mercenary
Sign in to savethumb|In the 17th century, mercenaries were the backbone of European warfare, reaching their peak during the Thirty Years' War
AI overview
A mercenary is a soldier who fights for pay rather than for their own country or cause. They were especially important in European warfare during the 1600s, particularly during the Thirty Years' War, when they formed a major part of military forces.
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Article
61 sectionsContents
- International and national laws of war
- Austria
- France
- Germany
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Foreign national servicemen
- Private military companies
- Colombia
- UN concerns over legality of PMCs
- History
- Europe
- Classical era
- Greek mercenaries in the Persian Empire
- Greek mercenaries in ancient India
- Carthage
- Byzantine Empire
- Other
- Medieval warfare
- 15th and 16th centuries
- 17th and 18th centuries
- 19th to 21st centuries
- East Asia
- Warring States
- 15th to 18th centuries
- 19th century
- 20th century
- India
- 18th to 19th centuries
- Latin America
- Nicaragua
- Colombia
- Africa
- Ancient Africa
- 19th and 20th centuries
- Congo Crisis
- Biafra
- Angola
- Comoros
- Seychelles
- Eritrea and Ethiopia
- Sierra Leone
- Equatorial Guinea
- Libya
- Middle East
- Egypt
- Syrian civil war
- Yemen civil war
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
- Notable mercenaries
- Cyber mercenary
- See also
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- Historical
- Since 1970s
- Status in international law
- Private military companies (PMCs)
- External links
thumb|In the 17th century, mercenaries were the backbone of European warfare, reaching their peak during the Thirty Years' War
A mercenary (, ) is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests.