What is Mercenary?
{{NPOV|date=May 2019}} {{no sources|date=May 2019}} '''Mercenaries''' are [[soldier]]s who fight for [[money]], rather than for their [[country]], [[politics|political]]/[[religious]] beliefs, or other benefits. [[File:Mercenaries, DSS, Diplomatic Security Service.jpg|thumb|Mercenaries, DSS, Diplomatic Security Service]] Mercenaries are a very old phenomenon. 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 in the [[Trojan War]] (12th century BC). The [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] often used mercenaries. The so-called Free Companies in the [[Middle Ages]] were mercenary companies of rogue [[knight|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 [[US Army]], are not considered as mercenaries since they fight for their country and fatherland. Likewise, foreign volunteers in standing armies, such as [[French Foreign Legion]], are not considered as mercenaries since they are loyal to the country that they serve. However, various [[private military company|private military contractor]]s are considered as mercenaries. == Related pages == *[[Paramilitary]] *[[Wagner Group]] {{Commons category}}{{military-stub}} [[Category:Mercenaries| ]] [[Category:Military occupations]]