An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography , as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar , or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth .
23-583: An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: Era Comparable terms are epoch , age , period , saeculum , aeon (Greek aion ) and Sanskrit yuga . The word has been in use in English since 1615, and is derived from Late Latin aera "an era or epoch from which time is reckoned," probably identical to Latin æra "counters used for calculation," plural of æs "brass, money". The Latin word use in chronology seems to have begun in 5th century Visigothic Spain, where it appears in
46-548: A group of calendar eras based on a calculation of the age of the world , assuming it was created as described in the Book of Genesis . In Jewish religious contexts one of the versions is still used, and many Eastern Orthodox religious calendars used another version until 1728. Hebrew year 5772 AM began at sunset on 28 September 2011 and ended on 16 September 2012. In the Western church, Anno Domini ( AD also written CE ), counting
69-506: Is 1741. In chronology , an "era" is the highest level for the organization of the measurement of time. A " calendar era " indicates a span of many years which are numbered beginning at a specific reference date (epoch) , which often marks the origin of a political state or cosmology , dynasty, ruler, the birth of a leader, or another significant historical or mythological event; it is generally called after its focus accordingly as in " Victorian era ". In large-scale natural science, there
92-465: Is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. The Siamese generally used two calendars, a sacred and a popular ( vulgar in the classical sense). The vulgar or minor era ( จุลศักราช , chula sakarat ) was thought to have been instituted when the worship of Gautama was first introduced, and corresponds to the traditional Burmese calendar (abbreviated ME or BE, the latter not to be confused with
115-403: Is a rather impractical system, and a challenge for historians if a single piece of the historical chronology is missing, and often reflects the preponderance in public life of an absolute ruler in many ancient cultures. Such traditions sometimes outlive the political power of the throne, and may even be based on mythological events or rulers who may not have existed (for example Rome numbering from
138-413: Is an abbreviation for " before present "). The older Proterozoic and Archean eons are also divided into eras. For periods in the history of the universe , the term " epoch " is typically preferred, but "era" is used e.g. of the " Stelliferous Era ". Calendar eras count the years since a particular date (epoch), often one with religious significance. Anno mundi (year of the world) refers to
161-482: Is need for another time perspective, independent from human activity, and indeed spanning a far longer period (mainly prehistoric), where " geologic era " refers to well-defined time spans. The next-larger division of geologic time is the eon . The Phanerozoic Eon, for example, is subdivided into eras. There are currently three eras defined in the Phanerozoic; the following table lists them from youngest to oldest (BP
184-580: Is no longer any reference to a vulgar or popular era, the Common Era may be presumed to have taken the place of the former. New Year , the time at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count is incremented, originally coincided with the date calculated for Songkran , when the Sun transits the constellation of Aries , the first astrological sign in the Zodiac as reckoned by sidereal astrology : thus
207-512: Is the counting of the Buddhist era, which has changed several times in the past, including the inclusion of year 0, and the change of New Year's Day from April to January in 1941, has caused confusion in historical context as well. For example, many Thai people regard the establishment of the Ayutthaya Kingdom to be in 1350, which is direct conversion from Buddhist era 1893, while the actual date
230-495: The Chinese calendar determines the day that a Chinese New Year begins, and assumes the name of the next animal in the twelve-year animal cycle . Names of the months derive from Hindu astrology names for the signs of the zodiac . Thirty-day-month names end in -ayon ( -ายน ), from Sanskrit root āyana : the arrival of; 31-day-month names end in -akhom ( -าคม ), from Sanskrit āgama (cognate to English "come") that also means
253-529: The History of Isidore of Seville , and in later texts. The Spanish era is calculated from 38 BC, Before Christ, perhaps because of a tax (cfr. indiction ) levied in that year, or due to a miscalculation of the Battle of Actium , which occurred in 31 BC. Like epoch, "era" in English originally meant "the starting point of an age"; the meaning "system of chronological notation" is c. 1646; that of "historical period"
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#1732869587722276-468: The Roman era , Elizabethan era , Victorian era , etc. Use of the term for more recent periods or topical history might include Soviet era , and "musical eras" in the history of modern popular music , such as the " big band era ", " disco era ", etc. Thai solar calendar The Thai solar calendar ( Thai : ปฏิทินสุริยคติไทย , RTGS : patithin suriyakhati thai , "solar calendar")
