Christian era. Who and when began to count the years before and after the Nativity of Christ? And before the Christian era

- (new lat. aera). An event from which a nation traces its chronology. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ERA chronology, for example, the Christian era from the Nativity of Christ. Complete dictionary... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

ERA- ERA, eras, women. (Latin aera). 1. An event, a moment from which chronology is calculated (book). || The corresponding chronology system (book). Christian era. Muslim era. || only units In general, an event, a moment of special significance,... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Era- (Latin aera): In chronology, the initial moment of chronology, for example: the Christian era, the Muslim era (Hijra), the era of Diocletian, the era “from the foundation of Rome”, etc. (See List of dates for the beginning of various eras). A longer period of time... ... Wikipedia

era- y, w. 1) In chronology: the initial moment of the chronology system, marked by some real or legendary event, as well as the chronology system itself. New (our) era. The poet Virgil predicted the birth of a baby from which... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

ERA- (from the Latin aera letters. original number),..1) in chronology, the starting point of the chronology system, as well as the chronology system itself, for example. Christian, or new, era (common era) (counting the years from the generally accepted date of the birth of Jesus in Christianity... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

ERA (in social sciences)- ERA (from Latin aera, lit. original number), 1) in chronology, the initial moment of the chronology system, as well as the chronology system itself, for example. Christian, or new, era (common era) (counting the years from the generally accepted date of the birth of Jesus in Christianity... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Era- (from Latin aera, lit. original number) 1) in chronology, the initial moment of the chronology system, as well as the chronology system itself, for example. Christian, or new, era (common era) (counting the years from the generally accepted date of the birth of Jesus in Christianity... ... Political science. Dictionary.

ERA- female the era from which chronology begins, end. There are many eras, and they are arbitrary; every nation has one era. Christian, Muslim, Jewish era. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

era- s; and. [lat. aera] 1. The initial moment from which chronology is calculated; such a system of chronology itself. Fifth century BC. Christian, new (our) e. (starts from the supposed birthday of Jesus Christ). Muslim e. (conducted by... encyclopedic Dictionary

Christian eschatology- Eschatology Christian eschatology Biblical texts Biblical prophecies Book of Revelation Book of Daniel ... Wikipedia

Era- (from Lat. aera a separate number, initial figure) 1) in chronology, the initial moment of the chronology system, marked by some real or legendary event, as well as the chronology system itself. For example, Christian, or new... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

", abbreviation - " from R.H.", and correspondingly, " Until the Nativity of Christ», « BC" This entry is chronologically equivalent (no conversion or year zero required). In addition, earlier (including in the first edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia) the notation was used Christian era, chron. e. And before the Christian era, before chr. e.

Start of countdown

According to most scientists, when calculating the year of the Nativity of Christ in the 6th century by the Roman abbot Dionysius the Lesser, a small mistake was made (several years).

Post Distribution

The use of AD in chronology became widespread after the use of the Venerable Bede, starting in 731. Gradually, all countries of Western Europe switched to this calendar. The last country in the West to switch to the new calendar, on August 22, 1422, was Portugal (from the Spanish era).

Conflict between secular and religious records

There are a number of arguments for and against using secular notation (“BC” and “AD”) instead of religious notation (“BC” and “AD”).

Arguments in support of secular recording

Arguments in support of secular recording largely revolve around its religious neutrality and ease of cross-cultural use.

The simplicity of the transition is also indicated: no shift of years is required and, for example, 33 BC becomes 33 BC. e.

It is also noted that the religious record is misleading regarding the year of Christ's birth - historical facts are too vague to pinpoint this date.

Arguments in Support of Religious Recording

Proponents of religious notation believe that replacing it with secular notation is historically incorrect, because even if a person does not share Christian beliefs, calendar notation itself has Christian roots. In addition, many already published works use the notation “from A.D.”

Also, supporters of such a record point to other calendar concepts borrowed from other religions (January - Janus, March - Mars, etc.).

Arguments in support of both types of recording

The date of the beginning of our era is shifted from the date of the Nativity of Christ by a constant value of the true shift, unknown to modern science. The approximate value of the true shift, according to various calculations, ranges from 1 to 12 years. So the dates 33 AD And 33 years from the beginning of our era e.- these are two different dates, the true shift between which is constant but unknown. Due to the lack of a reliable value of the true shift and the strict binding of the dates of recent events to the modern calendar from the beginning of our era. e. It is more convenient to count the dates of many events from the beginning of the century. e., but the dates of some events, especially the beginning of Christian times, are more convenient to count from the Nativity of Christ.

external links footnotes.

see also

• Until the present - a system for recording dates relating to the past
• New Age (new religious movement) - English translation possible. New Age as "new era"; chronological concept of "new era" in English - English. Common Era.

