Literature
Umbar was an old Númenórean haven settled by the King's Men — a proud faction loyal to the King and opposed to the divine authority of the Valar. (See also: Elendili). After the Downfall of Númenor, the inhabitants of Umbar further pursued independence, and were counted as rebels. They took to pillaging and piracy along the coasts of Gondor. At the end of the Kin-strife, the defeated rebels of Gondor (the Castamiri) fled to Umbar — by this time Umbar had become the chief southern port of Gondor.
The Castamiri took with them a large part of Gondor's fleet, thus weakening Gondor and strengthening the naval traditions of Umbar. Gondor later conquered Umbar, killing the last of Castamir's descendants, but lost it to the Haradrim soon after. By the time of the War of the Ring, the Corsairs had mixed with the Haradrim, becoming a mixed people whose Númenórean blood was mostly gone. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, a combined fleet amounting to "50 great ships and smaller vessels beyond count" was raiding the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin, but these were captured by Aragorn and the Army of the Dead, and were sailed to Minas Tirith to relieve the siege of the city.
Read more about this topic: Corsairs Of Umbar
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