Middle-earth seen by the barbarians: The complete collection including a previously unpublished essay (21 page)

However, Gondor was in full control of the sea-routes and could, hence, easily replenish the defensive forces. They held Umbar till 1050 TA. ‘
For many years Umbar was invested, but could not be taken because of the sea-power of Gondor.’
In the end, ‘
Ciryaher … utterly defeated the Men of the Harad, and their kings were compelled to acknowledge the overlordship of Gondor (1050)
.’

This was the final collapse of the Ancient Realm of Umbar.

^[1]
  See Codex Regius: ‘Words of Westernesse’, 2014.

^[2]
  Another Black Númenórean known only by a name in Elvish..

^[3]
  Interview, quoted in: Castell, D.: The Realms of Tolkien, 1966
http://www.festivalintheshire.com/journal1bdx/inttolkien.html

1. Umbar became a great fortress and haven of fleets
   

In the early 2
^nd
millenium, Gondor ‘
occupied all the land south of the Mouths of Anduin up to the River Harnen and the borders of Near Harad; and also all the coast-lands as far as Umbar. / Umbar became a great fortress and haven of fleets
.’
(
HE
)
The Ship-kings left no doubt that they had come to Umbar with the intention to stay. To acknowledge the patriotic feelings for Ar-Pharazôn’s great landing among their own people, ‘
on the highest hill of the headland above the Haven they … set a great white pillar as a monument. It was crowned with a globe of crystal that took the rays of the Sun and of the Moon and shone like a bright star that could be seen in clear weather even on the coasts of Gondor or far out upon the western sea
.’
(
KR
)
This marvel should outline and illuminate the southern border of the vast Southern Kingdom for 400 years.

What had happened to the Black Númenóreans? Shall we assume that the Gondorians committed war atrocities, killing off the Kings’ Men down to the last woman or new-born and then repopulating an ethnically cleansed fortress? Or was there a local population left that indeed ‘acknowledged our sway’ and mingled with the conquerors so that plenty of ‘pure-bred’ Gondorians were in fact of partly Sauronian origin? At any rate, the Black Númenóreans vanish from the annals, safe for one very late and very peculiar incident to reveal that as a nation, they had survived.

1. 1050 - 1448
   TA
   :
   G
   ONDORIAN
   P
   ERIOD
   

Umbar’s star began to rise again as that of Gondor began to wane. In the 15
^th
century, ‘
there was already rebellion in the southern provinces
’.
(
KR
, IV)
During the Kin-strife of 1432-1448, for which Umbar was not responsible, the pro-Dúnedainic nationalist Castamir ‘
was supported by the people of the coasts and the great havens of Pelargir and Umbar.
’
(
KR
, IV)
It is remarkable that the nationalist faction had such a powerful base in Umbar since the locals had ‘
become much mixed in blood through admission of Men of Harad
’.
(
HE
)
Is their support for Castamir not a sign that the Black Númenóreans considered themselves truer-blooded Dúnedain than the Elendili?

The end of the Gondorian Period came after Eldacar had regained the throne of Osgiliath and Castamir ‘
was slain … in battle in Lebennin, at Ethraid Erui
’.
(
HE
)
For ‘
Castamir’s sons escaped, and with others of their kin and many people of the fleets they held out long at Pelargir. When they had gathered all the force that they could (for Eldacar had no ships to beset them at sea) they sailed away, and established themselves at Umbar. There they made a refuge for all the enemies of the king, and a lordship independent of his crown
.’
(
KR
, IV)

1. Castamir’s sons escaped, and held out long at Pelargir
   

By one strike, Gondor had lost most of its naval power. After Umbar had officially seceded from the Southern Kingdom, the Castamirioni, or successors of Castamir, used the captured fleets so effectively that they became known as the Corsairs of Umbar, ‘
similar to the Mediterranean corsairs: sea-robbers with fortified bases
’. (
GN
) And not only Umbar had seceded. Also ‘
the region of South Gondor became a debatable land between the Corsairs and the Kings.
’
(
KR
, IV)

A strange situation had occurred: the Southern Kingdom had split, similar to, but more violent than, the disintegration of Arnor. The third Realm in Exile had re-emerged from the shadows; and it deserved its name even more than before because the Dúnedainic strain among its inhabitants was, involuntarily, continuously replenished by the throne of Gondor. ‘
Since that time the kings had become jealous and watchful of those near akin. Often those on whom suspicion fell had fled to Umbar and there joined the rebels.
’
(
KR
, IV)
This perpetual influx of suspects, justified or not, was most welcome to the Black Númenóreans who now enjoyed – in contrast to the comparable case of Arnor-Rhudaur – the rule of actual descendants of Elendil!

