The race of Men were the second race of beings created by Ilvatar. Because they awoke at the start of the Years of the Sun, while the Elves awoke at the start of the First Age, they are called the Afterborn (Quenya Atani, Sindarin: Edain) by the Elves.

Men bear the so-called Gift of Men, mortality. Elves are immortal, in the sense that even if their bodies are slain, their spirits remain bound to the world, going to the Halls of Mandos to wait until they are released or the world ends. Elves are tied to the world for as long as it lasts. When Men die, they are released from Arda and the bounds of the world and have rest from its troubles.

Although all Men are related to one another, there are many different groups with different cultures.

Many Men didn't cross the Misty Mountains or fight against Morgoth. The original Easterlings, the Men from the East, were divided; some fought on his side, while others allied themselves with the Elves. Later in the Third Age, the Haradrim or Southrons, the Men from the South, would fight on Sauron's side against the descendants of the Edain, alongside Easterlings (who were actually different from those of the First Age).

The following groups of men are depicted in Legends of Middle Earth

Dnedain

Through their services and assistance rendered to the Elves and the Valar in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age, the Edain were rewarded with a new land of their own between Middle Earth and the Undying Lands. This was the island of Nmenor, an island in the form of a five-pointed star far away from the evil of Middle Earth.

They were led to this island by Elros with the help of his father Erendil, who sailed the heavens as the bright star of the same name. Once there Elros became the first king of Nmenor as Tar-Minyatur and the Edain became known as the Dnedain (Sindarin for Men of the West). The kingdom of Nmenor grew steadily in power and the Dnedain became the noblest and highest of all Men on Arda. Allied to the Elves, Nmenor fought against Morgoth's lieutenant Sauron.

Now that the Men of the West had become powerful they came to resent the Gift of Men, Death. They wanted to become immortal like the Elves, and enjoy their accumulated power for all time. The Nmenreans turned away from the Valar, began to call the Gift of Men the Doom of Men and cursed the Ban of the Valar which forbade them to sail west beyond sight of Nmenor or to enter Valinor. In 2899 SA Ar-Adnakhr became the first king of Nmenor who took his royal name in Adnaic, the language of Men instead of Quenya, the language of the Elves. This led to civil war in Nmenor.

The people of Nmenor were divided into two factions: the King's Men, who enjoyed the support of the King and the majority of the people. They favoured the Adnaic language. The minority faction, the Faithful, were led by the lord of Anduni, the westernmost province of Nmenor, remained friendly to the Elves and favoured Quenya.

Sauron, who by the second millennium of the Second Age was nearly defeated by the Elves, took advantage of the division. He surrendered to the last Nmenrean King, Ar-Pharazn and worked his way into the King's counsels. Ultimately, Sauron advised him to attack Valinor and claim immortality. This he foolishly did, and as punishment Nmenor was swallowed by the sea. However, some of the Faithful escaped and founded the twin kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

Men of Gondor

The Men of Gondor gradually mingled with other groups, such as the Northmen. This led to the civil war called the Kin-strife, when Eldacar, a man of mixed descent and the rightful heir to the throne, was challenged by Castamir, who was of pure Dnadan blood. Eldacar was forced into exile, and Castamir, called the Usurper, took the throne. After a decade Eldacar returned with allies from the North and defeated Castamir. However his sons and many of his followers managed to escape to Umbar (see below).

Also counted among the Men of Gondor were people coming from its provinces and fiefdoms who were not of Nmenorean descent. Some of these Men had darker complexions; prominent among them were Forlong the Fat and the Men of Lossarnach who reinforced Minas Tirith before the siege of the city began.

Northmen/Rohirrim
The Northmen were composed of two principal groups. First, not all the Men who remained east of the Blue Mountains and Misty Mountains were tempted by Morgoth or Sauron. They were joined after the War of Wrath by those of the Edain who did not wish to travel to Nmenor (similar to how, at the end of the First Age, various Eldar remained and went east, becoming lords of the Silvan elves). The Northmen who dwelt in Greenwood the Great and other parts of Rhovanion were friendly to the Dnedain, being for the most part their kin, and many of them became Gondorian subjects. The Men of Dale and Esgaroth were Northmen, as were the woodsmen of Mirkwood, and the othod, who became the Rohirrim.

Haradrim
Further east of Umbar another group of Men lived, the Haradrim, the Southrons or Men of the South. They were dark-skinned Men and waged war on great Oliphaunts or mmakil. Hostile to Gondor, they were subdued in 1050 TA by Hyarmendacil I.

Both Umbar and the Harad were left unchecked by Gondor's waning power by the time of the War of the Ring, and presented grave threats from the south. Many Haradrim fought with Sauron's forces in Gondor in that War. However, Tolkien strongly hints that they, as well as the Easterlings, were at worst deceived and at best unwilling pawns.

Easterlings
Most Men who fought in the armies of Morgoth and Sauron were called Easterlings, who came from the region around the Sea of Rhn in the East.

In the First Age, Some tribes of Easterlings offered their services to the Elvish kingdoms in Beleriand; the strongest among them were Br and Ulfang, called the Black, and their respective sons. This proved to be disastrous for the Elves in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad when Ulfang and his clan switched sides and defected to Morgoth, while Br and his sons died bravely fighting on the side of the Eldar.

After Morgoth's defeat Sauron extended his influence over the Easterlings and although Sauron was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age, the Easterlings were the first enemies to attack Gondor again in 492 TA. They were soundly defeated by King Rmendacil I, but invaded again in 541 TA and took revenge by slaying King Rmendacil. Rmendacil's son Turambar took large portions of land from them. In the next centuries Gondor held sway over the Easterlings. When Gondor's power began to decrease in the twelfth century Third Age, the Easterlings took the complete eastern bank of the Anduin except Ithilien crushing Gondor's allies, the Northmen.

The Easterlings of the Third Age were divided in different tribes, such as the Wainriders and the Balchoth. The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterlings which were very active between 1856 and 1944 TA. They were a serious threat to Gondor for many years, but were utterly defeated by Ernil II in 1944. When Gondor lost its royal dynasty in 2050 TA the Easterlings started to reorganize themselves and a fierce tribe called the Balchoth became the most important tribe. In 2510 TA they invaded Gondor again and conquered much of Calenardhon, until they were defeated by the othod, coming to Gondor's aid.

Until the War of the Ring the Easterlings didn't launch any invasion. In the War of the Ring they were amongst the fiercest warriors deployed at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Sauron.

Hobbits

Hobbits were strictly an offshoot of Men rather than a separate species. The origin of Hobbits is obscure; they first appeared in the records of other Men in the Third Age. 



Source: Wikipedia

Major Vala

<link="tech:Age 1 Orome">Orom</link>
<link="tech:Age 1 Tulkas">Tulkas</link>
<link="tech:Age 1 Lorien">Lrien</link>

Minor Vala and Maiar

<link="tech:Age 2 Huan">Huan</link>
<link="tech:Age 2 Nahar">Nahar</link>
<link="tech:Age 2 Luthien">Luthien</link>

<link="tech:Age 3 Olorin">Melian</link>
<link="tech:Age 3 Vana>Vna</link>
<link="tech:Age 3 Vaire">Vair</link>

<link="tech:Age 4 Elwe">Elw</link>
<link="tech:Age 4 Elendil">Elendil</link>
<link="tech:Age 4 Este">Oss</link>

The Easterlings and Hadrim fought for the Dark Lord, followers of Istari <link="tech:Age 3 Pallando">Pallando</link> and <link="tech:Age 3 Alatar">Alatar</link>, who like Saruman fell under the eveil spell of Sauron.


