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Axeeasterling

Axe-Easterling in battle

The Axe-Easterlings or Axe-men (S. Hatholhoth or Hatholrim) were a people or confederation of tribes which invaded western Rhûn and Gondor in the late Third Age. They seem unrelated to the earlier easterling tribes of Rhûn such as the Balchoth and Wainriders, and were described as small, stout, bearded like Dwarves, and wielding Great Axes. They called themselves Hazga (Rhû. "Clans") or later Sûhalar (originally the name of the confederation's largest tribe) and were largely the descendants of those Umli, Dyrian, and Desdûrsya tribes who had emerged from the northern Rahiwenna who did not bow to the Balchoth rule and who could free themselves from the yoke of the clans of Near Rhûn after the division of the former Balchoth empire.

History[]

The Hazga were not a new people but the descendants of different northern tribes who gathered around the Kól estuary. Among them were descendants of the Dyrians and Desdûrsya but also the last remnants of the Umli. According to legend, the Wizard Alatar was influential in the forming of the alliance.

Society[]

The Hazga were a society of multiple clans or tribes; most were sedentary farmers (in the riverine valleys) and semi-nomadic cattle-breeders, but along the coasts many also were fishermen.

Clothing[]

The Hazga wore long tunics, head-scarfs, loincloths, sarabaras, and puttees.

Warcraft[]

Axeeasterlingshield

Most male Freemen fought as axe-men, since the Great Axe was the well known traditional weapon of the male Hazga. However they also used short scimitars, spears, javelins, slings, and composite bows.

Religion[]

The Hazga religion was an amalgamation of different tribal religions, however the teachings of the Blue Caste were kept in high esteem and many Hazga also adhered the Cult of Doom. Among the ancient gods who survived in the Hazga folk-tradition was Mahlic, the ancient god of the Umli, the river deity Kól, the Lord of the Winds, the Earth-Mistress, the Great Hunter, and many others.

Language[]

The Hazgan language was a descendant of the Tyran family, with some northern influence from Umitic.

Later Times[]

After the War of the Ring, the Hazga-Leaders surrendered themselves to Gondor. Their descendants who were seen as trusted subjects by the Kings of Gondor, however after his release, Alatar was able to renew his influence on the Hazga and their descendants eventually were drawn into border skirmishes that shook the east in the early Fourth Age. These were quelled upon Alatar's re-exile.

MERP[]

In MERP, the Axe-Easterlings or their ancestors are represented by the Umli, a folk of (reputedly) half-dwarves from the Northern Peninsula of Middle-earth. One of their tribes, the Sashir, fell to darkness and swore allegiance to the Dark Lord.

Middle-earth - Total War[]

The Middle-earth - Total War MOD mentions a mysterious Easterling tribe called Hazga, possibly identical with the bearded Axe-men described in The Lord of the Rings.

Lotro[]

In Lotro, the bearded and axe-wielding Easterlings who attacked Cair Andros are identified as the Sûhalar.

Fan-Fiction[]

The Umlir, described in some fan-fiction, seem to have been invented to represent the descendants of the older Umli and the not-named bearded and axe-wielding Easterling-folk mentioned by Tolkien.

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