Araphant
Mankind
> Kings
> Kings
of Arthedain > Araphant
At the time Araphant inherited his kingdom from his
father Araval,
Arthedain was already in desperate straits. The Witch-king of Angmar
had been attacking the northern lands for nearly five hundred years,
and Arthedain's resistance was beginning to fail.
The one hope that Araphant had left was to renew the
ancient bond with
the South-kingdom of Gondor, which was at that time suffering losses
itself at the hands of the Wainriders. He forged an alliance with King
Ondoher of Gondor, and reinforced it with the wedding of his son
Arvedui to Ondoher's daughter Firiel. Araphant's foresight failed to
bring help to his kingdom, though, since Gondor itself was under
sustained attack and could send no troops to his aid.
Four years after the alliance was made, Ondoher fell
in battle with the
Wainriders, and the South-kingdom was left Kingless. Araphant's heir
Arvedui made a claim to the Kingship of Gondor, which would have
reunited the two Kingdoms, but Steward Pelendur moved the Gondorians to
reject it.
Reference: The Return of the King