Fantasy Counterpart Culture

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Saying that, though, Tolkien didn't have to base anyone on just one culture, whether consciously or not. It is entirely possible that there is a combination of more than one influence.

I'd say so. I get the impression that Rhûn is meant to be pretty vast. The axe-bearing Easterlings were of a kind previously unknown to the Men of Gondor, which suggests to me that many cultures were imagined to exist in the Eastern regions of Middle-earth.