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J  ■ 


THE    WORSHIP    OF 


AUGUSTUS     C^SAR 


DERIVED  FROM  A  STUDY  OF  COINS,   MONUMENTS,   CALENDARS,  ^RAS  AND 

ASTRONOMICAL  AND  ASTROLOGICAL  CYCLES,  THE 

WHOLE  ESTABLISHING 


A  NEW  CHRONOLOGY  AND  SURVEY 


OF    HISTORY    AND   RELIGION 


BY 


\ 


ALEXANDER     DEL     MAR 


NEW     YORK 
PUBLISHED   BY  THE    CAMBRIDGE    ENCYCLOPEDIA  CO. 

62     Reade     Street 
1900 

(All  rights  reserrecf) 


\ 

\ 

\ 


COPYRIGHT 
BY    ALEX.    DEL    MAR 
1899. 


THE    WORSHIP  OF    AUGUSTUS    CAESAR. 


CHAPTERS. 


PAGE. 


Prologue, 

Preface,     ........ 

Bibliography,    ....... 

I. — The  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses, 
II. — The  Ancient  Year  of  Ten  Months,  . 
III. — The  Ludi  S^eculares  and  Olympiads, 
IV. — Astrology  of  the  Divine  Year, 
V. — The  Jovian  Cycle  and  Worship, 
VI. — Various  Years  of  the  Incarnation, 

VII.— ^RAS, 

VIII. — Cycles,  ...... 

IX. — Chronological  Problems  and  Solutions, 
X. — Manetho's  False  Chronology, 
XI. — Forgeries  in  Stone,      .... 

XII. — The  Roman  Messiah,     .... 

Index,         ........ 

Corrigenda,   ....... 


Vll. 

xi. 
I 
6 
17 
39 
43 

51 
62 

237 

281 
287 

295 

302 

335 
347 


PROLOGUE. 


THE  ABYSS  OF  MISERY  AND  DEPRAVITY  FROM  WHICH 
CHRISTIANITY  REDEEMED  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 
CAN  NEVER  BE  FULLY  UNDERSTOOD  WITHOUT  A 
KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  IMPIOUS  WoA^P  OF  EM- 
PERORS TO  WHICH  EUROPE  ONCE  BOWED  ITS 
CREDULOUS  AND  TERRIFIED  HEAD. 

WHEN  THIS  OMITTED  CHAPTER  IS  RESTORED  TO  THE 
HISTORY  OF  ROME,  CHRISTIANITY  WILL  SPRING 
INTO  A  NEW  AND  MORE  VIGOROUS  LIFE  ;  FOR 
THEN  ONLY  WILL  IT  BE  PERCEIVED  HOW  DEEP 
AND  INERADICABLY  ITS  ROOTS  ARE  PLANTED, 
HOW  LOFTY  ARE  ITS  BRANCHES  AND  HOW  DEATH- 
LESS ARE  ITS  AIMS. 


PREFACE. 

THE  collection  of  data  contained  in  this  work  was  originally  in- 
tended as  a  guide  to  the  author's  studies  of  "  Monetary  Sys- 
tems." It  was  therefore  undertaken  with  the  sole  object  of  estab- 
lishing with  precision  the  dates  of  ancient  history. 

It  soon  appeared  that  many  of  the  dates  were  astrological.  They 
were  grafted  upon  the  Ecliptical  Cycle  and  the  imaginary  incarnations 
of  the  Sun.  Such  is  the  case  with  both  the  Indian,  Chaldean,  Egyptian, 
Greek  and  Hebrew  dates  of  remote  antiquity.  Even  the  epochs  used 
by  the  astronomers,  which  were  in  India  equal  to  B.  C.  3102,  in  Baby- 
lon B.  C.  747  and  in  Greece  B.  C.  884,  form  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
They  are  all  astrological. 

This  discovery  entirely  changed  the  author's  plans.  Hitherto  the 
work  had  been  designed  merely  as  an  accessory  to  other  studies:  it 
now  assumed  an  interest  and  importance  of  its  own.  The  employ- 
ment of  the  Ecliptical  Cycle  for  computing  the  lapse  of  time  fur- 
nished a  key  to  the  history  and  progress  of  ancient  astronomy,  which 
it  was  hoped  might  unlock  at  least  one  door  to  the  remote  past. 
It  proved  to  be  capable  of  unlocking  many.  Meanwhile  the  author's 
attention  was  drawn  to  researches  of  a  more  practical  nature.  He 
brought  the  statistical  method  to  bear  upon  a  comparison  of  dates 
from  ancient  sources,  of  which  he  now  made  a  more  extensive  collec- 
tion. The  result  was  the  disclosure  that  the  Roman  chronology  had 
been  altered,  first,  to  the  extent  of  78  years  (sunk)  by  Augustus,  and 
afterwards  to  the  extent  of  15  years  (restored)  by  the  Latin  Sacred 
College.  It  was  also  perceived  that  Augustus  had  changed  the  Olym- 
piads from  five-year  to  four-year  intervals,  and  had  thus  altered  many 
Greek  and  other  dates  to  the  extent  of  108  years. 

He  next  found  that  the  number  of  civil  months  in  the  year,  and 
therefore  also  the  number  of  days  in  the  months  and  weeks,  were  al- 
tered. The  year  had  been  anciently  divided  into  ten  months,  each 
of  36  days,  and  the  months  into  weeks  of  nine  days.  Such  was  the 
case,  not  only  in  Rome,  but  also  in  the  other  states  of  the  ancient 
world.     In  Rome,  the  alteration  was  made  by  the  Decemvirs;  in  the 


via  PREFACE. 

Other  states  it  had  been  made  previously.     Everywhere  it  had  marked 
a  revolution  in  government  and  religion. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  author  resolved  to  devote  himself  to 
the  serious  task  of  tracing  the  alterations  of  the  calendar  and  collect- 
ing such  materials  as  might  enable  others  to  reconstruct  the  shat- 
tered edifice  of  ancient  history.  What  he  saw  about  him  was  nothing 
but  ruins,  but  beneath  those  ruins  there  were  evidently  building  mate- 
rials, many  of  which  have  since  been  brought  to  light 

The  subject  that  next  engaged  his  attention  was  the  Jovian  cycle 
and  worship,  which  could  not  be  confidently  traced  backward  in  the 
Occident  further  than  the  nth  or  12th  century  before  our  aera,  nor 
in  the  Orient  further  backward  than  the  15th  century.  It  followed 
that  the  duodecimal  and  sexagessimal  cycles  and  institutes  which 
hadbeen  drawn  from  the  orbital  period  of  this  planet,  were  not  nearly 
so  old  as  had  been  pretended.  A  like  examination  of  the  progress 
of  discovery  concerning  the  moon's  node  and  the  precession  of  the  ■ 
equinoxes  yielded  analogous  results :  both  were  known  very  anciently, 
but  not  nearly  so  anciently  as  had  been  assumed. 

Strengthened  by  these  astronomical  aids  to  research,  the  entire 
series  of  chronological  data  were  now  recast,  condensing  them  as 
much  as  seemed  consistent  with  exhibiting  their  significance  and  mu- 
tual relations,  and  afterwards  arranging  the  principal  ones  in  clusters, 
with  the  view  to  discover  their  origin  and  bearing. 

The  result  was  the  conviction  that  the  basis  of  all  ancient  dates  is 
to  be  found  in  the  religions  of  the  Orient;  and  that  these  religions  lie 
at  the  foundation  of  all  the  religions  of  the  Occident.  In  a  word,  that 
religion  was  never  a  special  creation,  but  on  the  contrary,  has  been 
the  product  of  Evolution;  an  evolution  which,  beginning  in  India, 
still  goes  on  and  will  go  on  forever. 

The  worship  of  Augustus  has  been  admitted  by  so  many  eminent  crit- 
ics that  there  can  be  no  longer  any  doubt  about  the  fact.  Its  religious 
significance  lies  in  the  inferences  that  are  to  be  drawn  from  it.  With 
these,  the  author  has  no  present  concern.  His  object  has  been  not 
to  make  theological  deductions,  but  to  recognize  an  Historical  Truth, 
whose  admission  must,  in  his  belief,  precede  all  attempts  to  compile 
a  satisfactory  account  of  the  Roman  Empire,  or  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  will  be  shown  upon  ample  evidences  that  after  the  submission  of 
the  Oriental  provinces  and  consolidation  of  the  empire,  Augustus 
Caesar  set  himself  up  for  that  Son  of  God  whose  advent,  according 
to  Indian  chronology,  synchronised  with  the  reappearance  of  the 
Oriental  Messiah;  the  date  being  A.  U.  691  (B.  C.  6^)  the  alleged 


PREFACE.  IX 

year  of  Augustus'  birth;  that  this  claim  and  assumption  appears  in 
the  literature  of  his  age,  was  engraved  upon  his  monuments  and 
stamped  upon  his  coins;  that  it  was  universally  admitted  and  ac- 
cepted throughout  the  Roman  empire  as  valid  and  legitimate,  both 
according  to  Indian  and  Roman  chronology,  astrology,  prophesy  and 
tradition;  that  his  actual  worship  as  such  Son  of  God — DivusFilius — 
was  enjoined  and  enforced  by  the  laws  of  the  empire,  accepted  by 
the  priesthood  and  practised  by  the  people ;  and  that  both  de  jure  and 
de  facto  it  constituted  the  fundamental  article  of  the  Roman  imperial 
and  ecclesiastical  Constitution. 

Unless  these  evidences  and  conclusions  are  overthrown  it  will  fol- 
low that  an  entirely  new  view  of  the  empire,  its  history,  its  laws  and 
its  institutes,  including  the  important  one  of  feudalism,  will  demand 
the  consideration  of  historians  and  students.  Hitherto  the  worship 
of  Augustus  has  been  kept  in  the  background  of  Roman  antiquities. 
It  must  now  either  be  explained  away,  or  accorded  a  more  prominent 
position  in  the  history  and  constitution  of  that  great  empire  from 
whose  womb  has  issued  all  the  states  of  the  modern  world. 


V 


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2nd  ed.   London,  1890,  8vo.  2212.  c.  i. 
Hinduism.     Published  by  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  knowl- 

edee.  London,  1877,  8vo.  2212.  a. 

WiMMER(Ludv.  F.A.)  Die  Runenschrift.  Ed.  by  Dr.  F.  Holthausen.  Berlm,  1S87, 

8vo.  7708.  ee.  41. 

WoRSA^  (J.  J.  A.)  The  Danes  and  Norwegians  in  England.    Tr.  from  the  Danish. 

-London,  1852,  8vo. 

Ancient  Norway.    Tr.  from  the  Danish. 

Wright  (Thomas).    The  Celt,  the  Roman  and  the  Saxon.  London,  1885,  8vo.    (An 

able  work  drawn  chiefly  from  antiquarian  sources.)  2258.  b. 

Yanguas.   Dictionario  de  Antiquedades.,  art.  "Moneda." 

Yarranton  (Andrew).  England's  Improvement  by  Sea  and  Land;  to  Outdo  the 
Dutch  without  Fighting;  to  Pay  Debts  without  Moneys;  to  set  at  Work  all  the 
Poor  of  England  with  the  growth  of  our  own  Lands;  to  prevent  unnecessary  Suits 
in  Law;  with  the  benefit  of  a  voluntary  Register  (registration  of  land  titles);  di- 
rections where  vast  quantities  of  Timber  are  to  be  had  for  the  building  of  Ships; 
with  the  advantage  of  making  the  great  Rivers  of  England  navigable;  rules  to 
prevent  Fires  in  London  and  other  great  Cities;  with  directions  how  the  several 
companies  of  handicraftsmen  in  London  may  always  have  cheap  Bread  and  Drink. 
London,  1577,  2  vols,  4to.    (An  ingenious  and  extremely  rare  work.) 

Zasius  (Joannes  U.)  Epitome  in  usus  feudarum.  Lugduni,  1544,  8vo.  5306.  a.  2. 
Zoroaster.  Boum-Dehesch,  cosmogonie  des  Parses;  trad,  par  M.  Auguetil  du  Per- 
Paris,  1771,2  torn.,  4to.  696-  i-  6.  8. 


ron. 


THE   WORSHIP   OF    AUGUSTUS   C^SAR ; 

A    NEW   CHRONOLOGY  AND    SURVEY 
OF  HISTORY  AND  RELIGION. 


CHAPTER    I. 
THE  CYCLE  OF  THE  ECLIPSES. 

Or  all  the  nations  of  antiquity,  the  East  Indians  are  the  only 
ones  whose  chronology,  albeit  like  the  others  fundamentally 
astrological,  possesses  any  such  astronomical  harmony  or  such  sym- 
phony of  dates  as,  even  with  the  greatest  prudence,  can  be  made  to 
yield  useful  and  reliable  results.  The  different  aeras  which  are  still 
used  in  various  parts  of  India  for  the  computation  of  time,  afford 
valuable  side-lights  on  this  difficult  but  strangely  interest  ng  research. 
The  employment  of  the  statistical  method,  in  bringing  together  a  vast 
number  of  dates,  both  from  India  and  the  numerous  other  countries 
into  which  the  Brahminical  and  Buddhic  religions  and  their  deriva- 
tives have  penetrated,  adds  great  strength  to  the  deductions  derived 
from  other  sources.  Finally,  the  employment  by  the  Indians  of  two 
principal  and  several  other  sets  of  Divine  Years,  all  founded  on  the 
Cycle  of  the  Eclipses,  brings  the  whole  body  of  research  to  such  satis- 
factory conclusions,  that  it  would  seem  to  require  an  overwhelming 
mass  of  evidence  to  upset  them. 

It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  a  knowledge  of  the  Cycle  of  the 
Eclipses  and  of  its  astrological  derivatives  ranks  with  the  most  im- 
portant historical  information  within  the  whole  range  of  human 
attainment;  for  upon  it  have  been  erected  all  the  Divine  Years,  upon 
these  all  the  mythologies,  and  upon  the  mythologies,  all  the  history 
of  the  ancient  world.  It  is  the  guide  to  all  religious  myths,  dogmas 
and  doctrines;  the  clue  to  religious  evolution;  the  key  to  chronology; 
and  the  finger-post  to  ancient  history.  It  is  older  than  theMahabha- 
rata  epic;  it  is  younger  than  the  present  decade,  for  it  was  made  the 
basis  of  a  proclamation  by  the  Emperor  of  China  so  late  as  January 
28th,  -798;  it  is  the  father  of  the  gods,  of  the  zodiac,  of  the  calen- 


2  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

dar,  and  of  all  the  festivals  of  all  the  churches  both  Oriental  and 
Occidental.      Philosophers  have   sold   the   knowledge  of   it   to  the 
temples,  ai.d  the  temples  have  employed  it  to  amaze,  terrify  and  rule 
mankind.     Conquerors  in  all  ages  have  wielded  it  as  a  weapon,  more 
potent  than  armies,  or  fleets,  with  which  to  subjugate  states  or  destroy 
opposing  races.     Yet,  to-day,  notwithstanding  its  extreme  simplicity, 
its  vast  antiquity  and  its  sinister  career,  it  is  but  imperfectly  known 
even  to  the  learned  and  an  absolutely  sealed  book  to  the  masses. 
.     The  conquests  of  Darius,  Alexander,  and  Seleucus  in  India,  of 
*Titus  in  Greece,  Scipio  in  Spain,  Pompey  in  Syria,  Caesar  in  Gaul, 
♦  Mahomet  in  Arabia,  Cortes  in  Mexico,  Pizzaro  in  Peru,  and  many 
lothers  were  all  made  in  the  name  of  Messiahs  drawn  solely  from  this 
I  Mystic  Cycle,  and  whom  astrology  had  taught  the  conquered  nations 
fto  believe  would  visit  the  earth  at  these  periods.*     Indeed  it  has 
served  as  a  ruse  du  temple  and  a  ruse  de  guerre  for  upwards  of  thirty 
centuries.     India  has  lately  been  disturbed  by  seditions,  which  can 
be  traced  directly  to  this  source.   China  is  alarmed  at  the  coincidence 
of  a  New  Year's  Day  and  a  solar  eclipse;  while  the  brother  of  the 
German  Emperor,  who  must  have  learnt  from  the  German  mission- 
aries in  China  that  a  recent  year  marked  the  dawn  of  a  new  Brahma- 
Buddhic  manvantara  has  exposed  himself  to  the  suspicion  of  using 
this  information  in  order  to  strengthen  his  position  at  Kiao  Chao. 

It  is  a  more  or  less  commonly  accepted  belief,  that  astronomy  is 
the  offspring  of  astrology.  The. writer's  reading  and  observation 
has  led  him  to  the  opposite  conclusion,  namely  that  astrology  is 
a  development  of  astronomy;  in  other  words,  that  nearly  the  entire 
mass  of  fancies,  verbalisms,  and  conceits,  known  as  astrology,  owes 
its  origin  and  its  strength  to  previous  discoveries  in  astronomy. 
Astronomy  no  sooner  discovered  a  fact,  than  astrology  at  once 
turned  it  to  practical  account.  The  date  of  one  is,  therefore,  an 
almost  infallible  guide  to  that  of  the  other.  The  Rev.  Edward 
Greswell  (Oxon),  who  has  left  us  twenty  volumes  of  misapplied 
learning  on  the  subject  of  the  Calendar,  laboured  hard  to  prove  that 
the  eclipse  credited  to  Thales  of  Miletus,  B.  C. ,  585,  was  not  fore- 
told from  observation,  but  by  means  of  the  Cycle  of  Eclipses  which 
he  supposed  Thales  to  have  discovered,  forgetting  that  the  cycle 
itself  could  only  have  been  the  product  of  previous  astronomical 
observation,  extending  over  long  periods  of  time,  and  also,  forget- 
ting that  in  another  part  of  his  work  he  pointedly  affirmed  that  this 

'  The  Aztecs,  Peruvians,  Chibchas,  and  other  American  nations  were  looking  for 
the  reappearance  of  a  Messiah  when  the  Spaniards  landed  in  America.  "^ 


THE    CYCLE    OF    THE    ECLIPSES.  3 

cycle  was  known  to  the  Egyptians  so  early  as  the  tenth  century  B.  C. 

The  use  of  the  Cycle  of  Eclipses  can  not  only  be  traced  in  Miletus 
to  the  period  of  Thales,  it  belongs  to  an  older  period  in  Egypt  and 
Chaldea,  and  to  a  still  older  period  in  India.  Man  has  practised  the 
arts  of  imposture  from  so  remote  an  epoch,  he  has  been  so  ingenious 
in  perverting  the  truth,  that  no  safe  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  any- 
thing that  he  has  directly  affirmed  or  written  with  reference  to 
antiquity.  History  is  not  to  be  gleaned  from  the  memorials  which 
have  been  preserved,  but  rather  from  those  which  have  been  lost, 
neglected,  or  forgotten.  Man,  when  viewed  generally,  is  a  consti- 
tutional romancer,  one  who  is  altogether  too  cunning  to  be  convicted 
out  of  his  own  mouth.  The  progress  of  astronomical  knowledge, 
which  he  can  neither  forge  nor  pervert,  affords  much  more  reliable 
testimony  concerning  the  progress  of  astrology,  and  therefore,  of 
religion  and  history,  than  anything  which  he  has  written  on  these 
subjects.  Prominent  in  this  range  of  knowledge  was  the  Cycle  of 
the  Eclipses  and  the  sinister  use  to  which  he  put  it. 

Upon  this  basis  the  Brahmins  erected  the  most  stupendous  system 
of  superstition  of  which  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  Upon  this  system 
of  superstition,  they  superimposed  an  ecclesiastical  organization 
and  canon,  contrived  to  last  for  several  thousand  years,  compared 
with  which  the  most  venerable  organization  of  the  Western  world  is 
but  a  thing  of  yesterday.  This  system  had  probably  lasted  one 
divine  year,  before  the  failure  of  Parasurama  unexpectedly  exposed 
its  weakness,  and  opened  it  to  attack.  Yet,  such  was  the  strength 
of  their  ecclesiastical  organization  that  it  required  another  divine 
year  before  this  attack  succeeded,  not,  indeed,  in  overthrowing,  but 
in  modifying  the  system  of  the  Brahmins.  This  modification  began 
with  the  calendar,  the  precise  point  of  the  Parasuramic  fracture. 
The  man  who  detected  and  exposed  this  fracture,  was  he  who  is 
known  as  Buddha,  Tat,^  or  Gotama;  and  the  least  obvious,  yet, 
practically  the  most  important,  of  the  reforms  that  he  instituted, 
was  to  alter,  or  at  least  to  suggest  the  means  of  altering,  the 
division  of  the  zodiac,  and  of  the  year,  from  ten  to  twelve  equal 
parts. 

It  is  probable  that  the  change  from  a  ten  to  a  twelve  months'  year 
had  its  origin  in  the  failure  of  Parasurama,  the  tenth  incarnation  of 
Brahma,  or  Vishnu,  who  was  to  have  wound  up  the  affairs  of  the 

'^  The  Brahmins  afterwards  appropriated  this  name:  "  Om,  Tat,  Sat;  these  are 
considered  as  the  three  designations  of  Brahma."  les  Chrishna  to  Arjuna:  Bhagavad 
Gita,  XVII,  23. 


4  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

world,  and  to  have  brought  mankind  to  judgment  in  the  year  1206, 
1 143  or  else  11 28  B.  C.  But  at  that  distant  period  a  political  or  re- 
ligious revolution,  without  adequate  astrological  support,  was  prac- 
ticably impossible;  while  astrology,  without  a  positive  astronomical 
ground-work,  was  out  of  the  question.  That  the  Parasuramic  failure 
was  indeed  followed  by  a  long  period  of  disturbance  and  civil  wars, 
ending  with  the  Buddhic  reform  of  the  calendar,  can  only  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  discovery,  or  disclosure,  of  some  great  astronomical  fact 
which  furnished  the  basis  of  such  reform;  and  this  is  most  likely  to 
have  been  the  discovery  of  the  planetary  nature  of  Jupiter,  and  the 
determination  of  the  Jovian  cycle  of  twelve  years.  The  Indians 
and  Chinese  indeed  carry  their  Jovian  cycles  back  to  much  more  re- 
mote periods.  But  it  is  easy  to  prove  that  these  are  comparatively 
modern  inventions  based  upon  Buddhic  divine  years,  and  that  the 
actual  sera  of  the  Jovian  cycles  is  not  much,  if  at  all,  earlier  than 
the  eleventh  century,  B.  C.  This  was  the  phenomenon  needed,  and 
this  was  the  phenomenon  employed  not  merely  to  explain  away  the 
failure  of  Parasurama,  but  to  obtain  a  further  lease  of  power  for  the 
Brahminical  church.  Nevertheless,  the  movement  thus  begun  was 
disputed  for  centuries  by  the  contending  sects  which  arose  out  of 
the  Parasuramic  failure,  and  it  was  not  until  the  second  Buddhic 
period  or  the  seventh  century  in  India  and  China,  the  sixth  century 
in  Miletus,  Chaldea,  Egypt  and  Greece,  and  the  fifth  century,  B.  C, 
in  Rome  and  the  West,  that  the  change  from  a  ten  to  a  twelve  months' 
year  was  effected.  It  is  not  necessary  in  this  place  to  dwell  upon 
the  causes  of  this  remarkable  change ;  we  are  here  only  concerned 
with  the  fact  and  the  evidences  of  the  change,  and  with  the  marks 
which  still  remain  of  it  in  our  laws  and  customs. 