We do not know how many sons Castamir may have had. It seems plausible to assume that there were two, so that the ancient tradition of the duumvirate of Umbar lived up again. The Castamirioni were strong enough to fend off any intervention forces from Gondor, and their lordship maintained sovereignty for a long period that may be unofficially labelled as the Middle Realm. They were not as radical as their sires, though, and soon rejected his ethnic purity doctrine in favour of marrying Harad women. Within three generations, their line had allegedly lost most of its Númenórean blood
(
HE
)
. Yet, though Sauron may have secretly instigated among them, the Castamirioni never officially joined the side of the Dark Lord.

1. 1448- 1810
   TA
   :
   M
   IDDLE
   R
   EALM.
   C
   ASTAMIRION
   D
   YNASTY
   

Gondor considered the loss of its southernmost province ‘
grievous
’
(
KR
, IV)
, for the control of that highly symbolic place gave the dissidents an excellent opportunity to claim the tradition of Númenórean naval power. They will have continued to consider themselves the legitimate continuation of the royal line of Anárion, despising the ‘mixed-blooded’ Eldacar and his offspring, though even they did not proclaim a kingdom of Umbar. It was probably part of their propaganda that the kingship could only rule Gondor as a whole, and their feud was with the line of Eldacar, not with the Heirs of Elendil in general
(
HE
)
.

The Castamirioni gained the support of the adjacent kingdoms of Harad that till then had been tributary to Gondor (and now to Umbar?
HE
). Thus, Gondor was facing enemies all along its receded southern border. And it had grown too weak to eliminate the threat. In 1540, king ‘
Aldamir fell in battle with the rebelling kings of Harad allied with the rebels of Umbar’.
(
HE
)
The conflict continued for eleven years until Aldamir’s successor
‘Hyarmendacil II. defeat
[ed]
the Men of Harad
.’
(
TY
)

It took a hundred years to recover. In 1634, Umbar was ruled by yet another duumvirate, consisting of Castamir’s two great-grandsons, Angamaitë and Sangahyando (note that they continued the tradition of the Line of Anárion to assume names in Quenya, though they sound more warlike than others). They managed to deal a terrible blow to king Minardil of Gondor.

‘
Learning through spies that Minardil was at Pelargir, suspecting no peril since the crushing of Harad and Umbar by his father
[Hyarmendacil II, they]
made a raid up Anduin, slew the king, ravaged Pelargir and the coasts, and escaped with great booty.
[Minardil’s heir]
Telemnar immediately began to fit out a fleet for the reduction of Umbar
’,
(
HE
)
but before it even set sail, this retaliation fleet was destroyed - not in war, but by the Great Plague of 1636 TA.

Gondor felt the consequences of the Plague for the next 200 years. Even King Tarondor ‘
was unable to do more than attempt to re-establish life and order within his borders
.’
(
HE
)
The Castamirioni thus ‘
long held it
[i. e. Umbar]
as an independent realm
’ that opposed Gondor, ‘
attacking its ships and raiding its coast at every opportunity
.’
(
HE
)
The third Realm in Exile ‘
remained at war with Gondor for many lives of men, a threat to its coastlands and to all traffic on the sea. It was never again completely subdued until the days of Elessar
.’
(
KR
, IV)

However, the doom of the Middle Realm came when king Telumehtar, ‘
being troubled by the insolence of the Corsairs, who raided his coasts even as far as the Anfalas, gathered his forces and in 1810 took Umbar by storm. In that war the last descendants of Castamir perished
’
(
KR
, IV)
during ‘
the storming and destruction of the haven and stronghold of the Corsairs of Umbar
’
(
HE
)
. And ‘
King Telumehtar Umbardacil
[drove]
out the Corsairs
’
(
TY
)
, and Umbar was again, for a royal generation or two, held by Gondor.