Easterlings

**Easterlings**, or ***Eastrons***, were Men from the far east of Middle-earth, that had settled in and around the land of Rhûn and even parts of Rhovanion. Corrupted by Sauron, they remained fiercely loyal and ready to take ups arms for his cause throughout the ages.

## Description

As of the Third Age, Easterlings were a people diverse in height and skin tone. Their skin was either sallow (a pale yellow) or olive, their eyes were dark (dark brown and black), and their straight hair was black. One unique variant appeared at the Siege of Gondor, described as broad, short, bearded, and wielding axes. It is unspecified whether the Easterlings of the First Age (told of in the *Quenta Silmarillion*) were the primary ancestors of those that later settled Rhûn.

## Specific groups

### Wainriders

The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterling tribes who were united by their hate of Gondor, fueled by the Dark Lord Sauron. Following the Great Plague which had weakened Gondor, they started their attacks in TA 1856, defeating Gondor at the Battle of the Plains and killing King Narmacil II. They rode in great chariots (which gave them their name), and raided the lands of Rhovanion, destroying or enslaving its people. Gondor lost all of its possessions east of Anduin to them, save only Ithilien.

In TA 1899, the thirtieth King of Gondor, Calimehtar son of Narmacil, defeated the Wainriders at Dagorlad, buying some rest for his land. However the Wainriders struck back in TA 1944, allying themselves with the Haradrim of Near Harad and the Variags of Khand. Before this they had been expanding their power southward beyond Mordor, and had come into conflict with the tribes of Khand and the eastern Haradrim. But eventually these men allied under their universal hate of the West. They managed to kill King Ondoher and all his heirs, but instead of riding on to Minas Anor and taking the city, they paused to celebrate.

Meanwhile, general Eärnil of Gondor's southern army rode and defeated an inferior force of Haradrim in South Ithilien and marched north. He came too late to rescue Ondoher, but he did manage to annihilate the Wainriders for good at the Battle of the Camp. Eärnil was subsequently crowned king. After this defeat the might of the Wainriders was broken, and their tribal confederation broke up.

### Balchoth

The Balchoth were a fierce race of Easterlings who attacked Gondor under the orders of Sauron, before the War of the Ring. In TA 2510, they overran the plains of Calenardhon and almost destroyed the army of the Ruling Steward Cirion, but were defeated by the Éothéod under Eorl the Young in the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. Like the Wainriders they rode in chariots and wagons, and they may have been descendants of these people.

## Weapons

Not much is known about the weapons used by the Easterlings. They had as far as it is known among their arsenal spears, bows, pikes, axes and chariots. They also seemed to favor the horse on many occasions, although all this probably differed greatly among the Easterling tribes, kingdoms, or empires.

## Culture

Knowledge of the culture of the Easterlings is limited. In the First Age they could be quite savage; examples of this rise from Brodda's treatment of the Men of the House of Hador in Dor-lómin. In the Third Age at least, the Easterlings fought with great valor, as displayed during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the Battle of the Black Gate.

## History

The Easterlings were a savage people, more primitive than the Men who had befriended the Elves and yet formidable warriors: dressed in crimson livery, protected by golden plates, equipped with razor-sharp crested helms, armed with scimitars, axes and halberds and some even riding upon horses or in chariots to battle. In the Elder Days they had done many foul deeds, such as enslaving Men living in richer lands and driving off the Elves in those regions.

Early on in the Second Age, the Easterlings were perverted by Sauron to his dreadful allegiance, viewing him as a vengeful god that was due their reverence and fear. As the Dark Lord's empire expanded to the Westlands, many men from the far east were encouraged to seek better loot - this folk troubled the Northmen, pillaging their homes and plundering what little they had. One of their kings, Khamûl, was 'gifted' a Ring of Power by Sauron, becoming one of the Nine Nazgûl bound to obey his will.

Without the Enemy's tyranny to hold them together after the War of the Last Alliance, the warlike and restless Easterlings quickly turned on one another, making some flee westwards; however, they still worshiped Morgoth and Sauron as their deities, and their hatred of the Free Peoples was rooted deep in their hearts. Envying the splendor of Gondor in the days of its glory, these wild peoples began to disturb the neighboring kingdom through periodic raids. Moved by the return of Sauron, their tribal confederacies assumed an even more aggressive stance against Gondor and the Northmen, wreaking havoc wherever they went at the Dark Lord's behest.

During the War of the Ring, regiments of Easterlings passed through the Black Gate, bringing tribute from Rhûn and assembling within the borders of the Black Land for the eventual siege of Gondor; they were unleashed alongside the Morgul-host at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, that saw a crucial defeat against Sauron and significant losses among his forces.