Kin-strife

The Kin-strife was a catastrophic civil war that tore apart the South-kingdom of Gondor in the middle of the Third Age, a conflict born of dynastic pride and racial prejudice that left the realm permanently diminished. It began not on a battlefield but in a marriage: King Valacar, while serving as an ambassador to the Northmen of Rhovanion, wed Vidumavi, the daughter of their king, Vidugavia. This union, intended to strengthen the bonds between Gondor and its northern allies, produced an heir, Eldacar, who was born in a foreign land and bore the name Vinitharya, a title from his mother's people. To the high men of Gondor, this was an unheard-of breach of tradition, and they looked upon the half-Northman prince with suspicion and disdain, fearing that his lineage would prove short-lived and unworthy of the majesty of the Kings of Men.

The Outbreak of War and the Fall of Osgiliath

When Valacar died and Eldacar succeeded to the throne, the long-simmering resentment erupted into open war. A confederation of rebels, led by descendants of the royal line who saw their own claims to the crown as superior, rose against the king. The most powerful among them was Castamir, the Captain of Ships, who commanded the loyalty of the coastal provinces and the great havens of Pelargir and Umbar. Eldacar proved a valiant and stubborn foe, but he was eventually besieged in Osgiliath. After a long and desperate defense, hunger and the superior numbers of the rebels forced him to flee, but not before the city was set ablaze. In the conflagration, the Tower of the Dome of Osgiliath was destroyed, and the great palantír that had been housed within it was lost forever in the waters of the Anduin.

The Reign of the Usurper and the Return of the King

Castamir the Usurper seized the throne, but his reign was short and brutal. He proved haughty and ungenerous, and his cruelty was made manifest in the sack of Osgiliath, where he ordered the execution of Eldacar's captured son, Ornendil, and permitted slaughter and destruction far beyond the needs of war. His heart was with the fleets, and he spoke of moving the king's seat to Pelargir, earning him the enmity of the people of Minas Anor and Ithilien. After only ten years, Eldacar saw his opportunity. He returned from exile in Rhovanion with a great army, and folk flocked to his banner from Calenardhon, Anórien, and Ithilien. The two forces met at the Crossings of Erui in Lebennin, in a battle that saw the best blood of Gondor spilled. Eldacar himself slew Castamir in single combat, avenging his son and reclaiming his throne.

The Legacy of Division

Though Eldacar was restored, the damage was irreparable. Castamir's sons and their kin, along with many of the fleet's people, escaped to Umbar, where they established an independent lordship that remained at war with Gondor for many lives of men. The realm was permanently diminished, its southern borders weakened, and its hold upon the Men of the Harad loosened. The Kin-strife also accelerated the waning of the Dúnedain, for many of the great houses had been slain in the conflict, and the blood of the Númenóreans became more mingled with that of lesser Men. The memory of this internal strife would haunt Gondor for centuries, making its rulers deeply wary of any claimant to the crown who might provoke a similar division, a fear that ultimately led to the rule of the Stewards after the line of the Kings failed.