Harad

{{short description|Fictional land in Tolkien's Middle-earth, south of Gondor and Mordor}} {{other uses}} {{good article}} {{Use British English|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox fictional location | name = Harad | series = [[J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien's]] [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]] | image = Flag of Harad.svg | image_size = 200px | caption = Haradrim chieftain's standard | alt_name = Haradwaith, Hyarmen, the Sunlands | type = Vast hot southern region | first = ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' | locations = Umbar, Near Harad, Far Harad }} In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[high fantasy]] ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', '''Harad''' is the immense land south of [[Gondor]] and [[Mordor]]. Its main port is '''Umbar''', the base of the '''Corsairs of Umbar''' whose ships serve as the Dark Lord [[Sauron]]'s fleet. Its [[Man (Middle-earth)|people]] are the dark-skinned '''Haradrim''' or Southrons; their warriors wear scarlet and gold, and are armed with swords and round shields; some ride gigantic elephants called ''[[mûmak]]il''.

Tolkien based the Haradrim on ancient [[Aethiopia]]ns, people of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], following his [[Philology|philological]] research on the [[Old English]] word ''[[Sigelwara Land|Sigelwara]]''. He decided that this word referred to some kind of soot-black fire demon before it was applied to the Aethiopians. He based the Haradrim's use of [[war elephants]], meanwhile, on that of [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]] in his war against [[Ancient Rome]]. Critics have debated [[Tolkien and race|whether Tolkien was racist]] in making the [[protagonist]]s white and the [[antagonist]]s black, but others have noted that Tolkien showed anti-[[xenophobic]] sentiments in real life, opposing any attempt to demonise the enemy in both World Wars.

In [[Peter Jackson]]'s 2002 film ''[[The Two Towers (film)|The Two Towers]]'', the Haradrim were based on 12th century [[Saracens]]: they have turbans and flowing robes, and they ride ''mûmakil''. The Haradrim appear in a variety of games and merchandise inspired by ''The Lord of the Rings''.

==Middle-earth narrative==

[[File:Gondor sketch map.svg|thumb|center|upright=2.5|Sketch map of part of Middle-earth in the Third Age, showing Harad to the south of [[Gondor]] and [[Mordor]] ]]

=== Geography ===

[[File:Atlas Van der Hagen - Barbary Coast.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.75|Tolkien's Corsairs were inspired by the [[Barbary pirates|Barbary Pirates or Corsairs]] of the North African coast.<ref name="Bowers 2019"/> Map by [[Jan Janssonius]], c. 1650]]

Harad is a large land in the south of [[Middle-earth]], bordered to the north by (from west to east) the lands of [[Gondor]], [[Mordor]], Khand and Rhûn. Historically the border with Gondor was to be the river Harnen, but by the time of the [[War of the Ring]] all the land further north to the river Poros is under the influence of the Haradrim. The border with Mordor runs along the southern [[Mountains of Shadow]]. Harad's west coast (the nearest to Gondor) is washed by the Great Sea, the western ocean of [[Middle-earth]]. Harad's eastern shores look out on the Eastern Sea, Middle-earth's eastern ocean.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} "[[Akallabêth]]"</ref>

The [[Elves in Middle-earth|elves]] named the land and its people ''Haradwaith'', "South-folk", from the [[Sindarin]] ''harad'', meaning "south", and ''gwaith'', meaning "people".<ref name="Tyler2002 p307">{{cite book |last=Tyler |first=J. E. A. |author-link=Tony Tyler |title=The Complete Tolkien Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-WWMtIVl_gC&pg=PA307 |year=2002 |publisher=Pan Books |isbn=978-0-330-41165-3 |pages=307–308}}</ref> The [[Quenya]] word ''Hyarmen'' similarly means "south" in addition to being the name of the country. The hobbits called the area the ''Sunlands'', and the people ''[[wikt:swarthy|Swert]]ings''.<ref name="The Black Gate is Closed" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}}, book 4 ch 3, "The Black Gate is Closed", {{ISBN|0 04 823046 4}} "I've heard tales of the big folk down away in the Sunlands. Swertings we call 'em in our tales; and they ride on oliphaunts, 'tis said, when they fight."</ref> [[Aragorn]] briefly describes his journeys in the land as being in "Harad where the stars are strange".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} "[[The Council of Elrond]]"</ref> Tolkien confirmed that this meant that Aragorn had travelled "some distance into the [[Southern Hemisphere|southern hemisphere]]" in Harad.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} part 4 ch. III "The Istari" p. 402 note 10; {{ISBN|0-04-823179-7}}</ref>

