{ "id": "epe4z0phf2", "slug": "black-army", "title": "Black Army", "updated": "2026-09-30", "topic_path": [ { "id": "society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society" }, { "id": "society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history" }, { "id": "society.history.europe", "label": "European history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.europe" }, { "id": "society.history.europe.eastern-europe", "label": "Eastern Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.europe.eastern-europe" }, { "id": "society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary", "label": "Hungary from the conquest to the Compromise (895 to 1867)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary", "label": "Eastern Europe · 1000 to 1799: Hungary from the conquest to the Compromise (895 to 1867)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary", "path": [ { "id": "geo.eeu", "label": "Eastern Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000", "label": "Eastern Europe · 1000 to 1799", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society", "label": "Society and history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society.history", "label": "History and archaeology", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society.history" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe", "label": "European history", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe", "label": "Eastern Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe" }, { "id": "geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary", "label": "Hungary from the conquest to the Compromise (895 to 1867)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.eeu.t1000.society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Black Army (Fekete sereg) was the standing mercenary army of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, founded in 1459 and crushed by Paul Kinizsi in 1492.", "snippet": "The Black Army (Fekete sereg) was the standing mercenary army of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, founded in 1459 and crushed by Paul Kinizsi in 1492.", "node": "society.history.europe.eastern-europe.ee-hungary", "markdown": "# Black Army\n\nThe Black Army (Fekete sereg) was the standing mercenary army of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, counted from 1459, when Czech mercenary infantry entered the king's service, until its destruction, its remnants liquidated by 1494.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [2](https://warhistory.org/article/the-black-army) Some accounts trace the army's origins further back, to the 1440s under Matthias's father, [John Hunyadi](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-hunyadi).[3](http://budapesttimes-archiv.bzt.hu/2015/10/18/black-army-unique-on-field-of-battle/)\n\n| Fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Founded | 1459, when Matthias took Czech mercenary infantry into his pay[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) |\n| Founder | Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) |\n| Core strength | 6,000–8,000 men, rising to 15,000–20,000 in the 1480s; permanent paid mercenaries about 10,000–12,000[5](https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/F/fekete%20sereg.html) |\n| Composition | Czechs and Moravians at the core, with Poles, Germans, Serbs, and from the 1480s increasingly Hungarians[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [6](https://24.hu/tudomany/2016/04/30/kinizsinek-kellett-szetvernie-matyas-fekete-sereget/) |\n| Annual cost | 400,000 gold florins[7](https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278) |\n| Principal commanders | John Haugwitz; Paul Kinizsi as commander-in-chief late in the army's existence[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) |\n| End | Defeated by Paul Kinizsi in 1492, dissolved by royal decree[7](https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278) • [8](https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/12-az-orszag-sullyedese-a-jagellok-alatt-a-mohacsi-katasztrofa-14901526-215D/a-ii-ulaszlo-kirallya-valasztasa-es-haborui-14901516-215E/4-a-fekete-sereg-szetverese-es-feloszlatasa-21B6/) |\n\n## Founding and history\n\nIn 1459 Matthias took into his service the infantry of the Czech captains Nankelreiter Nabugodonozor, Karaszki János, and Korbel Márton, paying 4,000 gold florins per quarter.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) In 1462 he hired the forces of John Giskra, the Czech commander-in-chief in Upper Hungary, and the same year made a similar contract with the Czech leader Komorowski at Nagysarló.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) \n\nWhen Matthias organized a standing army of more than 20,000 men in 1465, the Black Army of about 6,000 Czech and Serb mercenaries formed its center.[4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) From 1466 onward Matthias employed it almost exclusively on his western-front campaigns.[9](https://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0011/880.html)\n\n## Structure, functions, and principal holders\n\nThe army was organized by branch into cavalry, infantry, artillery, and engineer troops.[9](https://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0011/880.html) Its light cavalry included the hussars, of which Matthias is credited as the creator.[6](https://24.hu/tudomany/2016/04/30/kinizsinek-kellett-szetvernie-matyas-fekete-sereget/)\n\nPay was high by contemporary standards.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) Most soldiers were hired only for short periods, while the permanent paid core can be put at 10,000–12,000 men.[5](https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/F/fekete%20sereg.html) The Hungarian Catholic Lexikon gives 6,000–8,000 men, rising to 15,000–20,000 in the 1480s and more still in 1485 and 1487.[5](https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/F/fekete%20sereg.html) At its peak in 1487, one account puts the army at some 28,000 men, 20,000 horsemen, and 8,000 infantry, with every fifth infantryman carrying an arquebus.[2](https://warhistory.org/article/the-black-army)\n\nThe army was supported by a regular commissariat (military department supplying troops with food and equipment), cannon, and ballistic machines, and was kept in constant readiness through active service.[10](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hu-history-022.htm) Matthias also gave the country's highest officials fixed annual payments in exchange for keeping set numbers of armed men ready to accompany him on campaign; the strongest such banderia belonged to the palatine, the judge of the realm, the voivode of [Transylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/transylvania), the count of Temes and of the Székelys, and the ban of Croatia and Slavonia.