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Notes

Literature

• Anoprienko A.Ya.. - Donetsk: UNITECH, 2007. - P. 197-202.

Links

This article or section contains or external references, but the sources of individual statements remain unclear due to the lack of footnotes. Statements not made may be questioned and removed. You can improve the article by providing more accurate citations to your sources.

Excerpt characterizing our era

In April, Rostov was on duty. At 8 o'clock in the morning, returning home after a sleepless night, he ordered the heat to be brought, changed his rain-wet clothes, prayed to God, drank tea, warmed up, put things in order in his corner and on the table, and with a weather-beaten, burning face, wearing only a shirt, he lay on his back with his hands under his head. He pleasantly thought that one of these days he should receive his next rank for the last reconnaissance, and expected Denisov to go somewhere. Rostov wanted to talk to him.
Behind the hut, Denisov’s rolling cry was heard, obviously getting excited. Rostov moved to the window to see who he was dealing with and saw Sergeant Topcheenko.
“I told you not to let them burn this fire, some kind of machine!” Denisov shouted. “After all, I saw it myself, Lazag” was dragging the chuk from the field.
“I ordered, your honor, they didn’t listen,” answered the sergeant.
Rostov lay down on his bed again and thought with pleasure: “Let him fuss and fuss now, I’ve finished my job and I’m lying down - great!” From behind the wall he heard that, in addition to the sergeant, Lavrushka, that lively rogue lackey of Denisov, was also speaking. Lavrushka told something about some carts, crackers and bulls, which he saw while going for provisions.
Behind the booth, Denisov’s scream was heard again, retreating, and the words: “Saddle up! Second platoon!
“Where are they going?” thought Rostov.
Five minutes later, Denisov entered the booth, climbed onto the bed with dirty feet, angrily smoked a pipe, scattered all his things, put on a whip and a saber and began to leave the dugout. To Rostov’s question, where? he answered angrily and vaguely that there was a matter.
- God and the great sovereign judge me there! - Denisov said, leaving; and Rostov heard the feet of several horses splashing in the mud behind the booth. Rostov didn’t even bother to find out where Denisov went. Having warmed himself up in his coal, he fell asleep and just left the booth in the evening. Denisov has not returned yet. The evening cleared up; Near the neighboring dugout, two officers and a cadet were playing pile, laughingly planting radishes in the loose, dirty soil. Rostov joined them. In the middle of the game, the officers saw carts approaching them: about 15 hussars on thin horses followed them. The carts, escorted by the hussars, drove up to the hitching posts, and a crowd of hussars surrounded them.
“Well, Denisov kept grieving,” said Rostov, “and now the provisions have arrived.”
- And then! - said the officers. - Those are very welcome soldiers! - Denisov rode a little behind the hussars, accompanied by two infantry officers with whom he was talking about something. Rostov went to meet him.
“I’m warning you, captain,” said one of the officers, thin, small in stature and apparently embittered.
“After all, I said that I wouldn’t give it back,” Denisov answered.
- You will answer, captain, this is a riot - take away the transports from your own! We didn't eat for two days.
“But mine didn’t eat for two weeks,” answered Denisov.
- This is robbery, answer me, my dear sir! – the infantry officer repeated, raising his voice.
- Why are you pestering me? A? - Denisov shouted, suddenly getting excited, - I will answer, not you, and you don’t buzz around here while you’re still alive. March! – he shouted at the officers.
- Good! - without timidity and without moving away, the little officer shouted, - to rob, so I tell you...
“To chog” that march at a fast pace, while he’s still intact.” And Denisov turned his horse towards the officer.
“Okay, okay,” the officer said with a threat, and, turning his horse, he rode away at a trot, shaking in the saddle.
“A dog is in trouble, a living dog is in trouble,” Denisov said after him - the highest mockery of a cavalryman at a mounted infantryman, and, approaching Rostov, he burst out laughing.
– He recaptured the infantry, recaptured the transport by force! - he said. - Well, shouldn’t people die of hunger?
The carts that approached the hussars were assigned to an infantry regiment, but, having been informed through Lavrushka that this transport was coming alone, Denisov and the hussars repulsed it by force. The soldiers were given plenty of crackers, even shared with other squadrons.
The next day, the regimental commander called Denisov to him and told him, covering his eyes with open fingers: “I look at it like this, I don’t know anything and I won’t start anything; but I advise you to go to headquarters and there, in the provisions department, settle this matter, and, if possible, sign that you received so much food; otherwise, the demand is written down on the infantry regiment: the matter will arise and may end badly.”
Denisov went directly from the regimental commander to headquarters, with a sincere desire to carry out his advice. In the evening he returned to his dugout in a position in which Rostov had never seen his friend before. Denisov could not speak and was choking. When Rostov asked him what was wrong with him, he only uttered incomprehensible curses and threats in a hoarse and weak voice...
Frightened by Denisov's situation, Rostov asked him to undress, drink water and sent for a doctor.
- Try me for crime - oh! Give me some more water - let them judge, but I will, I will always beat the scoundrels, and I will tell the sovereign. Give me some ice,” he said.

