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A Brief Chronology
of Judeo-Christian Scripture and Tradition
with Historical References for Perspective
and Notes on Calendars

NOTE: Nothing in this chronology should be construed as confirmation of the occurrence of any event, the existence of any person, creature, or being, or the truth of any utterance mentioned in any religious scripture. Although some scriptural assertions are confirmed by non-scriptural sources, most serious scholars agree that the highly political nature of much religious writing justifies concern about both its accuracy and its authenticity. Therefore, a degree of skepticism is warranted regarding any unconfirmed event, person, or statement referred to only in scripture.
 
Dates of Biblical Interest and Reference
(Some dates are approximate or controversial, and some persons and events may be fictional.)
Color Codes: | Scriptures | Prophecies | Other Religions | Major Religious Figures | Historic References
Years Ago
(>10,000 » BCE)		 PREHISTORIC ERA
13,000,000,000 Origin of Universe, extrapolated from measurements of stellar distances and velocities.
4,600,000,000 Formation of solar system and planet Earth.
4,530,000,000 Formation of moon from debris ejected by collision of Earth with another planet-size body.
ARCHAEN EON
4,500,000,000 - 2,500,000,000		 Oceans form as Earth's surface cools; proto-life develops.
PROTEROZOIC EON
2,500,000,000 - 543,000,000		 Single-celled organisms, algae, primitive invertebrates; release of free oxygen into atmosphere from photosynthesis; formation and breakup of early supercontinent Rodinia.
PHANEROZOIC EON
543,000,000 - present		 PALEOZOIC ERA: Insects, fish, amphibians, early reptiles evolve; consolidation of land masses into supercontinent Pangaea; formation of Appalachian and Ural ranges.
251,000,000 - 65,000,000 MESOZOIC ERA: Dinosaurs, turtles, early birds and mammals; opening of Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America; formation of Alps and Rockies.
65,000,000 - present CENOZOIC ERA: Modern reptiles, birds, and mammals, including primates.
50,000,000 Separation of Australia and Antarctica.
35,000,000 Collision of India and Asia.
15,000,000 Formation of Himalayas.
10,000,000 Polar ice caps; opening of Red Sea.
4,000,000 Australopithecus — genus homo (man) — emerges in Africa.
2,000,000 Paleolithic Age is underway.
1,500,000 Linking of North and South America.
1,300,000 Homo erectus.
1,200,000 Worldwide glaciations (at least 4) commence.
500,000 Humans have learned to control and use fire.
250,000 Species homo sapiens sapiens (modern man) emerges.
30,000 Humans have migrated at least to Europe and Asia, and possibly as far as the Americas.
11,000 Mesolithic Age begins; end of most recent glacial epoch; primitive agriculture and civilization emerge.
B. C. E. Years Ago ANCIENT ERA
8500 10,500 Neolithic Age begins. First cities are established in Middle East [4,500 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"]. (Recent archaeological find in Syria indicates cities may have existed as much as 2,000 years earlier.)
6273 8,000 Earliest confirmed tree growth-ring sequence for bristle-cone pines [2,000-2,500 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"] (est. in 1979 by dendrochronologist Charles Ferguson).
5000 7,000 Jericho exists [~1,000 years before Judeo-Christian "creation"].
B. C. E. Jewish OLD TESTAMENT ERA
4004 . PRIMIEVAL PERIOD BEGINS
Christian date of creation (23 Oct. 4004, calculated in 1654 CE by Archbishop Ussher).
3761 1 Jewish traditional date of creation. (Jericho settlement is over 1,000 years old.)
(Both Jewish and Christian creation dates correspond roughly to end of Neolithic Age in eastern Mediterranean.)
3600 . Sumerian city-states (Eridu, Lagash, Umma, Ur, Uruk) in existence; cuneiform writing is in use.
3100 . Upper and Lower Egypt are united under Menes (1st dynasty) in Memphis; heiroglyphic writing is developed.
3000 . Bronze Age begins in Egypt; Canaanites enter Canaan
2900 . Widespread flooding in Mesopotamia [sedimentary evidence], possible source of Sumerian and Hebrew deluge / flood legends.
2700 . Egyptian Old Kingdom begins (3rd dynasty); Assyrian cities are in existence.
2675 . Gilgamesh of Uruk revolts against Kish.
2570 . Great Pyramid is built in Egypt.
2500 . Sphinx is constructed in Egypt; bronze age reaches Canaan.
2264 . Sargon of Agade founds Akkadian Empire.
2200 . Egyptian Old Kingdom ends (6th dynasty).
2050 . Egyptian Middle Kingdom begins (11th dynasty); 3rd dynasty of Ur, Gilgamesh Epic is written.
