Mercenary

A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. However, when the term is used to refer to a soldier in a regular national army, it is usually considered an insult, epithet or pejorative.

Mercenaries in European history

Mercenaries in the classic era

Many Greek mercenaries fought for the Persian Empire during the early classic era. For example:

Related Topics:
Greek - Persian Empire

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• Xerxes I, king of Persia, who invaded Greece in 484 BC employed Greek mercenaries. The best remembered is Demaratus, for his warning to Xerxes not to underestimate the Spartans before the Battle of Thermopylae.
• In Anabasis, Xenophon recounts how Cyrus the Younger hired a large army of Greek mercenaries (the "Ten Thousand") in 401 BC to seize the throne of Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Though Cyrus' army was victorious at the Battle of Cunaxa, Cyrus himself was killed in battle and the expedition rendered moot. Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and most of the other Greek generals were subsequently killed by treachery. Xenophon played an instrumental role in encouraging "The Ten Thousand" Greek army to march north to the Black Sea in an epic fighting retreat.
• Memnon of Rhodes (380–333 BC): was the commander of the Greek mercenaries working for the Persian King Darius III when Alexander the Great of Macedonia invaded Persia in 334 BC and won the Battle of the Granicus River. Alexander also employed Greek mercenaries during his campaigns. These were men who fought for him directly and not those who fought in city-state units attached to his army.
• Carthage contracted Balearic Islands shepherds as slingshooters during the Punic wars against Rome. The vast majority of the Carthaginian military - except the highest officers, the navy, and the home guard - were mercenaries.
• Members of independent Thracian tribes such as the Bessi and Dii often joined the ranks of large organized armies as mercenaries.
• The Sons of Mars were Italian mercenaries used by the Greek kings of Syracuse until after the Punic Wars.

In the late Roman Empire, it became increasingly difficult for Emperors and generals to raise military units from the citizenry for various reasons: lack of manpower, lack of time available for training, lack of materials, and, inevitably, political considerations. Therefore, beginning in the late 4th century, the empire often contracted whole bands of barbarians either within the legions or as autonomous foederati. The barbarians were Romanized and surviving veterans were established in areas requiring population. The Varangian Guard of the Eastern Roman Empire otherwise known as the Byzantine Empire is the best known formation made up of barbarian mercenaries. (see next section)

Related Topics:
Roman Empire - Barbarian - Legion - Foederati - Romanized - Varangian Guard - Byzantine Empire

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Mercenaries in medieval warfare

Byzantine Emperors followed the Roman practise and contracted foreigners especially for their personal corps guard called the Varangian Guard. They were chosen among war-prone peoples, of whom the Varangians (Vikings) and Anglo-Saxons were preferred. Their mission was to protect the Emperor and Empire and since they did not have links to the Greeks, they were expected to be ready to suppress rebellions. One of the most famous guards was the future king Harald III of Norway, also known as Harald Hardrada ("Hardreign") who arrived in Constantinople in 1035, was employed as a Varangian Guard. He participated in eighteen battles and became Akolythos, the commander, of the Guard before returning home in 1043. He was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 when his army was defeated by an English army commanded by King Harold Godwinson.

Related Topics:
Byzantine Emperors - Corps - Varangian Guard - Varangian - Anglo-Saxon - Harald III of Norway - 1035 - 1043 - Battle of Stamford Bridge - 1066 - Harold Godwinson

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In Italy, the condottiero was a military chief offering his troops, the condottieri, to city-states.

Related Topics:
Condottieri - City-state

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During the ages of the Taifa kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula, Christian knights like El Cid could fight for some Muslim ruler against his Christian or Muslim enemies.

Related Topics:
Taifa - El Cid

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The Almogavars originally fought for Catalonia and Aragon, but as the Catalan Company, they followed Roger de Flor in the service of the Byzantine Empire.

Related Topics:
Almogavars - Catalonia - Aragon - Catalan Company - Roger de Flor - Byzantine Empire

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During the later middle ages, Free Companies (or Free Lances) were formed, consisting of companies of mercenary troops. Nation-states lacked the funds needed to maintain standing forces, so they tended to hire free companies to serve in their armies during wartime. Such companies typically formed at the ends of periods of conflict, when men-at-arms were no longer needed by their respective governments. The veteran soldiers thus looked for other forms of employment, often becoming mercenaries. Free Companies would often specialize in forms of combat that required longer periods of training that was not available in the from of a mobilized militia. The White Company{{ref|WhiteCompany}} commanded by Sir John Hawkwood is the best known English Free Company of the 14th Century. A Welshman Owain Lawgoch (Owain of of the Red Hand) formed a free company and fought for the French against the English during the Hundred Years War, before being assassinated by a Scot by the name of Jon Lamb under the orders of the English Crown in 1378 during the siege of Mortagne{{ref|Lawgoch}}.

Related Topics:
White Company - John Hawkwood - 14th Century - Owain Lawgoch - Siege of Mortagne

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See also: Bertrand Duguesclin, Scottish clan.

Related Topics:
Bertrand Duguesclin - Scottish clan

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Mercenaries in the modern age

Swiss mercenaries were sought after during the latter half of the 15th century as being an effective fighting force, until their somewhat rigid battle formations became vulnerable to arquebuses and artillery being developed at about that period. See Swiss Guard.

Related Topics:
Swiss - 15th century - Arquebus - Artillery - Swiss Guard

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It was then that the European landsknechts, colorful mercenaries with a redoubtable reputation, took over the Swiss forces' legacy and became the most formidable force of the late 15th and throughout the 16th century, being hired by all the powers in Europe and often fighting at opposite sides.

Related Topics:
European - Landsknecht - 16th century - Europe

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St Thomas More in his Utopia advocated the use of mercenaries in preference to citizens. The barbarian mercenaries employed by the Utopians are thought to be inspired by the Swiss mercenaries.

Related Topics:
Thomas More - Utopia

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At approximately the same period, Niccolò Machiavelli argued against the use of mercenary armies in his masterpiece The Prince. His rationale was that since the sole motivation of mercenaries is their pay, they will not be inclined to take the kind of risks that can turn the tide of a battle, but may cost them their lives. He believed, logically, that citizens with a real attachment to their home country will be more motivated to defend it and thus make much better soldiers.

Related Topics:
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince

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