Orcs and Goblins

Tolkein's books portray the Orcs as a barbaric slave race bred for war, analagous to medieval Christian perceptions of the Turks or Mongols. They speak a language known as the Black Speech which makes heavy use of the letters U and G. Orc or Uruk sounds very similar both to an ancient Middle Eastern city, and to the Yoruk people of Anatolia. The goblins' portrayal in the movies seems to draw heavily upon medieval depictions of Muslims like Saladin (see above). The white city of Gondor: a perpetually besieged remnant of a great empire, seems to be based upon Byzantium.

Originally posted by Nick1986 Tolkein's books portray the Orcs as a barbaric slave race bred for war, analagous to medieval Christian perceptions of the Turks or Mongols. They speak a language known as the Black Speech which makes heavy use of the letters U and G. Orc or Uruk sounds very similar both to an ancient Middle Eastern city, and to the Yoruk people of Anatolia. The goblins' portrayal in the movies seems to draw heavily upon medieval depictions of Muslims like Saladin (see above). The white city of Gondor: a perpetually besieged remnant of a great empire, seems to be based upon Byzantium.