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Haradwaith, or simply Harad, was the immense region located south of both the kingdoms of Gondor and Mordor. The Men of Haradwaith were known as Haradrim or Southrons ("South-multitude").
Geography[]
Haradwaith lay between the Belegaer sea to its west, and Khand to its northeast, and was divided into two main provinces: Near Harad, which was the closest to both Mordor and Gondor, and Far Harad, nearest to the city of Umbar. Harondor, otherwise known as South Gondor, was a buffer zone in the very north of Harad between the lush, verdant grasslands on Gondor's side of the Anduin and the inhospitable dunes of sand to the far south, and was contested over by Gondor and Haradwaith.
The boundary between Near Harad and Khand is not described, and it is unclear how far east Near Harad extended. The majority of Near Harad was a desert, described by Gollum as where the "yellow face is bright and terrible". In the southeast of Near Harad, a natural gulf fed far into the landmass, and a large river flowed inland from there to the northwest, later forking. One branch of the river flowed westwards towards Umbar, and the other northeast. Neither the gulf nor the rivers were given names by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The boundary between Near and Far Harad is indistinct, but compared to the other regions of Middle-earth Far Harad was immense, with likely an extremely varied climate. Much of the southern extents of Far Harad were covered in forests and jungle. The great Mûmakil, called Oliphaunts in legend by the Hobbits, were native to this area. The Mûmakil were rarely seen outside of Far Harad after the Third Age.
Haradrim as portrayed in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
People[]
- Main article: Haradrim
Haradwaith's tribes were divided (at least, in the minds of the men of north-western 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 swarthy, with black hair and dark eyes, whereas the people of Far Harad had black skin.
History[]
Second Age[]
After the First Age, the men of these lands were among the lesser men who were instructed by the voyaging Númenóreans in the basic arts of civilization. This went on for some time until the middle of the Second Age when the Númenóreans turned their backs on wisdom and became their overlords.
From the latter part of the Second Age, many of the Men of Haradwaith 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 Herumor and Fuinur, "rose to great power amongst the Haradrim", but their ultimate fate is not recorded.
Third Age[]
For the first millennium of the Third Age, many Haradrim were still ruled by Black Númenórean lords. However the power of the Black Númenóreans was broken in TA 1050 by King Hyarmendacil I of Gondor and the Haradrim brought under the overlordship of Gondor. Following the Kin-strife this hold was broken and war resumed until the Haradrim were again defeated a century later by Hyarmendacil II. In the 19th century of the Third Age the Haradrim gained possession of Umbar itself, mounting further invasions of Gondor in TA 1944 and TA 2885. Ultimately, Harad fell under the influence of Mordor for much of the Age.
The Haradrim arrive on their Mûmakil at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
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, with Gondor claiming the river Harnen as it's southern border and the Haradrim claiming the Poros as their northern border. By the time of the War of the Ring all the land south of the river Poros was under the influence of the Haradrim and they sent large forces to aid in the Siege of Gondor.
Fourth Age[]
After the revival of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor in the Fourth Age, many of the Haradrim were pardoned and allowed to live in peace. They were required to relinquish South Gondor and Umbar, but remained a free people.
Etymology[]
In Sindarin, Harad means "South".[1] In Quenya, it was Hyarmen.
In earlier versions of the legendarium, the southern continent of the Great Lands was called in Early Quenya Salkinórë, meaning"grass land", or Andesalkë, meaning "long-grass".[2]
Background[]
From the shape of the southern lands shown in Ambarkanta maps, it is clear that the continent of Haradwaith parallels Africa.[3] In fact, the descriptions of the inhabitants of Middle-earth's southern lands and early etymologies of their name suggest that the Haradrim are based on northern African and Middle-Eastern people.[4][5] Tolkien himself, in an interview in 1967, stated that "south of Harad is Africa, the hot countries."[6]
A "Haradrim Palace" in the BFME games
In adaptations[]
- In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, warriors from Haradwaith are prominently featured.
- Haradwaith and its surroundings are depicted in The Lord of the Rings Minecraft mod. The region is significantly fleshed out with original content.
- Haradwaith appears in the 1987 game The Shadows of Mordor; if the player enters the land, the game terminates.
See also[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ሃራድ |
| Arabic | هاراد |
| Armenian | Հարադ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Харад |
| Bengali | হার্ড |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Харад |
| Chinese | 哈拉德 |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 哈化德林 , or simply translated to 哈德 |
| Danish | Harad (Sydlandet) |
| Georgian | ჰარადი |
| Gujarati | હરાદ |
| Hebrew | האראד |
| Hindi | हरद |
| Japanese | ハラド |
| Kannada | ಹರಾದ್ |
| Kazakh | Харад (Cyrillic) Xarad (Latin) |
| Korean | 하라드 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Hарад |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Харад |
| Malayalam | ഹരദ് |
| Marathi | हरद |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Харад |
| Nepalese | हरद |
| Pashto | هاراد |
| Persian | هاراد |
| Punjabi | ਹਰਡ |
| Russian | Харад |
| Serbian | Харад (Cyrillic) Harad (Latin) |
| Sindhi | هاري |
| Sinhalese | හරද් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Харад |
| Tamil | ஹரத் |
| Telugu | హరద |
| Thai | ฮารัด |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Гарад |
| Urdu | حرض |
| Uzbek | Ҳарад (Cyrillic) Harad (Latin) |
| Yiddish | חאַראַד |
| Realms of Men of Middle-earth throughout the Ages | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Age | Amon Ereb • Forest of Brethil • Dor-lómin • Eriador • Estolad • Ladros | |
| Second Age | Arnor • Dunland • Gondor • Haradwaith • Númenor• Rhovanion • Rhûn • Umbar | |
| Third Age | Arnor (later split into Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur) • Dale • Dunland • Lake-town (later part of the kingdom of Dale) • Gondor • Haradwaith • Khand • Rhovanion • Rohan • Rhûn • Umbar • Vales of Anduin | |
| Fourth Age | Dale • Haradwaith • Núrn • Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor • Rhovanion • Rohan • Rhûn • Khand • Eriador • Vales of Anduin | |
|
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Khazad-dûm (Moria) | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
References[]
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon" in Parma Eldalamberon, n. XII
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, chapter V: "The Ambarkanta"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book Two, Ch. III: "The Black Gate is Closed"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. VII: The Treason of Isengard, chapter XXV: "The Story Foreseen from Fangorn"
- ↑ Henry Resnick, "An Interview with Tolkien"