: Think about Gondor as being similar to Great Britian. Once a great power, but now not as great a power. Standing alone as a bulwark against an evil enemy. Does that ring any bells?

: I am not saying this was intentional on Tolkien's part. However, I know from personal experience that events in my life, past and present, have often unintentionally found their way into my writings.

Actually, when I think of Gondor I am reminded more of the Byzantine Empire than Great Britain. It had shruken greatly from its original boundaries; it was the successor state of a larger empire; it preserved much of its cultural heritage; it was primarily a land-based empire (although it did maintain a sizeable navy); it bordered on many ethnically unrelated states (similar to the Easterlings and Southrons), some of whom became allies/federates (the Varangians and Ostrogoths) while others remained enemies; and it received lip-service from the western powers, but in reality was forced to bear the brunt of the encroaching eastern peoples alone.