For thousands of years, the Dark Lords Morgoth and Sauron led armies of creatures they twisted
and corrupted as well as those they recruited through coercion, lies and treachery.
Although opposition to their conquest of Middle Earth arose amongst the free people of the
West, many of those in the East sided with the Dark Lords and served their cause.
Several of the races of Middle Earth actually trace their ancestry back to these Eastern
Lands, slowly spreading to populate the continent.
The Elves originally awoke in Cuivienen near the Sea of helcar, yet when their location
was discovered by the Morgoth, then known as Melkor, some of their kind began to disappear,
tortured and twisted to become the first Orcs in service to the Dark Lord.
The Valar, learning of their peril, journeyed to Middle Earth and fought the War for Sake
of the Elves, defeating the Dark Lord and taking him in chains to Aman.
They then invited the Elves to travel west across the great sea of Belegaer, to live
in the blissful safety of the of Aman, the Undying Lands.
And while many agreed to make the journey, becoming known as the Eldar, some others,
known as the Avari, were mistrustful of the Valar and stayed behind in the east.
Meanwhile the Eldar, who were divided into three groups, saw the Vanyar and Noldor reach
the Undying Lands, while only some of the Teleri completed the journey, with others
staying behind to populate the western lands of Middle Earth.
Roughly a century after the awakening of the Elves, many of the early Dwarves also awoke
in the east, such as the Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots, who possibly settled
the Orocarni Mountains.
Others however awoke further west, with Duran the Deathless settling the Longbeard clan
in fortress of Khazad Dum within the Misty Mountains, while the Broadbeams and Firebeards
built Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains.
Many years later, the race of men joined the Elves and Dwarves in populating the continent,
waking in the far eastern lands of Hildorien, where they were found by the Morgoth who turned
them to his cause.
However some early tribes were able to escape his influence and journeyed west.
These men, known as the Edain, were divided into the Houses of Beor, Marach and Haleth,
eventually journeying into far off Beleriand.
Yet not all humans passed beyond the Blue Mountains, with some settling the Middle Lands.
These men were remembered as the ancestors of the Northmen, who share kinship with the
Houses of Beor and Marach, as well as the Dunlendings who share kinship with the House
of Haleth.
And while humans would eventually spread far into the south and all across Middle Earth,
some remained behind to populate the East.
The kingdoms and peoples of these eastern lands were diverse in appearance and culture,
yet from the perspective of those in the west, they came to be known uniformly as the Easterlings.
Although comprised mostly of humans, some believe that wicked dwarves and Avari Elves
may also have served in these vast foreign armies.
During the First age of Arda, when the lands of Beleriand were threatened by the Dark Lord
Morgoth, who sat in his fortress of Angband, two great tribes of men, known as Easterlings,
journeyed west under their leaders Ulfang and Bor, allying with the Elven Sons of Feanor,
and settling lands near the March of Maedros.
However, when war came to Beleriand, and a great alliance of men, elves and dwarves rose
to battle the dark lord in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, only Bor and his people remained faithful,
fighting and dying with their allies, while Ulfang the Accursed, betrayed them all and
joined the armies of the Dark Lord leading to their eventual victory.
As a reward, the Easterlings were given the lands of Hithlum, allowing them to slaughter
and enslave the House of Marach, which populated the area.
Yet while these men were referred to as Easterlings, they were also known as the Swarthy Men, and
were unlikely to be related to the far easterners of later Ages, who hailed from the lands of
Rhun.
And so these Swarthy Men were more likely related to the ancestors of the Middle Men,
who lived east of the blue Mountains.
Unfortunately for these early Easterlings, they lost their new lands when the Valar journeyed
to Middle Earth and waged war against Morgoth at the end of the First Age.
Although the Valar were victorious, the War of Wrath was so devastating that the lands
of Beleriand fell into the sea.
During the Second Age, when the surviving Edain of the west sailed to settle the Island
of Numenor, the Middle Men and surviving Elves were left to populate the western shores of
Middle Earth.
Some of these Eldar who chose not to go the Undying Lands came to be known as the Sindar
and Silvan, establishing great cities and kingdoms.
Although Morgoth was defeated, his lieutenant Sauron still survived, and became the new
Dark Lord during the second and third ages, expanding his influence in the east and south,
where they came to serve his cause.
Sauron also attempted to conquer the west, but faced fierce resistance, often relying
on his eastern holdings to support these campaigns.
When the rings of power were completed, the Dark Lord gave nine to kings of men, who gained
great powers but were also corrupted in mind and body, eventually turning them into ringwraiths.
Among those chosen, was an Eastern ruler known as Khamul the Easterling.
A creature so mighty he was second only to the group’s leader the Witch King of Angmar.
By the end of the second age, Sauron had gathered together an enormous army, including vast
numbers of Easterlings from the lands of Rhun and fought against Elves, Men and Dwarves,
in the War of the Last Alliance.
Though casualties were terrible, Sauron was defeated, allowing for the human Isildur to
cut of his finger, removing the one Ring of power from which he summoned most of his strength.
