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Ruin · Eriador

Annúminas

The ruined first capital of Arnor on the southern shore of Lake Evendim

View on map Eriador
Appears in
Appendices, The Silmarillion
Region
Eriador
Annúminas on the map of Middle-earth

Annúminas was built where the Baranduin leaves Lake Evendim, in the hill country north of what later became the Shire. The name means Tower of the West. Elendil made it the chief city of Arnor when he founded the North-kingdom at the end of the Second Age, and one of the seven palantíri brought from Númenor was kept there.

The city outlived its population. Arnor's numbers fell steadily through the early Third Age, and the kings moved their seat north-east to Fornost on the North Downs while Annúminas fell empty. When the kingdom was divided in TA 861 the ruin was already well advanced, and the Annúminas Stone had been taken to Fornost. That palantír went down with King Arvedui in the Icebay of Forochel in TA 1975, in the year the North-kingdom ended.

The heirlooms survived when the city did not. The Sceptre of Annúminas, the chief emblem of the kings of Arnor and older than the crown of Gondor, was kept at Rivendell until Elrond gave it to Aragorn at his wedding. As King Elessar, Aragorn rebuilt Annúminas and used it as his northern residence, and in SR 1436 he came north and stayed by Lake Evendim, sending word to the hobbits to meet him at the Brandywine Bridge.

Events at this place

  1. SA 3320 · The Silmarillion

    Elendil founds the city

    Annúminas was made the seat of the North-kingdom beside Lake Evendim, and one of the palantíri of Númenor was set there.

  2. TA 861 · Appendices

    The kings leave for Fornost

    As the Dúnedain of Arnor dwindled the city was deserted, and the royal seat and its Stone moved to Fornost before the kingdom split in three.

  3. FoA 1 · Appendices

    Elessar rebuilds Annúminas

    Aragorn restored the ruined city as the northern seat of the Reunited Kingdom and stayed there on his journeys north.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Annúminas on the Middle-earth map?

North of the Shire, on the southern shore of Lake Evendim where the river Brandywine flows out of the lake.

Why was Annúminas abandoned?

The Dúnedain of the North dwindled in numbers. The kings moved to Fornost on the North Downs and the old capital was left to fall into ruin.

Was Annúminas ever rebuilt?

Yes. King Elessar restored it in the Fourth Age and used it as his residence in the North-kingdom.