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The '''Byzantine Creation Era''', also ''' ''"Creation Era of Constantinople,"'' ''' or ''' ''"Era of the World"'' ''' (Greek: ''' ''Έτη Γενέσεως Κόσμου κατά 'Ρωμαίους'' '''<ref>Pavel Kuzenkov. ''How Old is The World? The Byzantine Era and its Rivals''. Institute for World History, Moscow, Russia. In: Elizabeth Jeffreys, Fiona K. Haarer, Judith Gilliland. '''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=YWec0i621ekC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies: London, 21-26 August, 2006: Vol. 3, Abstracts of Communications].''' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006. pp. 23-24.</ref> also ''' ''Έτος Κτίσεως Κόσμου'' ''' or ''' ''Έτος Κόσμου'' ''') was the Calendar officially used by the Eastern [[Orthodox Church]] from ca. AD 691 to 1728 in the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]], and from ca. AD 988 to 1700 in Holy [[Church of Russia|Russia]], and by the [[Byzantine Empire]]<ref>i.e. '''Eastern Roman Empire'''. The term Byzantine was invented by the German historian Hieronymus Wolf in 1557 but was popularized by French scholars during the 18th century to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire. The citizens of the empire considered themselves ''Romaioi'' ("Romans"), their emperor was the "Roman Emperor", and their empire the ''Basileia ton Romaion'' ("Empire of the Romans"). The Latin West designated the empire as "Romania", and the Muslims as "Rum".</ref> from AD 988 to 1453. Its year one, the date of creation, was [[September 1]], 5509 BC to [[August 31]], 5508 BC.
Derived from the [[Septuagint]], it placed the date of creation at 5,509 years before the [[Incarnation]], and was characterized by a certain tendency which had already been a tradition amongst Hebrews and Jews to number the years ''from the foundation of the world'' (Greek - ''‘Etos Kosmou/Apo Kataboles Kosmou’'',<ref>The phrase or Latin - ''"Apo Kataboles Kosmou"[[w:Anno Mundi|Annus Mundi]]/‘Ab Origine Mundi’'' ('''AM''')). Significantly, this same phrase - ''"from the foundation of the world"'') - occurs repeatedly in the [[New Testament]], in Matthew 25:34, Luke 11:50, Hebrews 4:3, 9:26, and Revelation 13:8, 17:8.</ref> , perhaps reflecting on the Byzantine desire in this case to fix such an era or Latin - ''convenient starting point for historical computation, based on the [[w:Anno MundiHoly Scripture|Annus MundiScriptures]]/‘Ab Origine Mundi’'' ('''AM''')).
We do not know who invented this era and when, however it appears for the first time in the treatise of a certain “[[monk]] and [[Presbyter|priest]]”, Georgios (AD 638-39), who mentions all the main variants of the ''"World Era"'' (''Ére Mondiale'') in his work.<ref>Fr. Diekamp, ''“Der Mönch und Presbyter Georgios, ein unbekannter Schriftsteller des 7. Jahrhunderts,”'' BZ 9 (1900) 14–51.</ref><ref>Pavel Kuzenkov (Moscow). ''[http://www.wra1th.plus.com/byzcong/comms/Kuzenkov_paper.pdf How old is the World? The Byzantine era κατα Ρωμαίους and its rivals]''. 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies, London 2006. p.3.</ref>. Georgios makes it clear that the main advantage of the Byzantine era is the common starting point of the astronomical [[w:Metonic cycle|lunar]] and [[w:Solar cycle (calendar)|solar]] cycles, and of the cycle of [[Indiction|indictions]], the usual dating system in Byzantium since the sixth century. He also already regards it as the most convenient for the [[Pascha|Easter]] [[w:Computus|computus]]. Complex calculations of the 19-year lunar and 28-year solar cycles within this world era allowed scholars to discover the cosmic significance of certain historical dates, such as the [[Nativity|birth of Christ]] or the [[Crucifixion]].<ref>Prof. Dr. [http://aha.missouri.edu/people/rautman.html Marcus Louis Rautman]. ''"Time."'' In [http://books.google.ca/books?id=hs3iEyVRHKsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Daily+Life+in+the+Byzantine+Empire ''Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire'']. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006. pp.7</ref>
===Alexandrian Era===
The ''' ''"Alexandrian Era"'' ''' (Greek: ''' ''Κόσμου ετη κατ’ Αλεξανδρεις'' ''') developed in AD 412, was the precursor to the ''Byzantine Era''. After the initial attempts by [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]], [[Clement of Alexandria]] and others<ref>The ''' ''Era of Antioch'' ''' (5492 BC) and ''' ''Era of Alexandria'' ''' (5502 BC) were originally two different formations, differing by 10 years. They were both much in use by the early Christian writers attached to the Churches of [[Church of Alexandria |Alexandria]] and [[Church of Antioch|Antioch]]. However after the year AD 284 the two eras coincided, settling on 5492 BC. There are, consequently, two distinct eras of Alexandria, the one being used before and the other after the accession of Diocletian. (''"Epoch: Era of Antioch and Era of Alexandra."'' In: ''' ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=TqcrAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0 The Popular Encyclopedia: being a general dictionary of arts, sciences, literature, biography, history, and political economy].'' '''(Vol. 3, Part 1). Glasgow: Blackie and Son, 1841. p.73.)</ref>, the Alexandrian computation of the date of creation was worked out to be [[March 25|25 March]] 5493 BC.<ref>Elias J. Bickerman. ''Chronology of the Ancient World''. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980. p.73.</ref>.
