This is a list of mercenaries. It includes foreign volunteers, private military contractors, and other "soldiers of fortune".

Antiquity Name Life Years active Allegiance CommentsAlexon250 BCCarthaginian EmpireGreek mercenary from Achaea who served in the Carthaginian garrison at Lilybaeum while it was besieged by the Romans during the First Punic War. Foiled a plot by Gallic mercenaries to surrender Lilybaeum to the enemy.Autaritusd. 238 BCCarthaginian EmpireLeader of the Gallic mercenaries in the Carthaginian army during the First Punic War. He turned against Carthage in the Mercenary War and was crucified by Hamilcar Barca after his capture.Charidemusd. 333 BC367–333 BCAthensGreek mercenary leader who served Athens, Thrace and Rhodes.Clearchus of Sparta411–401 BCSpartan general and mercenary leader who joined Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to seize the Persian throne from Artaxerxes III.Diogenes of JudeaHasmonean KingdomJewish soldier in the service of Alexander Jannaeus. In revenge for the support of certain Pharisees for Demetrius III of Syria's invasion of Judea, Diogenes advised Alexander to crucify 800 Pharisee scholars in front of their families.Memnon of Rhodes380–333 BC334–333 BCFirst Persian EmpireCommander of the Greek mercenaries in the service of Darius III when Alexander the Great invaded Persia in 334 BC.Mathosd. 237 BC241–237 BCCarthaginian EmpireBerber mercenary leader who fought for Carthage in Sicily during the First Punic War. He later led a revolt against Carthage during the Mercenary War but was defeated by Hamilcar Barca and crucified.Mentor of Rhodes385–340 BC358–340 BCGreek mercenary who fought both for and against Artaxerxes III of Persia. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became mistress to Alexander the Great.NaravasCarthaginian EmpireBerber mercenary leader who served Carthage during the First Punic War. Unlike his fellow mercenaries, he remained loyal to Carthage during the Mercenary War and helped Hamilcar Barca crush the rebel leaders.Phalaecusd. 343 BCDeposed ruler of Phocis who formed a mercenary army and fought for Knossos in Crete.Proxenus of Boeotia431–401 BC401 BCFirst Persian EmpireA friend of Cyrus the Younger and Xenophon, he was one of the four ill-fated generals who accompanied Clearchus of Sparta to Tissaphernes.Pythagoras the Spartan401 BCFirst Persian EmpireSpartan admiral hired to command the first fleet of Cyrus the Younger during his campaign to claim the Persian throne.Socrates of Achaea436–401 BC401 BCGreek mercenary general from Achaea who traveled to Persia to fight at the Battle of Cunaxa.Xanthippus255–245 BCCarthaginian EmpireSpartan mercenary general hired by the Carthaginians to aid in their war against the Romans during the First Punic War. Credited for developing military tactics used by Carthage, he led Carthaginian soldiers into the battle of Tunis where the Roman expeditionary force was routed and the Roman consul Marcus Atilius Regulus was captured.Xenias of ArcadiaFirst Persian EmpireGreek commander of mercenaries in the service of Cyrus the Younger.Xenophon430–354 BC401–371 BCPeloponnesian LeagueAthenian-born general who served Sparta during the Peloponnesian War.

Medieval

Name Life Years active Allegiance Comments Arnaud de Cervole1320–1366?-1366 Papal States Kingdom of FranceFrench mercenary soldier and brigand of the Hundred Years' War. He was murdered by his own men while planning with Pope Urban V to lead a new Crusade to the Holy Land. Bernard Szumborskid. 14701454–1470 Teutonic KnightsMoravian knight and who led a mercenary army during the Thirteen Years' War. He was hired by the Teutonic Knights during the Battle of Chojnice and was later sent to relieve the besieged city three years later. Szumborski committed a number of atrocities during the conflict and was eventually poisoned. Bolli BollasonViking mercenary who became the first-known West Norseman in the Varangian Guard. Domnall na Madhmann Mac SuibhneGallowglass associate of Rath Glas. Eustace the Monk1170–12171205–1212 EnglandFrench mercenary and pirate who raided the Normandy coast on behalf of King John of England until his defection to France in 1212. He supported the rebel faction during the First Barons' War and ferried Prince Louis across the English Channel in 1216. He was executed after his capture at the Battle of Sandwich the following year. Frederick of Castile1223–12771260–1270 Hafsid DynastyAfter his exile from Castile, Frederick served under his brother Henry as a knight errant in the service of Tunisian emir al-Mustansir. Gérard d'Athée1211–1215 EnglandFrench mercenary employed by King John of England to control southern Wales. Henry of Castile the Senator1230–13031259–1268 Hafsid DynastyA son of Ferdinand III of Castile, Henry commanded Spanish knights in the service of Tunisian emir al-Mustansir. He also assisted his cousin, Charles of Anjou, becoming King of Sicily in 1266. Hereward the Wake1035–1072English rebel leader and outlaw who resisted the Norman conquest of England. Prior to the Norman invasion, Hereward was a mercenary in the service of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. Isnardo Guarco1380–1458Genoese politician and mercenary leader. John Hawkwood1323–13941360–1392 Lobar the WolfLeader of Brabançon mercenaries that fought in numerous battles all across Europe in the latter half of the twelfth century. Martin Algai1100s-12121196-1211 EnglandNavarrese mercenary captain who fought for King Richard I and King John of England. Later fought for Simon de Montfort in the Albigensian Crusade. Martin Schwartz1475–1487Germanic mercenary who fought for Lambert Simnel, a Yorkist pretender to the English throne. Owain Lawgoch1330–13781369–1378Welsh soldier who served in Spain, France, Alsace, and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French against the English in the Hundred Years' War. Peter I, Count of Urgell1187–1258Son of King Sancho I of Portugal who commanded a mercenary army of Christian exiles and adventurers in the service of Yusuf II, the Almohad Caliph of Morocco. Rainulf Drengot1016–1045Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. Robert Guiscard1015–10851047–1085Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Rodrigo de Villandrando1410–1443Spanish mercenary leader in Gascony during the final phase of the Hundred Years' War. Roger DeslaurSpanish almogàver in the service of Walter V of Brienne. One of the few knights to survive the bloody Battle of Halmyros, he became a member of the Catalan Company after his capture. Roger de Flor1267–1305Sicilian adventurer and condottiere active in Aragonese Sicily, Italy and the Byzantine Empire.Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara1438–15061457–1470Timurid ruler of Herat. During Bayqara's exile from his homeland, he served as a mercenary soldier to Sultan Sanjar Mirza of Merv. Thomas of Galloway1212–1228Gall-Gaidhil prince and adventurer who was employed as an agent for his brother Alan of Galloway as well as English and Scottish kings.Werner von Urslingen1308–1354Germanic mercenary in the service of the Holy Roman Empire. William Iron Arm1035–1046Norman adventurer who was the founder of the Hauteville family. William of Ypres1090–11641139–1154Flemish mercenary commander who served as Stephen of England's chief lieutenant during The Anarchy.

Early modern