Lord Of The Rings: 10 Strongest Armies In Middle-Earth

The Lord of the Rings is full of some impressive armies, being a war story in many ways. Of course, it is also a high fantasy epic and an adventure story, among other things. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies were funny and romantic action movies, so they were partially suited to portraying J.R.R. Tolkien’s descriptions of war. The action sequences in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, for instance, felt faithfully harrowing. But diving deeper into Tolkien’s legendarium reveals a serious meditation on the struggles of war, across many realistic armies.

High fantasy creator J.R.R. Tolkien wrote his legendarium across multiple ages, setting The Lord of the Rings in the Third Age. The Third Age was followed by the Fourth Age, which Tolkien gave relatively little detail on. However, stories in The Lord of the Rings’ appendices and The Silmarillion revealed a wealth of military might in Tolkien’s Second Age, with numerous battles fought in the First Age. Some of Lord of the Rings’ most impressive armies were destroyed millennia before Aragorn was even born, from Elvish infantry to hordes of Orcs and teams of dragons.

10 The Dead Men Of Dunharrow

The Oathbreakers

The Dead Men of Dunharrow were hard to kill, being already dead. The undead army that Aragorn led to battle during the War of the Ring was the terrifying force seen in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie. These ghosts weren’t allowed to rest in peace as they broke their oath to serve the Last Alliance, a confederation of armies put together in the Second Age.

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Originally the Men of The Mountains, these warriors were cursed by Isildur but, poetically, were freed from their curse by Isildur’s heir, Aragorn. When Aragorn proposed that the Dead Men of Dunharrow fight for him in the War of the Ring, he guaranteed that they could finally rest in peace afterward. Scaring off Sauron’s forces, this army fulfilled its role and was finally absolved.

9 The Union Of Maedhros

Elves, Men, And Dwarves

The Union of Maedhros was a historical confederation of armies well-documented in the lore of the Elvish Eldar in The Lord of the Rings. Maedhros was the founder of the group, a redheaded Noldorin Elf and one of the legendary Fëanor’s seven sons. The controversial figure exhibited moments of pure heroism but also participated in a violent sack of the Havens of Sirion, proving his ruthlessness. Nonetheless, Maedhros’ epic army united disparate peoples, including factions of Elves, Men, and Dwarves.

Tolkienian Age	Event Marking The Start	Years	Total Length In Solar Years
Before time	Indeterminate	Indeterminate	Indeterminate
Days before Days	The Ainur entered Eä	1 – 3,500 Valian Years	33,537
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)	Yavanna created the Two Trees	Y.T. 1 – 1050	10,061
First Age (F.A.)	Elves awoke in Cuiviénen	Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590	4,902
Second Age (S.A.)	The War of Wrath ended	S.A. 1 – 3441	3,441
Third Age (T.A.)	The Last Alliance defeated Sauron	T.A. 1 – 3021	3,021

Formed after the devastating Dagor Bragollach – the Battle of Sudden Flame – the Union of Maedhros led forces against Morgoth in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in the year 468 of the First Age. Although a powerful force, the Union of Maedhros was facing Morgoth’s powerful army. Also known as the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, suffice to say that the Nirnaeth Arnoediad generated significant losses for the Union of Maedhros, and it was never again resuscitated.

8 Sauron’s Second Age Army

Servants Of The South And East

Sauron rose to power about 1500 years into the Second Age, and his army was a force to be reckoned with. As well documented in the Amazon Prime Video show The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power, Sauron grew his forces while he saw to the forging of the 20 Rings of Power. Sauron’s forces included various leagues of Men and Morgoth’s creatures, with Orcs multiplying like flies in this time.

