Harad
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In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium, Harad (Sindarin: South, in Quenya: Hyarmen) was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. It was also called Haradwaith from the people who lived there; it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people".
The Men of Harad were also called Haradrim, "South-multitude", or Southrons.
Aragorn's brief description of Haradwaith - "Harad where the stars are strange"[1] suggests that Harad is in the southern hemisphere, as Middle-earth is a globe by the time of The Lord of the Rings and not flat as before the Fall of Númenor.
Harad's tribes were divided — at least in the minds of the men of northwestern Middle-earth — into those of Near and Far Harad, although there were many tribes of the Haradrim, often mutually hostile. Those of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes, whereas the people of Far Harad had black skin.
From the latter part of the Second Age, many of the Men of Harad were dominated by the Númenóreans, as were many other peoples whose lands included a coastline. Shortly before the War of the Last Alliance, two Númenórean lords, named as Herumor and Fuinur, "rose to great power amongst the Haradrim", but their ultimate fate is not recorded.
For many centuries of the Third Age, many Haradrim were still ruled by Black Númenórean Lords, or further north by the Kings of Gondor, but ultimately, the Harad fell under the influence of Mordor, for much of the Age.
Much of Far Harad was a jungle, although there also was a desert. In Far Harad lived animals known as mûmakil, which were elephant-like but larger, and were used by the Haradrim as moving war towers.
Near Harad later formed an alliance — or maybe even a coalition of some sort — with the Corsairs of Umbar, and was involved in a series of continual battles with Gondor over South Gondor or Harondor. Historically its northern border was held to be the river Harnen, but by the time of the War of the Ring all the land south of the river Poros was under the influence of the Haradrim.
One of the leaders of the Haradrim at the time of the War of the Ring bore a standard of a black serpent on a red field, and was slain by King Théoden of Rohan at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in T.A. 3019.
After the revival of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor in the Fourth Age, peace was made with Harad.
To the east of Near Harad lay the land of Khand.
[edit] In other media
The Middle-earth Role Playing game and the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, the latter based on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, both include original material about Harad and the Haradrim. In the former, the Haradrim language is called "Haradaic". In the latter the leader Théoden kills is called "Suladân the Serpent Lord", its forces include assassins called "hasharin", and other names such as "Dalamyr", "Kârna", "Badharkân", "Hidâr", "Nâfarat", "Abrakân", and "Dhâran-sar" appear.
Another Middle-earth themed role playing game that includes use of the Haradaic race is Shadows of Isildur, a text-based fantasy game.
However, original information from these and any other games is not considered canonical by most.
[edit] References
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (April 1, 1987), The Fellowship of the Ring, vol. 1, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, "The Council of Elrond", ISBN 0-395-08254-4
