A calendar (named from the Latin calendarium, from calendce, the first day of the month), is a record or marking out of time as systematically divided into years, months, weeks, and days.
The periodical occurrence of certain natural phenomena gave rise to the first division of time, the division into weeks being the only purely arbitrary partition. The year of the ancient Egyptians was based on the changes of the seasons alone, without reference to the lunar month, and contained 365 days divided into twelve months of thirty days each, with five supplementary days at the end of the year.
The Jewish year consisted of lunar months of which they reckoned twelve in the year, intercalating a thirteenth when necessary to maintain the correspondence of the particular months with the regular recurrence of the seasons.
The Greeks in the earliest period also reckoned by lunar and intercalary months, but after one or two changes adopted the plan of Meton and Euctemon, who took account of the fact that in a period of nineteen years, the new moons return upon the same days of the year as before. This period of nineteen years was found, however, to be about six hours too long, and subsequent calculators still failed to make the beginning of the seasons return on the same fixed day of the year. Each month was divided into three decads.
The Romans at first divided the year into ten months, but they early adopted the Greek method of lunar and intercalary months, making the lunar year consist of 354, and afterwards of 355 days, leaving ten or eleven days and a fraction to be supplied by the intercalary division. This arrangement continued until the time of Julius Caesar. The first day of the month was called the calends. In March, May, July, and October the 15th, in other months the 13th, was called the ides. The ninth day before the ides (reckoning inclusive) was called the nones, being therefore either the 7th or the 5th of the month. From the inaccuracy of the Roman method of reckoning the calendar came to represent the vernalequinox nearly two months after the event, and at the request of Julius Caesar, the Greek astronomer Sosigenes with the assistance of Marcus Fabius, contrived the so-called Julian calendar. The chief improvement consisted in restoring the equinox to its proper place by inserting two months between November and December, so that the year 707 (46 BC), called the year of confusion, contained fourteen months.
In the number of days the Greek computation was adopted, which made it 365.25. To dispose of the quarter of a day it was determined to intercalate a day every fourth year between the 23rd and 24th of February. This calendar continued in use among the Romans until the fall of the empire, and throughout Christendom until 1582.
By this time, owing to the cumulative error of eleven minutes, the vernalequinox really took place ten days earlier than its date in the calendar, and accordingly PopeGregory XIII issued a brief abolishing the Julian calendar in all Catholic countries, and introducing in its stead the one now in use, the Gregorian or reformed calendar. In this way began the new style, as opposed to the other or old style. Ten days were to be dropped; every hundredth year, which by the old style was to have been a leap year, was now to be a common year, the fourth excepted; and the length of the solar year was taken to be 365 days, five hours, forty-nine minutes, and twelve seconds, the difference between which and subsequent observations is immaterial. The new calendar was adopted in Spain, Portugal, and France in 1582; in Catholic Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands in 1583; in Poland in 1586; in Hungary in 1587; in ProtestantGermany, Holland, and Denmark in 1700; in Switzerland in 1701; in England in 1752; and in Sweden, 1753.
In the English calendar of 1752, also, the 1st of January was now adopted as the beginning of the legal year, and it was customary for some time to give two dates for the period intervening between 1st January and 25th March, that of the old and that of the new year, as January 1752/3. Russia alone retained the old style, which by 1906 differed twelve days from the new.
In France, during the revolution, a new calendar was introduced by a decree of the rational Convention, on November the 24th, 1793. The time from which the new reckoning was to commence was the autumnal equinox of 1792, which fell upon the 22nd of September, when the first decree of the new republic had been promulgated. The year was made to consist of twelve months of three decades each, and, to complete the full number, five fete days, or sansculotides (in leap years six) were added to the end of the year. The seasons and months were as follows: Autumn; 22nd September to 22nd December Vendimiaire, vintage month; Brumaire, foggy month; Frimaire, sleet month. Winter; 22nd December to 22nd March: Nivose, snowy month; Plumose, rainy month; Ventose, windy month. Spring; 22nd March to 22nd June: Germinal, budmonth; Floreal, flowermonth; Prairial, meadowmonth. Summer; 22nd June to 22nd Sept.: Messidor, harvest month; Thermidor, hot month; Fructidor, fruit month. The common Christian or Gregorian calendar was re-established in France on the 1st of January, 1806, by Napoleon. Research Calendar
The Ides was the day of the full moon in the ancient Roman calendar. It was held to fall on the 13th or 15th of the month. The ides of March, on account of Caesar's assassination having taken place on that day, was an ater dies or black day, and the senate was not allowed to sit. Research Ides
Caius Julius (more popular known as Julius Caesar or Caesar) was a great Roman general, statesman, and historian. He was born in 100 BC and died in 44. He was the son of the praetor Caius Julius Caesar, and of Aurelia, a daughter of Aurelius Cotta. At the age of sixteen he lost his father, and shortly after he married Cornelia, the daughter of Lucius Cinna, the friend of Marius. This connection gave great offence to Sulla, the dictator, who proscribed him for refusing to put away his wife. His friends obtained his pardon with difficulty, and Caesar withdrew from Rome, and went to Asia, serving his first campaign under M. Minucius Thermus, the praetor in Asia.