Second Age Event	Second Age Year
Sauron began construction on Barad-dûr	1000
Sauron befriended the Elves of Eregion as Annatar	1200
Rings of Power were forged	1500
The Three great Elven Rings were forged	1590
The One Ring was forged, Barad-dûr was completed, Sauron openly proclaimed himself	1600
Sauron began to prepare to invade Eriador	1605
The War of the Elves and Sauron began	1693
Sauron invaded Eriador	1695
Sauron sacked Eregion and killed Celebrimbor. Rivendell was founded. The Dwarves assailed Sauron. Khazad-dûm closed.	1697
Sauron overran Eriador	1699
Númenóreans defeated Sauron	1700
Sauron was driven from Eriador and fled to Mordor. First White Council held	1701
Ar-Pharazôn seized the scepter	3255
Sauron became Pharazôn’s prisoner in Númenor	3262
Númenor fell	3319

Failing to get the Elves to give up the three magical Elven-rings that they had forged without him, Sauron proceeded to launch the War of the Elves and Sauron. Sauron brought his army to the Elvish city of Eregion, laying siege to it brutally and forcing its residents to flee and Elrond to form the sanctuary that would come to be known as Rivendell. Sauron’s forces kept creating damage until they were held back by the Last Alliance.

7 The Last Alliance

Gil-Galad And Elendil’s Army

Gil-galad and Elendil headed up the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to fight Sauron in the Second Age, impressively managing to beat him and end the Second Age along with him. Sauron had finished forging his Rings of Power at this point and was wearing the One Ring, flaunting more power than he ever had before. When Isildur cut the One Ring from his finger, it destroyed Sauron’s body, leading to a period of recovery for Elves and Men.

Gil-galad was the High King of Elvendom, whereas Elendil was the new leader of the technologically advanced Númenórean race. Following the fall of Númenor, Elendil had inherited rulership over the remnants of the island people, who would become the Dúnedain. Between them, Gil-galad and Elendil had the forces necessary to win, but they paid the ultimate price for their victory, both getting killed by Sauron himself.

6 The Rohirrim

The Riders Of Rohan

The Riders of Rohan deserve a mention for being an outstanding army throughout the Third Age, contributing to Gondor’s victory on multiple occasions. Rohan was a staunch ally of Gondor’s, despite Denethor’s wavering faith during the War of the Ring. Lighting the beacons proved to be the wisest thing that Gondor could have done, overcoming pride and concern to join with their historical allies and fight Sauron.

The upcoming anime movie
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
will come out on December 13, 2024.

Known as the Rohirrim, the Horse-lords of Rohan had outstanding cavalry, being focused on the rearing of the ideal horse on their plains. Descending from the great Felaróf, the Mearas were the line of super-horses that resulted in Shadowfax, who Gandalf rode to victory in the War of the Ring. The rest of these great horses were a huge asset to the Rohirrim, standing them in good stead in battle.

5 The King’s Ships

Gondor’s Fleet

Gondor’s fleet was known as the King’s Ships, according to The Peoples of Middle-earth. Edited and published by Tolkien’s son after Tolkien’s death, this collection of Tolkien stories told of the Gondorian armada of the Second Age. Minas Tirith in the Third Age remained one of Lord of the Rings’ toughest strongholds, so it’s hardly a stretch to believe that Gondor had what Tolkien described as the world’s greatest fleet.

Tolkien was clearly working on balancing this army with the hugely powerful naval military of Númenor in his story. Númenor was a nation of great mariners and represented many of Middle-earth’s greatest seabound soldiers, with Eärendil the Mariner another famous sailor. The King’s Ships were based at Pelargir and Umbar after Gondor took control of the coastal settlement.

4 The Great Armament

The Army Of Númenor

The Great Armament of The Silmarillion fame was the huge armada that Ar-Pharazôn led to Aman to try and confront Lord of the Rings’ 15 Valar about keeping immortality hidden away from him. The Númenórean leader had a formidable army, fearsome enough to subdue Sauron into surrender. Sauron had previously been taken prisoner by Pharazôn but Pharazôn was no match for the cunning Maia. Sauron ended up brooking Pharazôn’s downfall by persuading him that he had the force necessary to fight the Valar – Tolkien’s demigods.

The Númenóreans were dominant in this day, colonizing Middle-earth when they landed on its shores.

Not even Pharazôn’s mighty fleet could take on the Valar. Pharazôn had a massive arrangement of warships and personnel. It was so great that “the light of the setting sun was cut off by the cloud of the Númenóreans.” They were described as an archipelago of a thousand isles with a veritable forest of masts. The Númenóreans were dominant in this day, colonizing Middle-earth when they landed on its shores.

