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Topics related to "Mercenaries"

Elephantine
Elephantine , island, SE Egypt, in the Nile below the First Cataract, near Aswan. In ancient times it was a military post guarding the southern frontier of Egypt. The Elephantine papyruses, which date from the 5th cent. BC and describe a colony of Jewish mercenaries, were found there. Surviving ruin... Read more
Sir John de Hawkwood
Sir John de Hawkwood d. 1394, English soldier. He fought in the French wars of Edward III and was knighted, although it is not known when or where. With his "white company" of mercenaries, he entered (1362) Italy and became a condottiere . He served sometimes one republic, sometimes another, b... Read more
Rufinus
Rufinus , d. 395, Roman statesman, minister of Theodosius I and Arcadius . After Theodosius' death (395) he virtually ruled the Eastern Empire for Arcadius, but his attempt to marry his daughter to the young emperor was thwarted by Eutropius (d. 399). Rufinus was assassinated by Gothic mercenar... Read more
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence , d. 1291, queen consort of Henry III of England. The daughter of Raymond Berengar, count of Provence, she was married to Henry in 1236. She was a vigorous and incisive woman and had much influence on her husband, as did her unpopular relatives and other foreign courtiers who f... Read more
satrap
satrap , governor of a province (satrapy) of the ancient Persian Empire. He was nominated by the king and given extensive powers. Darius I reorganized the privileges and duties of his satraps in the 6th cent. BC; the number of satraps varied from 20 to 28 during his reign. To prevent the concentra... Read more
Swiss Guards
Swiss Guards Swiss mercenaries who fought in various European armies from the 15th cent. until the 19th cent. These mercenaries, who were not volunteers, were put at the disposal of foreign powers by treaties (called capitulations) between the Swiss diet, the separate cantons, and the foreign power... Read more
condottiere
condottiere [Ital.,=leader], leader of mercenary soldiers in Italy in the 14th and 15th cent., when wars were almost incessant there. The condottieri hired and paid the bands who fought under them. They dealt directly with the cities or states that requested their services and were responsible sole... Read more
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca d. 229 or 228 BC, Carthaginian general. He was assigned the command in Sicily in 247 in the First Punic War (see Punic Wars ). From mountain bases near Palermo he made repeated raids on the Romans and relieved the Punic garrison in Lilybaeum. However, the Carthaginians were defeated... Read more
Jacquerie
Jacquerie [Fr.,=collection of Jacques, which is, like Jacques Bonhomme, a nickname for the French peasant], 1358, revolt of the French peasantry. The uprising was in part a reaction to widespread poverty during the Hundred Years War. Peasants revolted against the écorcheurs (mercenarie... Read more
Varangians
Varangians , name given by Slavs and Byzantine Greeks to Scandinavians who began to raid the eastern shores of the Baltic and penetrate Eastern Europe by the 9th cent. Their leader, Rurik , established himself at Novgorod in 862, thus laying the traditional foundation for Kievan Rus . The Varangia... Read more

Encyclopedia entries related to "Mercenaries"

