Easterlings

Easterlings, also known as Swarthy Men, belonged to the race of Men who lived in the strange and vast lands of Rhûn, located in the east of the Sea of Rhûn and Mordor. The Easterlings were known to be a hostile race composed of people coming from different races and kingdoms. Some of them were barbaric horse nomads, while others were civilized empires. They were not a united race, but their hatred has gathered them to fight together. The Easterlings were known to be the deadliest rivals of the Free Peoples. The Easterlings have pledged their allegiance to Sauron and have fought by his side numerous times.​

Easterlings are very diverse. The Easterlings came from different races and people - some of them were sallow-skinned and tall while some of them were swarthy and short. There were even some who looked like Dwarves, as witnessed in the Siege of Gondor. During the siege, the Easterlings spotted came from an unknown eastern land. They had beards, and they were broad and short. Aside from looking like Dwarves, they also carried the Dwarves' weapon of choice - axes. The majority of the Easterlings had olive or sallow (yellowish and pale) skin. Their eyes were dark - mostly black and dark brown. They also had straight black hair. The swarthy Easterlings hailing from the First Age do not seem to be connected to the Easterlings who are from the Fourth Age. The First Age Easterlings came from unknown lands located on the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. They were more related to the Dunlendings compared to the Wainriders and Balchoth. It was believed that if the Blue Wizards were not assigned to go to Rhûn, the Easterlings would have grown in number and would have dominated the West.​

During the First Age, the Easterlings referred to the sons of Ulfang and Bór, also known as the "Swarthy Men." The Easterlings were also called the "Eastrons" by some of the Dor-lómin men. The Edain were the ones who arrived first in Beleriand. The Easterlings arrived much later than them. The Easterlings were secretly allied to Morgoth during this time. Bór came to Lothlann in Beleriand during FA 463. Upon his arrival, Maedhros received him. The lands in the south and north of the March of Maedhros were given to Bór so that he and his men could settle. Because of this, Bór and his sons gave their loyalty to Maedhros.

Bór's sons were Borthand, Borlad, and Borlach. They remained faithful to Maedhros for so many years. When Morgoth ordered Bór to betray the banner of Caranthir, Bór and his men lost and died during the Nimaeth Amoediad. Ulfang arrived in Lothlann in Beleriand also in FA 463 - just after Bór and his men arrived. His sons were Uldor "the accursed," Ulwarth, and Ulfast. The sons of Fëanor welcomed Ulfang and his followers. The lands in the south and north of the March of Maedhros were also assigned for them to dwell in. Because of this, Ulfang and his followers swore their loyalty to the Caranthir.

Ulfang and his sons were also secretly allied to Morgoth. They betrayed the Eldar and Edain at the time of the Nimaeth Arnoediad. This event was recorded in history as the Treachery of Men. When the Nimaeth Arnoediad was over, Morgoth ordered the Easterlings to invade Hithlum. The Easterlings destroyed, plundered, and killed across the vast lands of Hithlum. The Eldar of Hithlum managed to escape from the Easterlings and took refuge in the southern mountains. The Easterlings refused to follow as they were afraid of the Elves. They soon withdrew towards the north and settled there.

Morgoth did not give the fertile lands of the Beleriand to the Easterlings, as he promised. The Easterlings were forced to reign in Hithlum, where they governed cruelly and enslaved the remaining Men of Hithlum. The Easterlings were referred to as the "Incomers" by the Men of Hithlum. The Easterlings robbed and stole from the Men of Hithlum and even stole their wives. The most famous of which is Aerin, who was taken by Bordda so that she could produce his heir. The Easterlings, however, stayed clear of Morwen and her house.

It was believed that Morwen was a witch, and the Easterlings feared her. It was because of this that Morwen's son had enough time to escape to Doriath. The cousin of Túrin, Tuor, happened to be a slave of Hithlum when the Easterlings invaded. He escaped during the chaos of the invasion and was able to avoid being captured by the Easterlings. He lived the life of a fugitive until the Vala Ulmo contacted him and sent him to Gondolin. The Easterlings continued to rule Hithlum from FA 473 to FA 583 as the vassals of Morgoth. It was only after the War of Wrath that the Easterlings left Hithlum and fled over the Blue Mountains towards Eriador. They scattered and set themselves as chieftains and kings of many of the Middlemen.​

