Coutzes or Cutzes ( el, Κούτζης; ) was a general of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

during the reign of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

().

Biography

Coutzes appears in the sources in 528, as joint '' dux'' of Phoenice Libanensis together with his brother, Bouzes. The dual command had been instituted the year before by Emperor

(), and Coutzes led the troops stationed at

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, while his brother led the troops at

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

. The 6th-century historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...

described both brothers as being young at the time. Coutzes also had another brother, Benilus or Venilus, and was most probably the son of the general and rebel

Vitalian Pope Vitalian ( la, Vitalianus; died 27 January 672) was the bishop of Rome from 30 July 657 to his death. His pontificate was marked by the dispute between the papacy and the imperial government in Constantinople over Monothelitism, which Rome ...

. In 528, a year after the outbreak of the

Iberian War Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

against

Sassanid Persia The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

, the two brothers were ordered, along with other commanders, to reinforce

Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...

(then '' dux Mesopotamiae'') who was protecting the construction of a fort at

Thannuris Tell Tuneinir (also spelled Tunaynir or Touneynir) is an archaeological site in northeastern Syria. It dates to the early third millennium BC and shows signs of continuous habitation lasting until the beginning of the 15th century AD with epochs ...

. When the Byzantines attacked a Persian army, however, they suffered a heavy defeat in the

Battle of Thannuris The Battle of Thannuris (Tannuris) (or Battle of Mindouos) was fought between the forces of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire under Belisarius and the Persian Sasanian Empire under Xerxes in summer 528, near Dara in northern Mesopotamia. ...

. Coutzes's fate is uncertain; Procopius writes that he was taken prisoner and never seen again, while

Zacharias of Mytilene Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered repo ...

records that he was killed.

References

Sources

* * {{Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, volume=3 6th-century Byzantine military personnel Generals of Justinian I Roman-era Thracians People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars Byzantine prisoners of war Prisoners and detainees of the Sasanian Empire