[[File:Greek Galleys.jpg|thumb|left|Tolkien called the Corsairs of Umbar's ships "[[dromund]]s" (galleys, as in this reconstruction) and deep ships with oars and sails.<ref name="Tolkien Ships" group=T/><ref name="Morwinsky 2008"/>]]

The great harbour city of Umbar lies on Harad's north-west coast; its natural harbour is the base of the Corsairs of Umbar, inspired by the [[Barbary pirates]],<ref name="Bowers 2019">{{cite book |last=Bowers |first=John M. |title=Tolkien's Lost Chaucer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5OwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170 |year=2019 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-258029-0 |page=170}}</ref> who provide the Dark Lord [[Sauron]] with a sizeable fleet. The ships are different types of [[galley]]s, with both oars and sails; some are named as [[dromund]]s, others as having a deep draught (requiring a deep channel), many oars, and black sails.<ref name="Morwinsky 2008">{{cite journal |last=Morwinsky |first=Thomas |title=Númenórean Maritime Technology |journal=Other Minds Magazine |date=January 2008 |issue=2 |pages=28–29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Cole |first=Michael |title=Pirates of Middle Earth |journal=RPG Review |date=March 2015 |issue=26–27 |pages=56–73 |url=http://rpgreview.net/files/rpgreview_26.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Tolkien Ships" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, "[[The Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]" "for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught [with deep hulls] with many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze."</ref>

Elsewhere in Harad there are "many towns";<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} '[[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]', p. 290; {{ISBN|0 04 823139 8}}</ref> one of these is "the inland city", the home of Queen Berúthiel (mentioned by Tolkien in an interview).<ref name="interview">{{cite web |url=https://fantasticmetropolis.com/i/tolkien |title=The Realms of Tolkien |work=originally published in New Worlds in November 1966, reprinted in Carandaith in 1969 and again in Fantastic Metropolis in 2001 |access-date=1 February 2020}}</ref> The Harad Road is the main overland route between Gondor and Harad.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 6 ch. 2</ref> Harad possesses jungles with apes,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}} book 3 ch. 7 "apes in the dark forests of the South"</ref> grasslands,<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A:II "the far fields of the South"</ref> and deserts.

Gondor described Harad as consisting of Near Harad and Far Harad. Near Harad corresponds loosely with [[North Africa]] or the [[Maghreb]], while Far Harad, the vastly larger of the two regions, corresponds loosely with [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. Tolkien's own annotated map of Middle-earth, used by the illustrator [[Pauline Baynes]] to construct her iconic map, suggests that "Elephants appear in the great battle outside [[Minas Tirith]] (as they did in Italy under [[Pyrrhus of Epirus|Pyrrhus]]) but they would be in place in the blank squares of Harad – also camels."<ref name="Kennedy 2016">{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |title=Tolkien annotated map of Middle-earth acquired by Bodleian library |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/03/jrr-tolkien-annotated-map-middle-earth-bodleian-lord-rings-hobbit |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=3 May 2016}}</ref>

=== People === [[File:Memnon Aithiopides Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1507 side A.jpg|thumb| [[Christopher Tolkien]] linked the Haradrim with ancient [[Aethiopia]]ns.<ref name="CT Sigelwara Land" group=T/> [[Black-figure]] [[Attica|Attic]] [[amphora]] with the Aethiopian king [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]], a serpent emblem on his round shield, flanked by two of his warriors, c. 510 BC]]

