• RGB3x3@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Okay, honest question: what did they call it then, if anything?

      Because it’s not like they planned on counting down to the future “messiah’s” birthday.

      • Melllvar@startrek.website
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        6 months ago

        The Romans named their years after who was elected Consul that year. There were two Consuls, so you’d say “in the consulship of Jones and Smith”. 59BC was Julius Caesar and some other guy. The other guy was so unimportant that Romans joked by calling it the consulship of “Julius and Caesar”.

          • TwanHE@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Some humour transcends lifetimes, we were carving dicks into walls before the first century.

          • Justas🇱🇹@sh.itjust.works
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            6 months ago

            "Three men, a greek, a roman and a celt each get an island.

            The greek writes a book about flora and fauna of his island.

            The roman, realising that the island does not need to be conquered, builds a house, a road to the shore and a statue to himself.

            The celt starts a fight."

        • Rinox@feddit.it
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          6 months ago

          In more official settings they would also use the year “ab Urbe condita”, meaning “since the City’s founding” (city being Rome).

          59BC should be around 694 aUc if my numbers are right.

      • Semjaza@lemmynsfw.com
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        6 months ago

        Depends on where in the world, but most dating systems were reginal, that is what year of what monarch/pharaoh/emperor’s reign.

    • StaySquared@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Same… took me a moment. Then I realized in 59 B.C. it was like year 700 to them at that time (not literally 700… just throwing a random number).