The Alexandrine monk [[w:Panodorus of Alexandria|Panodoros]] reckoned 5904 years from [[Adam and Eve|Adam]] to the year AD 412. His years began with [[August 29]], corresponding to the [[w:Thout|First of Thoth]], or the [[w:Egyptian calendar|Egyptian]] new year.<ref>Rev. Philip Schaff (1819-1893), Ed. ''"Era."'' '''[[w:Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge|Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge]]'''. New Edition, 13 Vols., 1908-14. [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/encyc04/Page_163.html Vol. 4, pp.163].</ref> Bishop [[w:Annianus of Alexandria|Annianos of Alexandria]] however, preferred the Annunciation style as New Year's Day, the 25th of March, and shifted the Panodoros era by about six months, to begin on 25 March. This created the ''Alexandrian Era'', whose first day was the first day of the proleptic<ref>A calendar obtained by extension earlier in time than its invention or implementation is called the "proleptic" version of the calendar</ref> Alexandrian civil year in progress, 29 August, 5493 BC, with the ecclesiatical year beginning on 25 March, 5493 BC.
* 3952 BC - Venerable [[Bede]] (ca. AD 725), English Benedictine monk.
* 3761 BC<ref>In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the Jewish calendar was reformed. F. Rühl has shown that the adoption of this era must have taken place between the year 222, when Julius Africanus reports that the Jews still retained the eight-year lunar cycle (which is referred to in the pseudepigraphal ''[[Book of Enoch]]'' (74:13-16); see [[w:Enoch calendar|Enoch Calendar]]), and 276, when Anatolius makes use of the nineteen year [[w:Metonic cycle|Metonic cycle]] to determine Easter after the manner of the Jews. It may be further conjectured that it was introduced about the year 240-241, the first year of the fifth thousand, according to this calculation, and that the tradition which associated its determination with [[w:Samuel of Nehardea|Mar Samuel]] (d. about 250) is justified. (F. Rühl. ''Der Ursprung der Jüdischen Weltära, in Deutsche Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaft''. 1898. pp. 185,202.)</ref><ref>According to the popular tradition, the epoch that Hebrew calendar currently uses, the '''Hillel World Era''', beginning October 7, 3761 BC, is traditionally regarded as having been calculated by [[w:Hillel II|Hillel II]] in the 4th century AD (ca. 358 AD), but did not become universal practice until the end of the Middle Ages. Scholars of this subject however believe that the evolution of the Hebrew calendar into its present form was actually a gradual process spanning several centuries from the first to about the eighth or ninth century AD.</ref> - [[w:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew Calendar]] [Judaism] - (ca. AD 222-276); or, (ca. AD 358 - ''[[w:Hillel II|Hillel]] World Era'').
* 3760 BC<ref>Dr. Iaakov Karcz. ''"[http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/794/1/32Karcz.pdf Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy Land]".'' '''Annals of Geophysics''', Vol. 47, N. 2/3, April/June 2004. p.765</ref><ref>Karl Hagen. ''"[http://www.polysyllabic.com/calhistory/earlier/jewish The Jewish Calendar]".'' Polysyllabic.com.</ref> - Era of Adam, starts with creation of Adam. This era was used previously to the ''Hillel Era''.
==Criticism==
* Dr. [http://www.huc.edu/faculty/faculty/wacholder.shtml Ben Zion Wacholder]. ''Essays on Jewish Chronology and Chronography''. Ktav Pub. House, 1976.
* Dr. Floyd Nolan Jones. ''[http://books.google.ca/books?id=ZkBasQYRy4sC&printsec=frontcover Chronology of the Old Testament]''. Master Books, AZ, 1993. Repr. 2005. ''(supports Ussher's chronology, i.e. 4004 BC).''
* Dr. Iaakov Karcz. ''"[http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/794/1/32Karcz.pdf Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy Land]".'' '''Annals of Geophysics''', Vol. 47, N. 2/3, April/June 2004.
* E.G. Richards. ''Mapping Time: The Calendar and its History''. Oxford University Press, 1998. (''Good overall general review of the history and astronomical basis of the principal calendars that have been used throughout history all around the world'').
* Elias J. Bickerman. ''Chronology of the Ancient World''. 2nd edition. Cornell University Press. 1980.
* Jack Finegan. ''Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible''. Hendrickson Publishers, 1998.
* K.A. Worp. ''[https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/1887/9250/1/5_039_134.pdf Chronological Observations on Later Byzantine Documents]''. 1985. University of Amsterdam. (PDF format)
* Karl Hagen. ''"[http://www.polysyllabic.com/calhistory/earlier/jewish The Jewish Calendar]".'' Polysyllabic.com.
* Paul James-Griffiths. ''[http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i2/tradition.asp Creation days and Orthodox Jewish Tradition]''. AnswersinGenesis.org. March 2004.
* Paul Stephenson. ''"Translations from Byzantine Sources: The Imperial Centuries, c.700-1204: [http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/scyl2.html John Skylitzes, "Synopsis Historion"'': ''The Year 6508, in the 13th Indiction: the Byzantine dating system]"''. November 2006.
