In his famous treatise “The Prince,” Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli warned states against relying upon foreign mercenaries for their defense, arguing any short-term benefits were vastly outweighed by the long-term risks.

Mercenaries, as Machiavelli observed in his own time, were notoriously unreliable and being primarily motivated by financial gain often abandoned the state employing them or turned against it for better offers.

Machiavelli even blamed reliance on mercenary armies for many of the troubles befalling the Italian states of his day.

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