Lord of the Darkness

A title given to Melkor by Sauron during the time that Sauron was nominally a hostage in Númenor, used to seduce King Ar-Pharazôn and claim ascendancy for himself among the Númenóreans. Sauron told the King that only this Lord, the dweller in the Ancient Darkness from which the world was made, could grant the King the power and immortality he sought. Sauron claimed that Eru Ilúvatar was no more than an invention of the Valar, and that Melkor the Lord of the Darkness was the one truly owed Ar-Pharazôn's allegiance.

Ar-Pharazôn accepted Sauron's lies, and caused an immense temple to be constructed in Armenelos, dedicated to the Lord of the Darkness. Sacrifices were made to Melkor in that temple, and the White Tree that had stood in the courts of the Kings of Númenor from ancient times was burned on the altar. Now Sauron had made himself the true power in Númenor, and he persuaded Ar-Pharazôn to lead a force against the Valar in the West. From these actions came about the utter destruction of Númenor itself in the cataclysmic event known as the Downfall.