: Part of this is the emotive power for a European reader of enemies with curved swords coming from the East. It evokes not only Arabs, but those particular Arabs who were such a threat to Christendom in the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Again I'm not saying that these soldiers are supposed to be Turks and Arabs, I'm saying that Tolkien's description would cause a certain reaction in a European reader, particularly one born before WWII.

I think the fact that Tolkien was not a material culture expert, nor did he have much of an interest in that area (other than manuscript studies) would support your argument. There is precious little detail given to "arms and armour" in the LOTR and Tolkien admittedly didn't really care that much about military history. I think you are right. . . the "good guys" used European style weaponry and armour and the "bad guys" used the weaponry and armour of the traditional enemies of Christendom in the Middle Ages. To the European audience (particularly the English) the traditional weapons of a knight (or other Medieval European warrior) evoke certain positive images and assumptions, while the traditional weapons of the heathen hordes inspire a set of negative assumptions.

Tolkien on several occasions mentioned that the eastern and southern "invasions" into the Western world, particularly into the Medieval remains of the Roman and Byzantium kingdoms, were inspirational for some of the broad themes of the LOTR.