For  example,  four  holidays  are  still  observed  in  the  British  Isles, 
and  in  Gaul  and  in  Germany,  of  whose  origin  nobody  has  yet  offered 
a  satisfactory  account.  These  are  Martinmas,  November  nth; 
Candlemas,  February  2nd;  Whitsuntide,  May  15th;  and  Lammas, 
August  ist.  Such  are  the  dates  of  the  Cross  Quarter  days  as  fiixed 
in  Scotland,  where  they  always  fall  on  the  same  days  of  the  solar 
year.  In  England,  Whitsuntide  "term"  is  May  15th,  whilst  Whit- 
suntide itself  is  moveable,  because  it  occurs  so  and  so  many  days 
after  Easter,  which,  being  a  lunar  festival,  becomes,  in  a  solar  calen- 
dar, a  moveable  day.  But  in  Scotland,  where  the  year  for  all  pur- 
poses is  solar  and  "Julian"  (i.  e.,  consisting  of  365^  days)  the 
Cross  Quarter  days  are  fixed.  Leases  are  usually  dated  from  two  of 
them,  or  from  an  approximate  day  bearing  a  fixed  and  permanent 


THE    CYCLE    OF    THE    ECLIPSES.  5 

relation  to  them,  the  removal  terms  in  leases  being  May  28th  and 
November  28th.  In  England,  hunting  and  fishing  leases  are  usually 
dated  from  Martinmas.      Similar  customs  prevail  on  the  Continent.' 

On  the  other  hand,  the  usual  English  quarter-days  for  leases, 
taxes  ("rates"),  interest-payments,  the  liquidation  of  tradesmen's 
accounts,  and  many  other  periodical  events  and  settlements  are  Lady 
Day,  March  25th,  St.  John's  Day  June  25th,  Michaelmas  September 
29th,  and  Christmas  December  25th,  answering  to  the  equinoxes  and 
solstices. 

Why  is  it  that  these  last-named  English  quarter-days  are  not 
enough  for  the  whole  kingdom,  and  that  four  other  quarter-days  are 
found  to  be  in  common  use,  not  merely  in  Scotland,  but  also  (as  to 
hunting  leases)  in  England;  while  as  popular  holidays,  or  festival 
days,  they  are  observed  as  universally  in  one  country  as  the  other? 
It  is  true  that  Candlemas  and  Lammas  are  no  longer  popular  festivals ; 
but  this  cannot  be  said  of  Whitsuntide  nOr  of  Martinmas,  both  of 
which  are  widely  observed.  Moreover,  why  is  it  that  these 
submerged  Cross-Quarter  days  are  still  venerated  in  France  and 
Germany? 

Why  is  it,  also,  that  except  as  to  Michaelmas,  which,  however,  is 
only  four  days  out,  the  usual  quarter-days  are  just  three  months 
apart,  whilst  in  the  case  of  the  Cross-Quarter  days  it  is  two  months 
and  a  half  from  Martinmas  to  Candlemas,  three  months  and  a  half 
from  Candlemas  to  Whitsuntide,  two  months  and  a  half  from  Whit- 
suntide to  Lammas,  and  three  months  and  a  half  from  Lammas  to 
Martinmas? 

The  solution  of  these  problems  belongs  to  the  changed  division  of 
the  year,  from  ten  months  of  thirty-six  days  to  twelve  months  of 
thirty  days  (with  five  epagomenae),  and  it  incidentally  brings  to 
light  some  of  the  most  interesting  and  significant  facts  in  the  whole 
range  of  ancient  history  and  religion. 

^  "  In  England  for  many  municipal  and  parochial  purposes  the  year  is  reckoned 
from  Lady  Day  or  (else  from)  Michaelmas  Day.  The  tenure  of  lands  is  generally 
computed  by  the  same  periods.  In  Scotland  the  period  in  contracts  of  landlord  and 
tenant  is  often  dated  from  Lammas  or  Candlemas."  Sir  Geo.  Cornewall-Lewis, 
"  Anc.  Astron,"  29.  Many  interesting  survivals  of  Whit-sun  (Baal-time)  and  of  Mar- 
tinmas, such  as  Weeping  for  Thammuz,  or  Osiris,  called  the  "  Festival  of  the  Dead," 
will  be  found  in  Haliburton's  work. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE  ANCIENT  YEAR  OF  TEN  MONTHS. 

TO  begin  with,  the  Roman  calendar,  our  own  calendar,  has  been 
seriously  altered.  By  this  is  meant  not  merely  that  it  was 
altered  ten  days  by  Pope  Gregory  in  1582,  or  eleven  days  by  the 
British  act  passed  in  1752,  but  that,  to  say  nothing  of  other  altera- 
tions, it  was  altered  long  before  either  of  these  dates,  by  changing 
the  ancient  year  of  ten  months,  aggregating  365  days,  to  a  year  of 
twelve  months,  aggregating  365  days.  The  date  of  this  alteration 
in  the  principal  states  of  the  world  was  approximately  as  follows: 

Remarks. 
Digambara  aera  of  Buddha. 
Rev.  E.  Greswell,  Fasti  Catholici,  I,  509. 
Thales,  or  else  Anaximander. 
Zoroaster. 
Nebu-chadn-Izzar. 

Solon  changed  lo  x  36=360,  to  12  x  29_^=354. 
Calendar  falsely  attributed  to  "  Ramses  III." 
Carabyses,  of  Persia,  "  King  of  Asia." 
Calendar  of  the  Decemviri. 

To  be  told  that  the  months  anciently  had  36  days  each,  or  even 
an  average  of  s^  days,  will  probably  surprise  the  majority  of  our 
readers;  yet  there  is  scarcely  an  institute  of  antiquity  so  well 
attested. 

"According  to  the  Babylonian  Table  the  zodiac  contained  ten 
gods  called  the  'Ten  Zodiac  Gods-  '  The  commentators,  more 
intent  upon  identifying  Xisthruswith  Noah,  have  entirely  overlooked 
the  significance  of  the  Ten  zodionsof  Babylon,  whose  numbers  prove 
not  only  a  division  of  the  zodiac  and  the  celestial  sphere  into  ten 
parts,  they  also  imply  a  division  of  the  year  into  ten  months  and  in- 
dicate the  epoch  of  the  Table.  This  must  be  assigned  to  a  period 
after  the  very  ancient  division  of  the  year  into  eight  and  before  its 
comparatively  later  division  into  twelve,  civil  months. 

'  Doane's  "  Bible  Myths,"  p.   102,  citing  Dunlop's  "  Son  of  the  Man,"  p.  153,  n. 


Country. 

B.C. 

India 

662 

China 

657 

Miletus 

592 

Persia 

590 

Babylon 

582 

Athens 

582 

Egypt 

547 

Syria 

524 

Rome 

451 

THE    ANCIENT    YEAR    OF    TEN    MONTHS.  7 

The  prytanes  or  Senate  of  Athens  consisted  of  500  persons,  50 
from  each  of  the  ten  tribes,  into  which  the  whole  population  of 
Attica  was  divided.  Each  of  these  bodies  of  50  representatives, 
served  the  public  a  tenth  part  of  the  year.  None  of  them  could 
serve  less  than  35  days  nor  more  than  38,  the  last  only  in  an  inter- 
calary year.  It  follows  that  the  months  contained  on  the  average 
between  35  and  38  days.  The  Choiseul  Marble,  on  which  the  course 
and  succession  of  the  prytanes  for  the  whole  year  is  recorded,  proves 
that  in  fact  the  months  had  35  or  else  36  days  each.  Numerous 
other  inscriptions  prove  that  the  current  day  of  the  month  and  the 
current  day  of  the  prytanea  were  the  same.'^ 

"  In  the  time  of  Homer,  as  in  that  of  Romulus,  the  year  was  not 
divided  into  twelve,  but  into  ten  months" — annum  fuisse  non  duo- 
dectm  mensiutn,  sed  decei7i.      Aulus  Gellius,  III.,  16. 

It  may  be  added  that  Homer's  "  Odyssey,"  XI.,  313,  attributes 
to  Poseidon,  who  is  speaking  to  Tyro,  an  expression  which  implies 
a  year  of  ten  months.      Greswell,  "  Kal.  Hellenicae,"  VI.,  394. 

The  day  sacred  to  Hermes  and  to  Maia,  the  fourth  day  of  the 
tenth  month,  when  Hermes,  Mercury  (or  les)  was  born,  as  men- 
tioned in  Pisistratus'  version  of  Homer's  Hymns,  is  also  regarded  as 
an  implication  of  the  same  fact.  The  day  sacred  to  Hermes  and 
Maia  was  Martinmas. 

The  prytanes  also  prove  by  their  number  and  function  the  ancient 
division  of  the  Greek  year  into  ten  months.  Cf.  Potter's  Antiq. 
Greece,  I,  507. 

"When  the  Founder  of  the  City  (that  is  to  say,  Romulus,  who  in 
the  Augustan  age  was  also  alluded  to  as  Quirinus)  divided  the  peri- 
ods of  time,  he  appointed  that  there  should  be  twice  five  months  in 
the  year  .  .  .  The  first  month  was  Mars  .  .  .  But  Numa 
added  two  to  the  ancient  months  .  .  .  The  market  day  (that  is 
to  say,  Mercury's  day,  merk-day,  mess-day,  mass-day,  the  middle- 
day,  etc.)  always  returns  after  the  ninth  revolution,"  Ovid,  Fasti, 
I,  29,  38,  43,  54. 

"Numa's  first  undertaking  was  to  divide  the  year  into  twelve 
months  according  to  the  course  of  the  moon."     Livy,  I,  19. 

"Junius  Gracchianus,  B.  C.  124,  Fulvius,  B.  C.  189,  Varro,  Sue- 
tonius and  other  writers  all  agree  that  the  Roman  year  was  divided 
into  ten  months.  According  to  Fulvius  it  was  Numa,  while  accor'l- 
ing  to  Junius  it  was  Tarquin  (Superbus)  who  altered  it  to  twelve 
months."  Censorinus,  de  Die  Natale,  XX,  (written  A.  D.  238). 
*  Rev.  Edw.  Greswell,  K.  H.,  I,  84-88. 


b  -A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

"Romulus  divided  the  year  of  the  Romans  into  ten  months.  The 
first  (month)  was  March."     Macrobius,  Sat.  I,  12. 

AugustiixC  of  Hippo  also  mentions  ancient  "years"  (evidently 
meaning  months)  of  36  days,  "the  tenth  part  of  the  lunar  year." 
"City  of  God,"  XV,  12. 

Geminus,  in  his  "  Uranologia  "  testifies  that  the  Roman  year  was 
originally  divided  into  ten  months. 

Eutropius,  I,  3,  says  "Numa  Pompilius  divided  the  year  into 
ten  months."  Except  that  Romulus  and  not  Numa  was  the  sup- 
posed author  of  the  ten  months'  year,  this  testimony  is  corroborative. 

Says  Diodorus,  lib.  I:  "Even  at  this  day,  now  that  there  are 
twelve  months  in  the  year,  many  (persons)  live  a  hundred  years." 

"  The  fifth  month  in  the  Sibylls  is  July,  because  anciently  the  first 
was  March  and  there  were  but  ten,  until  Numa."  Procopius,  Bell. 
Gothica,  I,   19. 

"Nor  did  the  ancients  have  as  many  calends  (a  metonym  for 
months)  as  there  now  are;  their  year  was  shorter  (in  m.onths)  by  a 
couple  of  months."     Ovid,  Fasti,  III,  98. 

The  Pythagoreans  regarded  the  number  Ten  as  perfect. 

"The  number  Ten  was  then  in  great  esteem.  .  .  For  that  rea- 
son Romulus  respected  the  conventional  number  in  forming  the  year 
(of  ten  months)."     Fasti,  HI,  132. 

Livy  says  of  the  year  of  Rome  291,  or  B.  C.  463,  that  "  The  elec- 
tions were  then  held  and  Lucius  ^butius  and  PubliusServilius  being 
chosen  consuls,  they  began  their  o-fiice  on  the  calends  of  August, 
which  was  at  that  time  considered  the  beginning  of  the  civil  year." 
As  March  was  by  all  accounts  originally  the  first  month,  a  change 
from  March  to  August  in  a  twelve  months'  year  would  have  been  a 
change  from  the  first  to  the  sixth  month,  a  difference  of  only  five 
months.  Such  a  change  being  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  year  and 
less  than  half  a  year  would  have  entailed  great  inconvenience  and 
confusion.  But  in  a  ten  months'  year  no  such  mischief  would  have 
resulted,  because  in  such  a  year  the  change  from  March  to  August 
would  have  amounted  to  exactly  half  a  year.  There  can  conse- 
quently be  but  little  doubt  that  at  the  time  this  change  was  made 
in  the  New  Year  Day,  the  year  was  divided  into  ten  months.^ 

While  all  the  authorities  agree  that  the  division  of  the  year  was 

^  It  will  not  do  to  argue  that  the  ten  months'  year  was  not  a  full  year  of  365  or  at 
least  360  days  with  5  epagomenae,  for  it  is  in  such  years  that  Livy,  Cicero,  Dion  and 
Plutarch  computed  the  reign  of  Romulus  at  37,  while  other  ancient  writers  cumputed 
it  at  38  years,  an  interval  that  forms  a  definite  part  of  the  accepted  chronology. 


THE    ANCIENT    YEAR    OF    TEN    MONTHS.  9 

changed  from  lo  to  12  parts  (duodekameria)  there  is  some  diversity 
as  to  the  year  when  the  change  was  made.  Many  of  the  authorities 
piously  assign  it  to  Romulus,  or  Numa;  while  M.  Fulvius  Nobilior, 
who  was  Consul  B.  C.  189,  is  reported  to  have  said  that  the  change 
from  10  to  12  months  was  made  by  Manius  Acilius  Glabrio,  B.  C. 
191,  only  two  years  previously.  (Macrob.  Sat.  I,  13,  §20.)  How- 
ever, Fulvius  was  confuted  by  Varro,  who  cited  a  brass  tablet  of 
Pinarius  and  Furius,  B.  C.  472,  "which  was  dated  by  a  reference  to 
intercalation,"  says  Sir  Geo.  Cornewall-Lewis,  evidently  meaning 
an  intercalation  designed,  like  those  of  the  Hindus  and  Chinese,  to 
harmonize  the  10  and  12  months'  year.  This  "intercalation"  will 
be  explained  further  on.  The  most  authoritative  statement  on  the 
year  of  the  change  from  10  to  12  months  was  made  by  Cassius  He- 
mina  and  M.  Sempronius  Tuditanus,  the  last  of  whom  was  Pontifex- 
Maximus  of  Rome,  B.  C.  185-76. They  said  that  the  change  from  10 
to  12  months  was  made  by  the  Decemvirs  (B.  C.  452-450);  and  this 
was  probably  the  fact.  The  apparent  disagreement  between  the  date 
of  Varro's  tablet  and  the  aera  of  the  Decemvirs  may  be  due  to  the 
alteration  of  the  Roman  chronology  explained  in  another  place.' 

Such  are  the  literary  evidences  with  regard  to  the  change  from  a 
ten  months'  to  a  twelve  months'  year.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to 
state  that  the  two  new  months  in  the  Roman  calendar  were  January 
and  February,  which  are  now  intercalated  between  the  previously 
last  or  tenth  month,  December,  and  the  previously  first  month, 
Primus,  afterwards  called  March;  unnecessary,  because  the  names 
of  these  months  alone  would  prove  the  whole  case.  But  there  are 
other  proofs.  The  ancient  ordinal  names  of  the  last  four  months 
still  remain  in  use  to  prove  not  only  that  the  year  was  anciently 
divided  into  ten  months,  but  they  also  attest  the  place  of  intercala- 
tion. December  is  a  word  which  relates  to  ten,  yet  December  is  now 
the  twelfth  month;  November  which  relates  to  nine,  is  now  the  elev- 
enth month;  October  which  relates  to  eight,  is  now  the  tenth 
month;  September  which  relates  to  seven,  is  now  the  ninth  month. 

Still  other  evidences  of  the  ten  months'  year  are  derived  from  com- 
parative philology;  yet  these  will  be  adduced  last  of  all,  because  al- 
though the  most  popular,  they  are  the  least  reliable.  The  calend  of 
March  was  called  Messo,   from  Mesotheus,   a  surname  of  Bacchus, 

*  INIrs.  Gatty  dates  the  change  from  a  twelve  to  a  ten  months'  year  in  B.  C.  293. 
According  to  Pothier,  Cicero  (de  Legg,  ii,)  fixes  it  in  the  consulate  of  Dec.  Brutus, 
which  by  our  computation  would  be  B.  C.  200.  The  statement  of  the  Roman  Chief- 
pontiff  is  far  more  authoritative. 


lO  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Janus,  or  Mercury,  the  god  of  the  open  door.  In  like  manner  the 
calend  of  August  (five  months  later)  was  called  Messa,  a  surname  of 
Ceres,  the  goddess  of  harvests.  From  these  names  sprang  the  meto- 
nyms  messis  for  harvest  times,  messis,  a  crop  and  many  other  words 
of  like  import.  Again,  as  the  calend  of  March,  the  ecclesiastical 
New  Year  day,  was  called /ar  excellence  the  Messo,  or  High  Mass-day, 
so  the  calend  of  August,  or  the  ecclesiastical  Mid-year,  was  called 
the  Lesser  Mass,  or,  according  to  the  Rev.  Sam'l  Johnson,  the  Lat- 
ter Mass,  corrupted,  as  he  asserts  by  the  English,  to  Lammas.  So 
distinctively  was  this  name  of  messa  attached  to  the  middle  day  of 
the  year,  that  afterwards  it  was  also  given  to  the  middle  of  anything, 
for  example  mesa^  the  middle  part,  Pliny  XIX,  9;  mesaula^  the  mid- 
dle salon  or  hall  of  a  house,  Vitruvius  VI,  10;  mese^  the  fourth  or 
middle  string  of  the  seven-stringed  lyre,  Vitruvius,  V,  4;  mess-day. 
Mercury-day,  merk-day,  market-day,  or  the  fourth,  or  middle  day, 
of  the  septuary  week,  which  day  is  still  the  market  day  in  all  rural 
places  within  the  limits  of  the  ancient  Roman  empire;  Bru-mess,  or 
midwinter,  another  name  for  Brumalia,  or  the  festival  of  Bacchus; 
mezzanine^  a  middle  flooring;  mezzo^  the  middle  or  half  of  one;  and 
so  on.  The  mediaeval  monks,  in  order  to  dispose  of  this  tell-tale 
word,  said  that  mess^  or  mass  came  from  missio,  to  dismiss;  but  this 
was  simply  their  ipse  dixit.  They  offered  no  proofs  to  support  such 
a  derivation,  and  they  made  no  attempt  to  explain  the  numerous  ap- 
plications of  the  word  mess  or  mass,  which  had  nothing  to  do  with 
fismiss  or  dismissal.  Mess  is  a  word  of  very  high  antiquity.  It  was 
sed  in  India,  Tibet,  China,  Egypt,  Greece,  Persia  and  Rome.  In 
^11  these  countries  it  meant  the  Messiah,  the  mediator,  the  interces- 
isor,  the  one  who  stood  in  the  middle,  between  God  and  man.  Not 
to  go  any  further  backward  in  time  than  the  Greek  period,  it  was 
given  to  Bacchus,  who  was  called  Meso-theus,  or  the  Mediator;  to 
Poseidon  or  Neptune,  who  was  called  Mesopontus  from  meso,  the 
middle  and  pontus,  the  Sea  (Racine) ;  to  Mithra,  because  she  stood 
in  the  middle  between  the  opposing  forces  of  Ormuzd  (Oromesus) 
and  Ahriman  (Racine) ;  and  at  one  period  even  to  Jupiter,  called 
Messapea,  because  he  was  then  regarded  as  the  Mediator  between 
Saturn,  the  Supreme,  and  his  handiwork,  the  human  race. 

Similar  evidences  are  to  be  found  in  the  names  of  the  Hebrew, 
Syrian,  Babylonian,  Greek,  Egyptian,  Chaldean  and  Indian  months. 
They  all  exhibit  in  their  names  an  original  Ten  and  an  added  Two, 
to  make  up  the  present  Twelve.  Take  the  Syrian  months  for  ex- 
ample:  they    are  Eloul,   Tisri  I,    Tisri  II,    Canoun  I,    Canoun  II, 


THE    ANCIENT    YEAR    OF    TEN    MONTHS.  II 

Sabat,  Adar,  Nissan,  lyar,  Hisiram,  Thammuz  and  Ab.  It  is  evident 
that  Tisri  II  and  Canoun  II  are  after-thouglits,  or  months  interca- 
lated after  Tisri  and  Canoun,  in  order  to  make  up  a  present  Twelve 
out  of  an  ancient  Ten. 

Until  this  accumulation  of  evidences  is  overthrown,  it  must  be 
conceded  that  the  year  was  anciently  divided  into  ten  months.  This 
places  us  in  a  position  to  add  the  corroborative,  though  less  positive, 
testimony  of  the  Cross-Quarter  days. 

