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 Constantin ...

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 ''renovat ...

().

Biography

Coutzes appears in the sources in 528, as joint ''

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms ( doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ...

'' of

Phoenice Libanensis Phoenice Libanensis (, also known in Latin as Phoenice Libani), or Phoenice II/Phoenice Secunda), was a province of the Roman Empire, covering the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and the territories to the east, all the way to Palmyra. It was officially cre ...

together with his brother,

Bouzes Bouzes or Buzes ( el, Βούζης, ''fl.'' 528–556) was an East Roman (Byzantine) general active in the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565) in the wars against the Sassanid Persians. Family Bouzes was a native of Thrace. He was likely a son ...

. The dual command had been instituted the year before by Emperor

(), and Coutzes led the troops stationed at Damascus, 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 seco ...

. 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 ge ...

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 t ...

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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

, 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 ter ...

(then ''

dux Mesopotamiae Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over betwe ...

'') 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 d ...

. 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 repor ...

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