Khand

Map of Khand and neighbouring regions
Region
Khand
General Information
Location	South-east of Mordor
Type	Region
People and History
Inhabitants	Variags

Khand was the name of a land which lay to the south-east of Mordor and to the east of Near Harad that was inhabited by Variags.

History

Little is known about Khand or its people, other than that they were allied to Mordor.

The people of Khand and of Rhûn seemed to have been enemies on and off throughout the ages. The Easterlings known as the Wainriders passed south of Mordor and made an alliance with the men of Khand and of Near Harad. In T.A. 1944 they made a coordinated attack against Gondor.

Years later, Variags from Khand joined the forces of Sauron during the War of the Ring.

It is unknown if Khand was ever conquered by the Reunited Kingdom or if it remained independent. It is also unknown if Khand ever warred with the folk of the West after Sauron's demise.

Etymology

The meaning of Khand is unknown; it is, along with Variag, one of the few known words from the languages of the Men of the East and allies of Sauron.

Portrayal in adaptations

1984-1997: Middle-earth Role Playing

Khand is further fleshed out in the roleplaying game and its supplementary material. It is described as a hot and dry region.

The deserts and scrubland of Lower Khand were inhabited by horse herders who moved between water sources, with only a few permanent settlements along the Knife (V. "Noz Peka"), a tributary river of the Harnen. The largest of these was Sturlurtsa Khand, the traditional capital at the confluence of the Knife and the Gold-horse (V. "Medlóshad Peka").

Upper Khand, the north-eastern part of Khand, was slightly cooler. Its capital was Ûbésêsh-ûta-Pavéter (V. "Refuge from the Flailing Wind"), upstream from the Sturlurtsa Khand. Its richer clans produced many kings, whose bones were entombed in shrines in the Caves of Ôlbamarl. Ûvathar of the clan Achef, who later became a Ringwraith, was born in those caves.

The Auducar Nurn meaning "Red wall of Nurn" in Haradaic is the part of the Ephel Duath that reaches from eastward from Harondor to the plateau of Khand. Most of the good passes over it are located in its eastern part. The best pass over the Auducar Nurn is Cirith Nurn on the eastern border of Harondor. The Auducar Nurn is called Caradhram Nurn in Sindarin.

Numerous small mountain streams combine in the Cirith Nurn to form the river Harnen.

The region of Lurmsakûn (meaning "Basin of flowing waters" in Haradaic) bordering on the plateau of Khand and the foothills of the Ered Harmal is ruled by Haruze lords, but most of the Third Age control over the region was contested between the Haruze lords of Lurmsakûn and the kings of the Variags and the kings of the Chey.