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{{short description|Modern calendar era}} | {{short description|Modern calendar era}} | ||
{{redirect-multi|2|AD|Christian era}} | {{redirect-multi|2|AD|Christian era}} | ||
{{italic title}} | </noinclude>{{italic title}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024 | cs1-dates = ll}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024 | cs1-dates = ll}} | ||
{{Infobox calendar date today|default_calendar=Gregorian|default_calendar2=Julian}} | |||
'''{{lang|la|Anno Domini}}''' ('''AD''') and '''before Christ''' ('''BC''') qualify years in the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] and [[Julian calendar|Julian]] calendars, whose [[epoch (date reference)|epoch]] is the traditional year of the [[annunciation|conception]] or [[Nativity of Jesus|birth]] of Jesus. AD counts years since the epoch, BC the years before the epoch. | |||
{{Lang|la-x-medieval|Anno Domini}} is [[Medieval Latin]] for "in the year of the Lord",<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anno%20Domini |title=anno Domini |encyclopedia=[[Merriam Webster]] Online Dictionary |quote=Etymology: Medieval Latin, in the year of the Lord |access-date=9 May 2024 }}</ref> often read as "''our'' Lord".<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Anno+Domini |title= Anno Domini |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=4 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Blackburn|Holford-Strevens|2003|p=782}} "since AD stands for {{lang|la|anno Domini}}, 'in the year of (Our) Lord{{'"}}</ref>{{Efn|from "anno Domini nostri (Jesu Christi)" 'in the year of our Lord (Jesus Christ)'}} "BC" is specific to English, and equivalent abbreviations are used in other languages: the Latin form, rarely used in English, is {{lang|la|[[ante Christum natum]]}} (ACN) or {{lang|la|ante Christum}} (AC). | |||
This [[calendar era]] takes as its [[epoch (date reference)|epoch]] the traditionally reckoned year of the [[annunciation|conception]] or [[Nativity of Jesus|birth]] of Jesus. Years ''AD'' are counted forward since that epoch and years ''BC'' are counted backward from the epoch. There is no [[year zero]]; the year [[AD 1]] immediately follows the year [[1 BC]]. The system was devised in 525, in Rome, by the [[Eastern Roman]] monk [[Dionysius Exiguus]], but was not widely used until the 9th century.<ref name="Teresi1997">{{cite journal |url = https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/97jul/zero.htm |author-link=Dick Teresi |first=Dick |last=Teresi |title=Zero |journal=[[The Atlantic]] |date=July 1997 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605092148/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/07/zero/376900/ |archive-date= 5 June 2022 }}</ref>{{sfn|Blackburn|Holford-Strevens|2003|pp=778–79}} Modern scholars believe that the actual [[date of the birth of Jesus]] was about 5 BC.<ref name="carson54">[[D. A. Carson]], [[Douglas J. Moo]] & [[Leon Morris]]. (1992). ''An Introduction to the New Testament'', 54, 56. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.</ref><ref>{{cite book | authorlink=Michael Grant (author) | first=Michael | last=Grant | title=Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels | publisher=Scribner's | year=1977 | page=71}}</ref><ref>[[Ben Witherington III]], "Primary Sources", ''Christian History'' 17 (1998) No. 3:12–20.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesus - Jewish Palestine, Messiah, Nazareth {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jesus/Jewish-Palestine-at-the-time-of-Jesus |access-date=6 January 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> | |||
To avoid religious associations, many writers and scholars prefer CE ([[Common Era]]) and BCE (Before the Common Era) instead of AD and BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cavacini |first=Antonio |date=1 February 2015 |title=Is the CE/BCE notation becoming a standard in scholarly literature? |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-014-1352-1 |journal=Scientometrics |language=en |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=1661–1668 |doi=10.1007/s11192-014-1352-1 |issn=0138-9130|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cargill |first=Robert R. |date=September 2009 |title=Why Christians Should Adopt the BCE/CE Dating System |url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/opeds/why_3530 |access-date=2026-04-29 |website=The Bible and Interpretation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Relative frequency of BCE/CE vs. BC/AD using "century" to avoid ambiguity |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=%28century+BCE%29%2F%28century+BCE%2Bcentury+BC%29%2C%28century+CE%29%2F%28century+CE%2Bcentury+AD%29&year_start=1900&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=false |access-date=April 29, 2026 |website=Google Books Ngram Viewer}}</ref> | |||
