The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has introduced a Dark Elf named Adar, whose history stretches back centuries. Though Adar was never a canon character in Tolkien’s works, he represents a kind of Elf that the author discussed in his various notes and posthumously published works. Tolkien described how some of the early Elves who woke up or were born in Middle-earth were captured and tormented by the Dark Lord Morgoth, thus becoming something else entirely. It was through these Dark Elves that Orcs were born, and this has been a significant detail in The Rings of Power.

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Adar’s existence in Rings of Power is somewhat controversial. Tolkien never definitively came to the conclusion that Morgoth’s meddling with the Elves led to the creation of Orcs since this left a lot of uncomfortable questions regarding the monsters’ morality. Still, Prime Video has leaned into the concepts Tolkien entertained with this version of the Orcs origin story. By bringing in the first named proto-Orc in the Lord of the Rings franchise, Rings of Power has more room to explore the impact of Morgoth and Sauron’s evil on Middle-earth—but how does Adar fit in the timeline? 

Adar Is Approximately 6,401 Years Old In The Rings Of Power

But He Could Be Up To 70,331 Years Old

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There’s much to unpack when calculating Adar’s age, and none is very straightforward. First, it’s essential to understand the origin of the Elves. Sometimes called the Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves were created by the god of Lord of the Rings and placed in a region of Middle-earth called Cuiviénen in a deep slumber. They woke up in 1050 in the Years of the Trees (YT), before the First Age of Middle-earth. Around this time, Morgoth began snatching the newly awoken Elves and turning them into his own Dark monsters.

Therefore, we can place Adar’s birth year somewhere around YT 1050. The Years of the Trees ended in YT 1500, but this period of the timeline is counted in Valian years, which are much longer than solar years. Tolkien initially said that a Valian year was equal to 9.582 solar years, meaning Adar was about 4,312 years old at the end of the Years of the Trees. However, the author later said that a Valian year equaled 144 solar years, making Adar 64,800 years old at the end of the Years of the Trees.

Though Tolkien later said that a Valian year equals 144 solar years, he never reconstructed his timeline to match this, so there are many discrepancies. For this reason, the 9.582 rate is often considered canon, but this is still a topic of heavy debate and usually a matter of preference.

After the Years of the Trees came the First Age, which is, thankfully, counted in solar years. This segment of the timeline adds another 590 years to Adar’s life. Then comes the Second Age, when Rings of Power is set. Sauron and Celebrimbor forged the titular Rings in SA 1500, meaning that Adar is 6,401 years old based on the 9.582 Valian-year exchange rate and 66,890 years old if a Valian year is 144 years.

Of course, the timeline in Rings of Power also complicates these calculations since Prime Video greatly condenses the timeline. Though the Rings of Power were forged in SA 1500, Isildur and Elendil didn’t come to Middle-earth until closer to the end of the Second Age, near SA 3319. So, calculating Adar’s age during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men may be more accurate. As of SA 3441, Adar would be between 9,812 and 70,331.

How Old Is Adar Compared To The Rings Of Power’s Other Characters?

Is Anyone As Old Or Older Than Adar?

Adar being born (or woken up) in Cuiviénen makes him older than nearly all the Elf characters in Rings of Power. After Morgoth began snatching up Elves, the Valar invited them to migrate to Valinor, and most of them did. It was here that characters like Galadriel and Celebrimbor were born. Then, centuries later, the Noldor Elves left Valinor and returned to Middle-earth. Centuries after this is when Gil-galad and Elrond were born. All these immortal characters are old, but their stories don’t stretch as far back as Cuiviénen.

The only Elf in Rings of Power who would be about as old as Adar is Cirdan, who was also born in Cuiviénen before the first Great Journey to Valinor.

The only Elf in Rings of Power who would be about as old as Adar is Cirdan, who was also born in Cuiviénen before the first Great Journey to Valinor. Then, some characters would be far older than Adar, like Sauron and the Stranger. Both are technically beings called Maiar, who Eru Ilúvatar created at the very inception of the universe. They would be anywhere between 70,000 and 140,000 years old, depending on how the timeline is calculated. Adar doesn’t quite compare, but in the grand scheme of things, suffice it to say that they are all just very, very old.