Men of Middle Earth

All credit goes to Lord of the Rings - Tolkien Wiki.

Men of Gondor:
Being mostly of Númenórean stock and ruled by exiled Númenórean overlords, the people continued most of the customs and traditions of Númenór but over the centuries they mixed more and more with the men of Middle-earth. One of these peoples was the Northmen who lived in Rhovanion, and Gondor ever needing allies as well as friends began acquainting themselves with these men by the mid Third Age. Brave and valiant but by the standards of the Dúnedain shorter lived, the Northmen gradually had more and more to do with Gondor and one of its heirs to the throne Valacar, who lived and worked with them in their own land as an ambassador married one of their noble ladies setting the stages for the Kin-strife.
Flag of Gondor

Over the next few hundred years afterward, war, rebellion, and plague severally weakened the blood of the Dúnedain in Gondor. There rulers though survived and retained some of the ancient customs. As the centuries rolled on into the late Third Age, the Men of Gondor accustomed to war and invasion became a hardy and stern people more likened to Middle-earth. Summed up in the phase, "when heads are at a loss bodies must serve."

Men of Rohan:
They are proud and willful, but they are true-hearted, generous in thought and deed; bold but not cruel; wise but unlearned, writing no books but singing many songs, after the manner of the children of Men before the Dark Years. — Aragorn, The Two Towers

The Rohirrim are horse people, settling in the land of Rohan, named after them. The name is Sindarin for People of the Horse-lords (sometimes translated simply as Horse-lords) and are mostly used by outsiders: the name they had for themselves are Eorlingas, after their king Eorl the Young who had first brought them to Rohan.

The Rohirrim are descended from the Éothéod, a race of men who lived in the vales of the Great River Anduin, but that removed to Calenardhon, which was granted them in perpetuity by the Ruling Steward of Gondor, Cirion in reward for the assistance that they offered Gondor at a time of great need. At that time Calenardhon was renamed Rohan (Horse-land) after their many horses. By the Rohirrim themselves Rohan is usually called The Mark.

The terms Riders of Rohan and Riders of the Mark are commonly used and refer specifically to their mounted soldiers. The former is a chapter title in The Two Towers. The King's Riders were specifically the Riders who formed the bodyguard of the King.

The Rohirrim are tall, blonde, and mostly had blue eyes. They prize their horses more than anything else, and their entire culture is based around these. They have few cities, but lived in many villages on the plains of Rohan.

The Dúnedain of Gondor believe that the Rohirrim were distantly related to them (having descended from the Atanatári of the First Age) and describe them as Middle Men, that being inferior to the Númenóreans in both culture and descent, but superior to the Men of Darkness who had worshipped and served Sauron. However, Tolkien calls this a piece of Númenórean fiction meant to satisfy the national pride of the people of Gondor for the surrender of the territory of Calenardhon -- in reality there had been no common ancestry between the people of Rohan and of Gondor.
The Rohirrim at the Pelennor Fields

The Rohirrim had had contacts with elves in their ancient history, and knew of Eru, but like the Dúnedain they did not worship him in any temples. They seem to have highly valued the Vala Oromë the Hunter, whom they called Béma.

They are ruled by a line of kings descended from Eorl the Young, who had first brought them to Rohan, and in time of war every able men rode to meet the Muster of Rohan.

Rohirrim is a collective noun and should be used with the definite article (i.e. the Rohirrim). It should not be used as an adjective (The correct adjective is Rohirric).

Dunedain:
The Dúnedain (singular: Dúnadan) were the Men who descended from the Númenóreans who survived the fall of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth led by Elendil and his sons. They are also called the Men of the West and the Men of Westernesse (direct translations of the Sindarin term). They settled mainly in Arnor and Gondor.

After the fall of Arnor and then Arthedain, some of the northern Dúnedain became the Rangers of the North in Evendim. The surviving Dúnedain population of Arnor retreated to the Angle south of Rivendell. In the meantime the southern Dúnedain intermarried more and more with so-called Middle Men, except in some regions (such as Dol Amroth).

