Where did the name mercenary come from?
The word mercenary comes from the Latin mercēnārius, “hireling,” which defines someone who will do anything in exchange for money.
What do you call a mercenary?
A mercenary, sometimes known as a soldier of fortune, sellsword or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, who takes part in military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military.
What is an example of a mercenaries?
An example of a mercenary is a person who cares only about money and would be willing to behave unethically to get it. A person employed to fight in an armed conflict who is not a member of the state or military group for which they are fighting and whose prime or sole motivation is private gain.
Who were the first mercenaries?
Mercenary groups first appeared in the 12th century, when they participated in the Anarchy (a conflict of succession between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda between 1137 and 1153). In the 1180s, similar groups were integrated into the armies of the King of France under Philip II of France.
What is Greek for mercenary?
There is evidence of mercenaries (misthophoroi (plural), misthios (singular male), misthia (singular female) in Greek) being hired in Ancient Greece from the 6th century BC. The tyrants of that time hired bodyguards from other city-states.
What does mercenary mean in history?
mercenary, hired professional soldier who fights for any state or nation without regard to political interests or issues. From the earliest days of organized warfare until the development of political standing armies in the mid-17th century, governments frequently supplemented their military forces with mercenaries.
What does your mercenary mean?
1 : serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal also : greedy. 2 : hired for service in the army of a foreign country.
What mercenaries do?
How do I become a mercenary?
How to Become a Mercenary
- Geneva Convention Article 47. Mercenaries.
- Step 1 – Obtain military or law enforcement related experience.
- Step 2 – Obtain proficiency in a foreign language.
- Step 3 – Get into great physical shape.
- Step 4 – Build your resume.
- Step 5 – Gather required documentation.
What are Roman mercenaries?
Mercenaries are soldiers that are hired to fight rather than being part of a national defense system. Mercenaries didn’t fight for their nation of origin, but instead went where the money was. Mercenaries could fight against one country and then fight for them in the future, depending on who hired them.
Did Alexander the Great use mercenaries?
The army led by Alexander the Great into the Persian Empire included Greek heavy infantry in the form of allied contingents provided by the League of Corinth and hired mercenaries.
What does mercenary mean in the Bible?
What is mercenary attitude?
To have a Mercenary Attitude in a non-military context generally just means that you frame your activities by the (usually money) reward for doing so. It usually confers a certain hard-heartedness or callousness, that you won’t just do something because “it’s the right thing to do”.
Is a mercenary a criminal?
Under international humanitarian law, being a mercenary does not constitute a specific crime. The same holds true for the Statute of the International Criminal Court. If arrested, mercenaries are not entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but the detaining power can decide to treat them according to this status.
Did ancient Rome use mercenaries?
In the 300s AD, the Romans hired many Germans as mercenary soldiers, often paying them in land and a share of the taxes (though we don’t understand very well how this worked). The Visigoths and the Ostrogoths both worked as mercenaries for the Romans.
What is a Roman soldier called?
The main Roman soldiers were called legionaries and they had to be Roman citizens to join.
Are mercenaries legal?
No U.S. law currently restricts or prohibits U.S. persons from serving in a foreign mercenary force. Only the U.S. government is restricted from hiring mercenaries under what is known as the Anti-Pinkerton Act of 1893.