Harondor at the End of the Third Age

[Elfhild]

I am curious about Harondor, the contested region of Southern Gondor which has been claimed throughout history by both Gondor and Harad. I believe one of Tolkien's own maps describes it as a "debatable and desert land." However, in this case, "desert" may mean that it was deserted by the Gondorians by the time the map was created. The land probably does have a more arid climate than Gondor.

There doesn't seem to be much information on Harondor/South Gondor. A lot of the information online about this region comes from MERP and other games, and is set during the Kin-strife period. In TA 2885, the Haradrim were occupying Harondor as a staging ground to launch an attack on South Ithlien at the Crossings of Poros. The Haradrim were defeated by the Gondorians with the help of the Rohirrim, but it seems that Harondor remained under the control of the Haradrim.

Although I know that Tolkien loved his abandoned ruins and endless stretches of unoccupied land, Harondor seems like such a large place to be a deserted wasteland. While Gondor was forced to give up this territory, it seems logical that the land might have a scattered population that is mixed with Gondorians and Haradrim, and under the control of the Haradrim, or various Haradric tribes. It also seems logical that there would be cities, towns, and settlements, especially along the Harad Road, which would be a major transportation/trade route. There might be a city near the Crossings of Poros; it seems like a logical place to have a settlement. However, all this is speculation.

I am currently fleshing out some vague details in a Circles plotline. This involves a group of characters traveling, and they would be passing through Harondor on the way to Harad. I can't say more, because spoilers. FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHARACTERS, it would be best for the story if Harondor was an inhabited land.

"After that, we will take the Harad Road to the Crossings of Poros. Once we cross the River Poros, we will be in Harondor, a region which has oft been contested by Gondor and Harad. There is a city near the river crossing where we can rest from the journey and get provisions. [...] We shall stay in Harondor for a while, then keep journeying south and then east until we reach the River Harnen and finally pass into Harad."

[leyara]

My feeling is that the people of Harondor might have a more nomadic lifestyle than those of Gondor, especially if there isn't a lot of arable land available. Larger settlements would need a steady food source, so they'd have to be either near the coast/rivers for fishing or along the Harad road where they could trade for food. It could be interesting to have a seasonally-inhabited outpost along the Harad road, with a Harondorian population that lives there during periods of high merchant travel but leaves it behind as a ghost town when there isn't enough trade to sustain them.

Since the Haradrim have been in control of the area for longer, I'll assume that the people who live there identify more closely with the Haradrim than the Gondorians. In that case I could see how Gondor would struggle to hold the land in anything but name. They could capture the major settlements, but not the smaller, nomadic settlements that spring up and vanish with the seasons. They would also have to contend with the food supply issue if they wanted to move in permanently - xenophobia on both sides would leave trading with merchants from Harad out of the question, but they could have established their own town or city near the mouth of the Anduin. It would be interesting to see a city of self-identified Gondorians who moved in during a prior conquest, but eventually assimilated and speak their own dialect of semi-Haradric Westron.

[Elfhild]

You have some good ideas in regard to the Harandor climate and distribution of inhabitants.

By the end of the Third Age, Harondor was under the control of the Haradrim. I believe that I read that it was reclaimed by Gondor in the Fourth Age Reunited Kingdom. Karen Wynn Fonstad shows Harondor and Umbar as being part of the Reunited Kingdom in her Fourth Age map.

While Tolkien himself did not write much about Harondor outside of references to the Kin-strife, the Middle Earth Roleplaying Games (MERP) did explore the area, although that module was set in an earlier part of the Third Age.

The Notion Club Papers is a wiki that has lore from various Middle-earth games. I assume that most of the information from this entry is from MERP. Keep in mind that most of the details and history here are NOT canon.
notionclubarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Harondor

MERP had a settlement at the Crossings of Poros, called Athrad Poros.
notionclubarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Athrad_Poros

You might be interested in looking at this MERP inspired map of the area. It doesn't show Athrad Poros, but it does show a MERP fortress called Tirith Ethraid which is located in South Ithilien above the river crossing.
luncheonsndragons.tumblr.com/image/90533535919

I think a settlement at the Crossings of Poros makes sense, as it is at an important river crossing. I hesitate to use MERP place names, though, as the Arda Angmar and I imagined looks much more different than MERP's Middle-earth map. However, it is very tempting, and many other fanfic writers frequently use MERP place names. Tolkien himself probably would have called the Crossings of Poros, Athrad Poros.

[leyara]

If it were me, I'd probably use original place names. It's a good way of distinguishing your Arda from the MERP Arda, and offers a good opportunity to sneak in some interesting etymology.