DrIstvaan: Hmmm. I wouldn't say Knights of Honor is the same game, as that one traded resource and peasant micromanagement for more variety in the buildings and a better diplomacy system. However, they indeed share some similarities; the battles are very similar, and there are regions in both games, complete with destroyable spots and extendable castles.
RafaelLopez: Too many similarities to ignore, and as you said, KoH just traded some minor mechanics for others (peasantry still works to put bread on the table on KoH, it's just different), which in my opinion actually improved that game.
Obviously, one main difference is, in LotR you could hear a voice say "Your people are starving, milord". The micromanagement of the peasantry was FUN.
Wasn't it, though? I always loved having a boatload of cows in a county, putting everyone on like triple rations, which boosted their happiness to crazy levels, causing a humongous population boom...
And then I conscripted half of everyone in the entire county into the military the next turn.
Eat, drink and be merry, lads, because tomorrow, you WILL die. MWUHAHAHHAAAHAA. :D