%0 Journal Article %A Kelder, Jorrit %T Huurlingen, mobiliteit en reizigerslatijn %D 2020 %J Lampas, %V 53 %N 4 %P 403-419 %@ 2667-1573 %R https://doi.org/10.5117/LAM2020.4.002.KELD %I Amsterdam University Press, %X Summary The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it argues that the Mycenaean Greek world served as a nexus for international trade between the Near East and Europe during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600 to 1100 BCE). Rather than a barbarian periphery, Europe – and in particular regions such as the Carpathian basin and the southern Baltic (Denmark and Scania) – was an integral part of the much better known ‘civilised’ world of the ancient Near East. Second, it argues that ‘mercenaries’ (a term that I will use rather loosely, and which includes both private entrepreneurs and military captives) served as a hitherto overlooked conduit for knowledge exchange between Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Near East. It will do so by highlighting a number of remarkable archaeological finds, and by discussing these against the backdrop of contemporary (Late Bronze Age and Iron Age) texts as well as later legends. %U https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/LAM2020.4.002.KELD