1971 . Sesostris I rules Egypt.
1900 ~1900 PATRIARCHAL PERIOD BEGINS
Abraham migrates from Ur, becomes patriarch of Canaan.
Sumerian city-states are in decline; Babylon begins domination of Tigris-Euphrates valley.
1750 . Hammurabi rules Babylon.
1652 . Egyptian Middle Kingdom ends (12th dynasty); incursion of Nile delta by the Hyksos.
1650 ~2100 EGYPTIAN PERIOD BEGINS
Israelites in Egypt (Jacob, Joseph).
1587 . Iron Age begins in Asia Minor.
1567 . New Egyptian Kingdom begins (18th dynasty); Hyksos are expelled from Egypt.
1500 . Indo-Aryan tribes invade Indus valley; initial association of the various traditions later identified as Hinduism.
1479 2283 Thutmose III of Egypt defeats Canaanites at Megiddo.
1397 . Amenhotep III rules Egypt at peak of its prosperity.
1364 . Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) attempts monotheistic reform and moves Egypt's capital from Thebes to Akhetaton. Kingdoms of Moab, Ammon, and Edom are established.
1347 . Tutanhkamon reverses Akhenaton's reforms and restores power of the traditional priesthood at Thebes.
1290 . Ramses II rules Egypt, oppresses Israelites.
1223 . Merneptah rules Egypt; multiple migrations in Middle East.
1211 2551 TRIBAL PERIOD BEGINS
Death of Merneptah; possible time of Israelite exodus from Egypt under Moses.
1184 . Trojan War.
1170 ~2590 Joshua leads Israelites into Canaan; Philistines settle coastal area.
1150 ~2710 Period of judges begins.
1085 . Egyptian New Kingdom ends (20th dynasty).
1040 ~2720 Samuel judges the 12 tribes of Israel.
1028 2734 Saul becomes ruler of Israel.
1013 2749 Philistines defeat Israel at Mt. Gilboa; Saul and Jonathan are killed; David becomes ruler of Judah.
1006 2756 DAVIDIC KINGDOM BEGINS
David becomes king of united Israel-Judah.
1000 2762 David establishes capital at Jerusalem.
973 2789 Death of David; Solomon becomes king of Israel-Judah.
962 2800 Solomon completes Temple Jerusalem.
933 2829 Death of Solomon; Jeroboam I rules Israel, comprising the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, Manasseh, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali; Rehoboam rules Judah, comprising the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
883 2879 ASSYRIAN PERIOD BEGINS
Asshumasirpal becomes king of Assyria; Assyria's power revives.
875 2887 Ahab rules Israel; Jehoshaphat rules Judah; career of Elijah (Elias).
859 . Shalmaneser III becomes king of Assyria.
852 2910 Jehoram rules Israel; career of Elisha.
850 . J document (monotheistic tradition, Judah) is possibly in written form.
824 . Death of Shalmaneser III initiates period of Assyrian decline.
814 . City of Carthage is founded by Phoenicians.
785 . Israel is at peak of power under rule of Jeroboam II.
780 . Judah is at peak of power under rule of Azariah (Uzziah).
753 . City of Rome is founded (by the legendary Romulus and Remus).
750 . E document (polytheistic tradition, Israel) is in written form.
745 . Tiglath-Pileser III becomes king of Assyria; the final period of Assyrian aggression begins.
740 3022 Death of Uzziah; First Isaiah prophecy.
722 3040 Sargon II usurps the Assyrian throne. Assyria conquers the northern kingdom of Israel, its 10 tribes being exiled and assimilated into other cultures ("lost"); the southern kingdom of Judah persists as a tributary to Assyria.
705 . Sennacherib becomes ruler of Assyria and establishes the capital at Nineveh.
703 . Babylon rebels against Assyria.
701 3061 Sennacherib lays seige to Jerusalem.
692 3070 Death of Isaiah.
681 . Sennacherib is assassinated; Assyria rises to peak of power under rule of Esarhaddon.
626 3136 Jeremiah prophecy.
620 3142 Book of Deuteronomy is "discovered," leading to monotheistic reform in Judah under rule of Josiah.
608 3154 Necho of Egypt defeats Judah at Megiddo; Josiah is killed; Jehoiakim rules Judah; Jeremiah delivers Temple Sermon.
605 3157 Babylonia defeats Egypt at Carchemish; Nebuchadnezzar becomes ruler of Babylonia.
600 . Zoroaster prophesies in Persia.
597 3165 BABYLONIAN PERIOD BEGINS
Nebuchadnezzar crushes Judean rebellion; 1st Babylonian exile begins.
593 3169 Ezekiel prophecy.
587 3175 Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar.
586 3176 Nebuchadnezzar destroys Temple Jerusalem; 2nd Babylonian exile begins; Book of Lammentations is written.
540 3222 Second "Isaiah" prophecy (about 1½ centuries after Isaiah's death).
538 3224 PERSIAN PERIOD BEGINS
Cyrus of Persia conquers Babylon; first group of Jews returns to Judea under Sheshbazzar.
528 . Siddhartha Gautama Buddha achieves supreme enlightenment.