Mercenaries
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World MERCENARIES MERCENARIES. Mercenaries were paid soldiers who were bound to their employers by profit motive rather than loyalty. They existed in European armies from antiquity and fought in large numbers in the early modern period. MERCENARIES...
Hamilcar Barca
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography ...laid down his command. Revolt of the Mercenaries Upon returning to Africa, Hamilcar...replaced him. Hamilcar surrounded the mercenaries' position at the river Bagrades (Medjerda...chief Naravas. In this battle 10, 000 mercenaries were killed and 4, 000 taken captive...
army
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ...nations sought the services of Greek mercenaries. In time, a class of professional...became increasingly composed of barbarian mercenaries. The Roman army was divided into legions...National armies, largely composed of mercenaries, reappeared after the introduction...
Early Modern Military Theory
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...the merits of citizen militias against mercenaries. For Niccol ò Machiavelli...Florentine militia in the face of Spanish mercenaries at Prato in 1512 — the ideal...filled the ranks of their armies with mercenaries. As mercenaries were in turn incorporated...
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography ...foreign-interest groups and white mercenaries. Moïse Tshombe was born at...abode, but, despite the fact that mercenaries and troops of the former Katanga state...promptly did, and with the help of white mercenaries and some direct intervention by Belgium...
Time of Troubles (Russia)
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...Cossacks and Polish and Lithuanian mercenaries to form a new army under the nominal...and a large number of Swedish mercenaries. The Second False Dmitrii was...flight. But by inviting in Swedish mercenaries Tsar Vasilii had now given King...
Swiss Guards
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Swiss Guards Swiss mercenaries who fought in various European armies...cent. until the 19th cent. These mercenaries, who were not volunteers, were...Peace of 1516—the Swiss mercenaries played their most important role...
Frederick William (Brandenburg) (1620–1688; Ruled 1640–1688)
Encyclopedia entry from: Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World ...Schwartzenberg, who had created an army of mercenaries that spent more time terrorizing the...begged him to rid the country of his mercenaries. He also restored the traditional rights...two thousand from Schwartzenberg's mercenaries, but he need more, especially to defend...
Gurung
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Cultures ...principalities that make up Present-day Nepal. Gurungs acted as mercenaries in Khasa armies, including those of Prithvi Narayan Shah...high status in the new kingdom. They continued to act as mercenaries, and in the nineteenth century the Nepalese government signed...
Mundurucu
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Cultures ...Afterward, the Portuguese recruited Mundurucu men to serve as mercenaries against other Indian groups in the region. The alliance...region's Indian groups were under Brazilian control and mercenaries were no longer needed. Instead, world demand for rubber...

Dictionary entries related to "Mercenaries"

German Mercenaries
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History GERMAN MERCENARIES GERMAN MERCENARIES were troops hired to fight the rebellious American colonies. Given England's shortage of trained soldiers, its slow enlistments, and the political impossibility of conscription, the ministry tapped the...
army
Book article from: A Dictionary of World History ...Carthage, especially HANNIBAL , hired mercenaries to great effect in their forces, but...infantry armed with longbows. The use of mercenaries (see CONDOTTIERE ) again became commonplace...century, European armies were mainly of mercenaries recruited (often under pressure) and...
Bugis
Book article from: A Dictionary of World History Bugis Muslim mercenaries and traders of south-east Asia. They were enterprising seamen...they lost their livelihood. Thereafter they sought employment as mercenaries and engaged in piracy in Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Malaya...
Hessians
Book article from: The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military Hessians German mercenaries who fought with the British forces in North America during the Revolutionary War . The 29,000 German mercenaries represented about one-third of all British forces in America. Only some 17,000 were actually subjects...
Comoros
Book article from: A Dictionary of Contemporary World History ...who proclaimed a secular, socialist republic. Foreign mercenaries led by Robert Denard overthrew Ali Soilih in 1978, and reinstalled...Abdallah. In 1989 the latter was assassinated by Denard's mercenaries, who made Ali Soilih's half-brother, Mohamed Djohar...
condottiere
Book article from: A Dictionary of World History ...The leader of a medieval mercenary band of soldiers. Mercenaries flourished in the climate of economic prosperity and inter...warfare of 14th- and 15th-century Italy. The earliest such mercenaries were recruited from the unemployed mercenary ‘...
Trenton, Battle of
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...1898. Reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co., 1967. C. A. Titus / a. r. See also Delaware, Washington Crossing the ; German Mercenaries ; New Jersey ; Princeton, Battle of ; Revolution, American: Military History .
Bennington, Battle of
Dictionary entry from: Dictionary of American History ...98 – 111. Shalhope, Robert H. Bennington and the Green Mountain Boys. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. A. C. Flick / a. r. See also Burgoyne's Invasion ; German Mercenaries ; Green Mountain Boys .
patrimonialism
Book article from: A Dictionary of Sociology ...the ruler. This last criterion implies that domination is secured by means of a political apparatus staffed by slaves, mercenaries, conscripts, or some other group (not a traditional land-owning aristocracy) which has no independent power-base...
officer
Book article from: The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military ...ship. v. 1. provide with military officers: the aristocracy continued to wield considerable political power, officering the army. 2. act as the commander of (a unit): foreign mercenaries were hired to officer new regiments.

