Hyarmendacil I was the Sun King of Gondor. Like Louis the 14th. Although his success was largely built off of his predecessors, he helped to build a realm on par with old Numenor. Complete gigachad.

Romandecil is an excellent choice.  Less an expansionist than someone consolidating the kingdom's position through alliances and building in buffering zones between Gondor and its enemies.

I'm just gonna say it now. I feel bad for that guy who only ruled Gondor as King for 2 years, and those two years just so happened to be during the Great Plague, 2 of the worst years in the entirety of Gondor's history. King Telemnar and all of his descendants died because of the disease. RIP.

1:05 You know that making Elessar's and my bro Eldarion's claim as a separate entity is an insult to the Telcontars!

"“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” Jean Luc Picard"

I think Picard really nails it in one of his best quotes. You can do everything in your power to raise a child to be the best they can be, there's no guarantee that it won't completely backfire and they will end up becoming entire different or even a polar opposite of how they where raised. On the flipside, there's tons of examples of people having really crappy parents or even people having to raise themselves, going on to succeed despite poor/absent parents. For the most part, parents try their best but make errors due to inheriting flaws and defects from their parents (generational trauma is a big culprit behind stuff like this)..

Romendacil II is my favorite he worked for so long as regent until finally becoming king, keeping the realm together in the presence of kings that had little care for governing Gondor.

Very Tolkienesque conclusion on your choice of winner, out of the three. Not the greatest conqueror, but a forward thinking king who plants the seeds of great alliances.

Dude just canceled out all my picks in the first minute 😂 now I have to finish the video to know who he picks.

Excellent choices, I agree that they're the best.

Earnur was of course a terrible king for THAT ONE DECISION, but he was still a great warrior and leader who did a great job of wiping out the armies of Angmar, if a bit too late.

He would've done great as a general instead of taking up the throne, I think.

THANK YOU for disqualifying those 4 and making this an interesting video, not fan gushing. Anyway, something similar for the Stewards would be interesting.  Or among the Valar.  Or the Maiar (which would probably be Gandalf vs Melian, but you also have Eonwe and Arien and Uinen).

I think Aragorn and Elendil could/should have technically eligible, but I absolutely respect the decision to omit them because that would have made the question less interesting.

Tarannon really does deserve to be on this list. While his efforts in harad would dry up in later times his move west was brilliant. It would lay the foundations for the vassals who would provide some of gondor's best auxiliary troops and likely fuel the fleets. All while being safe from direct attack by east or south.

Oh I agree with you’re pick of Romendacil 2, as he arrested the beginning of gondor’s decline and put it in a sounder and stronger position in terms of military might and powerful Allies to defend its vast territories. A position that would have continued for several centuries if not for the disastrous kin strife civil war.

Though all the ship builder kings deserve honourable mentions for expanding Gondor to its greatest territorial expanse as well as seal their enemies mortal blues to leave them destroyed or severely crippled from e many generations and not a threat.

Earnil II is the best king of Gondor because he gave almost a century of political stability, kept Gondor's enemies at bay and saved the day literally after the death of Ondoher and his heirs. Without Earnil II Gondor would have been defeated- with Earnil II he gave that declining kingdom a lot more time to delay the inevitable defeat and this ensured that it still existed in the time of Bilbo and Frodo and Aragorn.

This really could be a two second video: "Aragorn, son of Arathorn."

Hell yeah, guessed it was gonna be Romendacil II

I've spent a good couple hours going through these kings, and they sure are an exciting bunch.

Also, I think it'd be cool if you explored more alternative histories of middle earth. Ideas such as, what if Borondir had failed to make his ride, what if the Valar never sent the Ishtari/Wizards to middle earth, what if Earendil failed to make his voyage, what if the Elves won the Battle of Innumerable Tears, etc. You could also explore scenarios, such as, How Sauron could have won, How Saruman could have won, and How Arnor could have survived, etc. Lots of options to explore Middle Earth.

Difficult to say. Hyarmendacil I was undoubtedly the most impressive conqueror of them, but his immense territory annexations and constant wars and travels left the kingdom overstrained militarily and economically; Equally perniciously, he neglected to properly instruct his son in the royal ways, which caused a lot of trouble in later years. Romendacil II was probably the most versatile and remarkable in the sense of the sheer variety of his abilities - military captain, administrator, builder, scholar - and equally great in all of them. Tarondor also is a good candidate; The the longest reigning Gondorian monarch at 162 years of reign, he inherited a kingdom that had been devastated by a Great Plague and a southron invasion, and managed to largely heal its worst effects, leaving behind a strong realm to his son and heir.

Could you do a video like this for the kings of Rohan?