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 B.C., 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 B.C. 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 B.C., 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;—
| Masearam. | 29th August. | Magabit. | 25th February. | |
| Tikmith. | 28th September. | Miazia | 27th March. | |
| Hadar | 28th October. | Gimbot | 26th April. | |
| Tacsam | 27th November. | Sene | 26th May. | |
| Tir | 27th December. | Hamle | 25th June. | |
| Yacatit | 26th January. | Nahasse | 25th July. |
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 p. 670 of vol. iv., 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