[[Astronomical year numbering]] and [[ISO 8601]] do not use words or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same numbers for AD years (but not for BC years since the astronomical year 0 is 1 BC). | |||
==Usage== | ==Usage== | ||
Traditionally, English follows Latin usage by placing the "AD" abbreviation before the year number, though it is also found after the year.<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style'' 2010, pp. 476–7; Goldstein 2007, p. 6.</ref> In contrast, "BC" is always placed after the year number (for example: 70 BC but AD 70), which preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation "AD" is also widely used after the number of a century or [[millennium]], as in "fourth century AD" or "second millennium AD" (although conservative usage formerly rejected such expressions).<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style'', 1993, p. 304.</ref> Since "BC" is the English abbreviation for ''Before Christ'', it is sometimes incorrectly concluded that AD means ''After Death'' (i.e., after the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|death of Jesus]] | [[File:Austria Klagenfurt Dome 12.jpg|thumb|''Anno Domini'' inscription at [[Klagenfurt Cathedral]], [[Austria]]]] | ||
Traditionally, English follows Latin usage by placing the "AD" abbreviation before the year number, though it is also found after the year.<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style'' 2010, pp. 476–7; Goldstein 2007, p. 6.</ref> In contrast, "BC" is always placed after the year number (for example: 70 BC but AD 70), which preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation "AD" is also widely used after the number of a century or [[millennium]], as in "fourth century AD" or "second millennium AD" (although conservative usage formerly rejected such expressions).<ref>''Chicago Manual of Style'', 1993, p. 304.</ref> Since "BC" is the English abbreviation for ''Before Christ'', it is sometimes incorrectly concluded that AD means ''After Death'' (i.e., after the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|death of Jesus]]; but that would mean that the approximately 33 years commonly associated with the [[life of Jesus]] would be included in neither BC nor AD).{{sfn |Ryan |2000 |p = 15}} | |||
== History == | == History == | ||
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[[Bonnie J. Blackburn]] and [[Leofranc Holford-Strevens]] briefly present arguments for 2 BC, 1 BC, or AD 1 as the year Dionysius intended for the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]] or [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]]. Among the sources of confusion are:{{sfn|Blackburn|Holford-Strevens|2003|pp=778–79}} | [[Bonnie J. Blackburn]] and [[Leofranc Holford-Strevens]] briefly present arguments for 2 BC, 1 BC, or AD 1 as the year Dionysius intended for the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]] or [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]]. Among the sources of confusion are:{{sfn|Blackburn|Holford-Strevens|2003|pp=778–79}} | ||
* In modern times, [[incarnation]] is synonymous with the conception, but some ancient writers, such as [[Bede]], considered incarnation to be synonymous with the Nativity. | * In modern times, [[incarnation]] is synonymous with the conception, but some ancient writers, such as [[Bede]], considered incarnation to be synonymous with the Nativity. | ||
* The civil or consular year began on 1 January, but the Diocletian year began on | * The civil or consular year began on 1 January, but the Diocletian year began on 1 September. | ||
* There were inaccuracies in the lists of consuls. | * There were inaccuracies in the lists of consuls. | ||
* There were confused summations of emperors' regnal years. | * There were confused summations of emperors' regnal years. | ||
