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Anno Mundi

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A Jewish grave stone using the Anno Mundi chronology

Anno Mundi (Latin: "in the year of the world") abbreviated as AM or A.M., refers to a Calendar era counting from the Biblical creation of the world.

Jewish computation

The inscription over the Bevis Marks Synagogue, City of London, gives a year in Anno Mundi (5461) and Anno Domini (1701).

Years in the Hebrew calendar are counted from the Creation year. The system in use today was adopted sometime before 3925 AM (165 AD), and based on the calculation in the Seder Olam Rabbah of Rabbi Jose ben Halafta in about 160 AD.[1] By his calculation first humans were created in the year 3760 BC.[2] The Jewish year spanning 19 September 2009 – 8 September 2010, beginning and ending at Rosh Hashanah, is 5770 AM in the Hebrew calendar; 9 September 2010 - 28 September 2011 corresponds to 5771 AM, which is a leap year.

Christian computation

AM was also used by early Christian chronographers. The medieval historian Bede dated creation to 18 March 3952 BC. The Chronicon of Eusebius and Jerome dated creation to the year of 5199 BC.[3][4] Earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology for Christmas Day used this date,[5] as did the Irish Annals of the Four Masters.[6]

The Etos Kosmou is the corresponding concept in the Byzantine calendar, which dates creation to 1 September 5509 BC.

James Ussher (1654) dated creation to 23 October 4004 BC according to the Julian calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar would be 21 September 4004 BC.

The Copts, these ancient Christians (Christianity was established in Egypt in the first century), and descendents of the Pharaohs, have their own computation. This was used by Abu Shakir, known as Ibn Al-Rahib (Son of the Monk), in his book. Copts believed that the world was created in 5500 BC. This is 8-9 years shorter than Byzantine estimation. Although Copts often use the Anno Mundi system, in Coptic English literature the abbreviation A.M. is reserved for the Calendar of the Martyrs, called Anno Martyri, which starts from 284 AD, to commemorate the so many Christians killed by the Roman Emperor Diocletian (284-305 AD).

Other computations

Freemason cornerstone with year in Anno Domini and Anno Lucis

Related to this is the Freemasonry's Anno Lucis ("Year of Light", abbreviated A.L., also initially acronymed for Anno Latomorum, or "Year of Stonecutters"), which adds 4000 years to the AD date (based on Ussher's work, first referenced in Masonic material in 1732).[7]

References

  1. ^ p.107, Kantor
  2. ^ Genesis 2:7
  3. ^ The Penn Commentary on Piers Plowman by Andrew Galloway page 69
  4. ^ Fourth Century (see 327 Eusebius of Caesarea). Archived 2009-10-25.
  5. ^ Howlett, J.A. (1913). "Biblical Chronology" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  6. ^ from 5194 A.M. in the Annals at CELT — University College Cork's Corpus of Electronic Texts project has the full text of the annals online, both in the original Irish and in O'Donovan's translation
  7. ^ "What is the Masonic Calendar?". Library and Museum Charitable Trust of the United Grand Lodge of England. Retrieved 2006-07-06.

Sources

  • Mattis, Kantor, The Jewish time line encyclopedia: a year-by-year history from Creation to present, Jason Aronson Inc., Northvale, N.J., 1992

See also

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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