Who is Khamûl in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’?

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3, the villains are running the show.

Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is comfortably in control of most of Middle-earth, and he’s got a whole host of allies to help him keep a firm grip on the world. Among these allies are the Nazgnagôl, or Ring-servants: human men who have pledged themselves to the Dark Lord and received a ring of power in exchange.

The title of “Nazgnagôl” is a show-only invention, but it does come rooted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Anyone who’s read Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or watched Peter Jackson’s film adaptations knows that the nine men who accept Sauron’s rings eventually lose their humanity and become the Nazgûl, Ringwraiths at Sauron’s command. Think of The Rings of Power‘s Nazgnagôl as the first step in that transformation. They’ve already got the black cloaks down. Next up? Corruption and an eternal life of undead servitude. Fun!

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Over the course of its four-episode premiere, The Rings of Power Season 3 introduces several Nazgnagôl. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) believes one of them to be the king of the Lossoth, who live in the far north of Middle-earth. Later, young Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) accepts a ring and becomes a Nazgnagôl himself, sparking Witch-king rumors in the process.

But The Rings of Power puts extra emphasis on one Nazgnagôl in particular: Khamûl (Zubin Varla), an Easterling in Rhûn who seeks to buck the Dark Wizard’s (Ciarán Hinds) authority. Unlike many Rings of Power characters, or the title of Nazgnagôl itself, Khamûl is canonically part of Tolkien’s work. Here’s how this mysterious newcomer fits into Tolkien’s larger legendarium.

Khamûl is the Witch-king of Angmar’s second-in-command.

Khamûl is the only named Nazgûl in Tolkien’s work, although he isn’t explicitly named in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Instead, Tolkien dives into his background in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, where he reveals that Khamûl is second-in-command to the Witch-king of Angmar. He’s also known as the Shadow of the East and the Black Easterling, each title alluding to his origins in Rhûn.

Unfinished Tales also highlights Khamûl’s specific role in the Nazgûl’s hunt of for Frodo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring. He’s the Nazgûl who seeks out Frodo in Hobbiton and who almost catches Frodo and his friends at Bucklebury Ferry. Darn that pesky water for getting in the way.

In the Third Age, Sauron also sent Khamûl to hold the fortress of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood, which features in the Appendices of The Lord of the Rings and played a large part in Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.

All of these events are thousands of years away when Khamûl dons his ring in The Rings of Power. As soon as he does, though, his fate is sealed, and he’s in for thousands of years of serving Sauron and playing second fiddle to the Witch-king of Angmar — whoever that may be.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes Wednesdays.