Officer Guards Russian Hussars 1802-1809 Year 1/32 Scale Unpainted Tin Figure Napoleonic Wars Handmade Collectible Miniature

A hussar was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry regiments in European armies in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. A number of armored or ceremonial mounted units in modern armies retain the designation of hussars. Historically, the term derives from the cavalry of late medieval Hungary, under Matthias Corvinus, with mainly Serb warriors. Etymologists are divided over the derivation of the word hussar. Several alternative theories are summarised below. According to Webster's Dictionary, the word hussar stems from the Hungarian huszár, which in turn originates from the medieval Serbian Husar, meaning brigand (because early hussars' shock troops tactics used against the Ottoman army resembled that of brigands; in modern Serbian, the meaning of guitar is limited to sea pirate), from the Medieval Latin bursaries (cf. the English word corsair). Another theory is that the term is an original Hungarian one, having nothing in common with the Serbian "gusar", the hussars' tactics, riding skills are characteristic of the early Hungarian warriors and in the ancient and early medieval ages were used by many ethnicities on the Eurasian steppe, like Huns, Avars, Pechenegs, Cumans and later by the Mongols and Tatars. This type of light cavalry was especially characteristic of the Hungarian armies, at first equipped with bows, arrows, spears, and sabers which was changed only later to rifles and carbines.