Near Harad

On the map Near Harad is the belt of country directly south of Mordor and the disputed march of Harondor, stretching from the coast near Umbar eastward toward Khand. Beyond it, further south still, lies Far Harad, which Gondor knew mostly by rumor.

The Haradrim were never a single people. Númenóreans had settled and dominated parts of the coast in the Second Age, and Sauron worked on the rest for thousands of years, so by the Third Age the lands nearest Gondor were reliably hostile. Their warriors wore gold and scarlet, carried a serpent banner and fought with scimitars. Gondor traded with the coastal peoples during truces, and the same roads that carried that trade carried their armies north when the truces broke.

The mûmakil were their most striking force, huge armored beasts driven north for the assault on Minas Tirith. Sam saw one in Ithilien during Faramir's ambush of a Haradrim column and got his wish to see an oliphaunt. On the Pelennor the beasts panicked the horses of Rohan until archers brought them down.

After Sauron fell, the surviving Haradrim made peace with King Elessar, and the border wars that had run for most of the Third Age came to an end.

Events at this place

1. TA 3019, March 7 · The Lord of the Rings

   Faramir's ambush in Ithilien

   Rangers of Ithilien destroyed a Haradrim column marching north, and Frodo and Sam watched a mûmak stampede after the fight.

2. TA 3019, March 15 · The Lord of the Rings

   The Haradrim at the Pelennor

   Southron troops and mûmakil fought in Mordor's army outside Minas Tirith, and their chieftain was killed by Théoden's charge.

3. TA 3019, May 2 · The Lord of the Rings

   Peace with Gondor

   Envoys from Harad came to King Elessar after the war, and terms were settled that ended the long southern conflict.

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