aking,
comprehends a part not only of two Julian years, but also of two civil
years. The consulate is the date employed by the Latin historians
generally, and by many of the Greeks, down to the 6th century of our
era.

In the era of Rome the commencement of the year is placed at the 21st
of April; an event therefore which happened in the months of January,
February, March, or during the first twenty days of April, in the year
(for example) 500 of Rome, belongs to the civil year 501. Before the
time of the Decemvirs, however, February was the last month of the
year. Many authors confound the year of Rome with the civil year,
supposing them both to begin on the 1st of January. Others again
confound both the year of Rome and the civil year with the Julian
year, which in fact became the civil year after the regulation of the
calendar by Julius Caesar. Through a like want of attention, many
writers also, particularly among the moderns, have confounded the
Julian and Olympic years, by making an entire Julian year correspond
to an entire Olympic year, as if both had commenced at the same epoch.
Much attention to these particulars is required in the comparison of
ancient dates.

_The Christian Era._--The Christian or vulgar era, called also the era
of the Incarnation, is now almost universally employed in Christian
countries, and is even used by some Eastern nations. Its epoch or
beginning is the 1st of January in the fourth year of the 194th
Olympiad, the 753rd from the foundation of Rome, and the 4714th of the
Julian period. This epoch was introduced in Italy in the 6th century, by
Dionysius the Little, a Roman abbot, and began to be used in Gaul in the
8th, though it was not generally followed in that country till a century
later. From extant charters it is known to have been in use in England
before the close of the 8th century. Before its adoption the usual
practice in Latin countries was to distinguish the years by their number
in the cycle of Indiction.

In the Christian era the years are simply distinguished by the cardinal
numbers; those before Christ being marked B.C. (Before Christ), or A.C.
(Ante Christum), and those after Christ A.D. (Anno Domini). This method
of reckoning time is more convenient than those which employ cycles or
periods of any length whatever; but it still fails to satisfy in the
simplest manner possible all the conditions that are necessary for
registerin