[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

I'd argue that the Dúnedain evoke to a significant extent the idea of "if Norse/Ancient German peoples had built and operated the way the Egyptians and Byzantines did."

An excellent point, and I think a very good way of putting it.

This is really one of those things that has grown up after Professor Tolkien's work, isn't it? This bizarre modern conception of Dwarves as short bearded Scotsmen with Viking helmets on.
As we know, Professor Tolkien compared the Dwarves to the Jews, which I think is an interesting comparison, but again they have very Norse/Germanic traits as well.

I've always thought that the dwarves have a much more ancient Semitic cultural structure than is commonly supposed, which particularly shows up in their language (the pieces of it we have).

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

I don't know. To me they seem to be steppe/Middle-Eastern peoples rather than Slavs. Axes aside, they seem to be more Arabian, or perhaps slightly Persian, or with a stretch some people from slightly farther northeast, than Slavic. The Slavs weren't the only people to wear beards; they don't match appearances in terms of what we know about facial features or skin colour; they certainly didn't ride in wains, and while they had a cavalry it wasn't anything exceptional (actually, there is a theory that the Mongolian invasion didn't reach anywhere as far as it's said to be, and one of the main supporting factors is that you can't sustain or properly maneuver such a cavalry in the Slavic forests). It's true that Slavs used axes in battle while Middle Eastern people didn't, to the best of my knowledge, but aside from that I don't see how the Easterlings match Slavs.

Myself, I don't get much of a Middle-Eastern vibe from the Easterlings. However, some of them, particularly the Wainriders, do give me a strong steppe people vibe. It reminds me of a nomadic people living in portable yurts where the wagons could be repurposed for battle as well.

However, to me the Axemen referenced at the Battle of the Pelennor do seem to me have a bit of a Slavic flavor.

I agree with Zigûr that the East was huge enough to have many different cultures in it.