Khamûl

Khamûl was one of the nine Ringwraiths second to the Witch-king, in Middle-earth. During the Third Age, he held Dol Guldur as Sauron's lieutenant. After the Witch-king was slain, he became the Lord of Nazgûl for a short period.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Three: The Third Age, IV: "The Hunt for the Ring"
==Biography==
===Second Age===
Khamûl was once a mortal man, an Easterling who ruled in Rhûn. He received one of the nine Rings of Power from the Dark Lord Sauron and in time he was corrupted and became one of his servants.
He first appeared as one of the Nazgûl in SA 2251.The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Great Years"
=== Third Age ===
In TA 2951, Sauron sent three Nazgûl to abide in Dol Guldur, and Khamûl commanded the fortress thereafter.Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, Part Three: The Third Age, IV: "The Hunt for the Ring", Notes
==== War of the Ring ====
Khamûl was the wraith who pursued the hobbits to Bucklebury Ferry in the Shire, and who asked Farmer Maggot for "Baggins" just before Frodo Baggins left Hobbiton.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Ch. IV: "A Short Cut to Mushrooms"
Khamûl also appeared in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields with the other Nazgûl, mounted on his Fellbeast and killing Gondor's soldiers at the beginning of the battle. After the Witch-king's demise, he and the other seven lesser Nazgûl retreated to Mordor.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. VI: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
Afterwards, Khamûl became the leader of the Nazgûl. He led them to the Battle of the Black Gate riding his Fellbeast, before they were attacked by the Eagles. The Nazgûl retreated when Sauron sensed that Frodo claimed the One Ring for himself, and were dispatched to Mount Doom. He fell in the eruption's fire.The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. III: "Mount Doom"
== Names ==
Khamûl was called the Shadow of the East, the Second Chief, and the Black Easterling. He was the only Ringwraith whose name was given by J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as one of the six Ringwraiths not of Númenórean descent.
In a brief note tracking the movements of the Nazgûl within the Shire, Khamûl is referred to as "E" alongside a Ringwraith referred to as "F".The Nature of Middle-earth, Part Three: "The World, its Lands, and its Inhabitants", XXI: "From The Hunt for the Ring", pg. 374
== In other versions ==
In prior versions of the legendarium, Khamûl was stationed at Dol Guldur on March 6, when Aragorn revealed himself to Sauron and began marching on the Wood-elf realms on March 10. On March 11, his forces began assailing the nearby Lothlórien. After this failed, much of his force passed around the border of the woods and entered the Wold of Rohan. On March 12, they were met with Ents sent east from Fangorn and Isengard, and were routed. Lórien was then attacked twice more on March 15 and March 22, but was never entered. The forces of Dol Guldur also went north into Mirkwood, battling the forces of King Thranduil under Mirkwood's trees, the climax of these battles being on March 15, which after a "long battle... and great ruin and fire" was won by Thranduil's forces.
== In adaptations ==
=== Peter Jackson's film trilogy ===
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Khamûl is shown briefly, speaking to Farmer Maggot, who directs him onward to Hobbiton where one "Baggins" resides. Later, the Hobbits evade Farmer Maggot, but Frodo senses a presence and tells his friends to get off the road. Hiding behind a tree, the Hobbits hush as Khamûl approaches, catching their scent. As the four stay quiet, Merry throws a sack of vegetables behind the Rider's horse, distracting Khamûl and allowing the Hobbits to escape.
In The Return of the King, after the Ring is destroyed, Khamûl dies along with the seven other Ringwraiths in the eruption of Mount Doom, the Witch-king having perished earlier in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
=== The Hobbit film trilogy ===
In the The Hobbit film trilogy, the nine Ringwraiths had been buried in the High Fells of Rhudaur, but emerged at the summons of the Necromancer, who is revealed to be Sauron. In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Khamûl and the other eight Ringwraiths engage the White Council in battle, with Khamûl wearing spectral Easterling armor.
=== Video games ===
*Though not named in the game, Khamûl was featured in The Lord of the Rings Online as the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur. He commands the forces of Sauron in Mirkwood and was the final boss of the 12-person raid on Barad Guldur, along with his fellbeast. He was once known as The Cursed Rider, as one of the Nine Nazgûl, he was the recipient of Orôm (Warmonger), one of the nine Rings of Power that were forged for Men. He was an Easterling King, but his name is lost in time, and he is now known by the most common of his many nicknames.
*In Electronic Arts' The Battle for Middle-earthII: The Rise of the Witch-king, Khamûl is one of two named Ringwraith heroes of the Mordor faction who ride on fellbeasts.
== Gallery ==
File:Khamûl the Easterling - A Shadow in the East.PNG|Khamûl as seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - A Shadow in the East Expansion
File:Khamûl the Easterling - The Black Riders (Nightmare).PNG|Khamûl as seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Black Riders Nightmare Pack
File:Khamûl LOTR SBG.jpg|Khamûl models from The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Arabic 	خمول
Armenian 	Խամոլ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Кhамул
Bengali 	খামুল
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Хамул
Chinese (Hong Kong)	克哈穆爾
Georgian 	კჰამული
Greek 	Χαμούλ
Gujarati 	ખમુલ
Hebrew 	כאמול
Hindi 	खमुल
Japanese 	ハムール
Kazakh 	Кһамұл (Cyrillic) Khamul (Latin)
Kannada 	ಖಮುಲ
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Кhамул
Macedonian Cyrillic	Кхамул
Marathi 	खमुल
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Кhамул
Nepalese 	खमुल
Pashto 	خمول
Persian 	خامول
Punjabi 	ਖਮੁਲ
Russian 	Кхамул
Sanskrit 	खमुल्
Serbian 	Камул (Cyrillic) Kamul (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඛමුල්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Кҳамул
Tamil 	க்ஹமுல்
Telugu 	ఖముల
Thai 	คามูล
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Кгамул
Urdu 	خمول
Uzbek 	Кҳамул (Cyrillic) Khamul (Latin)
Yiddish 	כאַמול
== References ==
Category:Easterlings
Category:Villains
Category:Nazgûl
Category:Ring bearers
Category:Servants of Sauron
Category:Minions of Angmar
Category:Army of Mordor
Category:Characters in Unfinished Tales
Category:The Fellowship of the Ring (film) characters
Category:The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies characters
Category:The Return of the King (film) characters
de:Khamûl
es:Khamûl
fr:Khamûl
it:Khamûl l'Esterling
nl:Khamûl
pl:Khamûl
ru:Кхамул