Harad

Harad
Haradrim chieftain's standard
J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium location
Other name(s)	Haradwaith, Sunlands
Type	Vast hot region with deserts and jungles
Notable locations	Near Harad, Umbar, Far Harad
First appearance	The Fellowship of the Ring
Location	southern Middle-earth

In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium detailing lands within Middle-earth, Harad - or more formally the Harad - was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. In the languages invented by Tolkien, Harad means South in Sindarin, and it was named Hyarmen in Quenya with the same meaning. It is also referred to as the Sunlands, and as Haradwaith (from the people who lived there; the name literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people").

Aragorn's brief description of Haradwaith - "Harad where the stars are strange" - suggests that Harad is close to or in the southern hemisphere, as the world is a globe by the time of The Lord of the Rings and not flat as it was before the Fall of Númenor.

Harad had jungle and desert regions. In its jungles lived apes, and animals known as mûmakil, which were elephant-like but larger and more aggressive.

The great harbour and city of Umbar was situated on Harad's west coast, which was washed by the Great Sea.

To the north of Harad lay (west to east) the lands of Gondor, Mordor and Khand. Historically the border with Gondor was held to be the river Harnen, but by the time of the War of the Ring all the land further north to the river Poros was under the influence of the Haradrim. The border with Mordor ran along the southern Mountains of Shadow.