History questions...

[TheLand]

Hello there!

I was wondering if anyone involved in this august mod could help me with some historical questions...

1. What was the status of the troops which are normally referred to as mercenaries?
- Were they a body of men who wanted to fight wars and wandered the Mediterranean looking for anyone to pay them? Or were they farmers who would leave the land/nomads who would leave their herds if someone (e.g. their rulers) made them a good enough offer? Was there any element of obligation in mercenary service? Were mercenaries offered for service by their captains or by their cities?
- on the same theme, would 'mercenary' hoplites who ended up in one army have been available for service in a different army in different circumstances? Does the same answer hold true for mercenary Gauls, Germans or Numidians?
- are there any examples of nations which moved from a heavily-mercenary army to a regular army?

2. What were the big issues in the internal politics of nations other than Rome in the Hellenistic period? Ideally I'm looking for parallels to the "optimates" vs "populares" contest in Rome.

Any answers or directions to where I can find such information would be much appreciated. :) And apologies if these or similar questions have been answered before.