Haradrim

Haradrim were the people of Harad, also called Southrons. For many years the Haradrim were the greatest enemy of Gondor. Several times they invaded the north. Finally The Gondorians were able to capture Harad, though it was later freed. During the War of the Ring the Haradrim were allied with Sauron. It was a Haradrim warrior who wounded Faramir. At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields the Haradrim, mounted on mumakil, were a great threat to the Rohirrim who had come to aid the people of Minas Tirith.

Environment
The primitive and savage Haradrim lived in one of the harshest environments in Middle-earth. In the land south of Gondor the sun beat down unrelentingly, cooking much of Harad's great plains into desert. The tribes of Haradrim lived a nomadic existence, walking from one oasis to another in search of precious water and food, and here they would gather kine and other beasts. Farther south in Far Harad there were said to be dense jungles, in which was found a bamboo-like material they used for weapons, armor, utensils and construction; the desert lands of Harad yielded few trees, so bamboo was used in place of wood. Extreme poverty, a by-product of their nomadic existence, was the main factor in their allegance to the dark lord Sauron, who offered them wealth and water for their people.

Military Tactics
In battle, they drove their mumakil into the enemy ranks, causing terror and panic; with their foes in disarray the Haradrim then flung spears and fired arrows down upon them from the covered canvas frame atop the mumakil. Usually this would be enough to rout their foe, but if not the main host charged in behind the great beasts, using their spears, swords and bows with bloodthirsty zeal. In The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Haradrim use Mumakil to rout the forces or Rohan. As the mumakil were designed against horsemen, this rout was originally successful. However, the additional reinforcements (book) or Army of the Dead (movie) that arrive with Aragorn successfully destroy the Mumaks and the Haradrim.

Leadership
Harad was a nation divided by many tribes, and as such was ruled by many chiefs and warlords, known, on occasion, as Haradrim Kings. Few were regarded as true leaders of Harad, and Sauron was the main influence in Haradrim history. However, leaders such as Suladan, the Serpent Lord, occasionally became prominent in their history, though most were rarely heard of.

Future of Harad
All of Harad's most impressive army was wiped out on the expanses of Pelennor Fields, during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in which Harad's forces amassed one of the greatest legions their land had ever seen, containing many thousands of men, all armed with bows, spears or the reins of the mumakil, and were defeated by the army of Rohan. With Sauron defeated its only non-human alliance disappeared, and it was forced to rely on its neighbors in Far Harad and Umbar and Khand, and have Khand share Rhunic Allies with it. The Haradric Army was shown to consist of humans and herbivorous mounts in their wars with Aragorn and off-continent enemies.

In adaptations
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy the Haradrim are inspired by Aztecs and Kiribati tribes, according to the ROTK DVD's Weta Workshop documentary. The apparent leader of the Haradrim force is killed in the film not by Théoden, but by Éomer. They appear in much merchandise for the film trilogy, such as toys, The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, and the computer game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. They also appear as "Haradrim Slayers" in the computer game, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, based on the above films, has given the unnamed Haradrim leader Théoden kills the name Suladân and the title "Serpent Lord", and its players often refer to him as the "Black Serpent" after his standard. Some Haradrim are assassins called "hasharin", and place-names such as "Dalamyr", "Kârna", "Badharkân", "Hidâr", "Nâfarat", "Abrakân", and "Dhâran-sar" appear.