The modern Christian calendar began in the Early Middle Ages. Until the first half of the 6th century, the era of Diocletian was widely used. The years were counted from 284, when he was proclaimed Roman Emperor. Despite the fact that Diocletian was one of the organizers of the persecution of Christians, this chronology system was also used by the clergy to calculate the dates of Easter celebrations. It was later called the “era of martyrs” and is still used by Monophysites in North Africa.

In 525, the Roman abbot Dionysius the Lesser, who, on behalf of Pope John I, compiled Easter tables, decided to abandon the chronology system based on the start date of the reign of the persecutor of Christians. He proposed a chronology from the Nativity of Christ. Dionysius, based on the Gospel of Luke, assumed that Jesus was about 30 years old at the time he began preaching. His crucifixion took place on the eve of the Jewish Passover under Emperor Tiberius. Using the already existing method of calculating Easter, the abbot calculated that the Resurrection of Christ falls on March 25, 31 years from his birth.

Many researchers believe that Dionysius the Small made a mistake in his calculations. Thus, the date of Christ’s birth turned out to be shifted forward by several years. This opinion was shared by the top officials of the Catholic Church. In the summer of 1996, in one of his messages, Pope John Paul II confirmed that the historical date of the Nativity of Christ is unknown and in fact he was born 5 - 7 years earlier than our era. Benedict XVI also considered Christian chronology to be based on incorrect calculations. In 2009, in the first part of the book “Jesus of Nazareth,” he wrote that Dionysius the Lesser “was wrong in his calculations by several years.” The birth of Christ, according to the pope, occurred 3 to 4 years earlier than the established date.

The chronology system developed by Dionysius the Small began to be used two centuries after its creation. In 726, the English Benedictine monk Bede the Venerable in his work “De sex aetatibus mundi” (On the six ages of the world) for the first time used chronology from the Nativity of Christ to describe historical events. Soon the new chronology spread widely in Europe.

Already in 742, dating from the Nativity of Christ first appeared in an official document - one of the capitularies of the Frankish mayor of Carloman. This was probably his independent initiative, not related to the works of the Venerable Bede. During the reign of Emperor Charlemagne, the official documents of the Frankish court widely used the counting of years “from the incarnation of our Lord.” In the 9th – 10th centuries, the new chronology became firmly established in European royal decrees and historical chronicles, and the Christian era began to be used in acts of the papal office.

But in some states other chronological systems were preserved for a long time. The countries of the Iberian Peninsula used the Spanish era. The years were counted in it from January 1, 38 BC. BC, when the region became part of the “Roman Peace” (Pax Romana). Most of the Iberian states gradually abandoned the Spanish era in the 12th–14th centuries. It lasted the longest in Portugal. Only in August 1422 did King João I introduce Christian chronology in the country. In Russia, until the end of the 17th century, the Byzantine countdown of time from the creation of the world was used. The state switched to a new chronology after the decree of Peter I of December 20, 1699. Greece was the last European region to embrace the Christian era. The new chronology was established in the country in 1821 after the start of the war for independence from the Ottoman Empire.

