Mercenary
Mercenaries are soldiers who fight for money, rather than for their country, political/religious beliefs, or other benefits.
Mercenaries have existed for a very long time. They are mentioned in the Old Testament, and King David had a bodyguard of Cretan and Philistine mercenaries. They are also mentioned in the Iliad, specifically the Myrmidons, who fought during the Trojan War in the 12th century BC.
The Carthaginians often used mercenaries. The so-called Free Companies in the Middle Ages were mercenary companies of rogue knights and Vikings. The Japanese ronin were mercenary samurai.
For many years in the Middle Ages, soldiers from Switzerland fought battles for whoever paid them. The popes would hire soldiers from Switzerland to fight for them. The Swiss Guard is all that is left of Switzerland's mercenary tradition, but it is no longer a mercenary force because all its members are Catholic, and they are prepared to fight not for their country but for their beliefs.
Soldiers of professional volunteer armies, like the U.S. Army, are not considered as mercenaries since they fight for their country and fatherland. Likewise, foreign volunteers in standing armies, such as the French Foreign Legion, are not considered as mercenaries since they are loyal to the country that they serve. However, various private military contractors are considered as mercenaries.
Mercenary Media
- Mercenary Artillerymen Supplied With Guns & Ammunition By The British (c1880) Attribution Unk (RESTORED) (4104717259).jpg
Mercenary artillerymen in China, c. 1880
- Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.jpg
Private military contractor in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, 2006
- Alabaster-bas relief, non-Assyrian mercenaries part of the Assyrian army, holding spears and shields. From the South-West Palace, Nineveh, Iraq. 7th century BCE. Pergamon Museum.jpg
Alabaster-bas relief, non-Assyrian mercenaries in the Assyrian army. From the South-West Palace, Nineveh. 7th century BC
- Detail from the Chigi-vase.jpg
Chigi vase with hoplites holding javelins and spears
- The body of Leo V is dragged to the Hippodrome through the Skyla Gate.jpg
Varangian Guardsmen, an illumination from the 11th century chronicle of John Skylitzes
- Turkic mercenary in Byzantine service - 1436 – PISANELLO.jpg
Turkish mercenary in Byzantine service c. 1436
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