harad

1) A generic term for the realms in the far south of Middle Earth, roughly corresponding to Africa in relation to Europe. Harad is of unknown size, was not mapped by JRR Tolkien and features little in the books. The only location mentioned is Umbar, a city in northwestern Harad from which pirates known as Corsairs attack the coasts of Gondor; in the book Unfinished Tales, Tolkien hints that Istari (wizards) other than the famous five resided in Harad, including a Wizard by the name of Tu. The Haradrim (people of Harad) fought with Sauron in the War of the Ring, although it is unclear whether they were tricked; also known as Southrons (although in some renditions, such as the PC version of the War in Middle Earth game, Haradrim and Southrons are separate people). In the third Lord of the Rings film, the Haradrim appear at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields heavily armoured, in vaguely Middle Eastern-looking costumes. In battle, the Haradrim are best-known for their use of Mumakil or Oliphaunts, which are elephants or elephant-like monsters native to Harad.A search on Google Images reveals that many Tolkien fans and RPG players have drawn maps of Harad, but that these never correspond to one another, with the result that innumerable versions of Harad now exist, each with its own specifications of kingdoms, peoples etc. There are two Harad extension packs for the official (non-computer) Tolkien RPG, although they are only available second-hand.The name "Harad" is an Elvish word for "south". The area is also known as the Haradwaith ("South-folk").2) an actual region of Sweden. (I found this out while searching Google Images for Harad).