After losing the one ring, his body was destroyed and his spirit greatly weakened, yet because
Isildur failed to destroy the Ring after the battle, Sauron survived, though it was a thousand
years before he regained any significant power.
With the Dark Lord temporarily defeated, the Easterlings were free from his direct influence.
However the hatred and corruption that was bred into them for generations, led them to
despise the people of the west, most especially the men of Gondor.
As the Easterlings spread from the lands around the Sea of Rhun, they once more came into
conflict with the west.
In the year 490 of the Third Age, the Easterlings invaded Gondor but were ultimately defeated
by Tarostar, son of the king, who ascended to the throne in 492 and took the name Rómendacil
in the year 500, following their victory.
Decades later in 541, the Easterlings again invaded, this time attacking Ithilien and
killing the old King of Gondor in the fighting.
Rómendacil’s son Turambar then inherited the crown and continued the war, defeating
the Easterlings and following the into the lands of Rhun, parts of which were conquered
and held for many years.
With the Easterling threat diminished, Gondor was able to expand into the south as well,
but the prosperity of these years eventually came to an end, when the Easterlings marched
west in 1240, only to be defeated once again.
After losing another war, the Easterlings threat diminished again for several centuries,
during which time several groups joined together to become the mighty confederacy of Wainriders.
When a devastating plague left the Kingdom of Gondor weak and vulnerable, the Wainriders
saw an opportunity, and invaded the lands of Rhovanion in 1856, slaughtering and enslaving
its population.
A few decades later the Northmen revolted and with the aid of Gondor took back some
of their former lands.
However the Wainriders would get a chance for revenge in 1944, when they allied with
the Haradrim of Near Harad and Variags of Khand, to invade Gondor from both the North
and South.
And while the Wainriders won a great victory in the north, killing King Ondoher and his
sons, the invaders were defeated in the south, allowing the defending army to then march
and finish off the remaining Easterlings.
After a thousand years, spent recovering part of his strength, Sauron took refuge in Dol
Guldur.
Knowing that the Dark Lord was still dangerous, the Valar of Aman sent the Istari around this
same time, five Maia spirits which took the form of elderly men, instructed to give council
and help protect the free peoples against the looming threat.
Of these powerful being, the two blue wizards alatar and Pallando ventured into the far
east, while the others focused on the west.
Although little is known concerning their ultimate fate, the blue wizards were believed
to have fought against Sauron in their own ways and may have played pivotal roles in
limiting the size of the Easterling armies.
Meanwhile many believe Sauron directed the Witch King of Angmar to wage a terrible war
against the Kingdom of Arnor, destroying their lands and people, before Gondor and the Elves
could counter-attack, defeating the dark armies, and forcing their retreat to Mordor.
With an evil being known as the Necromancer rumoured to have taken refuge in the forest
of Mirkwood.
Gandalf the Grey went to investigate, causing the Dark Lord to flee into the East where
he would rally the Easterlings once more to his cause.
This began the period known as the Watchful peace in the west which lasted roughly four
centuries.
When the years of peace ended, a new group of Easterlings known as the Balchoth allied
with the Orcs to invade the lands of Calenardhon in 2510, defeating the armies of Gondor.
However the northmen, known as the Eotheod soon intervened and ended the invasion.
Over the next few decades the Easterlings continued their raids into the west, this
time focusing on the lands of Rohan, and killing their king Eorl in the year 2545.
After 3000 years, Sauron had regained some part his former strength, but would never
be whole again without the power of the One Ring.
And so when he learned that the Ring had been discovered, he prepared for a final confrontation
with the free peoples of the west.
The War of the Ring, as it became known, began roughly in the year 3018 of the Third Age,
and came to involve the Easterlings, along with Haradrim and Variags, who served in the
armies of Mordor, fighting in both the Southern and Northern campaigns.
In the south, they fought against the armies of Gondor in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields,
however the bulk of their forces were sent north, meant to sweep through Dwarven lands
and join the Orcs of Dol Guldur in the destruction of the Woodland Realm.
From there they would attack Lothlorien, before passing through the Misty Mountain to take
Rivendell and marchg south.
Opposing the great Easterling army were the Dwarves of Erebor and the men of Dale who
held them back for 3 days before being forced to retreat into the Lonely Mountain.
Although the city of Dale was lost, the battle continued at the gates of Erebor where King
Brand of Dale was killed.
The Dwarven King Dain, upon seeing the death of his ally and friend, rushed to his side,
and died defending his body.
After suffering tremendous loses, the surviving humans and dwarves took refuge inside the
mountain until word at last reached them, that Sauron had been defeated in the South
and his armies dispersed and destroyed.
With their master fallen, the Easterlings lost their ambition and many deserted, allowing
for the combined armies of men and dwarves to charge out of Erebor and force the Easterling
invaders into retreat.
Thanks to the efforts of these allied warriors, Sauron’s eastern reinforcements were ultimately
held off and they never again posed the same kind of threat against the west.
Although fighting continued on into the Fourth Age, The Easterlings were eventually subdued
by Aragorn, known after the War of the Ring as King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom