Mediterranean world when Jordanes wrote Getica. The Roman Empire, capital Constantinople, is shown in pink. Conquests of Justinian shown in green.

Iordanis, known in English as Jordanes (also Jordanis or even Iornandes, 'bold as a boar'), was a 6th century bureaucrat of the Eastern Roman Empire,^[1] who turned his hand to history late in life. Jordanes was discovered by Theodore Momsen in 19c - he edited the Gethica and all information is passed from words written by Mommsen. The sources (manuscript) which Mommsen claim to edit was burned in Mommsen house, there are no other sholars who readed/wrote of the original manuscript, in fact Jordanes was not quoted before the Mommsen 'discovery'. Map of the Byzantine Empire around 550. ... Map of the Byzantine Empire around 550. ... Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century. ... History studies the past in human terms. ...

Though he wrote a history of Rome (his Romana), the book most of interest to us now is De origine actibusque Getarum (The Origin and Deeds of the Goths), or Getica, written in Latin^[2] (probably Jordanes' third language) at Constantinople^[3] about 551 AD.^[4] Romana, short for Romanadvoratrelundar, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ... The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Events Jordanes publishes The Origin and Deeds of the Goths. ...

The accidents of life and time have rendered it the only source remaining to us concerning the origin of the Gothic people who occupied the shores of the Baltic Sea around today's Poland, extended southward to the Black Sea, formed a distinct empire and a distinct language, Gothic, were defeated by the Huns and gradually dispersed throughout Europe, to disappear by assimilation.^[5] Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche, is a highly romanticized portrait of the Goths as cavalrymen. ... NASA satellite image of the Black Sea Map of the Black Sea The Black Sea is an inland sea between southeastern Europe and Anatolia that is actually a distant arm of the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... The Huns were a confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads. ...

Jordanes was asked by a friend to write this book by the church as a summary of a lost multi-volume history of the Goths by the statesman, Cassiodorus. The major factors in the selection of Jordanes for this task were his interest in history (he was working on a history of Rome), his ability to write succinctly and his own Gothic background. He had been a high-level notarius, or secretary, of a small client state on the Roman frontier in Moesia, modern northern Bulgaria.^[6] Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (ca 484/490 - ca585), commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and great writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ... Moesia is an ancient province situated in the areas of modern Serbia and Bulgaria. ...

Others, e.g. Procopius, wrote extant works on the later history of the Goths. As the only surviving work on Gothic origins, Jordanes' Getica has been the object of much critical review. Jordanes wrote in late Latin, denigrated by Classicists for its non-conformance to the rules of classical Ciceronian Latin. He took the view that the Goths originated in Scandinavia. According to his own introduction, he only had three days to review Cassiodorus' work; thus, he must have been relying on his own knowledge. Some of his statements are very succinct. Procopius of Caesarea (in Greek Προκόπιος, c. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe and includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. ...

The reader should be aware that all the topics mentioned in the previous paragraph are controversial. Extremely different views have been formulated. This article attempts to steer a middle course. Links to more radical or less accepted views have been included in the External Links section. Also, Getica in both Latin and English is readily available in editions on the Internet but scanned manuscript is not available.

Life and times before conversion

Disposition of Danubian lands after Attila

Attila the Hun died in 453 AD, of natural causes, so the major sources say. His sons planned to divide his empire as though it were a family estate. Getting word of this plan, and believing that to treat nations as you would property is a form of enslavement, Ardaric (Germanic name) , king of the Gepidae, raised the standard of revolt and defeated the Huns and their allies at the Battle of Nedao in 454.^{[citation needed]} Attila (AD 406 - 453), also known as Attila the Hun was Khan of the Hun people from 434 until his death and leader of the Hunnic Empire. ... Ardaric was the most renowned king of the Gepids. ... The Gepids (Latin Gepidae) were a Germanic tribe most famous in history for defeating the Huns after the death of Attila. ... The Huns were a confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads. ... The Battle of Nedao, the Nedava, a tributary of the Sava, was a battle fought in Pannonia in 454. ...

