Seleucid era

 ( Calendar Eras ) 

The Seleucid era ("SE") or Anno Graecorum (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a Calendar era in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic civilizations, and later by the Parthians. It is sometimes referred to as "the dominion of the Seleucidæ," or the Year of Alexander. The era dates from Seleucus I Nicator's reconquest of Babylon in 312/11 BC after his exile in Ptolemaic Egypt,Denis C. Feeney, Caesar's Calendar, University of California Press, Berkeley 2007, p. 139. considered by Seleucus and his court to mark the founding of the Seleucid Empire. According to Jewish tradition, it was during the sixth year of Alexander the Great's reign (lege: possibly Alexander the Great's infant son, Alexander IV of Macedon) that they began to make use of this counting.Babylonian Talmud (Avodah Zarah 10a), Rabbeinu Hananel's Commentary; RASHI's commentary on Babylonian Talmud (Avodah Zarah 9a); Sefer Hakabbalah of Rabbi Avraham ben David (Ravad); Midrash David on Mishnah Tractate Avot (Ethics of the Fathers, 1:6)

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Versions Two different variations of the Seleucid years existed, one where the year started in spring and another where it starts in autumn:

1. The natives of the empire used the Babylonian calendar, in which the new year falls on 1 Nisanu (3 April in 311 BC), so in this system year 1 of the Seleucid era corresponds roughly to April 311 BC to March 310 BC. This included the inhabitants of Coele-Syria, notably the Jews who call it the Era of Contracts ().
2. The court adopted the Babylonian calendar (substituting the Macedonian month names) but reckoned the new year to be in the autumn (the exact date is unknown). In this system year 1 of the Seleucid era corresponds to the period from autumn 312 BC to summer 311 BC. By the 7th century AD / 10th AG, the west Syrian Christians settled on 1 October-to-30 September. Jews, however, reckon the start of each new Seleucid year with the lunar month Tishri.Emil Schürer, Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi, vol. 1, Leipzig 1886–1890; 4th edition 1901–1909, pp. 36–46; Mishnah, Rosh HaShanah 1:1

These differences in the beginning of the year means that dates differ by one if they fall between spring and autumn. Notably, the Jewish historical book 1 Maccabees generally uses the Babylonian and Judean year count (, , 9:3, 10:1, etc.). However, the book 2 Maccabees exclusively uses the Macedonian version of the calendar, likely because it was written in either Cyprus or Egypt.

Elias Bickerman gives this example:

For instance, the restoration of the temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabaeus, approximately 15 December 164 BC, fell in the year 148 of the Seleucid Era according to Jewish (and Babylonian) calculation, but in the year 149 for the court.

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Later usage The Seleucid era was used as late as the sixth century CE, for instance in the Zabad inscription in Syria, dated the 24th of Gorpiaios, 823 (24 September, 512 AD),M. A. Kugener, Nouvelle Note Sur L'Inscription Trilingue De Zébed, Rivista degli Studi Orientali (1907), pp. 577-586. and in the writings of John of Ephesus.Peter Charanis, On the Question of the Hellenization of Sicily and Southern Italy During the Middle Ages, American Historical Review, 52:1 (1946), p. 82. Syriac chroniclers continued to use it up to Michael the Syrian in the 12th century AD / 15th century AG. It has been found on tombstones of Christians belonging to the Church of the East well into the 14th century AD.

The Seleucid era counting, or "era of contracts" (minyan shəṭarot), was used by Yemenite Jews in their legal deeds and contracts until modern times, a practice derived from an ancient Jewish teaching in the Talmud, requiring all Diaspora Jews to uphold its practice.Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah 10a, which reads: “Said Rav Nahman: 'In the Diaspora, it is not permissible to count the except only by the kings of the Grecians'.” For this reason, the Seleucid era counting is mentioned in the Book of Maccabees (I Macc. i. 11) and in the writings of the historian Josephus. The Seleucid era counting fell into disuse among most Jewish communities, following Rabbi David ben Zimra's cancellation of the practice when he served as Chief Rabbi of Egypt.Chaim Yosef David Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim Ma'arekhet, ed. Yitzhak Isaac Ben-Yaaqov, (the Letters Daleth''), Vienna 1864, s.v. מהר"ר דוד ן' זמרא, p. 19 (section 16 - ז) (Hebrew)

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Bibliography

• Robert Harry van Gent. The Babylonian Calendar. Has a date converter based on Parker & Dubberstein (1971).
• Paul J. Kosmin (2025). 9780674976931, Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674976931

Categories: Calendar Eras, Era, Hebrew Calendar, Persian Culture, 310s Bc Establishments, 311 Bc, Seleucus I Nicator

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