Calendars and dates during Jesus' lifetime

[ntcrawler]

What calendars were used by the locals during Jesus’ lifetime? What was the year back then and what was it referenced by?

[Alive_At_Both_Ends]

The Romans dated things from the foundation of the city of Rome - 753 BCE by our calendar. But most people if they felt the need for dates at all would just say “the sixteenth year of the reign of King Herod” or whatever.

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

As Alive at Both Ends so ably notes, the Calender was the one based on the founding of Rome.

Dates however, were produced locally, by the many date palms in the region.

[Alienhand]

I’m not going to pretend I actually know this, but I looked it up a few weeks ago.

Gregorian calendar - Of course, the one we use
Julian calendar - In use around the time of Jesus (adopted around 45 BCE)
Roman calendar - In use until Julius Caesar played with it

Many countries in the area used different calendars, but were largely based on the Roman calendar.

To expound on the reply already given, they did not actually count years like we do with the Gregorian calendar, the years were named until towards the end of the Roman empire.

[jayjay]

Was the Hebrew calendar (dated from the Creation) not in use in Judea at the time?

[Alienhand]

@jayjay

Was the Hebrew calendar (dated from the Creation) not in use in Judea at the time?

It was used privately but since Judea was occupied by the Romans at the time, the Jews used the Roman/Julian calender for government purposes.

The Hebrew and Roman calenders were both lunar based, so as the saying goes “It’s good enough for government work”.

[sailor]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

As Alive at Both Ends so ably notes, the Calender was the one based on the founding of Rome.

Dates however, were produced locally, by the many date palms in the region.

Sort of…

Julian calendar - Wikipedia

The dominant method that the Romans used to identify a year for dating purposes was to name it after the two consuls who took office in it. Since 153 BC, they had taken office on 1 January, and Julius Caesar did not change the beginning of the year. Thus this consular year was an eponymous or named year. In addition to consular years, the Romans sometimes used the regnal year of the emperor, and by the late fourth century documents were also being dated according to the 15-year cycle of the indiction. In 537, Justinian required that henceforth the date must include the name of the emperor and his regnal year, in addition to the indiction and the consul, while also allowing the use of local eras.

In 309 and 310, and from time to time thereafter, no consuls were appointed.[7] When this happened, the consular date was given a count of years since the last consul (so-called “post-consular” dating). After 541, only the reigning emperor held the consulate, typically for only one year in his reign, and so post-consular dating became the norm. Similar post-consular dates were also known in the West in the early 6th century. The system of consular dating, long obsolete, was formally abolished in the law code of Leo VI, issued in 888.

Only rarely did the Romans number the year from the founding of the city (of Rome), ab urbe condita (AUC). This method was used by Roman historians to determine the number of years from one event to another, not to date a year. Different historians had several different dates for the founding. The Fasti Capitolini, an inscription containing an official list of the consuls which was published by Augustus, used an epoch of 752 BC. The epoch used by Varro, 753 BC, has been adopted by modern historians. Indeed, Renaissance editors often added it to the manuscripts that they published, giving the false impression that the Romans numbered their years. Most modern historians tacitly assume that it began on the day the consuls took office, and ancient documents such as the Fasti Capitolini which use other AUC systems do so in the same way. However, Censorinus, writing in the 3rd century AD, states that, in his time, the AUC year began with the Parilia, celebrated on 21 April, which was regarded as the actual anniversary of the foundation of Rome. Because the festivities associated with the Parilia conflicted with the solemnity of Lent, which was observed until the Saturday before Easter Sunday, the early Roman church did not celebrate Easter after 21 April.

[DSYoungEsq]

@Alienhand

It was used privately but since Judea was occupied by the Romans at the time, the Jews used the Roman/Julian calender for government purposes.

Cite?

[Alienhand]

@DSYoungEsq

Cite?

Sorry forgot the other one:

Hebrew Calendar

@Wikipedia

Originally the Hebrew calendar was used by Jews for all daily purposes. During the era of the Roman occupation (1st century BCE), Jews began additionally following the imperial civil calendar for civic matters such as the payment of taxes and dealings with government officials.

There are more articles linked from there and I summarized a bit. I may have used “privately” a little too broadly because it involves religious activities as well.

[cmkeller]

@jayjay

Was the Hebrew calendar (dated from the Creation) not in use in Judea at the time?

In addition to the Hebrew year (which was used religiously), they also maintained a date system for official documents, which began at the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Judea. I believe use of that system (called “Minyan Shtaros” in Hebrew) didn’t fully die out until the nineteenth century.

[Alienhand]

@cmkeller

In addition to the Hebrew year (which was used religiously), they also maintained a date system for official documents, which began at the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Judea. I believe use of that system (called “Minyan Shtaros” in Hebrew) didn’t fully die out until the nineteenth century.

Getting a bit off topic but…
When I was reading about that, I took it to mean that all official documents were dated using the Julian calendar (at the time) and the “Minyan Shtaros” date was used with a caveat that could be paraphrased “for local purposes only” but the Hebrew calendar date was left out. Am I anywhere near correct?

[DSYoungEsq]

@Alienhand

Sorry forgot the other one:

Hebrew Calendar
There are more articles linked from there and I summarized a bit. I may have used “privately” a little too broadly because it involves religious activities as well.

I read that to mean not the Jews actually themselves started using the Roman Imperial calendar for governing themselves, but rather that they began using it for the purpose of dealing with the Romans who were ruling their part of the world.