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Rhûn

2026-06-29T18:52:24Z

Rakala: /* History */

{{location infobox
| name=Rhûn
| image=The Lord of the Rings (film series) - Rhun map.jpg
| caption=Rhûn from a map used for [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film series]]
| pronun=
| othernames=the East, the Eastlands, ''[[Rómen]]''
| location=Eastern Lands of [[Middle-earth]], east of [[Mordor]] and [[Rhovanion]]
| type=Region
| description=
| regions=[[Dorwinion]], [[Cuivienen]],<ref name=Captivity>{{S|Captivity}}</ref> [[Hildorien]],<ref name=Men>{{S|Men}}</ref> [[Wild Wood]]<ref name=Captivity /><ref name=Guide>{{HM|Guide}}, p. 427</ref><ref name=Atlas>{{HM|AME}}, p. 5</ref>
| towns=
| inhabitants=[[Easterlings]], [[Dwarves]], [[Avari]], [[Eastern Orcs]]
| created=
| destroyed=
| events=[[Awakening of Elves]], [[Seven Fathers of the Dwarves|Awakening of Dwarves]], [[Awakening of Men]]
}}

'''Rhûn''', also known as the '''East''', refers to the little-known lands in eastern [[Middle-earth]]. Almost nothing of the lands beyond the great [[Sea of Rhûn]] is known (see [[Land of the Sun|Uttermost East]]).

==History==
The first Elves awoke far east of the Sea of Rhûn, and many of them were led to the [[Westlands]] by [[Oromë]]. Some Elves forsook this [[Great Journey]] and chose to remain in Rhûn; they were called the [[Avari]]. Eventually some of the Avari would also migrate West.<ref>{{PE|17}}, p. 53</ref><ref>{{WJ|Author}}, note 9</ref>

The first Men also awoke in the far east, where they first met [[Dwarves]]<ref>{{WJ|Dwarves}}</ref> and Avari. The ancestors of the [[Edain]] and [[Drúedain]] traveled west out of Rhûn. At the shores of the Sea of Rhûn, some of the Mannish tribes traveling west separated and their languages soon diverged.<ref>{{PM|Ros}}, pp. 373-374</ref> Other men remained in Rhûn, and many of them came under the dominion of [[Morgoth]] and, later, [[Sauron]]. These men were called [[Easterlings]], and they led many attacks against [[Gondor]] and its allies during the [[Third Age]].

In the [[Second Age|Second]] or [[Third Age]]s the [[Blue Wizards]] went into the deep regions of Rhûn, never to return.<ref name="PMLast">{{PM|Last}}, pp. 384-85</ref> [[Saruman]] may have joined them before returning and occupying [[Isengard]]. During the [[Watchful Peace]], [[Sauron]] went to hiding in Rhûn for 400 years and gathered the Easterlings to his service; the Blue Wizards failed to discover his eastern stronghold.<ref name="PMLast" /> In addition, there stood a great fortress named Caras Gaer (as proven in The Rings of Power television series)

The most western parts of Rhûn were conquered by Gondor twice, under the Kings [[Rómendacil I]] and [[Rómendacil II]], but the Númenóreans never had full control over it. Western Rhûn was finally subdued in the [[Fourth Age]] under [[Aragorn|King Elessar]] and his son [[Eldarion]].<ref>{{App|Eorl}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Stefano Baldo - Rhûn.jpg|thumb|left|''Rhûn'' by Stefano Baldo]]
Rhûn was a wide land largely unknown to those who dwelled in the western regions, and little of its geography was recorded. The western part of Rhûn was given in maps of the [[Westlands]] of Middle-earth. It contained the great inland [[Sea of Rhûn]], connected to the [[River Running]] in the northwest. A forest lay to the north-east of the Sea, and near the south-western shores there were many hills. Wild white [[Kine of Araw]], or oxen, lived near the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. North-west of the Sea of Rhûn lay also the land of [[Dorwinion]].