The Rings of Power were forged during the Second Age. Khamûl was the King of the Easterlings during that time. Because of his position, he was given one of the Rings of Power. Khamûl ruled over the lands of the East, known as Rhûn. As the owner of one of the Rings of Power, Khamûl became a powerful sorcerer. Eventually, the ring corrupted him. By SA 2251, the once-great king turned into a wraith and became one of Sauron's best servants.​

The Men who were residing in Mordor and the uncharted lands in the eastern side of the Sea of Rhûn were collectively called the Easterlings. By this time, the Easterlings were composed of men from different nations and tribes. During this time, most of the Easterlings considered Sauron as their ally because of King Khamûl. He became a part of Sauron's Nazgûl. The Easterlings attacked Gondor and the lands around Rhûn frequently. The Easterlings were left to cater to their territorial ambitions after Sauron failed to win the War of the Last Alliance. They took over Gondor in TA 490 by passing through Dagorlad.

This started a series of wars that went on for 60 years. The Easterlings were finally defeated by the ninth King of Gondor, Turambar, during TA 550. With this victory, Gondor was able to subdue the Easterlings and take a large part of their land. This land was in between Mordor and the Kingdom of Rhovanion, and the territory included the Sea of Rhûn. Gondor was able to keep the territory, but they also started losing them over time after a few hundred years.

In TA 1248, the Easterlings returned and clashed once more with Gondor. However, their attempts to initiate warfare failed as the Easterlings were not organized and powerful enough to beat Gondor's power. But Gondor soon lost their power during the civil war. After this, the Easterlings were peaceful for a while as they kept to themselves until they felt they were powerful enough to start again their territorial ambitions. At the end of the Third Age, the War of the Ring took place. The Easterlings fought by the side of Sauron and joined his Mordor forces. They were able to face the Men of Dale, the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, and the Elves of Mirkwood in this war.​

Although the Easterlings were on the losing side of the War of the Ring, they remained as a threat during the early Fourth Age. The Easterlings were considered a grave threat since they were many and had very violent tendencies. But they were finally subdued by King Elessar after a series of campaigns.​

The Wainriders were an alliance of tribes that united to fight against Gondor. The Easterling group was under the leadership of Sauron. They often rode great chariots (hence the name) and often raided Rhovanion. While spreading terror in the land, they also enslaved its people. The Wainriders traveled in great wagons and camped in them. Their young women were also skilled in weapons. When the men left for battle, the old men, youths, and young women were tasked to defend their homes. When the Great Plague hit Gondor, their forces weakened.

This encouraged the Easterlings, and they started attacking in TA 1856. During the Battle of the Plains, King Narmacil II was killed, and the Gondor army was defeated. The Easterlings gradually took Gondor's territories east of Anduin. It was in TA 1899 that Calimehtar, son of Narmacil and the thirtieth King of Gondor, defeated the Wainriders at a battle in Dagorlad. There was peace in Gondor after that. But in TA 1944, the Wainriders were able to return and started attacking again. This time, they were with their allies, the Variags of Khand and the Haradrim from Near Harad. The alliance was unexpected.

They were conflicts between them before, but they started to unite due to their universal hate for the Western Kingdoms. King Ondoher and the next of his kin were slain in the battle. However, instead of riding on to take over Minas Anor and the city, they decided to pause to celebrate their victory. Unknown to them, General Eärnil, who led the southern army of Gondor, was on their way to the city. Eärnil's forces were able to defeat the Haradrim in South Ithilien, and he and his army were able to defeat the Wainriders at the Battle of the Camp. The victory proclaimed Eärnil as the new king. After the defeat, the Wainriders were broken, and most of them retreated East. They still ruled over the Rhovanion, but they never attacked Gondor again until they joined Sauron in the War of the Ring.​

The Balchoth was known to be one of the fiercest races of the Easterlings. The Easterlings also rode in wagons and chariots. But the difference between them and the Wainriders is their behavior. The Balchoth were more savage and primitive. The Balchoth were the ones to attack Gondor under Dol Guldur's orders. In TA2510, the Balchoth tried to invade the plains of Calenardhon with the assistance of Orcs. They almost destroyed the army of Cirion, the Ruling Steward. However, they failed to win over the forces of Éothéod, who was serving Eorl the Young. Their defeat was recorded in history as the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. The Balchoth were hunted down and killed. If any survived, it was believed that they sought refuge from the other Easterlings around the Sea of Rhún.​