299-437: The Common Era, add 1781 for dates from 6 April to December, and 1782 for dates from January to 5 April. In Thailand the sacred, or Buddhist Era , is reckoned to have an epochal year 0 from 11 March 543 BC, believed to be the date of the death of Gautama Buddha . King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) changed year counting to this Buddhist Era (abbreviated BE) and moved the start of the year back to 1 April in 2455 BE, 1912 CE. As there
322-571: The Japanese used the imperial year system ( kōki ), counting from the year when the legendary Emperor Jimmu founded Japan, which occurred in 660 BC. Many Buddhist calendars count from the death of the Buddha , which according to the most commonly used calculations was in 545–543 BCE or 483 BCE. Dates are given as "BE" for "Buddhist Era"; 2000 AD was 2543 BE in the Thai solar calendar . Other calendar eras of
345-621: The United Kingdom until quite recently, but only for formal official writings: in daily life the ordinary year A.D. has been used for a long time, but Acts of Parliament were dated according to the years of the reign of the current monarch , so that "61 & 62 Vict c. 37" refers to the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 passed in the session of Parliament in the 61st/62nd year of the reign of Queen Victoria . "Era" can be used to refer to well-defined periods in historiography, such as
368-647: The abbreviation for the Buddhist Era, which is the sacred era.) King Chulalongkorn decreed a change in vulgar reckoning to the Rattanakosin Era ( รัตนโกสินทรศก , Rattanakosin Sok abbreviated ร.ศ. and R.S.) in 1889 CE. The epoch (reference date) for Year 1 was 6 April 1782 with the accession of Rama I , the foundation of the Chakri dynasty , and the founding of Bangkok (Rattanakosin) as capital. To convert years in R.S. to
391-579: The arrival of. February's name ends in - phan ( -พันธ์ ), from Sanskrit bandha : "fettered" or "bound". The day added to February in a solar leap year is Athikasuratin ( อธิกสุรทิน , respelled to aid pronunciation ( อะทิกะสุระทิน ) from Sanskrit adhika : additional; sura : move). Using Buddhist era could easily cause confusion between itself and Anno Domini in the historical context. For example, Anno Domini 2024, and Buddhist year 2024 (which corresponds to AD 1481). Two-digit year numbering could cause even more confusion. Another problem
414-543: The number to add or subtract is 542; otherwise, it is 543. Example: Today, both the Common Era New Year's Day (1 January) and the traditional Thai New Year ( สงกรานต์ , Songkran ) celebrations (13–15 April) are public holidays in Thailand. In the traditional Thai calendar , the change to the next Chinese zodiacal animal occurs at Songkran (now fixed at 13 April.) For Thai Chinese communities in Thailand, however,
437-531: The past counted from political events, such as the Seleucid era and the Ancient Roman ab urbe condita ("AUC"), counting from the foundation of the city. The word era also denotes the units used under a different, more arbitrary system where time is not represented as an endless continuum with a single reference year, but each unit starts counting from one again as if time starts again. The use of regnal years
460-439: The rule of Romulus and Remus ). In a manner of speaking the use of the supposed date of the birth of Christ as a base year is a form of an era. In East Asia , each emperor's reign may be subdivided into several reign periods, each being treated as a new era. The name of each was a motto or slogan chosen by the emperor. Different East Asian countries utilized slightly different systems, notably: A similar practice survived in
483-467: The year commenced on 11 April 1822. As previously noted, Rama VI moved the start of the year back to 1 April in 2455 BE, 1912 CE, so that 130 R.S. only lasted for 356 days from 11 April 1911 to 31 March 1912. On 6 September 1940, Prime Minister Phibunsongkhram decreed 1 January 1941 as the start of the year 2484 BE, so year 2483 BE had only nine months running from 1 April to 31 December 1940. To convert dates from 1 January to 31 March prior to that year,
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#1732869587722506-576: The years since the birth of Jesus on traditional calculations, was always dominant. The Islamic calendar , which also has variants, counts years from the Hijra or emigration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina , which occurred in 622 AD. The Islamic year is some days shorter than 365; January 2012 fell in 1433 AH ("After Hijra"). For a time ranging from 1872 to the Second World War ,
529-575: Was adopted by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1888 CE as the Siamese version of the Gregorian calendar , replacing the Thai lunar calendar as the legal Thai calendar (though the latter is still also used, especially for traditional and religious events). Years are now counted in the Buddhist Era (B.E.): พุทธศักราช , พ.ศ. RTGS : Phutthasakkarat (lit. ' era of the Shaka Buddha ') which
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