The Haven of Umbar was a realm[1] on the coast south of Gondor in Middle-earth. It included a great cape and a land-locked firth,[2] which formed a natural haven.[3] The name Umbar was used in conjunction with it being made into a great fortress,[4] it being laid siege to[5] or it being invested.[6]
Umbar was located to the south of the Ethir Anduin in a natural haven within the Bay of Belfalas. This haven was formed by a peninsula that extended west from the coast of Belegaer and then bent to the south and almost touched the coast. This form of the coastline left only a narrow entrance to the natural haven. The City of the Corsairs was at the easternmost point of the bay of Umbar.[7]
Umbar was the nearest of the realms of the Southrons to Gondor.[1] It is possible that the realm of Umbar stretched along the coast up alongside the Harnen as far as its source in the Ephel Dúath before it became a part of Gondor or after it became an independent realm again, because Westron was still the native tongue in this area at the time of the War of the Ring.[8]
It is possible that Umbar had a climate that was fluctuating between mild winters and very hot and dry summers.[9][10] It is also possible that Umbar had a vegetation of sparse woodlands,[11] because Umbar seems to have had the natural resources to re-build the Corsair fleet that had attacked Pelargir during the War of the Ring[12] thirty-nine years after Aragorn II had burnt a significant portion of it in a battle upon the quays.[13]
History[]
It is possible that the bay of Umbar was discovered by Aldarion when he scarcely escaped shipwreck in the Haradwaith during a voyage with three ships,[14] which lasted from the year 829 to the year 843.[15] After Sauron heard that Aldarion had become a great shipbuilder who sailed his ships to haven far down into the Haradwaith, he chose Mordor as a stronghold to counter the threat of landings by the Númenoreans.[16]
The fleet came at last to that place that was called Umbar, where was a mighty haven that no hand had wrought. Empty and silent under a sickle moon was the land when the King of the Sea set foot upon the shore. For seven days he journeyed with banner and trumpet. Then he sent forth heralds, and he commanded Sauron to come before him and swear to him fealty.
(from the 'Akallabêth')
After the Downfall of Númenor 58 years later,[17] Umbar remained in the hands of the Númenóreans, in essence a Realm in Exile alongside Arnor and Gondor. But unlike these others, Umbar had been used by the 'King's Men', who had turned to the worship of Melkor in the last days of Númenor. These 'King's Men' were not friendly to the Elves or to their fellow Númenórean survivors who were allied to the Elves, and became known as Black Númenóreans.
Two Black Númenórean lords known as Herumor and Fuinur, probably from Umbar, rose to power at the end of Second Age. They became very powerful amongst the Haradrim, a neighbouring people with whom they were allied. Their fate is unknown, but they likely shared Sauron's defeat at the hands of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
The rulers of Umbar retained much influence over Harad well into the Third Age. When not part of Gondor, its system of government was likely tyrannical.
Gondor's power, however, eclipsed that of Umbar as the Third Age progressed, and in TA 933 Gondor's King Eärnil I captured Umbar in a surprise attack, although this was "at great cost."
For the following 500 years, Umbar was an important city of Gondor: not only a major seaport, but as the site of the submission of Sauron to Ar-Pharazôn, and so served as a proud reminder of the might of the Dúnedain of old:
on the highest hill of the headland above the Haven they (…) set a great 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.
Many Black Númenóreans had fled Umbar from the assault of TA 933, to their subjects in Near Harad, but 82 years later, in a vain attempt to recapture it, they came up with great power against the stronghold. Despite killing King Ciryandil this 'great power' availed the Men of Harad little however, for despite investing and besieging the city of Umbar for 35 years, they failed to take it, its supply being easily maintained "because of the sea-power of Gondor". In TA 1050, the late King Ciryandil's son Ciryaher defeated the Haradrim force by sending troops by land and sea. All land south of Belfalas up to the Harnen and the borders of Near Harad and coast-lands up to Umbar belonged to Gondor.
"The Men of the Harad, led by the lords that had been driven from Umbar, came up with great power against that stronghold came down from the north by sea and by land, and crossing the River Harnen his armies utterly defeated the Men of Harad."
Gondor's possession of Umbar came to an abrupt end In TA 1448, but not at the hands of an external foe. Following the disastrous Kin-strife, the sons of Castamir the Usurper arrived there with many men and most of the fleet of Gondor.
The corsairs of Umbar would forever be a threat to Gondor.
There they made a refuge for all the enemies of the king, and a lordship independent of his crown. Umbar remained at war with Gondor for many lives of men...'
('Appendix A' ~ The Lord of the Rings)
These men became known as the "Corsairs of Umbar", and within two centuries became a major threat to Gondor. In TA 1634 Castamir's great-grandsons Angamaitë and Sangahyando raided Pelargir from Umbar, killing King Minardil, but Gondor could not retaliate as it was ravaged by the Great Plague. Vengeance, if not swift, was certainly devastating: 176 years after Minardil's death, his great-grand nephew succeeded in recapturing Umbar, ending the line of Castamir and taking the name Umbardacil. However,
..in the new evils that soon befell Gondor Umbar was again lost, and fell into the hands of the Men of Harad.
('Annals of the Kings and Rulers' from Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings)
Throughout the rest of the Third Age, Umbar was home a new generation of 'Corsairs of Umbar', who were closely related to the Haradrim, if not even merely Haradrim themselves. These new Corsairs were cruel slavers who often raided the coasts of Belfalas and Anfalas in Gondor: in TA 2746 for example, the 15th Prince of Dol Amroth fell defending Dor-en-Ernil against them.
In TA 2758 Umbar joined a massive coordinated attack with the Men of Harad and even of Dunland, against Gondor and the new realm of Rohan:
Three great fleets, long prepared, came up from Umbar and the Harad, and assailed the coasts of Gondor in great force; and the enemy made many landings, even as far north as the mouth of the Isen.
('Annals of the Kings and Rulers' from Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings)[18]
When Sauron declared himself openly in TA 2951, Umbar declared its allegiance to him, and the great monument commemorating Ar-Pharazôn's triumph at Umbar was thrown down.
During the War of the Ring, Umbar had not fully recovered from this, but could still send 50 'great ships' and smaller vessels "beyond count", to raid the coast-lands of Gondor and draw off major forces from the defence of Minas Tirith. The black fleet was once again defeated by Aragorn, and the Dead Men of Dunharrow. With the Downfall of Barad-dûr, Umbar, weakened and defeated, finally lost its sovereignty and submitted to the crown of King Elessar.
Umbar appeared on the bottom edge of the maps found in earlier editions of The Lord of the Rings, but it is absent from modern editions, which map a slightly smaller area of Middle-earth.
Etymology[]
Umbar is a Quenya word meaning 'fate-', but this is unrelated to the city-name.
↑J.R.R. Tolkien wrote on his son's map of Middle-earth for Pauline Baynes that Umbar is 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 Pelargir is approximately at the latitude of ancient Troy. Cyprus is on the same latidue as Tangiers, a city in northwest Africa at the southern entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
↑The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards", entries for Steward Ecthelion II and Steward Denethor II
