Dating TIME by BC and AD
A System of Dating TIME
➤ BC and AD:
BC is the acronym of Before Christ . This is an English phrase meaning ' Before the birth of ( Jesus ) Christ ' . So , the years before the birth of Jesus Christ is known as ' Before Christ ' and it is denoted as BC in short . e.g .: Gautama Buddha was born in 563 BC and died in 483 BC . Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC and died in 323 BC .
AD is the acronym of Anno Domini . This is a Latin phrase meaning ' In the year of the Lord ( Jesus Christ ) . So , the years begin with the birth of Jesus Christ is known as ' Anno Domini ' , and it is denoted as AD in short . e.g .: Jesus Christ was crucified in 30 AD . Kushana ruler Kanishka was ascended the throne in 78 AD . Hazrat Muhammad was born in 570 AD and died in 632 AD .
➤ Time Line : The line displaying the events of past time is called ' Time Line ' .
............500 BC《 5BC《 4BC《 3BC 《 2BC《 1BC《 0 》 1AD》2AD》3AD》4AD》5AD》 500AD .........
From the above - mentioned time line , it is clear that the years before the birth of Christ have counted backward , viz . ... 500 BC .then.. 5 BC then 4BC then 3 BC, fhen 2 BC, and then 1 BC .
The meaning of one year before 1 BC is 2 BC , the meaning of one year before 2 BC is 3 BC , the meaning of one year before 3 BC is 4 BC , the meaning of one year before 4 BC is 5 BC . In other words , firstly the year of 5 BC passed , after that 4 BC came , after that 3 BC , after that 2 BC and lastly 1 BC appeared . In the mathematical language , it is like backward counting ( 100,99,98 , and so on ) .
Now if anyone raises a question that which year is first one and which year is last one in 500 BC and 2,000 BC . Then right answer will be 2,000 BC is first one and 500 BC is last one . It means firstly 2,000 BC passed and after that 500 BC appeared .
From the above - mentioned time line , it is also clear that the years after the birth of Jesus Christ have counted forward . It implies that the meaning of one year after 1 AD is 2 AD , one year after 2 AD is 3 AD , one year after 3 AD is 4 AD , one year after 4 AD is 5 AD . In the mathematical language , it is like forward counting ( 1 , 2 , 3 and so on ) . Now if anyone raises a question that which year is first one and which year is last one in 500 AD and 2,000 AD then right answer will be 500 AD is first one and 2,000 AD is last one . It means firstly the year 500 AD passed and after that 2,000 AD appeared .
➤ Time Glossary: The glossary relating to time is known as ' Time Glossary ' . Some important terms associated with time are
Decade- The period of 10 years;
First Half ( of a century )- First 50 years of a century i.e. , the period from 1st year to 50th year;
Second Half ( of a century )- Last 50 years of a century i.e. , the period from 51st year to 100th year;
Century- The period of 100 years ;
Millenium- The period of 1,000 years;
Circa-Ca./C- If the exact date is not known then the word ' circa ' is used with the date . In short , Circa is denoted as Ca. or C. Example : C. 1,500 BC - 600 BC : The Vedic Culture Period means that the exact date of Vedic Culture Period is not known but it ( C. 1500 BC - 600 BC ) is somewhere close to that.
First decade of 20th century AD means the period from 1901 AD to 1910 AD . Fifth decade of 20th century AD means the period from 1941 AD to 1950 AD . Eighth decade of 20th century AD means the period from 1971 AD to 1980 AD . Last decade of 20th century AD means the period from 1991 AD to 2000 AD .
First half of 20th century AD means from 1901 AD to 1950 AD . Second half of 20th century AD means from 1951 AD to 2000 AD .
6th century BC means 600 BC to 501 BC;
4th century BC means 400 BC to 301 BC;
16th century AD means 1501 AD to 1600 AD;
20th century AD means 1901 AD to 2000 AD;
Second Millenium BC means 2000 BC - 1001 BC;
First Millenium BC means 1000 BC - 1 BC;
First Millenium AD means 1 AD - 1000 AD;
Second Millenium AD means 1001 AD - 2000 AD
➤ Important Eras:
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Name of the Era: Kali
Reckoned from- 3101 BC
Remarks- began 20 years after the end of Mahabharata War.