The Tridensky Cathedral in the 16th century introduced a new chronology, and the first (if not the only) monument to the new millennium was the bell tower of Ivan the Great in 1600, built by the most authoritative monarch of that time in Europe - Tsar Boris

Answer

You clearly messed something up. The Romans counted down from the legendary foundation of Rome (753 BC), Most other civilizations from the creation of the world, only their starting point was different; the Jews dated it to 3761 BC. e., Alexandrian chronology considered this date to be May 25, 5493 BC. BC The Byzantine calendar considered the starting point to be September 1, 5509 BC. e., it was actually adopted as a basis by Emperor Vasily II in 988. Yes, the year began on September 1 in Byzantium around 462, but this was officially recognized in 537. Otherwise, the calendar, with the exception of the names of the months, coincided with the Julian calendar (adopted under Julius Caesar). The Byzantine calendar lasted until the fall of the empire in 1453. The Gregorian calendar, which replaced it, was introduced under Pope Gregory XIII on October 15, 1582.

Answer

Oksana, I don’t deny the Romans’ use of Ab Urbe condita chronology. But it is a fact that the era of Diocletian was used for a long time by the inhabitants of the empire and was used even for some time after its fall. If you don't believe me, read more here

I did not set myself the task of talking about all the existing chronology systems, since the question was a little different. It concerned only the beginning of dating from the Nativity of Christ. And Dionysius the Less calculated this time focusing specifically on the era of Diocletian, and not on the founding of Rome or any other system.

All other calendars were well covered in this question.

Answer

Comment

We need to start with the fact that primitive people imagined time chaotically, i.e. sets of unrelated periods of time, the boundaries of which were natural events (thunderstorms/hurricanes, etc.). In the Ancient World, the boundaries of the reign of the kings (Egypt) acted as an era, or the counting was carried out according to EPONIM (Greece, Rome, Assyria) - this is the official by which the years are counted. (For example: “in the year when so-and-so was the archon..”). Archons - in Greece, Consuls - in Rome, Limmu - in Assyria.
In the ancient world, time was represented cyclically - as a spiral.
The linear era (universal) that is familiar to us appeared with the development of Christianity (so that all Christian communities celebrated holidays at the same time).
In 525 AD the era from the Nativity of Christ appeared. It was proposed by the monk Dionysius the Small. Before this, Easter was calculated based on the era of the martyrs (that is, the era of Diocletian (the cruel persecutor of Christians), the date when he began to rule on August 16, 284). However, Dionysius made a mistake in his calculations - Jesus Christ was born 5-6 years later than the date that Dionysius calculated. Since the 10th century, the Vatican switched to chronology from the Republic of Christ.

In general, the main chronological question of humanity is how to correlate units of time expressed as an integer.
There are several basic units of time:
1. solar day (24 hours)
2. synodal month (approximately 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 3 seconds - from new moon to new moon)
3. tropical year (365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds) the period from the summer solstice to the next similar day.
Based on these units of time, people began to divide time into segments - calendars appeared - solar (ancient Egyptian) and lunar (ancient Babylon, ancient Greece). It is believed that the first such calendars appeared at the turn of 4-3 thousand BC.

The seven-cyclic calendar is a relic of the Ancient Babylonian calendar, which was considered sacred. In it, every day was under the auspices of a god or goddess, who in turn was associated with certain celestial bodies. This method migrated to Europe, and in 325 a seven-day week was declared to all Christian communities.

24 hours in a day also came to us from the Babylonian calendar, in which the day was divided into 12 parts according to the signs of the zodiac (the night was not divided), such a division came to Ancient Egypt, where the night was divided, thereby doubling the zodiac.

In Ancient Rome, the calendar appeared in the 7th century BC. Initially there were 10 lunar months = 304 days. Numa Pompilius carried out a calendar reform adding 2 lunar months = 355 days. in the 5th century BC the second calendar reform was carried out, a year later they began to add the thirteenth month MARCEDONIUS, which was inserted between February 22 and 23, it was equal to 20 days. Thus, approximately 365 days were obtained. However, every 4 years the calendar and astrological New Year diverged by a day. The duration of marcedonia was determined by the priests in Ancient Rome. New Year's Day fell on March 1st.
The months were called:
martos (from Mars),
aprelis (on behalf of the goddess Apra - one of the names of the goddess Aphrodite), mainos (Maya goddess of beauty)
junius (Juno - goddess of fertility)
quintilis (fifth)
sexteles (6)
Septembrius(7)
octobrius(8)
Novembrius(9)
Yunoarius (Janos - god of secrets)
februarius (Februarius is the god of the dead, an unlucky month, because the even number of days is 28).
There was no concept of a week. They counted according to the CALENDS - the first day of the month.