The [[Men in Middle-earth|Men]] of Harad are called ''Haradrim'' ("South-multitude"), ''Haradwaith'', or ''Southrons'' by the people of Gondor. The Haradrim are of various ethnicities and cultures; some are organized into kingdoms.<ref name="Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 4 ch 4, "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}}, Appendix A §I(iv)</ref> [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] meet [[Faramir]] and his Rangers of Ithilien just before the latter ambush a company of Haradrim on the North Road. Frodo and Sam do not see much of the battle, since they are positioned elsewhere, but they hear the sounds of fighting, and a slain Haradrim warrior crashes at their feet. This warrior is described as having "brown" skin, with black plaits of hair braided with gold.<ref name="Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" group=T/> He wears a [[Scarlet (cloth)|scarlet tunic]], as do the other Haradrim, and a gold collar. He is armed with a sword and has a corslet of brazen scales. Their [[Flag|standards]] are scarlet, and their great beasts, the ''mûmakil'', have scarlet and gold trappings. They carry round spiked shields, painted yellow and black. Their leaders have a serpent emblem.<ref name="Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" group=T/> The people of Far Harad were black-skinned; a group of them is described as "black men like half-[[Trolls in Middle-earth|trolls]] with white eyes and red tongues" and "troll-men".<ref name="Battle of the Pelennor Fields" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5 ch 6, "Battle of the Pelennor Fields"</ref>

===History=== {{further|Númenor}}

The Haradrim are independent peoples, but in the [[Second Age]] they are caught between the ambitions of Sauron (the Dark Lord) and the [[Númenóreans]], who often kill Haradrim or sell them as slaves, and who become rulers of Harad. Over the centuries many Haradrim fall under Sauron's dominion, and to "them Sauron was both king and god, and they feared him exceedingly".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}}, "[[Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age]]"</ref> They become mixed with Númenórean settlers, some of whom fall under the sway of Sauron as "Black Númenóreans".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A §I(iv) footnote</ref><ref name="Straubhaar Men">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Straubhaar |first=Sandra Ballif |author-link=Sandra Ballif Straubhaar |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Men, Middle-Earth |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=1-135-88034-4 |pages=415–417}}</ref> Under King Hyarmendacil I "South-victor" of Gondor, Harad becomes a vassal of Gondor.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, Appendix A §I(iv)</ref> By the time of the War of the Ring, the Haradrim are again under the dominion of Sauron, and the Haradrim Corsairs provide the whole of his Black Fleet; many other Haradrim join his armies, some riding ''mûmakil''. In the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], the leader of the Haradrim army is killed by [[King Théoden]] of [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 5 ch. 6 and book 6 ch. 4</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}}, book 6 ch. 5</ref>

Tolkien did not work out any particular [[Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien|languages]] for the Haradrim, though ''mûmak'', "elephant", may be in the Harad language.<ref name="Tyler2002 p446">{{cite book |last=Tyler |first=J. E. A. |title=The Complete Tolkien Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J-WWMtIVl_gC&pg=PA446 |year=2002 |publisher=Pan Books |isbn=978-0-330-41165-3 |page=446}}</ref> Despite having a meaning in Quenya ("fate"), the name ''Umbar'' is adapted from the natives' language and not from Elvish or [[Adûnaic]].<ref name=Flieger2009>{{cite journal |title=The Music and the Task: Fate and Free Will in Middle-earth |first=Verlyn |last=Flieger |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |journal=[[Tolkien Studies]] |volume=6 |pages=157 |year=2009 |quote=...in primitive Quenya ''umbar'', 'fate,' ... |doi=10.1353/tks.0.0051|s2cid=143443789 }}</ref>

== Concept and creation ==

=== "Sigelwara Land" ===

Tolkien arrived at the idea of Harad, a hot Southern land, through his [[Philology|philological]] work. The [[Old English]] Biblical poem ''[[Exodus (poem)|Exodus]]'' in the tenth-century [[Codex Junius]] 11 includes a passage that caught Tolkien's attention:{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=54}}

{| width="500px" style="margin:1em auto;" |- ! Codex Junius 11 (Old English) !! Modern English<ref name="Exodus">{{cite web |title=Junius 11 "Exodus" ll. 68-88 |url=http://mcllibrary.org/Junius/exodus.html |publisher=The Medieval & Classical Literature Library |access-date=1 February 2020}}</ref> |- | ''.. be suðan Sigelwara land, forbærned burhhleoðu, brune leode, hatum heofoncolum.'' || "... southward lay the [[Aethiopia|Ethiop's land]], parched hill-slopes and a race burned brown by the heat of the sun." |}