When  the  year  consisted  of  ten  equal  parts  or  months  it  could 
only  be  otherwise  equally  divided  into  five  periods  of  two  months 
each,  or  two  periods  of  five  months  each;  for  ten  cannot  be  equally 
divided  by  any  other  numbers  than  one,  two,  five,  or  ten  itself.  As 
the  quarter  days  did  not  fall  on  the  same  day  of  the  month,  rents 
were  probably  paid — and  the  existing  Scottish  practice  is  a  proof  that 
in  fact  they  were  so  paid — every  half  year,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  end 
of  every  five  months,  or  i8o  days.*  In  a  period  of  industrial  activity 
— and  it  will  scarcely  be  denied  that  in  commercial  countries,  even 
in  very  ancient  times,  such  periods  occurred — a  half  yearly  period 
for  rentals  and  other  settlements  must  have  become  inconvenient. 
Though  the  origin  and  the  motive  of  the  change  was  of  a  far  more 
important  and  significant  character  than  mere  convenience,  yet  con- 
venience may  not  have  been  without  influence  in  rendering  the 
change  acceptable.  When  the  change  did  take  place,  the  half  yearly 
removal  and  rent  and  settlement  days  had  to  be — and  they  were  in 
fact — exchanged  in  favour  of  quarterly  periods.  We  have  now  to 
describe  the  process.      It  will  bring  to  light  some  strange  matters. 

Let  us  take  Rome  for  example.  The  date  is  B.  C.  452.  The  year 
consists  of  ten  months,  each  of  ^6  days  with  five  intercalaries.  It 
begins  March  ist.  In  order  not  to  disturb  the  customary  half  yearly 
rent  and  settlement  day,  occurring  August  ist,  which  was  also  at 
that  period  the  consular  day,  or  beginning  of  the  civil  year  (Livy 
III,  6),  the  plan  of  changing  to  a  twelve  months  year  is  to  divide  the 
first  half  of  the  current  year  into  five  months  each  of  36  days  and 
the  second  half  into  six  months  each  of  30  days,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  to  render  the  change  complete  by  dividing  the  year  into  12 
months  each  of  30  days.  This  is  the  "intercalation"  previously 
mentioned.      Rents,  etc.,  are  henceforth  to  be  paid  quarterly.    When 

^  In  the  Bhagavad  Gita,  a  work  which  Dr.  Lorimer  assigns  to  about  the  year  400 
B.  C  but  which  may  be  nearly  as  ancient  as  the  period  of  the  second  Buddha,  the  year 
is  divided  into  two  seasons  of  six  months  each,  that  of  "  the  Sun's  northern  circuit" 
and  that  of  his  "  Southern  circuit."     B.  G.  VIII,  24-25. 


12  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

does  the  first  quarter  become  due?  The  middle  day,  the  ides  of  May, 
which  in  the  36  day  month  falls  on  the  i8th.  The  long  subsequent 
decree  of  Pope  Gregory  changed  the  i8th  to  the  28th.  This  accounts 
for  the  Whitsun  term,  still  employed  in  Scotland.  When  does  the 
second  quarter  become  due?  Three  months  (now  of  30  days  each) 
from  August  ist,  namely,  on  November  ist.  Add  Gregory's  ten  days 
to  this  and  we  have  November  nth.  This  is  Martinmas.  The  mid- 
year day,  August  ist,  is  Lammas.  Six  months  (each  of  30  days) 
from  Lammas  is  February  ist.     This  is  Candlemas  eve. 

It  is  true  that  while  the  Gregorian  change  disturbed  the  ancient 
dates  in  November,  it  did  not  disturb  the  ancient  dates  in  May;  but 
in  respect  of  the  Whitsun  term  the  ten  days  change  had  to  be  made 
in  order  to  keep  these  two  rent  days  at  the  customary  distance,  166 
days,  apart.  In  other  words,  when  Martinmas  was  advanced  from 
November  ist  to  the  nth  it  became  necessary,  without  altering  any 
of  the  other  festival  dates  in  May,  to  advance  Whitsun  from  May 
i8th  to  the  28th;  and  this  accordingly  was  done." 

We  have  thus  accounted  for  the  Cross-Quarter  days,  but  we  have 
not  yet  disposed  of  this  anomalous  year.  The  year  B.  C.  452  con- 
sisted of  ten  months  each  of  ^6  days  (with  five  epagomenae) ;  the  year 
B.  C.  450  consisted  of  12  months  each  of  30  days  (with  five  epago- 
mense),  both  of  them  commencing  March  ist;  but  this  particular 
year  B.  C.  451,  the  Year  of  Change,  although  it  consisted  like  its 
predecessor  and  successor  of  360  days  (with  five  epagomenge)  yet  it 
included  only  11  months.  In  order  not  to  disturb  Sextilis  ist,  or 
Lammas  day,  when  the  consuls  entered  upon  their  office  and  the 
half  year's  rents  were  due  in  the  ten  months'  year,  the  first  half  of 
the  year  had  to  have  five  months  of  36  days;  while  the  second  half 
had  six  months  of  30  days;  total,  360  days,  (with  five  epagomenae), 
but  only  eleven  months.  The  year  of  the  change  began  on  March 
ist;  it  ended  with  the  last  day  of  January;  consequently  in  that 
year  there  were  only  eleven  months  in  the  calendar.  The  crowded- 
out  month  first  made  its  appearance  in  the  calendar  of  B.  C.  450; 
and  as  this  month  was  largely  devoted  to  purification  and  preparation 
for  the  New  Year,  it  was  called  February,  after  the  god  of  purifica- 
tion, whose  name  was  Februus. 

The  long  subsequent  year,  when  Julius  Cssar  rectified  the  Roman 
calendar,  consisted  of  445  days  and  it  was  called  the  Year  of  Confusion. 

*  The  American  Encyc.  Brit.,  art.  "  May,"  remins  us  that  on  the  Ides  of  May  was 
celebrated  the  feast  of  Mercury.  The  Ides  of  May  in  the  ten  months'  year  was  Whit- 
suntide, the  1 8th.     It  is  quite  likely  that  one  festival  arose  out  of  the  other. 


THE    ANCIENT    YEAR    OF    TEN    MONTHS.  13 

This  affords  warrant  to  suspect  that  the  remoter  year,  when  the 
months  were  begun  to  be  changed  from  ten  of  36  to  12  of  30  days 
each,  was  called  "The  Year  of  Change."  Ovid,  Virgil,  Pliny, 
Servius,  Hyginus  and  other  ancient  authorities  allude  to  a  once- 
existent  zodiac  of  II  signs  and  therefore  to  a  year  of  11  months;  a 
number  and  mode  of  division,  which,  if  employed  permanently,  would 
have  led  to  extreme  confusion  and  inconvenience.  For  this  reason 
these  allusions  can  only  be  reasonably  applied  to  the  unique  Year  of 
Change;  the  only  year,  which,  according  to  our  view,  ever  really 
consisted  of  eleven  months  or  was  represented  by  11  zodions.'' 

There  is  indeed  a  Greek  legend  that  "  Musaeus,"  who  is  assigned 
to  a  very  remote  age  (B.  C.  1406)  invented  the  zodion  of  the  Archer, 
which  might  be  taken  to  imply  that  before  his  time  the  Greek  zodiac 
had  but  II  signs  and  the  year  only  11  months.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  legend  may  merely  mean  that  the  Hindu  sign  of  a  human-archer, 
Dhanaus,  or  Danaus,  was  altered  by  "Musaeus"  to  the  Greek  sign 
of  the  centaur-archer.  The  former  is  to  be  seen  on  the  gold  coins 
of  Darius;  the  latter  is  in  the  zodiac  of  to-day.  Seriously,  however, 
a  Musaeus  of  the  15th  century  B.  C.  belongs  not  to  history  but  to 
mythology.  The  date  B.  C.  1406  is  astrological.  Musaeus  is  the 
Greek  form  of  Moess,  one  of  the  names  of  the  god  Dionysos, 
Bacchus,  or  Buddha.  It  was  adopted  by  several  Dionysian  writers, 
the  latest  of  whom  flourished  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  of  our 
aera  and  composed  a  work  entitled  '  *  The  Loves  of  Hero  and  Leander, " 
some  lines  of  which  were  borrowed  from  Nonnus,  the  Dionysian, 
another  follower  of  the  same  cult.  As  for  the  legend  in  Servius 
that  in  the  Alexandrian  zodiac  the  Scorpion  occupied  the  space  of 
two-twelfths  of  the  zodiac,  until  one-twelfth  was  given  to  its  Claws 
in  order  to  form  what  is  now  known  as  the  Balance — we  may  consign 
it  to  the  realms  of  poetry.* 

'  The  American  Encyc.  Brit.,  art.  "  Zodiac,"  gets  rid  of  the  difficulty  by  reciting 
that  "the  earlier  Greek  writers — Eudoxus,  Eratosthenes,  Hipparchus — knew  of  only 
II  zodiacal  symbols,  but  made  one  do  double  duty,  extending  the  Scorpion  across  the 
seventh  and  eighth  divisions."  This  scheme,  which  creates  the  Balance  from  the 
Scorpion's  claws,  admits  twelve  divisions  but  only  eleven  signs,  an  incongruity  that 
the  succeeding  sentence  tries  but  fails  to  explain:  "  The  Balance  obviously  indicating 
the  equality  of  day  and  night,  is  fii-st  mentioned  as  the  sign  of  the  autumnal  equinox 
by  Geminus  and  Varro  and  obtained  through  Sosigenes  of  Alexandria  official  recogni- 
tion in  the  Julian  calendar."  The  point  is  not  who  first  mentioned  the  Balance  as 
the  sign  of  the  autumnal  equinox,  but  when  was  the  zodiac  first  divided  into  twelve 
parts  and  into  how  many  parts  was  it  previously  divided,  not  during  some  exceptional 
year,  but  permanently. 

*  Cf.  Drummond  on  the  Zodiac,  p.  76. 


14  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Pliny  (N.  H.,  II,  6)  credits  the  invention  of  zodiacal  signs  in  the 
Western  world  to  Cleostratus  of  Tenedos,  who  first  invented,  adopted, 
or  added,  those  of  Aries  the  Lamb  and  Sagittarius  the  Archer. 
* '  Signa  deiiide  in  eo  Cleostratus^  et  prima  Arietis  ac  Sagitarii. " 
Pliny  makes  Cleostratus  later  than  Anaxiraander,  whose  sera  he  fixes 
in  Olym.  58  (B.  C.  548).  In  the  Periplus  of  the  Pseudo  "  Scylax  of 
Caryanda,"  Cleostratus  is  alluded  to  as  a  contemporary  of  the  real 
Scylax.  This  makes  him  later  than  the  Indian  expedition  of  Darius 
Hystaspes,  the  maritime  portion  of  which  was  conducted  by  the  real 
Scylax,  about  B.  C.  508.  If  these  dates  could  be  depended  upon, 
the  period  when  the  Athenians  adopted,  what  will  appear  to  be  the. 
Buddhic  subdivision  of  the  zodiac  into  twelve  parts  and  changed 
their  year  from  ten  to  twelve  months,  was,  according  to  our  present 
calendar,  about  B.  C.  508.  The  subsequent  alterations  of  108,  in- 
cluding 78  years  in  the  calendar,  which  were  effected  by  Augustus 
Caesar,  a  subject  yet  to  be  treated  herein,  has  thrown  many  ancient 
dates  out  of  joint.  Could  they  be  re-established,  it  would  probably 
be  found  that  the  adoption  of  the  12  months' year  in  Greece  took 
place  somewhat  earlier  than  B.  C.  508;  mostlikely  between  that  year 
and  the  date  of  the  calendar  reform  of  Solon;  in  other  words,  about 
B.  C.  550. 

However,  it  will  be  observed  that  in  addition  to  several  explicit 
accounts  of  the  change  from  a  ten  to  a  twelve  months'  year,  we  have 
several  accounts  of  changes  in  the  zodiac.  One  says  that  "  Mus- 
aeus"  invented  the  sign  of  the  Archer;  another,  that  two  zodions 
were  made  out  of  one,  namely,  the  Balance  and  Scorpion  out  of  the 
Scorpion) ;  while  still  another  asserts  that  Cleostratus  first  gave  to 
the  zodiac  the  Lamb  and  the  Archer.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Greswell,  with- 
out even  suspecting  that  the  zodiac  previously  had  but  ten  signs,  be- 
lieves that  the  most  recent  zodions  are  the  Waterman  and  the  Fishes; ' 
but  his  evidence  on  this  point  has  to  be  weighed  against  that  of 
Pliny. 

If  these  conclusions  concerning  a  ten  months'  year  fail  to  agree 
with  the  appearance  of  a  12  months'  year  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
or  with  the  opinions  of  those  expositors  who  claim  for  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  a  greater  antiquity  than  the  time  of  Solon,  it  is  because 
such  a  claim  lacks  the  support  of  evidence.  There  is  nothing  what- 
ever but  conjecture  in  favour  of  the  greater  antiquity  of  the  existing 
version  of  the  Old  Testament.  There  is  no  extant  manuscript  of  the 
Bible  older  than  the  Christian  sera,  nor  indeed  is  there  one  so  old ; 

'Cf.  Fasti  Catholici,  III,  397-8,  410, 


THE    ANCIENT    YEAR    OF    TEN    MONTHS.  15 

whilst  the  Bible  itself  does  not  pretend  to  be  older  than  the  period 
when  Hilkiah  the  priest  found  the  Book  of  the  Law  and  carried  it  to 
Shaphan,  the  scribe.      This  was  about  B.  C.  454." 

So  far  as  they  relate  to  the  order  and  succession  of  the  zodions 
and  months  the  foregoing  explanations  rest  to  a  certain  extent  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  Censors  permitted  the  Augustan  writers  to 
tell  the  whole  truth  with  regard  to  this  matter  and  that  therefore 
such  order  has  not  been  disturbed;  but  a  passage  in  John  of  Nikios 
throws  some  doubt  upon  this  point.  That  chronicler  states  that  Au- 
gustus caused  the  months  of  August  and  February  to  change  places 
in  the  calendar. '"  This  may  only  mean  that  originally  when  the  two 
additional  months  and  signs  were  added  by  the  Romans,  one  each 
was  placed  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  and  tenth  month,  namely  February 
after  Quintilis  and  January  after  Decembris;  and  that  afterwards 
Augustus  placed  them  where  they  are  now,  (See  chapter  VII,  year 
B.  C.  452).  In  several  other  states  of  antiquity  the  added  months 
were  placed  one  each  after  the  original  fifth  and  tenth  month ;  but 
the  practice  was  not  uniform,  for  in  some  of  them  the  added  months 
were  both  inserted  (at  least  so  they  appear  now)  after  the  original 
tenth  month,  whilst  in  other  states  the  added  months  were  inserted 
(at  least  so  they  appear  now)  in  other  parts  of  the  calendar.'^  It  is 
not  necessary  for  present  purposes  to  go  any  farther  into  this  part  of 
the  subject.  The  reader  who  desires  ampler  information  will  find 
it  in  the  author's  monograph  on   "  Ancient  Calendars."  " 

The  Calendar  has  been  a  potent  instrument  in  the  hands  of  impos- 
ture. The  Egyptians  realized  this  so  keenly  that  they  seized  a  pro- 
pitious interval  in  their  long  life  of  slavery  to  make  their  kings  swear 
never  to  alter  the  calendar.'* 

The  classical  Greeks  carved  their  planispheres  and  calendars  upon 

'°  I  Kings,  xii. 

"  On  this  point  consult  Ovid,  Fasti,  II,  47,  and  John  of  Nikios. 

'^  Clinton,  Fasti  Hellenicse  III,  xii,  censures  Archbishop  Usher  for  venturing  to 
make  precise  calculations  as  to  the  position  of  the  months  in  the  calendar  prior  to  and 
after  its  correction  by  Julius  Csesar;  "a  precision  for  which  we  have  no  authority.'' 
Sir  Geo.  Cornewall-Lewis,  in  his  "Historical  Survey  of  the  Astronomy  of  the  An- 
cients," p.  237,  has  something  to  the  same  effect. 

'^  It  may,  however,  be  stated  in  this  place  that  Plutarch,  Cicero,  Varro,  Ovid  and 
Macrobius  agree  in  asserting  that  "anciently"  February  was  the  last  month.  As 
there  was  no  February  more  ancient  than  the  twelve  months'  Consular  year  which 
began  with  Lammas,  it  would  appear  that  February  was  originally  placed  between 
Quintilis  and  Sextilis,  or  July  and  August. 

'''  Nigidius  Figulus,  as  quoted  in  the  Scholiast  on  the  Aratus  of  Germanicus  Csesar; 
Dupuis,  II,  122;  Greswell,  II,  389;  Wilkinson,  II,  255. 


l6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

monuments  of  marble,  but  one  has  only  to  examine  the  ingenious  alter- 
ations in  the  pieces  of  this  description  now  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Louvre,  to  be  convinced  how  vain  was  their  precaution.'*  The  Ro- 
mans of  the  Republic  insisted  upon  a  nail  being  driven  each  year 
into  the  facade  of  the  gerarium.  The  Koran  forbids  intercalation. '° 
All  to  no  purpose.  The  calendars  have  been  altered  repeatedly, 
not  only  as  to  days  and  months,  but  even  as  to  years.  The  most 
remarkable  of  these  alterations  were  effected  by  Augustiis  Caesar. 

^^  See  Chapter  XI,  herein. 

**  Sura  IX,  37   cited  bv  Albiruni. 


17 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE    LUDI    SiECULARES,    AND   OLYMPIADS. 

THE  great  festival  of  the  Ludi  Saeculares  which  marked  the 
sexagessimal  subdivision  of  the  Divine  Year,  was  probably 
inherited  by  the  Romans  from  the  Etruscans.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  fully  explained  in  the  "Life  and  Customs  of  the  Romans"  by 
M.  Terentius  Varro,  a  work  written,  as  we  learn  from  passages  in 
Pliny,  Nonius  and  Cicero,  in  A.  U.  704,  or  705;  but  now  lost.*  Ac- 
cording to  Censorinus,  Varro  stated  that  the  Etruscans  had  celebrated 
seven  of  these  festivals  at  the  following  intervals  of  time:  105,  105, 
105,  105,  123,  119  and  119  years;  total  781  years.  This  informa- 
tion Varro  said  he  got  from  the  Annals  of  Etruria,  written  in  the 
eighth  cycle;  octavum  tum  demum  agi  (Censorinus  xviii) ;  that  is 
to  say,  the  eighth  cycle  was  then  begun.  If  A.  U.  704  means  50 
years  before  our  aera  ^  and  Varro  wrote  directly  after  the  beginning 
of  the  eighth  cycle,  it  follows  from  the  foregoing  data  that  the  Etrus- 
can aera,  from  which  the  Cyclical  Games  took  their  periods,  began 
before  B.  C.  831.  On  the  other  hand,  if,  as  we  shall  presently  furnish 
reasons  to  believe,  the  Varronian  date,  A.  U.  704,  means  35  years 
before  our  sera  (a  difference  from  the  previous  hypothesis  of  15  years) 
then  the  Etruscan  sera  began  on  or  before  B.  C.  816;  thus,  35  plus 
781  =  816.  According  to  Dodwell,  the  Etruscan  sera,  began  with 
Procas,  king  of  Alba,  B.  C.  816,  the  very  same  year  to  which 
the  present  calculation  conducts  us.  ^  According  to  Sir  Isaac 
Newton  the  Roman  aera  was  120  years  wrong.  What  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  prove  is  that  it  was  formerly  78  years  and  is  still  6;^  years 
wrong. 

It  was  a  common  custom  in  ancient  times  for  conquerors  to  adopt 
the  aera  of  the  conquered  and  call  it  by  a  new  name.  Thus  the 
Babylonians,   when   they  overthrew  Nineveh,   adopted    the   aera  of 

'  Nat.  Hist.  XIV,  17;  Nonius,  voc.  Coecum  et  Obstrigillare;  Cic.  ad  Att.  VIIT,  2. 

^  To  use  the  word  "sera"  or  its  corrupted  form  "  era  "  with  reference  to  any  period 
before  Augustus,  is,  strictly  speaking,  an  anachronism;  however,  the  word  has  now  a 
broader  meaning  than  it  had  originally. 

^  Dodwell's  Chronoiogj';  "  De  Veteribus  Graecorum  Romahorumque  Cyclis." 


l8  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Tiglath-pil-Esar  II,  B.  C.  748  and  called  it  that  of  Nebo-Nazaru;  the 
date  being  that  which  is  recorded  by  Ptolemy  and  the  orthography 
being  that  of  Censorinus.  The  Persians,  when  they  conquered 
Hither  India,  or  Beluchistan,  adopted  the  aera  of  the  Cingalese 
Buddha  and  called  it  that  of  Cyrus.  While  the  Moslems,  who  con- 
quered the  Persians,  adopted  the  sera  of  lesdigerd  and  called  it  that 
of  Mahomet's  Flight.  When,  probably  during  the  fourth  century 
before  our  sera,  the  Romans  found  it  necessary  to  adopt  an  sera  from 
which  to  date  their  mythology  or  history,  they  had  before  them  only 
the  seras  of  Nebo-Nazaru  and  Procas;  for,  as  will  presently  be  shown, 
the  Greek  Olympiads  were  not  used  in  Roman  works  until  Timseus 
wrote  his  history  about  B.  C.  300.  As  between  an  unfamiliar  and 
comparatively  recent  and  a  familiar  and  more  ancient  sera,  it  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  Romans  previous  to  this  date  preferred 
Procas'  to  Nebo-Nazaru ;  and  that  in  fact  they  adopted  the  Etruscan 
sera  for  their  own  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Romulus.  In  such  case 
the  received  sera  of  the  Nativity,  which  begins  with  the  754th  year 
of  Romulus,  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  calendar  of  the  Roman  Com- 
monwealth, to  the  extent  of  63  years.  It  is  not  meant  by  this  that 
we  of  to-day  are  in  fact  63  years  more  distant  from  Romulus  or  the 
pretended  Foundation  of  Rome  than  is  shown  by  the  calendar;  but 
that  we  are  in  fact  d^t  years  more  distant  from  the  period  which  was 
assigned  by  the  Romans  of  the  Commonwealth  to  that  astrological 
personage  and  misdated  event;  and  therefore  that  our  calendar  is  out 
of  harmony  with  Commonwealth  dates  to  that  extent.  It  is  also  out 
of  harmony  with  Oriental  dates  to  the  same  extent.  To  the  Romans 
of  the  Commonwealth  there  was  nothing  before  Romulus.  He  was 
the  Son  of  God  and  Founder  of  the  City.  To  the  writers  of  the 
Augustan  age  (who  had  the  annuals  of  Etruria  before  them)  there 
was  Procas  before  Romulus  and  there  were  two  generations  of  time 
between  Procas  and  Romulus.  Livy,  who  was  a  preceptor  in  the 
household  of  Augustus  and  whose  History  of  Rome  was  read  by  that 
prince  before  it  was  published  to  the  world,  tells  a  pretty  story  of 
Numitor  and  his  daughter  Rhea  Sylvia,  who  was  a  vestal  virgin  a 
century  before  vestal  virgins  were  created  in  Rome,  and  who  in  that 
anachronical  and  immaculate  capacity  begat  Romulus  and  Remus 
and  floated  them  in  an  ark  among  the  bulrushes;  but  nobody  believes 
this  story  now,  and  the  two  generations  between  Procas  and  Romnlus 
may  be  surrimarily  dismissed  to  the  realms  of  the  imagination. 

