could any of the kingdoms at middle earth attack the southern continents?

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

At the height of its might,gondor could invade the southern continents,but the casualties will be massive,and the invasion could be called of after weeks of months.afterall,they fight in a completely unfamiliar terrain,a massive jungle.

How do you know they could invade? Or if they did, that the casualties would be massive? Or that the invasion would be called off? Or that the terrain was unfamiliar? None of these things are written about. For all we know Gondor had an elite jungle fighting unit.

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

Well,looking at the map,its looks like the south continent did have large forest and jungles.and in the two towers,one of the quote says "like monkeys in the jungles of the south".

According to which map? And do you mean Harad or the actual, separate Southern Continent? Because in the Ambarkanta map, the "Dark Lands" aren't given any detail - forests, mountains or anything else. Their presence in the maps from, say, Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth is pure speculation. I always assumed also that the reference to "apes in the dark forests of the south" was a reference to Harad, not the "Dark Lands."

Originally Posted by tom the eldest

the dark lands are separate from middle earth and far harad

Far Harad, like the rest of Harad, is part of Middle-earth. Sorry to be pedantic about this but I think it needs to be emphasised to minimise confusion.

[tom the eldest]

What i meant is the dark lands not far harad.sorry guys,i got very confused

[Nerwen]

Again, Belegorn, you cannot just assume everyone is desperate to take over the world. Evidence is required- and in the case of Gondor (which is what we're talking about now) this evidence is lacking.

[Belegorn]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Again, Belegorn, you cannot just assume everyone is desperate to take over the world. Evidence is required- and in the case of Gondor (which is what we're talking about now) this evidence is lacking.

I'm not assuming that this is what they WANTED to do. I'm assuming that had they had the manpower and incentive to do so they COULD. Gondor did expand during the reign of the 4 Ship-kings, but otherwise it seems there was no incentive for them to go about conquering other lands. Again, all I'm saying is that if they had chosen to do so and had not lost most of their people in the Downfall, Gondor could certainly if they chose to do so, take what they will.

The reason I keep bringing up Númenor is because it is the basis of my point that "the Dúnedain were only a small people in the midst of lesser Men" [RotK; ll. The Appendix on Languages] Their numbers were decimated. So even if there were incentive there it would not seem like a good policy. There are only so many colonies a reduced people can set up in conquered lands and add to that how they produce slowly and have few children.

So why did Gondor not take over the world, probably because they did not care to, or maybe they did, but if they did then they were severely lacking in manpower. Gondor was already waning during the reign of the 16th King. What is the motivation of the Kings and Noble High-Men? All I know was that Ar-Pharazôn, known as "the mightiest tyrant that had yet been in the world since the reign of Morgoth" [Sil., Akallabêth, p. 339] had two great motivations, to be King of Men rather than Sauron, and to take immortality.

"as he pondered long in secret, his heart was filled with the desire of power unbounded and the sole dominion of his will. And he determined without counsel of the Valar, or the aid of any wisdom but his own, that the title King of Men he would himself claim, and would compel Sauron to become his vassal and his servant" [p. 333-334]

If Gondor could they would, if they wanted to do so.

[Nerwen]

Okay, Belegorn, I guess I misunderstood you.

[Nerwen]

Now, if, as it seems, these "dark lands" are indeed the mysterious southern continent shown on the Ambarkanta map, I have to doubt whether they would even be over the mental horizon of people in Middle-earth. Isn't this much like asking, "Why didn't the Roman Empire invade Australia"?

[Belegorn]

Probably. I do wonder if their sailors had ever penetrated these boundaries before.

[tom the eldest]

Originally Posted by Belegorn

Probably. I do wonder if their sailors had ever penetrated these boundaries before.

The numenorians probably have,either when they are exploring,or trying to find aman.

[cellurdur]

The Numenoreans had pretty much colonised a lot of the world by the time they fell. When Sauron was taken in, I get the impression that apart from the West most of the world was under their power.