Khamûl

Khamûl the Easterling was one of the nine Ringwraiths, second only to the Witch-king himself in Middle-earth.

History
Khamûl was the Wraith who pursued the Hobbits to the Ferry at Buckleberry in the Shire, and who asked Hamfast Gamgee for "Baggins" just before Frodo Baggins left Hobbiton.

He commanded the fortress of Dol Guldur after Sauron's return to Mordor. Khamûl also appeared in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields with the other Nazgûl, mounted on his fell beast and killing Gondor's soldiers at the beginning of the battle. While the battle was taking place, he and the other seven lesser Nazgûl flew to Mordor while the Witch-king commanded the armies of Mordor.

With the Witch-king's demise, Khamûl became the most powerful Nazgûl in Middle-earth and possibly took command of the Ringwraiths. (In the Peter Jackson movie of "The Return of the King") He commanded the other Nazgûl to attack the Rohirrim and Gondor’s soldiers in the Battle of the Morannon, and perished when the Ring was destroyed.

(In the original novels) Khamûl was stationed at Dol Guldur on March 6th, when Aragorn revealed himself to Sauron and began marching on the wood elf kingdoms on March 10th. On March 11th, his forces began assailing the nearby Lórien. After this failed, much of his force passed around the border of the woods and entered the Wold of Rohan. On March 12th, they were met with Ents sent east from Fangorn and Isengard, and were routed. Lórien was then attacked twice more on March 15th and 22nd, but was never entered. The forces of Dol Guldur also went north into Mirkwood, battling the forces of King Thranduil under Mirkwood's trees, the climax of these battles being on March 15th which after a "long battle... and great ruin and fire" was won by Thranduil's forces.

When Sauron gave Rings to all of the Kings of Men he literally gave them to every King of Men. Khamul was King of Rhûn and Harad at this time. When he took the Ring he slowly became a Wraith like the others. This could possibly explain why Rhun and Harad allied with Mordor

Role in Movie
In Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Khamûl is shown briefly and speaks, "Shire... Baggins..." to Farmer Maggot, who directs him onwards to Hobbiton. In The Return of the King, after the ring was destroyed, Khamûl died along with the seven other Ringwraiths during the eruption of Mount Doom.

According to the credits for the film adaptation of The Hobbit, Khamûl will make an appearance, and will be played by Sala Baker. At this point, his role in the story is not yet known.

Names
He was called Sauron's lieutenant, Shadow of the East, and the Black Easterling. He was a King of Easterlings before being given one of the Nine Rings. He was the only Ringwraith whose name was given by J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as one of the six Ringwraiths not of Númenorean descent.

Games Workshop
Khamûl is a unit for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game below. He is available on foot or mounted on a horse.

External link


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