[9](https://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0011/880.html)\n\n## Military style\n\nMatthias did employ his forces against the Ottomans, notably in the recapture of Szabács, Galambóc, and Jajce and in the 1479 victory at the [Battle of Breadfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-breadfield), but he generally preferred limited wars over pitched battles with the Turks.[6](https://24.hu/tudomany/2016/04/30/kinizsinek-kellett-szetvernie-matyas-fekete-sereget/) • [13](https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/1372-1490/the-battle-of-breadfield-kenyermezo-1479/) • [6](https://24.hu/tudomany/2016/04/30/kinizsinek-kellett-szetvernie-matyas-fekete-sereget/)\n\n## Political influence\n\nThe standing army enabled Matthias to curb the lawlessness of the Magyar nobility, which explains why none of the numerous rebellions against him succeeded.[10](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hu-history-022.htm) \n\n## End\n\nAfter Matthias died, Władysław II's emptied treasury could not raise the 400,000 gold florins a year needed to maintain the army.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [7](https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278) The army degenerated, the soldiers lived by plunder, and unpaid mercenaries committed outrages around Szeged in 1492.[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) • [4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) \n\nThe army's own former commander-in-chief, Paul Kinizsi, crushed it at the end of 1492.[7](https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278) One account places the battle near Halas, where Kinizsi surprised the camped army and defeated it after fierce fighting, with 400–500 Czechs killed and the rest captured, and the drum majors hanged or broken on the wheel.[4](https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html) Sources also differ on the final date: one states Kinizsi liquidated the remnants by 1494,[1](https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra) while others date the crushing defeat to the end of 1492.[7](https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278)\n\nAfter the captured ringleaders had been hanged or broken on the wheel, the Black Army was dissolved by royal decree; part was incorporated into the banderia of the king, the palatine, and the count of Temes.[8](https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/12-az-orszag-sullyedese-a-jagellok-alatt-a-mohacsi-katasztrofa-14901526-215D/a-ii-ulaszlo-kirallya-valasztasa-es-haborui-14901516-215E/4-a-fekete-sereg-szetverese-es-feloszlatasa-21B6/) About 2,000 remaining men, after swearing an oath not to take revenge or bear arms against the king, the magnates, or their subjects, left for Austria under Haugwitz and settled on the border of Moravia.[8](https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/12-az-orszag-sullyedese-a-jagellok-alatt-a-mohacsi-katasztrofa-14901526-215D/a-ii-ulaszlo-kirallya-valasztasa-es-haborui-14901516-215E/4-a-fekete-sereg-szetverese-es-feloszlatasa-21B6/) From fortified strongholds they continued plundering until May 1493, when the Austrian government marched against them; many were killed, 800 were taken prisoner by the Austrian lords and towns, of whom the Viennese hanged 300 and Stephan Eyzinger had as many thrown into burning slaughterhouses.[8](https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/12-az-orszag-sullyedese-a-jagellok-alatt-a-mohacsi-katasztrofa-14901526-215D/a-ii-ulaszlo-kirallya-valasztasa-es-haborui-14901516-215E/4-a-fekete-sereg-szetverese-es-feloszlatasa-21B6/) • [11](http://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0012/891.html) By 1494 the Black Army had ceased to exist.[2](https://warhistory.org/article/the-black-army) • [12](https://www.korkep.sk/cikkek/tortenelem/2020/12/13/hunyadi-matyas-legendas-zsoldosai-mitol-volt-fekete-a-fekete-sereg/)\n\n## Assessment and legacy\n\nThe Black Army is regarded as an early standing mercenary army, kept in a high state of efficiency through constant service and a regular commissariat.[10](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hu-history-022.htm) \n## References\n\n1. Fekete sereg (legio nigra) | Novitas: https://web.archive.org/web/20090223192804/http:/www.sziszi.hu/novitas/fekete-sereg-legio-nigra\n2. The Black Army – WarHistory.org: https://warhistory.org/article/the-black-army\n3. Black Army unique on field of battle | The Budapest Times: http://budapesttimes-archiv.bzt.hu/2015/10/18/black-army-unique-on-field-of-battle/\n4. Feketesereg – Lexikon: https://www.kislexikon.hu/feketesereg.html\n5. Fekete sereg – Magyar Katolikus Lexikon: https://lexikon.katolikus.hu/F/fekete%20sereg.html\n6. Kinizsinek kellett szétvernie Mátyás fekete seregét | 24.hu: https://24.hu/tudomany/2016/04/30/kinizsinek-kellett-szetvernie-matyas-fekete-sereget/\n7. Az uralkodó feloszlatja a Fekete Sereget | Múlt-kor: https://mult-kor.hu/cikk.php?id=19278\n8. A fekete sereg szétverése és feloszlata | Bánlaky József: A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme: https://www.arcanum.com/hu/online-kiadvanyok/Banlaky-banlaky-jozsef-a-magyar-nemzet-hadtortenelme-2/12-az-orszag-sullyedese-a-jagellok-alatt-a-mohacsi-katasztrofa-14901526-215D/a-ii-ulaszlo-kirallya-valasztasa-es-haborui-14901516-215E/4-a-fekete-sereg-szetverese-es-feloszlatasa-21B6/\n9. Bánlaky József: A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme: https://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0011/880.html\n10. Hungary History – 1458–1490 – Matyas Corvinus: https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/hu-history-022.htm\n11. Bánlaky József: A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme (vol. 12): http://mek.oszk.hu/09400/09477/html/0012/891.html\n12. Hunyadi Mátyás legendás zsoldosai – Körkép.sk: https://www.korkep.sk/cikkek/tortenelem/2020/12/13/hunyadi-matyas-legendas-zsoldosai-mitol-volt-fekete-a-fekete-sereg/\n13. The battle of breadfield kenyermezo 1479 (hungarianottomanwars.com). https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/1372-1490/the-battle-of-breadfield-kenyermezo-1479/\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › European history › Eastern Europe › Hungary from the conquest to the Compromise (895 to 1867)*\n\n*Initially written Sep 24, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Black Army\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Black Army](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Black Army\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/black-army. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Black Army was the standing mercenary army of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, founded in 1459 and crushed by Paul Kinizsi in 1492." }