Black Númenóreans

Within Tolkien's cosmology, Númenor was a great realm of Men created within the framework of Eru Ilúvatar's design and under the stewardship of the Valar. Over centuries many Númenóreans 'ceased to worship the One God, Eru Ilúvatar, and they rebelled against the Valar.' This apostate faction sought to overturn the ordained condition of Men, culminating in the invasion of Valinor in an 'erroneous search for immortality.' The invasion precipitated the cataclysmic Downfall of Númenor and the death of most of its people; those aligned with the apostate strand (the Black Númenóreans) or their ideological descendants subsequently established tyrannies in Middle-earth in later ages.

Primary texts supplied do not provide detailed, canonical physical descriptions of the Black Númenóreans as a distinct visual type; they are human Númenóreans. Later fan and popular imagery (inspired by adaptations and creative design) commonly depicts them with dark, martial armor reminiscent of later Gondorian styles, but such portrayals are not established in the primary canonical excerpts provided.

They possess no innate supernatural powers in the supplied sources; they are mortal Men whose defining characteristics are political ambition, moral apostasy, and militarized tyranny. Their notable actions include abandoning worship of Eru and rebelling against the Valar, and organizing the invasion of Valinor driven by a desire for immortality. After Númenor's destruction, heirs of this tradition acted as oppressive political rulers in Middle-earth.