Coutzes or Cutzes (; ) was a general of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

during the reign of Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

().

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 Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, while his brother led the troops at

Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...

. The 6th-century historian

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

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. In 528, a year after the outbreak of the

Iberian War The Iberian War was fought from 526 to 532 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia—a Sasanian client state that defected to the Byzantines. Conflict erupted among tensions over tribut ...

against

Sassanid Persia The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

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

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

(then '' dux Mesopotamiae'') who was protecting the construction of a fort at Thannuris. When the Byzantines attacked a Persian army, however, they suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Thannuris. Coutzes's fate is uncertain; Procopius writes that he was taken prisoner and never seen again, while Zacharias of Mytilene records that he was killed.

References

Sources

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