517 . Legendary meeting of Confucius and Lao-Zi.
516 3246 Second Temple Jerusalem is dedicated.
509 . Republic of Rome is founded after eviction of last king.
486 . Xerxes I becomes king of Persia.
459 . Ezra in Jerusalem; historical books are in final form.
450 3312 Third "Isaiah" prophecy (about 2½ centuries after Isaiah's death); Book of Ruth is written.
437 3325 Walls of Jerusalem are completed.
400 . Books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah are written.
338 . Philip II of Macedon defeats Greeks at Athens and Thebes.
333 . GREEK PERIOD BEGINS
Alexander the Great defeats main Persian army of Darius I.
332 . City of Alexandria is founded.
323 . Alexander dies.
306 . Ptolemy I rules Egypt; Seleucus I rules Syria.
300 . Book of Jonah and Song of Solomon are written.
275 . Apocalyptic portion of Book of Zechariah is written.
250 . Book of Ecclesiastes is written; Book of Proverbs is in final form; Septuagint is in preparation in Alexandria.
180 . Book of Ecclesiasticus is written.
170 3592 Essene sect adapts elements of Zoroastrian dualism and mysticism to Jewish theology and tradition.
167 3595 Seleucids profane Temple Jerusalem.
165 3597 Maccabees defeat Antiochus Epiphanes.  Book of Daniel is written.
164 3598 Judas Maccabeus rededicates Temple Jerusalem (henceforth celebrated as Hanukkah).
160 3604 Maccabean rebels are overwhelmed by Seleucid army; Judas Maccabeus is killed.
150 . Book of Esther is written; Book of Psalms is in final form.
145 3619 Demetrius II rules Seleucid Empire; Pharisees and Sadducees emerge as separate parties.
141 3623 Seleucid forces abandon Jerusalem.
103 3661 Alexander Jannaeus rules Judea; Maccabean kingdom is at peak.
63 3699 ROMAN PERIOD BEGINS
Pompey of Rome takes Jerusalem; end of Maccabean kingdom.
44 . Julius Caesar is assassinated.
4 . Birth of Jesus of Nazareth (latest possible date, if gospels are to be believed); death of Herod.
C. E. Jewish NEW TESTAMENT ERA
1 3761 TIME OF JESUS
Legendary birth of Jesus according to Dionysius Exiguus (500-560 CE).
10 . Assumption of Moses is written.
29 . John the Baptist is executed. Jesus is crucified.
34 . TIME OF PAUL
Stephen is stoned to death; Saul of Tarsus persecutes Christians.
37 . Caligula becomes Roman emperor; Saul converts to Christianity and assumes the name Paul.
39 . Paul makes first visit to Jerusalem as a Christian.
42 . Caligula is assassinated.
43 . James son of Zebedee is executed; Peter is imprisoned; Antioch Church flourishes.
45 . Paul's 1st missionary voyage.
49 . Paul's 2nd missionary voyage.
50 . Paul in Europe, writes Epistles to Thessalonians.
54 . Paul's 3rd missionary voyage; Nero becomes Roman emperor.
55 . Paul writes Epistle to Galatians.
56 . Paul writes Epistles to Corinthians.
58 . Paul writes Epistle to Romans.
62 . Paul is imprisoned in Rome, writes Epistles to Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.
64 . Great fire at Rome; Nero persecutes Christians; Peter is executed.
65 . Paul writes 1st Epistle to Timothy and Epistle to Titus.
66 3827 Jews rebel in Judea and Alexandria.
67 . Paul writes 2nd Epistle to Timothy and is executed; historian Josephus is taken prisoner.
70 3831 WRITING OF THE GOSPELS
Titus destroys Temple Jerusalem; Gospel of Mark is written.
75 . Gospel of Matthew is written.
80 . Gospel of Luke, Book of Acts, and Epistle to Hebrews are written.
90 . Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude are written.
95 . Books of Revelation and 2 Esdras are written.
100 . Gospel of John, Letter of Baruch, Epistle of Jeremy, and Martyrdom of Isaiah are written.
132 3893 Jews revolt in Judea.
135 3896 Rome crushes Jewish rebellion, obliterates nations of Israel and Judea.
C. E. Jewish POST-BIBLICAL ERA
235 . ROMAN DECLINE BEGINS
Roman empire sinks into anarchy following assassination of emperor Alexander Severus. Latin falls out of colloquial use, but continues as lingua franca among academics, aristocracy, and clergy.
303 . Constantine I becomes Roman emperor and begins Christianizing the empire.
325 . Nicaean Council I, convened by Constantine, crafts Nicaean Creed to resolve Arian dispute over the nature and divinity of Jesus, and establishes Sunday after Jewish Passover as date for celebration of Easter.
330 . Byzantine (eastern Roman) Empire is established with its capital at Constantinople.
