First Mercenaries in History (feat. Prof. Morillo )

The names of the first recorded mercenaries in history might have been UG-ni-ˇsa, Warad-Sîn, or Namram-ˇsar¯ur. But if you look up any publicly accessible book about mercenaries, you’ll find other examples mentioned, like Nu.Banda Mardune, an Amorite captain in the service of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th and 23rd century BC, or the Sherden Sea Pirates. What both these examples have in common is that they might have been “soldiers who voluntarily fought for profit.” That’s the definition of mercenaries provided by most dictionaries, but the expert joining us today has a different take. “That’s again that sloppy use of, ‘ah they hired some people, that makes them mercenaries.’ But that’s such a loose use of the term— mercenaries. It confuses more than it clarifies.” This is Stephen Morillo, an expert on defining different types of military service. We thank him for agreeing to an interview with us. With his help, we’re going to explain who actually qualifies as a mercenary and who doesn’t. Then, we’re going to dig deep into the archaeological records and search for the true beginning of what is often labeled the second-oldest profession in history.

Some must read mlitary history books:

Bibliography:
Cline, E. H. and O’Connor, D. (2011) “The Mystery of the Sea Peoples,” in O’Connor, David and Quirke, Mysterious Lands (2011) 107–39.
Cohen, M. E., A Small Old Babylonian Army of A-pí-ru-ú in: Ann Guinan et al. (editor): If a Man Builds a Joyful House: Assyriological Studies in Honor of Erle Verdun Leichty 2006, p. 63–86.
Burckhardt, L. (Basle) and Campbell, J. Brian (Belfast), “Mercenaries”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Online.
Emanuel, J., Šrdn of the Sea: A Reassessment of the Sherden and their Role in Egyptian Society (Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, 2012).
Hamblin, J. W., Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC. Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History, 2006.
Luraghi, Nino Traders, Pirates, Warriors: The Proto-History of Greek Mercenary Soldiers in theEastern Mediterranean, 2006, Vol. 60, No. 1/2 (Spring - Summer, 2006), pp.21-47.
Morillo, S., Mercenaries, mamluks and militia - towards a cross-cultural typology of military service, France, John (editor), The Mercenary Identity in the Middle Ages (History of Warfare, Band: 47) 2008, pp. 243–260.
Singer, P. W., Corporate Warriors. The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry. Updated Edition, 2008.
Taulbee, J. L., Reflections on the mercenary option, Small Wars & Insurgencies Volume 9, 1998 - Issue 2, pp. 145-163.
Yalichev, S., Mercenaries of the Ancient World, 2002.

[QuantumHistorian]

This way of cutting between explanatory segments ending in a question, and an interviewed guest answering that question, is amazing. More like this in the future please!

[StarCraftNoobOfDoom]

never thought mercenaries would be on a spectrum

[agentpapayatree]

My wife told me to buy copper at Ea Nasirs, but i snuck away and watched this video, very nice

[clintmoor]

this historian seems like a really chill dude (but also very knowledgeable!)

[Thraim.]

"It's not just a job, it's an adventure. haha"
Oof, didn't expect anyone to throw hands like this only two minutes in.

[shawnbeckett]

My guess is that some king kept paying off the same raiders, at some point said king was threatened by another king, he hired the raiders to help him with the treating king, boom, mercenaries are now a thing. Awesome channel.

[awesomevibesonly]

Been subscribed to you guys for a while and you're always great, glad you're getting to have interviews with experts like this it's a testament to your quality and thoroughness

[lukasmadrid]

The guest was really good at going through stuff and adding depth. Def need more like this/this guy

[patavinity]

"Nubanda Mardune's only employer was Sargon of Akkad"

This is not a good argument because (a) we don't actually know if that's true, we just don't have any evidence to the contrary yet, and (b) it's pretty clear that mercenaries can work for a single employer if they so choose, and that doesn't mean they aren't mercenaries.

[diebesgrab]

I would say a simpler definition is that a mercenary is a soldier whose services are for sale. Not necessarily to the highest bidder, just that service is at least theoretically open to multiple potential buyers. This distinguishes a mercenary from other types of soldiers, whose services are owed, at least theoretically, to a specific governing body, or at least to an aspirational authority such as an organized rebellion.

[uelibinde]

some people in the comments saying this is in some way just business vs government really do not understand anything here. Governments literally hired mercs all the time. they hired mercs from within their own territory so there can't be business vs government because the government in almost all cases literally had the role of both the business and the government.

[mariushunger]

The mix of entertainment and research in this video is on fleek 👌🏼 great job!

[absurdist]

I am enjoying the mercenary themed videos a lot! This one is especially interesting and I love this new format. ❤

[JangianTV]

Very pleased to have found your channel! 😊

[sarahsidney]

Great video! Your channel is so underrated

[molochi]

I would say a mercenary is a soldier that the employer believes has no reason to fight for them except pay and personal desire to do so.

[arturillosmeriglia]

Small correction, Blackwater is called Academi nowadays

[PraveenJose]

Good stuff, these sorts of videos showing the nuances of military power, political and economic structures, along with the blurry, fuzzy relations/dynamics between all are desperately needed, especially for mil his.

[kalliaslands]

Really interesting I am going to look up the original paper. I think you should have included the 4th category “political armies.” I imagine this would be something like the foreign volunteers in Ukraine, the Spanish civil war, Islamist causes, or European volunteers to the American and Greek revolutions. Would the first crusade fall under this category?

[dirckthedork-knight]

The Wagner group did not rebel because they where not payed they rebelled because the government refused to get rid of Shoigu (of course they eventually did exactly that but thats another story)