Castamir the Usurper

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.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iv): "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
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
== References ==
de:Castamir
es:Castamir
it:Castamir l'Usurpatore
pl:Castamir
ru:Кастамир
uk:Кастамір
Category:Dúnedain
Category:Men of Gondor
Category:Kings of Gondor
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Deaths in battle