Ninth of the Nazgûl

Iron Crown EnterprisesDecipher

“Ûvatha the Horseman” by Liz Danforth
Man (early) Wraith (later)
Ûvatha
Biographical Information
Other names	the Horseman the Slayer the Long Rider
Titles	King of Khand Lord of the Variags
Position	Ninth of the Nazgûl
Affiliation	Nazgûl Eye of Sauron
Birth	S.A. 1970 Caves of Ôlbamarl
Death	25 March T.A. 3019 Morannon
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Height	5 ft 11 in
Hair colour	Black
Eye colour	Reddish brown
Clothing	Red and black garb Bat-shaped helmet
Weaponry	Morgul-knife Horse-tamer Stormless Bow
Steed	Black horse

Man (early) Wraith (later)
Úlairë Nertëa
Biographical Information
Other names	Black Horseman
Position	Ninth of the Nazgûl
Affiliation	Nazgûl Eye of Sauron
Death	25 March T.A. 3019 Morannon
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Steed	Black horse

The Ninth of the Nazgûl was never differentiated in Tolkien's works, but several adaptations did attribute individual traits to this specific Nazgûl.

Iron Crown Enterprises constructed an elaborate non-canonical backstory for Middle-earth Role Playing, identifying the character as Ûvatha the Horseman, a backstory which was also used in the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game.

Decipher, for their Trading Card Game, instead limited this individualization to naming the character Úlairë Nertëa (Q. Ninth Nazgûl), and assigning the epithet of Black Horseman.

While some other adaptations also individualized the Nine, none are known to have assigned specific numbers.

Backstory in Middle-earth Role Playing

Uvatha was born as Ûvathar Achef in S.A. 1970 to a Variag prince from Khand who lived a nomadic life in exile. He was a skilled horseman and warrior from a young age.

In S.A. 1988, Ûvatha's charge at the Battle of Noz Peka (Knife River) helped restore his family to the throne of Upper Khand. When his father Kîonid died, his uncle Mîonid took the throne and ordered Ûvatha's execution. Ûvatha escaped and earned the support of the king of Lower Khand, who made him warlord of his army in S.A. 1999. The following year, Ûvatha deposed his king and conquered his uncle's domain, uniting Khand for the first time in recorded history. In S.A. 2002, he accepted a Ring of Power from Sauron, becoming the ninth to fall under Sauron's sway.

For the next 1260 years, Ûvatha's people became one of Sauron's most brutal and effective tools of conquest. They extended the Shadow to the north and south of their plateau kingdom, vying with the Númenóreans for influence in Harad. Ûvatha and his warriors also fought alongside the warriors of Ren the Unclean, leading to the Chey conquest of the Khargagis Ahar.

His reign was interrupted in S.A. 3262 when Ar-Pharazôn invaded and captured Sauron. Ûvatha hid in his secret hold in his birthplace of Ôlbamarl, in the mountains of northern Khand, only to emerge after the Downfall of Númenor. He acted as Sauron's messenger, and passed into shadows as Sauron was overthrown in the War of the Last Alliance.

Ûvatha reappeared around T.A. 1050, returning to Ôlbamarl. Fifty years later, he killed the current king and crowned himself King of the Variags, beginning a 540-year reign of terror. His empire expanded rapidly across northeastern Harad and southern Rhûn. When he left for Mordor in T.A. 1640 to prepare for Sauron's return, his kingdom declined.

Ûvatha returned to Khand in T.A. 1854, contributing to a chain of events that led to the first major Easterling migration into Rhovanion. This included the Wainriders, who had pushed into Rhovanion and fought Gondor for over 40 years. This plot allowed Sauron to weaken the kingdom without revealing his presence. Ûvatha returned to Mordor in T.A. 1940, leaving his kingdom vulnerable to a new threat from the east. He joined the other Nazgûl in the attack on Minas Ithil in T.A. 2000, returning to Khand two years later to begin his final reign as king.

In T.A. 2951, Uvatha and two other Ringwraiths, Khamûl and Adûnâphel, flew to Dol Guldur to reopen the citadel. Ûvatha served as a messenger between Dol Guldur and Mordor, coordinating the mobilization of Sauron's armies.

During the War of the Ring, Ûvatha rode with the Black Riders in search of the One Ring. After their defeat at the Bruinen, he returned to Dol Guldur, where he took up a Fell Beast and resumed his role as a messenger. He then fought at the Battle of the Morannon, where he perished with Sauron's defeat.

Weaponry in Middle-earth Role Playing

Beyond a Morgul-knife, the Ringwraith is noted to have possessed the following weapons:

• Horse-tamer: Reddish narig-wooden lance.
• Stormless Bow: Short bow inlaid with gold.