what would possibly exist in the farthest east?

[Galadriel55]

I think that the divide between military development does not signify more/less military advancement, just different types of advancement. Like the crusades were a clash of the lighter but more brittle Muslim forces against the heavier but stronger Western Europeans. And both had wins and both had losses. I think the two tactics or styles are just so different that they are practically incomparable - you can compare specific weapons, maneouvres, mobility, organization, etc., but when put together they seem like to much of a heterogenous mixture to really compare or predict the outcome based on numbers and strength. It seems like militarily speaking, each one has to play out its strengths to the fullest and hope that they are enough to overcome the enemy's strengths.

[tom the eldest]

The easterling do have some military advance.for example,the have an effective anti-cavalry techniques,which is why they were feared by rohirrim and gondor.they also had some advance in agricultural,seeing that most of sauron food were made in rhun,due to the ashes of mount doom make fertile land in rhun.they armour is also pretty different from the west.the west had wing-shaped helmet and iron armour,while the easterling had fearsome dragon-shaped helmet and golden armour.considering that the easterling can make gold into a strong armour,i think that they had some advanced metalurgy techniques.

[mhagain]

"Rhûn" just means "east", so it's more-or-less equivalent to saying "over thataway".

Tolkien never mapped nor fully described the region, but we do know some of what's out there. In the original symmetric design there was a range of mountains to the east, mirroring the Blue Mountains in the west; the Red Mountains (Orocarni), and it may be surmised that these are still there (the west recieved far more damage at the end of the First and Second Ages; the east appears to have been relatively unscathed).

The Mountains of the Wind were towards the east and slightly south too. According to a wiki page they were destroyed in the War of Wrath, but the only evidence I can find that they may no longer exist is the fact that they appear on Ambarkanta map IV but not on map V (and map V still has Beleriand on it so it pre-dates the War of Wrath, meaning that if they were destroyed it was before then).

The Inland Sea of Helcar existed in the east too; according to one theory it shrank (possibly draining into the Bay of Belfalas/Great Gulf) at the end of the First Age, leaving behind Mordor (which by this theory would have been underwater in the First Age!) and the Sea of Rhûn as a remnant. This seems to be based on not much more than a speculation by CT in one of the HoME books (and an attempt to match Ambarkanta map V with the later geography).

However, the Cirdan essay in HoME 12 states that the Teleri lived by the Sea of Rhûn for an extended time during the Great Journey, which seems to me to indicate that they're separate seas.

Beyond that there's a shore, the east sea (narrower than Belegaer) and an eastern continent mirroring Aman.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

The easterling do have some military advance.for example,the have an effective anti-cavalry techniques,which is why they were feared by rohirrim and gondor.

Where does it say that? Besides, the Men of Gondor rarely used cavalry in battle (as opposed to mounted infantry) beyond the Knights of Dol Amroth so I fail to see how that's likely.

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

they also had some advance in agricultural,seeing that most of sauron food were made in rhun,due to the ashes of mount doom make fertile land in rhun.

No, most of Sauron's food was grown in Nurn, the southern and largest part of Mordor, not in Rhûn. Also it was grown by slaves, not specifically by the Easterlings - although I'm more than willing to consider that many of Sauron's slaves probably were Easterlings.

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

they armour is also pretty different from the west.the west had wing-shaped helmet and iron armour,while the easterling had fearsome dragon-shaped helmet and golden armour.considering that the easterling can make gold into a strong armour,i think that they had some advanced metalurgy techniques.

Where is this ever stated? This sounds like an assumption based on the film where they wear gold or bronze covered equipment. Now the Man of Harad who dies in front of Sam, on the other hand, is described as wearing a "golden collar" and a "corslet of overlapping brazen plates" but this is one of the Haradrim, not an Easterling. We don't know much about the equipment of the Easterlings at all, actually, except that some used axes in battle.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Where is this ever stated? This sounds like an assumption based on the film where they wear gold or bronze covered equipment. Now the Man of Harad who dies in front of Sam, on the other hand, is described as wearing a "golden collar" and a "corslet of overlapping brazen plates" but this is one of the Haradrim, not an Easterling. We don't know much about the equipment of the Easterlings at all, actually, except that some used axes in battle.

Even in the movie, I doubt very much whether the Easterlings’ armour is meant to be *made* of gold.

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Even in the movie, I doubt very much whether the Easterlings’ armour is meant to be *made* of gold.

Agreed. Gold is a lousy metal to make armor out of; it's very heavy and more importantly, very soft. It might be OK for "parade" (ceremonial or ornamental) armor, but no one with any sense would wear it as protection in actual combat. I can sort of imagine someone wearing gold PLATED armor,for ornament (though unless Harad has a LOT of gold, even that might be stretching things for any but the highest ranking officers.) I can even imagine a few useful effects of this. Since gold doesn't corrode such armor would never need to be polished and would be rust resistant (provided you remembered to patch and holes that weapons made in the plating). But under the plate, it would still be iron, steel or bronze with the reference in the book heavily suggesting bronze as the most likely option (actually the reference says "brazen" which would mean brass, but I've never heard of anyone making armor out of brass, so I think it possible that the plates were bronze and Sam misidentified).

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Well, war-chariots were 'primitive', in that they were an intermediate step on the way to full mounted cavaltry. Some cultures of course skipped right over the step; but it certainly was the case that chariots by classical times had been relegated to parades and races- and a few isolated and, yes, backwards peoples like the Britons.

Basically, chariots were for armies that hadn't yet figured out how to fight from horeseback; decent cav would rip them a new one.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Well, war-chariots were 'primitive', in that they were an intermediate step on the way to full mounted cavaltry. Some cultures of course skipped right over the step; but it certainly was the case that chariots by classical times had been relegated to parades and races- and a few isolated and, yes, backwards peoples like the Britons.

Basically, chariots were for armies that hadn't yet figured out how to fight from horeseback; decent cav would rip them a new one.

The east-to-west migration of successive tribes like the Balchoth and Wainriders might mirror the Iron Age Celtic migrations across Europe, as Celts were avid charioteers. The Gaelic culture had its hero Cuchulainn riding a chariot into battle, and the Britons, with very Tolkienesque nomenclature, had the Wetwang Chariot:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore...ot_burial.aspx