Gangs: Mercenaries

“Soldiers of fortune.” “Guns for hire.” “Lance-knight.” “Private military contractors.” Throughout the years, mercenaries have gone by many different names, yet their profession has remained unchanged since time immemorial. They are armed civilians who are paid to engage in military operations in foreign lands, generally in active combat zones. To some, they are a cheaper and more effective alternative to a professional national military. To others, they are greedy and soulless killing machines who will sell their services to the highest bidder, leaving only death and destruction in their wake. As Niccolo Machiavelli wrote in The Prince, mercenaries are “disunited, ambitious, undisciplined, and disloyal; valiant among friends, among enemies cowardly; they have no fear of god, no loyalty to men”. But the truth, as it often does, lies somewhere in between.

Ancient Warriors

To pinpoint the first exact mention of mercenaries is difficult. Not because there aren’t mentions of them in early sources, but because the very definition of a mercenary makes it hard to categorize them. Throughout most of history, professional armies were few and far between with most kingdoms relying on citizen militias, serfs serving under the feudal system, and other similar arrangements. This meant that many who served in this way and were paid to fight off in foreign lands could technically be considered mercenaries by definition.

As for freelance soldiers paid by a foreign entity to perform military operations for them, there are mentions that date as far back as the Bronze Age with references even showing up in the Old Testament. In the Book of 1st Samuel, the future King David sought refuge with Achish, King of Gath, posing as a traitor to Israel. The Philistine king then hired David as a mercenary, during which time he was paid to raid common enemies of the Philistines and Israel.

Meanwhile, the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel both made mentions of hired swords, one about those fighting for Egypt and the other about those fighting against them. Other mentions regarding Egypt’s relationship with mercenaries would come from a 14th-century BC papyrus fragment. In it, a warrior was depicted wearing a boar tusk helmet, common attire for a Mycenaean of the era.

Although this papyrus fragment is intriguing, it’s not exactly surprising.

Greek mercenaries were used all over the ancient world, even leading to what modern academics have referred to as an “explosion” of the professionals by the 4th century B.C. The most famous example of Greek mercenaries of the era though, is undoubtedly the “Ten Thousand”. In 401 B.C., Cyrus the Younger sought to overthrow his brother, the Persian King Artaxerxes II.

To bolster his already impressive 100,000 strong force, Cyrus hired 10,000 Greek mercenaries before marching towards Babylon. While he was ultimately defeated at the Battle of Cunaxa, the Greek sellswords proved themselves formidable warriors. After being trapped behind enemy lines at the battle, they would spend the next two years fighting their way through Persia before finally making it back home to Greece.

Less than a century later, Alexander the Great would take his turn marching on Persia. When he did, he would be accompanied by around 5,000 foreign freelance fighters. The Persians, meanwhile, had a force of around 10,000 Greek mercenaries, proving that they cared more for coin than for loyalty to any homeland.

Evolution of the Merc

But the Greeks weren’t the only ones to outsource mercenaries, nor were they the only ones to employ them. In the years that followed, Rome would make a regular practice of hiring mercenaries, as would their enemies. Hannibal relied on mercenary forces when he crossed the Alps to march on Rome, while Julius Caesar was saved by a group of mercenaries during his campaign against Vercingetorix in Gaul.

Time and again, hired swords proved crucial in battle, as they were among the few true professional soldiers. While others returned home to tend to farms, families, and social obligations, mercenaries roamed the ancient world, constantly seeking the next conflict. By 988 A.D., mercenaries had become so common that Byzantine Emperor Basil II enlisted a group of Viking warriors as his personal guard.

Known as the Varangian Guard, this elite group would go on to protect the Byzantine emperor for the next four centuries and even included future Norwegian King Harold Hardrada among its ranks.

Mercenaries continued to play key roles throughout the Middle Ages. When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, nearly half of his army was made up of hired swords. A century later, King Henry II frequently employed mercenaries, strategically using them to suppress a rebellion in Normandy while simultaneously pacifying Brittany.

Meanwhile, in 1250, a group of mercenary slaves rose to power in Egypt and Syria, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate, an Islamic dynasty that would endure for nearly three hundred years. By the 1500s, mercenaries had become so integral to the world that they even began serving as the Pope’s personal protectors, via the Swiss Guard, who still safeguard the Papal Office today. However, this was also the point at which mercenaries began to prove themselves problematic for many of their employers.

In Medieval Italy, cities were more reminiscent of ancient Greek city-states than part of a larger centralized government. As such, they were always at war with each other, usually with forces made up largely of mercenaries. The basic unit was referred to as a “lance,” and would be composed of a mounted knight, a squire, a page, and either two archers or two men at arms.

