Arnor

Arnor comprised a lot of Eriador from the Gulf of Lune to the river Greyflood and river Loudwater. The men of Arnor lived in numerous places though much of the population was based around Arthedain. The Dunedain primarily dwelt in the capital city Annuminas and other cities including Fornost. They also lived along the Gulf of Lune and Baranduin.​

When Arnor was not founded, there was a Numenorean population dwelling here. It was formed due to the slow immigration under the kings Tar-Aldarion and Tar-Meneldur. The early colonists started breeding with the Eriador population. The region was more favored over the southern areas of Gondor as the Elves of Lindon had lived there under the king Gil-galad. On the other hand, the King’s men chose the south for settlement. As a result, Elendil came to a region with people who were friends with the Elves and much of the knowledge of the Elder Days still existed. Elendil, along with his men, reached Eriador by sailing through the river Lune. They were supported by the King of Noldor Gil-galad. Elendil founded Arnor in the Second Age 3320 and established the city of Annuminas as the capital. His sons went on the find the realm of Gondor. Both these kingdoms were known as the Realms in Exile [1].​

Arnor had allied with Gil-galad at the end of the Second Age in an alliance opposing Sauron. They were called the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and they defeated Sauron’s forces in the War of the Last Alliance with the help of armies of Gondor. The war lasted for years and Elendil and his son were killed in the battle. Arnor went through a lot of suffering in the war and was heavily destroyed. Arnor’s second king Isildur was killed by Orcs in the Third Age 2 in a disastrous battle. His three sons were also killed and the youngest son Valandil became the king. Arnor had suffered a huge loss of manpower in this war and could never recover. As Valandir and his successors did not claim the seat of Gondor, the kingdom was split. Arnor’s king was known by the title High King while the ruler of Gondor was simply ‘king’.​

By 861 of the Third Age, Fornost Erain had replaced the capital of Arnor, Annuminas which became depopulated and less important and was eventually abandoned. When the tenth king Earendur died in 861, Arnor suffered because of the civil war between his sons. The kingdom got divided into parts with the eldest son Amlaith ruled over Arthedain and the other two founded new kingdoms of Rhudaur and Cardolan. Arnor was founded again by king Argeleb I of Arthedain but it was destroyed later. The wars destroyed the people of Arnor but the Hobbits, men in the Bree, and other villages survived and the Dunedain of Arnor built new homes in Rivendell [2].​

Arnor was again founded by Aragorn II as a part of the Reunited Kingdom and Annuminas again became its capital city. He got married to Erwen, the Elven princess. After the fall of Sauron, Arnor was safe for men and soon became densely populated though it had less population than Gondor. This reunited kingdom existed into the Fourth Age and Eldarion succeeded his father to the throne.​

Arnor was a name used for the ‘Northern Kingdom’. In Sindarin, it was called Arannor resembling the Quenya name Arandore. The meaning is ‘Land of the King’ coming from Ara (kingly) and dor (land).​

Films by Peter Jackson don’t reveal much about Arnor and Gondor. They also don’t have any mention of Arnor. A reference is made in a scene from the Extended Edition of ‘The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers’ where Aragorn tells Eowyn that his actual age is 87 years. He also admits that he is one of the Dunedain and not many people are left as the northern kingdom got destroyed long back.​