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It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesus's birth. One theory is that Dionysius based his calculation on the [[Gospel of Luke]], which states that Jesus was "about thirty years old" shortly after "the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar", and hence subtracted thirty years from that date. This method was probably the one used by ancient historians such as [[Tertullian]], [[Eusebius]] or [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], all of whom agree that Jesus was born in 2 BC,<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Beyer |first=David |title=Chronos, Kairos, Christos II: Chronological, Nativity, and Religious Studies in Memory of Ray Summers |date=1998 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-582-3 |editor-last=Vardaman |editor-first=Jerry |pages=85–96 |chapter=Josephus Reexamined: Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&pg=PA93}}</ref> probably following this statement of Jesus' age (i.e. subtracting thirty years from AD 29).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finegan |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 |title=The Handbook of Biblical Chronology |date=2015 |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |isbn=978-1-61970-641-5 |pages=345 |language=}}</ref> | It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesus's birth. One theory is that Dionysius based his calculation on the [[Gospel of Luke]], which states that Jesus was "about thirty years old" shortly after "the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar", and hence subtracted thirty years from that date. This method was probably the one used by ancient historians such as [[Tertullian]], [[Eusebius]] or [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], all of whom agree that Jesus was born in 2 BC,<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Beyer |first=David |title=Chronos, Kairos, Christos II: Chronological, Nativity, and Religious Studies in Memory of Ray Summers |date=1998 |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=978-0-86554-582-3 |editor-last=Vardaman |editor-first=Jerry |pages=85–96 |chapter=Josephus Reexamined: Unraveling the Twenty-Second Year of Tiberius |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWnYvI5RdLMC&pg=PA93}}</ref> probably following this statement of Jesus' age (i.e. subtracting thirty years from AD 29).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finegan |first=Jack |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUzSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA345 |title=The Handbook of Biblical Chronology |date=2015 |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |isbn=978-1-61970-641-5 |pages=345 |language=}}</ref> | ||
Another major theory asserts that Dionysius counted back 532 years from the first year of his new table, following an 532-year cycle established by the astronomical computations of [[Victorius of Aquitaine]] (the dates for Easter repeat every 532 years).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Teres |first=Gustav |date=October 1984 |title=Time computations and Dionysius Exiguus |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=177–88 |bibcode=1984JHA....15..177T |doi=10.1177/002182868401500302 |s2cid=117094612 |bibcode-access=free}}</ref><ref>Tøndering, Claus, "[http://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/years.php The Calendar FAQ: Counting years]". {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924142100/https://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/years.php|date=24 September 2021}}.</ref><ref name="Moss">{{cite book |last=Mosshammer |first=Alden A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0umDqPOf2L8C&pg=PA347 |title=The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0191562365 |location=Oxford |pages=254, 270, 328, 333, 345–47}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Declercq |first=G. |date=2002 |title=Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduction of the Christian Era |url=https://www.academia.edu/43960999 | Another major theory asserts that Dionysius counted back 532 years from the first year of his new table, following an 532-year cycle established by the astronomical computations of [[Victorius of Aquitaine]] (the dates for Easter repeat every 532 years).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Teres |first=Gustav |date=October 1984 |title=Time computations and Dionysius Exiguus |journal=Journal for the History of Astronomy |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=177–88 |bibcode=1984JHA....15..177T |doi=10.1177/002182868401500302 |s2cid=117094612 |bibcode-access=free}}</ref><ref>Tøndering, Claus, "[http://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/years.php The Calendar FAQ: Counting years]". {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924142100/https://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/years.php|date=24 September 2021}}.