The international mercenary market in East-Central Europe: Soldiers form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the service of the Transylvanian Prince (1679-1685)

During the final years of the Dutch-War (1672-1678), the French King Louis XIV cformed an alliance with the leaders of the Hungarian rebellion and the Transylvanian prince Michael Apafi I. The objective of this alliance was to create a military diversion on the eastern flank of the Habsburgs, enemies of France at the time. With the help of King Jan III Sobieski, French agents in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth recruited an army of mercenaries for this purpose. After two years of inconclusive campaigns fought in Hungary, most of the mercenaries were allowed to return home. However, three infantry companies (roughly 300 men) were retained as the guard of the Prince of Transylvania for several more years. This case study sheds light on the extent and mechanisms of the early modern international mercenary market in a European region that has largely been overlooked by research.