3 The Morgul-Host

Sauron’s Third Age Forces

Sauron’s Morgul-host devastated the forces of Elves, Men, and Dwarves in Middle-earth’s Third Age. During the War of the Ring, portrayed in Peter Jackson’s movies, the Morgul-host tackled Minas Tirith. And yet, the forces that were based around Minas Morgul had been active for centuries. In the year 2000 of the Third Age, the Ringwraiths laid siege to Minas Ithil and took the city, turning it into Minas Morgul. From Minas Morgul, the Witch-king of Angmar fought King Eärnur twice.

Eventually killing Eärnur, this strife led to the end of the kings in Gondor – it wasn’t clear if Eärnur had been killed or had gone missing, so the Stewards of Gondor took over. There were other claims to the throne, but most factions in Gondor weren’t keen to risk more civil war. As such, the Morgul-host really did incur huge losses for Gondor historically. And again, in the War of the Ring, an army from Minas Morgul presented huge opposition. This army took part in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, the biggest battle of the Third Age.

2 Morgoth’s Forces During The First Age

Dragons Fought For Morgoth

Surely, Morgoth’s army during the First Age must be counted as the second-strongest military force in Middle-earth’s history. By virtue of having dragons alone, Morgoth’s army could lay claim to being the greatest and most deadly. It was only due to divine intervention that the tides were able to turn and the forces of light were ultimately able to defeat Morgoth’s military. But it wasn’t without deep and irrevocable damage to Middle-earth. Fighting in the Battles of Beleriand, Morgoth’s First Age army could boast of wins like the Battle of Unnumbered Tears and the Battle of Sudden Flame.

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But the War of Wrath was the lasting legacy of this army. Ancalagon was Middle-earth’s greatest dragon, and he fought for Morgoth in the War of Wrath. This huge, fire-breathing dragon represented a development of Middle-earth’s previous dragon villain. Glaurung could breathe fire but not fly. Ancalagon was a fire-breathing dragon who soared over the battlefield, decimating enemy legions. Elrond’s father, Eärendil, was the hero who felled Ancalagon in the end. Nonetheless, Morgoth’s army’s clash with its enemy in the War of Wrath was so cataclysmic that it sunk the entire realm of Beleriand.

1 The Host Of The Valar

Ainur Soldiers

The Host of the Valar are the greatest army in Middle-earth’s history, representing Tolkien’s demigods and made up of the Ainur race. Sauron, the Valar, and the Istari – the Wizards that included Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast – were all members of this powerful race. These Godlike beings were the life forms that the One God and creator Eru Ilúvatar created first. Elves came next, and after them, Men. But the Ainur remained the most potent, which is what made them so effective while fighting Morgoth in the War of Wrath.

The Valar themselves battled Morgoth in the Battle of the Powers before Elves or Men awoke, leading to huge destruction and reformation of the very structure of Middle-earth. But when Eärendil begged for the Valar’s help to defeat Morgoth’s imposing army, the Valar lent their subordinates and confronted Morgoth in a clash so deadly that it sunk Beleriand and ended the First Age. Morgoth, at least, was defeated with a resonating certainty – he was thrown into the void and eternally guarded by Eärendil. The Host of the Valar had been so destructive that the Valar never sent it again in The Lord of the Rings.

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The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Movie(s) The Lord of the Rings (1978) , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies , The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim Created by J.R.R. Tolkien First Film The Lord of the Rings (1978) Cast Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt TV Show(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Character(s) Frodo Baggins , Gandalf , Legolas , Boromir , Sauron , Gollum , Samwise Gamgee , Pippin Took , Celeborn , Aragorn , Galadriel , Bilbo Baggins , Saruman , Aldor , Wormtongue , Thorin Oakenshield , Balin Dwalin , Bifur , Bofur , Bombur , Fili , Kili , Oin , Gloin , Nori , Dori , Ori , Tauriel , King Thranduil , Smaug , Radagast , Arondir , Nori Brandyfoot , Poppy Proudfellow , Marigold Brandyfoot , Queen Regent Míriel , Sadoc Burrows Video Game(s) The Lord of the Rings Online , Middle-Earth: Shadow of War , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Expand