The Variags were a group of Easterling warriors coming from Khand. The first record of their existence was in TA 1856 in the West. They fought beside the Wainriders in TA 1944. It was recorded that they appeared in the Battle of Pelennor Fields as part of the reserve army composed of Easterlings and Southrons. Tolkien did not expound much on the background of the Variags. Any information about them is merely speculation. It was believed that they rode horses since they were Mordor's horse suppliers. It is also thought that they used large axes on the battlefield. Because of the lack of information, the Variags were not included in the film adaptations by Peter Jackson. However, you can find them in the Lord of the Rings strategy battle game. In this game, the Variags were equipped with bows and axes.​

The Easterlings had a lot of tribes and empires. They are also a people of mixed races and cultures. So, there is no specific knowledge about their overall lifestyle. During the First Age, the Easterlings were known to be a savage race of Men. An example of this is how Brodda treated the Men of the House of Hador. In the Third Age, the Easterlings were known to fight with impressive courage. This was shown during the Battle of the Black Gate and the Pelennor Fields. The Easterlings had numerous clans, and they were united by the Kings and Emperors of Rhûn. An Emperor of the Easterlings led the Easterling army to the Battle of Dale.​

Nothing much is known about any particular weapons that the Easterlings used. It is known that they often used arsenal spears, pikes, bows, axes, and chariots in warfare. They also liked riding horses on most occasions.​

The Easterlings in the movies of Peter Jackson had an impressive armor. In the scene where an army of Easterlings was entering the Black Gate, you get to see a more detailed shot of their armor. The Easterlings had on a dragon skull-shaped helmet made out of bronze. The crests on the back of their helmets resemble the crests of the feudal Samurai. The helmet had cheek and eye guards. The helmet also had two horns from the back to remind other people of dragons. Their armor has a rising sun emblem and resembled the armor of ancient Chinese soldiers. The lamellar armor was gold or brass over steel and consisted of a placard for the stomach, a gorget for the neck and head, cuisses for the thighs, and poleyns for the knees.

Under the armor, the Easterlings wore clothing. This consisted of a long-sleeved burgundy tunic, long burgundy pants, burgundy headscarf, blackface cloth, and red leather gloves. The boots they wore were made of black leather and had upturned toes, which suggested a Persian, Turkic, or Mongolic influence. The Easterlings carried a rectangular, curved shield that was concave at the top and the bottom. The shields were like a dark brown square surrounded by bronze. The shield has an iron handgrip and came with a dark red leather belt. The belt allows the Easterlings to strap the shield on their forearm when they need to use both hands during combat. The Easterlings in the movies of Peter Jackson were portrayed as men from the Middle East.

This portrayal hounded the movie with controversy. In the special extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, it was explained that the inspiration for the portrayal was by the variety of Persian cultures, citing the Ottoman Turks [1], Mongol horsemen [2], and Sassanid Persians, for example. When in battle, the Easterlings were infantrymen and were the core of Sauron's armies. This was because they were better equipped and taller than Orcs.​

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum witnessed an army from Rhûn entering the Black Gate when they arrived in Mordor. These were the Easterlings. This was the time Sam accidentally falls down the slope, and Frodo goes after him. Two of the Easterling soldiers noticed the commotion and left their formation to check what happened. Sam and Frodo were able to cover up under the Elvish cloak. The Elvish cloak made them look like a boulder, so the Easterling soldiers were unable to see them. The Easterling soldiers eventually returned to the formation and entered the Black Gates.​

When the Gate of Minas Tirith was penetrated, the Easterlings were only shown for a few frames. The Easterlings were shown to approach the Gondor soldiers, but the movie does not show them fighting.​

The Easterlings can be found in the Brown Lands that bordered the region of Parth Celebrant. The Easterlings established a few settlements there and in many other areas of the south. They are known to be a threat to the eastern borders of Rohan. They were known to be allies of any invader who wants to take Gondor. The Easterlings in this game were known to be the Wainriders, Balchoth, Jangovar, Khundolar, and Variags.​

The Easterlings are a unique cavalry known as kataphrakts. The Easterlings were mounted on armored horses, and they used a broad shield and a scimitar. The horses had brass lamellar armor in front, which can trample pikemen and spearmen on the battlefield. They are known for their vicious attacks and defensive power. As long as the Easterlings fight side by side, they are a force to be reckoned with.​