349 . Pope Julius I proclaims celebration of Jesus's birth on 25 December—not that it's even remotely likely Augustus had summoned Judeans to Bethlehem in mid-winter to collect taxes, but more probably to piggy-back the new Christian festival on the popularity of traditional pagan winter solstice celebrations, e.g., Saturnalia and Natalis Invicti (Roman celebration of birth of Mithra, Persian sun god).
400 . St. Jerome prepares Vulgate (Latin Bible), translating from Hebrew and Greek texts.
426 . St. Augustine of Hippo writes City of God.
455 . Rome is sacked by Vandals.
476 . EUROPEAN MEDIEVAL PERIOD BEGINS
Germanic tribes invade Italy and conquer Roman Empire.
527 . Scythian monk Dionysius Exiguus introduces Christian calendar, reckoning the year of Jesus's birth as 753 AUC (Roman), which he designates as 1 AD.  (Aside from that, the Christian calendar remains virtually identical to the Roman calendar.)
622 . ISLAM IS ESTABLISHED
Muhammad establishes theocratic state at Medina.
800 . Charlemagne is proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor (HRE).
1000 . Second coming of Jesus is widely anticipated. [There is no indication that he actually appeared.]
1054 . Schism splits Christian Church into eastern (Orthodox) and western (Roman) factions, as the pope of Rome and patriarch of Constantinople excommunicate each other..
1078 . Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, publishes his Proslogium, containing his ontological argument for the existence of God, an early attempt to use reason to develop religious understanding.
1095 . Crusade I to the Holy Land begins at the request of the Patriarch of Constantinople, with the objective of liberating that city from the Turks.
1098 . Bernard of Clairvaux founds Cistercian monastic order in France.
1099 . Crusade I ends in victory for Europe, with election of Godfrey of Boillon as defender of Holy Sepulcher and establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1123 . Lateran Council I resolves investiture controversy between ecclesiastical and secular authority.
Pierre Abelard publishes Sic et Non, advocating thorough examination of all aspects of an issue in seeking truth.
1139 . Lateran Council II deals with schism caused by antipope Anacletus II.
1147-1149 . Crusade II, led by Conrad III (HRE) and Louis VII (France), pillages territory of Byzantine emperor Manuel I, is later defeated at Damascus.
1179 . Lateran Council III establishes procedure for election of popes by conclave of cardinals.
1189-1192 . Crusade III, led by Richard I (England), Philip II (France), and Frederick I (HRE). Richard secures agreement with Saladin (Turk) to keep Jerusalem open to all pilgrims regardless of faith.
1198 . Activist Pope Innocent III proclaims papal supremacy over secular kings, using excommunication and interdict as tools to assert his authority.
1202-1204 . Crusade IV sacks Constantinople.
1209 . St. Francis of Assisi founds Franciscan monastic order devoted to scholasticism (teaching among the lay public).
1215 . Lateran Council IV passes 70 decrees regarding such matters as clerical discipline, marriage, and heresy, and establishes a confession of faith defining transubstantiation.
John (England) signs Magna Carta.
1216 . St. Dominic establishes Dominican monastic order in Toulouse, following suit with the Franciscans with respect to scholasticism.
1217-1221 . Crusade V is an abortive expedition to Egypt.
1228-1229 . Crusade VI, led by Frederick II (HRE), secures a treaty with Damascus restoring Palestine to the Christians, but Egyptians and Turks subsequently seize Jerusalem and rout the Christians.
1233 . Pope Gregory IX establishes Papal Inquisition.
1248-1254 . Crusade VII is led by Louis IX (France), who is taken prisoner during an attack on Cairo; after his release, Louis spends four years improving Christian fortifications in the Holy Land.
1270 . Crusade VIII, led by Louis IX, is intended to retake Jaffa and Antioch, recently taken by Muslims; campaign is aborted when Louis falls ill and dies.
1271-1272 . Crusade IX, led by Prince Edward (England), is an expedition to Acre, but is called off upon negotiation of a truce..
1273 . Thomas Aquinas publishes Summa Theologica, attempting to understand God through reason.
1291 . Two years after fall of Tripoli, Acre, last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land, also falls to the Muslims.
1332 . Outbreak of bubonic plague in India begins to spread along trade routes to Asia and Europe.
1347-1351 . Bubonic plague spreads throughout Europe.  Widely regarded as caused by Satan, rat-borne "Black Death" epidemic is actually accelerated by widespread practice of killing cats as "satanic creatures."  Loss of 25-30 percent of European population eventually leads to economic restructuring and collapse of manorial and feudal systems.  Subsequent outbreaks continue until 16th century.