[[Cuiviénen]], the land where the first [[Elves]] [[awakening of the Elves|awoke]], was a 450 mile march east or south-east of the Sea of Rhûn.<ref>{{NM|P1vi}}, p. 38</ref> It lay on the shores of a bay at the inland [[Sea of Helcar]]'s eastern end, near the feet of the [[Orocarni]] (Red Mountains).<ref name="Captivity" /> The [[Wild Wood]], the ancient and mythical forest where the Elves wondered at their first Dawn,<ref>{{TT|Uruk}}</ref> was located near Cuiviénen and the Orocarni.<ref name="Captivity" /><ref name="Guide" /><ref name="Atlas" /> Far east of Cuiviénen lay [[Hildórien]], the land where the first Men awoke.<ref name="Men" />

Four [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] clans were also located in Rhûn;<ref name="Dwarves" />{{rp|301}} their mansions were at least as far east of [[Mount Gundabad]] as Mount Gundabad was east of the [[Blue Mountains]].

Far south of the Sea of Helcar was once another inland sea, the [[Sea of Ringil]], which lay at the feet of the [[Yellow Mountains]]. In the [[Battle of the Powers]], the Sea of Ringil "became a great sea flowing north-eastward and joining by straits both the Western and Eastern Seas"; it submerged the Yellow Mountains and split Middle-earth from a newly formed continent, the [[Dark Land]].<ref>{{SM|5b}}, pp. 293-294</ref><ref name="AmbarV">{{SM|A5}}</ref>

At its easternmost extent, Middle-earth ended on the shores of the [[East Sea]].<ref name="AmbarV">{{SM|A5}}</ref>

===Dwarves of Rhûn===
[[Dwarves]] emerged in Middle-earth in the [[Years of the Trees]]; after Elves but before Men. When the [[Fathers of the Dwarves|Seven Fathers of the Dwarves]] awoke in far-flung corners of Middle-earth, some of them found themselves in Rhûn, and there they founded kingdoms in the [[East]]. In the First Age, it is said that some [[Men]] had met Dwarves of the [[East]] who had fallen under the [[Shadow]] and were of evil mind and were distrustful of their race.<ref name="Dwarves" />{{rp|323 n.28}}

The distance between their mansions in the East and the [[Misty Mountains]], specifically [[Gundabad]], was said to be as great or greater than that of Gundabad's distance from the [[Blue Mountains]] in the West. These four clans are the [[Ironfists]], [[Stiffbeards]], [[Blacklocks]] and [[Stonefoots]].<ref name="Dwarves">{{PM|X}}</ref>{{rp|301, 322}}

In the [[Third Age]], Dwarves of those kingdoms journeyed out of Rhûn to join all Middle-earth's other Dwarf clans in the [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]], which was fought in and under the [[Misty Mountains]]. After this war, the survivors returned home. Late in the Third Age, when war and terror grew in Rhûn itself, considerable numbers of its Dwarves left their ancient homelands. They sought refuge in Middle-earth's western lands, where some of them met [[Frodo Baggins]].<ref>{{FR|Shadow}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word '''''Rhûn''''' means "East" in [[Sindarin]]. Compare [[Quenya]] ''[[rómen]]''.<ref>{{App|E2i}}</ref>

==Inspiration==
When asked in an interview what lay east of Rhûn, Tolkien replied "Rhûn is the Elvish word for 'east'. Asia, China, Japan, and all things which people in the west regard as far away."<ref>{{webcite|author=Henry Resnick|articleurl=https://efanzines.com/Niekas/Niekas-18.pdf|articlename=An Interview with Tolkien|dated=2 March 1966|website=Niekas Volume 18 (archived on eFanzines.com)|accessed=27 September 2022}}, p. 41</ref>

In the earliest drafts of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Bilbo offered to walk from the [[The Shire|Shire]] "to ''[cancelled: [[Wikipedia:Hindu Kush|Hindu Kush]]]'' the [[Wikipedia:Gobi Desert|Great Desert of Gobi]] and fight the Wild Wire worm(s) of the [[Wikipedia:China|Chinese]]."<ref>{{HH|Pryftan}}, p. 9</ref> In a slightly later version [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] altered this to say "to the last desert in the East and fight the Wild Wireworms of the Chinese",<ref>{{HH|Bladorthin}}, p. 40</ref> and in the final version it was altered once more to say "to the East of East and fight the wild [[Were-worms]] in the [[Last Desert]]."<ref>{{H|Party}}</ref>It is also believed to be inspired by the lands of India and the wizard also were inspired by Vishwamitra, a divine ascetic who has descendants who are known as the Brahmins.