On the death of Sulla, Caesar returned to Rome, where he distinguished himself as an orator. He afterwards visited Rhodes, when he was taken by pirates, and compelled to pay fifty talents for his release. To revenge himself, he fitted out some vessels at Miletus, overtook the pirates, made the greater number of them prisoners, and had them crucified before Pergamus. He now returned to Rome, where his eloquence and liberality made him very popular. He was pontifex maximus in 63 BC, praetor in 62 BC, and governor of Spain in 61 BC.
On his return to Rome, having united with Pompey and Marcus Crassus in the memorable coalition called 'the first triumvirate,' he became consul, and then obtained the government of Gaul with the command of four legions.
His military career was rapid and brilliant. He compelled the Helvetii, who had invaded Gaul, to retreat to their native country, subdued Ariovistus, who at the head of a German tribe had attempted to settle in the country of the AEdui, and conquered the Belgae. In nine years he reduced all Gaul, crossed the Rhine twice (in 55 BC and 53 BC), and twice passed over to Britain, defeated the gallant natives of this island in several battles, and compelled them to give him hostages.
The senate had continued his government in Gaul for another period of five years, while Pompey was to have the command of Spain, and Marcus Crassus that of Syria, Egypt, and Macedonia for five years also. But the death of Marcus Crassus in his campaign against the Parthians dissolved the triumvirate; and about the same time the friendship between Caesar and Pompey cooled. The senate, influenced by Pompey, ordered that Caesar should resign his offices and command within a certain time, or be proclaimed an enemy to the state, and appointed Pompey general of the army of the Republic. Upon this Csesar urged his soldiers to defend the honour of their leader, passed the Rubicon (in 49 BC), and made himself master of Italy without striking a blow, Pompey retiring into Greece. Caesar then levied an army with the treasures of the state, and hastened into Spain, which he reduced to submission without coming to a pitched battle with Pompey's generals.
He next conquered Massilia (now Marseilles), and returned to Rome, where he was appointed dictator. He then followed Pompey into Greece, and defeated him at Pharsalia, from which Pompey escaped only to be assassinated in Egypt. In Rome the senate and the people strove eagerly to gain the favour of the victor. They appointed him consul for five years, dictator for a year, and tribune of the people for life. When his dictatorship had expired he caused himself to be chosen consul again, and without changing the ancient forms of government, ruled with almost unlimited power. In 46 BC he crossed to Africa, defeated the Pompeians Scipio and Cato at Thapsus, and returning to Rome he was received with the most striking marks of honour. The term of his dictatorship was prolonged to ten years, the office of censor conferred on him alone; his person was declared inviolable, and his statue placed beside that of Jupiter in the capitol.
He soon after was honoured with four several triumphs, made perpetual dictator, and received the title of imperator with full powers of sovereignty. In February, 44, he declined the diadem which Antony publicly offered him, and next morning his statues were decked with diadems. His glory, however, was short lived, for a conspiracy was set on foot by his enemy Cassius, and joined by many of his own friends, including M. Brutus; and, notwithstanding dark hints had been given to him of his danger, he attended a meeting of the senate on 15th (ides) March, 44 BC, and fell beneath the daggers of the conspirators.
Of his writings, we still possess the history of his wars with the Gauls and with Pompey. Caesar was undoubtedly the foremost man of all this world, being great as a statesman, a general, an orator, a historian, and an architect and engineer, and his assassination was brought about more by jealousy and envy than by real patriotism. Research Julius Caesar
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Calendar