As they were often referred to as “free” due to their open loyalty, the term freelancer was born, which is still used to this day to describe anyone who is self-employed and earns money on a per-job basis. Unfortunately, while most of these freelancers would perform exceptionally, as they usually had the most battle experience, they were also nuisances in times of peace.

As they spread across Europe, these condottieri, or contractors, as the Italians called them, fought for the highest bidder, eventually organizing into groups known as free companies. Much like their modern counterparts, the free companies of the time were solely focused on earning money. They were led by a captain who managed the company’s finances, while professional men-at-arms filled the ranks, organized into a hierarchy of commanders and administrators. The soldiers would sign contracts that specified how loot would be divided, or essentially, their paycheck. By the time of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618, mercenaries had become the primary source of soldiers on the battlefield, with most combatants being swords-for-hire. This shift created a new kind of battlefield, one where loyalty to nations, kings, or homelands no longer mattered. Battles, which once involved only a few thousand combatants, now saw armies of up to 100,000, with each side commanding forces equal to that of a small city. When there were no battles to fight though, mercenaries often acted more like gangs, roaming the countryside, harassing, pillaging, and raping until they received a new call to action.

In the period following the Thirty Years’ War, mercenaries became somewhat taboo. Their reputation for causing mayhem during times of peace, combined with the rise of nationalism across Europe, led to a decline in their popularity. Many nations even began to ban soldiers of fortune.

While state-sponsored organizations like the British East India Company emerged, they were a far cry from the independent free companies of the past. Similarly, privateers who roamed the high seas were primarily commissioned and organized, at least initially, by a crown. Occasionally, monarchs would lend forces to one another, such as when the German sovereigns sent troops to support King George III in the American colonies.

However, this was more of an alliance than a mercenary force. For the most part, mercenaries mainly went underground for several centuries, operating independently around the globe until World War II.

Rise of the PMCs

While mercenaries had largely faded into obscurity by the turn of the 20th century, occasional exceptions served as reminders that they still existed. One such example was Claire Lee Chennault, a former U.S. Army pilot.

After retiring in 1937, he quickly found employment with the Chinese Air Force, where he became an advisor and, in effect, its commander. Chennault negotiated a deal with the United States to supply China with 100 Curtiss P-40 fighter planes, and he persuaded President Theodore Roosevelt to grant him 99 pilots from the U.S. military to fly them. Together, they formed the American Volunteer Group, more commonly known as the “Flying Tigers.”

In order to accept these positions, the pilots had to formally resign from the U.S. military, effectively becoming mercenaries. Which they likely didn’t mind as their new salaries were reportedly double that of their old ones. However, when the U.S. entered World War II, the Flying Tigers were integrated into the U.S.

Army Air Forces.

In the aftermath of the war, decolonization, particularly in Africa, led to unstable governments, geopolitical hotspots, and war-torn nations—fertile ground for freelance soldiers. To put this into perspective, between 1956 and 2001, Africa experienced 80 successful coups, 108 failed ones, and 139 similar plots across sub-Saharan countries alone. Amid this turmoil, foreign mercenaries provided training to local forces, as well as logistical and combat support.

Even more troubling, a significant number of former Nazis who had escaped persecution after the war were engaged in similar activities across the Third World. They became spies for the Soviets, freelance arms traffickers, and were even integrated into the United States. While Wernher von Braun, the former Nazi who later helped send the U.S. to the moon as NASA’s director, is the most famous example, many others followed a similar path.

Both the CIA and the U.S. Army’s Counterintelligence Corps actively sought out former SS and Gestapo members to recruit.

Between the Cold War and the ongoing turmoil in Africa and other regions, the latter half of the 20th century became another golden age for mercenaries. As often happens, history began to repeat itself. Mercenaries started forming their own organizations, which would later be known as private military companies (PMCs).

The first modern-era PMC was WatchGuard International, founded in 1965 by former British Special Forces officers John Woodhouse and David Stirling, who had also established the SAS more than 20 years earlier. While many mercenaries and PMCs were simply providing the services they were paid for, their rapid global expansion raised concerns. Moreover, these combatants operated with minimal regulation, answering only to those who paid them, creating a “Wild West” situation wherever they went.

This growing concern led to the Geneva Protocols I and II in 1977. While these protocols did not explicitly ban the use of mercenaries, they defined what a mercenary was and imposed certain limitations on their rights. According to the protocols, mercenaries were denied the status of combatants and prisoners of war, along with the privileges that came with those statuses.