The Gepidae won sovereignty in Dacia with Roman blessings. Encouraged, the Goths successfully petitioned Marcian, Roman emperor, for lands, and received Pannonia, which included Vienna (Vindobonum). This disposition required the displacement of former Sarmatians and Huns from Illyricum within it. The Sciri, the Sadagarii and part of the Alans were given Scythia Minor and Lower Moesia under a leader, Candac.^{[citation needed]} Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, named by the ancient Greeks Getae, was a large district of Southeastern Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa, on the east by the Tyras or Nistru, now... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche, is a highly romanticized portrait of the Goths as cavalrymen. ... Another but lesser Marcian was a son-in-law of Byzantine Emperor Leo I and his queen Verina. ... Position of the Roman province of Pannonia Pannonia is an ancient country bounded north and east by the Danube, conterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Sarmatia and Scythia in 100 BC, also shown is the extent of the Parthian Empire. ... This article is about an ancient civilization in southeastern Europe; see also Illyria (software), Illyria (character in the TV series Angel). ... The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is an Iraqi political party; its support comes from the countrys Shia Muslim community and from their fellow religionists in neighbouring Iran. ... The Alans, Alani, Alauni or Halani were an Iranian nomadic group among the Sarmatian people, warlike nomadic pastoralists of varied backgrounds, who spoke an Iranian language and to a large extent shared a common culture. ... Major ancient towns and colonies in Schythia Minor Scythia Minor (Greek: Μικρά Σκυθία, Mikrá Scythia) was in ancient times the region surrounded by the Danube at the north and west and the Black Sea at the east, corresponding to todays Dobruja (a large part in Romania and a smaller part in... In ancient geography, Moesia was bounded to the south by Balkan (Haemus) and Šar (Scardus, Scordus, Scodrus) mountains, to the west by the Drina river (Drinus, on the north by the Danube and on the east by the Euxine. ...

Formation of a mixed province under Candac

Candac did not carry a Gothic name. In the mix of peoples and languages of the times, it is hard to say what it might be. The name is parallel to Hunnic names, such as Ellac and Hernac, sons of Atilla. Hernac settled in Lesser Scythia also (Bulgaria) with some of the Huns then fleeing Pannonia.^{[citation needed]}

Candac had an unnamed sister who married into the Amali, a noble family of the Goths. The latter must have been present in large numbers, probably being represented by the Sciri. Candac's sister's husband was Andag, son of Andela. Their son, Gunthigis, had a Gothic name. He was probably the Gothic leader, Godigisclus, mentioned by Procopius. He became chief of staff of Candac's army, taking the name Baza (Hunnish?). As this little state was or became part of the Roman empire, Baza is probably the same as the Batza of pseudo-Marcellinus Comes. That Batza was posted to the Euphrates in 536 to take command of the Roman frontier there.^{[citation needed]} The Amali were a leading subgroup of the Visigoths, a Germanic people who confronted the Roman Empire in its declining years in the west. ... Procopius of Caesarea (in Greek Προκόπιος, c. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Ancestry of Jordanes

This is the historical context of Jordanes' famous statement about himself and his associates in Getica, 50.266. Candac had a notarius, Paria, grandfather of Jordanes and father of Alanoviiamuth or Viiamuth.^[7]

If Candac was chief of the Alans in that region (which name could have included all the ethnicities) and that Jordanes' father was a Goth, what Paria's kinship by genes or law was to the Goths remains unknown. As Jordanes was notarius, or secretary to Gunthigis,^[8] his office was probably hereditary. As he was a key man to the chief, this grade of notarius is aptly likened to secretary of state.

Social status and education

Jordanes, however, describes himself as agramaticus^[9] before his conversion. It is hard to imagine a secretary of state who could not read or write; therefore, he is unlikely to have meant unlettered. To read between the lines, his stressing "before my conversion" may be an effort to please the church, as all Goths at the time were suspected of Arianism^[10] Otherwise we would have to presume that he underwent some sort of education in the church, in philosophy or oratory. This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ...

