Corsair Wars

The Corsair Wars were a long, predominately naval struggle between Kings and Stewards of Gondor and a series of renegade rebel forces based at Umbar and Pelargir

Historical Background
The fortress haven of Umbar was founded by Númenórean colonists during the Second Age, during the peak of Númenorean power. When Ar-Pharazôn the Golden landed in Middle Earth to challenge the power of Sauron, he landed at this heavily fortified port city. After the Downfall of Númenor, these colonists continued to be influenced by Sauron, and showed great antipathy to the exile Kingdoms founded by the Faithful of Númenor, Arnor and Gondor. They became known forever afterward as the Black Númenoreans, battling Gondor by land and sea. It is likely that Umbar was conquered for Gondor under one of the Ship-Kings, possibly by Tarannon Falastur. During the reign of Earnil I and his son, Ciryandil, the Haradrim constantly laid siege to Umbar and in T.A. 1015, Ciryandil himself was slain defending it. This caused his son to conquer Harad and eventually take the name, Hyarmendacil I.

Pelargir Battles
In T.A. 1551, Hyarmendacil II conquered Harad when his father, Aldamir, was slain in a skirmish with the Corsairs. However, Umbar held out against Hyarmendacil's attacks, but suffered greviously.

In T.A. 1634 the Corsair learnt that King Minardil, son of Hyarmendacil, was holidaying in the port city of Pelagir.

The Corsairs staged a surprise attack, and Minardil was slain before he could organise a proper defence of the port. The Corsairs then made a sudden withdrawal.

Unfortunately for Gondor, Pelagir remained a prime target for the Corsairs throughout the rest of the Third Age and by the time of the War of the Ring, the city was a shadow of its former glory.

The Siege of Umbar
may refer to several different events in history, when Umbar constantly changed hands between Gondor, and the Corsairs with their Haradrim allies.

The first time Umbar was involved with the wars between Gondor and Harad was when one of the Ship-Kings conquered it from the Haradrim and Black Numenoreans who resided there. At this point, Harondor was still under Gondorian control so it can be assumed that perhaps Umbar was connected by land to Gondor, and not just a port outpost surrounded by enemies.

The wars with Harad never ceased and in T.A. 1015 the Haradrim staged an assault on Umbar and King Ciryandil was slain defendings its walls. Although the port was not taken, it effected the Gondorian populace and above all else, Ciryaher, Ciryandil's son. 35 years later, King Ciryaher not only lifted the Siege of Umbar, but conquered a huge portion of Near Harad, crushing the power of the Haradrim.

For the next four hundred years, Umbar was to remain in Gondorian control until after the Kin Strife, when the Sons of Castimir fled Pelagir and seized Umbar for their own. This proved to be the start of Gondor's rapid decline.

Aldamir, son of Eldacar, still holding a grudge against Castimir and his sons for the murder of his brother in th burning of Osgilliath, assaulted Umbar and was slain in the process, but the Corsairs victory was soon avenged when Vinyarion, Aldamir's son, conquered Harad and laid siege to Umbar.

But Gondor's temporary territorial claims in the south were soon reversed when the Gondorian siege of Umbar was lifted and the Corsairs raided Pelagir, killing King Minardil in the process.

Following the destruction of the Plague, both sides were temporarily weakened, but Telumehtar of Gondor struck first and conquered Umbar for Gondor, the last descendants of Castimir perished in the process.

It never states when the Corsairs reconquered Umbar, but it is likely that it fell back to the Corsairs sometime during the reigns of the next few Kings, when Gondor itself was nearly toppled by Wainriders.

Early Years
In the aftermath of the Kin-strife, the great civil conflict between Eldacar and the usurper Castamir, Castamir's sons fled to to Umbar. There they established a breakaway government in opposition to Gondor, and continued to clash with Gondor for centuries to come.