At the same time, the African Union sponsored the Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa, launched in 1977, as part of a global movement to criminalize mercenaries entirely. This effort gained further support from the United Nations in 1989 with the adoption of the International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing, and Training of Mercenaries. This resulted in UN Resolution 44/34, which officially banned the use of mercenaries and came into force in 2001.

Post 9/11

While the expectation was that this would lead to a rapid decline in mercenaries worldwide, 2001 actually marked a turning point in the opposite direction. Soldiers of fortune once again became a key aspect of warfare in the 21st-century. Although mercenaries were banned under the aforementioned UN Resolution, PMCs and PSCs (private security companies) were not. Nor were their operatives, typically referred to as “private military contractors.”

This distinction was one that the United States was quick to exploit. In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. felt the need to respond swiftly, and deployed troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the government faced a host of challenges in waging the War on Terror. The costs of maintaining overseas forces, public opinion, deniability, and liability all presented significant obstacles that required creative solutions.

To address these challenges, the U.S. began relying on PMCs and PSCs for nearly every aspect of its overseas operations. They were used for base security, VIP protection, training foreign troops, logistical support, and, of course, combat. By 2011, the presence of these modern mercenaries had become so widespread that their numbers in Afghanistan and Iraq matched those of uniformed military personnel.

By 2019, they outnumbered U.S. military forces by 50%. While most of the PMCs in these regions focused on support roles, with only around 15% serving as combatants, the sheer scale of private contractors in action was still staggering. In 2020, reports indicated that while the U.S. had roughly 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq each, and around 900 in Syria, more than 27,000 contractors were deployed across the three theaters of operation.

This illustrates a substantial gap between the number of soldiers and PMCs, although it’s also important to note that companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin also provide contract-based services to the U.S. government. What is undeniable, however, is that between 2001 and 2021, the Pentagon spent over $14 trillion on war efforts, with roughly a third to half of that allocated to private contractors.

While the United States is undoubtedly, at least in part, responsible for the resurgence of mercenaries in the modern world, it is far from the only country employing them. The United Kingdom, for example, is estimated to spend around £50 million ($65 million) annually on PMCs. However, the U.K. has arguably become more renowned for creating these companies than for employing them.

Although WatchGuard International, the first PMC to emerge from the U.K., set the stage, many more followed. A 2018 report revealed that at least 235 PMCs and PSCs were registered in the U.K., including prominent firms like G4S and Aegis Defense Services.

Meanwhile, mercenaries remain a common presence throughout sub-Saharan Africa, largely financed by Russia and China, both of whom have made significant strides in the PMC sector in recent years. In Nigeria, the government enlisted mercenaries to drive Boko Haram out of the country in just a few weeks, a task they had struggled to accomplish for six years prior. Similarly, the Middle East has remained a hotspot for mercenary activity.

The United Arab Emirates, for example, has employed mercenaries, primarily from Latin American countries, to fight in Yemen, Syria, and Libya. In Kurdistan, mercenaries have frequently been employed by local oil companies, Kurdish militias, and to hunt down regional terrorists. However, mercenaries have also worked for the terrorist groups too.

One prominent example is Malhama Tactical, a PMC based in Uzbekistan that exclusively sells its services to jihadist extremists. Organizations like Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate, and the Turkistan Islamic Party hire Malhama Tactical much like a government would hire any PMC. Their operatives accept payment to train soldiers, deal arms, or engage in combat wherever they are directed.

Despite their associations with extremist groups though, organizations like these have rarely been credited with atrocities or even mentioned in the news. Instead, it’s primarily American and Russian-backed mercenaries who have faced significant backlash over the years.

Blackwater

Blackwater was an American PMC founded in 1998 by Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer. From the onset of the War on Terror, it quickly became one of the United States’ preferred contractors, providing security, technical, and logistical support wherever America operated. However, in 2007, a controversial incident in Baghdad, Iraq, thrust Blackwater into the public spotlight, forcing the company to face significant scrutiny for the first time.

According to Blackwater agents, after a car bomb explosion near a meeting between U.S. and Iraqi officials, they were ordered to evacuate the American personnel. Upon reaching Nisour Square, they claimed a suspicious Kia was approaching, posing a potential threat. Despite ordering the vehicle to stop multiple times, the agents said the driver ignored the commands, leading them to open fire.

