Middle-earth: The Second Age Timeline

Middle-earth: The Second Age 13

S.A. 1 Founding of the Elvish Havens With Beleriand sunk beneath the sea, the surviving Elves establish new realms. Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor, rules Lindon. Cirdan the Shipwright keeps the Grey Havens on the western shore. The Elves of Eregion establish a realm near Khazad-dum where they will collaborate with the Dwarves. Galadriel travels east and eventually settles in Lothlorien.
S.A. 32 Founding of Numenor The Valar raise the island of Numenor out of the sea as a gift to the Men who fought against Morgoth. Elros, brother of Elrond and son of Earendil, becomes the first King of Numenor, choosing mortality where Elrond chose Elvish immortality. The Numenoreans are the greatest of Men: long-lived, wise, powerful seafarers and craftsmen. Their downfall comes from the one thing they are forbidden: to sail west to the Undying Lands.
S.A. 500 – 1000 Sauron arises in Mordor Sauron, who had been Morgoth's chief servant, escaped the War of Wrath and went into hiding. In the Second Age he begins to rebuild his power, establishing the fortress of Barad-dur in Mordor. He takes the guise of Annatar (Lord of Gifts) and presents himself as a beneficent spirit, offering knowledge and craft to the Elves of Eregion. His plan: to make the Elves dependent on Rings of Power that he can ultimately control through the One Ring he secretly plans to forge.
S.A. 1200 – 1500 The Istari arrive in Middle-earth The Valar send five Maiar spirits to Middle-earth as emissaries against Sauron. They take the form of old men and are called Istari or Wizards: Gandalf (wisest of the Maiar), Saruman (master of craft and lore), Radagast (friend of birds and beasts) and two Blue Wizards who go into the east. They are forbidden to use their full power or dominate the peoples of Middle-earth. Their task is to inspire and counsel. Saruman's eventual violation of this prohibition is his downfall.
S.A. 1500 – 1590 Forging of the Rings of Power Sauron, disguised as Annatar, teaches the Elvish smiths of Eregion the craft of ring-making. Celebrimbor, grandson of Feanor and greatest smith of the age, forges the Rings of Power: nineteen in all. Three are made by Celebrimbor alone without Sauron's direct involvement (Narya, Nenya and Vilya). Sauron then secretly forges the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, pouring into it the greater part of his own power and will. 'One Ring to rule them all, one Ring to find them, one Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.'
S.A. 1600 Sauron dons the One Ring — Elves perceive the trap When Sauron puts on the One Ring, the Elvish Ring-bearers immediately perceive his intention. They take off their rings and hide them. Sauron, enraged, demands the Rings be returned. The War of the Elves and Sauron begins. Sauron destroys Eregion, kills Celebrimbor (who refuses to reveal where the Three are hidden even under torture) and captures the nine rings given to Men and the seven given to Dwarves. The Three Elvish Rings remain hidden and uncorrupted, but cannot be used while Sauron wears the One.
S.A. 1800 – 2200 The Nine Rings and the Nazgul Nine of the Rings of Power were given to great Men: kings, sorcerers and warriors. They gave these men power, glory and seemingly endless life, but gradually enslaved their wills to Sauron's. Over centuries they faded into wraiths: the Nazgul (Ringwraiths), the Nine. They are Sauron's most terrible servants, invisible to ordinary sight but visible in the spirit world, drawn always toward the One Ring. The greatest of them, the Witch-king of Angmar, becomes Sauron's captain. The Nine become the instrument through which Sauron hunts for the One Ring throughout the Third Age.
S.A. 2000 – 2500 Numenor's shadow — the Kings' Men turn dark As the centuries pass, many Numenoreans grow darker. The Faithful (those loyal to the Valar) are persecuted by the King's Men, who resent their mortality and covet Elvish immortality. The Numenoreans establish colonies in Middle-earth where their great power makes them increasingly tyrannical. When Sauron sees their power he fears it but also sees their weakness: their terror of death. He allows himself to be captured and brought to Numenor as a hostage and from within becomes the king's chief counsellor, eventually convincing him to sail to the Undying Lands by force.
S.A. 3262 Sauron captured — brought to Numenor as prisoner Ar-Pharazon, the last King of Numenor, sails to Middle-earth with an armada so overwhelming that Sauron's armies flee and Sauron himself surrenders rather than be destroyed. Ar-Pharazon brings Sauron to Numenor as a prisoner. Within three years, Sauron has become the King's closest advisor. He renames himself Lord of All, establishes the worship of Morgoth in Numenor, builds a great temple where human sacrifices are performed, and finally convinces Ar-Pharazon that immortality can be taken by force by sailing to the Undying Lands.
S.A. 3319 The Downfall of Numenor Ar-Pharazon, seduced by Sauron, sails to the Undying Lands with a great fleet. The Valar lay down their guardianship and call upon Iluvatar directly. Iluvatar opens a chasm in the sea; the fleet is swallowed. Numenor itself is overwhelmed by a great wave and sinks beneath the sea. The world is made round: the Undying Lands are removed from its circles. Sauron's body is destroyed and he never again takes a fair form. Nine Numenorean ships bearing the Faithful escape to Middle-earth, where Elendil and his sons Anarion and Isildur found the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.
S.A. 3320 Founding of Gondor and Arnor Elendil, leader of the Faithful Numenoreans who fled the Downfall, founds the kingdoms of the Dunedain in Middle-earth. He becomes High King, ruling Arnor in the north directly. His sons Anarion and Isildur rule Gondor jointly in the south, with chief cities at Minas Anor and Minas Ithil. They bring from Numenor the seven palantiri (seeing-stones), the White Tree, and the tradition of kingship that descends through long ages to Aragorn. These kingdoms are the direct ancestors of the peoples of the Third Age.
S.A. 3429 – 3441 The Last Alliance of Elves and Men Sauron attacks Gondor, captures Minas Ithil and destroys the White Tree. Gil-galad and Elendil form the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the greatest force since the War of Wrath. After a seven-year siege of Barad-dur, Sauron himself comes forth. In single combat on the slopes of Mount Doom, Gil-galad and Elendil are both slain by Sauron. But Isildur seizes the hilt-shard of his father's broken sword Narsil and cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger. Sauron's spirit flees. The Second Age ends.
S.A. 3441 Isildur keeps the One Ring — the fatal choice With Sauron defeated, Elrond and Cirdan urge Isildur to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. Isildur refuses: 'This I will have as weregild for my father, and my brother.' He takes the Ring as an heirloom of his house. The Second Age ends. The Third Age begins with the Ring kept rather than destroyed. Isildur is killed by Orcs at the Gladden Fields not long after; the Ring slips into the River Anduin, lost for 2,500 years. The error that makes the War of the Ring necessary three thousand years later begins here.