The key factor is perhaps that he was not a converted rustic drawn up out of his class, but a Gothic noble who had held a high office of state. His gentility is why, perhaps, he rose within the church and was assigned to summarize the work of a famous stateman. Some intimations of rusticism stem from his Latin, which is ungrammatical, but misapplication or failure to apply the rules of golden or silver Latin are characteristics of late Latin.

Conversion and after

Paganism conversion theory

Jordanes was the notarius of Candac's nephew, the Gothic chief Gunthigis, ante conversionem meam ("before my conversion"). The Latin word has the same meaning as the English word deriving from it. The nature and details of the conversion remain obscure. By implication, it involved leaving his post as notarius and travelling to Italy with stays at various times in Rome. If the identification of his former employer is correct, the latter probably went to the Euphrates in 536 without the services of his former secretary.

The conversion was probably not from paganism to Christianity. The Goths had been converted with the assistance of Ulfilas (a Goth), made bishop on that account. It is possible that the state of mixed peoples in which Jordanes had been notarius remained somewhat pagan despite the Gothic connection. Heathen redirects here. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Representation of Ulfilas surrounded by the Gothic alphabet Ulfilas or Wulfila (perhaps meaning little wolf) (c. ...

Arianism conversion theory

During Ulfilas' career, however, the church branded the doctrine to which he had been converted as heretical. Ulfilas saved himself and his career by travelling to Rome and recanting. The north did not give up its Arianism easily. Some claim that the issue continues today, although there is no historical descent of today's unitarianism (the philosophic doctrine, not the church in New England, which derives from Puritan times and the Swiss reform) from Arianism. This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ...

A conversion to the Nicene creed (trinitarian) and a trip to Rome to clear himself is a better explanation Jordanes' conversion, which is expressed in the virulent anti-Arianism of certain passages in Getica.^[11] In a letter to Vigilius he mentions that he was awakened by vestris interrogationibus. The word interrogatio, which derives from Roman jurisprudence and typically involved torture in that context, referred in the church to the first step of a process that became terrible to many, which we still call inquisition. Initially, however, the object of church attention was often treated with all courtesy and respect and was invited to publicly alter his views, as did Ulfilas. Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ... The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by...

If that is what happened, Jordanes, a high Gothic official, may have been invited to Rome, where he took the hint, so to speak, as he seems to have received the blandishment of church offices and comradeship as one of the inner circle. Whether he would have been allowed to return to his old position is another matter. In Jordanes' case there is no hint of any hypocrisy. His works are enthusiastic, even bubbling, and give the impression of frank sincerity. He probably was, in fact, converted. His extant writings are from a Nicene, not an Arian, perspective.

Monasticism conversion theory

The idea that Jordanes converted to a monkish way of life is not compatible with his subsequent church career. He may have spent some time in a monastery, as did many churchmen.

Success in the church

Not much of Jordanes' career is known: Pope Pelagius mentions a Jordanes defensor ecclesiae Romanae, "Jordanes, defender of the Roman church", which may be him. The emphasis on Roman church, as opposed to some other, seems to imply the Nicene/Arian conflict. By 551 Pope Vigilius, under detention in Constantinople, had been joined by Bishop Jordanes of Crotona (Bruttium, Italy), commonly identified with Jordanes the historian.^[12] He was probably not bishop of Ravenna, as some say. Pelagius (c. ... Vigilius was Pope from 537 to 555. ... Map of Constantinople. ... This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... Crotone is a city in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Gulf of Taranto. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... Ravenna is a city and commune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. ...

Publications

The initial stages of writing

The two remaining publications of Jordanes were written nearly together in 551 AD while Pope Vigilius was being detained at Constantinople by Justinian for refusal to cooperate. The works were assigned the epithets of Romana and Getica by Theodore Mommsen for quick reference. Those names have persisted. Vigilius was Pope from 537 to 555. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... The Romana is a Latin book written by Jordanes in the 6th century, being a short compendium of the most remarkable events from the creation down to the victory obtained by Narses, in AD 552, over king Teia. ... Theodor Mommsen Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817 - 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ...

At Constantinople the churchmen were continually badgered and their lives were threatened. The writing project apparently began as a pastime and spiritual escape. In the first sentence of Getica, Jordanes compares the composition of Romana to a fishing trip, in which he glides his boat by the

"oram tranquilli litoris",

the "bank of a peaceful shore"

catching the little fish of the ancients.

