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human
[LotR] How does Aragorn claim the throne of Gondor if Isildur abdicated?

Didn't Isildur abdicate the throne of Gondor to his nephew Melindil prior to heading North to rule over Arnor?  If so, how does Aragorn, a descendant of Isildur, have a claim to Gondor?
gpt
Isildur never abdicated. Just as his father, Elendil, committed rule of Gondor to himself and Anárion while ruling as High King of both Arnor and Gondor from the North, so did Isildur commit rule of Gondor to Meneldil while he traveled North to rule as High King. The right of rule over both Gondor and Arnor as High King technically passed to his son Valandil, but effectually it ceased to exist (except for a failed claim by the last King of Arnor, Arvedui) until Aragorn came along and reasserted it some 3000 years later.