The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Constructed sometime after the foundation of Gondor in II 33201
Location
Running from South Ithilien across the river Poros, and then through Harondor (South Gondor) and across the river Harnen into the Harad itself
Race
Division
Culture
Settlements
The Crossings of Poros at the road's northern end were reached by roads running southward from both Pelargir and Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul)
Pronunciation
Harad is pronounced 'ha'rad'
Meaning
Harad means 'South' or 'southern lands'

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About this entry:

  • Updated 11 October 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

Harad Road

The road that ran south out of Ithilien

Map of the Harad Road
The route of the Harad Road2
The route of the Harad Road2

The long road that ran southward through Ithilien, crossing the Poros at its Fords, and then out across South Gondor and the far lands of Harad.


Notes

1

We have very few references to the Harad Road of any kind, and none to provide definite dates. Indeed, the road may have existed in some form, perhaps as a trading route, before the foundation of Gondor. Its most likely date of construction, however, would probably be about the year III 1050, when Ciryaher (later Hyarmendacil I) of Gondor marched a great army southward to the relief of Umbar. He is noted as taking several decades to prepare for this action, and the need to build a road for his troops through Harondor (South Gondor) would help to explain this delay. Whenever the road was made, it was probably in existence by III 1448, because Harondor was lost to Gondor in that year. Our first reference to the road comes long after all of these dates, during the battles of III 1944, though even here the records merely imply its existence (speaking of a road across the Fords of Poros) rather than naming it outright.

2

The route of the road southward from the Crossings of Poros is well established, at least until it passed beyond Harnen into the Harad itself. The status of its northern section (through South Ithilien, between Pelargir and the Crossings of Poros) is less clear. It was evidently a continuation of the same road, but this northern section is not definitively identified as part of the main Harad Road.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 11 October 2021
  • Updates planned: 1

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