Μέχρι το 18ο αιώνα θεωρούντο η ελίτ των οπλισμένων δυνάμεων.
==Οι Ουσάροι στη δυτική Ευρώπη==
Initially the first units of [[Polish Hussars|Polish hussars]] in the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] were formed by the [[Sejm]] (Polish parliament) in [[1503]], which hired three banners of Hungarian [[mercenaries]]. Quickly recruitment also began among Polish and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuanian]] citizens. Being far more maneuverable than the heavily armoured [[lancers]] previously employed, the hussars proved vital to the Polish and Lithuanian victories at [[Battle of Orsza|Orsza]] (1514) and [[Battle of Obertyn|Obertyn]] (1531). By the reign of King [[Stefan Batory]] the hussars had replaced medieval-style lancers in the Polish-Lithuanian army, and they now formed the bulk of the Polish [[cavalry]].
Over the course of the 1500s hussars in [[Hungary]] had become heavier in character: they had abandoned wooden shields and adopted plate metal body armour. When [[Stefan Batory]], a Transylvanian-Hungarian prince, became [[king of Poland]] in 1576 he reorganized the Polish-Lithuanian hussars of his Royal Guard along Hungarian lines, making them a heavy formation, equipped with a long lance as their main weapon. By the 1590s most Polish-Lithuanian hussar units had been reformed along the same 'heavy' Hungarian model. These Polish 'heavy' hussars were known in their homeland as ''husaria''.
With the [[Battle of Lubieszów]] in [[1577]] the 'Golden Age' of the husaria began. Down to and including the [[Battle of Vienna]] in [[1683]], the Polish-Lithuanian hussars fought countless actions against a variety of enemies, and rarely lost a battle. In the battles of [[Battle of Byczyna|Byczyna]] (1588), [[Battle of Kokenhausen|Kokenhusen]] (1601), [[Battle of Kircholm|Kircholm]] (1605), [[Battle of Kluszyn|Kłuszyn]] (1610), [[Battle of Trzciana|Trzciana]] (1629), [[Battle of Chocim (1673)|Chocim]] (1673) and [[Battle of Lwów (1675)|Lwów]] (1675), the Polish-Lithuanian hussars proved to be the decisive factor often against overwhelming odds.
Until the [[18th century]] they were considered the elite of Commonwealth armed forces.
