Haradrim

Haradrim
Dominions	Haradwaith, including Umbar, Near Harad and Far Harad
Lifespan	Shorter than Númenórean
Hair color	Dark

The Haradrim, known in Westron as the Southrons and once as "Swertings" by Hobbits, were the race of Men from the Haradwaith, south of Gondor. Most of them were hostile to the Dúnedain, whose ancestors had oppressed them, and served Sauron the Dark Lord. Some, however, rejected him and instead followed the Blue Wizards.

History

Second Age

In the early Second Age, Númenóreans sailed to the east and south of Middle-earth and made contact with primitive Men there, such as the Haradrim. At first, the natives benefited from this new friendship, learning many things about agriculture and crafstmanship. In time, Númenor's policy towards Haradwaith changed: the Númenóreans established a great city in Umbar on the southern shores of the Bay of Belfalas, and began demanding heavy tribute from many of the Haradrim.

The Haradrim were soon seduced by Sauron into his service, worshipping him as "both king and god". Around SA 1600, the Blue Wizards arrived to guide those few Southrons who had resisted or betrayed the Dark Lord. Sauron's efforts to dominate the Haradrim were thus frustrated by the two Istari, ensuring his forces were weakened during his war with the Elves. As the Shadow fell over Númenor, the King's Men enslaved many of the free Southrons or sacrificed them on their altars. After the Downfall of Númenor, Black Númenóreans such as Herumor and Fuinur became lords among the Haradrim and swayed them again to Sauron's cause, opposing the Faithful.

A Harad warrior and a Mûmak imagined by Jan Pospisil

Third Age

Conflicts with Gondor

In TA 1050, Gondor was able to subdue the Haradrim, forcing them to pay tribute and send the sons of their chiefs as hostages to be raised in the King's court. However, four hundred years later they were freed by the Kin-strife and, being now in league with the Corsairs of Umbar, renewed hostilities against Gondor. In the ensuing conflicts, control of Umbar shifted between Gondor and the Haradrim.

Together with the Variags of Khand, the Haradrim were recruited by the emissaries of Sauron to help the Wainriders crush the Men of Gondor. Their assault almost crippled Gondor, but they were ultimately defeated. With the emergence of the Rohirrim as the Gondorians' new allies, Sauron's agents goaded the Haradrim into joining forces with the Corsairs, Easterlings and Dunlendings in TA 2758. Fleets from Umbar and Haradwaith engaged Gondor, allowing the Wild Men of Dunland and "Eastern invaders" to overrun Rohan. After the Long Winter, the Southrons and other Men of Darkness were repelled. The Haradrim later occupied South Gondor and attempted to trespass into Ithilien, but were repelled at Poros by Gondorians and Rohirrim.

Harad's flag with the black serpent emblem, seen in the Third Age, by Matěj Čadil

War of the Ring

During the War of the Ring, most of the Haradrim openly re-affirmed their allegiance to Sauron, but there were also rebellions among them, stirred by the Blue Wizards, that left the Dark Lord's southern forces weaker than they could have been.

Haradrim cavalry and Mûmakil riders were among the forces of Mordor commanded by the Witch-king in the Siege of Gondor. One Southron archer wounded Faramir, almost fatally, as he retreated to Minas Tirith from Osgiliath. During the onslaught at the Pelennor Fields, following the siege, a Haradrim chieftain bearing the standard of a black serpent "on a scarlet field" led the Haradrim cavalry. King Théoden of Rohan slew him in single combat, shortly before he was attacked by the Witch-king. The Witch-king's death, moments later, enabled the defeat of the Southrons and their allies.

After Sauron's downfall, the newly-crowned King Elessar established the Reunited Kingdom. Though the Haradrim were never fully incorporated into it, Aragorn made peace with them in the Fourth Age. Meanwhile, the "secret cults and 'magic' traditions" that the Blue Wizards started among the Haradrim persisted, and probably outlasted the Dark Lord's overthrow.

Etymology

Haradrim means "South-people", from Sindarin harad ("south") and rim ("host, group").

Their other names were Southerns, Southrons, and Swertings.

Traits & culture

The Haradrim were bold, fierce, and grim. They were tall and dark-skinned with black hair and dark eyes, for which they were called Swertings or Swarthy Men. The men of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes, while the men of Far Harad were black-skinned and compared to "half-trolls".

