Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/730

716 of Carthage, and also that of Aries, are dated according to this era. After the 9th century it became usual to join with it in public acts the year of the Incarnation. It was followed in Catalonia till the year 1180, in the kingdom of Aragon till 1350, in Valencia till 1358, and in Castile till 1382. In Portugal it is said to have been in use so late as the year 1415, or 1422, though it would seem that after the establishment of the Portuguese monarchy, no other era was used in the public acts of that country than that of the Incarnation. As the era of Spain commenced with the 1st of January, and the months and days of the year are those of the Julian calendar, any date is reduced to the common era by subtracting thirty-eight from the number of the year.

Era of Actium, and Era of Augustus.

This era was established to commemorate the battle of Actium, which was fought on the 3d of September, in the year 31, and in the 15th of the Julian era. By the Romans the era of Actium was considered as commencing on the 1st of January of the 16th of the Julian era, which is the 30th The Egyptians, who used this era till the time of Diocletian, dated its commencement from the beginning of their month Thoth, or the 29th of August; and the Eastern Greeks from the 2d of September. By the latter it was also called the era of Antioch, and it continued to be used till the 9th century. It must not be confounded with the Cæsarean era of Antioch, which began seventeen years earlier. Many of the medals struck by the city of Antioch in honour of Angustus are dated according to this era. Besides the era of Actium, there was also an Augustan era, which commenced four years later, or 27, the year in which Augustus prevailed on the senate and people of Rome to decree him the title of Augustus, and to confirm him in the supreme power of the empire.

Era of Diocletian, or Era of Martyrs.

It has been already stated that the Alexandrians, at the accession of the Emperor Diocletian, made an alteration in their mundane era, by striking off ten years from their reckoning. At the same time they established a new era, which is still followed by the Abyssinians and Copts. It commences with the 29th of August (the first day of the Egyptian year) of the year 284 of our era, which was the first of the reign of Diocletian. The denomination of Era of Martyrs, subsequently given to it in commemoration of the persecution of the Christians, would seem to imply that its commencement ought to be referred to the year 303 of our era, for it was in that year that Diocletian issued his famous edict; but the practice of dating from the accession of Diocletian has prevailed. The ancient Egyptian year consisted of 365 days; but after the introduction of the Julian calendar, the astronomers of Alexandria adopted an intercalary year, and added six additional days instead of five to the end of the last month of every fourth year. The year thus became exactly similar to the Julian year. The Egyptian intercalary year, however, does not correspond to the Julian leap year, but is the year immediately preceding; and the intercalation takes place at the end of the year, or on the 29th of August. Hence the first three years of the Egyptian intercalary period commence on the 29th of our August, and the fourth commences on the 30th of that month. Before the end of that year the Julian intercalation takes place, and the beginning of the following Egyptian year is restored to the 29th of August. Hence to reduce a date according to this era to our own reckoning, it is necessary, for common years, to add 283 years and 240 days; but if the date belongs to the first three months of the year following the intercalation, or, which is the same thing, if in the third year of the Julian cycle it falls between the 30th of August and the end of the year, we must add 283 years and 241 days. The Ethiopians do not reckon the years from the beginning of the era in a consecutive series, but employ a period of 532 years, after the expiration of which they again begin with 1. This is the Dionysian or Great Paschal Period, and is formed by the multiplication of the numbers 28 and 19, that is, of the solar and lunar cycles, into each other. The following are the names of the Ethiopian or Abyssinian months, with the days on which they begin in the Julian calendar, or old style;—

The additional or epagomenal days begin on the 24th of August. In intercalary years the first seven months commence one day later. The Egyptian months, followed by the modern Copts, agree with the above in every respect excepting the names.

Indiction.

The cycle of Indiction, already explained at of, was very generally followed in the Roman empire for some centuries before the adoption of the Christian era. Three Indictions may be distinguished; but they differ only in regard to the commencement of the year. 1. The Constantinopolitan Indiction, like the Greek year, commenced with the month of September. This was followed in the Eastern empire, and in some instances also in France. 2. The Imperial or Constantinian Indiction is so called because its establishment is attributed to Constantine. This was also called the Cæsarean Indiction. It commences on the 24th of September. It is not unfrequently met with in the ancient chronicles of France and England. 3. The Roman or Pontifical Indiction began on the 25th of December or 1st of January, according as the Christian year was held to commence on the one or other of these days. It is often employed in papal bulls, especially after the time of Gregory VII., and traces of its use are found in early French authors.

Era of the Armenians.

The epoch of the Armenian era is that of the Council of Tiben, in which the Armenians consummated their schism from the Greek Church by condemning the acts of the Council of Chalcedon; and it corresponds to Tuesday, the 9th of July of the year 552 of the Incarnation. In their civil affairs the Armenians follow the ancient vague year of the Egyptians; but their ecclesiastical year, which begins on the 11th of August, is regulated in the same manner as the Julian year, every fourth year consisting of 366 days, so that Easter and the other festivals are retained at the same place in the seasons as well as in the civil year. The Armenians also make use of the mundane era of Constantinople, and sometimes conjoin both methods of computation in the same documents. In their correspondence and transactions with Europeans, they generally follow the era of the Incarnation, and adopt the Julian year. To reduce the civil dates of the Armenians to the Christian era, proceed as follows. Since the epoch is the 9th of July, there were 176 days from the beginning of the Armenian era to the end of the year 552 of our era; and since 552 was a leap year, the year 553 began a Julian intercalary period. Multiply, therefore, the number of 