Tolkien called the immortal beings who shaped Arda under Eru Ilúvatar the Valar. They are powerful spirits who entered the world to order and govern it after the creation of Eä.
The Valar are part of the Ainur, spiritual beings created by Eru before the world’s making. The most important Valar include Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Oromë, Námo, and Melkor, who later became known as Morgoth.
Their roles are not identical to those of gods in a separate polytheistic religion. Tolkien’s mythology places them beneath Eru, the single supreme creator. The Valar’s actions include shaping the lands, protecting living things, and opposing Melkor’s destruction.
The Maiar are a related but lesser order of Ainur. Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron, and the Balrogs are Maiar, not Valar. The Eldar, meanwhile, are Elves, so that term describes a people rather than the divine-like spirits who entered Arda.