</ref><ref name="Moss">{{cite book |last=Mosshammer |first=Alden A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0umDqPOf2L8C&pg=PA347 |title=The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0191562365 |location=Oxford |pages=254, 270, 328, 333, 345–47}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Declercq |first=G. |date=2002 |title=Dionysius Exiguus and the Introduction of the Christian Era |url=https://www.academia.edu/43960999 |journal=Sacris Erudiri |language= |volume=41 |pages=165–246 |doi=10.1484/J.SE.2.300491 |issn=0771-7776}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dionysian period {{!}} Greek, Tragedy, Poetry {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Dionysian-period |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Alternatively, Dionysius may have used an earlier unknown source, as the earlier [[Chronograph of 354]] states that Jesus was born during the consulship of [[Gaius Caesar|Caesar]] and [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 1)|Paullus]] (AD 1).<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Mosshammer |first=Alden A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0umDqPOf2L8C&pg=PA347 |publisher=Oxford University Press |title=The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era |year=2009 |isbn=978-0191562365 |location=Oxford |pages=319–56}}</ref> | ||
It has also been speculated by Georges Declercq<ref name=":0">Declercq, Georges(2000). "Anno Domini. The Origins of the Christian Era" Turnhout, Belgium, {{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref> that Dionysius' desire to replace Diocletian years with a calendar based on the incarnation of Christ was intended to prevent people from believing the imminent [[Eschatology|end of the world]]. At the time, it was believed by some that the [[resurrection of the dead]] and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus. The old ''[[Anno Mundi]]'' calendar theoretically commenced with the [[Dating creation|creation of the world]] based on information in the [[Old Testament]]. It was believed that, based on the ''Anno Mundi'' calendar, Jesus was born in the year 5500 (5500 years after the world was created) with the year 6000 of the ''Anno Mundi'' calendar marking the end of the world.<ref>Wallraff, Martin: Julius Africanus und die Christliche Weltchronik. Walter de Gruyter, 2006</ref><ref name=Moss/> ''Anno Mundi'' 6000 (approximately AD 500) was thus equated with the end of the world<ref name=":0" /> but this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius. | It has also been speculated by Georges Declercq<ref name=":0">Declercq, Georges(2000). "Anno Domini. The Origins of the Christian Era" Turnhout, Belgium, {{page needed|date=March 2021}}</ref> that Dionysius' desire to replace Diocletian years with a calendar based on the incarnation of Christ was intended to prevent people from believing the imminent [[Eschatology|end of the world]]. At the time, it was believed by some that the [[resurrection of the dead]] and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus. The old ''[[Anno Mundi]]'' calendar theoretically commenced with the [[Dating creation|creation of the world]] based on information in the [[Old Testament]]. It was believed that, based on the ''Anno Mundi'' calendar, Jesus was born in the year 5500 (5500 years after the world was created) with the year 6000 of the ''Anno Mundi'' calendar marking the end of the world.<ref>Wallraff, Martin: Julius Africanus und die Christliche Weltchronik. Walter de Gruyter, 2006</ref><ref name=Moss/> ''Anno Mundi'' 6000 (approximately AD 500) was thus equated with the end of the world<ref name=":0" /> but this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius. | ||
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===New year=== | ===New year=== | ||
{{Further|New Year}} | {{Further|New Year}} | ||
When the reckoning from Jesus' incarnation began replacing the previous dating systems in western Europe, various people chose different Christian feast days to begin the year: Christmas, [[Annunciation]], or Easter. Thus, depending on the time and place, the year number changed on different days in the year, which created slightly different styles in chronology:<ref name="Cheyney">{{cite book |author-link=C. R. Cheney |last=Cheyney |first=C. R. |url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/99027383.pdf |title= A Handbook of Dates, for students of British history |publisher=Cambridge University Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205104025/http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/99027383.pdf |archive-date=5 December 2015 |orig-date=1945 |date=2000 |isbn=0521770955 |pages= 8–14}}.</ref> | |||
