Arnor- Designed For Failure?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

In terms of the "ease" of Angmar's conquest, however, might it also be a factor in the failure of Arnor that it is where Sauron struck hardest first? Gondor endured war and strife through the Third Age as well, of course, and events like the Wainrider wars and the Balchoth invasion were orchestrated by Sauron, but they were largely indirect.

There seems to be a manpower issue as well. Arnor seems not to have had the population from which to draw soldiers that Gondor displayed. What would be the reason for that? Of course, the loss of Isildur and his knights at the Gladden Fields was a blow, but we're only talking a couple of hundred people. The infighting between the mini-kingdoms would split resources, certainly, but then again Gondor endured the Kin-strife, in which "much of the best blood in Gondor was shed".
Gondor had embraced the Northmen as allies, and indeed as marriage material. If Arnor had found some "wild" Men to bring into their fold, I wonder if that could have helped them.

I still wondered, too, why Gondor got an indestructible tower and similar wall, while Arnor lost out. An answer presents itself now, that in the South was where the obvious threat was nearer. Mordor was the main concern, so if you have only a certain amount of a strong building material, you put it in Gondor.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Arnor seems not to have had the population from which to draw soldiers that Gondor displayed. What would be the reason for that?

Arnor had become divided by 861 & Gondor did not have it's Kin-strife until 571 years later in 1432. I do not know the specifics of the populations of each realm. Gondor has at times taken into its ranks other Men, namely their Edain relatives in the North. During the reign of the 16th King, Atanatar ll, who lived for 249 years in luxury, Gondor was beginning to go into it's long, slow decline. The signs of the decline was the level of reproduction rates of the Dúnedain which began even before Atanatar:

"the signs of decay had then already appeared; for the high men of the South married late, and their children were few. The first childless king was Falastur, and the second Narmacil l, the son of Atanatar Alcarin." [Appendix A., Gondor and the heirs of Anárion]

Narmacil lived 245 years and Falastur lived for 259 years. I suppose they couldn't find the time to make it happens in all those years. I mean even as old men I'd think they could still have kids. Atanatar was descended from the nephew of Falastur. It seems to me that these guys were pretty much out and about a lot, on adventures, fighting and exploring, like the 6th King of Númenor who had only one kid and lived for 398 years. The last king of Gondor of Anárion's line was around 122 when he perished and he had no children at all, not even a wife "he would take no wife, for his only pleasure was in fighting". He maybe had 80 years left to him at most.

In any case, in either kingdom, Arnor or of Gondor, the Dúnedain were few. "All told the Dúnedain were thus from the beginning far fewer in number than the lesser men among whom they dwelt and whom they ruled, being lords of long life and great power and wisdom." [Appendix F] So clearly they must have made use of other men. Rómendacil took Northmen into his armies, his son married a Northwoman and their son became king of Gondor and replenished it's people by bringing the Northmen into their fold.

Arnor:

- Seperated into 3 kingdoms at odds with each other, although Cardolan did support Arthedain against Angmar.

Gondor:

- Remained one kingdom and had a Kin-strife "where many of the great had been slain".

- Known to have replenished their population with Northmen, even to some degree many houses of the Dúnedain, including the King's, mixed with them.

Both kingdoms were fighting for a long time, either among themselves or with their enemies. Gondor dealt with it better and even expanded its territories. There is some information on where Gondor may have drawn in others for manpower, but where Arnor? They had the aid of Hobbits and Elves in some of their wars, but what of inclusion of a people into their realms? There were Hillmen in Rhudaur.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I still wondered, too, why Gondor got an indestructible tower and similar wall, while Arnor lost out.

It may also be that these structures were fashioned from geologic features (as Fonstad suggests in "The Atlas of Middle Earth"), perhaps the remnants of a basaltic flow which the Numenoreans simply worked and carved, rather than "built" from scratch.

"Gondor" does, after all, mean (literally) "Stone-Land" and so would be more likely to have such features to be used and shaped than Eriador (where Arnor was established).