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Name of the Era: Saptarshi/ Laukika
Reckoned from- 3076 BC
Remarks- started after the expiry of 25 Kali year .
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Name of the Era: Vikrama / Krita / Malawa
Reckoned from- 58/57 BC
Remarks- commenced by Vikramaditya , the local king of Ujjayini ( Malawa ) , to commemorate the victory over the Sakas .
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Name of the Era: Saka
Reckoned from- 78 AD
Remarks- commenced by Kushan ruler Kanishka , on the occasion of his ascendence to the throne . Saka era is known as Salivahana Sakabda in South India . The Government of India adopted Saka era along with the Gregorian Calendar ( i.e. Julean Calendar / Christian Calendar ) as National Calendar on 22 March , 1957 ( 1st Chaitra 1879 Saka ) .
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Kalchuri
248 AD
founded by Abhir king Ishwar Sen , later on used by Traikutaka ruler and Kalchuris of Chedi .
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Gupta
319-20 AD
founded by Gupta ruler Chandragupta - L , on the occasion of his ascendence to the throne . After the fall of the Guptas , the Maitrakas of Valabhi used this era with a new name Valabhi Samvata . The beginning of Gupta era was fixed by J.F.Fleet in 1887 AD .
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Harsha
606 AD
founded by Harshavardhana of Kannauj , to pronounce his ascendence to the throne .
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Hijri
622 AD
founded by Umar , the second Caliphate of Khilafat empire , to commemorate the hijrat from Macca to Madina by Hazrat Muhammad .
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Kollam
825 AD
an era that is in use in Malabar ( Kerala ) .
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Nevari/ Nepali
879 AD
founded by Jaydeo Mall .
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Chalukya
1076 AD
founded by Vikramaditya - VI , the Vikrama Chalukya ruler of Kalyani , on the occasion of his ascedence to the throne .
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Lakshmana
1119 AD
founded by Sen ruler of Bengal Lakshmana Sen.
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Ilahi
1556 AD
founded by Mughal ruler Akbar in 1584 AD , but in 1658 AD Aurangzeb abolished the use of Ilahi era .
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Raj Saka
1673 AD
founded by Maratha Chhatrapati Shivaji to pronounce his ascendence to the throne .
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➤ Development - sequence of Gregorian Calendar :
1) Julean Calendar ( introduced in 46 BC by Roman King Juleus Caesar )
2) Christian Calendar ( introduced in 527 AD by Monk Dionysius Exiguus )
3) Gregorian Calendar ( introduced in 1582 AD by Roman Pope Gregory - XIII )
Gregorian Calendar is modified form of Christian Calendar and Christian Calendar is modified form of Julean Calendar . Therefore, these Calendars are loosely synonyms to one other .
2. The eras , except Vikrama , Saka and Hijri, are either vanished in course of time or in use only in specific regions .
3 National Calendar : Saka Samvata is used in some government sectors customarily ( officially ), where as Gregorian Calendar is used everywhere practically .
➤ Conversion of Eras :
Any era can be converted into other era as follows.
Conversion of AD of Christian era in Vikrama era:
For conversion of AD era in Vikrama era , 57 is added to AD.
AD + 57 = Vikram
e.g. Convert 2013 AD into Vikrama era? Vikrama will be AD 2013 +57 = 2070
Conversion of Vikrama era into AD era:
To find AD era from Vikrama era, 57 is subtracted from Vikrama era.
AD = Vikram - 57
e.g. Convert 2070 Vikrama era into AD era? AD =Vikrama 2070 - 57 = 2013
Conversion of AD era into Saka era: To get Saka era from AD era , 78 is subtracted from AD:
Saka = AD - 78;
AD = Saka + 78
Conversion of AD of Christian era into Hijri era :
To calculate Hijri (H) era from AD of Christian era (C) , the following formula is used:
( C - 622 ) × (33 /32)= H
e.g. Convert 2013 AD of Christian era into Hijri era . ( 2013-622 ) × (33/32) = 1434 H
Conversion of Hijri era into AD of Christian era :
To calculate AD of Christian era from Hijri era , the following formula is used:
( H x 32/33 ) + 622 = C
e.g. Convert 1434 Hijri era into AD of Christian era . ( 1434 x 32/33 ) + 622 = 2013 C
