Pre-Christian Calendar?

[David McAfee]

Does anyone know what the people of biblical Jerusalem would have called their years? Example: We call the current year 2007 AD, or Anno Domini, aka The Year of Our Lord, or 2,007 years after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. But what would the people of Israel have called it in, say, 10 AD? Obviously, as there was not an entire religion based on Jesus at that time, they would not have used his birth as a calendar reference.

Specifically, I am looking for what they would have called the year 33 AD, which is supposedly the year Jesus was executed (keeping in mind that current theory, based on biblical references, places the year of Jesus’ actual birth between 6 and 4 BC).

[WendyNYC]

I *think* they were on the Julian calendar then (in the Roman empire, at least) and the initials after the year would be A.V.C. (Please someone correct me if I am wrong.) I'm not sure what year it would have been in 33 AD, but you can probably Google that.

The Jewish calendar would be different, too, but I'm not sure what that would have been. The current year is 5768 I believe.

[johnnysannie]

As noted, there are many theories regarding the "exact" dates for the birth and death of Jesus Christ. The calendar in use by the majority of Jerusalem's residents would have been the old Hebrew calendar, slightly different than the one in use today (which the current year just became 5768 on Rosh Hashanah).

Many believe - and again, open to theory and debate - that Jesus died in the year 3791.

This link may help:
http://www.albatrus.org/english/potpourri/dates/historical_calendar_of_jesus.htm

[David McAfee]

Thanks, folks. That helps a lot!

[Medievalist]

They would have used the Jewish / Hebrew calendar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar)if they were Jews.

It's easy to convert years. (http://www.chabad.org/calendar/1000year.htm)

[girlyswot]

Although my feeling (having spent most of the last year reading Jewish second temple literature) is that they wouldn't often have referred to dates at all. Years were identified by the high priest's term of office, or the Roman governor, or by other major events. So 'In the year that Annas son of Caiaphas became high priest...' Or 'It happened the year after Herod built the great palace...'

Which, if you think about it, is how the Christian calendar works, only we stick to one specific great event to count by.

[donroc]

Dating by events reminds me of an unexpurgated story from THE ARABIAN NIGHTS, which I shall relate from memory.

An unlucky groom farts during his wedding ceremony, and flees in shame. After wandering for many years, he returns to his village in the hope his emission had been forgotten. As he passes a house, he hears a little girl ask her mother: "On what day was I born?"

"Why, my dear, you were born on the day Achmed (or whomever) farted during his wedding."

www.donaldmichaelplatt.com

[Maria]

The Roman calendar "official year" was counted from the founding of Rome by Romulus on April 21, 753 B.C. (in modern western calendar terms). (Well, according to the legends.) In other words, our April 21 was the first day of the Roman year for the purpose of counting the year's number "ab Urbe Condita" (from the founding of the city) or AUC. The year 2007 AD is 2,760 AUC (but please don't ask me to do that in Roman numerals). However, as least during the Republic, Romans tended to identify years in terms of the names of the consuls, e.g., the third Consulship of C. Iulius Caesar and the Consulship of M. Aemilius Lepidus (which corresponds to 46 B.C.). [More than anybody wanted to know, I'm sure. In the Roman province(s) comprising "the Holy Land" the official calendar was the Roman calendar, but the local calendar would have been used for non-official or non-Roman dating.]