The driver and passenger were killed, and according to the agents, they were then fired upon by a group of Iraqis, reportedly between eight and ten individuals. However, the Iraqi government, which conducted its own investigation, disputed this account. According to their findings, the driver and passenger were a civilian mother and son who were simply driving on the wrong side of the road.

The gunfire that followed, they claimed, came from local police and military personnel who misunderstood the situation and began firing at the Blackwater agents.

What remains indisputable, however, is that at least 14 Iraqi civilians were killed, with many more injured, and the incident came to be known as the Nisour Square Massacre. Despite multiple court proceedings in the years that followed, as well as widespread calls for justice from the Arab world, only four Blackwater agents were ultimately held accountable for the massacre. In 2020, however, all four, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty, Dustin Heard, and Nicholas Slatten, were pardoned by President Donald Trump.

Although Blackwater has undergone several rebrandings over the years, it still operates today as Academi, a subsidiary of Constellis, with around 20,000 operatives worldwide. Meanwhile, its founder, Erik Prince, continues to make headlines, despite severing ties with the company after selling it in 2010. Through his other ventures, Prince has faced accusations of violating the arms embargo on Libya and supplying weapons to a rogue general, leading to an FBI investigation.

Prior to that, he relentlessly lobbied to privatize the Afghanistan War. In 2017, Prince proposed a plan he believed could end the conflict, with $5 billion annually, 6,000 of his own troops, and essentially unrestricted control over Afghanistan. An idea that was quickly dismissed as unrealistic.

However, given Prince’s reported closeness to the Trump administration, many feared the White House might actually entertain his proposal. In 2025, he and others began pushing a $25 billion plan to privatize the mass deportation of 12 million migrants from the United States, illustrating just how far he, and other mercenaries, are willing to go for a payday. But while Prince’s, and by extension Blackwater’s, ambitions are chilling, they pale in comparison to the lengths a Russian-based PMC would go to.

The Wagner Group

The story of the Wagner Group is both young and extraordinarily violent, even by the standards of private military companies (PMCs). Founded in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch with business interests spanning oil, diamonds, and more, the group quickly gained traction. Prigozhin leveraged his troops in nations across the Middle East and Africa, often in exchange for natural resources. This strategy enabled Wagner to rise rapidly, establishing itself as one of the world’s leading PMCs.

However, as the group expanded, so too did its notorious reputation.

In the Central African Republic, Human Rights Watch has reported multiple instances of torture, mistreatment, and the murder of civilians by the Wagner Group, accusations that have been echoed in countries such as Mali, Syria, and anywhere else the group operates. In 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Wagner Group became a key player in the conflict. However, at the time, Wagner lacked enough soldiers to meet Russia’s demands, leading them to begin recruiting inmates from the country’s prisons that summer.

While Wagner’s experienced soldiers continued their operations in Africa and Syria, the new, inexperienced recruits were sent to Ukraine as cannon fodder. The group’s involvement in Ukraine garnered increasing public attention, with Pope Francis even condemning the use of mercenaries in the conflict. However, Wagner would also prove problematic for Russia during this period.

For one, Wagner’s founder, Prigozhin, was frequently at odds with high-ranking members of the Russian military. Additionally, despite being paid nearly $1 billion for their first year of operations in Ukraine, the group claimed that Russia still owed them money. Moreover, Prigozhin drew the Kremlin’s ire when he publicly declared that the invasion of Ukraine was unjustified, directly contradicting the Russian government’s official stance.

Whether driven by a combination of these factors or his own ambitions, Prigozhin shifted his focus to Russia itself in June 2023, leading a force of 25,000 troops. Marching on Moscow, he seized control of military facilities in Rostov-on-Don along the way. However, just a few hundred miles from Moscow, Prigozhin’s forces unexpectedly withdrew.

While the precise reason remains unclear, it is believed that he reached some sort of agreement with Putin, which likely resulted in his immunity from criminal charges. Yet, only two months after Wagner’s insurrection, Prigozhin was killed in a suspicious plane crash, with many speculating that Putin had orchestrated the hit. In the aftermath, Prigozhin’s son, Pavel, took control of the Wagner Group, which subsequently returned to Russia’s service, resuming its previous missions on behalf of the nation.

However, this did not mark the end of the group’s controversy. In Mali, Wagner has earned an especially notorious reputation. While hunting the extremist Islamic group Katiba Macina in 2022, Wagner, alongside opposing forces, was accused of killing around 500 civilians over a span of just four days. Then, between May and December 2024, reports surfaced of the group deliberately killing at least 32 civilians, disappearing four others, and burning over 100 homes across the country.

