What time is BC in history?

In the study of history, the concept of time is crucial. To understand when events occurred, historians use a system of dating that divides history into different periods. One such system is the use of BC, which stands for “Before Christ.” BC refers to the time period before the birth of Jesus Christ, who is considered a significant figure in Christianity.

The BC system is based on the traditional belief that Jesus Christ was born in the year 1 AD. Therefore, any time period before this is denoted as BC. For example, the year 100 BC means that it has been 100 years since the birth of Christ. However, it is important to note that the concept of BC was not introduced until several centuries after the actual events took place.

The BC system was devised by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525 AD. He was tasked with developing a calendar that would accurately calculate the date of Easter. In his calculations, he decided to use the birth of Jesus Christ as a reference point. Dionysius designated the year of Jesus’ birth as 1 AD, and all previous years were counted backwards as BC.

It is worth mentioning that the BC system has religious connotations due to its association with the birth of Jesus Christ. In recent years, there has been a move towards using a more neutral and inclusive dating system, known as BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era). BCE and CE are essentially the same as BC and AD, respectively, but they avoid explicitly referring to Christ or Christianity.

BCE and CE are becoming increasingly popular in academic and scholarly circles, as they are considered more inclusive and secular. They aim to provide a dating system that can be used by individuals of different religious and cultural backgrounds without imposing a specific belief system.