Julius Caesar stopped all this and during his reign a new calendar was created: JULIAN - 46 AD: New Year was moved to January 1 (when the distribution of positions of authority took place), Marcedonius was abolished, 1 day BISEXTUS began to be inserted into this place once every 4 years (twice a sixth) = leap year. Wed. The length of the year became 365 days 6 hours. Quintilis was renamed Julius (January).
In 365, the Julian calendar became mandatory for all Christians. But it was 11 minutes longer than the tropical year; in 128 years a day had passed, and by the 16th century 10 days had passed.

in 1582 - Gregory XIII Pope convened a commission (the calendar is the prerogative of the church, since time is the place of God), it was decided to count October 5, 1582 as October 15.

The Gregorian calendar is closer to the tropical year (the difference is a few seconds), one day in such a calendar accumulates once every 3200 years.

If we talk about the history of chronology in Russia, then little is known about the Slavic calendar. Initially, time was counted seasonally, i.e. simultaneously with agricultural work, the boundaries did not coincide (for example, spring from March 23 to June 22). Changes came with the advent of Christianity. Since the end of the 10th century, there have been two New Years - March and September. I will not go into details of this, I will just say that throughout Rus' there was no clear chronology. In 1492, the March calendar was abolished. This is due to the fact that from the creation of the world (5508), the year 1492 was considered 7000, in theory the end of the world was supposed to happen, this idea took possession of Christians so much that they did not even calculate the calendar - Paschal (Easter year) after this year.
In Peter's time it was discovered that the calendar did not coincide with the Western one. On December 19, 7208 (1699) from the creation of the world, Peter issued a decree on the transition to the era from Christ.

At the end of the 18th century, all European countries adopted the Gregorian calendar, while Russia still had the Julian calendar. Throughout the 19th century, there were many disputes about whether Russia should switch to the Gregorian calendar, and on January 24, 1918, a Decree was adopted on Russia’s transition to the Gregorian calendar, after January 31, 1918, not counting February 1, but February 14. Actually what we have now.

If you have finished reading this long post, know that you have become a little smarter and more patient :)

Not right away. The chronology from the Nativity of Christ, and with it the concept of “our era,” appeared about one and a half thousand years ago, when Pope John I instructed the learned monk of Scythian origin Dionysius the Less to compile tables for calculating the day of Easter. In the early Middle Ages in Europe, years were counted from the beginning of the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian (284 AD). Instead of the date of the accession of this pagan and persecutor of Christians, Dionysius the Small took the estimated year of birth of Jesus Christ as his starting point. He calculated it based on the text of the New Testament. (Today it is believed that the monk was wrong by four years, and our 2017 should be 2013.) In the 8th century, new dating became widespread thanks to the Anglo-Saxon chronicler Bede the Venerable, who relied on Dionysius’ system in his work “On the Six Ages of the World.” From the same Bede came the custom of dating events that occurred before the Nativity of Christ (“BC”), counting backwards. Gradually, all of Europe began to measure time from the birth of Christ. Russia switched to a new account of “the best for the sake of agreement with European peoples in contracts and treaties” in 1699 by decree of Peter I.

Historical chronology, as is known, is divided into two periods. In the beginning there was a time that contemporaries call the stage BC. It ends with the beginning of the first year. At this time our era began, which continues to this day. And although today people do not say “AD” when naming the year, it is nevertheless implied.

The first calendars

The process of human evolution created the need to organize dates and times. The ancient farmer needed to know as accurately as possible what time it was best for him to sow seeds, and the nomadic livestock breeder needed to know when to move to other territories in order to have time to provide his livestock with food.

This is how the very first calendars began to appear. And they were based on observations of celestial bodies and nature. Different peoples had different time calendars. For example, the Romans counted their chronology from the founding of Rome - from 753 BC, while the Egyptians - from the first moment of the reign of each of the pharaonic dynasties. Many religions also created their own calendars. For example, in Islam, a new era begins with the year in which the prophet Muhammad was born.

Julian and Gregorian calendars

In 45 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar founded his calendar. In it, the year began on the first of January and lasted twelve months. This calendar was called the Julian calendar.

The one we use today was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory the Twelfth. He managed to eliminate some significant inaccuracies that had accumulated since the first. At that time, they amounted to as much as ten days. The difference between Julian and increases by about a day every century, and today it is already thirteen days.