With  regard  to  the  length  of  the  Etruscan  cycles  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  first  four  were  of  equal  length,   namely,  105  years.  ^ 


THE    LUDI    SiECULARES,    AND    OLYMPIADS.  I9 

Then  occurs  a  great  change  from  105  to  123  and  next  to  119  years. 
The  change  was  doubtless  due  to  the  discovery  by  the   Etruscan 
astrologers  that  they  had  previously  miscalculated  the  annualised 
cycle  of  the  eclipses  and  that  instead  of  being  105  x  6=630  years,  it 
was  as  they  next  supposed  666  years;  and  that  to  the  first  four  cycles 
of  105  years  there  should  be  added  two  more  each  of  123  years  to 
complete   the  term.     But  before  the   sixth    Ludi   Saeculares  came 
around  it  seems  to  have  been  discovered  that  not  666  but  662  years 
was  the  true  period  of  the  node;  hence  to  the  first  four  cycles  of  105 
years  and  the  fiftji  cycle  of   123  years  they  added  119  for  the  sixth 
cycle;  and  this  interval  remained  unchanged  until  Etruscan  astrol- 
ogy was  superceded  by  Roman.     In  the  meantime  the  Greek  astrol- 
ogers had  learnt  from  the  Orient  the  true  period  of  the  ecliptical  cy- 
cle, which  is  neither  630,   nor  666,  nor  662,   but  658^  years.     This 
cycle,  upon  being  divided  by  six,  gave  approximately   no  years  for 
the  Ludi  Saeculares;    and,   as  appears  from   the  following  lines  of 
Horace,  written  A.  U.  738,  such  was  the  interval  adopted  by  the 
Romans : 

Certus  undenos  decks  per  annos 
Orbis  ut  cantus  referat  que  ludos 
Ter  die  clara,  totiesque  grata 
Nocte  frequentes. 

The  seventh  Etruscan  cycle  (of  119  years)  when  added  to  the  oth- 
ers, makes  an  average  of  in  years,  or  only  one  year  more  than  the 
"ten  times  eleven  years  "  immortalized  in  the  Ssecular  Hymn. 

A  glance  at  our  chapter  VII  on  ^ras  will  convince  the  reader  that 
most,  if  not  all,  of  the  geras  of  ancient  nations  were  based  on  the 
Eastern  incarnations.  Thus  the  Assyrians  adopted  the  sera  of  les 
Chrishna  and  assigned  it  to  Tiglath-pil-Esar;  the  Chaldeans  adopted 
the  same  sera  and  ascribed  it  to  Nebo-Nazaru.  In  each  case  a  few 
years  were  added.  The  Hindu  date  of  the  re-incarnation  (birth)  of 
les  Chrishna  was,  B.  C.  736  (Table  B).  The  Assyrians  and  Chal- 
deans added  12  years  to  this  and  made  their  sera  B.  C.  748.  To  this 
the  Etruscans  added  68  years  to  make  the  sera  of  Procas,  which  to 
the  Romans  of  the  Commonwealth,  was  the  sera  of  Romulus.  Proofs 
of  these  alterations  will  be  furnished  as  we  proceed. 

In  erecting  a  new  sera,  the  first  and  most  necessary  step  is  the 
acceptance  of  the  established  one  for  the  basis  of  the  proposed  one. 
Universal  custom,  the  arrangement  and  due  order  of  historical  data, 
the  accepted  chronology  of  events  and  numerous  other  circumstances 
stand  in  the  way  of  change.     Hence  Julius  Csesar,  although  the  odd 


20  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

period  of  his  assumption  of  divinity  must  have  impressed  upon  him 
the  desirability  of  altering  the  established  sera  of  Rome  by  many 
years,  is  not  known  to  have  pursued  any  such  attempt,  unless  indeed 
he  tampered  with  the  Greek  olympiads,  of  which  we  cannot  be  cer- 
tain.    However,  as  time  advances,  opportunities  occur  to  render 

I  such  changes  practicable  and  these  opportunities  have  usually  been 
seized  upon  to  establish  a  new  aera  and  efface  or  conceal  the  true 

i  origin  and  identity  of  the  sera  which  it  was  desirable  to  displace. 
Such  an  opportunity  presented  itself  to  Augustus.     After  the  bat- 
tle of  Actium  and  the  closure  of  the  temple  of  Janus,  the  world  was 
at  the  feet  of  this  prince  and  it  was  in  his.pojwer  tojmake  whatever 
chan^^  hej)leased.     His  assumption  of  sovereignty  took  place  at  a 

I  period  when  no  known  incarnation  of  the  deity,  whether  Chaldean, 

/  Greek  or  Roman,  was  precisely  due,  although  one  had  just  passed. 
Therefore  to  make  himself  out  to  be  that  Son  of  God,  that  incarna- 
tion of  the  deity,  which  the  poets  and  astrologers  of  his  court  pre- 
tended was  presaged  in  the  Sibylline  books  and  which  character  he 
afterwards  assumed  and  proclaimed  upon  his  coins  and  marbles,  it  be- 
came necessary  for  him  to  fit  his  Apotheosis  to  the  Ludi  Sseculares, 
or  rather  the  Ludi  Sseculares  to  his  Apotheosis ;  for  there  was  noth- 
ing equally  available  in  astrology  to  hang  it  on.  This,  by  itself 
would  not  have  been  difficult,  for  the  Ludi  as  we  have  seen,  had  not 
previously  been  celebrated  with  very  scrupulous  regularity;  and  the 
confusion  and  demoralization  of  the  times  lent  every  facility  to  his 

»   object.     But  it  so  happened  that  Rome  was  now  placed  in  direct 


maritime  communication  with  India  and  that  the  period  of  the  Indian 
re-incarnation  (that  of  Quichena  or  Salivahana)  had  arrived.*  The 
immense  body  of  religious  mythology  generated  in  the  Orient  had 
long  since  scattered  its  seeds  throughout  Bactria,  Western  Asia, 
Greece,  Egypt  and  Etruria;  regions  which  were  now  comprised 
within  the  Roman  Empire  and  whose  religious  prepossessions  it  was 
to  the  last  degree  important  for  Augustus  to  utilise.^  The  problem 
for  the  Roman  astrologers  was  therefore  to  fit  the  Apotheosis  of 
Romulus  Quirinus  and  seven  Ludi  Sseculares  to  the  proposed  Apothe- 
osis of  Augustus   Quirinus.     In  other  words,  it  was  necessary  to 

■*  "  Embassies  from  the  Kings  of  India  have  been  many  times  sent  tome,  which  has 
never  before  occurred  under  any  Roman  ruler."  The  Testament  of  Augustus,  Son  of 
God,  engraved  upon  the  Temple  of  Ancyra,  art.  XXXI. 

*  I  have  seen  in  the  possession  of  General  Sir  Montague  McMurdo  some  sculptured 
heads  of  les  Chrishna  or  Salivahana,  of  the  Grasco-Bactrian  aera,  which  unite  the  placid 
calm  of  the  Indian  conception  of  Buddha  with  the  intellectual  features  of  the  Greek 
school;  the  combination  producing  an  effect  both  noble  and  fascinating. 


THE    LUDI    SiECULARES,    AND    OLYMPIADS.  2  1 

prove,  so  far  as  the  calendar  could  be  made  to  prove  it,  that  the  re- 
cent Indian  re-incarnation  was  a  false  one  and  that  of  Augustus  the 
true  one,  the  sequel  to  that  of  Romulus  Quirinus,  the  incarnation 
foretold  by  the  Cumaean  Sibyl  and  long  expected  by  the  Western 
world.  To  achieve  this  result  it  was  necessary  for  the  Augustan  i 
astrologers  to  destroy  76  or  78  years  of  recorded  time ;  in  other  / 
words,  to  sink  that  number  of  years  from  the  Roman  calendar.^ 

Let  us  now  examine  the  various  accounts  that  have  been  per- 
mitted to  reach  us  of  the  year  of  Romulus,  or  the  year  when  Rome 
is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Romulus.  These  accounts  may  with 
convenience  be  divided  into  two  classes.  I,  Those  written  during 
or  after  the  age  of  Augustus;  and  II,  Those  written  before  the  age 
of  Augustus.  As  it  is  the  Augustan  chronology  which  is  on  trial,  we 
begin  by  dismissing  Class  I  without  discussion.  It  comprises  Dion- 
ysius  of  Halicarnassus,  M.  Terentius  Varro,  as  reported  by  Plutarch, 
Pomponius  Atticus,  Cornelius  Nepos,-  as  reported  by  Lactantius, 
Messala  Corvinus  and  Eutropius,  all  of  whom  give  the  foundation 
of  Rome  in  Olym.  VI,  3,  equal  to  B.  C.  753;  Censorinus,  who  gives 
Olym.  VI,  4  or  B.  C.  752;  Porcius  Cato,  Solinus  and  Eusebius,  who 
give  Olym.  VII,  i,  or  B.  C.  751;  and  Diodorus  Siculus,  as  reported 
by  Ceorge  the  Syncellus,  who  gives  Olym.  VII,  2,  or  B.  C.  750. 
There  is  also  a  mutilated  passage  in  C.  Valerius  Paterculus  which 
gives  Olym.  VI,  2,  or  B.  C.  754  and  the  statement  of  Orosius,  which 
places  the  sera  of  Romulus,  some  time  during  Olym.  VI.  If,  as  we 
shall  endeavor  to  prove,  Augustus  altered  the  calendar,  it  is  useless 
to  look  for  the  truth  in  any  of  the  direct  or  explicit  statements  made 
on  this  subject  during  or  after  his  reign.  It  may  occur  in  some 
round-about  way ;  for  the  most  subservient  writers  have  sometimes 
taken  the  pains  to  preserve  an  important  truth  in  a  disguised  form ; 
it  may  be  deducible  from  other  circumstances;  but  it  is  not  to  be 
looked  for  on  the  surface;  for  to  place  it  there  meant  death,  or  else 
exile  and  oblivion. 

Class  II  comprises  Timseus,  the  Sicilian,  who  lived  during  the 
fourth  and  third  centuries  before  Augustus  and  who  is  alleged  to 
have  stated  that  the  sera  of  Rome  began  38  years  before  the  first 
Olympiad  (that  is,  the  Olympiad  employed  by  Dion.  Hal.);  Quintus 
Ennius,  who  died  B.  C.  169  and  who  tells  us  that  Rome  was  founded 
since  '■''  Septigenti  sunt  paulo  plus  vel  minus  anni  f  Polybius,  who 
lived  during  the  second  century  before  Augustus  and  who  fixed  the 

*  Just  one  Calippic  cycle. 


22  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

ffira  of  Rome  at  Olym.  VI,  3;  Quinctus  Fabius  Pictor,  who  flour- 
ished over  two  centuries  before  Augustus  and  who  gave  the  aera  at 
Olym.  VIII,  i;  L.  Cincius  Alimentus,  of  the  same  period,  who  fixed 
the  gera  of  Rome  at  Olym.  XII,  4;  and  Cicero,  who  in  his  Repub- 
lica  fixed  the  asra  of  Rome  in  the  same  year  as  Timseus.  All  these 
writers,  except  Ennius  and  Cicero,  are  reported  by  Dion,  of  Halcar* 
nassus  (Ant.  Rom.  I,  74),  their  own  works  having  perished.''  But 
let  us  listen  to  Dion's  exact  words:  "Timseus,  the  Sicilian  (by  what 
computation  I  know  not),  places  it  (the  last  re-inhabiting  or  build- 
ing of  the  City,  or  by  what  name  soever  we  ought  to  call  it)  at  the 
same  time  with  the  building  of  Carthage,  that  is,  in  the  38th  year 
before  the  first  Olympiad;  Lucius  Cincius,  a  Roman  senator,  about 
the  fourth  year  of  the  twelfth  Olympiad ;  and  Quinctus  Fabius,  in 
the  first  year  of  the  eighth  Olympiad.'"  Polybius  is  mentioned  by 
Dion,  in-another  place.  When  converted  into  the  Christian  aera,  that 
with  which  we  are  most  familiar,  these  seras  of  Romulus  stand  as  fol- 
lows; Timseus  and  Cicero,  B.  C.  814;  Ennius,  about  B.  C.  876;  Poly- 
bius, B.  C.  750;  Fabius  Pictor,  B.  C.  747;  and  L.  Cincius  Alimentus, 
B.  C.  728.  Among  these  various  dates  that  of  Timaeus  has  the  fol- 
lowing recommendations  in  its  favour: 

First.  He  was  the  earliest  writer  of  all;  and  it  was  during  his  aera 
that  the  calendar  was  first  published  in  Rome  (B.  C.  304). 

Second.  He  was  the  son  of  K.  Aromachus  of  Tauromenium  and 
was  universally  regarded  as  an  historian  of  credit,  a  fact  which  is 
vouched  for  by  the  frequent  references  to  his  works  in  Dionysius, 
Cicero,  Livy  and  other  writers.  The  former  especially  lays  great 
stress  on  his  varied  learning  and  his  exactness  in  chronology.* 

Third.  Timaeus  was  a  Sicilian  Greek  and  had  no  interest  in  mis- 
stating the  date  which  the  Sicilians  or  Romans  of  his  time  believed 
be  true. 

Fourth.  He  wrote  before  tne  Incarnation  myth  was  revived, 
which  Julius  Caesar  formulated  and  Augustus  personified  and  upheld, 
in  Rome;  and  which  had  to  be  maintained  at  the  expense  of  chro- 
nology by  making  it  fit  the  Ludi  Sasculares,  or  else  some  other  epoch 
of  astrology. 

Fifth.  In  choosing  an  aera  for  the  Incarnation,  or  else  the  Apothe- 
osis, of  Romulus,  it  is  inconceivable  that  the  Romans  of  the  Common- 
wealth should  have  chosen  one  more  recent  than  that  of  Nebo-Nazaru, 

■"  The  fragments  of  Polybius  mention  no  date. 

^  This  work  of  Dionysius  was  written  30  years  after  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus. 

»  Dion.  Hal.  Book  V. 


THE    LUDI    S^CULARES,    AND    OLYMPIADS.  23 

or  that  of  Procas.  In  the  fixing  of  mythological  or  religious  aeras  the 
remotest  one  is  usually  of  the  most  recent  manufacture;  otherwise 
the  myth  to  which  it  is  attached  runs  the  risk  of  losing  every  advan- 
tage that  is  to  be  gained  by  the  assumption  of  superior  antiquity. 
Indeed  this  may  be  termed  the  very  basic  law  of  mythological  chro- 
nology; and  examples  of  its  operation  maybe  found  in  the  histories 
of  all  the  ancient  states." 

Sixth.  Evidences  that  the  Augustan  chronology  was  currupted  ap- 
pear in  every  direction.  The  works  of  the  earliest  Roman  historians 
have  all  disappeared.  Of  Quinctus  Fabius  Pictor,  Lucius  Cincius  Ali- 
mentus,  Marcus  Portius  Cato,  Lucius  Calpurnius  Piso,  Lucius  Cal- 
lius  Antipater,  Cnseus  Gellius,  Caius  Licinius  Macer,  Lucius  ^lius 
Tubero,  Quintus  Valerius  Antias,  or  Lucius  Sissena,  not  a  vestige  re- 
mains, beyond  the  brief  references  to  these  authors  which  appear  in 
the  works  of  the  Augustan  writers.  Under  the  pretence  of  piety  I  • 
Augustus  ordered  the  collection  and  destruction  of  numerous  ancient  r 
and  contemporary  works.  Of  these,  two  thousand  perished  in  a  sin-  ' 
gle  auto  da  fe.  (Suet.  Aug.  30.)  Of  the  few  that  were  spared,  all 
have  been  mutilated.  Quintus  Ennius  is  known  to  us  by  little  more 
than  his  name.  Polybius  is  hacked  to  pieces;  the  historical  works 
of  Cicero  have  all  perished;  Cornelius  Nepos  is  in  fragments  and 
without  dates;  of  142  books  in  Livy's  History  of  Rome,  but  45  re- 
main, and  many  of  these  are  mutilated  or  corrupted;  of  Ovid's  Fasti, 
out  of  12  books,  but  six  remain;  Manilius  has  been  largely  tampered 
with;  many  others  have  been  divested  of  dates;  and  Varro,  the  most 
voluminous  of  the  Augustan  writers,  is  known  to  us  only  by  two  de- 
tached and  imperfect  pieces.  In  all  these  works  the  chronology, 
when  any  chronology  appears,  is  suspicious  and  bears  the  look  of 
having  been  altered.  Names,  generations  and  dates  fail  to  agree. 
The  lives  of  men  are  thrown  into  one  age,  while  their  works  furnish 
evidence  that  they  lived  in  another;  and  the  archaeological  remains 
bear  similar  testimony. " 

Seventh.     During  the  Commonwealth  it  was  not  the  custom  to 

'*  "  Athens,  Thebes,  and  other  states  employ  fables  to  add  dignity  to  their  history." 
Lucian,  Dialogue  on  Falsehood,  ed.  Irwin,  p.  128. 

•'  An  instance  of  this  sort  appears  in  Plutarch's  Camillus,  where  he  says  that  Herac- 
lides  Pontus  lived  shortly  after  the  capture  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls.  Heraclides  was  a 
disciple  of  Plato  and  afterwards  of  Aristotle.  Plato  was  41  years  of  age  when  Rome 
was  taken,  and  he  died  in  his  80th  year.  Aristotle  was  not  born  until  a  year  after 
Rome  was  taken,  and  he  died  aged  63  in  Olym.,  CXIV,  3,  (B.C.  321).  At  the  period 
assigned  to  Heraclides,  Aristotle  could  hardly  have  been  old  euough  to  teach. 


24  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

reckon  from  Romulus,  but  by  the  consulates.  (Pliny  Nat.  Hist. 
Ill,  ix,  13.)  Timseus,  who  was  not  a  Roman,  is  the  earliest  writer 
known  to  us  who  together  with  the  Olympiads  used  the  aera  of  Rom- 
ulus. Piso  the  historian,  if  indeed  he  used  the  seera  of  Romulus  at 
all,  was  probably  the  earliest  Roman  who  did  so.  Therefore  the 
Olympian  equivalents  of  Commonwealth  dates  which  are  furnished 
by  some  of  the  Augustan  writers  are  of  suspicious  validity. 

Eighth,  The  early  records  of  Rome  were  all  destroyed  when  the 
City  was  burnt  by  the  Gauls,  and  there  appears  to  have  remained  no 
Roman  official  documents  upon  which  the  Augustan  writers  could 
have  constructed  a  valid  and  continuous  chronology;  so  that  they 
must  have  either  accepted  or  altered  that  of  the  republican  writers, 
or  else  drawn  one  from  their  own  imaginations. 

Ninth.  The  Ludi  Sseculares,  mentioned  by  the  historian  L.  Cal- 
purnius  Piso  Frugi,  as  having  been  celebrated  in  his  own  time,  were 
dated  by  him,  A.  U.  596.  This  is  evidently  a  date  by  the  Timaean 
calendar,  that  of  the  republic,  in  which  the  year  of  Romulus  was 
fixed  38  years  before  the  first  four-year  Olympiad;  for  A.  U.  596 
(Timsean)  agrees  with  A.  U.  518  (Augustan)  in  which  year,  accord- 
ing to  the  Augustan  Quindecemviral  records,  the  fifth  Ludi  Sseculares 
were  actually  celebrated,  and  these  were  undoubtedly  the  Ludi  men- 
tioned by  Piso  Frugi. 

According  to  the  post- Augustan  Fasti  Consulares,  one  Piso  (the 
name  was  legion)  was  consul  in  B.  C.  133.  This  would  be  A.  U. 
620-1  (Christian)  or  else  A.  U.  605  (Augustan)  or  else  A.  U.  681 
(Timaean).  If  Piso  was  consul  that  year,  he  could  not,  upon  our 
hypothesis,  have  been  the  historian  Piso,  or,  if  meant  to  be  the  his- 
torian, then  the  Fasti  have  dated  him,  as  they  have  dated  many  of 
the  events  and  notabilities  of  the  Commonwealth  78  (since  altered 
to  63  years)  out  of  his  time;  but  this  was  only  a  trifling  alteration 
to  the  calendar-makers  whom  we  are  discussing ;  and  if  they  misdated 
Piso  they  probably  did  so  without  the  slightest  hesitation  or  com- 
punction. The  names  of  the  consuls  given  by  Censorinus  are  of 
course  from  the  same  source  as  the  15  year  alteration  which  appears 
in  most  of  his  dates.  But  the  post- Augustan  astrologers  did  not  do 
their  work  skillfully.  They  should  have  wholly  destroyed  the  book, 
or  effaced  all  the  dates.  Unable  to  perceive  the  significance  of  Piso's 
date  in  Censorinus,  the  recensors  left  it  unaltered.  That  date  and 
the  remark  from  Piso  that  a  New  Cycle  began  in  his  time  prove  that 
Piso's  date  of  A.  U.  596  is  by  the  Timaean  calendar. 


THE    LUDI    SiECULARES,    AND    OLYMPIADS.  25 

COMPARISON    OF    THREE    CALENDARS: 

Timsean.  Augustan.  Post- Augustan, 

From  A.  U.  814  (deduct  76)=738  (add  I5)=753;  for  the  altered  year  of  Rome  B.  C. 
From  A.  U.  816  (deduct  78)=738(add  I5)==753;  for  same. 
From  A.  U.  596  (deduct  78)=5i8(add  15)^533;  for  the  Ludi  Saeculares  of  Piso. 

