<!-- generated: provider=openrouter model=arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free date=2026-02-19 source=book-3-chapter-03 -->

# Military Assistance

## Definition

The organized provision of armed forces by towns to support their sovereign or protector in military campaigns, typically organized through the town's own military discipline and command structures. Military assistance represented both a reciprocal obligation for the privileges granted to towns and a source of political leverage in their relationships with central authorities.

## Source Chapter

Book III, Chapter 3

## Context

Smith explains how the requirement for military assistance was part of the reciprocal relationship between towns and their protectors. This obligation reflected the practical value of urban militias to sovereigns while also demonstrating how economic privileges were balanced against civic duties in the medieval political economy.

## Economic Domain

Regulation

---
