Matthias Corvinus was one of the greatest kings in European history!
He should have been much more known.
At the height of his power he commanded the most powerful army in Europe and instilled great fear in his enemies!
Here are the impressive highlights of his reign!
Nicknamed Corvinus after the mysterious symbol of black raven of his Hunyadi family.
An obscure family that rose to prominence during the dark days, defending the borderlands of Hungary.
His father John Hunyadi became a hero of Christendom for his victories against Ottomans.
Matthias was elected as King of Hungary in 1458 just before turning 15.
His uncle arrived with 15,000 soldiers to intimidate the hostile nobility.
After decades of weak kings, he would turn everything around.
As the young king grows from a boy into a man, so grows Hungary from ruins into an empire.
The rebellious nobles are crushed, taxes are collected.
He rallies the kingdom together and restores its splendor.
The wealth he took from magnates is used to finance a mighty army.
The most elite mercenaries are assembled! Czech gunners, German knights, Serbian hussars.
Matthias unites warriors from all the races of Central Europe and beyond in his Black Army!
His enemies and treacherous nobles have to pay for it. They are intimidated into submission!
No one can handle the Black Army!
The infantry fights behind a fortress of shields. The Hussite gunners shred the enemies to pieces.
The heavy cavalry crushes everything in sight. The light cavalry raids and instills terror from Ottoman Balkan lands to forests of Bohemia.
The border against the Ottomans is protected by nobles loyal to Matthias.
A warrior of herculean strength Pál Kinizsi commands Hungarian knights and never loses a battle.
Vuk the Fiery Dragon commands the Serbian light cavalry.
The Ottomans are crushed at Breadfield in 1479.
The influence of the Raven King reaches Italy.
The Ottomans are chased away from Otranto.
People of Ancona beg him to be their ruler and protector.
The Black Army is the most powerful army in Christendom, making Matthias the single most powerful Christian ruler.
Loved by the people, loved by his soldiers.
He pays his mercenaries even more than they expect from the money he extorted from the greedy magnates.
The arrogant hostile neighbors now beg for peace treaties and truces.
But the Black Army marches on.
30,000 elite warriors.
Not even kings of France and England can dream of fielding such powerful army.
Bohemia is on its knees, Austria is broken.
Vienna is conquered in 1485!
Matthis Corvinus enters the city in the style of a Roman Emperor at the head of his invincible army.
The Habsburg Emperor has to flee from Vienna to Wiener Neustadt.
But nowhere is safe from the Black Army.
Wiener Neustadt is conquered in 1487.
The Emperor has to flee once again from the might of Corvinus.
No one dares to face the Black Army in the open field anymore.
Austrian towns and fortresses fall one by one.
The black raven flies freely over Central Europe and the Balkans.
The borders are secured and the kingdom stronger than ever.
The renaissance king keeps the flame of knowledge and science alight.
One of the largest libraries in Europe is founded!
He collects the forgotten military books in his Bibliotheca Corviniana and learns from them.
A mighty kingdom was forged once again.
But at the height of power it all ends.
On 6 April 1490 King Matthias died.
Since that day everything became dark in Hungary.
The king's true greatness is seen after he's gone.
Without King Matthias in charge, everything starts collapsing.
What took decades to build is lost over night. Black Army is no longer sustained.
Eventually the kingdom falls and is divided between the old enemies of Corvinus.
But the legend lives on!
He is remembered in folk tales and his memory survives.
The subjects he ruled over and their descendants know that there will never be anyone like Matthias the Just again.
More about medieval Kingdom of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus and the Black Army here!
How they fought against their powerful enemies and what kind of tactics they used!
aristocraticfury.substack.com/p/king-matthia…
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