Haradrim or Southrons were Men from the far south of Middle-earth, that lived in the land of Harad and near Umbar. Suborned by Sauron, they were ever eagerly ready to answer his summons and fight for his cause.
Traits and culture[]
The Haradrim were bold and grim men, fierce in despair. They were tall and dark-skinned with black hair and dark eyes, and for that they were called Swertings or Swarthy Men. The men of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes, while the race known as "half-trolls" out of Far Harad had black skin.
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 Mumakil, and so the Southron forces rallied around them when faced with mounted foes.
Harad's tribes included into 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.
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.
History[]
The Haradrim were a fierce people, tamers of beasts such as the great Mûmakil and formidable warriors: dressed in scarlet/dark-brown livery, wearing spiked frames on their backs, with faces covered by hoods, armed with scimitars, throwing-spears, pikes and bows and some even riding horses to battle. Their tribe leaders bore even larger spiked ceremonial frames and held a standard with the "Black Serpent", the emblem of Haradrim chieftains.
Early on in the Second Age, the Haradrim were coerced by Sauron to his dreadful allegiance, viewing him as a wrathful god that was due their reverence and fear. Under his guidance they built many towns and walls of stone, while he began expanding his empire westwards. Eventually, they came under the oppression of those proud Númenóreans that made their settlements on the southern coasts of Middle-earth, and were thus forced to yield goods to these conquerors. By the time of the War of the Last Alliance, the Haradrim were back under Sauron's sway, having mingled with the Black Númenóreans of whom two had become notable lords of their tribes.
After Sauron's downfall in that war, the Haradrim remained peaceful for a brief time, although eventually they marched together with the Black Númenóreans to reclaim the haven of Umbar from Gondor's control, only to suffer defeat. Nonetheless, they assailed the neighboring kingdom on numerous occasions afterwards in alliance with the Black Númenóreans or the Easterlings, all the more after Sauron's steady return, but the Gondorians and Rohirrim were able to successfully push them back time and time again. During the War of the Ring, numerous Haradrim were passing through Ithilien to answer Sauron's summons, for he was mustering his forces in Mordor for a siege upon Gondor; they were unleashed at the Battle of Pelennor Fields as reinforcements for the Morgul-host. Despite initially turning the skirmish into Sauron's favour with the arrival of the Haradrim atop War Mûmaks, the sudden appearance of the Army of the Dead led by Aragorn turned the tide and the battle ended into a crucial defeat for Sauron's forces.
