Gandalf is certainly older. Gandalf is one of the Maiar, and the Maiar were created before the World was created. Elrond is called “Elrond Half-elven” because one parent was elf and the other human. He wasn't born until after Elves (first) and Dwarves (second) and Men (third) had appeared in the World.
I'm reading the fall of Gondolin and at one point the citizens of the city are fleeing over a plain, they are led by Legolas Greenleaf (page 100 in my book). At the same time the son of Tuor and Idril Eärendil, is 8 years old, he is also the father of Elrond.
As Gandalf said, Treebeard is the "oldest living thing" in Middle-earth. Tom Bombadil, on the other hand, is technically older, but he's also otherworldly. So, even though Bombadil is older, he doesn't exactly count.
Elrond's was born nearly 600 years after Galadriel, but he was born as a half-elf, and so until he made the choice to become an elf, he aged at a faster rate, though still slower than mortals. Tolkien says that his initial 24 "growth years" took 24 sun years, after which each life-years took five sun years.
Gandalf's age is impossible to determine, but he's likely existed for at least 10,000 years, making him much older than Legolas.
He died at the age of 210, after 122 years as king. The graves of the hobbits Merry and Pippin (who had died in Gondor 58 years earlier) were set beside his. He was succeeded on the throne by his son, Eldarion. Arwen, heartbroken by the loss of her husband, died shortly afterwards in Lothlórien.
14 Tom Bombadil, The Joyful
He is a joyful soul, and this hides an immense well of power. No earthly strife seems to trouble him, and he is immune to the power of the Ring. Such propensity aligns Tom with the Valar or perhaps something greater, and Gandalf would never be able to overpower him.
Together, the two of them were known as the Blue Wizards. The one in brown was Radagast and the one in grey was Gandalf, seemingly the oldest and the least of the Order.
The Ents appear in The Lord of the Rings as ancient shepherds of the forest and allies of the free peoples of Middle-earth during the War of the Ring. The Ent who figures most prominently in the book is Treebeard, who is called the oldest creature in Middle-earth (a description also given to Tom Bombadil).
What is Legolas syndrome? The actor is suffering from Legolas Syndrome — where you accidentally get cast into a role that suits you far more than your real-life looks, leaving you with a tricky predicament after the wrap party.
That said, the people behind the “official movie guide” for The Lord of the Rings list Legolas as being born in the year 87 of the Third Age of Middle-earth, which makes him some 2,931 years old around the time of the War of the Ring, which happened over 3,000 years into the Third Age of Middle-earth.
Average Elven Lifespan
Elves have the ability to live forever thanks to their immortality. Elves like Elrond, who was over 6000 years old in The Lord of the Rings, are not hard to come by.
The sun was created long after the Elves were awakened. Galadriel is older than the sun itself as she was born in Valinor when the two trees were still alive. Long before the Elves were awakened, Aule created the Dwarf Lords....they were actually the first people of Middle Earth.
Sauron's desire was to dominate all life in Middle-Earth. Bombadil's desire was to be Tom Bombadil, sing his songs, and love Goldberry. Sauron's ring had no power over Bombadil, while he himself ultimately lost all his power. In his way, he was vastly more powerful than Tom Bombadil.
Before we get into Sauron, it's best to start with his predecessor and the first Dark Lord of Middle-earth: Morgoth. First known as Melkor, he was a ValarOpens in new tab—or one of the most powerful beings in ArdaOpens in new tab. He was created by Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme deity.
After the events of Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins turned 131, an exceptional age by Hobbit standards, making him the oldest Hobbit who has ever lived.
Nevertheless, Tolkien left clues that Bombadil is a Vala, a god of Middle-Earth, specifically Aulë, the archangelic demigod who created the dwarves. Robert Foster suggested in 1978 that Bombadil is one of the Maiar, angelic beings sent from Valinor.
As he is an ancient spirit tied to the woodland and the acorns and the leaves, it would make sense that he is only able to exist when he is near them. It also explains why he can't take the ring to Mordor and destroy it himself, because he is encased within his borders, and cannot step outside them.
Peter Jackson Saw Tom Bombadil as Unnecessary
So, Tolkien created Bombadil to get them out of trouble on more than one occasion. One of the reasons was to contrast just how much the Hobbits had grown by the end of the story. However, that wasn't enough to keep Bombadil relevant in Jackson's mind.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, an appendix to the main story, relates that Aragorn and Arwen had a son, Eldarion, and at least two unnamed daughters. One year after Aragorn's death, Arwen dies at the age of 2,901.
Aragorn died many years after the war and Arwen followed soon after. She returned to Lothlórien where she eventually died of a broken heart and was buried in the lands of her mother's people.
Aragorn is not half Elf, although he is a descendant of Elros, who is half Elf (and the brother of Elrond, the half-Elf who raised him), which explains why Aragorn's life span is unusually long.