Additionally, there have been persistent reports of rape, looting, torture, and other atrocities wherever Wagner operates, with their behavior often resembling that of common thugs rather than professional soldiers. Yet, as we’ve seen, this issue is not unique to Wagner. Mercenaries pose a global problem, with such abuses occurring in almost every corner of the world.

Limited Liability

While nations like Russia and the United States continue to make headlines for their use of mercenaries, the issue extends far beyond these countries to every corner of the globe. In the Middle East, Africa, and now Ukraine, mercenaries have once again become a widespread presence. Even nations that have remained distant from the controversy are now getting involved with PMCs.

As civilians, these contractors allow governments to distance themselves from actions that are, at times, horrific. As soldiers, they roam the world, instilling fear in those whose homes they invade, employing torture, murder, and everything in between. Despite being rebranded as PMCs, PSCs, and so on, they remain mercenaries, much like their forbearers, acting like common street gangs wherever they are deployed.

Key Takeaways

• Mercenaries have been used throughout history, from ancient times to modern conflicts, often for their combat skills and flexibility.
• Private military companies (PMCs) emerged in the mid-20th century, offering services to governments and corporations, but often with minimal regulation.
• Post-9/11, the U.S. heavily relied on PMCs for various roles in Afghanistan and Iraq, leading to a significant presence of private contractors.
• The Wagner Group, a Russian PMC, has been involved in numerous conflicts and accused of human rights abuses, highlighting the controversial nature of mercenaries.
• Mercenaries allow governments to distance themselves from controversial actions, but their use raises ethical and legal concerns globally.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are mercenaries?

Mercenaries are armed civilians who are paid to engage in military operations in foreign lands, generally in active combat zones.

What are some historical examples of mercenaries?

Historical examples of mercenaries include the ‘Ten Thousand’ Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger in 401 B.C., and the Varangian Guard, a group of Viking warriors who served as the Byzantine Emperor’s personal guard from 988 A.D.

What is the difference between mercenaries and private military contractors (PMCs)?

Mercenaries are armed civilians who are paid to engage in military operations in foreign lands, while PMCs are modern organizations that provide military services, often including combat, training, and logistical support.

What is the Geneva Protocols’ stance on mercenaries?

The Geneva Protocols I and II in 1977 did not explicitly ban the use of mercenaries, but they defined what a mercenary was and imposed certain limitations on their rights, denying them the status of combatants and prisoners of war.

What role did mercenaries play in the post-9/11 conflicts?

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. began relying on PMCs and PSCs for nearly every aspect of its overseas operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, including base security, VIP protection, training foreign troops, logistical support, and combat.

What is the Wagner Group?

The Wagner Group is a Russian-based PMC founded in 2014 by Yevgeny Prigozhin. It has been involved in conflicts in the Central African Republic, Mali, Syria, and Ukraine, and has been accused of numerous human rights abuses.

What is Blackwater, and what controversies have surrounded it?

Blackwater, now known as Academi, is an American PMC founded in 1998 by Erik Prince. It gained notoriety for the Nisour Square Massacre in 2007, where Blackwater agents killed at least 14 Iraqi civilians. The company has undergone several rebrandings but continues to operate today.

How have mercenaries been used in Africa?

Mercenaries have been used in Africa for training local forces, logistical and combat support, and even to drive out extremist groups like Boko Haram. They have been financed by countries like Russia and China and have been involved in various conflicts across the continent.

What is the current status of mercenaries in the modern world?

Mercenaries, often rebranded as PMCs and PSCs, continue to play a significant role in modern warfare. They are used by various countries, including the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, for a wide range of military and security operations.

What are some of the criticisms and concerns surrounding the use of mercenaries?

Criticisms and concerns surrounding the use of mercenaries include their lack of accountability, human rights abuses, and the potential for them to act like common street gangs wherever they are deployed. They also allow governments to distance themselves from actions that may be politically or morally controversial.

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• https://www.outlookindia.com/international/mercenary-group-a-look-at-5-big-elite-private-sevurity-forces-in-the-world-news-298362
• https://www.sipri.org/yearbook/2023/04#:~:text=A%20handful%20of%20home%20states,combat%20more%20than%20other%20countries
• https://abcnews.go.com/International/wagner-groups-rebellion-putin-unfolded/story?id=100373557
• https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimir-putin-yevgeny-prigozhin-russia-kremlin-gave-wagner-group-nearly-1-billion-in-the-past-year/
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-wagner-group-central-african-republic-bambari-massacre-rape-mass-murder/
• Hero image source by Igor_Sivolob / openverse, by-sa.

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