Earnur, the last king of Gondor, disapeared into Minas Morgul in the year TA 2050 and Mardil, steward to Earnur, took over the government as the first Ruling Steward.
Earnur had no direct heir, but he had several very distant relatives who could have claimed the throne. Some time earlier, in TA 1432, there had been a devastating civil war in Gondor over the succession and Mardil wanted to avoid the same thing happening again. At first, he took power as a temporary measure, using the fact that there was no evidence that Earnur was dead as an excuse. By the time it became obvious that the King was not coming back, Mardil was firmly entrenched.
Civil war had been avoided and the office of Ruling Steward had become accepted, "to rule in the name of the King, until he should come again". No-one believed that anyone would ever appear with a legitimate claim. When Aragorn amde his claim almost a thousand years later, it was a complete surprise.
All these details can be found in the Appendices at the end of The Return of the King.
[ January 27, 2003: Message edited by: Selmo ]
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