Hormidac

Hormidac (

The emperor of the East Marcian then sent the magister militum Anthemius, future emperor of the West, with an army, which put the city under siege. The devastation of the countryside surrounding Serdica was such that it was difficult for Anthemius to find enough food and drink for his troops; the fact that it was winter could only make the situation worse. However, the fact that even the Huns were not in better conditions, locked up to defend themselves inside a city after they had foreseen a raid, played to the advantage of Anthemius; Hormidac then decided to break the delay and went out with his army to face Anthemius.^[2][3]

Shortly before the start of the battle, the commander of the cavalry of Anthemius (perhaps a "barbarian")^[2] passed to Hormidac's side, who therefore found himself facing a Roman army without cavalry. Despite the advantage, the Roman infantry had the upper hand over the troops of Hormidac, who was forced to ask Anthemius for peace; the Roman general agreed to have the Hun contingent removed, on condition that he would receive the traitor.^[1] The defector was then put to death in the sight of both armies.^[2]

Etymology