Castamir the Usurper

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

Castamir
Biographical information
Other names	The Usurper, Lord of Ships
Titles	King of Gondor (Title usurped)
Birth	TA 1259
Rule	TA 1437 - TA 1447 (10 Years)
Death	TA 1447
Realms	Gondor
Spouse	Unnamed wife
Age	188
Weapon	King's sword
Physical description
Race	Men
Gender	Male
Culture	Dúnedain (House of Anárion), Men of Gondor

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.

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.

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