South Gondor

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File:Middle-earth map (4 of 4).png
Map of Harondor and neighbouring regions

South Gondor, known in Sindarin as Harondor, was a disputed region between the rivers Poros and Harnen.[1] The Harad Road ran across South Gondor. Its climate was described as fluctuating between mild winters and very hot and dry summers.[2]

Historically, this region was a part of Gondor, but frequent assaults and invasions by the Corsairs of Umbar and the Haradrim meant that, by the later years of the Third Age, Gondor lost control over this region.[3] In fact, Harondor was part of Gondor until the Kin-strife. During the War of the Ring, it was often described as a "debatable and desert land" on maps. Fengel's two older brothers, Folcred and Fastred, were killed in Harondor while fighting for Gondor in T.A. 2885, meaning that even by the late Third Age, Gondor had not completely abandoned and ceded Harondor.

Portrayal in adaptations

There are only few descriptions of Harondor by Tolkien himself, however there are several non-canonical adaptions that feature a more detailed depiction of this region.


1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Several settlements and sites in Harondor are mentioned, including Gobel Mirlond, Has Yayb, Tir Ethraid, Barad Harn and Amon Eithel.


1995-8: Middle-earth Collectible Card Game:

A site in Harondor, Haudh-in-Gwanûr, is mentioned, where players face an attack by Undead.

1982- Third Age: Total War:

Third Age: Total War is modification for the strategy PC game Medieval II: Total War and is set in the late Third Age. Harondor is divided into four regions, the smaller coastal provinces of South Harondor and West Harondor and the inbound and larger one that is simply called Harondor and has Amon Eithel as its capital. In the east, bordering the Ephel Dúath, there is East Harondor with its capital Tir Ethraid. Barad Harn is mentioned as the main settlement of West Harondor, while South Harondor's most important city is marked as Has Yayb.
Only South and East Harondor are controlled by the Harad faction in the beginning, while West and Central Harondor are ruled by local militia. West Harondor is the only of these four provinces to still have a mostly Gondorian and Númenórean population, while all other parts of Harondor, especially in the East and South, are mostly settled by Haradrim.

References