1378 . Schism splits Roman Catholic Church between two popes, Urban VI in Rome and Clement VII in Avignon.
1409 . Pisa conference of cardinals elects third pope to depose the other two; the strategy fails, leaving three competing popes in power and factional allegiances split among them.
1414-1418 . Council of Constance resolves multiple-papacy schism, ousting all three popes and installing a new one, Martin V.
1429 . Charismatic mystic Joan of Arc leads French to victory over English siege of Orléans in the Hundred Years War.
1431 . Captured by the English, Joan of Arc is judged guilty of heresy and is burned at the stake.
1453 . EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE BEGINS
Ottoman forces storm Constantinople and overthrow Byzantine Empire.
1456 . Johannes Gutenberg uses movable type to print Mazarin Bible in Mainz.
1492 . Christopher Columbus attempts to sail west from Spain across the Atlantic to the Orient.  Discovering unknown land, he assumes it to be India (hence the name "West Indies").
~1500 . Nanak founds Sikh religion, a mix of Islam and Hinduism but hostile to both, in India's Punjab region.
1512-1517 . Lateran Council V forbids printing of books without church authority.
1517 . Martin Luther presents his Ninety-Five Theses in Wittenberg, criticizing church policy of selling indulgences for remission of sins.
1521 . Luther refuses to recant his criticism of church policy at the Diet of Worms, and is condemned by Charles V (HRE).  He goes into hiding and begins translating the New Testament into German.
1523 . Ulrich Zwingli's preaching of Protestant reform causes unrest in Zürich, but is affirmed by the mayor and city council.
1529 . Henry VIII demands, and English Parliament affirms, independence of Anglican Church from papal authority.
1531 . Civil war erupts between Catholic and Protestant cantons in Switzerland; Zwingli is killed.
1533 . John Calvin establishes Presbyterian Church.
1540 . Pope Paul III approves militant counter-reformation Jesuit order (Society of Jesus) established by Ignatius of Loyola in Spain.
Menno Simons leads pacifist Anabaptist reform in Netherlands, giving rise to Mennonite and Amish traditions.
1545 . Council of Trent, 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, convenes to reform practice and define dogma, in response to Protestant Reformation. (Council adjourns in 1563.)
1556 . Mughal emperor Akbar presses for religious tolerance in India.
1572 . St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: Catholic faction massacres Huguenots (Calvinists) in Paris.
1582 . Pope Gregory XIII introduces a new solar-based calendar that corrects for the Julian-Dionysian calendar's lack of synchronization with the natural seasons.
1600 . Giordano Bruno is burned for heresy (using Copernican principles in his study of the universe).
1604 . Hampton Court Conference considers objection of James I to scriptural notations questioning divine right of kings, and authorizes a new English retranslation of the Bible.
1610 . Galileo's telescopic observations discredit geocentric universe view endorsed by the Church.
1611 . King James Version of Bible, authorized by Hampton Court Conference, is published.
1692 . 150 are accused and 19 executed during witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.
1703 . John Wesley establishes Methodist movement of Anglican Church.
1769 . INDUSTRIAL AGE BEGINS
Industrialization in Europe and North America is accompanied at various stages by humanist reform, democratization, and reduced reliance upon slave labor.
1830 . Joseph Smith publishes Book of Mormon and founds Mormon (Latter-Day Saints) Church in New York.
1834 . Spanish Inquisition is abolished.
1847 . Brigham Young establishes Mormon Church headquarters in Utah.
1948 5709 Nation of Israel is reestablished following World War II, displacing Palestinians who now occupy the territory.
1992 . Papal commission under John-Paul II officially admits that the Church erred in accusing Galileo of heresy.
2000 . Second coming of Jesus is anticipated by some fundamentalist sects. [There is still no indication that he has appeared since the first millennium.]
2001 . Terrorist attacks by Sunni Muslim Wahabi extremists in New York and Washington polarize the world's Islamic and non-Islamic factions, leading to escalation of armed confrontation and social upheaval in the Middle East.