The political environment at Constantinople

Justinian had come to power as associate emperor in 527, soon taking full and sole control at the natural death of his predecessor. He was already married to Theodora since 523. Italy at that time was a mixture of former Romans and Italians and Goths. Relations were now peaceful, now inharmonious. As to religion, Italy was in the Roman camp, while Justinian and Theodora were eastern Orthodox. Justinian may refer to: Justinian I, a Roman Emperor; Justinian II, a Byzantine Emperor; Justinian, a storeship sent to the convict settlement at New South Wales in 1790. ... Theodora can refer to any of the following: Flavia Maximiana Theodora, daughter of the Roman Emperor Maximian and second wife of the Emperor Constantius I Chlorus. ... Separate articles treat Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Orthodox Judaism. ...

Justinian was known as the emperor who never slept. He and Theodora (who were excellent and like-minded partners) spent every bit of their time and resources on one goal: the reunification and restoration of the Roman empire. Their methods were often extreme, even ruthless. They achieved limited success, and therefore he is known as the last Roman emperor and she the empress Theodora.

The rise of Vigilius

An astute statesman, Justinian readily understood the necessity of winning over enemies by making concessions. He therefore continued the policy of recognizing the Papal See as supreme ecclesiastical authority. He hoped, however, to control it by personal influence. In 536 his wife "cut a deal" with the then papal representative, Vigilius, a native Roman. In the expression, quid pro quo, which is the basis of a legal agreement even today, the quid was the papacy and 700 pounds of gold. The quo was Vigilius' cooperation with Justinian. The term Holy See (Latin: Sancta Sedes, lit. ... Vigilius was Pope from 537 to 555. ...

Subsequently Justinian's military chief of staff, Belisarius, garrisoned the city of Rome. Pope Silverius (a Gothic partisan) was removed by false accusations. Belisarius ensured that the election for the next pope favored Vigilius. Justinian, however, who acted essentially without conscience himself (believing that reasons of state took precedence), had not counted on Vigilius' conscience. The latter on the whole worked against imperial policy in favor of reason and compassion. Belisarius is thought to be the figure to the right of Emperor Justinian I in the mosaic in the Church of San Vitale Ravenna that celebrates the reconquest of Italy, performed by the Byzantine army under the skillful leadership of Belisarius himself. ... Silverius, pope (536 - 537), was a legitimate son of Pope Hormisdas, born before his father entered the priesthood. ...

Crisis in the papacy

The Three-Chapter Controversy, best left to another article in Wikipedia, was a complex affair within the circle of Christian churches. Justinian was asked to take a hand (as had been Constantine I in others), which he did in 543 or 544, with an edict condemning the Three Chapters (which condemned somebody else). He hoped the edict would make reconciliation with the monophysites easier. Patriarchs and bishops alike were now asked to sign the edict. The Three Chapters (trîa kephálaia), a phase in the Monophysite controversy, was an attempt to reconcile the Christians of Syria and Egypt with Western Christendom, following the failure of the Henotikon. ... Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on... Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning one and physis meaning nature) is the christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. ...

Vigilius refused to sign. He was plucked from the middle of a service celebrating the Feast of St. Cecilia at Rome and escorted to a ship in the Tiber waiting to take him to Constantinople. Due to a sojourn in Sicily, he first arrived there in 547. He spent the next eight years there, but not just for his stubborn refusal. Justinian wished to keep him out of the wars with the Goths and violent politics that were now engulfing Italy. In 555 Vigilius complied with the sovereign and was permitted to leave (after the defeat of the Goths), only to die on the return voyage. The remains came home at last, to be duly buried there. Tiber River in Rome The Tiber (Italian Tevere, Latin Tiberis), the third-longest river in Italy at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in two branches that cross the suburbs...

