Númenor was J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional island kingdom that sank beneath the sea.
In Tolkien’s mythology, Númenor was raised from the sea for the Edain, the humans who had aided the Elves during the wars of the First Age. Its people became powerful seafarers, but their history ended in catastrophe after pride, fear of death, and rebellion against the Valar led to the island’s destruction.
The drowning of Númenor is one of the central events in Tolkien’s deeper legendarium. Survivors, including Elendil and his sons, reached Middle-earth and established kingdoms there, including Arnor and Gondor.
Númenor is sometimes confused with Atlantis because both stories involve a civilization destroyed by the sea. Tolkien acknowledged that the tale had an Atlantis-like quality, but Númenor has its own names, history, theology, and place in Middle-earth.