In history, chronology always plays a big role. After all, it is important to imagine in what period of time a significant event in the life of mankind took place, be it the creation of the first tools or the beginning. They say that history without dates is like mathematics without numbers.

Religious form of chronology

Since the beginning of our era is calculated from the year considered the date of the birth of Jesus, in the religious version the corresponding entry is often used: from the Nativity of Christ and before it. There is still no completely accurate historical data about when life appeared on our planet. And only based on religious and historical artifacts can scientists make conclusions about when approximately this or that event occurred. In this case, the years BC are indicated in chronological reverse order.

Zero year

The mention of the division between the time before and after the birth of Christ is associated with a calculation in astronomical notation made according to the integer numbers on the coordinate axis. Year zero is not commonly used in either religious or secular notations. But it is very common in astronomical notation and in ISO 8601, an international standard issued by an organization such as the International Organization for Standardization. It describes the format of dates and times and provides guidelines for their use in an international context.

Countdown

The concept of “BC” became widespread in chronology after its use by the Venerable Bede, a Benedictine monk. He wrote about it in one of his treatises. And starting from 731, the calculation of time was divided into two periods: before our era and after it. Gradually, almost all countries in Western Europe began to switch to this calendar. The most recent of them was Portugal. This happened on August 22, 1422. Until January 1, 1700, Russia used the chronological calculation of the Constantinople era. The Christian era “from the creation of the world” was taken as the starting point. By and large, many eras were based on the relationship between the “days of the creation of the world” and the entire duration of its existence. And Constantinople was created under Constantius, and its chronology was carried out from the first of September 5509 BC. However, since this emperor was not a “consistent Christian,” his name, and at the same time the countdown he compiled, are reluctantly mentioned.

Prehistoric and historical eras

History is prehistoric and historical eras. The first of them begins with the appearance of the first person, and ends when writing appeared. The prehistoric era is divided into several time periods. The basis for their classification is archaeological finds. These materials, from which people before our era made tools, the period when they used them, formed the basis for recreating not only the time frame, but also the names of the stages of the prehistoric era.

The historical era consists of the periods of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as New and Modern times. In different countries they occurred at different times, so scientists are not able to determine their exact time frame.

It is well known that the new era at the very beginning was not calculated by a continuous count of years, for example, from the first year to, say, the current one. Its chronology began much later, with the date of the Nativity of Christ. It is believed that it was first calculated by a Roman monk named Dionysius the Lesser in the sixth century, that is, more than five hundred years after the dated event. To get the result, Dionysius first counted the date of the Resurrection of Christ, based on church tradition that the Son of God was crucified in the thirty-first year of his life.

The date of his Resurrection, according to the Roman monk, is the twenty-fifth of March 5539 according to the chronology “from Adam”, and the year of the Nativity of Christ, therefore, became 5508 according to the Byzantine era. It must be said that Dionysius’ calculations raised doubts in the West until the fifteenth century. In Byzantium itself they were never recognized as canonical.

From the seventh to the third millennium BC, the planet experienced the Neolithic era - the period of transition from the appropriating form of economy, namely hunting and gathering, to the producing one - agriculture and cattle breeding. Weaving, grinding of stone tools and pottery appeared at this time.

The end of the fourth - the beginning of the first millennium BC: the Bronze Age reigns on the planet. Metal and bronze weapons became widespread, and nomadic cattle breeders appeared. replaced by Iron. At this time, the first and second dynasties ruled in Egypt, uniting the country into a single

In 2850-2450 BC. e. The economic rise of the Sumerian civilization began. From 2800 to 1100, the Aegean, or culture of Ancient Greece, rises. Almost at the same time, the Indus civilization arose in the Indus Valley, and the kingdom of Troy reached its peak.

Around 1190 BC e. The powerful Hittite state collapsed. Almost four decades later, the Elamite king captured Babylonia, and the height of his power began.

In 1126-1105 BC. e. The reign of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar began. In 331, the first state was formed in the Caucasus. In 327 BC. e. The Indian company of Alexander the Great took place. During this period, many events took place, including the slave uprising in Sicily, the Allied War, the Mithridatic Wars, the campaign against the Parthians, and the reign of Emperor Augustus.

And finally, between the eighth and fourth years BC, Christ was born.

New chronology

Different peoples have always had different concepts of chronology. Each state solved this problem independently, guided by both religious and political motives. It was only by the nineteenth century that all Christian states established a single point of reference, which is still used today under the name “our era.” The ancient Mayan calendar, the Byzantine era, the Hebrew chronology, the Chinese - they all had their own date for the creation of the world.