{{#tag:imagemap| File:Tolkien's Sigelwara Etymologies.svg{{!}}thumb{{!}}upright=1.7{{!}}right{{!}}Imagemap with clickable links. Tolkien's ''[[Sigelwara Land|Sigelwara]]'' etymologies, leading to major strands of [[Tolkien's legendarium|his Legendarium]] including also the [[Silmaril]]s and [[Balrog]]s.<ref name="Sigelwara Land" group=T/>{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=48–49}}

rect 10 10 170 200 [[Silmaril]] rect 300 10 500 200 [[Balrog]]

rect 250 200 650 350 [[Sigelwara Land]] rect 650 200 900 350 [[Aethiopia]]

rect 10 400 400 500 [[Sól (Germanic mythology)]] rect 500 400 890 500 [[hearth]]

rect 10 510 200 665 [[sowilō]]  rect 210 510 450 665 [[Seal (emblem)|seal]]

rect 10 10 900 675 [[commons:File:Tolkien's Sigelwara Etymologies.svg]] }}

Tolkien was interested in particular in the Old English word used for "[[Aethiopia]]ns": it was ''Sigelwara'', or in Tolkien's [[Emendation (textual)|emendation]] ''Sigelhearwan''.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=48}} The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] writes that Tolkien's philological research, described in his essay "[[Sigelwara Land]]",<ref name="Sigelwara Land" group=T>[[Sigelwara Land|The essay]] was published in two parts, {{harvnb|Tolkien|1932}} and {{harvnb|Tolkien|1934}}.</ref> began from the assumption that the word could not originally have meant Aethiopian, but must have been co-opted to that usage having once meant something comparable. Tolkien approached the question by analysing the two parts of the word. ''Sigel'' meant, according to Tolkien, "both ''sun'' and ''jewel''", the former as it was the Old English name of the Sun [[rune]], [[Proto-Germanic]]: ''[[*sowilō]]'' (ᛋ), the latter connotation from Latin ''sigillum'', a [[Seal (emblem)|seal]].{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=48-49}}

Tolkien decided that ''Hearwa'' was related to the Old English ''heorð'', meaning "[[hearth]]", and ultimately to the Latin ''carbo'', meaning "soot". The resulting meaning for ''Sigelhearwan'', Tolkien decided tentatively, was "rather the sons of [[Muspilli|Muspell]] than of [[Hamitic|Ham]]", an ancient class of demons in Northern mythology "with red-hot eyes that emitted sparks and faces black as soot".<ref name="Sigelwara Land" group=T/>{{efn|Shippey states that this analysis of ''Sigelhearwa'' both "helped to naturalise the [[Balrog]]" (a demon of fire) and contributed to the [[Silmaril]]s, which combined the nature of the sun and jewels.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|p=49}}}} This was exactly the sort of "stray pagan concept"{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=54, 63}} hinting at [[A mythology for England|England's lost mythology]] that Tolkien wanted.{{sfn|Shippey|2005|pp=54, 63}}

In drafts of ''The Lord of the Rings'', Tolkien toyed with names such as ''Harwan'' and ''Sunharrowland'' for Harad, which were derived from ''Sigelwara''; [[Christopher Tolkien]] notes that these are connected to his father's ''Sigelwara Land''.<ref name="CT Sigelwara Land" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1989}}, ch. XXV p. 435 & p. 439 note 4</ref> The philologist [[Elizabeth Solopova]] similarly notes that the hobbits' name for Harad, ''Sunland'', suggests a similar link.<ref name="Lee Solopova 2016">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Stuart |author1-link=Stuart D. Lee |last2=Solopova |first2=Elizabeth |author2-link=Elizabeth Solopova |chapter=Völuspá |title=The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien |title-link=The Keys of Middle-earth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=foEYDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-1-137-45470-6 |pages=66–67, 217, 223–225}}</ref>

== Analysis ==

=== Moral geography ===

{{#tag:imagemap| File:Tolkien's Moral Geography of Middle-Earth.svg{{!}}thumb{{!}}upright=1.5{{!}}right{{!}}Imagemap with clickable links of Tolkien's moral geography of Middle-earth, according to John Magoun<ref name="Magoun"/>

rect 100 100 250 250 [[The Shire]] rect 500 50 850 150 [[Tolkien's moral geography]] rect 150 350 450 550 [[Gondor]] rect 650 350 850 550 [[Mordor]]

rect 10 10 900 675 [[commons:File:Tolkien's Moral Geography of Middle-Earth.svg]] }}

