Rohan, Riddermark, the land of the Rohirrim
The people of Gondor named the kingdom of the Rohirrim Rohan. The Rohirrim called their kingdom as Riddermark. The people of Rohan were called the Rohirrim as well which means “Horse Lords” in Sindarin elf language.
However, the Rohirrim called themselves Eorlingas which means the descendants of Eorl. The people of Rohan originate from the northern men of Rhovanion.
These men have migrated further east to the Anduin and eventually settled down in the lands of the Calendardhon and founded Rohan.
The capital of Rohan was Edoras and Rohan’s territory spanned from the River of Isen that bordered Isengard and Dunland to the west, north to the Fangorn Forest, east to the borders of Gondor and south to the White Mountains.
The western part of Rohan was called the Westfold that spanned from the Gap of Rohan to Edoras. The Eastfold of Rohan referred to eastern Rohan that spanned from Edoras to the borders of Gondor.
Horses and the Rohirrim
The name Rohirrim literally means horselord and became one of the pronouns for the people of Rohan due to their mastership of horse taming. Horses were considered a kin or family to the people of Rohan.
Normal horses would fear long pikes and spears that were a famous counteractive measure against cavalry.
However the horses raised by the Rohirrim didn’t fear the long pike formations that made the Rhoirrim cavalry exclusively stronger than any other cavalry section.
Gondor and Rohan’s Alliance – Oath of Eorl and the Oath of Cirion
The lands of Calenardhon belonged to Gondor, however during the invasion of the Balchoths an Easterling tribe, Gondor was at the brink of annihilation.
However, the leader of the ancestors of Rohan named Eorl, also known as Eorl the Young saved Gondor from the balchoths at the Battle of Celebrant. The steward of Gondor Cirion gave the lands of Calenardhon to Eorl, the young and Eorl the young became the first king of Rohan.
The people of Rohan proudly referred to themselves and Eorlingas that means descendants of Eorl to honor their legacy with the first king of Rohan Eorl. Eorl the Young and Cirion made an honorable and strong alliance between Gondor and Rohan.
Gondor and Rohan was to aid each other when the warning beacons were lit or if an red arrow was delivered. In the movie, the warning beacons were depicted.
Dunland and Rohan’s grudge
The Wildman of Dunland or the Dunlendings held a grudge against Gondor long before Rohan was founded as Numenoreans have drove off the ancestors of the Dunlendings out of their lands.
However, after Rohan was founded right next to the borders of Dunland, the people of Rohan constantly clashed with the Dunlendings. Dunlendings held a grudge against Rohan as well as Rohan was a firm ally with Gondor.
Freca, a lord of Rohan that cooperated with Dunlendings claimed he was of royal blood but he was murdered by the famous king of Rohan Helm Hammerhand with the king’s bare hands. Freca’s son Wulf formed a massive army of Dunlendings and invaded Rohan.
Helm Hammerhand had to evacuate to the Hornburg Castle and died standing straight as he resisted against Wulf’s Dunlendings.
The Hornburg Castle earned its name Helm’s Deep after Helm Hammerhand’s death that showed his power. Later Frealaf, Helm’s nephew reclaimed Edoras and Rohan finishing off the Dunlendings. Thus, Dunland and Rohan had great conflicts since then.
The Two Towers Alliance
The Two Towers Alliance was the alliance between Saruman and Sauron. The name of the alliance derived from the symbolic towers of Saruman and Sauron the Orthanc tower and the Barad-dur Tower.
Sauron started to rally up the alliances of the east including the corsairs, pirates of Umbar, the evil men of Harad the Haradrim and the Easterlings.
Sauron plotted to attack Gondor, Erebor and Mirkwoods while Saruman was to attack Rohan preventing Rohan from reinforcing Gondor. Saruman first starts to harass the westfold of Rohan.
Saruman and Isengard’s Expansion of Power
Saruman had long planned his betrayal of the humans, elves and dwarves even before the One Ring emerged to its presence. Saruman has already started fortification since the ruling of the king of Rohan Thengel who was Theoden’s father.
Aragorn also once served Thengel fight the Dunlendings and orcs that have invaded the lands of Rohan. Saruman have cut down the forests of Nan Curunir and the once green Isengard became the forges to build weapons for Saruman’s Isengard army.
Saruman has even constructed dams on the Isen river to supply his forges and uruk-hai and orc breeding pits. Saruman even started to cut down the forests of the Fangorn forest with the knowledge he knew from Treebeard.
Saruman before his corruption would conversate with the eldest ent Treebeard but Saruman used his knowledge he received from Treebeared to cut down the trees of the Fangorn Forest as fuel and to build weapons.
Saruman’s pillage of Rohan
Saruman has defiled the minds of the king of Rohan Theoden by the assistance of Grima Wormtongue. Saruman then ordered the wild men of Dunland, the Dunlendings to pillage the lands of Rohan.
The Dunlendings had an old grudge against Rohan and Gondor and joined the cause of Saruman. Uruk Hai and the orcs of Saruman’s Isengard forces would also attack the and pillage the lands of Rohan. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas noticed the devastation of the lands of Rohan.
