Wild Men

Quick Facts

Timeline:
Dates:	The first Men awoke at the time of the first rising of the Sun
Location:	Spread throughout the east and south of Middle-earth
Origin:	Men unrelated to those who travelled westward to become the Edain
Race:	Men
Cultures:	Balchoth, Easterlings, Haradrim, Variags, Wainriders, and others
Other names:	Men of Darkness
Note:	Especially in the later Third Age, the term 'Wild Men' also came to be used for the Woses. For more on that usage, see Wild Men of the Woods.

The Men of Darkness

	Men
Edain Middle Peoples	Wild Men	Hobbits Woses
Easterlings		Haradrim

Soon after the first rising of the Sun, Morgoth became aware of the awakening of a new race in the World: the first Men had awakened in the distant East. The Dark Lord passed secretly out of Angband and came to the ancestral land of Men, where he at first appeared to them in a fair guise. Large numbers fell victim to his trickery, and from that time onward many Men were under Morgoth's power.

A few set out for the West, hoping to escape the shadow of Morgoth, and some of these eventually reached the Blue Mountains. Those that crossed over and joined forces with the Elves became known as the Edain, and were the ancestors of the Númenóreans. Others who remained in Eriador were considered 'Middle Men', those who had broken away from the darkness of Morgoth, but had not entered Beleriand or learned from the Elves there. Those Men who remained in the East and South of Middle-earth, the great majority, were accounted 'Wild Men', and were historically allied with the forces of the Dark Lord.

Also called the Men of Darkness, they followed Morgoth during the First Age, and were instrumental in bringing about the defeat of the Elves and Edain. After Morgoth himself was overthrown at the end of the First Age, the nations of the Wild Men retained their allegiance to the Enemy, and became followers of Sauron in the Second and Third Ages.

For a list of the most important cultures of the Wild Men, see the entry for Men of Darkness.