Can sombebody explain what C.E. B.C.E A.D. B.C. I know the definition for each term but I just don't get the system. It would be helpful if explanation is much clearer.
The Christian/Western calendar is based upon the approximate time of the birth of Christ.
B.C. means "Before Christ." B.C. dates count backward from 1 B.C. and represent the years before Jesus was born. The year 100 B.C. is 100 years before Jesus was born.
B.C.E. is the same as B.C. It means "Before the Common Era."
A.D., Anno Domini, means "in the year of our Lord." The year 1 A.D. was Jesus's first year of life. 100 A.D. is 100 years after Jesus was born.
C.E. is the same as A.D. and means in the "Common Era."
You may want to think of these dates as on a number line, with 0 representing the year Jesus was born. Numbers to the right of 0 represent the years after he was born. Numbers to the left of 0 represent the years before he was born.
http://education.smarttech.com/NR/rdonlyres/98A932F3-0E77-4C02-ADD0-04D9975ACDEA/0/NumberlineIntegers.gif
This site may also help you.
http://history.binghamton.edu/hist130/docs/timelin2.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_Christ
These two refer to the same period of time:
BC = Before Christ
BCE = Before the common era
These two refer to the same period of time:
AD = Anno Domini (in the year of our Lord), meaning after Christ's birth
CE = Common Era
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Certainly! Let's start with the abbreviations for each term:
1. B.C. stands for "Before Christ."
2. A.D. stands for "Anno Domini" which is Latin for "Year of our Lord."
3. B.C.E. stands for "Before Common Era."
4. C.E. stands for "Common Era."
These terms are used to divide and label years in the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is widely used internationally and is based on the birth of Jesus Christ as a significant historical event.
B.C. and A.D. were historically used to represent years, with B.C. counting the years before the birth of Christ and A.D. counting the years after his birth. However, in recent years, there has been a move towards using B.C.E. and C.E. as religious neutrality to avoid favoring one religion.
The Common Era (C.E.) and Before Common Era (B.C.E.) is an alternative naming system that uses the same time division as B.C. and A.D., but without the religious connotations. C.E. represents the years after the supposed birth of Jesus, while B.C.E. represents the years before that event.
To understand the system, it's important to know that B.C. counts downwards, with larger numbers indicating earlier dates. A.D., C.E., and B.C.E. count upwards, with larger numbers indicating more recent dates.
To calculate the number of years between two dates in this system, you subtract the smaller date from the larger one. For example, to calculate the number of years between 300 B.C.E. (or 300 B.C.) and 200 C.E. (or 200 A.D.), you subtract 300 from 200, resulting in 500 years.
Remember, when referring to historical events, it's common to clarify whether you're using B.C./A.D. or B.C.E./C.E., depending on the context and audience.