During and even before the War of the Ring, Dúnedain Rangers went through a variety of different duties. Some were stationed around the Shire, protecting it from the forces of darkness. Others simply patrolled the northern lands, hunting and defeating any enemies they found. In general, Dúnedain Rangers mainly took care of themselves and of lands of the Free Peoples, though if they were called upon to battle (by Gondor or some other land in need) they were quite willing to do so.

Rangers used a variety of weapons to achieve victory in battles. Non-canonical information hints that they preferred bows and archery as their primary weapons, though this is not always the case (Aragorn, for example, used a sword). They also used swords to engage in close combat if necessary. The Dúnedain mainly rely on stealth as an advantage rather than an actual face-to-face confrontation. It is also hinted that their battle skill was greater than that of a standard Gondorian soldier or archer.

In the Fourth Age, the Dúnedain of Gondor and Arnor were reunited under king Aragorn II Elessar (who was also called the Dúnadan).

The Westron name for Dúnadan was simply Adûn, "westerner", but this name was seldom used.

This name was reserved to those Númenóreans who were friendly to the Elves: the other, hostile survivors of the Downfall were known as the Black Númenóreans.

Direct descendants of the Dúnedain are known to live longer than normal Men. A good example is Aragorn who, in the movies, tells Eowyn he is 87 years old although he appears to be relatively young.

Black Numenorions and Haradrim:
The Faithful weren't the only Númenóreans left on Middle-earth when Númenor sank. When Númenor grew in naval power many Númenóreans founded colonies in Middle-earth. In the second millennium of the Second Age there was an exodus of Men from overcrowded Númenor. The King's Men because they wanted to conquer more lands, and the Faithful because they were persecuted by the Kings. The Faithful settled in Pelargir and the King's Men settled in Umbar. When Númenor was destroyed the King's Men became known as the Black Númenóreans and remained hostile against the Faithful of Gondor. From their ranks Sauron recruited men who would become some the nine Ringwraiths in the second millennium of the Second Age. Umbar was conquered by Gondor in TA 933.

Among the Black Númenórean race was the wicked Queen Berúthiel, wife of Tarannon Falastur, King of Gondor.

Further east of Umbar another group of Men lived, the Haradrim. They were dark skinned Men and waged war on great Oliphaunts or Mûmakil. Hostile to Gondor they were subdued in TA 1050 by Hyarmendacil I.

Both Umbar and the Harad were left unchecked by Gondor's waning power by the time of the War of the Ring, and presented grave threats from the south. Many Haradrim fought with Sauron's forces in Gondor in that War.

See also: Southrons

Corsairs Pirates who hail from the havens of Umbar are masters of the sea and ships. Although they were due to fight for Sauron in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, they where mysteriously delayed and their ships where hijacked by the Dead Men of Dunharrow. After the fall of Sauron, the corsairs where not even "told off" by the west because they where mercenaries

Variags Although variags are not films it is confirmed that they came from Khand, south of Rhun they where excellent horsemen and as well as the Easterlings they had wains. They have yellow skin and long pointed moustaches.

Edain and Dunedain:
Through their services and assistance rendered to the Elves and the Valar in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, the Edain were rewarded with a new land of their own between Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. This was the island of Númenor, an island in the form of a five-pointed star far away from the evil of Middle-earth.

They were led to this island by Elros with the help of his father Eärendil, who sailed the heavens as the bright star of the same name. Once there Elros became the first king of Númenor as Tar-Minyatur and the Edain became known as the Dúnedain (Sindarin for Men of the West). The kingdom of Númenor grew steadily in power and the Dúnedain became the noblest and highest of all Men on Arda. Allied to the Elves, Númenor fought against Morgoth's lieutenant Sauron.

Now that the Men of the West had become powerful they came to resent the Gift of Men, Death. They wanted to become immortal like the Elves, and enjoy their accumulated power for all time. The Númenóreans turned away from the Valar, began to call the Gift of Men the Doom of Men and cursed the Ban of the Valar which forbade them to sail west beyond sight of Númenor or to enter Valinor. In SA 2899 Ar-Adûnakhôr became the first king of Númenor who took his royal name in Adûnaic, the language of Men instead of Quenya, the language of the Elves. This led to civil war in Númenor.