==Other versions of the legendarium==
In a [[1948]] note on his ''[[General Map of Middle-earth]]'', [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] drew an arrow from the [[River Running]] with the direction to the end of the map, and carries the note: "''To '''Sea of Rûnaer'''''. [[Wayne G. Hammond|Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull|Scull]] suggest that ''Rûnaer'' is likely an alternative name of ''Rhûn''.<ref>{{HM|AoL}}, p. 199</ref>

Also in these early draft maps for ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Tolkien indicated that ''[[Neldoreth (Rhûn)|Neldoreth]]'' was the name of the forest bordering the Sea of Rhûn's north-eastern shore. This forest went unnamed in later maps.<ref>{{TI|MII}}, p. 307</ref>

==Other notes==
As the general direction of the [[West]] was revered by the [[Gondorians]],<ref>{{TT|Window}}</ref> conversely the East had evil connotations in some contexts as it was where [[Mordor]] lay; the people of Gondor endured the east wind but do not ask it for tidings, because it came from the "[[Sauron|Evil in the East]]".<ref>{{TT|III1}}</ref>

==Portrayal in adaptations==
'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:On the [[25 March]], the day when [[The One Ring]] was destroyed, an unknown calamity took place in Rhûn. In the weeks afterwards, streams of refugees begin pouring into the [[Iron Hills]] and the [[Dale]]-lands, despite those places having waged a war against the [[Easterlings]] not a full month before. The refugees are willing to take their chances against the prejudice and outward hostility directed against them from the men and dwarves of those lands, but none of them would speak in detail about what exactly had happened in Rhûn, other than it is absolutely impossible for them to go back. As of 2023, Rhûn itself has not appeared in the game.

'''2024: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power]]'':'''
:In the second season of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power]]'', [[Elanor Brandyfoot]], [[Poppy Proudfellow]] and [[The Stranger]] venture into Rhûn, where they are pursued by the [[Gaudrim]]. We are introduced to new locations such as [[Caras Gaer]]. The [[Gaudrim]] speak [[Rhûnnic]], a language that was created for the series.

==See also==
*[[Uttermost East]]
*[[Last Desert]]
*[[Uttermost West]]
*[[Rhûnnic]]

{{references}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhun}}
[[Category:Eastern lands]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[Category:Sindarin nouns]]
[[de:Rhûn]]
[[fi:Rhûn]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/regions/rhun]]

Rhûn

2026-06-29T18:48:01Z

Rakala:

{{location infobox
| name=Rhûn
| image=The Lord of the Rings (film series) - Rhun map.jpg
| caption=Rhûn from a map used for [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' film series]]
| pronun=
| othernames=the East, the Eastlands, ''[[Rómen]]''
| location=Eastern Lands of [[Middle-earth]], east of [[Mordor]] and [[Rhovanion]]
| type=Region
| description=
| regions=[[Dorwinion]], [[Cuivienen]],<ref name=Captivity>{{S|Captivity}}</ref> [[Hildorien]],<ref name=Men>{{S|Men}}</ref> [[Wild Wood]]<ref name=Captivity /><ref name=Guide>{{HM|Guide}}, p. 427</ref><ref name=Atlas>{{HM|AME}}, p. 5</ref>
| towns=
| inhabitants=[[Easterlings]], [[Dwarves]], [[Avari]], [[Eastern Orcs]]
| created=
| destroyed=
| events=[[Awakening of Elves]], [[Seven Fathers of the Dwarves|Awakening of Dwarves]], [[Awakening of Men]]
}}

'''Rhûn''', also known as the '''East''', refers to the little-known lands in eastern [[Middle-earth]]. Almost nothing of the lands beyond the great [[Sea of Rhûn]] is known (see [[Land of the Sun|Uttermost East]]).

==History==
The first Elves awoke far east of the Sea of Rhûn, and many of them were led to the [[Westlands]] by [[Oromë]]. Some Elves forsook this [[Great Journey]] and chose to remain in Rhûn; they were called the [[Avari]]. Eventually some of the Avari would also migrate West.<ref>{{PE|17}}, p. 53</ref><ref>{{WJ|Author}}, note 9</ref>

The first Men also awoke in the far east, where they first met [[Dwarves]]<ref>{{WJ|Dwarves}}</ref> and Avari. The ancestors of the [[Edain]] and [[Drúedain]] traveled west out of Rhûn. At the shores of the Sea of Rhûn, some of the Mannish tribes traveling west separated and their languages soon diverged.<ref>{{PM|Ros}}, pp. 373-374</ref> Other men remained in Rhûn, and many of them came under the dominion of [[Morgoth]] and, later, [[Sauron]]. These men were called [[Easterlings]], and they led many attacks against [[Gondor]] and its allies during the [[Third Age]].

