Before The Lord of the Rings, the Witch-king laid waste to a kingdom

Preceding the unfolding events of The Lord of the Rings, a pivotal chapter in Middle-earth’s history took place as the Witch-king of Angmar, commanding the Nazgûl, orchestrated the systematic destruction of Arnor, a once-mighty kingdom and the sister realm of Gondor. Rooted in the heritage of the Dúnedain, descendants of Númenor, the Kingdoms of the Dúnedain, or the Realms in Exile, came into existence in Middle-earth. Arnor, established in the northwest by Elendil, and Gondor, founded in the southeast by Elendil’s sons Isildur and Anárion, were originally unified, with the King of Arnor holding a position of paramount authority, referred to as the High King, over both realms.

Despite their historical interconnectedness, the Witch-king’s cunning strategies exploited internal divisions within Arnor, leading to its ultimate demise. A sagacious tactician like his master Sauron, the Witch-king used political manipulation and alliances to conquer the territories of Arnor one by one. The Hillmen of Rhudaur, a non-Dúnedain culture, joined forces with the Witch-king, creating a formidable alliance that overthrew the King of Rhudaur and marked the beginning of Arnor’s unraveling.

Arnor, once a unified realm, saw the emergence of internal conflicts and fractures after the death of King Eärendur. In the year T.A. 861, the division of Arnor into three new kingdoms—Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur—further weakened its ability to resist the impending threat. The Witch-king’s manipulative influence played a pivotal role in widening the divide between these newly formed realms.

Capitalizing on the disunity among the three kingdoms, the Witch-king executed a series of strategic moves. By first targeting Rhudaur, the kingdom with the weakest hold, he orchestrated the overthrow of its king through alliances with the Hillmen. This non-Dúnedain culture, described by Tolkien as sorcerers, aligned with the Witch-king, likely enticed by promises of dark magical knowledge. The political upheaval orchestrated by the Witch-king swiftly handed him control over a significant portion of Arnor, setting the stage for further conquests.

The subsequent assault on Cardolan saw the Witch-king leveraging his amassed forces, including those now sworn to him from Rhudaur. The King of Arthedain, seeking to reunite Arnor, came to Cardolan’s aid, joined by Elves of Lindon from the western coast. The pivotal Battle of Weathertop in T.A. 1409 witnessed the Witch-king’s relentless advance. Despite the Dúnedain’s creation of enchanted Barrow-blades designed to weaken the Nazgûl, the Witch-king triumphed, capturing Weathertop and leaving destruction in his wake. The Palantír, crucial to the power dynamics within Arnor, eluded the Witch-king, as the Dúnedain had relocated it to Arthedain.

The surviving Dúnedain of Cardolan, along with reinforcements from the Elves of Rivendell, valiantly resisted the Witch-king’s forces. The ensuing conflict became a struggle not only against the Witch-king’s military might but also the looming threat of the Great Plague. In T.A. 1636, the plague, potentially orchestrated by Sauron himself, devastated Arnor, claiming the lives of the Dúnedain in the Barrow-downs. The Witch-king, seizing the opportunity, dispatched evil phantoms known as wights to ensure that the region remained beyond the Dúnedain’s reclaim.

The Witch-king’s relentless campaign saw the ultimate fall of Arnor with the conquest of Arthedain. While Tolkien provided scant details about this phase, it indicated the devastating success of the Witch-king’s forces. Arthedain sought aid from Gondor, but none arrived in time. In T.A. 1974, the capital city of Fornost fell, officially marking the fall of Arnor. The Palantír, carried by the last King of Arthedain, ultimately drowned in the far north, eluding the Witch-king’s grasp.

Despite the fall of Arnor, Gondor responded to the call for vengeance against the Witch-king. In T.A. 1975, an alliance comprising Gondor, Rivendell, Lindon, and remnants of Arnor confronted the Witch-king at Fornost. Overconfident and underestimating the strength of Gondor’s forces, the Witch-king suffered a decisive defeat. Driven out of Arthedain, his forces annihilated, and his kingdom of Angmar destroyed, the Witch-king managed to escape.

The surviving Dúnedain, including the ancestors of Aragorn, found themselves as wandering Rangers, their once-proud kingdom lost to history. Yet, amidst the devastation, the Shire, part of Arthedain, survived untouched due to its remoteness and the peaceful nature of its hobbit inhabitants. Unbeknownst to the Witch-king, a hobbit from the Shire would later play a crucial role in the defeat of Sauron, paving the way for the eventual restoration of Arnor.

In the aftermath of the War of the Ring, Aragorn, claiming his birthright as the High King of Arnor, fulfilled the vision of reunification with Gondor. The surviving Dúnedain, their might rekindled, contributed significantly to this triumph over adversity. Thus, the poignant tale of Arnor, marked by the Witch-king’s destructive influence and the resilience of its people, found a renewed sense of glory as Tolkien envisioned in The Lord of the Rings.

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Éowyn, Théoden, Éomer, Denethor, Treebeard