Ab Urbe condita (related with Anno Urbis conditae: AUC or a. u. c. ) is Latin for "from the founding of the City (Rome)",^[1] traditionally set in 753 BC. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The founding of Rome is reported by many legends which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by more scientific reconstructions Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 It was used to identify the Roman year by a few Roman historians. Modern historians use it much more frequently than the Romans themselves did; the dominant method of identifying Roman years was to name the two consuls who held office that year. Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire Before the advent of the modern critical edition of historical Roman works, AUC was indiscriminately added to them by earlier editors, making it appear more widely used than it actually was. The regnal year of the emperor was also used to identify years, especially in the Byzantine Empire after Justinian required its use in 537. Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or Examples of usage are principally found in German authors, for example Mommsen's History of Rome.

Significance

This aureus by Hadrian celebrates the games held in honour of the 874th birthday of Rome (121). The aureus (pl aurei) was a Gold coin of Ancient Rome valued at 25 silver denarii. The founding of Rome is reported by many legends which in recent times are beginning to be supplemented by more scientific reconstructions

A coin struck under Philip the Arab to celebrate Saeculum Novum. Marcus Julius Philippus or Philippus I Arabs (c 204 - 249 known in English as Philip the Arab or formerly (prior to World War II in

Also Pacatianus, usurper against Philip, celebrated the Saeculum Novum. Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus (d c 248 was an usurper in the Danube area of the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority This antoninianus bears the legend ROMAE AETER AN MIL ET PRIMO, "To eternal Rome, in its one thousand and first year". The antoninianus was a Coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarii.

From Emperor Claudius onwards, Varro's calculation (see below) superseded other contemporary calculations. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC &ndash 27 BC also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman Celebrating the anniversary of the city became part of imperial propaganda. Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people Claudius was the first to hold magnificent celebrations in honor of the city's anniversary, in 47, eight hundred years after the founding of the city. In 121, Hadrian, and in 147/8, Antoninus Pius held similar celebrations. Publius Aelius Hadrianus (January 24 76 &ndash July 10 138 as emperor Imperator Caesar Divi Traiani filius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, and Divus Hadrianus after Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus ( September 19, 86 &ndash March 7 161) generally known in English as Antoninus Pius

In 248, Philip the Arab celebrated Rome's first millennium, together with Ludi saeculares for Rome's alleged tenth saeculum. Marcus Julius Philippus or Philippus I Arabs (c 204 - 249 known in English as Philip the Arab or formerly (prior to World War II in A millennium (pl millennia) is a period of Time equal to one thousand Years (from Latin la mille, thousand and la annum The Secular Games ( Latin Ludi Saeculares, originally Ludi Terentini) were a religious celebration involving Sacrifices and theatrical Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 A saeculum is a length of time roughly equal to the potential lifetime of a person or the equivalent of the complete renewal of a human population Coins from his reign commemorate the celebrations. main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review A coin by a contender for the imperial throne, Pacatianus, explicitly states "Year one thousand and first", which is an indication that the citizens of the Empire had a sense of the beginning of a new era, a Saeculum Novum. Tiberius Claudius Marinus Pacatianus (d c 248 was an usurper in the Danube area of the Roman Empire during the time of Philip the Arab

When the Roman Empire turned Christian in the following century, this imagery came to be used in a more metaphysical sense. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science

Calculation by Varro

The traditional date for the founding of Rome of April 21, 753 BC, was initiated by Varro. Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) Marcus Terentius Varro (116 BC &ndash 27 BC also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Roman Varro may have used the consular list with its mistakes, and called the year of the first consuls "245 ab urbe condita", accepting the 244-year interval from Dionysius of Halicarnassus for the kings after the foundation of Rome. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c 60 BC–after 7 BC was a Greek historian and teacher of Rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of The correctness of Varro's calculation has not been proved scientifically but is still used worldwide.

Calculation by Dionysius Exiguus

The Anno Domini system was developed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in Rome in 525, as an outcome of his work on calculating the date of Easter. Dionysius Exiguus ( Dennis the Little or Dennis the Short, meaning humble (c In his Easter table Dionysius equates the year AD 532 with the regnal year 248 of Emperor Diocletian. He invented a new system of numbering years to replace the Diocletian years that had been used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. At the beginning, his time calculation was limited on a small circle in Rome. It counted the years no longer after the accession of the emperor and Christian pursuer Diocletian ( 20 November 284), but starting from "incarnatione Domini", the birth of Christ. Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Events By Place Roman Empire November 20 — Diocletian becomes Emperor. Exiguus is writing: "sed magis elegimus ab incarnatione Domini nostri Jesu Christi annorum tempora praenotare. . . "^[2] Because Dionysius Exiguus did not place the Incarnation in an explicit year, competent scholars have deduced both AD 1 and 1 BC. Later it was calculated by scholars that the year AD 1 corresponds to the Roman year DCCLIV ab urbe condita. Emperor Augustus was not called "Augustus", but "Imperator Caesar Divi filius" in the years 30 - 27 BC. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was This time could be forgotten by Exiguus. And a "year zero" does not exist in the Christian calendar:

