Balchoth

The Balchoth were a fierce and numerous people who dwelt in the wide lands of Rhovanion, between Mirkwood and the River Running, wholly under the shadow of Dol Guldur. In the centuries before the War of the Ring, they became one of the most serious threats to the northern borders of Gondor, and their invasions played a decisive role in shaping the political geography of Middle-earth. Their greatest assault, in the year 2510 of the Third Age, brought about the first sounding of the horns of the Rohirrim in Gondor and led directly to the granting of Calenardhon to Eorl the Young—an act that created the realm of Rohan and forged the alliance that would prove vital in the wars to come. Though the Balchoth are a historical people rather than actors in the main events of the narrative, their memory lingers in the chronicles of Gondor's long decline and in the deep bond between Gondor and Rohan.