Black Army of Hungary

Black Army
Standard of the Black legion
Active	1458–1494 AD
Country	Kingdom of Hungary
Allegiance	Hungarian, Czech (Bohemian, Moravian, Silesian), Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Bavarian, Austrian, Swiss
Branch	Army, Navy
Type	Cavalry, infantry, artillery, siege weapons
Size	approx. 28,000
Heraldry	This characteristic flag with a forked tail was reconstructed after a miniature in Philostratus Chronicle, one of the Corvinas, representing the 1485 entry of János Corvinus, son of King Matthew, into Vienna. The black colour of the flag used to be white (argent), but the argent paint oxidized. The reconstruction preserves the original colour.
Mascot(s)	Raven
Engagements	Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia, Serbia, Bosnia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Italy
Disbanded	1494 (due to money shortage and mercenary uprising)
Commanders
King	Matthias Corvinus
Notable commanders	Pál Kinizsi, Balázs Magyar, Imre Zápolya, John Giskra, John Haugwitz, František Hag, Vuk Grgurević

The Black Army (Hungarian: Fekete sereg, pronounced [ˈfɛkɛtɛ ˈʃɛrɛɡ]), also called the Black Legion/Regiment – possibly after their black armor panoply – is a common name given to the military forces serving under the reign of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. The ancestor and core of this early standing mercenary army appeared in the era of his father John Hunyadi in the early 1440s. The idea of the professional standing mercenary army came from Matthias' juvenile readings about the life of Julius Caesar.

Hungary's Black Army traditionally encompasses the years from 1458 to 1494. The mercenary soldiers of other countries in the era were conscripted from the general population at times of crisis, and soldiers worked as bakers, farmers, brick-makers, etc. for most of the year. In contrast, the men of the Black Army fought as well-paid, full-time mercenaries and were purely devoted to the arts of warfare. It was a standing mercenary army that conquered large parts of Austria (including the capital Vienna in 1485) and more than half of the Crown of Bohemia (Moravia, Silesia and both Lusatias), the other important victory of the army was won against the Ottomans at the Battle of Breadfield in 1479.

Matthias recognized the importance and key role of early firearms in the infantry, which greatly contributed to his victories. Every fourth soldier in the Black Army had an arquebus in the infantry, which was an unusual ratio at the time. The high price of medieval gunpowder prevented them from raising it any further. Even a decade after the disbandment of the Black Army, by the turn of the 16th century, only around 10% of the soldiers of Western European armies used firearms. The main troops of the army were the infantry, artillery and light and heavy cavalry. The function of the heavy cavalry was to protect the light armoured infantry and artillery, while the other corps delivered sporadic, surprise assaults on the enemy.