When the reckoning from Jesus' incarnation began replacing the previous dating systems in western Europe, various people chose different Christian feast days to begin the year: Christmas, [[Annunciation]], or Easter. Thus, depending on the time and place, the year number changed on different days in the year, which created slightly different styles in chronology:<ref> | * From 25 March 753 [[Ab urbe condita|AUC]] (1 BC), i.e., notionally from the incarnation of Jesus, nine months before Christmas. This "Annunciation style" first appeared in [[Arles]] at the end of the 9th century,{{cn|date=September 2025}} then spread to Burgundy and northern Italy. It was not commonly used and was called {{lang|la|calculus pisanus}} [the Pisan calculation] since it was adopted in [[Pisa]] and survived there until 1750.<ref name="Cheyney" /> | ||
* From 25 March 753 [[Ab urbe condita|AUC]] (1 BC), i.e., notionally from the incarnation of Jesus. | * From 25 December 753 AUC (1 BC), i.e., notionally from the birth of Jesus. It was called "Nativity style" and had been spread by Bede together with the ''anno Domini'' in the early Middle Ages. This reckoning of the Year of Grace from Christmas was used in France, England and most of western Europe (except Spain) until the 12th century (when it was replaced by Annunciation style) and in Germany until the second quarter of the 13th century.<ref name="Cheyney"/> | ||
* From 25 December 753 AUC (1 BC), i.e., notionally from the birth of Jesus. It was called "Nativity style" and had been spread by Bede together with the ''anno Domini'' in the early Middle Ages. | * From 25 March 754 AUC (AD 1). That second "Annunciation style" may have originated in [[Fleury Abbey]] in the early 11th century, but it was spread by the Cistercians. [[Florence]] adopted that style in opposition to that of Pisa, so it got the name of {{lang|la|calculus florentinus}}.<ref name="Cheyney" /> It soon spread in France and also in England where it became common in the late 12th century and lasted [[Calendar (New Style) Act 1750|until 1752]]. | ||
* From 25 March 754 AUC (AD 1). That second "Annunciation style" may have originated in [[Fleury Abbey]] in the early 11th century, but it was spread by the Cistercians. [[Florence]] adopted that style in opposition to that of Pisa, so it got the name of | * From Easter. This {{lang|la|mos gallicanus}} [French custom] bound to a [[moveable feast]] was introduced in France by king [[Philip II of France|Philip Augustus]] (r. 1180–1223), maybe to establish a new style in the provinces reconquered from England.<ref name="Cheyney"/> However, it never spread beyond the ruling élite.<ref name="Cheyney" /> | ||
* From Easter. | |||
With these various styles, the same day could, in some cases, be dated in 1099, 1100 or 1101. | With these various styles, the same day could, in some cases, be dated in 1099, 1100 or 1101. | ||
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|author=Johannes Kepler | |author=Johannes Kepler | ||
|title=Joannis Keppleri Eclogae chronicae: ex epistolis doctissimorum aliquot virorum & suis mutuis, quibus examinantur tempora nobilissima: 1. Herodis Herodiadumque, 2. baptismi & ministerii Christi annorum non plus 2 1/4, 3. passionis, mortis et resurrectionis Dn. N. Iesu Christi, anno aerae nostrae vulgaris 31. non, ut vulgo 33., 4. belli Iudaici, quo funerata fuit cum Ierosolymis & Templo Synagoga Iudaica, sublatumque Vetus Testamentum. Inter alia & commentarius in locum Epiphanii obscurissimum de cyclo veteri Iudaeorum. | |title=Joannis Keppleri Eclogae chronicae: ex epistolis doctissimorum aliquot virorum & suis mutuis, quibus examinantur tempora nobilissima: 1. Herodis Herodiadumque, 2. baptismi & ministerii Christi annorum non plus 2 1/4, 3. passionis, mortis et resurrectionis Dn. N. Iesu Christi, anno aerae nostrae vulgaris 31. non, ut vulgo 33., 4. belli Iudaici, quo funerata fuit cum Ierosolymis & Templo Synagoga Iudaica, sublatumque Vetus Testamentum. Inter alia & commentarius in locum Epiphanii obscurissimum de cyclo veteri Iudaeorum. | ||
|publisher= | |publisher=Tampach |location=Frankfurt | ||
|language = la | |language = la | ||
|year=1615 | |year=1615 | ||