Haradrim up-close on their war towers, in the film series

Many Haradrim warriors were seen in bright clothing, such as scarlet robes, and were decorated with golden ornaments, such as collars, earrings, corsets of overlapping brazen plates; they braided their hair with gold. Some tribes painted their bodies. Scarlet and red was also the color of their banners, tips of their spears, and body paint. Their shields were yellow and black with spikes. It is also mentioned that at the end of the Second Age some of the Men in the south had weapons of iron. Red scimitars were among their weapons.

The Haradrim had tamed the massive Mûmakil beasts and used them in warfare and, like their masters, were decorated with scarlet and gold. They even strapped towers on their backs, garrisoned by Haradrim archers and spearmen.

The Haradrim were said to be skilled horsemen, though not of prowess near to the Rohirrim. They are known to have mounted champions and archers, as well as infantry. Horses feared the Mûmakil, and so the Southron forces rallied around them when faced with mounted foes.

Haradwaith's tribes included those of Near and Far Harad, although there were many tribes of the Haradrim, often mutually hostile. Some of the peoples of Far Harad were organized into kingdoms.

Most of the Haradrim people was under the dominion of Sauron, worshipping him as a god and fearing his power. But some tribes refused to serve him, becoming followers of the Blue Wizards instead and engaging in magic cults.

Haradrim marching through Ithilien in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Language

To the Men of Gondor, the voices of Haradrim sounded harsh, and like "shouts of beasts".

The only word stated to be of a Southron language is "Mûmak", the name of the Oliphaunts.

Gandalf states that his name in "the south" is "Incánus", thought Inkā-nūsh (or possibly Inkā-nūs), meaning "North-spy".

Despite having a meaning in Quenya ("fate"), the name Umbar is said to be adapted from the natives' language, and not from Elvish or Adûnaic.

In adaptations

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Haradrim archers in their Mûmak war-towers

For Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Haradrim's design (by Wētā Workshop) was inspired by the Saracens and Pacific Kiribati tribes. Their bows, possibly of compound design, were made out of composite materials like antlers and wood and used bamboo arrows from leather or bamboo quivers.

The apparent leader of the Haradrim force, riding a Mûmak, is killed in the third film by Éomer instead of by Théoden.

Video games

• They appears as toys in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. 
• In The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring,  they appears as "Haradrim Slayers".
• The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game has given the unnamed Haradrim leader Théoden kills the name Suladân and the title "Serpent Lord", and its players often refer to him as the "Black Serpent" after his standard. Some are assassins called "hasharin"; there are also characters like "The Golden King" and "Dalamyr", and place-names such as "Kârna", "Abrakân", "Badharkân", "Hidâr", "Nâfarat", and "Dhâran-sar" appear.

Trivia

• In Chinese, Southrons is translated as "南蠻", which was the name of an ancient rival kingdom near China.

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Amharic	ሓራድሪም
Arabic	حارادريم
Armenian	Խարադրիմ
Belarusian Cyrillic	харадрым
Bengali	হারাদ্রিম
Bulgarian Cyrillic	харадримите
Chinese (Mainland)	哈拉德人 / 南蛮子
Chinese (Hong Kong)	哈化德林人 / 南蠻
Danish	Haradrim (Sydfolket)
Georgian	ჰარადრიმ
Greek	Χαραδριμ
Gujarati	હરદ્રિમ
Hebrew	הראדרים
Hindi	हरद्रिम
Japanese	ハラドリム (Haradrim) 南方人 (Southrons)
Kannada	ಹರಾದ್ರಿಮ್
Kazakh	Һарадрім (Cyrillic) Haradrim (Latin)
Korean	하라 드리 암
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Hарадрим
Macedonian Cyrillic	Харадрим
Malayalam	ഹരദ്രി
Marathi	हरद्रिम
Mongolian Cyrillic	Hарадрим
Nepalese	हरद्रिम
Pashto	حارادریم
Persian	حارادریم
Polish	Haradrimowie
Punjabi	ਹਰਦ੍ਰਿਮ
Russian	Харадрим
Sanskrit	हरद्रिम्
Serbian	Харадрими (Cyrillic) Haradrimi (Latin)
Sinhalese	හරද්‍රිම්
Tajik Cyrillic	Ҳарадрим
Tamil	ஹரத்ரிம்
Telugu	హరద్రిమ
Thai	ฮาราดริม
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Гарадрім
Urdu	حرضوید
Uzbek	Ҳарадрим (Cyrillic) Haradrim (Latin)
Yiddish	האַראַדרים