Tenth.  The  Ludi  Sasulares  furnishes  conclusive  evidence  on  the 
subject.  This  Cycle  and  Festival,  which  according  to  Horace  (and, 
in  accordance  also  with  the  astrology  of  the  Alexandrian  and  Augustan 
periods),  recurred  every  no  years  (and  which,  therefore,  should 
have  been  celebrated  in  the  years  no,  220,  330,  440,  550,  660,  770, 
880,  of  Rome),  was  in  fact  not  celebrated  in  those  years,  if  we  reckon 
by  the  chronology  of  the  Augustan  writers.  The  Augustan  chro- 
nology therefore  is  false.  And  so  the  sovereign-pontiff  Claudius 
declared,  who  celebrated  this  festival  in  the  Sooth  year  of  Rome, 
according  to  the  Augustan  chronology,  or  the  876th  according  to  that 
of  Timseus.*^  Even  the  year  last  named  was  not  the  precise  year 
for  the  Ludi,  which  should  have  been  celebrated  in  the  88oth  year 
of  Romulus,  according  to  Timseus.  But  the  date  given  is  within 
either  two  or  four  years  of  the  proper  time ;  an  apppoximation  suf- 
ficiently near  to  indicate  its  supposed  or  attempted  correctness.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Ludi  celebrated  by  Augustus  and  Agrippa  were 
altogether  out  of  time  with  the  Horatian  and  astrological  intervals. 
The  conclusion  is  therefore  unavoidable,  that  the  year  of  Romulus, 
as  accepted  during  the  Commonwealth,  was  altered  by  the  astrolo- 
gers of  Augustus.    This  alteration  amounted  to  either  76  or  78  years. 

Eleventh.  The  alteration  made  no  practical  difference  to  the 
Romans.  Until  after  the  conquest  of  Etruria,  Rome  was  a  City, 
not  an  Empire;  and  long  »ras,  if  ever  used  at  all,  were  borrowed 
from  the  Chaldeans,  or  the  Greeks,  as  the  Nebo-Nazarene  ^ra,  or 

^^  Says  Suetonius  in  Claudius,  21:  "Claudius,  assuming  that  Augustus  had  antici-  j 
pated  the  Ludi  Sreculares,  which  he  had  celebrated  out  of  their  true  season,  caused  * 
them  to  be  re-celebrated,      .     .      When  (according  to  custom),  the  herald  proclaimed 
that  Ludi  would  take  place  '  which  no  living  person  had  ever  seen  or  would  ever  see 
again  '  he  was  laughed  at  (by  the  Augustans);  because  there  were  several  persons  then 
living  who  had  seen  the  previous  Ludi  Sseculares  and  some  even,  who,  having  taken 
part  in  those,  now  took  part  in  these."    Says  Pliny  (N.  H.  VII,  49):  "  Stephanio    .     . 
danced  in  two  Ludi  Sseculares,  those  celebrated  by  the  god  Augustus  ('  divi  Augusti ') 
and  those  by  Claudius  Csesar  in  his  fourth  consulship,  considering  that  the  interval 
which  elapsed  between  them  was  63  years,"  instead  of  no.     Says  Tacitus  (Ann,  XI 
11):   "  During  the  same  consulship     .     ,     the  Ludi  Sseculares  were  celebrated,  an  in- 
terval of  64  years  since  they  were  last  solemnized  in  the  reign  of  Augustus.      The  chro- 
nology observed  by  Augustus  differed  from  the  system  of  Claudius;  but  this  is  not  the  , 
place  for  a  discussion  on  that  subject." 


\l'' 


26  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  Fall  of  Troy,  or  the  Olympiads,  rather  than  from  the  compara- 
tively recent  adoption  or  invention  of  the  incarnation  of  Romulus. 

Twelfth.  The  Timsean  date  of  38  years  before  Ol.  I,  i  (equal  to 
B.  C.  814)  also  appears  in  Cicero's  "Re  Publica,"  I,  38,  39,  58,  and 
II,  70;  as  that  of  the  foundation  of  Rome.  This  is  an  especially 
valuable  corroboration  of  Timaeus,  because  a  great  part  of  this  work 
of  Cicero  was  recovered  in  recent  years  from  a  palimpsest  and  there- 
fore it  had  probably  not  been  subjected  to  that  general  alteration  of 
dates  by  the  Latin  Sacred  College  which  befell  the  other  works  of 
classical  antiquity. 

Thirteenth.  The  Timaeandate,  as  corrected,  namely,  to  B.  C.  816, 
is  also  that  of  Porcius  Cato,  the  Censor,  who  declared  that  the 
Foundation  of  Rome  was  432  years  after  the  Capture  of  Troy,  an 
event  that,  according  to  several  authorities  current  in  Cato's  time, 
synchronised  with  the  First  Panionic  Cycle,  B.  C.  1248.  Thus: 
1248 — 432=816.  It  is  true  that  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  who 
reports  the  Roman  aera  of  Cato,  has  put,  or  has  been  made  to  put,  a 
different  construction  on  it,  by  using  the  date  for  the  Capture  of  Troy 
which  is  attributed  to  Erastothenes;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
Cato  wrote  anything  which  would  authorise  Dionysius  to  limit  his 
sera  of  Rome  by  using  such  a  measure  of  Troja  Capta.  Moreover, 
we  only  know  Erastothenes  through  Clement  Alexandrinus.  We  are 
therefore  warranted  in  rejecting  the  Troja  Capta  imputed  to  Diony- 
sius and  in  retaining  the  years  of  Troy  and  Rome  left  us  by  the  older 
historians.  These  dates  are  B.  C.  1248  for  the  former  and  B.  C.  816 
for  the  latter.  ^^ 

Fourteenth.  Upon  referring  to  chap.  IX  herein  it  will  be  observed 
that  Tacitus  stated  that  the  same  interval  of  time  existed  between 
the  Foundation  of  Rome  and  its  burning  by  the  Gauls,  as  between 
the  latter  event  and  the  burning  in  the  reign  of  Nero.  The  burning 
under  Nero  occurred  in  July,  A.  D.  64;  the  burning  by  the  Gauls  in 
B.  C.  384,  an  interval  of  447  years  and  a  fraction.  Add  447  years 
to  B.  C.  384  and  the  Foundation  would  appear  to  have  been  in  B.  C. 
831.  Deduct  the  15  years  since  added  to  the  calendar  by  the  Latin 
Sacred  College  and  the  result  is  B.  C.  816,  the  year  of  Piso, 
Cicero,  etc. 

Fifteenth.  The  Timaean  chronology  tallies  with  the  Etruscan  ^ra 
as  well  as  the  Etruscan  cycles.  The  sera  of  Procas  was  B.  C.  816; 
that  of  Romulus  according  to  Timaeus  was  B.  C.  814;  and  according 

** Cicero,  op.  cit  ;  Dio.  Hal,  I,  74;  II,  2;  Herodotus,  Euterpe,  145. 


THE    LUDI    S^CULARaeS,     AND    OLYMPIADS.  27 

to  Cicero,  Tacitus,   and  probably  also  Cato,  B.  C.   8i6.     The  cor- 
roboration here  is  both  striking  and  circumstantial. 

These  circumstances  and  considerations  alone  warrant  us  in  reject- 
ing the  Augustan  chronology  and  accepting  that  of  Timaeus;  but 
there  is  more  behind.  When  the  dates  of  the  Ludi  Saeculares  are 
arranged  in  tabular  form,  the  motive  of  the  alteration  will  be  more 
clearly  perceived;  it  was  evidently  done  in  order  to  bring  the  Ludi 
Sseculares  to  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  which  it  was  intended  to 
celebrate  in  the  consulate  of  C.  Furnius  and  C.  Silanus.  Deduct 
from  the  Augustan  corruption  of  76  years  the  15  years  correction 
of  the  Christian  chronologers  and  we  have  the  Roman  sera  of  Timaeus 
and  an  explanation  of  the  difference  which  now  exists  between  the 
Oriental  and  Western  aeras. '*  As  dates  are  often  as  difficult  to  suc- 
cinctly explain  as  to  understand,  let  us  recapitulate,  even  though  at 
the  risk  of  being  deemed  tiresome. 

The  re-incarnation  of  les  Chrishna  or  Salivahana  occurred,  accord- 
ing to  the  Indian  chronology,  in  B.  C.  736.  To  this  the  Chaldeans 
added  backward  12  years,  making  it  B.  C.  748,  and  called  it  the  aera 
Nebo-Nazaru.  To  this  again  the  Romans  of  the  Commonwealth 
added  backward  66  years,  making  it  B.  C.  814,  and  called  it  the  aera 
of  Quirinus  or  Romulus.  (Timaeus).  Thus  78  years  were  added 
backward,  to  the  aera  of  the  incarnation.  From  the  ancient  (the  repub-  \ 
lican)  «ra  of  Romulus,  Augustus  subtracted  76  years  and  thus  made  | 
the  Augustan  aera  of  Romulus  B.  C.  738.  (Cincius  says  Olym  XII,  4 ;  a  ' 
difference  of  ten  years).  Reckoning  the  Ludi  Saeculares  at  intervals 
of  1 10  years  from  the  dates  at  which  they  were  alleged  to  have  been 
formerly  celebrated,  they  were  next  due,  according  to  the  Augustan 
calendar,  in  A.  U.  738,  which  year  Augustus  determined  to  distin- 
guish by  his  own  Apotheosis;  only,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  six  Ludi 
make  660  years,  whilst  the  astrological  interval  between  one  incarna- 
tion and  another  was  658  years;  a  difference  of  two  years.  To  this 
aera  of  A.  U.  738,  later  astrologers,  after  having  adopted  the 
Augustan  aera  for  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  used  it  for  several 

'*  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  repeatedly  this  corruption  of  the  Oriental  calendar 
obtrudes  itself  into  a  comparison  of  reras.  From  les  Chrishna  B.  C.  736,  to  Romulus 
B.  C.  814  (Timaeus),  is  78  years;  from  the  re-incarnation  of  les  Chrishna  B.  C.  78,  to 
the  beginning  of  the  present  aera  is  78  years;  from  the  Christian  aera  'to  Vicramaditya 
is  78  years;  from  the  Apotheosis  of  Romulus  to  the  first  Ludi  Sosculares,  according  to 
the  Augustan  chronology,  is  78  years;  while  between  the  Ludi  of  Augustus  and  those 
of  Claudius,  plus  the  15  years  since  added  to  the  calendar,  is  78  years.  Many  more 
similar  instances  of  the  kind  could  be  adduced. 


2^ 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


-"4 


centuries,  added  15  years,  and  thus  made  the  present  sera.  By  this 
addition  of  15  years  to  the  Roman  reckoning  they  made  the  year  of 
Romulus  B.  C.  753  and  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus  B.  C.  15; 
whereas  in  fact  the  sera  of  Augustus  (his  Apotheosis)  and  the  sera  of 
Jesus  Christ  were  identically  the  same  down  to  the  time  of  that  later 
astrologer,  whoever  he  was,  that  made  or  completed  the  restoration 
of  15  years  to  the  calendar.*^ 

TABULAR  SUMMARY  OF  ALTERATIONS  TO  THE  CALENDAR.        B.  C. 

Hindu  aera  of  the  birth  of  les  Chrisna,  or  Quichena  .  .  .  73^ 

The  Chaldeans  added  .  .  .  .  ...         12 

Making  the  Nebo-Nazarene  asra  .  .  .  .  .  748 

The  Romans  of  the  Commonwealth  added  two  generations      .  .  .66 

Making  the  aera  of  Quirinus,  or  Romulus,  according  to  Timseus     .  .  814 

Or,  if  according  to  Piso,  for  which  see  further  on,  add     .  .  .  .2 

Making  the  sera  of  Quirinus  or  Romulus  according  to  Piso  .  .  816 

According  to  what  was  evidently  the  scheme  of  the  Augustan  astrologers,  the 
Ludi  Sasculares  celebrated  the  Birth,  not  the  Apotheosis  of  Romulus,  which 
was  removed  to,  or  is  pretended  to  have  occurred  in,  his  33rd  year.  Hence 
the  first  Ludi  fell  no  years  after  his  Birth,  or  78  years  after  his  Apotheosis 
and  the  remainder  of  the  Ludi  at  intervals  of  iioyears,  in  A.  U.  188,  298,  408, 
518,  628,  and  738,  the  year  selected  by  Augustus  for  his  own  Apotheosis,  By 
deducting  76  instead  of  78  years  the  Ludi  Sseculares  and  the  Augustan  Apothe- 
osis would  come  together;  hence  from  Timseus  deduct  76  or  from  Piso         .         78 

Augustan  aera  of  Romulus,  or  Quirinus  .  .  .  ,  .  738 

Deduct  for  one  Ludi  of  78  years  and  six  Ludi  each  of  no  years,  total  .       738 

Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  the  second  Quirinus:  completion  of  the  Seventh  Ludi  o 

The  Latin  Sacred  College  added  to  the  calendar,  years  .  .  .  .15 

Thus  throwing  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus  back  (to  where  it  now  stands)  .  15 

Add  to  B.  C.  15  the  years  of  the  Augustan  aera  of  Romulus,  makes        .  B.  C.  753 

I  The  reason  why  Augustus  fixed  his  Apotheosis  and  ^ra  in  A.  U. 
738  was  to  fulfil  the  prophecy  of  the  Cumean  Sibyl.  The  rebellion 
of  Marc  Antony  had  deferred  the  Peace  which  the  Sibyl  foretold 
would  mark  the  Advent  of  the  Son  of  God  and  which  Virgil  some- 
what prematurely  sang  in  his  Fourth  Eclogue.  The  battle  of  Actium 
had  yet  to  be   fought;  and  until  this  was  over  and  the  temple  of 

*^  Ten  years  of  this  appear  in  the  difference  between  the  present  Anno  Mundi  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  This  alteration  has  been  ascribed  by  the  Benedictine  authors  of 
"  L'Art  de  Verifier  les  Dates,"  to  the  period  of  Diocletian;  but  the  authority  is  sus- 
picious. It  is  not  stated  when  or  by  whom  the  remaining  five  years  of  alteration  were 
made.  The  whole  extent  of  the  post-Augustan  alteration — 15  j-ears — makes  just  one 
Indiction. 


THE    LUDI    S/ECULARES    AND    OLYMPIADS.  29 

Janus  permanently  closed,  the  prophecy  awaited  fulfillment.     This  i 
famous  battle  was  decided  in  A.  U.  723  or  724.     After  this,  and  only 
after  this,  was  the  temple  of  Janus  permanently  closed,  and  the  Peace, 
thus  signalised,    marked  by  the   Apotheosis  and  ^ra  of  Augustus  ' 
Caesar. 

Following  this  date  it  appears  to  have  been  the  common  practice  } 
of  the  Roman  Church,  whether  pagan  or  christian,  to  employ  the  asra  | 
of  Augustus,  or  Anno  Domini,   the  year  of  our  Lord;   the  pagans  I 
meaning  our  Lord  Augustus  Caesar  and  the  christians  our  Lord  Jesus  ,1 
Christ;  but  both  referring  to  the  same  year,  namely  A.  U.  738  (now' 
known  as  A.  U.  753).     The  object  of  the  15  years  afterwards  added 
was  evidently  to  destroy  the  identity  of  these  two  asras.     The  occa- 
sion of  the  alteration  was  an  astrological  event.      In  other  words,  the 
reason  why  an  interval  of  just  15  years  (no  more  nor  less)   was  cre- 
ated between  the  seras  of  Augustus  and  Jesus  was  evidently  the  dis- 
covery of  that  astrological  conjunction  recorded  by  Antimachus  (who 
flourished  B.  C.  403)  as  having  occurred  in  Olym.   VI,   3,  which  is 
equal  to  the  23rd  year  after  the  beginning  of  the  four-year  Olympi- 
ads.     (Plut.  in  Rom.)     This  was  15  years  before  the  aera  of  Romu- 
lus, as  fixed  by  the  chronology  of  Augustus.     The  discovery  may 
have  been  made  directly  after  Plutarch  published  his  book,  that  is 
to  say,  in  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  great  admirer 
of  Antimachus  and  whose  example  doubtless  led  to  a  wide  reading  of 
that  ancient  author.     But,  as  stated  above,  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  definitively  utilised  until  the  Middle  Ages.     To  win  the  Romans 
from  the  degrading  worship  to  which  they  had  been  forced  by  the  im- 
pious decrees  of  the  Caesars,  the  christian  authorities  were  constrained 
to  employ  such  devices  as  were  suited  to  the  opinions  and  prejudices 
of  the  times.     Among  these  was  that  well  established  lavv^  of  astrol- 
ogy, that  incarnations  would  or  must  occur  only  at  the  period  of  a 
conjunction  of  the  Sun  and  Moon.      Hence  the   Latin  papacy  pro- 
claimed that  Jesus  was  born  at  Midnight,  on  the  winter  solstice  and 
was  conceived  on  the  preceding  vernal  equinox,  when  "the  Sun  and 
Moon  conjoined  over  Jerusalem. "      To  connect  the  incarnation  of  | 
Jesus  with  that  of  Romulus  was  an  obviously  indispensable  condition  | 
to  the  firm  establishment  of  the  christian  religion  in  Rome.     This  ' 
was  done  by  fixing  the  year  of  Romulus  in  Olym.  VI,   3,  in  which, 
according  to  Antimachus,  such  a  conjunction  had  actually  occurred. 
Olym.  VI,  3  was  the  year  B.  C.   753,  according  to  the  present  chro- 
nology.     Consequently  this  year  was  indicated  by  the  christian  chro- 
nologers  as  that   of  Romulus;  and   thus  the  sera  of  Augustus  was 


so  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

forced  backward  15  years  and  made  to  appear  15  years  B.  C. ;  whereas 

it  was  not  and  it  is  not  the  fact. 

The  Augustan  aera  (that  of  the  Apotheosis)  is  preserved   by  the 

poet  Ansonius  in  two  places.      In  Epigramatica  IV,  ii,  148,  he  says: 

Annis  undecies  centum  conjunge  quaternas=  I104 

Undecies  unamque  super  treiterida  necte:  11  plus  3=  14 

Haec  erit  seternas  series  ab  origine  Romje  II18 

And  in  Epigramatica,  III,  149,  he  says:  Mille  annos  centumque  et 
bis  fluxisse  novenos,  {i.  e. ,  iiiS. )  The  year  1 1 18  is  given  as  that  of  the 
current  year  since  the  Foundation  of  Rome  in  the  year  A.  D,  380, 
when  Ansoiiius  was  consul,  under  Gratian.  Subtract  380  from  11 18 
and  the  quotient  is  K.  U.  738,  which  is  the  true  sera  of  Augustus  in 
the  Augustan  chronology.  Had  the  christian  sera,  as  now  settled, 
namely  A.  U.  753,  been  known  to  Ansonius,  he  would  have  had  to 
date  his  consulate  in  A.  U.  1133,  thus:  753  plus  380=1133. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  arrange  the  Roman  Ludi  Saeculares  in 
tabular  form  with  the  view  to  exhibit  their  relation  to  the  15  year 
change  in  the  calendar  which  was  made  some  time  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages. 

The  Ludi  S^culares. 

Years  from     Equivalent 

Reputed  Consulate  or  reign,  from  the  Augus-  in  Chris- 

Quindecemviral  records.  tus.  tian  asra. 

660       B.  C.  675 

550  565 

M.  Valerius  and  S.  P.  Virginius  440  455 

M.  V.  Corvinus  and  C.  Petilius  330  345 

P.  C.  Lentullus  and  C.  L.  Varus  220  235 

M.  E.  Lepidus  and  L.  A.  Orestes  no  125 

Augustus:  Cos.  C.  Furnius  &  C.  Silanus  '*    o  15 

Domitian.     Suetonius:  Dom.  4.  no         A.  D.  95 

Septimius  Severus,  220  205 

♦These  years  of  Rome,  "  A.  U.,"  are  according  to  the  received  chronology. 

The  last  figure  of  the  first  column  shows  the  year  when,  according 
to  the  Quindecemviral  records  quoted  by  Censorinus,  the  Ludi  Saecu- 
lares (all  excepting  the  first  two)  were  actually  kept;  the  observance 
of  the  the  first  two  cycles  not  being  recorded.  Hence  Censorinus 
calls  the  third  one,  the  first  .;  but  this  can  only  mean  the  first  one  ac- 
tually kept,  for  it  was  unquestionably,  at  the  lowest  calculation,  the 
third  Cycle.      In  addition  to  the  Cycles  shown  in  the  table,  Censor- 

'^  This  consulate  fell  in  A.  U.  73S,  by  the  Augustan  calendar.  In  most  modern 
date-books  it  is  dated  A.  U.  727  or  B.  C.  27;  the  discrepancy  is  explained  by  the  ten 
years'  difference  mentioned  in  a  previous  note,  plus  one  year,  due  to  the  modern  cus- 
tom of  subtracting  "  B.  C."  dates  from  A.  U.  754  instead  of  A.  U.  753,  as  formerly. 


Actual  year  A.  U. 

Proper 

of  celebration. 

Year 

Censorinus.* 

A.  U.* 

78 

78 

188 

188 

245  or  298 

298 

305  or  408 

408 

518 

518 

605,  608  or  628 

628 

737 

738 

841 

848 

957 

958 

THE    LUDI    S^CULARES    AND    OLYMPIADS.  3I 

inus,  in  another  place,  informs  us  that  Piso  recorded  a  New  Cycle  in 
A.  U.  596.  As  shown  above,  this  was  evidently  the  year  of  Romu- 
lus by  the  Timaean  calendar  and  means  the  Cycle  observed  in  the 
year  A.  U.  518;  the  difference  between  596  and  518  being  exactly 
78  years.  Another  Cycle  was  celebrated  by  the  emperor  Claudius 
in  A.  U.  876  (Timasan)  or  A.  U.  800  by  the  Augustan  calendar.  This 
was  evidently  meant  for  the  Eighth  iio-year  Cycle  from  the  Nativ- 
ity of  Romulus,  which  cycle  would  occur  in  A.  U.  880  (Timaean) ;  a 
subject  treated  in  another  place.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
interval  of  the  Ludi  Sasculares  was  as  nearly  as  practicable,  but  not 
exactly,  one-sixth  of  the  astrological  cycle  of  658^  years.  Hence 
between  one  Great  Cycle  and  another,  two  years  had  to  be  dropped 
to  make  the  Small  Cycles  (the  Ludi)  agree  with  the  Great  Cycles. 
As  the  period  of  876  years  embraces  the  whole  of  one  and  part  of 
another  Great  Cycle,  the  approximation  of  four  years  (as  between 
876  and  880)  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  identity  of  the  two  inter- 
vals. Corroboration  is  derived  from  a  curious  phrase  in  Censorinus, 
which,  probably  because  it  was  not  understood,  was  left  unaltered 
by  the  corrupters  of  his  manuscript.  He  notices  an  alteration  of  the 
calendar  that  was  made  in  the  second  consulate  of  the  emperor  An- 
toninus Pius  and  C.  Bruttius  Prsesens,  which  was  "just  100  years" 
previous  to  his  own  time  and  876  years  forward  from  Nebo-Nazaru; 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  Antoninus  Pius  celebrated,  in  some 
way  or  another,  precisely  that  same  number  of  years  from  Nebo- 
Nazaru  that  Claudius  did  from  Romulus,  namely  876.  Censorinus 
adds  that  "  we  are  to-day  really  in  the  hundredth  year  of  this  Annus 
Magnus,"  which  can  only  mean  100  years  from  the  Eighth  Age  of 
the  Great  Year  of  Nebo-Nazaru,  celebrated  by  Antoninus  Pius. 