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{{cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/history_1.shtml#section_2 |title=History of Judaism 63BCE–1086CE |quote=Year 1: CE – What is nowadays called the 'Current Era' traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity |date=8 February 2005 |work=BBC Team |publisher=BBC |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513215113/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/history_1.shtml |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status= live }} | {{cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/history_1.shtml#section_2 |title=History of Judaism 63BCE–1086CE |quote=Year 1: CE – What is nowadays called the 'Current Era' traditionally begins with the birth of a Jewish teacher called Jesus. His followers came to believe he was the promised Messiah and later split away from Judaism to found Christianity |date=8 February 2005 |work=BBC Team |publisher=BBC |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110513215113/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/history/history_1.shtml |archive-date=13 May 2011 |url-status= live }} | ||
</ref> | </ref> | ||
The "Common/Current Era" ("CE") terminology is often preferred by those who desire a term that does not explicitly make religious references but still uses the same epoch as the ''anno Domini'' notation.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/ce_info1.htm |last=Robinson |first = B.A.|title=Justification of the use of "CE" & "BCE" to identify dates. Trends |website = ReligiousTolerance.org |date=20 April 2009 |url-status= | The "Common/Current Era" ("CE") terminology is often preferred by those who desire a term that does not explicitly make religious references but still uses the same epoch as the ''anno Domini'' notation.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.religioustolerance.org/ce_info1.htm |last=Robinson |first = B.A.|title=Justification of the use of "CE" & "BCE" to identify dates. Trends |website = ReligiousTolerance.org |date=20 April 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511090102/http://www.religioustolerance.org/ce_info1.htm |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/magazine/bc-ad-or-bce-ce.html |first = William |last = Safire |title = On Language: B.C./A.D. or B.C.E./C.E.? |magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |date=17 August 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612195845/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/magazine/bc-ad-or-bce-ce.html |archive-date=12 June 2013}}</ref> | ||
For example, Cunningham and Starr (1998) write that "B.C.E./C.E. […] do not presuppose faith in [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] and hence are more appropriate for [[interfaith dialog]] than the conventional B.C./A.D."<ref name=Cunningham2004>{{cite book |editor-last=Cunningham |editor-first = Philip A. |title=Pondering the Passion : what's at stake for Christians and Jews? |year=2004 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Md. [u.a.] |isbn=978-0742532182 |page=193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IN5VAAAAYAAJ&q=%22not+presuppose+faith+in+Christ%22 }}</ref> Upon its foundation, the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] adopted the [[Minguo Era]] but used the Western calendar for international purposes. The translated term was {{linktext|lang=zh|西|元}} ({{zh|labels=no|p=xī yuán |l=Western Era}}). Later, in 1949, the People's Republic of China adopted {{linktext|lang=zh|公元}} ({{zh|labels=no|p=gōngyuán |l=Common Era}}) for all purposes domestic and foreign. | For example, Cunningham and Starr (1998) write that "B.C.E./C.E. […] do not presuppose faith in [[Jesus Christ|Christ]] and hence are more appropriate for [[interfaith dialog]] than the conventional B.C./A.D."<ref name=Cunningham2004>{{cite book |editor-last=Cunningham |editor-first = Philip A. |title=Pondering the Passion : what's at stake for Christians and Jews? |year=2004 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=Lanham, Md. [u.a.] |isbn=978-0742532182 |page=193 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IN5VAAAAYAAJ&q=%22not+presuppose+faith+in+Christ%22 }}</ref> Upon its foundation, the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] adopted the [[Minguo Era]] but used the Western calendar for international purposes. The translated term was {{linktext|lang=zh|西|元}} ({{zh|labels=no|p=xī yuán |l=Western Era}}). Later, in 1949, the People's Republic of China adopted {{linktext|lang=zh|公元}} ({{zh|labels=no|p=gōngyuán |l=Common Era}}) for all purposes domestic and foreign. | ||
