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