In the [[Second Age|Second]] or [[Third Age]]s the [[Blue Wizards]] went into the deep regions of Rhûn, never to return.<ref name="PMLast">{{PM|Last}}, pp. 384-85</ref> [[Saruman]] may have joined them before returning and occupying [[Isengard]]. During the [[Watchful Peace]], [[Sauron]] went to hiding in Rhûn for 400 years and gathered the Easterlings to his service; the Blue Wizards failed to discover his eastern stronghold.<ref name="PMLast" />

The most western parts of Rhûn were conquered by Gondor twice, under the Kings [[Rómendacil I]] and [[Rómendacil II]], but the Númenóreans never had full control over it. Western Rhûn was finally subdued in the [[Fourth Age]] under [[Aragorn|King Elessar]] and his son [[Eldarion]].<ref>{{App|Eorl}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Stefano Baldo - Rhûn.jpg|thumb|left|''Rhûn'' by Stefano Baldo]]
Rhûn was a wide land largely unknown to those who dwelled in the western regions, and little of its geography was recorded. The western part of Rhûn was given in maps of the [[Westlands]] of Middle-earth. It contained the great inland [[Sea of Rhûn]], connected to the [[River Running]] in the northwest. A forest lay to the north-east of the Sea, and near the south-western shores there were many hills. Wild white [[Kine of Araw]], or oxen, lived near the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. North-west of the Sea of Rhûn lay also the land of [[Dorwinion]].

[[Cuiviénen]], the land where the first [[Elves]] [[awakening of the Elves|awoke]], was a 450 mile march east or south-east of the Sea of Rhûn.<ref>{{NM|P1vi}}, p. 38</ref> It lay on the shores of a bay at the inland [[Sea of Helcar]]'s eastern end, near the feet of the [[Orocarni]] (Red Mountains).<ref name="Captivity" /> The [[Wild Wood]], the ancient and mythical forest where the Elves wondered at their first Dawn,<ref>{{TT|Uruk}}</ref> was located near Cuiviénen and the Orocarni.<ref name="Captivity" /><ref name="Guide" /><ref name="Atlas" /> Far east of Cuiviénen lay [[Hildórien]], the land where the first Men awoke.<ref name="Men" />

Four [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] clans were also located in Rhûn;<ref name="Dwarves" />{{rp|301}} their mansions were at least as far east of [[Mount Gundabad]] as Mount Gundabad was east of the [[Blue Mountains]].

Far south of the Sea of Helcar was once another inland sea, the [[Sea of Ringil]], which lay at the feet of the [[Yellow Mountains]]. In the [[Battle of the Powers]], the Sea of Ringil "became a great sea flowing north-eastward and joining by straits both the Western and Eastern Seas"; it submerged the Yellow Mountains and split Middle-earth from a newly formed continent, the [[Dark Land]].<ref>{{SM|5b}}, pp. 293-294</ref><ref name="AmbarV">{{SM|A5}}</ref>

At its easternmost extent, Middle-earth ended on the shores of the [[East Sea]].<ref name="AmbarV">{{SM|A5}}</ref>

===Dwarves of Rhûn===
[[Dwarves]] emerged in Middle-earth in the [[Years of the Trees]]; after Elves but before Men. When the [[Fathers of the Dwarves|Seven Fathers of the Dwarves]] awoke in far-flung corners of Middle-earth, some of them found themselves in Rhûn, and there they founded kingdoms in the [[East]]. In the First Age, it is said that some [[Men]] had met Dwarves of the [[East]] who had fallen under the [[Shadow]] and were of evil mind and were distrustful of their race.<ref name="Dwarves" />{{rp|323 n.28}}

The distance between their mansions in the East and the [[Misty Mountains]], specifically [[Gundabad]], was said to be as great or greater than that of Gundabad's distance from the [[Blue Mountains]] in the West. These four clans are the [[Ironfists]], [[Stiffbeards]], [[Blacklocks]] and [[Stonefoots]].<ref name="Dwarves">{{PM|X}}</ref>{{rp|301, 322}}

