People watchingRings of Poweron Amazon Prime Video are getting a lesson in the geography of the world called Arda. So far, the show has taken place in exotic locations that include the Helcaraxe and the island of Numenor, and now the action is returning to Middle-Earth. Our heroes are heading for the Southlands, the region that was pictured in the sigil found by Galadriel, the part of the world that will eventually be known as Mordor.
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There was a time during the second age when this part of Middle-Earth was relatively peaceful. Morgoth had been removed and cast into the void, and Sauron had retreated into hiding for the time being. This is whenRings of Powertakes place, when the Easterlings are a divided people and the chaotic Southlands was a lawless and bitter place.
5The People of Rhûn
InThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, the Easterlings are humans that live in the eastern part of Middle-Earth, a place called Rhûn, and had populated those lands by the Third Age.The people of BronwyninRings of Powerare the ancestors of these groups that lived in various places in Middle-Earth during the Second Age, including parts of the Southlands.
The Amazon show divides the kingdoms of human beings into two main groups: those that fought against Morgoth, and those that were loyal to him. Most of the humans seen in Middle-Earth so far are leaderless and therefore more vulnerable to conquering foes. This is also how Tolkien described their political situation between the fall of Morgoth and the rise of Sauron. They did have contact and alliances with Elves and the Men of the West Coast, but not all of those relationships were beneficial ones and many were simply wiped out during the War of Wrath.
4Ulfang The Black
One of the most notorious and reviled traitors according to the Elven view of Middle-earth history, Ulfang was an Easterling who was partly responsible for one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Arda. This incident was perhaps even more egregious than the destruction of the Two Trees was the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, or the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
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Six great battles took place over the Silamrils, and Nírnaeth Arnoediad was the second to last one. It did not go well for the Eldar, and the result was Morgoth’s dominance over most of Middle-earth. One of Feanor’s sons, Caranthir, was allied with Ulfang the Black, an Easterling Chieftain, but he was secretly working for Morgoth and betrayed his Eldar allies during the battle. In a moment of irony, he and his equally unfaithful sons were killed in the battle by another Easterling, Bór, who remained loyal to the Elves.
3Khamûl, King And Ringwraith
By now,most fans of the books or moviescan recite the lines of the famous poem. Of these, the one for Men is: “nine for the mortal men doomed to die.” One of the nine Kings of Men that was offered a ring of power was King Khamûl, an Easterling who ruled in Rhûn, and he became the second most powerful of Sauron’s lieutenants.
Khamûl spent a thousand years as the commander of Sauron’s forces in Dol Guldur, but when his Master called in the Third Age, he mounted a dark horse and rode west to the Shire. He was the Ringwraith that asked Farmer Maggot where Frodo was, and pursued the Hobbits to the Buckleberry Ferry. He took over as leader after Emowyn killed the Witch-king of Angmar, and met his final end on the slopes of Mount Doom when trying to apprehend Frodo.
2The Cult Of Melkor
In episode five ofRings of Power,some mysterious and sinister-looking figures in white arrive to inspect the place where the Stranger landed. They have yet to be identified, but during this period in Middle-Earth, there was a religious cult that worshipped Melkor, the Valar who is also known as Morgoth. Sauron started this cult in Numenor. It involved burnt offerings, a massive temple, and human sacrifices, among other sordid things.Elendil wasn’t just an “elf-friend"but the leader of a group called The Faithful in Numenorean society that opposed the cult.
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These characters are from further east, specifically Rhûn, as producer Lindsey Weberrevealed in an interviewwith TIME. The region that was loyal to Morgoth might also retain a cult loyal to Sauron. It’s possible that they aren’t looking for the Stranger at all, but scouting the parts of the Southlands, the future Mordor, on behalf of another master.
1Hithlum And The Middle Men
The Easterlings that had served Sauron were relegated to an inhospitable northern region called Hithlum, and were not permitted to leave. When Saruman is making deals with some desperate humans inThe Two Towers,these are some of the same people. However, not all the Easterlings that were trapped in Hithlum stayed there.
When the power of Morgoth was goneand Sauron’s influence had faded, plenty of the Easterlings that were previously starving in the frosty hills of Hitlum crossed the Blue Mountains. There, they found homes in southern regions like Harad and Khand. They were known as the Middle Men by other races and were mostly loyal to Sauron, until they were permanently subdued by King Elessar at the end of the Third Age.
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