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<div>[[Image:John Howe - Variag.jpg|thumb|''Variag'' by [[John Howe]].]]<br />
The '''Variags''' were a little-known people who dwelt in the land of [[Khand]]<br />
==History==<br />
They were allies of both [[Rhûn]] or [[Harad]], to neither of which they belonged.<br />
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Khand was east of [[Mordor]], at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. They were allied to [[Sauron]], and their warriors were seen at the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]].<br />
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==Etymology==<br />
''Variag'' is a word of a [[Harad]] language<ref>{{HM|PM}}, [[The Appendix on Languages]]</ref>, but its meaning is unknown.<br />
==Inspiration==<br />
[[Wikipedia:Variag|Variag]] is a Slavic word derived from [[Norse]] ''Varingar'' "mercenary people" (''vár'' "contract"). The Norse root indicates that perhaps Tolkien intended ''Variag'' to be a "translated" [[Northern Mannish]] word.<br />
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Also, the meaning suggests that the Variags of Khand were not an ethnic group but a kind of elite mercenaries or corps in service of Mordor.<br />
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{{references}}<br />
[[Category:Easterlings]]<br />
[[category:Mannish words]]</div>65.87.167.137