Thesaurus entries related to "Mercenaries"

mercenary
Book article from: The Oxford American Writers Thesaurus ...xA0; 2. mercenary soldiers synonyms : hired, paid, bought, professional. • noun  a group of mercenaries synonyms : soldier of fortune, professional soldier, hired soldier, gunman; informal hired gun; historical condottiere...

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

Mercenaries in warfare.
Magazine article from: Contemporary Review; 7/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; MERCENARIES are back in the news. Sir Mark Thatcher...involvement in the attempted coup. Mercenaries generate more publicity than is perhaps...are involved. For example, in 1997 mercenaries became a major political issue in the...
Percy, Sarah: Mercenaries: The History of a Norm in International Relations.(Book review)
Magazine article from: History: Review of New Books; 1/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; Percy, Sarah Mercenaries: The History of a Norm in International...University and a Merton College Fellow. Mercenaries: The History of a Norm in International...the "norm" of public hatred of mercenaries from the Middle Ages to the present...
DISARMAMENT: U.N. ALARMED BY INCREASE IN MERCENARIES
News Wire article from: Inter Press Service English News Wire; 3/17/1997; ; 700+ words ; ...There has been a significant presence of mercenaries in all the great armed conflicts...the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Mercenaries, said on March 14. Ballesteros, a Peruvian, pointed out that the problem of mercenaries is also standing in the way of any peace...
Mercenaries play key role in insurgency
Newspaper article from: India Abroad; 7/4/1997; 700+ words ; India Abroad 07-04-1997 Mercenaries play key role in insurgency Battle-hardened mercenaries from the Islamic world, more specifically...Assembly election. The influx of foreign mercenaries, who live in the mountains after entering...
Digital Mercenaries Teams With Puzzlemaster Scott Kim to Develop an Online Engine Targeted at Casual Gamers.
PR Newswire; 3/18/2002; 700+ words ; AUSTIN, Texas -- Digital Mercenaries, Inc. (http://www.digital-mercenaries.com/ ) announced today a partnership with...Solitaire(C) and Minesweeper(C). Digital Mercenaries and Scott Kim are designing a game engine which...
Digital Mercenaries Signs Partnership With team smartyPants! for GridBloc(TM) Development on Palm OS.
PR Newswire; 3/18/2002; 700+ words ; AUSTIN, Texas -- Digital Mercenaries, Inc. (http://www.digital-mercenaries.com/ ) a game development company focusing...computer. Jeremy Gibson, president of Digital Mercenaries, states, "with our focus on web technologies...
UNITED NATIONS: U.N. SEEKS CONVENTION AGAINST MERCENARIES
News Wire article from: Inter Press Service English News Wire; 10/5/1995; ; 700+ words ; ...take-over of the Comoros by a band of mercenaries and the counter-coup by France have...services to the highest bidder. "Hired mercenaries attack and kill for financial gain in...today. In late September, a group of mercenaries, led by notorious French soldier of...
Dateline Caracas: Mercenaries Invade Venezuela.
Business Wire; 8/29/2008; 700+ words ; Pandemic Studios Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Attacks Stores...highly anticipated action game, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames[TM], has...stores in Europe on September 5th. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive...
HUMAN RIGHTS: MODERN-DAY MERCENARIES
News Wire article from: Inter Press Service English News Wire; 3/16/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...2000 GENEVA, Mar. 15 (IPS) -- Mercenaries around the globe continue responding...United Nations special rapporteur on mercenaries, Enrique Bernales. A report prepared...special rapporteur to study the use of mercenaries in connection with violations of human...
Return of the Mercenaries saga
Newspaper article from: New Straits Times; 7/25/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Straits Times 07-25-2002 Return of the Mercenaries saga Byline: Ahmad Faiz Edition: Computimes...with the release of Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. The game took the revolutionary Mechwarrior...a 3Dfx version of Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries was released. And the greatly enhanced...