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{{Further|Year zero|Astronomical year numbering|Millennium|Century|Decade}} | {{Further|Year zero|Astronomical year numbering|Millennium|Century|Decade}} | ||
In the AD | In the AD system, AD 1 is immediately preceded by 1 BC: there is no [[year zero]]. Most experts agree that new decades, centuries, and millennia begin on a year ending in one, but the general public is divided.<ref name="Teresi1997" /> | ||
For computational reasons, [[astronomical year numbering]] and the [[ISO 8601]] standard designate years so that AD 1 = year 1, 1 BC = year 0, 2 BC = year −1, etc.{{efn|To convert from a year BC to [[astronomical year numbering]], reduce the absolute value of the year by 1, and prefix it with a negative sign (unless the result is zero). For years AD, omit the AD and prefix the number with a plus sign (plus sign is optional if it is clear from the context that the year is after the year 0).<ref>Doggett, 1992, p. 579</ref>}} In common usage, ancient dates are expressed in the Julian calendar, but ISO 8601 uses the Gregorian calendar and astronomers may use a variety of time scales depending on the application. Thus dates using the year 0 or negative years may require further investigation before being converted to BC or AD. | For computational reasons, [[astronomical year numbering]] and the [[ISO 8601]] standard designate years so that AD 1 = year 1, 1 BC = year 0, 2 BC = year −1, etc.{{efn|To convert from a year BC to [[astronomical year numbering]], reduce the absolute value of the year by 1, and prefix it with a negative sign (unless the result is zero). For years AD, omit the AD and prefix the number with a plus sign (plus sign is optional if it is clear from the context that the year is after the year 0).<ref>Doggett, 1992, p. 579</ref>}} In common usage, ancient dates are expressed in the Julian calendar, but ISO 8601 uses the Gregorian calendar and astronomers may use a variety of time scales depending on the application. Thus dates using the year 0 or negative years may require further investigation before being converted to BC or AD. | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
* | * {{anl|Astronomical year numbering}} | ||
* | * {{anl|Before Present}} | ||
* | * {{anl|Calendar}} | ||
* | * {{anl|Holocene calendar}} | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
| Line 172: | Line 163: | ||
=== Sources === | === Sources === | ||
{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin |indent=yes}} | ||
* {{cite book | * {{cite book | ||
| title = Oxford Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus | | title = Oxford Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus | ||
| Line 183: | Line 174: | ||
| isbn = 0-19-513097-9 | | isbn = 0-19-513097-9 | ||
}} | }} | ||
* Bede | * {{cite book |last=Bede |author-link=Bede |orig-date=731 |date=1898 |editor1-last=Plummer |editor1-first=Charles |via=[[Latin Library]] |editor1-link=Charles Plummer (historian)|url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/bede/bede1.shtml |title=Historiam ecclesiasticam gentis Anglorum |trans-title=[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109215631/http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/bede/bede1.shtml |archive-date=9 November 2020 |lang=Latin}} | ||
* {{cite book | year = 1993 | title = Chicago Manual of Style | edition = 2nd | publisher = University of Chicago | isbn = 0-226-10389-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/chicagomanualofs00chic }} | * {{cite book | year = 1993 | title = Chicago Manual of Style | edition = 2nd | publisher = University of Chicago | isbn = 0-226-10389-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/chicagomanualofs00chic }} | ||
* {{cite book | year = 2010 | title = Chicago Manual of Style | edition = 16th | publisher = University of Chicago | isbn = 978-0-226-10420-1}} | * {{cite book | year = 2010 | title = Chicago Manual of Style | edition = 16th | publisher = University of Chicago | isbn = 978-0-226-10420-1}} | ||
| Line 201: | Line 192: | ||
}} Corrected reprinting of original 1999 edition. | }} Corrected reprinting of original 1999 edition. | ||
* {{cite book | * {{cite book | ||
| | | last1 = Cunningham |first1=Philip A. | ||
| | | last2 = Starr |first2=Arthur F. | ||
| year = 1998 | | year = 1998 | ||
| title = Sharing Shalom: A Process for Local Interfaith Dialogue Between Christians and Jews | | title = Sharing Shalom: A Process for Local Interfaith Dialogue Between Christians and Jews | ||