The [[Germanic studies]] scholar Sandra Ballif Straubhaar notes that it is not clear whether Tolkien meant the Haradrim to be grouped with his "Wild Men", though he named them as ancient enemies of Gondor. They are "[[Other (philosophy)|ethnic others]] but not as ugly",<ref name="Straubhaar Men"/> they have a rich culture and well-trained elephants. The exception would be, she suggests, the men of Far [Southern] Harad whom the people of Gondor saw as "black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues".<ref name="Straubhaar Men"/><ref name="Straubhaar Saracens">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Straubhaar |first=Sandra Ballif |author-link=Sandra Ballif Straubhaar |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Saracens and Moors |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia|The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment]] |year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=1-135-88034-4 |pages=588–589}}</ref> With his "Southrons" from Harad, Tolkien had – in the view of John Magoun, writing in ''[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]]'' – constructed a "fully expressed moral geography",<ref name="Magoun">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Magoun |first=John F. G. |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=South, The |encyclopedia=[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2006 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=1-135-88034-4 |pages=622–623}}</ref> from the hobbits' home in the Northwest, evil in the East, and "imperial sophistication and decadence" in the South. Magoun explains that Gondor is both virtuous, being West, and has problems, being South; Mordor in the Southeast is hellish, while Harad in the extreme South "regresses into hot savagery".<ref name="Magoun"/>{{efn|Other scholars such as Walter Scheps and Isabel G. MacCaffrey have noted Middle-earth's "spatial cum moral dimensions".<ref name="Scheps 1975">{{cite book |last=Scheps |first=Walter |editor-last=Lobdell |editor-first=Jared |editor-link=Jared Lobdell |chapter=The Interlace Structure of 'The Lord of the Rings' |title=[[A Tolkien Compass]] |date=1975 |publisher=[[Open Court Publishing Company|Open Court]] |isbn=978-0875483030 |pages=44–45}}</ref><ref name="MacCaffrey 1959">{{cite book |last=MacCaffrey |first=Isabel G. |title=Paradise Lost as Myth |date=1959 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |oclc=1041902253 |page=55}}</ref>}}

Solopova argues that the Haradrim's ''mûmakil'' war elephants put their country far to the East, since only India and lands to its east went on using war elephants after classical times.<ref name="Lee Solopova 2016"/> She and [[Stuart D. Lee]] mention that Tolkien could have used the Old English version by [[Ælfric of Eynsham|Ælfric]] of the ''[[Book of Maccabees]]'', which carefully introduces elephants to its Anglo-Saxon audience, using much the same phrase as Sam Gamgee, "''māre þonne sum hūs''", "bigger than a house", before describing their use in battle; the hero stabs the elephant, which is carrying a "''wīghūs''", a "[[Howdah|battle-house]]", from below.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Stuart D. |author1-link=Stuart D. Lee |last2=Solopova |first2=Elizabeth |author2-link=Elizabeth Solopova |title=The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien |url=https://archive.org/details/keysmiddleearthd00lees_471 |url-access=limited |date=2005 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan|Palgrave]] |isbn=978-1403946713 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/keysmiddleearthd00lees_471/page/n235 223]-225, 228-231}} translating the ''Homily on the Maccabees''. II, 499-519.</ref> Tolkien however mentioned [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]]'s use of war elephants against [[Ancient Rome]] in 280–275 BC in his notes for the illustrator [[Pauline Baynes]].<ref name="Kennedy 2016"/>

=== The stereotypical "Other" ===

[[File:Pyrrhus and his Elephants.gif|thumb|upright|Tolkien related the Haradrim's ''mûmakil'' in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] to [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]]'s war elephants in his invasion of [[Ancient Rome]], as depicted here in an 1896 book by Helene Guerber.<ref name="Kennedy 2016"/>]]