. There is no year zero in the widely used Gregorian calendar, nor in its predecessor the Julian calendar. . . 1 ab urbe condita = 753 before Christ

. . . 2 ab urbe condita = 752 BC

. . . 3 ab urbe condita = 751 BC . . .

750 ab urbe condita = 4 BC (Death of Herod the Great)

751 ab urbe condita = 3 BC

752 ab urbe condita = 2 BC

753 ab urbe condita = 1 BC

754 ab urbe condita = 1 Anno Domini

755 ab urbe condita = 2 AD

Alternative calculations

According to Velleius Paterculus the foundation of Rome took place 437 years after the capture of Troy (1182 BC). Herod (הוֹרְדוֹס Horodos, Greek: Herōdes) also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC in Jericho This article is about the Roman Historian; for the Rove beetle genus see Velleius Marcus Velleius Paterculus It took place shortly before an eclipse of the Sun that was observed at Rome on June 25, 745 BC and had a magnitude of 50. An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when one Celestial object moves into the shadow of another Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians 3%. Its beginning occurred at 16:38, its middle at 17:28, and its end at 18:16.

However, according to Lucius Tarrutius of Firmum, Romulus and Remus were conceived in the womb on the 23rd day of the Egyptian month Choiac, at the time of a total eclipse of the Sun. Romulus (c 771 BC– c 717 BC and Remus (c 771 BC–c 753 BC are the traditional founders of Rome, appearing in Roman mythology The ancient civil Egyptian calendar had a year that was 365 days long and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each plus 5 extra days (epagomenes Greek ἐπαγόμεναι (This eclipse occurred on June 15, 763 BC, with a magnitude of 62. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history 5% at Rome. Its beginning took place at 6:49, its middle at 7:47 and its end at 8:51. ) He was born on the 21st day of the month Thoth. The first day of Thoth fell on March 2 in that year. Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1127 - Assassination of Charles the Good ^[3] Rome was founded on the ninth day of the month Pharmuthi, which was April 21, as universally agreed. Events 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome ( traditional date) The Romans add that about the time Romulus started to build the city, an eclipse of the Sun was observed by Antimachus, the Teian poet, on the 30th day of the lunar month. This eclipse on June 25, 745 BC (see above) had a magnitude of 54. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians 6% at Teos, Asia Minor. It started at 17:49; it was still eclipsed at sunset, at 19:20. Romulus vanished in the 54th year of his life, on the Nones of Quintilis (July), on a day when the Sun was darkened. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. The day turned into night, which sudden darkness was believed to be an eclipse of the Sun. It occurred on July 17, 709 BC, with a magnitude of 93. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians 7%, beginning at 5:04 and ending at 6:57. (All these eclipse data have been calculated by Prof. Aurél Ponori-Thewrewk, retired director of the Planetarium of Budapest. ) Plutarch placed it in the 37th year from the foundation of Rome, on the fifth of our July, then called Quintilis,^[4] also states that Romulus ruled for 37 years. He was slain by the senate or disappeared in the 38th year of his reign. Most of these have been recorded by Plutarch, ^[5]Florus,^[6] Cicero, ^[7] Dio (Dion) Cassius and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (L. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c 2). Dio in his Roman History (Book I) confirms this data by telling that Romulus was in his 18th year of age when he had founded Rome. Thus, three eclipse calculations may support the suggestion that Romulus reigned from 746 BC to 709 BC, and Rome was founded in 745 BC.

Q. Fabius Pictor (c. Quintus Fabius Pictor (c 254 BC -? was one of the earliest Roman Historians and considered the first of the Annalists. 250 BC) tells that Roman consuls started for the first time 239 years after Rome's foundation (Enciclopedia Italiana, XIV, 1951: 173). Livy (I, 60) gives almost the same, 240 years for that interval. Polybius ^[8] tells that 28 years after the expulsion of the last Persian king Xerxes crossed over to Greece, and that event is fixed to 478 BC by two solar eclipses. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Xerxes I of Persia was a King of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC of the Achaemenid dynasty. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured ^[9]

See also

• List of Latin phrases

Notes and references