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 under Ulfang 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 when the human Isildur 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.