Commentators such as Anderson Rearick and Stephen Shapiro have identified the Haradrim as a recognisably foreign race as well as the enemy, and have accused Tolkien of racism.<ref name="Rearick 2004">{{cite journal |last=Rearick |first=Anderson |title=Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? The Dark Face of Racism Examined in Tolkien's World |journal=[[Modern Fiction Studies]] |date=2004 |volume=50 |issue=4 |pages=866–867 |doi=10.1353/mfs.2005.0008 |jstor=26286382|s2cid=162647975 }}</ref><ref name="Shapiro 2002"/> Conversely, scholars such as Straubhaar have come to Tolkien's defence on the matter, noting that during the [[Second World War]] Tolkien expressed an anti-racist position. Straubhaar writes that "a polycultured, polylingual world is absolutely central"{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=112}} to Middle-earth, and that readers and filmgoers will easily see that. From there, she notes that the "recurring accusations in the popular media" of a racist view of the story are "interesting". She quotes the Swedish cultural studies scholar David Tjeder who described [[Gollum]]'s account of the men of Harad ("Not nice; very cruel wicked Men they look. Almost as bad as [[Orc]]s, and much bigger."<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954}}, book 4, ch. 3 "The Black Gate is Closed"</ref>) in ''[[Aftonbladet]]'' as "stereotypical and reflective of colonial attitudes".{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=113}} She argues instead that Gollum's view, with its "arbitrary and stereotypical assumptions about the '[[Other (philosophy)|Other]]'",{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=113}} is absurd, and that Gollum cannot be taken as an authority on Tolkien's opinion. Straubhaar contrasts this with [[Sam Gamgee]]'s more humane response to the sight of a dead Harad warrior, which she finds "harder to find fault with": "He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home."<ref name="Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" group=T/>{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=113}} Straubhaar quotes Shapiro, who wrote in ''[[The Scotsman]]'' that "Put simply, Tolkien's good guys are white and the bad guys are black, slant-eyed, unattractive, inarticulate, and a psychologically undeveloped horde".{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=114}}<ref name="Shapiro 2002">{{cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Stephen |date=14 December 2002 |title=Lord of the Rings labelled racist|work=[[The Scotsman]] |url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/lord-rings-labelled-racist-2461845}}</ref> Straubhaar concedes that Shapiro may have had a point with "slant-eyed", but comments that this was milder than that of many of his contemporary novelists such as [[John Buchan]], and notes that Tolkien had in fact made "appalled objection" when people had misapplied his story to current events.{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=114}} She similarly observes that Tjeder had failed to notice Tolkien's "concerted effort" to change the Western European "paradigm" that speakers of supposedly superior languages were "ethnically superior".{{sfn|Straubhaar|2004|p=115}}

==In other media ==

In [[Peter Jackson]]'s 2002 film ''[[The Two Towers (film)|The Two Towers]]'', the Haradrim appear [[Middle Eastern]], with turbans, flowing robes, and riding ''mûmakil''. A companion book on the film's "Creatures" states that the Haradrim were based on 12th century [[Saracens]].<ref name="Ibata 2003">{{cite news |last1=Ibata |first1=David |title='Lord' of racism? Critics view trilogy as discriminatory |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/chi-030112epringsrace-story.html |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=12 January 2003 |quote=The Haradrim are more recognizable. They are garbed in turbans and flowing crimson robes. They ride giant elephants. They resemble nothing other than North African or Middle Eastern tribesmen. A recently released "Towers" companion book, "The Lord of the Rings: Creatures," calls the Haradrim "exotic outlanders" whose costumes "were inspired by the twelfth-century Saracen warriors of the Middle East."}}</ref> The battle scene in [[Ithilien]] between the rangers of Gondor and the men of Harad was shot at the Twelve Mile Delta near [[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]], [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=3 Most Photographed Lord of the Rings Locations |url=http://pureglenorchy.com/3-most-photographed-lord-of-the-rings-locations/ |date=18 December 2019 |access-date=14 January 2021 |website=Pure Glenorchy Scenic Film Location & Lord of the Rings Tours |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928051410/http://pureglenorchy.com/3-most-photographed-lord-of-the-rings-locations/ |archive-date=28 September 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Haradrim and the Corsairs of Umbar appear in merchandise for the film trilogy, such as toys, ''[[The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game]]'', and the computer game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/features/6146219/p-21.html |title=The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II Game Guide. Walkthrough: Evil Campaign |first=Doug |last=Radcliffe |work=Gamespot |publisher=CBS Interactive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kerkhove |first=Devon |title=The Lord of the Rings: Online Trading Card Game – Starter Deck Guide |url=https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/921814-the-lord-of-the-rings-online-trading-card-game/faqs/39070 |publisher=GameFAQs |date=21 September 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rorie |first=Matthew |title=The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II Walkthrough |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-battle-for-middle-earth-ii-walkthrough/1100-6146219/ |publisher=Gamespot |date=17 July 2006}}</ref> "Haradrim Slayers" feature in the computer game ''[[The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring - Perfect Walkthrough |url=https://uk.ign.com/faqs/2011/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-of-the-ring-perfect-walkthrough-1110162 |publisher=IGN |access-date=2 February 2020 |date=2010 |archive-date=2 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202161619/https://uk.ign.com/faqs/2011/the-lord-of-the-rings-war-of-the-ring-perfect-walkthrough-1110162 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while in the video game ''[[Middle-earth: Shadow of War]]'', Baranor, a playable character who is a captain in Gondor's guard, is originally from Harad.<ref>{{cite web |title=Review: Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Desolation of Mordor|url=https://www.destructoid.com/review-middle-earth-shadow-of-war-desolation-of-mordor-501457.phtml |website=[[Destructoid]]|date=8 May 2015 |last=Carter |first=Chris |access-date=4 February 2020}}</ref>

[[Iron Crown Enterprises]] produced a series of books for their [[tabletop roleplaying]] game ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'' containing information about Harad and content allowing games to be set there. Key publications included the setting books ''Umbar: Haven of the Corsairs'' (1982),<ref>{{cite book|last=Spielman |first=Brenda Gates |year=1982 |title=Umbar: Haven of the Corsairs |publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> ''Far Harad'' (1988),<ref>{{cite book |last=Crutchfield |first=Charles |year=1988 |title=Far Hara d|publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> and ''Greater Harad'' (1990),<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=William E. |year=1990 |title=Greater Harad |publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> as well as the [[Adventure (role-playing games)|adventure books]] ''Warlords of the Desert'' (1989),<ref>{{cite book|last=Crutchfield |first=Charles |year=1989 |title=Warlords of the Desert |publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> ''Forest of Tears'' (1989),<ref>{{cite book |last=Crutchfield |first=Charles |year=1989 |title=Forest of Tears |publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> and ''Hazards of the Harad Wood'' (1990).<ref>{{cite book |last=Crowdis |first=John |year=1990 |title=Hazards of the Harad Wood|publisher=Iron Crown Enterprises}}</ref> [[Games Workshop]] have produced miniatures and rules relating to Harad for use in the ''[[Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game]]'', including for ''mumakil'' and Corsairs of Umbar.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/War-Mumak-Of-Harad-2018 |title=War Mûmak Of Harad |publisher=[[Games Workshop]]|access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Corsairs-Of-Umbar-2018 |title=Corsairs of Umbar |publisher=[[Games Workshop]] |access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Calormen]]es, a race of men from a hot southern land from [[C. S. Lewis]]'s ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Ford |first=Paul F. |title=Companion to Narnia: A Complete Guide to the Enchanting World of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia |url=https://archive.org/details/pocketcompaniont00ford_509 |url-access=limited |orig-year=1980 |edition=5th |year=2005 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-06-079127-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pocketcompaniont00ford_509/page/n140 127]}}</ref>

== Notes ==

== References ==

=== Primary ===

=== Secondary ===

=== Sources ===

* {{cite journal |last=Tolkien |first=J. R. R. |title=Sigelwara Land part 1 |journal=[[Medium Aevum]] |volume=1 |issue=3 |date=December 1932 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43625831}} * {{cite journal |last=Tolkien |first=J. R. R. |title=Sigelwara Land part 2 |journal=[[Medium Aevum]] |volume=3 |issue=2 |date=June 1934 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43625895}} * {{ME-ref|ROAD}}  * {{cite book |last=Straubhaar |first=Sandra Ballif |author-link=Sandra Ballif Straubhaar |editor-last=Chance |editor-first=Jane |editor-link=Jane Chance |chapter=Myth, Late Roman History, and Multiculturalism in Tolkien's Middle-Earth |title=Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: a reader |title-link=Tolkien and the Invention of Myth |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8131-2301-1 |pages=101–117 }} * {{ME-ref|FOTR}} * {{ME-ref|TT}} * {{ME-ref|ROTK}} * {{ME-ref|Silm}} * {{ME-ref|UT}} * {{ME-ref|Treason}}

[[Category:Middle-earth regions]]