[Corsair_Caruso]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Ar-Pharazôn had no child. He had married Míriel very much against her will, so this is not surprising. With the people in such a state, and no direct heir, the most likely scenario to me seems to be civil war: a war which may have had an outcome not unlike the Great Armament, with the power of Númenor being broken. In my opinion, this was the outcome Sauron desired in any event. See this thread: http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?p=686492 for my arguments regarding the notion that Sauron wished to destroy the Númenoreans (because they were dangerous, because he could never truly be their King or God, and because he hated them) rather than rule or even wield them, or at least more than the small remnant of them which served him in the Third Age.

So, first, you're absolutely right that the loveless marriage of Ar-Pharazon and Tar-Miriel resulted in no children; in fact, I do believe that Tar-Palantir made a prophecy that when the Tree of Numenor died, so too would the line of kings. The point is, when Ar-Pharazon is killed, Tar-Miriel retains the Sceptre, as it was originally hers in her own right. That's Sauron's first obstacle.

One fairly easily conquered, in my opinion. Sauron was, if you remember, called a god himself by some of the Numenoreans, and he had turned many of them to his will, regardless of whether they worshiped him alongside Melkor or not. I have no doubt that he could have convinced the Council of the Sceptre that Miriel had gone mad, and that she required a regency or a steward to exercise power on her behalf. Sauron as Steward is not entirely out of the question, in my opinion, with the Council advising, but another royal being declared regent to rule in Miriel's place until she dies and then taking the throne himself is also not out of the question. Of course, said Prince Regent would want the advice of the person closest to the late king, for a smooth transition.

I, personally, believe that Sauron would have been content with the corruption of and subjugation of Numenor to his will, he simply chose another path. He did not anticipate the absolute annihilation of the island and all its people as occurred in the original timeline, but rather the crippling of its military and ruling class. He very well might have rebuilt it under his banner, had Eru not intervened. The professor suggested something similar.

But though Sauron's whole true motive was the destruction of the Numenoreans, this was a particular matter of revenge upon Ar-Pharazon, for humiliation. Sauron (unlike Morgoth) would have been content for the Numenoreans to exist, as his own subjects, and indeed he used a great many of them that he corrupted to his allegiance. (Morgoth's Ring: Myths Transformed)

This course of events accomplishes Sauron's objective, revenge upon the king who humiliated him and foiled his plans in Middle-earth, as well as corrupting his legacy and taking the very military machine that defeated him as his own. Does it require a modification of Sauron's personality and goals, slightly? Yes, but that's what this thread is all about: not what did happen, but what might have happened had things been different?

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

As someone pointed out in an attempt to comfort me over poor Finrod getting killed for the sake of Beren, he was doomed anyway, the males of that kin tend to come to sticky or smoky ends. AmazingGilgalad lasted an wholecage and no surprise he didn't have children. Argon would have been boiled, broiled, mashed in some other battle.

Very likely. I just wonder if he would have survived long enough to have a tenure as High-King of the Noldor in Exile. King Argon might have survived long enough to see the Second Age, with Gil-galad as a possible heir, or he might not. The problem is, such an early POD has so many butterflies that anything could have followed. We know so little about Argon that it's impossible to predict how his presence would have effected subsequent battles and events, for better or worse.