In the [[Third Age]], Dwarves of those kingdoms journeyed out of Rhûn to join all Middle-earth's other Dwarf clans in the [[War of the Dwarves and Orcs]], which was fought in and under the [[Misty Mountains]]. After this war, the survivors returned home. Late in the Third Age, when war and terror grew in Rhûn itself, considerable numbers of its Dwarves left their ancient homelands. They sought refuge in Middle-earth's western lands, where some of them met [[Frodo Baggins]].<ref>{{FR|Shadow}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word '''''Rhûn''''' means "East" in [[Sindarin]]. Compare [[Quenya]] ''[[rómen]]''.<ref>{{App|E2i}}</ref>

==Inspiration==
When asked in an interview what lay east of Rhûn, Tolkien replied "Rhûn is the Elvish word for 'east'. Asia, China, Japan, and all things which people in the west regard as far away."<ref>{{webcite|author=Henry Resnick|articleurl=https://efanzines.com/Niekas/Niekas-18.pdf|articlename=An Interview with Tolkien|dated=2 March 1966|website=Niekas Volume 18 (archived on eFanzines.com)|accessed=27 September 2022}}, p. 41</ref>

In the earliest drafts of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', Bilbo offered to walk from the [[The Shire|Shire]] "to ''[cancelled: [[Wikipedia:Hindu Kush|Hindu Kush]]]'' the [[Wikipedia:Gobi Desert|Great Desert of Gobi]] and fight the Wild Wire worm(s) of the [[Wikipedia:China|Chinese]]."<ref>{{HH|Pryftan}}, p. 9</ref> In a slightly later version [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] altered this to say "to the last desert in the East and fight the Wild Wireworms of the Chinese",<ref>{{HH|Bladorthin}}, p. 40</ref> and in the final version it was altered once more to say "to the East of East and fight the wild [[Were-worms]] in the [[Last Desert]]."<ref>{{H|Party}}</ref>It is also believed to be inspired by the lands of India and the wizard also were inspired by Vishwamitra, a divine ascetic who has descendants who are known as the Brahmins.

==Other versions of the legendarium==
In a [[1948]] note on his ''[[General Map of Middle-earth]]'', [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] drew an arrow from the [[River Running]] with the direction to the end of the map, and carries the note: "''To '''Sea of Rûnaer'''''. [[Wayne G. Hammond|Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull|Scull]] suggest that ''Rûnaer'' is likely an alternative name of ''Rhûn''.<ref>{{HM|AoL}}, p. 199</ref>

Also in these early draft maps for ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Tolkien indicated that ''[[Neldoreth (Rhûn)|Neldoreth]]'' was the name of the forest bordering the Sea of Rhûn's north-eastern shore. This forest went unnamed in later maps.<ref>{{TI|MII}}, p. 307</ref>

==Other notes==
As the general direction of the [[West]] was revered by the [[Gondorians]],<ref>{{TT|Window}}</ref> conversely the East had evil connotations in some contexts as it was where [[Mordor]] lay; the people of Gondor endured the east wind but do not ask it for tidings, because it came from the "[[Sauron|Evil in the East]]".<ref>{{TT|III1}}</ref>

==Portrayal in adaptations==
'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:On the [[25 March]], the day when [[The One Ring]] was destroyed, an unknown calamity took place in Rhûn. In the weeks afterwards, streams of refugees begin pouring into the [[Iron Hills]] and the [[Dale]]-lands, despite those places having waged a war against the [[Easterlings]] not a full month before. The refugees are willing to take their chances against the prejudice and outward hostility directed against them from the men and dwarves of those lands, but none of them would speak in detail about what exactly had happened in Rhûn, other than it is absolutely impossible for them to go back. As of 2023, Rhûn itself has not appeared in the game.

'''2024: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power]]'':'''
:In the second season of ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power]]'', [[Elanor Brandyfoot]], [[Poppy Proudfellow]] and [[The Stranger]] venture into Rhûn, where they are pursued by the [[Gaudrim]]. We are introduced to new locations such as [[Caras Gaer]]. The [[Gaudrim]] speak [[Rhûnnic]], a language that was created for the series.

==See also==
*[[Uttermost East]]
*[[Last Desert]]
*[[Uttermost West]]
*[[Rhûnnic]]

{{references}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhun}}
[[Category:Eastern lands]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[Category:Sindarin nouns]]
[[de:Rhûn]]
[[fi:Rhûn]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/regions/rhun]]