The involvement of Jordanes in the crisis

How and when Jordanes came to join Vigilius in Constantinople remains unknown. As Bishop of Crotona he would not have been in Rome at the time of Vigilius' arrest. After he joined Vigilius for whatever reason, he would not have been allowed to leave, as he shared Vigilius' conciliatory policy concerning the remaining Huns and the Goths. The last thing Justinian wanted was conciliation. He had sent Belisarius to Italy to achieve victory.

Romana was begun then to lighten the burden and while away the long hours. It survives under various descriptive titles, De summa temporum vel origine actibusque gentis Romanorum or sometimes De regnorum et temporum successione, or even Liber de origine mundi et actibus Romanorum ceterarumque gentium, or simply De gestis Romanorum. It is a hasty compilation that was begun before, but published after, the Gothic history of 551, covering the history of the world from the Creation, based on Jerome and other writers, but of some value for the century 450-550, when Jordanes is dealing with recent history. Creation is a doctrinal position in many religions which maintains that one or a group of gods or deities is responsible for creating the universe. ... “Saint Jerome” redirects here. ... Events August 25 - Marcian proclaimed Eastern Roman Emperor by Aspar and Pulcheria. ... Events By Place Byzantine Empire Silk reaches Constantinople (approximate date). ...

Reassignment to Getica

Jordanes did not intend Romana for his own eyes only, as he dedicated it to Vigilius. The latter was probably informed of it. Before it was done, Jordanes was pulled off it and put on the Getica, which was to be a summarization of a voluminous work by Cassiodorus. The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ...

To leave Romana unfinished and suddenly take up a difficult task on a dangerous subject argues for a higher policy than his own; namely, the pope's. Jordanes said that he started the Getica at the urging of "brother" Castalius, who insisted he leave his figurative fishing trip and set sails upon the deep. Castalius probably represented the pope. Who else could "insist" that a bishop drop his pastime and move into deeper waters?

Jordanes tells us that he did not even have access to Cassiodorus' work at that time, and presumably could not obtain it due to his detention. He did have access to a great many other sources through the libraries in Constantinople, and he did have his knowledge from pre-conversion days, which also would have pre-disposed him to remember what Cassiodorus had said.

Jordanes' political stance

The De origine actibusque Getarum of Jordanes does not share the anti-Gothic sentiment at Constantinople of the times. Whether it can be said to reflect Gothic sympathies or rather to be an impartial authority is a matter of opinion. Jordanes perhaps absorbed into his work a fundamental idea of Cassiodorus (known from surviving works), that the only way to secure for the Goths a prosperous future was to bring about their peaceful absorption into the Roman Empire. Cassiodorus' view was shared by the churchmen of Rome, which is the reason why the pope was being detained in Constantinople. Motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent, c. ...

Jordanes has little to say of the inner history and policy of the previous Italian kingdom of Theodoric: his interests lie, according to Mommsen, within a triangle defined by the three points Sirmium, Larissa and Constantinople. His lack of anti-Hunnish sentiment and respect for the abilities of Attila are a mark of his impartiality. Theodoric was a first name frequently encountered in medieval European history. ... Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (November 30, 1817–November 1, 1903) was a German classical scholar, jurist and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ... Ruins of Sirmium Julian solidus, ca. ... Coordinates 39°38′ N 22°25′ E Country Greece Periphery Thessaly Prefecture Larissa Population 124,376 source (2006) Area 122. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Many historians consider the Huns (meaning person in Mongolian language) the first Mongolian and Turkic people mentioned in European history. ...

Notes

Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (November 30, 1817–November 1, 1903) was a German classical scholar, jurist and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ... Look up plague in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche, is a highly romanticized portrait of the Goths as cavalrymen. ... Representation of Ulfilas surrounded by the Gothic alphabet Ulfilas or Wulfila (perhaps meaning little wolf) (c. ...

References

• Mierow, Charles Christopher, The Gothic History of Jordanes: In English with an Introduction and a Commentary, 1915. Reprinted 2006. Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-77-0. [1]
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in 1913 by The Encyclopedia Press. ...

External links

• Jordanes, The Origins and Deeds of the Goths, translated by Charles C. Mierow. alternative.
• Works by Jordanes at Project Gutenberg
• The Aims of Jordanes
• The Origins and Deeds of the Goths