The people of Númenor were divided into two factions: the King's Men, who enjoyed the support of the King and the majority of the people. They favoured Adûnaic as language. The minority faction, the Faithful, were led by the lord of Andúnië, the westernmost province of Númenor, and favoured Quenya. Sauron who by the second millennium of the Second Age was nearly defeated by the Elves and Numenoreans, took advantage of the division. He surrendered to the last Númenórean King, Ar-Pharazôn and worked his way into the King's counsels. Ultimately, Sauron advised him to attack Valinor and claim immortality. This he foolishly did, and as a punishment Númenor, the island of the Men of the west fell and only the Faithful escaped and founded the twin kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

Easterlings:
Most Men who fought in the armies of Morgoth and Sauron were the Easterlings, who came from the region around the Sea of Rhûn. Some Easterlings offered their services to the elvish kingdoms in Beleriand, among them were Bor and his sons and Ulfang the Black and his sons. This proved to be disastrous for the Elves in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad when Ulfang and his clan switched sides and defected to Morgoth, while Bor and his sons died bravely fighting on the side of the Eldar.

After Morgoth's defeat Sauron extended his influence over the Easterlings and although Sauron was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age, the Easterlings were the first enemies to attack Gondor again in TA 492. They were soundly defeated by King Rómendacil I, but invaded again in TA 541 and took revenge by slaying King Rómendacil. Rómendacil's son Turambar took large portions of land from them. In the next centuries Gondor held sway over the Easterlings. When Gondor's power began to decrease in the twelfth century Third Age, the Easterlings took the complete eastern bank of the Anduin except Ithilien crushing Gondor's allies, the Northmen.

The Easterlings of the Third Age were divided in different tribes, such as the Wainriders and the Balchoth. The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterlings which were very active between TA 1856 and TA 1944. They were a serious threat to Gondor for many years, but were utterly defeated by Eärnil II in 1944. When Gondor lost its royal dynasty in TA 2050 the Easterlings started to reorganize themselves and a fierce tribe called the Balchoth became the most important tribe. In TA 2510 they invaded Gondor again and conquered much of Calenardhon, until they were defeated by the Éothéod, coming to Gondor's aid.

Until the War of the Ring the Easterlings didn't launch any invasion. In the War of the Ring they were amongst the fiercest warriors deployed at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Sauron.

Northmen:
The Northmen were composed of two principle groups. First, not all the Men who remained east of the Blue Mountains and Misty Mountains were tempted by Morgoth or Sauron. They were joined after the War of Wrath by those of the Edain who did not wish to travel to Númenór (similar to how, at the end of the first age, various eldar remained and went east, becoming lords of the silvan elves). The Northmen who dwelt in Greenwood the Great and other parts of Rhovanion were friendly to the Dúnedain, being for the most part their kin, and many of them became Gondorian subjects. The Men of Dale and Esgaroth were Northmen, as were the Woodsmen of Mirkwood, and the Éothéod, who became the Rohirrim.

Dunlendings and Druedain:
When Elendil founded the Kingdom of Arnor its borders were quickly extended towards the river Greyflood (Sind:Gwathló), and Gondor likewise extended up through Enedwaith. In Enedwaith (Middle-land) and Minhiriath (Sindarin for Land between the Rivers) lived a group of Men related to those Men that became the House of Haleth, and they were known as the Dunlendings. They had lived in the great woods that covered most of Eriador, and when the Númenóreans started to chop these woods down to build their ships in the Second Age, the Dúnedain of Númenor earned the hostility of the Dunlendings. The Dunlendings later became bitter enemies of Rohan. The Dunlendings served Saruman in the War of the Ring and participated in the Battle of the Hornburg.

Another group of Men were the Woses or Druedain. They were small and bent compared to other Men. The Woses had brown to black skin. They lived among the House of Haleth in the First Age, and were held as Edain by the Elves, who called them Drúedain (from Drûg, their own name for themselves, plus Edain). At the end of the Third Age some Woses lived in the Drúadan forest, small in number but experienced in wood life. They held off orcs with poisoned arrows and were vital in securing the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. King Elessar granted the Drúadan Forest "forever" to them in the Fourth Age.