Did Sauron only want Middle Earth?
 

This is sort of a two part question.

I've been looking for A full map of Middle Earth most I'm findingg have just the main continent f ME. So first part, How far down does Harad go and how far East does Middle Earth expand?

Secondly did Saurn just want Middle Earth (Gondr Rhohan Shire etc.) r did he want the world including Harad Far Harad the far East, etc.

A map like this is as complete as you'll find for Middle-earth. Tolkien's stories are heavily rooted in this northwestern corner of the continent. I feel like the south and east primarily existed to give the world depth. He wrote little on those lands because they were not of much concern to the main story. It's difficult to guess if he would have ever gotten around to writing much more about them than he did.

Sauron, like Melkor/Morgoth before him, seemed interested in ruling whatever he could, but more attracted to things he would have trouble controlling. Such is greed and the desire to dominate - always wanting what you can't have!

The Haradrim (south) and Easterlings (east) were evil and combative; I get the idea of barbaric as well. They fought alongside Sauron, whether under his direct influence or just up for supporting something they can wage war with. Thousands of years before the War of the Ring in the Third Age, Melkor had already ventured south and east, and we know that the men there were heavily involved in "Melkor-worship," as Tolkien calls it once. Sauron too had already had an influence there years earlier as we can see in a ringwraith's identity: Khamûl the Easterling,second greatest of the wraiths.

Also, we know upon arrival of the Istari (wizards), Saruman and the two blue wizards went into the east and only Saruman eventually returned. This time spent east could've been part of Saruman's corruption and betrayal. (While Tolkien was never completely decided about the fate of the two blue wizards, he said they stayed in the east for a long time, speculating that they began cults or magic traditions of their own.)

You should read The Silmarillion as you'll find an Easterling named Ulfang has a part to play. Don't let us spoil it for you. :cool:

Middle-earth of course refers to all of the "Earth". Eriador, Rovannion,
Gondor, etc. are merely the northwest bits of M-e. Sauron was smart
enough (unlike the late Numenoreans) to stay away from Aman.

Have you tried Karen Fonstad's "The Atlas of Middle-earth"? There are
some interesting speculative maps in the first section "The First Age."

Technically all of "Earth" is refered to as Arda, Middle-Earth is mostly the European part of the world :)

More than "mostly" the European part of the world. For example, in
Letters #165:
One way of giving depth to Middle-earth is to only
describe in detail a small portion of it (what is, in effect, Europe) and
describing only vaguely, as someone in much of the medieval period, would
have known of Asia and most of Africa, and probably view it as menacing and mysterious.

Hence, Middle-earth is conceived as Europe, Africa, and Asia, in a time when
(Tolkien would teasingly now allude to continental drift as cause) the Old World
land mass "between the seas" of the Atlantic and Pacific were different.

I believe it's true to say, is it not, that "Middle-earth" as a continent included the vast lands of Rhûn and Harad as well as "the West", ie Gondor, Rohan, Rhovanion and Eriador? At the end of the Third Age Sauron already more or less controlled all of the East and the South which seemingly made up the majority of Middle-earth's landmass.
It might be worth noting this remark from letter 183:
As well as this remark about Sauron from Morgoth's Ring:
What this would suggest to me is that Sauron's policy in the Third Age was the domination of all of Middle-earth but just Middle-earth; that way he would be the master of as much of Arda as possible while still apparently being free of the interference of the Valar or Eru (although of course he was lying to himself when he thought that either party had abandoned Middle-earth). Sauron knew, or at least thought he knew, his limits, it would seem, and the most powerful he could be was as ruler of the mortal lands of Middle-earth.
So I would say the answer is this: Sauron did only want Middle-earth, but Middle-earth was more than just the West. That being said, he already controlled the rest of it. Only the West was holding out.

Remember, in the Third Age Aman and Eressea were no longer part of "the Earth;" Tolkien implies at the end of Akallabeth that the proto-Americas were created at the time of the Downfall and the World Made Round. I have no doubt that ultimately Sauron would have liked to control the New (literally) World as well.

I don't think Sauron would ever have been satisfied with partial dominion. Greed and desire never seem to be satisfied in the beings who have gone to the evil side. Ungoliant's never ending hunger comes to mind, along with Morgoth's dissatisfaction with staying in his realms in the North (although, granted his original desire was for all of Arda). I'd guess that Sauron would fall into the same mold.

"This time spent east could've been part of Saruman's corruption and betrayal"

That's total rubbish. It was prompted by his study of Ring-lore and Souron's black arts.

You can't rewrite a storyline, esp. after publication.

Total rubbish? I say "could've" and "part," and I stand by them.

He spent time out east where Sauron and Morgoth had influence dating back to the First Age. There's nothing contradictory about suggesting he could've picked up certain arts - even specifically some of Sauron's arts, as you say - or just mentally came closer to succumbing to his own desire of power.

He was gone a thousand years. Don't think he was playing Bingo that long.

I agree. Saruman is perhaps my favorite villain created in literature, such a fascinating lad. :D

Anyway, his personality is someone who loves to study things and absorb knowledge. Even if he wasn't evil at the time he went East, his personality (like Boromir's) had little defects that if unchecked would definitely lead down a path to evil. He was proud (led to lusting for power to the point that he was blinded by it and I would say even paranoid about losing his authority) and jealous of Gandalf, even back in Valinor, but especially after figuring out Gandalf had been given one of the elven rings:

And taking into account what Treebeard knows of Saruman:

The sentenced I bolded reveals a lot about Saruman (even in days when he was polite and "gave no trouble to his neighbours" - as Treebeard put it). He was a leech, a leech for knowledge but never "repaying" what he had learned. If it was of interest, and useful to Saruman he would take it, but he was not the giving type.

So, travelling East with the Blue Wizards I would say that yes, Saruman would have absorbed whatever knowledge he had a mind to take. We know that it was his devices which ultimate drove Sauron out of Dol Guldur too. This thirst for taking knowledge, yet not sharing any, probably contributed to his treachery. So, I think his knowledge of Sauron's mind and schemes (not to mention the study of Ring-lore) was unrivalled, even by Gandalf. At least until the time when Saruman falls to his lust for power, he becomes blind to the fact he has become a generic brand of Sauron.

I can think of one effort he did make of 'repaying'; regarding Rohan and the Dunlandings-troubled the Rhohirrim in the Westfold, etc.

He did also reveal elements of Ring-Lore to the White Council too if I recall correctly, just not everything.