falls about the time of the vernal equinox, was afterwards regarded as the beginning of the ecclesiastical or legal year. In civil affairs, and in the regulation of the jubilees and sabbatical years, the Jews still adhere to the ancient year, which begins with the month Tisri, about the time of the autumnal equinox. (On the regulation of the Jewish year, see vol. iv. p. 677.)
After their dispersion, the Jews were constrained to
have recourse to the astronomical rules and cycles of the
more enlightened heathen, in order that their religious
festivals might be observed on the same days in all the
countries through which they were scattered. For this
purpose they adopted a cycle of eighty-four years, which is
mentioned by several of the ancient fathers of the church,
and which the early Christians borrowed from them for
the regulation of Easter. This cycle seems to be neither
more nor less than the Calippic period of seventy-six years,
with the addition of a Greek octæteris, in order to disguise
its true source, and give it an appearance of originality.
In fact, the period of Calippus containing 27,759 days, and
the octæteris 2922 days (see vol. iv. p. 688), the sum, which is 30,681, is exactly the number of days in eighty-four
Julian years. But the addition was very far from being
an improvement on the work of Calippus; for instead of a
difference of only five hours and fifty-three minutes between
the places of the sun and moon, which was the whole error
of the Calippic period, this difference, in the period of
eighty-four years, amounted to one day, six hours, and
forty-one minutes. Buccherius places the commencement
of this cycle in the year 162 B.C.; Prideaux in the year
291 B.C. According to the account of Prideaux, the fifth
cycle must have commenced in the year 46 of our era;
and it was in this year, according to St Prosperus, that
the Christians began to employ the Jewish cycle of eighty-four years, which they followed, though not uniformly, for
the regulation of Easter, till the time of the Council of Nice.
Soon after the Nicene council, the Jews, in imitation of
the Christians, abandoned the cycle of eighty-four years,
and adopted that of Meton, by which their lunisolar year
is regulated at the present day. This improvement was
first proposed by Rabbi Samuel, rector of the Jewish school
of Sora in Mesopotamia, and was finally accomplished in
the year 360 of our era by Rabbi Hillel, who introduced
that form of the year which the Jews at present follow,
and which, they say, is to endure till the coming of the
Messiah.
Till the 15th century the Jews usually followed the era
of the Seleucidæ or of Contracts. Since that time they
have generally employed a mundane era, and dated from
the creation of the world, which, according to their computation, took place 3760 years and about three months
before the commencement of our era. No rule can be
given for determining with certainty the day on which
any given Jewish year begins, without entering into the
minutiæ of their irregular and complicated calendar. A
table comprising twelve cycles of Jewish years will be
found at pp. 678, 679 of vol. iv.
Era of Constantinople.
This era, which is still used in the Greek Church, and
was followed by the Russians till the time of Peter the Great, dates from the creation of the world. The Incarnation falls in the year 5509, and corresponds, as in our era,
with the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad. The civil
year commences with the 1st of September; the ecclesiastical
year sometimes with the 21st of March, sometimes with
the 1st of April. It is not certain whether the year was
considered at Constantinople as beginning with September
before the separation of the Eastern and Western empires.
At the commencement of our era there had elapsed 5508
years and four months of the era of Constantinople.
Hence the first eight months of the Christian year 1 coincide
with the Constantinopolitan year 5509, while the last
four months belong to the year 5510. In order, therefore,
to find the year of Christ corresponding to any given year
in the era of Constantinople, we have the following rule:—If the event took place between the 1st of January and
the end of August, subtract 5508 from the given year;
but if it happened between the 1st of September and the
end of the year, subtract 5509.
Era of Alexandria.
The chronological computation of Julius Africanus was
adopted by the Christians of Alexandria, who accordingly
reckoned 5500 years from the creation of Adam to the
birth of Christ. But in reducing Alexandrian dates to the
common era, it must be observed that Julius Africanus
placed the epoch of the Incarnation three years earlier than
it is placed in the usual reckoning, so that the initial day
of the Christian era fell in the year 5503 of the Alexandrian era. This correspondence, however, continued only
from the introduction of the era till the accession of
Diocletian, when an alteration was made by dropping ten
years in the Alexandrian account. Diocletian ascended
the imperial throne in the year of Christ 284. According
to the Alexandrian computation, this was the year 5787
of the world, and 287 of the Incarnation; but on this
occasion ten years were omitted, and that year was thence
forth called the year 5777 of the world, and 277 of the
Incarnation. There are, consequently, two distinct eras of
Alexandria, the one being used before and the other after
the accession of Diocletian. It is not known for what
reason the alteration was made; but it is conjectured that
it was for the purpose of causing a new revolution of the
cycle of nineteen years (which was introduced into the
ecclesiastical computation about this time by Anatolius,
bishop of Hierapolis) to commence with the first year of
the reign of Diocletian. In fact, 5777 being divided by
19 leaves 1 for the year of the cycle. The Alexandrian
era continued to be followed by the Copts in the 15th
century, and is said to be still used in Abyssinia.
Dates expressed according to this era are reduced to the
common era by subtracting 5502, up to the Alexandrian
year 5786 inclusive, and after that year by subtracting
5492; but if the date belongs to one of the four last
months of the Christian year, we must subtract 5503 till
the year 5786, and 5493 after that year.
Mundane Era of Antioch.
The chronological reckoning of Julius Africanus formed
also the basis of the era of Antioch, which was adopted by
the Christians of Syria, at the instance of Panodorus, an
Egyptian monk, who flourished about the beginning of the
4th century. Panodorus struck off ten years from the
account of Julius Africanus with regard to the years of the
world, and he placed the Incarnation three years later,
referring it to the fourth year of the 194th Olympiad, as
in the common era. Hence the era of Antioch differed
from the original era of Alexandria by ten years; but
after the alteration of the latter at the accession of
Diocletian, the two eras coincided. In reckoning from the
Incarnation, however, there is a difference of seven years,
that epoch being placed, in the reformed era of Alexandria,
seven years later than in the mundane era of Antioch or in
the Christian era.
As the Syrian year began in autumn, the year of Christ corresponding to any year in the mundane era of Antioch is found by subtracting 5492 or 5493 according as the event falls between January and September or from September to January.