According  to  Basil  Kennett  (Rom.  Antiq. ,  p.  301)  there  is  ancient 
authority  for  the  belief  that  the  Third  Cycle  was  celebrated  in  A.  U. 
330,  which  was  the  proper  Timsean  year  for  it;  but  we  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  discover  the  original  passage  from  which  Kennett  drew 
this  information. 

Sylla's  abortive  aspiration  to  become  the  Sacred  Personage  whose 
cycle  was  indicated  by  the  Ludi  Sseculares,  which,  says  Plutarch, 
were  predicted  and  expected  in  his  time,  affords  a  further  corrobora- 
tion of  the  Timaan  calendar.  According  to  the  present  chronology 
Sylla  was  born  in  A.  U.  616  and  the  Sixth  Ludi  had  been  celebrated 
either  a  few  years  before,  or  after,  he  was  born,  /.  e.,  either  in  605, 
608  or  628;  hence,  as  their  interval  was  more  than  a  century,  it  is 
inconceivable  that  he  should  have  expected  them  to  be  celebrated 


32  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

again  in  his  own  time.  But  if  we  admit  that  the  Timsean  calendar 
was  still  used  by  the  Romans,  the  difficulty  is  at  once  removed.  By 
the  Timaean  calendar  the  Sixth  Ludi  were  due  in  A.  U.  660  and  if, 
as  it  is  most  likely,  the  date  of  Sylla's  birth  was  borrowed  from  that 
calendar,  before  it  was  changed,  then  he  would  be  44  years  of  age 
when  the  Festival  recurred;  a  conclusion  that  agrees  with  the  other 
details  of  his  biography.  Carr  (Rom.  Antiq.  p.  65)  also  states  that 
a  Cycle  of  the  Ludi  was  celebrated  by  Caracalla  in  A.  U.  952;  but 
unless  our  calendar  is  wrong  this  would  relate  to  his  father  Septi- 
mius  Severus,  for  Caracalla  did  not  obtain  the  throne  until  A.  U. 
964.  Still  other  Cycles  were  celebrated  by  the  emperors  Phillip  and 
Honorius  in  A.  U.  1000  and  1157  respectively.  These  last  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  discuss." 

The  second  column  shows  the  years  when  the  Ludi  Saeculares 
should  have  been  kept  and  a  New  Cycle  begun.  According  to  this, 
Augustus  celebrated  the  Cycle  one  year  before  the  correct  time, 
even  by  his  own  chronology;  but  such  was  the  case  only  in  appear- 
ance. The  year  of  Romulus  began  in  April ;  that  of  Augustus  (based 
upon  the  Julian  year)  began  with  March  or  January.  If  the  New 
Cycle  was  celebrated,  as  is  likely,  on  Pariliana,  it  was  in  the  year  737 
Old  Style,  or  738  New  Style. 

The  third  column  shows  the  consulate,  or  else  the  reign,  during 
which  the  Cycles  are  said  to  have  been  celebrated.  These  consulates 
are  from  the  Quindecemviral  records.  As  whoever  altered  the 
Augustan  to  the  present  dates  was  compelled  to  alter  the  names  of 
the  consuls,  it  is  all  but  certain  that  the  consulates  given  in  the  table 
are  spurious;  and  probably  of  less  value  than  the  alternates  men- 
tioned by  Censorinus,  which  may  possibly  be  genuine. 

The  fourth  column  shows  the  number  of  years  counting  from 
Angustus  backward  or  forward.  A  person  living  in  the  reign  of 
Augustus  would  by  this  computation  be  obliged  to  believe  that  the 
Cycles  had  been  duly  celebrated  in  the  past  at  the  correct  astrological 
interval  of  "eleven  times  ten  years";  and  therefore  that  Augustus 
must  be  the  veritable  re-incarnation  of  Quirinus,  between  whose 
Apotheosis  and  his  own  there  were  precisely  Six  Cycles  or  (barring 
two   years)   exactly   one    astrological   Great   Year  of   658   years.'* 

"  On  January  i,  A.  D.  1300,  the  Ludi  Saeculares  were  revived  by  Pope  Boniface 
VIII,  with  the  object  of  attracting  pilgrims  to  Rome.  They  were  at  first  appointed 
for  every  100  years,  then  for  50,  33  and  25  years.  After  19  such  festivals  were  ob- 
served, the  Reformation  put  an  end  to  them.     Gibbon,  VI,  558. 

*®  For  another  explanation  of  the  two  years  of  discrepancy  see  Chap.  VII,  years 
B.  C.  814  and  307. 


/ 


/ 


THE    LUDI    SyECULARES    AND    OLYMPIADS.  33 

Augustus'  Cycle  was  the  seventh;  beginning  the  (ecclesiastical)  year 
in  March,  he  was  born  in  the  seventh  month;  his  zodiacal  sign  was 
the  seventh,  or  Capricorn,  which  he  stamped  on  his  coins,  etc.  This 
astrological  twaddle  and  more  of  the  same  sort  the  reader  will  find 
in  the  garrulous  Suetonius. 

The  fifth  column  shows  the  result  produced  by  the  15-year  altera- 
tion of  the  calendar  effected  by  the  post-Augustan  astrologers  and 
pontiffs.  This  alteration  indicates  that  the  christian  sera,  which  it 
is  pretended  was  discovered,  invented,  or  deduced,  by  Dionysius 
Exiguus,  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  Augustan  sera,  which  the 
christian  astrologers  found  in  common  use  and  were  therefore  fain  to 
accept  and  adopt.  In  short,  the  present  aera  of  the  Incarnation  is 
really  the  Augustan  aera,  altered  by  15  years;  just  as  the  Augustan 
"  A.  U.  738  "  is  the  aera  of  Quirinus  altered  by  78  years;  while  that 
of  Quirinus  is  the  Nebo-Nazarene  aera  altered  by  12  years.  It  is 
evident  that  the  aera  of  Augustus  was  invented  for  him  by  Manilius, 
or  some  other  astrologer  of  his  own  court.  As  to  the  period  and 
authors  of  the  post- Augustan  calendar  we  have  sufficiently  indicated 
them  in  other  portions  of  this  work. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  not  the  existence,  nor  the 
story,  nor  the  heavenly  mission,  nor  the  divine  attributes  of  Jesus 
that  are  herein  questioned;  it  is  simply  asserted  that  the  aera  which 
we  now  use  is  in  fact  the  aera  of  Augustus,  altered  by  post- Augustan 
astrologers,  under  direction  or  with  consent  of  the  Latin  Sacred 
College,  to  the  extent  of  15  years;  and  that,  leaving  out  of  present 
view  the  intermediate  alteration  made  by  Augustus,  the  year  of 
Rome  now  used  is  63  years  out  of  harmony  with  the  year  of  Rome, 
as  reckoned  at  the  time  of  Timsus,  Piso,  Ennius,  Sylla,  Cicero  and 
Tacitus." 

Under  all  the  ancient  hierarchical  governments  the  aera  was  inva- 
riably reckoned  from  the  Nativity,  Apotheosis,  or  Ascension  of  an 
Incarnated  god,  or  Deified  Ruler;  witness  the  ^ras  of  les  Chrishna, 
Buddha,  Nebo-Nazaru,  Romulus,  Alexander  the  Great,  theSeleucid^e, 
the  Ptolemies,  Julius  Caesar,  etc.      Under  the  ancient  republics  the 

"  If  it  be  admitted  that  Julius  (or  else  Augustus)  altered  the  Olympiads  from  five 
to  four-year  intervals  and  their  epoch  from  Iphitus  B.  C.  884  to  Coroebus  B.  C.  776, 
then  in  such  case  the  date  of  L.  Cincius  Alimentus,  namely  Olym.  XII,  4,  receives  a 
new  significance.  In  the  four-year  Olympiads  this  is  equal  to  B.  C.  729,  which  is  an 
inadmissable  date;  while  in  the  five-year  Olympiads  it  is  equal  to  B.  C.  826,  which  is 
within  ten  years  of  the  sera  of  Procas,  and  of  the  Foundation  of  Rome  according  to 
the  various  authorities  quoted.  The  ten  years  of  discrepancy  is  accounted  for  in  a 
previous  note. 


34  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

sera  was  reckoned  from  the  incumbencies  of  public  officials,  as  the 
archons  of  Athens,  or  the  consuls  of  Rome.  Sometimes,  though 
much  more  rarely  than  is  represented  by  chronologists,  the  oera  was 
reckoned  from  the  foundation  of  cities.  But  under  the  hierarchies 
the  sera  was  invariably  reckoned  from  an  Incarnation.  In  fact  the 
practice  continues  to  the  present  day,  both  in  India,  Thibet,  China 
and  Abyssinia.  The  fulsome  and  impious  acclamations  of  Manilius, 
Virgil,  Ovid,  Horace  and  other  poets  of  the  Augustan  court  leave 
leave  us  no  room  to  doubt  that  this  practice  was  followed  by  Augus- 
tus; and  that  to  bring  the  Ludi  Saeculares  to  the  year  of  his  own 
Apotheosis  he  sank  78  years  from  the  calendar  of  the  Commonwealth 
and  destroyed  or  altered  all  the  literary  works  that  were  supposed  to 
clash  with  his  pretension  of  superhuman  origin  and  the  theory  it  in- 
volved of  synchronism  with  the  sacred  period  of  the  Divine  Year,  the 
Incarnations  and  the  Ludi  Saeculares. 

Still  further  corroboration  of  these  views  is  derived  from  those 
passages  of  Censorinus,  which,  not  being  attached  to  any  precise 
date,  were  probably,  for  that  reason,  left  unaltered.  For  example, 
his  quotation  from  Piso  is  taken  from  the  latter's  Annals  of  the 
Seventh  Cycle  (Annali  Septimo).  This  agrees  with  the  Timaean 
chronology,  but  not  with  the  Augustan,  according  to  which  Piso  lived 
in  the  sixth  cycle,  the  seventh  only  commencing  with  Augustus. 
Again  Censorinus  says  that  "  the  eighth  (Etruscan)  cycle  "  had  begun 
"in  Varro's  time."  This  agrees  with  the  chronology  of  Timaeus.  In 
an  another  place  (XVII)  Censorinus  says  that  "the  day  of  the  death 
(of  Romulus)  marked  the  end  of  the  first  cycle."  Therefore  the 
Second  Cycle  began  with  the  33rd  year  of  Romulus,  reckoning  from 
his  Apotheosis,  or  the  37th  of  his  reign,  which  was  precisely  the 
theory  advanced  by  the  Augustan  astrologers  and  afterwards  sup- 
ported by  the  testimony  of  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus  and  Plu- 
tarch. =" 

^^  Plutarch  in  "  Numa  "  places  the  death  and  ascension  to  heaven  of  Romulus  in 
"the  37th  year  from  the  building  of  Rome  and  his  reign."  In  "  Romulus  "  he  says 
that  "  Romulus  is  said  to  have  been  54  years  of  age  and  in  the  38th  of  his  reign 
when  he  was  taken  from  the  world."  Dionysius  says  that  Romulus  died  in  the  37th 
year  of  his  reign,  which  he  begins  with  the  first  year  of  the  decennial  archonship  of 
Charops  of  Athens,  which  he  places  in  Olym.  VII,  i.  (In  the  five-year  Olympiads 
this  would  be  B.  C.  817  or  816.)  In  the  chronology  of  Rome,  Dionysius  makes  Numa 
succeed  immediately  after  Romulus  and  says  nothing  of  an  interregnum;  neither  does 
Plutarch;  whilst  Livy  mentions  it  specifically;  and  though  he  says  in  one  place  that 
it  lasted  for  one  year,  he  stretches  it  in  his  chronology  to  two  years,  killing  Romulus 
in  A.  U.  37  and  enthroning  Numa  in  A.  U.  39.     To  render  matters  still  worse  Dion- 

'•'s  makes  a  mistake  of  one  year  in  adding  the  regnal  periods  of  the  first  seven  kings 


THE    LUDI    SiECULARES    AND    OLYMPIADS.  35 

So  much  for  the  Ludi  Sseculares;   now  for  the  Olympiads.     There  \ 
are  reasons  for  believing  that  either  Julius  Caesar  or  Augustus,  or  | 
both  of  them  together,  altered  the  olympiads  from  five  to  four  years  I 
and  their  epoch  from  Iphitus  to  Coroebus.     These  reasons  will  now 
be  briefly  set  forth. 

First:  The  Olympiads  were  always  called  by  the  Greeks  penta-i  ^j 
eteris  and  by  the  Romans  quinqennales,  both  of  which  terms  mean  \  j 
periods  of  five  years;  not  of  four  years.  Some  examples  of  this 
practice  occur  in  the  passages  cited  below.  In  ancient  times,  when 
the  year  consisted  of  ten  months  each  of  36  days,  the  pentaeteris 
were  celebrated  every  fifty  months.  The  five-year  period  was  called 
pentaeteris  for  the  same  reason  that  a  five-sided  figure  is  called  penta- 
gon, and  the  five  first  books  of  the  Bible  the  pentateuch.  The  reason 
is  that  penta  is  the  Greek  word  for  five. 

Second:  Writers  previous  to  the  Augustan  age  and  some  even 
during  the  Augustan  age,  especially  the  poets,  whose  verses  could 
not  be  so  readily  altered  as  prose  writings,  explicitly  stated  that  the 
olympiads  were  periods  of  five  years,  the  same  as  the  Roman  lustra. 
Where  Ovid,  who  was  at  the  time,  (as  he  tells  us  in  another  passage), 
just  fifty  years  of  age,  writes  that  his  lifetime  is  equal  to  ten  olym- 
piads, he  makes  a  similar  statement  by  indirection.  Among  the 
writers  alluded  to  are  Pindar,  0/ymp.,  Ill,  ^;^;  X,  67;  Nemea 
XI,  30;  Ovid,  Pontics,  IV,  6;  Tristia,  IV,  8;  IV,  10;  Metam.  XIV, 
324;  Martial,  IV,  45,  3;  Suetonius,  Nero,  53;  Josephus,  Wars,  I, 
xxi,  12. 

Third:  The  olympiads  were  solemn  festivals,  kept  with  a  political 
object;  the  sports  and  exercises  being  merely  of  a  secondary  or  in- 
cidental character.  The  duration  of  the  festival  was  five  days  and 
its  object  was  to  appropriate — and  by  such  appropriation  to  mark — 

of  Rome,  which  he  gives  separately  at  37,  43,  32,  24,  38,  44  and  25  years  and  adds 
up  together  as  244;  whereas  they  only  make  243.  Finally,  Plutarch  in  "  Numa  "  says 
that  the  Olympiads  (and  therefore,  we  may  infer,  the  archonships  with  them)  were 
corrupted  by  Hippias,  the  Elean.  Amidst  this  discordance,  blundering  and  corrup- 
tion of  texts,  about  an  astrological  myth,  the  astrological  Cycles  (658,  no,  and  33 
years  respectively),  remain  our  safest  guides  to  ancient  dates.  According  to  Michelet 
(Hist.  Rom.  Rep.,  44)  Servius,  a  commentator  on  Virgil,  who  is  attributed  to  the 
end  of  the  fourth  century,  wrote  as  follows:  "  The  Emperor  Augustus  related  in  his 
Memoirs  that  at  the  apparition  of  the  comet  observed  at  the  funeral  of  Csesar,  the 
aruspex  Vulcatius  said  in  the  Comitia  that  it  announced  the  end  of  the  ninth  and  com- 
mencement of  the  tenth  Cycle."  If  Augustus  wrote  this  in  his  Memoirs  (of  which 
not  a  line  remains)  then  he  admitted  that  the  Etruscan  calendar  was  over  two  Divine 
years  older  than  the  Roman;  a  circumstance  which  indeed  is  deducible  from  the  chro- 
nology of  Ennius  and  which  nobody  at  that  period  disputed. 


36  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  five  superfluous  days,  or  epagomenge,  which  constituted  the  dif- 
ference between  the  ancient  solar  year  of  360  days  and  the  later  solar 
year  of  365  days.  In  short,  it  was  a  Monument  of  the  Equable  solar 
year;  and  as  such,  it  became  a  bulwark  of  Popular  Liberty,  against 
the  insidious  and  always  menacing  device  of  a  lunar  year.  The 
olympiad  opened  with  sports;  it  closed  with  sacrifices;  and  its  hon- 
ours and  rewards  were  the  highest  objects  of  Greek  ambition.  When 
Julius  Caesar  established  bylaw  a  solar  year  of  365^  days,  the  need 
for  a  quinquennial  ceremonial  lost  its  force.  Confident  that  his  in- 
stitute of  the  Julian  year  would  not  be  overthrown,  the  quinquennial 
festival  was  apparently  abandoned,  as  having  outlived  its  usefulness. 
Why  continue  to  rejoice  over  the  365 -day  year  of  king  Iphitus,  when 
Csesar,  who  was  a  King  of  kings,  had  safely  anchored,  in  the  laws  of 
the  empire,  a  better  and  more  perfect  year  of  365^  days?  In  his 
turn  and  in  his  usual  devious  and  prudent  way,  Augustus  also  shelved 
the  quinquennial  olympiads,  by  depriving  them  of  their  religious 
character,  ceremonial  and  support.  Known  in  his  reign  as  the 
"Caesarian,"  they  were  afterwards  called  the  "Augustan"  games, 
and,  carrying  out  the  plan  of  Caesar,  he  substituted  in  their  place 
the  quadrennial  games  to  which  he  gave  the  familiar  name  of  Olym- 
piads ;  coupling  them  with  the  ancient  ceremonial,  religious  sacrifices 
and  secular  rewards.  Henceforth  the  olympiads  celebrated  not  a 
dead  Charter  of  Liberty,  but  a  living  one,  not  a  period  of  five 
epagomenae,  to  be  huddled  into  a  short  month  (Cronia)  every  five 
5'ears;  but  a  living  Charter  of  Liberty,  a  leap-year  day,  to  be  cele- 
brated ever  fourth  year  forever. 

Fourth.  After  a  critical  examination  of  the  Greek  and  other  an- 
cient authorities,  Sir  George  Cornewall-Lewis  (op.  cit.  117)  declared 
of  the  quadrennial, cycle,  or  four-year  Olympiads,  that  there  is  "  no 
historical  trace  of  its  actual  use  in  any  Greek  calendar."  The  reason 
of  this  is  quite  simple:  the  Greeks  never  used  a  quadrennial  cycle. 
Censorinus  indeed  says  that  they  used  a  quadrennial  intercalation, 
but  that  it  recurred  every  fifth  year!  Stobaus,  "Eel.  Phys.,"I,  8, 
mentions  four  "great  years"  of  four,  eight,  19  and  60  years  respec- 
tively, but  in  the  corresponding  pasages  of  Plutarch,  "  Plac. "  II,  32" 
there  is  no  four-year  cycle  and  the  60-year  one  is  given  as  59  years. 
Pliny,  II,  48,  attributes  a  four-year  intercalary  cycle  to  Eudoxus;  but 
no  evidence  of  it  can  be  found  in  any  of  the  calendars  extant  and 
even  if  it  could  be  found  it  would  not  mean  the  Olympiads,  because 
they  were  not  used  for  the  purpose  of  intercalating  the  calendar,  but 

2'  Also  Galen,  c.  16  and  Euseb.  "  Prap.  Evan."  XV,  54. 


THE    LUDI    SiECULARES    AND    OLYMPIADS.  37 

as  the  steps  of  a  chronological  aera  for  marking  the  flight  of  time. 

Fifth.  It  remains  to  consider  the  effect  upon  chronology  which 
followed  this  alteration  of  the  Olympian  intervals.  If  we  accept  the 
computation  of  Erastosthenes,  as  reported  by  Clement  Alexandrinus, 
the  Olympiads  of  King  Iphitus  began  with  B.  C.  884;  if  of  Callima- 
chus,  they  began  B.  C.  828.  Between  these  dates  and  the  epoch  con- 
ferred upon  the  Olympiads  named  after  Coroebus,  B.  C.  776,  the  in- 
terval was  either  108,  or  else  52  years;  or,  if  we  reckon  from  Iphitus 
inuente  to  Coroebus  exuente,  it  was  just  56  years.  If  Caesar  had  al- 
ready sunk  108  years  from  the  Greek  calendar,  Augustus  had  only  to 
sink  30  years  less  from  the  Roman  calendar,  to  be  enabled  to  utilize 
all  the  historical  events  which  the  chronologers  had  assigned  to  the 
years  between  B.  C.  776  and  884.  According  to  Cicero"  the  date  of 
Callimachus  is  not,  while  that  of  Eratosthenes,  is,  correct.  Hence, 
the  quinquennial  Olympiads  began  B.  C.  884  and  the  alteration  made 
by  Caesar  amounted  to  108  years." 

Sixth.  The  reason  for  ascribing  the  alteration  of  the  Olympiads 
to  Julius  rather  than  Augustus  is  derived  from  the  statement  in  Ci- 
cero's Republica  II,  10,  where  the  aeras  of  Lycurgus,  and  Iphitus  are 
fixed  at  108  years  before  the  first  (quadrennial)  Olympiad.  This  is 
precisely  the  beginning  of  the  first  (quinquennial)  Olympiad  and  also 
the  beginning  of  the  tables  of  Eratosthenes,  namely  B.  C.  884.  As 
Cicero  was  murdered  by  order  of  Augustus  and  Marc  Antony,  before 
the  reign  of  the  former  began  and  therefore  before  he  had  lawful 
power  to  alter  the  Olympiads,  it  may  be  reasonably  concluded  that 
they  were  altered  by  Julius.^*  However,  there  are  reasons  for  be- 
lieving that  the  alteration  was  not  completed  by  Julius  but  by  Au- 
gustus. 