Sources:

 

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Philosophy & Religion: Data

CALENDARS

Throughout history civilizations have arisen and fallen, and most of those kept calendars based on dates bearing some cultural significance. Unfortunately, much scriptural reckoning was not done using specific dates, but rather with imprecise references, such as "in the days of Herod the king." Fortunately, we know from the records of contemporary civilizations (Rome, in this instance) that Herod ascended the Judean throne in 716 AUC (Ab Urbe Condita, "from the founding of the city [of Rome]") and that he died in 749 AUC. Because year 1 AD of the Gregorian calendar corresponds to 753 of the Roman, we can easily convert those dates to 37 BC and 4 BC respectively, to get an idea of the time range indicated by the reference. Dates of many other indirect biblical references are likewise derived from external sources.

Following is a chart of various calendars which relate to the biblical period, relative to the Universal calendar in virtually worldwide use today. The Universal calendar is identical to the Gregorian, except that it uses the notation CE (Common Era) instead of the Christian AD (Anno Domini, "the Year of the Lord") and BCE (Before Common Era) instead of the Christian BC ("Before Christ"). In addition to making the calendar palatable to the world's non-Christian majority, use of Universal calendar notation tactfully skirts two embarrassing (from the Judeo-Christian standpoint) paradoxes, [1] that the time of biblical "creation" was preceeded by over 4,000 years of human civilization, and [2] that it is unlikely that Jesus was born more recently than 4 years "Before Christ."

CALENDAR YEAR-1
EVENT		 CONVERT... ...to Gregorian AD ...to Gregorian BC ...to Jewish ...to Roman AUC
Gregorian / Universal birth of Jesus ...from AD/CE AD = CE - J = 3760 + CE AUC = 752 + CE
...from BC/BCE - BC = BCE J = 3761 - BCE AUC = 753 - BCE
Jewish Hebrew creation ...from J (if J > 3760)
AD = J - 3760		 (if J < 3761)
BC = 3761 - J		 - (if J > 3009)
AUC = J - 3009
Roman founding of Rome ...from AUC (if AUC > 752)
AD = AUC - 752		 (if AUC < 753)
BC = 753 - AUC		 J = 3009 + AUC -

Because each calendar assigns the beginning of the year at a different time, conversions using this chart are approximate and may be off by as much as half a year.

Year-for-year calendar conversions are convenient only for calendars having the same average number of days per year. Most calendars in use today are periodically aligned with one of the solar solstices, and this keeps them synchronized with the seasons (and hence with each other) over the long term. The Islamic calendar, however, reckons about 354 days per year, so its months drift through the different seasons as the years pass, at a rate of about 11 days each year.


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