 | |
| People | |
| Corsairs of Umbar | |
|---|---|
| General Information | |
| Origins | Founded by the sons and supporters of Castamir the Usurper |
| Locations | Umbar |
| Rivalries | Gondorians |
| Members | Angamaitë, Sangahyando, Captain of the Haven |
| Gallery | Images of Corsairs |
The Corsairs of Umbar were pirates that were based in the Haven of Umbar.
History
During the Kin-strife, the defeated rebels of Castamir fled Gondor to Umbar — by this time Umbar became the hated enemy of Gondor and a welcome refuge for its enemies. Ever since they claimed South Gondor.[1]
They allied with the Haradrim against Gondor; in T.A. 1540 King Aldamir was slain during that war.[2]
Angamaite and Sangahyando, the descendants of Castamir, led the Corsairs to ravage Pelargir, killing King Minardil who was there (T.A. 1634). In the following years, Gondor suffered by the Great Plague and Corsairs raided the Gondorian coasts up to Anfalas, until Umbardacil avenged Minardil's death, slew the last descendants of Castamir, drove away the Corsairs and retook Umbar (T.A. 1810).[1][2]
Eventually, Umbar was taken by the Haradrim.[1]
During the reign of Steward Cirion (T.A. 2489-2567),[3] the Corsairs of Umbar attacked the coasts of Gondor.[4]
In T.A. 2746, the Corsairs were involved in a conflict with the fifteenth Prince of Dol Amroth and killed him.[5]
The Corsairs took a long time to prepare a great fleet. In T.A. 2758 three fleets sailed from Umbar and Harad and landed at many places along the coasts of Gondor and even at the mouth of the river Isen[6] and in the mouth of the river Lefnui.[7] The troops from Umbar and Harad supported the Dunlendings who were led by Wulf to invade Rohan from the west over the river Isen and down from Isengard.[7] Before the spring of 2759, Beregond defeated the Corsairs of Umbar and the Men of Harad that had invaded Gondor and subsequently sent troops to Rohan to help the Rohirrim to defeat the invaders.[6] As a result the Dunleandings were driven from Rohan and from Isengard.[8]
In the time of Ecthelion II, a man under his service known as Thorongil, warned him that the Corsairs were a great peril for the Southern Fiefs. With a small fleet, Thorongil made a surprise attack, burning a great part of their ships and overthrowing the Captain of the Haven.[9]
During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, a fleet of Corsairs was raiding Lebennin when Aragorn captured their ships[10] and rowed them to Minas Tirith to relieve the siege of the city.[11]
It is possible that the threat posed by the Corsairs of Umbar to the coastlands of Gondor and to sea traffic was completely subdued during the reign of King Elessar[12] in a war between the forces of Gondor led by King Elessar supported by the cavalry of the Rohan led by King Éomer on the distant fields of the South.[13]
Culture
The corsairs's fleet included dromunds, and ships with deep hulls and many oars and with black sails.[11] Others were recognizable by their red sails, adorned with a black star or eye.[14]
In the course of the Third Age Westron had become the native language of nearly all Men that lived within the borders of the old kingdom of Gondor, including all along the coasts from Umbar northward and inland as far as the Ephel Dúath. At the time of the War of the Ring Westron was still the native tongue in this area.[15][16]
Inspiration
J.R.R. Tolkien described in his notes for the translation of names in The Lord of the Rings into other languages that the Corsairs "are imagined as similar to the Mediterranean corsairs: sea-robbers with fortified bases".[17]
John Bowers suggests that the Corsairs of Umbar were inspired by the Pirates of the Barbary Coast.[18] These pirates included the pirates of Salé in Morocco. In the 17th century thousands of muslims or former muslims fled from Spain to Salé where they established a republic that engaged in piracy and made raids in Spain and even on the coasts of England where they took members of the popluation with them as slaves.
Myriam Librán-Moreno seems to see parallels between the Corsairs of Umbar and the conquest of Crete by the Arabs in A.D. 824, who established an emirate there with Crete becoming a center of Arab pirates in the Mediterranean that caused hardships for the Byzantine Empire.[19]
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote on his son's map of Middle-earth for Pauline Baynes that Umbar and the City of the Corsairs are approximately at the latitude of Cyprus and that Minas Tirith is approximately at the latitude of Ravenna, but more to the east near Belgrade. He wrote that these references are so that Pauline Baynes can roughly judge the climate and the fauna and flora for her map of Middle-earth. In addition, he wrote in a letter to Charlotte and Denis Plimmer that the city of Pelargir is approximately at the latitude of ancient Troy. Cyprus is approximately on the same latidue as Carthage, an ancient city in northern Africa at the Mediterranean Sea and a historic enemy of the Roman Empire, and as Tangier, an ancient city in northwest Africa at the southern entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
Portrayal in adaptations
2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II:
- Corsairs are from the Mordor faction, and are equipped with knives and fire-bombs.
2023: The Lord of the Rings Online: Corsairs of Umbar:
- The Corsairs were led by four brothers who falsely call themselves the Heirs of Castamir. These were Azruthor, Dolgimil, Azgarzôr, and the eldest Balakhôr the Scourge. The player negotiated with a Corsair named Jajax, who ended up siding with the player against the Heirs and their followers.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "The Realms in Exile", "The Southern Line: Heirs of Anarion", Ruling Stewards, year after Boromir and year after Cirion, p. 1039
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", The Stewards, p. 1053
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VII. The Heirs of Elendil", The House of Dol Amroth, entry for the 15th prince of Dol Amroth, p. 221
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards", The Stewards, entries about Steward Beren and Steward Beregond, p. 1054
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", entries about King Helm, p. 1066
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", entries about King Fréaláf, p. 1067
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards", The Stewards, entries about Steward Ecthelion II, p. 1055
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Last Debate"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entries about the reign of King Eldacar, p. 1047
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", "The Kings of the Mark", Third Line, last paragraph, p. 1071
- ↑ "Tolkien’s annotated map of Middle-earth transcribed" 10 November 2015, The Tolkien Society, accessed 11 November 2015
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", first and second paragraph, p. 1127
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "X. Of Dwarves and Men", "The Atani and their Languages", penultimate paragraph and its preceeding paragraph
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 755
- ↑ John M. Bowers, Tolkien's Lost Chaucer (2019), p. 170
- ↑ Myriam Librán-Moreno, Byzantium, New Rome! in Jason Fisher (editor), Tolkien and the Study of his Sources, McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011, p. 105