For example, the Japanese calendar began in 660 BC and was updated after each death of the emperor. The Buddhist era will soon enter the year 2484 and the Hindi calendar will enter the year 2080. The Aztecs updated their calendar once every 1454 years, after the death and rebirth of the Sun. Therefore, if their civilization had not perished, today would only be 546 AD for them...

Ancient world map

Before our era, travelers were also interested in the world and drew up drawings of their routes. They transferred them to tree bark, sand or papyrus. The first map of the world appeared many millennia before the new era. It was rock paintings that became one of the first images. While people were exploring the Earth, they became especially interested in ancient maps of bygone eras. Some of them represent our planet as a huge island washed by the ocean, while on others you can already see the outlines of the continents.

Babylonian map

The very first map created before our era was a small clay tablet found in Mesopotamia. It dates from the end of the eighth - beginning of the seventh centuries before our chronology and is the only one that has come down to us from the Babylonians. The land there is surrounded by seas called “salt water.” Behind the water are triangles, obviously indicating mountains of distant lands.

This map shows the state of Urartu (modern Armenia), Assyria (Iraq), Elam (Iran) and Babylon itself, in the middle of which the Euphrates flows.

Eratosthenes Map

Even the ancient Greeks imagined the Earth as a sphere and argued this very elegantly. Pythagoras, for example, said that everything is harmonious in nature, and the most perfect form in it is the ball, in the form of which our planet exists. The first map compiled taking into account this image of the Earth belongs to Eratosthenes. He lived in the third century BC in Cyrene. It is believed that this scientist who led and coined the term “geography”. It was he who for the first time, even before our era, drew the world into parallels and meridians and called them “running side by side” or “midday” lines. The world of Eratosthenes was one island, which was washed by the North Ocean from above and the Atlantic Ocean from below. It was divided into Europe, Ariana and Arabia, India and Scythia. In the south was Taprobane - present-day Ceylon.

At the same time, it seemed to Eratosthenes that there were “antipodes” living on the other hemisphere, which were impossible to reach. After all, people then, including the ancient Greeks, thought that it was so hot near the equator that the sea boiled there and all living things burned. And, on the contrary, it is very cold at the poles, and not a single person survives there.

Ptolemy's Map

For several centuries, another map of the world was considered the main one. It was compiled by the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy. Created around one hundred and fifty BC, it was part of the eight-volume Manual of Geography.

For Ptolemy, Asia occupied the space from the North Pole to the equator itself, displacing the Pacific Ocean, while Africa smoothly flowed into terra incognita, occupying the entire South Pole. To the north of Scythia there was the mythical Hyperborea, but nothing was said about America or Australia. It was thanks to this map that Columbus began to reach India, while sailing to the west. And even after the discovery of America, they continued to use the map from Ptolemy for some time.

When did the concept “from the Nativity of Christ to the Nativity of Christ” appear in history?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

The chronology from the Nativity of Christ was introduced in 525 by the abbot of one of the Roman monasteries, Dionysius Exiguus. Before this, in the Roman Empire and in the first Christian centuries, chronology was carried out from August 29, 284 AD. e. - from the beginning of the reign of Emperor Diocletian (about 243 - 313 AD). The Romans called this the "Era of Diocletian". With the victory of Christianity, this chronology began to be called era of martyrs, since Diocletian was a cruel persecutor of Christians.

In 531, the 95-year Paschalia compiled by Archbishop Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) ended, which covered the period from 153 to 247 of the era of Diocletian (respectively: from 437 to 531 AD). Dionysius the Lesser, on the instructions of Pope John I, was to compile Easter for the next 95-year period. In 525 (241 AD) he made calculations. Dionysius took the year 532 (248 of the era of Diocletian) as the beginning of a new 95-year Easter. At the same time, he proposed to abandon the era of Diocletian, and to conduct chronology “from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (“ab incaratione Domini nostri Jesu Christi”). According to his calculations, the Nativity of the Savior of the world corresponded to 754 from the founding of Rome. The new chronology was adopted by the Church under Emperor Charlemagne (742 - 814).

Dionysius the Small is a Scythian by origin. He was a learned monk, knew the Holy Scriptures well, and had an excellent command of Latin and Greek. He compiled collections of canon law, which guided the Western Church for a long time.