Indian Epigraphy c15.t12: 7. Christian Era

Indian Epigraphy c15.t12

Language: English

7. Christian Era

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² Ojha, *Bhāratīya Prācīn Lipimālā*, pp. 194-95; see A. D. or *Anno Domini* in an *Encyclopaedia*.

Dionysius Exiguus of Rome, invented the era about 532 A.D. The birth of Jesus Christ was assigned to the 753rd year after the supposed date of the foundation of the city of Rome and in the 4th year of the 194th Olympiad.³ Thus the era is based on the supposition that Jesus Christ was born in 1 A.D. though scholars now believe that he was born between 8 and 4 B.C. (on Friday, April 5, 4 B.C., according to some). It reached England in the 8th century and in France, Belgium Germany and Switzerland in the 8th and 9th centuries and became popular in all Christian lands by about 1000 A.D. It is now used all over the world.

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³ In ancient Greece, the period of 4 years between two consecutive Olympic games was called an Olympiad and was the basis of calculation of time. About 264 B.C., Timaeus of Sicily calculated the first Olympic game to have been played in 776 B.C. and since then the Olympiad reckoning gradually obtained the nature of a sort of era. There was at first no definitely accepted date for the foundation of Rome though it was generally placed about the middle of the 8th century B.C. Fabius Pictor (220 B.C.) placed the date in 747 B.C., Polybius (204-122 B.C.) in 750 B.C., Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.) in 751 B.C., Varrius Flaccus in 752 B.C. and Terentius Varro (116-28 B.C.) in 753 B.C.

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This era follows the Roman calendar¹ which was reformed by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C.² and Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 A.D.³ The days are counted from midnight to midnight

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1. The Roman year was originally of 304 days divided into 10 months from March to December, the fifth month (July) being called Quinctilis and the sixth (August) Sextilis. Numa Pompilius (715-672 B.C.) added January at the beginning and February at the end and introduced the year of 12 lunar months and of 355 days. From 452 B.C., the year was regarded as solar, though it continued to consist of 355 days, while 22 and 23 days were added respectively to the second and fourth years in four years. Thus the average year of 366¼ days had one day more than the ordinary solar year. The gradually increasing difference had to be rectified from time to time by the recognition of additional months.

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2. In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar, who named the 5th month after himself (July), reformed the calendar by removing the difference of 90 days by regarding the year in question as consisting of 455 days. He introduced the year of 365¼ days and fixed the days of the 12 months as follows : January, March, May, July, September and November—31 days each; April, June, Sextilis (later August), October and December—30 days each; February 28 days for 3 years and 29 days in each fourth year. Augustus Caesar, who gave his name to the eight month, fixed the days of the months now prevalent, i.e. August—31 days; September and November—30 days each; December—31 days; February—28 days for three years and 29 days in every fourth year; other months—the same as in the Julian calendar.

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3. The Julian year of 365¼ days was longer than the solar year by 11 minutes and 14 seconds so that a day came to be in excess in about 128 years. As years passed on, the Meṣa-saṅkrānti, which occurred on the 25th March in Julius Caesar's time, came to fall on the 21st March in 325 A.D. and on the 11th March in 1582 A.D. To remove this difference, Pope Gregory XIII passed an order on the 22nd February 1582 A.D. to the effect that the 5th October of the said year should be regarded as the 15th October and that the month of February should have 29 days in the year completing a century (e.g. 1600 A.D., 1700 A.D., etc.) when its figures are divisible by 400 and only 28 days when they are not so divisible. In this system, one day would be in excess in no less than 3320 years. The Pope's calendar was accepted by the Catholic countries (e.g. Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc), while the Protestant countries, originally reluctant to accept the Gregorian calendar, also ultimately accepted it. In Germany, the last ten days of the year 1699 and the year begins from January.¹ It became popular in India during the days of British occupation.

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¹ Down to the 16th century, most of the European countries regarded the 25th March as the first day of the year. France adopted the 1st January as the first day of the year in 1663 A.D. In England, the Christmas day (i.e. the 25th December) was regarded as the new year's day from the 7th to the 12th century A.D. and the 25th March was the first day of the year between the 12th and 17th centuries.

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A.D. were omitted, i.e., the 21st December 1699 A.D. was followed by the 1st January, 1700 A.D. In England, 11 days were similarly omitted from the the year 1752 A.D. by regarding the day following the 2nd September as the 14th September. The countries under the Greek Church (e.g. Russia, Greece, etc.) adopted the Gregorian calendar at a much later date.

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OBSOLETE RECKONINGS