This  alteration  of  the  Olympiads  did  not  affect  the  fasti  of  Rome, 
all  of  which  were  later  than  the  aera  "of  King  Iphitus;  nor  did  it  af- 
fect the  historical,  but  only  the  mythical  or  fabulous  fasti  of  Greece; 
because  the  former  were  also  later  than  Iphitus.    In  the  fabulous  fasti 

22  Repub.,  II,  10. 

23  See  Ch.  VII,  B.  C.  884  and  828. 

2*  If  it  be  assumed  that  the  quinquennial  olympiads  began  with  the  date  assigned 
to  them  by  Eratosthenes,  then  the  two  series  of  olympiads  would  meet  in  B.  C.  344, 
which  would  terminate  the  io8th  and  begin  the  109th  5-year  olympiad  from  B.  C.884. 
It  would  also  terminate  the  108th  and  begin  the  logth  4-year  olympiad  from  B.  C. 
776.  If  the  quinquennial  olympiads  began  at  the  date  given  by  Callimachus,  then  the 
two  series  would  meet  in  B.  C.  568,  which  would  terminate  the  52nd  olympiad  in 
both.  The  former,  the  date  of  Eratosthenes,  is  regarded  as  the  correct  one.  The 
meeting  of  the  olympiads  was  therefore  in  B.  C.  344. 


38  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

there  was  but  a  single  date  which  affected  the  historical  fasti.  This 
was  the  date  of  Troja  Capta.  As  this  varied  in  the  classical  authors 
from  a  period  that  synchronises  with  B.  C.  1334,  down  to  one  that  tal- 
lies with  B.  C.  1049,  there  was  abundance  of  room  between  these  ex- 
tremes in  which  to  fit  any  event  that  was  deemed  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion in  the  historical  fasti. 

J  It  should  be  added  that  most  of  the  geras  of  Troja  Capta  that  still 
survive  are  worked  backward  from  the  Olympiads;  so  that  when  these 

»  were  shifted,  Troja  Capta  was  shifted  with  them.  For  example,  sev- 
eral of  the  Greek  chronologers  counted  from  the  first  Olympiad  back- 
ward to  the  return  the  Heraclidse  328  years;  and  to  the  Capture 
of  Troy  80  years  more.  Many  of  the  other  dates  of  Troja  Capta 
come  from  suspicious  sources,  as  that  imputed  to  Eratosthenes  by 
Clement  Alexandrinus,  who  is  assigned  to  the  third  century  of  our 
sera,  but  who  (or  his  work)  may  be  later.  The  original  of  the 
canon  of  Eratosthenes  is  "  lost;"  the  mss.  of  Milan  and  Venice  dis- 
agree; while  both  contain  Hebrew  dates."  These  circumstances  in- 
dicate that  it  was  composed  or  else  altered  (probably  altered)  during 
the  medieval  ages.  Other  seras  of  Troja  Capta,  as  that  of  the  Parian 
marble,  are  anonymous;  they  lack  authority;  or,  as  in  this  case,  they 
have  been  tampered  with  and  altered.^"  It  is  a  suspicious  circum- 
stance that  the  canons  of  Eratosthenes  and  Callimachus  vary  by  56 
years  until  they  reach  the  date  B.  C.  776,  when  they  at  once  harmon- 
ize. It  is  also  suspicious  that  not  a  single  chronological  aera  is  left 
in  Herodotus  or  Thucydides.  As  for  the  canon  of  Censorinus,  it  has 
evidently  been  thoroughly  "  revised  "  and  altered  by  the  Latin  Sacred 
College.  In  short,  we  have  no  reliable,  no  original  date  of  Troja 
Capta;  and  if  we  had  one,  unless  it  was  recorded  in  terms  of  the 
Brahminical  or  Hindu  Divine  Year,  or  of  some  other  astronomical 
conjunction,  there  would  remain  no  event  by  which  it  could  be  fixed 
in  time. 

■''^  Clinton.  ^*  Rev,  J.  Robinson. 


39 


CHAPTER   IV. 
ASTROLOGY  OF  THE  DIVINE  YEAR. 

WE  now  come  to  the  most  significant  and  important  of  the 
various  influences  that  have  governed  the  calendar;  the  key 
to  the  asras,  and  the  corner  stone  to  astrology.  This  is  the  Divine 
Year,  or  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses,  consisting  of  223  lunar  revolutions 
or  6585^  days  (approx.)  or  18  years  and  10  or  11  days  (approx.)  1 
During  this  period  there  will  usually  be  41  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  29 
of  the  moon.  Familiarity  with  the  cycle  will  enable  anyone  to  fore- 
tell an  eclipse  with  almost  unerring  certainty;  so  that  in  ages  when 
ignorance  and  superstition  were  rife,  the  few  possessors  of  this  in- 
formation were  armed  with  almost  supernal  power  over  the  human 
mind.  Although  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Thales  was  familiar 
with  the  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses  and  therefore  with  the  periods  of 
lunar  as  well  as  solar  eclipses,  yet  a  century  after  his  time,  the 
Greek  priests  caused  Anaxagoras  to  be  thrown  into  prison  for  daring 
to  reveal  these  periods.  One  of  the  consequences  of  this  ecclesias- 
tical monopoly  of  science  was  the  defeat  of  the  Athenian  army 
before  Syracuse,  an  event  which  both  Thucydides  and  Plutarch 
impute  to  an  unexpected  eclipse  of  the  moon. 

Said  Plutarch :  ' '  The  first  person  who  wrote  a  clear  and  bold  solu- 
tion of  the  enlightening  and  obscuration  of  the  moon  was  Anaxagoras, 
who  now  (time  of  the  defeat  before  Syracuse)  had  not  long  been 
dead;  nor  was  his  account  in  everybody's  hands,  but  concealed, 
imparted  only  to  a  few,  and  that  with  caution  and  assurances  of 
secresy."  Five  centuries  later  than  these  events  Pliny  wrote  in  his 
Natural  History,  XXV,  v.:  "  It  is  long  since  the  means  were  dis- 
covered of  calculating  beforehand  not  merely  the  day  or  night,  but 
even  the  very  hour  at  which  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  or  moon  is  to  take 
place,  yet  the  majority  of  the  lower  orders  still  remain  firmly  con- 
vinced that  these  phenomena  are  brought  about  by  enchantments." 
But  we  are  not  left  to  rely  upon  these  ancient  authors  for  examples 
of  the  popular  ignorance  of  eclipses.  It  is  but  a  brief  period  since 
the  Chinese  were  greatly  disturbed  by  the  inauspicious  occurrence  of 


40  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

a  solar  eclipse  on  their  New  Year's  day;  while  very  recently  the 
Second  Adventists  of  England  were  awaiting  the  Reappearance  of 
Jesus  Christ,  which  according  to  their  perverted  use  of  the  Cycle  of 
Eclipses,  was  to  take  place  within  a  brief  space  of  time,  commencing 
at  Easter  in  the  year  1898.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the 
moralist  still  uses  this  cycle  to  awe  the  sinner,  the  general  to  terrify 
the  enemy,  the  hierophant  to  govern  nations. 

When  the  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses  was  first  determined  is  unknown; 
when  it  was  first  imparted  to  the  public  has  not  been  ascertained 
with  certainty.  It  was  known  to  Thales  of  Miletus  in  the  6th  cen- 
tury B.  C.  It  was  known  in  India  long  before  the  second  Buddhic 
period,  possibly  before  the  first  one:  because  the  Brahminical  the- 
ogony  and  the  myth  of  the  Ten  Avatars  was  based  upon  it.* 
Though  known  to  the  Greeks  before  the  reign  of  Darius,  it  was 
probably  not  openly  connected  in  the  Occident  with  the  Indian  myth 
of  the  Incarnation  before  the  conquest  of  India  by  that  monarch; 
for  Darius  himself  was  one  of  the  earliest  actual  "incarnations"  of 
the  Occident  and  yet  one  whose  story  of  godship  is  not  entirely 
free  from  suspicion  of  having  been  constructed  in  after  years  by  the 
grateful  priests  of  Egypt,  whose  temples  he  had  spared.  In  the  Orient, 
the  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses  constituted  what  might  be  termed  the  nun- 
dinal year  of  Maha-vira  or  Brahma-Buddha,  of  which  the  astrologers 
counted  36  to  each  Divine  Year  or  cycle  of  the  Incarnation,  or  360 
(equal  to  ten  incarnations)  in  the  lifetime  of  the  earth.     Thus: 

Cycle  of  Eclipses,  223  lunations,  or  .  .  .  .  6585^^      days 

Divine  Year,  consisting  of  as  many  months  as  there  were  days,  in  the 

Cycle  of  Eclipses,  hence  .....  6585^months 

Great  Year.  [As  at  that  period  there  were  ten  civil  months  to  the 
common  year  the  Divine  Year  would  therefore  consist  of  658  common 
years  and  a  fraction.  By  some  writers  this  was  called  a  "  Great  Year." 
(Plutarch,  in  Sylla.)  At  its  recurrence  the  incarnated  Sun  (les,  Iss, 
Issus,  etc.),  was  to  be  born  anew.]  .  .  .        658       years 

Lifetime  of  the    World,  consisting  of   as  many  years  as   there   were 

months  in  the  Divine  Year,  hence         ....  65857^    years 

Day  of  Judgment.  At  the  end  of  this  period  the  human  race  would 
be  brought  to  judgment  and  our  planet  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  astrological  elements  of  these  Divine  Years  can  be  observed 
in  memorials  which  are  separated  by  30  centuries  of  superstition. 
There  were  36  deities  and  ten  columns,  say  Perrot  and  Chipiez  in 
their  illustrations  of  "Egyptian  Art"  I,  389.  There  are  z6  stages 
in  the  great  Eclipse  Cycle,  said  the  second  Adventist  president  of 

*  Story  of  the  Gods,  "  Brahma." 


ASTROLOGY    OF    THE    DIVINE    YEAR.  4I 

the  British  Chronological  (but  very  illogical)  society,  in  January, 
1898.  To  concede  what  this  system  claims,  is  to  grant  to  a  clique 
of  jugglers  and  impostors  the  ecclesiastical  Empire  of  the  earth  for 
a  period  of  6585  years;  because  to  expose  its  falsity  by  means  of  an 
object  lesson  would  require  the  whole  of  this  immense  period  of 
time. 

The  astronomical  appearance  is  that  once  in  6585^  days  an  entire 
cycle  of  the  eclipses  takes  place,  until  the  initial  eclipse  recurs  and 
the  mechanism  of  the  universe  has  undergone  a  complete  revolution. 
This  appearance  would  have  been  the  same  in  a  ten  months'  year  as 
in  a  twelve  months'  year;  so  that  the  change  in  the  mode  of  dividing 
the  year  is  no  argument  against  the  antiquity  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  Cycle.     Upon  the  period  of  this  cycle  the  busy  minds  of  hiero- 
phants  erected  a   theory   at  once   pleasing  and  terrifying  to  the 
superstitious  multitude.      If  in  6585^  days  (as  appeared  to  be  the 
case)  the  movement  of  the  universe  was  practically  renewed,  then 
as  a  matter  of  course  in  6585^  months  it  would  be  morally  redeemed 
and  in  6585^  years  it  would  be  both  practically  and  morally  de-. 
stroyed.     Such  is  the  astrology  of  this  cycle  and  such  the  logic  of 
the  Ten  Incarnations  of  lesnu  or  Vishnu,  to  each  one  of  whom  was 
appropriated  a  zodiacal  sign,  a  month  of  the  year  and  a  divine  year 
of    658  solar    years.      What   the  Hindus  called    a    Kalpa,   was    to 
the  Persians  a  Nauroz  and  the  Greeks  a  Great  or  Divine  Year.   The 
Romans  both  of  the  Republican  and  Augustan  ages  divided  it  into 
six  parts,  each  one  of  which  was  called  a  Ssecular  period  and  con- 
sisted of   no  years.     The  Romans  of  the  Dionysian  age  (between 
the  Augustan  and  Christian)  had  a  cycle  of  532  years  composed  of 
6580  months;  a  basis  which  is  very  nearly  like  the  Cycle  of  the 
Eclipses  menstrualized.     According  to  Albiruni,  a  Moslem  writer  of 
the  tenth  century,  (ed.  1879,  p.  63)  the  Jews  of  that  century  used 
this  same  Cycle  as  a  Paschal  period.     Perhaps  they  had  it  at  an 
earlier  date.     The  earliest  valid  mention  of  it  as  a  christian  paschal 
cycle,  is  by  Argyrus,  who  wrote  in  1372,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  it  was  used  in   the  Roman    Church  by  Gregory  VII.,  A.  D. 
1073-80. 

Although  both  of  them  have  the  same  astronomical  basis  in  the 
astronomical  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses,  the  Divine  Year  is  practically 
astrological,  while  the  Paschal  Cycle  is  practically  astronomical;  and 
as  it  is  with  astrology  and  not  astronomy  that  we  are  dealing,  we 
will  at  present  confine  our  attention  to  the  Divine  Year  of  the 
ancients. 


42  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

The  significance  of  this  cycle,  though  obliterated  and  lost  sight  of 
in  the  Occident,  since  the  eleventh  century,  yet  still  retains  all  of 
its  ancient  vitality  in  the  Orient.  It  is  the  foundation  of  religious 
faith  not  merely  with  the  Brahmins,  but  also  with  the  Brahma- 
Buddhists  and  the  Moslems.  Aristotle  cautiously  said  that  at  the 
end  of  every  such  a  cycle  a  metaphysical  revolution  occurred,  which 
statement  was  then  true  of  all  the  world  and  is  still  true  of  the 
Orient;  for  have,  or  had,  we  not  Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad  of  Quadian 
in  the  Punjab,  as  well  as  the  late  lamented  Mahdi  of  the  Soudan 
and  the  M'lenga  of  the  Mashonaland,  to  say  nothing  of  the  prophets 
Dimbleby  in  London,  Antonio  in  Brazil  and  Schlatter  in  New  York 
and  Mexico?  In  an  obscure  allusion  to  the  same  significant  cycle 
Sir  William  Jones  said  with  increased  caution,  '^  I  propose  the  ques- 
tion, but  I  affirm  nothing."  As  for  belief  in  the  annualized  cycle  or 
Lifetime  of  the  Earth  we  still  have  the  Millenarians,  the  Millerites, 
the  Second  Adventists  and  others  to  remind  us  that  one  of  the 
grossest  of  astrological  superstitions  has  not  yet  lost  its  hold  upon 
upon  the  minds  of  civilized  peoples.  Ever  since  the  Cycle  of  the 
Eclipses  was  discovered  mankind  has  dreamed  of  a  Renaissance 
which  was  to  redress  the  balance  of  antiquity  in  a  halcyon  age. 
That  age  has  never  come  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  it  never  will  come 
until  the  human  race  has  the  moral  courage  to  repudiate  this  cyclical 
phastasm  and  seek  its  welfare  by  the  aid  of  its  own  powers  and 
opportunities. 

"^  Said  les  Chrishna:  "Whenever  there  is  decline  of  righteousness  and  uprising  of 
unrighteousness,  then  I  project  myself  into  creation.  For  the  protection  of  the 
righteous  and  the  destruction  of  the  evil-doer  and  for  the  proper  establishment  of 
the  law  of  righteousness,  I  appear  from  age  to  age.  ...  At  the  end  of  a  Kalpa, 
all  things  return  into  my  nature  and  then  at  the  beginning  of  a  Kalpa  I  again  project 
them."     Bhagavad  Gita,  IV,  7,  8;  IX,  7. 


43 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  JOVIAN  CYCLE  AND  WORSHIP. 

THE  Jovian  Cycle,  an  interval  of  12  years  and  five  days,  marks 
the  orbital  period  of  the  planet  Jove,  or  Jupiter.  Anciently, 
it  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  period  of  exactly  12  years. 
Upon  this  period  astrology  built  a  sexagesimal  cycle,  consisting  of 
five  periods  of  Jupiter,  or  60  years;  and  this  was  used  and  is  still 
used  for  the  computation  of  time.  Reminiscences  of  both  of  these 
cycles,  the  astronomical  and  the  astrological,  appear  in  the  number 
of  ourzodions,  months,  apostles,  paladins,  jurymen,  etc. ;  in  our  sub- 
divisions of  the  sphere;  in  the  hours  and  minutes  by  which  we  mark 
the  time;  and  in  many  other  institutions  and  customs.  We  have  now 
to  enquire  when  the  Jovian  Cycle  of  12  years  was  first  discovered,  or 
employed. 

The  modern  Hindus  employ  60  and  90-year  cycles  which  go  back 
to  B.  C.  3185,  3174,  and  31 14,  all  of  which  epochs  are  evidently  de- 
rived from,  or  connected  with,  the  Calijoga  (aera)  of  B.  C.  3102.  As 
that  aera  is  anachronical  (Laplace;  Brennand;)  therefore,  they  are 
all  anachronical.  The  Chinese  employ  60-year  cycles  beginning, 
according  to  various  authorities,  in  B.  C.  2717,  2687,  2627,  2397, 
2357,  2337,  and  2217.  Those  of  2357  and  2337  (this  probably  means 
all  of  them)  are  connected  with  the  divine  Yao,  or  Jove;  but  sexa- 
gesimal cycles  of  these  remote  dates  are  all  anachronical.*  There 
was  no  known  astronomical  fact,  no  sexagesimal,  no  duodecimal 
period,  to  build  them  upon.  They  must  all  be  regarded  as  spurious 
until  some  important  astronomical  fact  connected  with  them  is  proved 

1  In  the  Bhagavad  Gita  X,  21-39,  Chrishna  declares  among  other  things  that  he  is 
himself  Vrihaspati,  or  Jupiter,  the  supreme  god.  The  English  translator,  Mohini  M. 
Chatterji,  claims  that  the  work  which  contains  this  declaration  is  5,000  years  old.  But 
such  a  claim  is  preposterous.  In  VIII,  24-25,  Chrishna  incidentally  alludes  to  the 
year  of  12  months;  an  almost  certain  proof  that  at  least  this  part  of  the  scripture  is 
later  than  the  second  Buddha.  However,  it  is  possible  that  the  part  in  which  Vriha- 
spati is  mentioned  may  be  as  ancient  as  the  sera  assigned  herein  to  les  Chrishna. 
Dr.  Lorimer's  date  for  the  whole  work  is  about  B.  C.  400. 


44  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

to  have  been  known  at  periods  when  such  cycles  commenced;  for 
astrology  never  built  upon  sand.  Its  whole  strength  was  due  to  the 
circumstance  that  its  basis  was  sound.  It  need  scarcely  be  added 
that  that  was  all  that  was  sound  about  it;  its  minor  premises  and 
conclusions  being  merely  rubbish.  The  Brahmins  built  their  astrol- 
ogy upon  a  system  of  five  planets,  to  wit,  the  Sun,  Mercury,  Venus, 
Earth  and  Mars;  and  this  system  continued  in  vogue  for  many  cen- 
turies after  the  various  dates  above  mentioned.  The  Egyptian  60- 
year  cycles,  mentioned  by  Martin^  and  conjecturally  assigned  to 
about  B.  C.  1650,  are  anachronical.  The  Greek  five-year  pentaeteris 
of  B.  C.  1406,  which  were  credited  by  some  to  Zeus-pater  and  by 
others  to  Jasius,  are  barely  possible.  As  for  the  Persian  sexagesi- 
mal cycle,  beginning  in  B.  C.  5054  and  known  as  the  Turki  Cycle, 
it  is  hardly  worth  discussing.  There  is  not  a  scrap  of  evidence  to 
support  its  claim  to  antiquity;  and  in  all  probability  it  is  not  so  old 
as  the  Dionysian  or  else  the  Christian  mundane  seras  of  the  Dark 
Ages,  from  one  or  the  other  of  which  it  appears  to  be  derived. 

The  utmost  antiquity  that  can  reasonably  be  assigned  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  period  of  Jupiter,  or  to  the  Jovian  Cycles,  is  that  of 
the  occultation  of  Purvaphalgunibava  (Jupiter)  in  B.  C.  1426,  the 
Sun-seras  of  India,  B.  C.  131 2,  or  B.  C.  1306,  the  corrected  Yao  sera 
of  China  B.  C.  131 1,  or  else  the  Sun  or  Pan  eeras  of  Greece,  B.  C. 
\1260,  1248,  1219,  or  1206;  because,  accordingto  Diodorus,  Pan  was 
meant  for  Jupiter.  As  for  the  sera  of  the  Assyrian  Sun-God  Sha- 
mash,  this  has  not  been  ascertained.  Neither  has  the  age  of  the 
magnifying  lens  found  by  Layard  in  the  ruins  of  "  Nimroud,"  an  in- 
strument whose  employment  it  has  been  claimed  could  not  long  have 
preceded  the  discovery  of  the  period  of  Jupiter.  The  scriptologists 
who  have  been  pleased  to  identify  the  City  of  "Nimroud  "  orBelus, 
with  the  astrological  personage  called  "Nimrod,"  ascribe  this  relic 
to  the  22nd  centurv  B.  C.  Unfortunately  for  this  theory,  Herodotus 
has  left  us  a  chronology  of  "  Semiramis,"  the  mythical  daughter-in- 
law  of  Belus,  which  will  not  admit  of  Belus  or  his  city  being 
assigned  to  a  higher  date  than  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  B.  C. 
Dyaus-pitar,  from  whom  some  of  the  writers  hold  that  the  Greeks 
derived  their  Zeus-pater,  will  be  found  in  the  Vedas;  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine  when  these  scriptures  were  altered,  or  interpo- 
lated. 

The  Hindus  call  Mercury,  Venus,   Mars  and  Jupiter  (Rohineya, 

^  Theon  Smyrnseus,  Liber  de  Astronomia,  ed.  Martin,  Paris,  1849,  ^vo. 


