance of Angmar and Rhuduar began during the reign of the seventh Athedainian king, Argeleb I. Arveleg I, the eighth king of Arthedain, who took the throne upon the slaugther of his father, forged an alliance with Cardolan and Lindon. After fifty-three years, however, the Witch-King destroyed the tower of Amon Sul and killed Arveleg I in the assault. The ninth king, Araphor, saw the near collapse of his kingdom when the Lord of the Nazgul laid siege to the capital of Fornost. However, through extreme luck, he was beat back and status quo was declared. However, Rhuduar was now a vassal of Angmar, and Cardolan was either heavily damaged or destroyed.
Open war did not begin again until the reign of the twelth king, Arveleg II. The thirteenth king, Araval, tried to save his kingdom through both diplomatic and military efforts. Araphant, the forteenth king, realized that Arthedain could not survive in its present condition. He thus created a military alliance with Gondor in the hopes of military aid. However, Gondor was preoccupied with the Wainrider invasion and could not supply much help. Araphant had his son Arvedui make a claim on the throne of Gondor when the Gondorian king had died childless, but this effort was blocked by the Steward. Arvedui himself became the fifteenth king of Arthedain. Under his rule, the Witch King finally completed the destruction of Arthedain. In III 1974, the forces of Angmar sacked Fornost. Arvedui fled to the north but perished. His son, Aranarth, became ruler of the people of Arthedain, but chose instead the title of Chieftain, rather than King, as Arthedain was destroyed. The following year, the forces of Gondor destroyed Angmar.
This is where my questions begin. To start out with, I would like to know just how much of the north did the Chieftain rule over after III 1975. Did he rule the former lands of Arthedain? Cardolan? Rhuduar? Angmar? If he did rule much of these lands, then why did he not simply reclaim the title of king? Was Cardolan destroyed in the mid III 1300s, or was it simply so heavily damaged by invasion that it never recovered and spent most of the next few centuries as a hollow shell of its former self? From the Encyclopedia of Arda I only derived "...the Dúnedain of Cardolan were all but extinct". This means that the future of Cardolan depended on the percentage of Dunedain that had lived in Cardolan. Was the ruling family simply wiped out, and the peasant men who had lived there beforehand return to tribal rule? Did Arthedain claim rule over Cardolan after its misfortune? If Arthedain, Cardolan, Rhuduar, and/or Angmar were NOT reclaimed by the Chieftain, what happened to the lands? The Simarillion hints that "at length naught was left of them but a strange people wandering secretly in the wild, and other men knew not their homes nor the purpose of their journeys, and save in Imladris, in the house of Elrond, their ancestry was forgotten". Does this mean that the men who inhabited these lands but weren't Dunedain returned to their primitive ways?
If you can answer any or all of these questions, I would appreciate it.
However, I do have some questions concerning the background of this region. It is well known that Arnor was the Northern Kingdom, and together with Lindon, ruled much of the region. In 861, the Kingdom was split among three sons. Thus the realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhuduar were created. Arthedain was considered the greatest of these realms, as the kings of that state were of closest relation to Isildur. This region lived in relative peace until the reign of the sixth king of Arthedain, Malvegil. At this point my great servant, the Lord of the Nazgul, reappeared and created the Kingdom of Angmar to serve as a noble alternative to the pathetic states of the North in III 1300. Rhuduar, sensing the greatness of this Kingdom, forged a military alliance with the witch-king. War between Athedain and the alliance of Angmar and Rhuduar began during the reign of the seventh Athedainian king, Argeleb I. Arveleg I, the eighth king of Arthedain, who took the throne upon the slaugther of his father, forged an alliance with Cardolan and Lindon. After fifty-three years, however, the Witch-King destroyed the tower of Amon Sul and killed Arveleg I in the assault. The ninth king, Araphor, saw the near collapse of his kingdom when the Lord of the Nazgul laid siege to the capital of Fornost. However, through extreme luck, he was beat back and status quo was declared. However, Rhuduar was now a vassal of Angmar, and Cardolan was either heavily damaged or destroyed.
Open war did not begin again until the reign of the twelth king, Arveleg II. The thirteenth king, Araval, tried to save his kingdom through both diplomatic and military efforts. Araphant, the forteenth king, realized that Arthedain could not survive in its present condition. He thus created a military alliance with Gondor in the hopes of military aid. However, Gondor was preoccupied with the Wainrider invasion and could not supply much help. Araphant had his son Arvedui make a claim on the throne of Gondor when the Gondorian king had died childless, but this effort was blocked by the Steward. Arvedui himself became the fifteenth king of Arthedain. Under his rule, the Witch King finally completed the destruction of Arthedain. In III 1974, the forces of Angmar sacked Fornost. Arvedui fled to the north but perished. His son, Aranarth, became ruler of the people of Arthedain, but chose instead the title of Chieftain, rather than King, as Arthedain was destroyed. The following year, the forces of Gondor destroyed Angmar.
This is where my questions begin. To start out with, I would like to know just how much of the north did the Chieftain rule over after III 1975. Did he rule the former lands of Arthedain? Cardolan? Rhuduar? Angmar? If he did rule much of these lands, then why did he not simply reclaim the title of king? Was Cardolan destroyed in the mid III 1300s, or was it simply so heavily damaged by invasion that it never recovered and spent most of the next few centuries as a hollow shell of its former self? From the Encyclopedia of Arda I only derived "...the Dúnedain of Cardolan were all but extinct". This means that the future of Cardolan depended on the percentage of Dunedain that had lived in Cardolan. Was the ruling family simply wiped out, and the peasant men who had lived there beforehand return to tribal rule? Did Arthedain claim rule over Cardolan after its misfortune? If Arthedain, Cardolan, Rhuduar, and/or Angmar were NOT reclaimed by the Chieftain, what happened to the lands? The Simarillion hints that "at length naught was left of them but a strange people wandering secretly in the wild, and other men knew not their homes nor the purpose of their journeys, and save in Imladris, in the house of Elrond, their ancestry was forgotten". Does this mean that the men who inhabited these lands but weren't Dunedain returned to their primitive ways?
If you can answer any or all of these questions, I would appreciate it.