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This article is about the king of Gondor. For the video game character, see Castamir (Minas Ithil).

Castamir the Usurper usurped the throne of Gondor from Eldacar, ruling from TA 1437 to TA 1447 of the Third Age, until he was killed at the Battle of the Crossings of Erui.

Biography[]

His parents' names aren't known, but his grandfather was Calimehtar, the younger son of Gondor's King Calmacil. Castamir was not in line for the throne, but his royal background had made him the Lord of Ships under the previous king, Valacar. His lineage and influence left him in a position to challenge the new king, Eldacar, who was only half Dúnadan, and half Northmen. As King Valacar's only son, Eldacar was the legitimate heir to the throne, but his half Northmen lineage angered those who believed in a pure Dúnedain royalty. Capitalizing on these feelings, Castamir was able to incite rebellion and besiege Eldacar within the capital Osgiliath in TA 1437 of the Third Age. The city was set on fire by Castamir's troops, destroying the famed Dome of Stars. Shortly thereafter, Eldacar fled the city and went into exile in Rhovanion, to the north. With the defeat of the king, Castamir seized the throne.[3]

For ten years Castamir ruled Gondor with an iron fist, while Eldacar quietly regained support. Castamir ruled cruelly, and committed many foul deeds, including executing Eldacar's own son, Ornendil. At first the people of Gondor tolerated Castamir because of his pure Númenórean blood, but as Castamir proposed to move the royal seat to Pelargir and because of his many cruel acts, the people and cities of Anórien and Ithilien turned against him. So, in TA 1447, when Eldacar returned with an army from Rhovanion, the people of Gondor sided with him against the Usurper. Castamir was defeated at the Battle of the Crossings of Erui, the decisive battle of the Kin-strife as this period came to be known and was killed during the battle by Eldacar personally.

Castamir's influence did not end there. Remnants of his forces, and his surviving sons, retreated from the battle to the port of Pelargir and after a year long siege, escaped by ship to Umbar, far to the south. These descendants of Castamir became the Corsairs of Umbar, fierce pirates who terrorized the coasts of Gondor with the help of the men of Harad. They were perhaps the greatest threat to Gondor for nearly 400 years, commanding massive fleets of ships. Their most infamous exploit was the Raid of Pelargir in TA 1634, in which a Corsair armada led by Castamir's great-grandsons Angamaitë‎ and Sangahyando‎ sailed up the river Anduin to the port of Pelargir, deep in Gondor's territory. This raid coincided with King Minardil's visit, and he was slain by the Corsairs in the attack.

Castamir's descendants remained a significant threat until TA 1810, when King Telumehtar of Gondor retook Umbar. In this battle the last descendants of Castamir were killed.[1][2]

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Albanian Castamir Uzurpator
Arabic كاستامير المغتصب
Armenian Կաստամիր յուրացնող
Azerbaijani Castamir Qəsbçi
Basque Castamir Usurpagailua
Bosnian Kastamir Uzurpator
Bulgarian Cyrillic Кастамир Узурпаторът
Catalan Castamir l'usurpador
Chinese 卡斯塔馬 竄位者
Croatian Castamir Samozvanac
Czech Castamir Uchvatitel
Danish Castamir Usurpatoren
Dutch Castamir de Ursurpator
Esperanto Castamir la Uzurpanto
Estonian Castamir Usurpaator
Finnish Castamir Anastasija
French Castamir l'Usurpateur
Galician Castamir o Usurpador
German Castamir der Thronräuber
Hebrew קאסטאמיר הגזלן
Hungarian Castamir a Trónbitorló
Indonesian Castamir si Perampas
Italian Castamir l'Usurpatore
Japanese カスタミア 奪取者
Korean 찬탈왕 카스타미르
Latvian Castamir Uzuzperis
Lithuanian Castamir Uzurpatorius
Macedonian Cyrillic Кастамир Узурпатор
Maltese Castamir l-Usurpatur
Norwegian Castamir Usurperen
Persian کاستامیر غاصب
Polish Castamir Uzurpator
Portuguese Castamir o Usurpador
Romanian Castamir Uzurpatorul
Russian Кастамир Узурпатор
Serbian Кастамир Узурпатор (Cyrillic) Kastamir Uzurpator (Latin)
Slovak Castamir Uzurper
Slovenian Castamir Uzurpator
Spanish Castamir el Usurpador
Swedish Castamir Usurperaren
Tatar Кастамир Усурпер
Ukrainian Cyrillic Кастамір Узурпатор
Urdu کاسٹامیر غاصب
Vietnamese Castamir kẻ soán ngôi
King of Gondor (Usurped)
Preceded by
Eldacar
Castamir the Usurper Succeeded by
Eldacar restored
TA 1437 - TA 1447


Kings of Gondor

Elendil | Isildur & Anárion | Meneldil | Cemendur | Eärendil | Anardil | Ostoher | Rómendacil I | Turambar | Atanatar I | Siriondil | Tarannon Falastur | Eärnil I | Ciryandil | Hyarmendacil I | Atanatar II Alcarin | Narmacil I | Calmacil | Rómendacil II | Valacar | Eldacar | Castamir the Usurper | Eldacar (restored) | Aldamir | Hyarmendacil II | Minardil | Telemnar | Tarondor | Telumehtar Umbardacil | Narmacil II | Calimehtar | Ondoher | Eärnil II | Eärnur | Aragorn II Elessar | Eldarion


References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, VII: "The Heirs of Elendil"
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iv): "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
  3. The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iv): "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
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