Battle near Constantinople, 558

During the winter of 558–559, the Kutrigur tribes rallied around their chief, Zaber Khan, after recovering from the previous blow. Taking advantage of the frozen Danube, a vast army of Kutrigurs and Slavs penetrated deep into the Balkan Peninsula that winter. Thrace, Hellas and other provinces were devastated, and some detachments reached the Gallipoli Peninsula and Thermopylae. Zaber Khan, accompanied by 7,000 cavalrymen, advanced towards Constantinople.

The attack was repelled. After the Kutrigurs withdrew, the Byzantine emperor once again put the principle of "divide and rule" into practice. A prolonged war again broke out between the Kutrigurs and Utigurs. The contemporary Agathias of Myrina described its outcome: "They carried out attacks and raids, then engaged in open battle, until the strength of both sides declined so far that the two tribes lost even their tribal names."