Corsairs of Umbar

Lore & Background

Though their lineage traces back to the Faithless Númenóreans of the Second Age, the Corsairs cemented their power by seizing Umbar from Gondor in the mid-Third Age. For centuries they harassed the southern provinces until the War of the Ring called them to Mordor’s aid.

In Their Own Story

At Pelargir, the river air grew thick with smoke as a hundred black sails crowded the docks. The Corsairs’ hulls groaned under Haradrim marines eager to burn Minas Tirith, certain they held mastery of the water. They did not see the mist gathering above the quay, nor hear the silent tread of those who had broken their oaths in Dunharrow. By the time the dead tide broke upon them, the Corsairs faced an enemy no blade could cut.

Reader's Guide

Strategically vital yet tactically vulnerable, the Corsairs’ fleet was Sauron’s gamble to reinforce Mordor by river. When Aragorn claimed their armada using the Army of the Dead, the Corsairs lost their mobility and purpose overnight. The seized vessels became the very transport for the Rohirrim, transforming a naval blockade into the cavalry charge that saved the White City.

Did You Know?

• The Corsairs were originally Black Númenóreans who refused to accept the authority of the Kings of Arnor and Gondor.
• They captured the city of Umbar from Gondor during the Kin-strife, a civil war in the Third Age.
• Their fleet at Pelargir was so large that it appeared to outnumber the defenders of Minas Tirith.
• The ships they seized were used by Aragorn and his allies to ferry the Rohirrim to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.