Did Sauron use the One while in Numenor?
Yes, Sauron willingly went as prisoner to Numenor and took the One Ring with him. He was most delighted to work his evil in Numenor under the guise of a penitent; and he used the Ring to dominate the mind of Ar-Pharazon and to sway the people of Numenor into the worship of Morgoth. His subtle persuasions and twisted whisperings into the ear of Ar-Pharazon of claiming the immortal land of Valinor as his own resulted in the Rebellion of Numenor. But even Sauron was confounded by the magnitude of response to this evil act: the Valar called upon the Creator, Iluvatar, and he opened the seas and sank Numenor: “The world was broken, and the land was swallowed up, and the seas rose over it, and Sauron himself went down into the abyss. But his spirit arose and fled back on a dark wind to Middle-earth, seeking a home.” [26] Some have questioned or objected to the idea that if Sauron was destroyed and reduced to a spirit then how was he able to carry off the Ring back to Mordor. One of his lette
