Where The Rings Of Power Fits Into The Middle-earth Timeline

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores a different point in Middle-earth history than past screen adaptations of Tolkien’s work. While Frodo’s story in The Lord of the Rings is at the foundation of the overall franchise, it is set at the tail end of a timeline over 60,000 years long. The Rings of Power is also set in this timeline, but several thousand years before the One Ring ever fell into the hands of Hobbits. Understanding precisely how all this fits together gets a little more complicated since Prime Video has made some changes to Tolkien’s Middle-earth timeline.

The events of The Rings of Power are based on the various works that Tolkien constructed to outline the lore of The Lord of the Rings. This includes the appendices of The Return of the King, as well as posthumously published books like The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth. The stories within begin at the very beginning of time and the creation of the universe and span all the way through tens of thousands of years, through the First, Second, and Third Ages of Middle-earth. Prime Video’s The Rings of Power is set somewhere in the middle of all this.

The Rings Of Power Is Set During The Second Age Of Middle-earth

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The Rings of Power is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, a period in Tolkien’s timeline that spanned 3,441 years. It followed the First Age, an approximately 6,000-year period, and preceded the Third Age, a 3,021-year period. Since Prime Video’s series is predominantly about Sauron’s Rings of Power, and these were created in the year SA 1500, this is approximately when The Rings of Power season 1 and season 2 are set. This means the events of the series take place about 7,500 years after the start of the First Age and 4,959 years before Frodo leaves the Shire in The Lord of the Rings.

The Rings Of Power Condenses Tolkien’s Middle-earth Timeline

While Sauron made his Rings of Power in SA 1500, the timeline for Rings of Power is a little more complicated than just this. For example, Isildur, the future king of Gondor, isn’t born until SA 3209, over a thousand years after Sauron’s deception at Eregion. Prime Video condensed the timeline, making Isildur a young man when Sauron forges the Rings of Power in season 2. This was necessary because it would have been difficult to cover the stories of the mortals and immortals of Middle-earth at the same time.

Rings of Power has also done things out of order. Sauron’s story is the foundation of the series, and Rings of Power season 1 covered his actions between about SA 50 and SA 1500. However, Pharazôn taking power and the downfall of Numenor didn’t happen until around SA 3261 and SA 3319, both events that have been teased to be on the way in Rings of Power.

How Far Into Middle-earth’s Timeline The Rings Of Power’s Story Can Last

Future seasons of Rings of Power are sure to dive into the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which forms in SA 3430, as well as the Battle of Dagorlad, which is when Sauron is destroyed and the One Ring claimed by Isildur. This will likely happen sometime near the end of the Prime Video series, but it’s certainly possible that Rings of Power will take things forward into the Third Age of Middle-earth.

The Third Age kicks off right after Sauron’s downfall, and this period in Middle-earth’s timeline sees a lot of important development for the characters of The Rings of Power. Isildur becomes king of Gondor, Elrond marries Celebrian (Galadriel’s daughter), and Gandalf the Gray makes his official arrival in Middle-earth (though Rings of Power has moved that up with the Stranger). It’s certainly possible that Rings of Power will carry on into this period, exploring Isildur’s decline to the One Ring and the dwindling of Sauron’s remaining Rings of Power in Middle-earth. Only time will tell.