THE    JOVIAN    CYCLE    AND    WORSHIP.  45 

Maghabha,  Ashhadhabhava,  and  Purvaphalgunibhava)  the  four 
daughters  of  Soma  (the  Moon)  and  claim  that  their  occultations 
were  observed  during  a  period  of  i6  months  in  B.  C.  1424-6,  at 
which  time  Saturn  (Chyasuta)  was  not  known  to  them  as  a  planet. 
This  is  possible,  but  not  probable.  Brennand  is  of  the  opinion  that 
Jupiter  was  known  to  the  Hindu  astronomer  Parasara,  who  flourished 
about  B.  C.  118 1 j  but  he  does  not  appear  to  be  willing  to  assign  a 
higher  date  to  this  knowledge.  Moreover,  neither  the  observance 
of  an  occultation  nor  the  knowledge  that  Jupiter  was  a  planet  be- 
speaks a  knowledge  of  its  period,  which  alone  is  what  we  are  seek- 
ing. Finally,  as  Brennand  justly  remarks,  the  association  of  the 
planet  with  the  name  of  the  Buddhist  "sage"  Vrihaspati  implies 
some  connection  between  the  planet  and  the  Buddhist  religion, 
which  hfe  evidently  assumes  is  of  a  much  later  period  than  Parasara. 
But  here  he  is  mistaken,  for  the  first  Buddha  is  earlier  than,  or  at  all 
events  as  early  as,  the  Hindu  astronomer.  However,  if  the  connec- 
tion between  Jupiter  and  Buddhism  was  the  discovery  or  employ- 
ment of  Jupiter's  period,  then  all  these  apparent  discrepancies  may 
be  reconciled  by  supposing  that  Jupiter  was  perhaps  known  to  be  a 
planet  B.  C.  1426,  but  that  his  period  of  12  years  was  not  determined 
until  the  aera  of  Parasara,  B.  C.  1181,  and  that  it  was  then,  or  even 
at  some  more  recent  date,  utilized  by  the  Buddhists,  who  gave  to  the 
planet  the  revered  title  of  Vrihaspati.  Jupiter  and  his  orbital  period 
and  the  sexagesimal  cycle  are  all  mentioned  in  the  Surya  Siddhanta; 
but  this  proves  nothing,  because  we  do  not  know  when  that  work 
was  composed.^ 

We  have  thus  far  followed  the  dates  on  this  subject  downward  to 
B.  C.  1181;  let  us  follow  the  remaining  dates  upward.  Jupiter  is 
said  to  be  indicated  as  a  planet  upon  the  Chinese  chart  of  the  heav- 
ens which  is  ascribed  to  the  year  600  B.  C.  and  upon  which  1460 
stars  are  accurately  depicted.  This  chart  is  said  to  be  in  the  Na- 
tional Library  at  Paris.*  But  this  does  not  prove  that  the  period  of 
Jupiter  was  known.  In  the  sexagesimal  cycle  of  Jove,  as  it  is  em- 
ployed in  India,  China  and  Japan,  each  year  of  the  60  has  a  proper 

^  The  Surya  Siddhanta  recognizes  the  planetary  character  of  both  Saturn  and  Jupi- 
ter and  gives  their  orbital  periods:  it  employs  the  sexagesimal  cycle,  and  it  reckons 
twelve  months  to  the  sidereal  year.  It  is  probably  a  work  of  the  second  Buddhic  period. 
An  English  translation  of  the  work  by  Rev.  E.  Burgess  appears  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Am.  Orient  Soc.   i860. 

■*  Haydn,  Die,  Dates,  art.  "  Planets."  The  number  of  stars  in  this  chart  is  suspi- 
cious; it  exactly  corresponds  with  the  number  of  years  in  the  Sothic  Cycle,  q.  v. 


46  ;  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

name-  According  to  Freret  (XIII,  303-4)  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Chinese  names  were  bestowed  by  the  astronomer  Sze-ma- 
ts'ien,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Woote  B.  C.  86.  This  astron- 
omer drew  up  a  table  of  sexagesimal  cycles,  to  the  years  of  which  he 
affixed  names  which  ran  backward  to  B.  C.  841.  There  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  any  reason  why  he  should  have  stopped  at  that  particular 
year  unless  it  was  the  year  when  the  orbit  of  Jove  itself  was  deter- 
mined, or  at  least  the  knowledge  of  it  was  brought  into  China.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  even  according  to  Chinese 
accounts  the  sexagesimal  cycle  was  invented  in  order  to  reconcile 
the  old  series  of  ten  with  the  new  series  of  12  years  and  therefore 
that  there  is  some  reason  to  suspect  that  the  sexagesimal  Cycle  is 
far  less  ancient  than  the  Cycle  of  12  years. 

Herodotus,  Mel.  5,  says  that  Targitaus  the  first  King  of  the 
Scythians  lived  "just  a  thousand  years  "  before  Darius  Hystaspes 
invaded  their  country.  This  fixes  the  sera  of  Targitaus  in  B.  C. 
1495.  Now  Targitaus  was  reputed  by  his  countrymen  to  have  been 
a  son  of  the  god  Jupiter,  a  belief  which,  could  we  be  sure  of  the 
period  when  it  was  entertained,  would  carry  the  worship  of  Jupiter 
back  to  the  15th  and  near  the  i6th  century  B.  C.  But  it  would  be 
venturesome  to  attach  any  date  to  the  worship  of  Jupiter  from  this 
passage.  All  that  can  be  said  is  that  Herodotus,  a  writer  of  the 
fifth  century  B.  C. ,  evidently  regarded  the  worship  of  Jupiter  as  very 
ancient. 

If  the  poems  assigned  to  Orpheus,  who  is  described  as  one  of 
the  Argonauts,  and  whose  aera  was  therefore  the  12th  century  B.  C, 
could  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  this  remote  period,  they  would  carry 
the  Jovian  cult  and  cycle  back  to  his  imputed  aera;  but  the  known  facts 
will  hardly  warrant  such  a  conclusion.  The  doubts  which  some  two 
thousand  years  ago  were  cast  upon  the  genuineness  of  the  Orphic 
lays  have  never  been  removed.^ 

Among  the  more  positive  evidences  which  we  possess  of  the  Jovian 
worship  are  those  which  appear  in  the  works  of  Homer  and  Hesiod ;  in- 
deed, so  far  as  concerns  the  Occident,  these  poets  may  have  framed 
the  Jovian  theogeny.  "Whence  each  of  the  gods  sprang,  whether 
they  existed'  always  and  of  what  form  they  were,  was  unknown,  so 
to  speak,  until  yesterday.  For  I  am  of  opinion  that  Hesiod  and 
Homer  lived  not  more  than  four  hundred  years  before  my  time  and 
these  framed  a  theogony  for  the  Greeks  and  gave  names  to  the  gods 

^  Diodorus  Sic,  book  L 


THE    JOVIAN    CYCLE    AND    WORSHIP.  47 

and  assigned  to  them  honors  and  arts  and  declared  their  several 
functions.""  The  birthplace  of  Homer  is  undetermined:  but  it  is 
generally  agreed  that  he  was  an  Asiatic  Greek.  His  sera  is  uncer- 
tain. Frederick  Augustus  Wolf,  in  his  celebrated  "  Prologemena 
ad  Homerum"  1795,  says  that  "the  voice  of  antiquity  is  unani- 
mous in  declaring  that  Pisistratus  first  committed  the  poems  of  Ho- 
mer to  writing  and  reduced  them  to  the  order  in  which  we  now 
read  them."  Charles  Lachmann,  1837-41,  showed  that  the  Homeric 
poems  consisted  of  no  less  than  16  different  lays  brought  together 
by  Pisistratus,  who  enlarged  and  interpolated  them  B.  C.  561. 
Xenophanes,  who  flourished  B.  C.  540-500,  the  earliest  writer  who 
mentions  Homer,  complains  of  the  false  notions  which  the  poet 
taught,  an  expression  which  rather  conveys  the  implication  that  in 
his  time,  and  at  least  in  Greece,  such  notions  were  new,  or  at  all 
events  were  not  old  enough  to  have  obtained  popular  assent,  much 
less  that  official  sanction  and  endorsement,  which,  probably  at  a 
later  period,  required  them  to  be  read  aloud  at  the  Panathenaic 
festival.  Herodotus,  our  principal  witness,  says  that  Homer  lived 
"  not  more  than  "  400  years  before  his  time,  which  was  about  B.  C. 
450.  This  expression  assigns  Homer  to  any  date  nof  more  than  400 
years  before  the  time  of  Herodotus;  while  the  expression  "yester- 
day "  leaves  it  to  be  inferred  that  such  date  was  not  very  distant. 
We  are  informed  by  Cicero,  Pausanias  and  Diogenes  Laertius'  that 
the  works  of  Homer  were  revised  and  edited  by  Pisistratus,  the  deified 
King  of  Athens,  who  reigned  something  less  than  200  years  before 
Herodotus  wrote.  So  far  as  we  know,  this  period,  say  about  B.  C. 
600,  marked  the  earliest  publication  of  the  Homeric  poems  and  the 
Jovian  theogony  in  Attica.  Indeed  the  oldest  inscriptions  which 
survive  of  the  Greek  language  do  not  ascend  beyond  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  century.  These  are  the  marbles  of  Thera,  Melos  and 
Crete  about  B.  C.  620,  and  the  Ionian  slab  of  Psammeticus  in  Upper 
Egypt,  which  is  of  nearly  the  same  age. 

Another  straw  which  points  the  same  way  is  the  fact  that  the  Ro- 
mans associated  their  earliest  legends — those  which  relate  to  the 
Foundation  of  the  City — not  with  Jove,  but  with  the  god  whom  the 
Greeks  regarded  as  his  predecessor,  Saturn.*     It  was  Saturn  and  not 

*  Euterpe,  53.     "^  Cicero,  Orat.,  Ill,  34;  Pausanias,  VII;  Diogenes  Lsertius,  I,  57. 

^  According  to  Brennand,  54,  Jupiter  was  known  to  the  Indians  before  Saturn- 
while  in  the  Greek  states,  at  all  events  in  the  Greek  colonies  of  Asia  Minor,  Saturn 
was  known  as  a  planet  and  worshipped  before  Jupiter.  If  it  could  be  assumed  that 
both  of  these  opinions  were  correct,  this  would  narrow  the  field  of  our  researches. 


48  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY 

Jove  who  visited  Janus  in  those  great  galleys  whose  rostra  became 
the  emblems  of  the  Eternal  City.  Had  Jove  been  worshipped,  or 
even  known  to  the  Romans  when  these  legends  were  invented,  it 
seems  more  likely  that  he  would  have  been  the  Supreme  of  the 
Janus  legend,  rather  than  Saturn.  The  legend  therefore  indicates 
that  at  the  period  of  the  Foundation,  say  B.  C.  8i6,  the  Romans, 
or  the  Albans,  worshipped  Saturn  and  not  Jove,  as  the  Supreme 
God. 

The  period  beyond  which,  according  to  these  views,  there  is  no 
warrant  for  carrying  the  antiquity  of  the  Homeric  theogony,  namely 
about  B.  C.  600,  marks  the  conquest  or  colonization  of  the  Crimea 
by  Greeks,  and  the  establishment  of  Greek  trading-posts  and  empo- 
ria  close  to  those  of  the  lezyges,  who  with  them  conducted  the 
overland  trade  from  the  Volga  to  the  frontiers  of  India. 

There  is  a  passage  in  Herodotus  which  by  implication  carries  the 
Jovian  worship  back  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  century  before  our  sera, 
not  indeed  in  Attica,  but  in  Sparta.  *'  Lycurgus,  a  man  much  es- 
teemed by  the  Spartans,  having  arrived  at  Delphi  to  consult  the 
oracle,  no  sooner  entered  the  temple  than  the  Pythian  spoke  as  fol- 
lows: '  Thou  art  come,  Lycurgus,  to  our  famous  temple,  beloved  by 
Jove  and  all  (the  gods)  that  inhabit  Olympian  mansions.  I  doubt 
whether  I  should  pronounce  thee  god  or  man;  but  rather  god,  I 
think,  Lycurgus. '  "'  Tradition  assigns  Lycurgus  to  the  sera  of  Troja 
Capta;  Herodotus  implies  that  he  lived  in  the  tenth  century  B.  C. ; 
Thucydides  and  Cicero,  our  best  authorities,  fix  him  in  the  ninth 
(B.  C.  884);  Aristotle  alludes  to  his  legislation  as  ancient,  but  fixes 
no  date;  Thirl  wall  and  Grote  regard  him  as  a  real  personage  of  the 
ninth  century.  Assuming  the  story  in  Herodotus  to  be  authentic 
it  carries  the  worship  of  Jove  in  Sparta  back  to  the  tenth  century 
before  our  sera. 

The  pentaeteris  were  originally  not  Greek,  but  Oriental  festivals. 
They  are  mentioned  in  the  Vedas  (Brennand,  159;  Colebrooke  I,  106) 
and  were  brought  into  Greece  by  the  Veneti,  who  were  worshippers  of 
IesChrishna,or  as  Grecianized,  Ischenus.  The  festivals  were  called 
Ischenia.  The  period  of  their  importation  was  probably  near  the 
close  of  the  13th  century  before  our  tera.  They  celebrated  the 
equable  year  among  the  lesyges,  the  Veneti,  the  Phoenecians,  Pelas- 
gii,  and  other  kindred  peoples;  but  not  among  the  Greeks,  who  so 
far  as  we  are  aware,  had  no  knowledge  of  the  equable  year  until  after 

s  Clio,  65. 


THE    JOVIAN    CYCLE    AND    WORSHIP.  49 

their  colozination  or  conquest  of  the  Crimea  in  the  seventh  century? 
B.C."  Indeed,  they  themselves  explicitly  ascribed  the  discovery 
of  the  equable  year  to  Thales,  a  Phoenecian  Greek  of  Miletus.  Un- 
til the  Greeks  employed  the  equable  year,  they  certainly  did  not 
celebrate  it  with  the  pentaeteris.  The  previous  celebrations  must 
have  been  those  of  the  Eleans  and  Pisans  before  their  cities  were 
taken  by  the  Greeks.  In  short,  there  seems  to  have  elapsed  a  period 
of  several  centuries  between  the  introduction  of  Jovian  worship  and. 
the  observance  of  the  pentaeteric  festival  by  the  Greeks. 

Pococke,  258-262,  believed  that  the  worship  of  Carnos  (or  Cronos) 
was  the  earliest  form  of  religion  which  was  brought  into  Greece 
from  the  Orient  and  that  this  was  followed  by  the  "  establishment  of 
the  Jania  sect,  by  the  Jania  pontiff  of  Thessaly, "  whose  title  was 
"  Jeyus  or  Zeus"  and  his  residence  Oo'Lampos,  or  Olympus.  Ac- 
cording to  this  author,  the  worshippers  both  of  the  Greek  Zeus- 
pater  and  the  Roman  Jupiter  took  the  name  of  their  god  and  his 
fane  from  the  Jania  religion  of  India.  If  this  opinion  were  sup- 
ported by  satisfactory  evidences,  in  place  of  those  adduced  by 
this  somewhat  venturesome  author,  both  the  discovery,  the  name  and 
the  worship  of  Jupiter  in  Greece  might  be  carried  backward  with 
confidence  to  the  aera  of  les  Chrishna,  or  the  first  Buddha;  but  we 
are  not  as  yet  prepared  to  follow  Mr.  Pococke  thus  far. 

From  these  various  considerations  the  determination  of  the  Jovian 
cycle  is  narrowed  down  to  some  period  near  the  eeras  of  les  Chrishna 
in  India,"  leschenus  in  Pisa,  and  Lycurgus  in  Sparta. 

To  sum  up:  The  remotest  admissible  sera  of  the  discovery  of  the 
planetary  character  and  cycle  of  Jupiter  in  the  Orient  is  the  15th 
century,  whilst  among  the  Greeks  (this  does  not  include  the  Eleans 
or  Pisans)  no  plausible  evidences  of  it  have  been  found  earlier  than 
the  tenth  century.  ^^  A  reasonable  date  for  its  discovery  in  India  is 
a  mean  between  these  two  dates,  say  the  12th  century  B.  C.     With- 

'"  Our  Thors-day  and  the  Roman  Dies-Jovis  answers  to  the  Vrishpat-var  of  the  Hin- 
dus, as  written  in  the  code  of  Manou.  Dyaus-pater,  Vrishpati,  Brihaspati,  Zeuspater 
and  Jupiter  are  all  variations  of  the  same  name  and  mean  the  same  thing.  See  Chap. 
VIII  for  Vrishpat. 

"  A  30  year  cycle  (exactly  one-half  of  the  Jovian  sexagenary)  belongs  to  the  religion 
of  les  Chrishna.     See  "  Story  of  the  Gods,"  IV,  4. 

'■^  While  the  author  sees  no  reason  at  present  to  alter  this  conclusion,  he  neverthe- 
less believes  that  some  weight  should  be  accorded  to  the  fact  that  the  Romans  associ- 
ated one  of  their  earliest  legends,  that  of  Janus,  or  "Father  Jasius "  (Virgil),  with 
Saturn  and  not  with  Jove.  This  would  imply  that  the  Jovian  worship  was  unknown 
to  them  or  their  ancestors  at  the  period  assigned  to  Janus  or  Jasius. 


5©  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

out  venturing  to  suggest  that  the  discovery  of  Jupiter's  planetary- 
character  or  period  had  any  direct  connection  with  the  overthrow 
of  the  original  Brahminical  system,  it  will  scarcely  be  denied  that  the 
assistance  which  it  was  capable  of  affording  to  a  rival  astrology 
would  not  be  without  its  influence  in  strengthening  that  more  popu- 
lar worship  which  sprang  up  after  the  close  of  the  Mahabharata  wars 
and  which  afterwards  in  India  took  its  name  from  les  Chrishna,  or 
the  first  Buddha  and  in  the  West  from  that  of  Ischenou,  Hermes, 
Bacchus,  or  Dionysius. 


51 


CHAPTER  VI. 
VARIOUS  YEARS  OF  THE  INCARNATION. 

THE  following  table  shows  the  years  of  the  incarnation  of  the 
Deity  according  to  the  Brahminical  religion,  all  of  the  years 
being  cast  into  the  conventional  or  familiar  Christian  aera.  The  dates 
are  those  of  the  last  year  of  the  avatars  as  numbered : 


TABLE  A. 

BRAHMINICAL  DIVINE  YEARS. 

Ordinal 

Number  of 

avatar.* 

2^S 
B.  C. 

^        Roman  or 
Augustan 
0       Chronology. 

5jj       Modern,  or 
•    ■        Christian 
0      Chronology. 

Ordinal 

Number  of 

avatar. 

tri     Indian  or  Pre- 
"           Augustan 
y'      Chronology. 

W        Roman  or 
Augustan 
P      Chronology. 

Modern,  or 

Christian 

Chronology, 

B.  C. 

I 

7128 

7050 

7065 

IX 

1 864 

1786 

1 801 

II 

6470 

6392 

6417 

X 

1206 

II28 

1 143 

III 

5812 

5734 

5749 

— 

548 

470 

485 

IV 

5154 

5076 

5091 

A.D. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

V 

4496 

4418 

4433 

— 

109 

187 

172 

VI 

3838 

3760 

3775 

— 

767 

845 

830 

VII 

3180 

S102 

3117 

— 

1425 

1503 

1488 

VIII 

2522 

2444 

2459 

*  The  ten  avatars  of  lesnu,  or  Vishnu,  or  the  names  of  the  ten  different  forms  under  which  he 
appeared  or  was  to  appear  to  mankind,  were  as  follows  :  I,  lesnu,  or  Vishnu,  the  Matsya  ;  II,  Courma, 
or  Kurm;  III,  Varaguin,  or  Varaba  ;  IV,  Nara-Sima,  or  Nara-sing  ;  V,  Vamen,  or  Vamuna  ;  VI,  Rama 
Krakuchouda;  VII,  Bala-patren,  or  Karaka-rauni ;  VIII,  Parasurama,  or  Kasyapa ;  IX,  Chrishna,  or 
Saca-muni ;  X,  Kalpi,  or  Maittreya.  The  interval  between  them  was  always  the  same,  namely,  one 
ecliptical  cycle  ;  but  the  names  and  periods  pertaining  to  each  one  do  not  appear  to  have  remained 
unchanged. 

This  table  is  constructed  upon  the  following  hypotheses:  i,  That 
the  Calijoga  (B.  C.  3102)  is  the  conventional  date  of  a  Brahminical 
incarnation,  a  date  which  has  been  long  accepted  throughout  the 
Orient;  2,  That  the  Brahminical  incarnations  were  658  years  apart;  3, 
That  the  Augustan  dates  are  78  years  later  than  the  Indian;  and  4, 
That  the  Christian  dates  are  15  years  earlier  than  the  Augustan. 

The  following  table  shows  the  years  of  the  incarnations  of  the 
Deity  according  to  the  Brahma-Buddhic  or  Hindu  religion,  all  of  the 
dates  being  cast  into  the  conventional  or  familiar  Christian  sera: 


52  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


TABLE  B. 

BRAHMA- 

BUDDHIC  DIVINE 

YEARS  OR 

INCARNATION 

CYCLES. 

Indian,  or  Pre-Augustan  Years. 

Roman,  or  Augustan  Years. 

Post-Justinian  or 

Christian  Years. 

Buddha's 

Buddha's 

Buddha's 

Buddha's 

Buddha's 

Buddha's 

birth. 

death. 

birth. 

death. 

birth. 

death. 

B.C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

6658 

6578 

6580 

6500 

6595 

65x5 

6000 

5920 

5922 

5842 

5937 

5857 

5342 

5262 

S264 

5184 

5279 

5199 

4684 

4604 

4606 

4526 

4621 

4541 

4026 

3946 

3448 

3868 

3963 

3883 

336S 

3288 

3290 

3210 

3305 

3225 

2710 

2630 

2632 

2552 

2647 

2567 

2052 

1972 

1974 

1894 

1989 

1909 

1394 

1314 

1316 

1236 

1331 

3251 

736 

656 

658 

578 

673 

593 

B.C. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

B.C. 

A.D. 

7S 

I 

0 

79 

15 

64 

A.D. 

A.D. 

A.D, 

A.D. 

A.D. 

A.D. 

579 

659 

658 

737 

642 

722 

1237 

1317 

1316 

1395 

1300 

1380 

1895 

1975 

1974 

2053 

1958 

2038 

This  table  is  constructed  upon  the  following  hypotheses:  i,  That 
previous  to  the  Augustan  age  the  Indian  date  of  the  nirvana  of 
Buddha  was  equivalent  to  the  Christian  B.  C,  656;  2,  That  the 
alteration  of  the  Calendar  by  Augustus  removed  this  date  to  B.  C. 
578;  and  3,  That  the  Calendar  was  subsequently,  probably  about  the 
nth  century,  altered  by  the  Latin  Sacred  College  to  the  extent  of 
15  years,  thus  casting  the  nirvana  of  Buddha  into  B.  C.  593; 
4,  That  his  nirvana  occurred  in  his  80th  year;  5,  That  the 
various  nirvanas  of  Buddha  are  658  years  apart.  A  difference  of 
one  year  is  sometimes  to  be  observed  in  ancient  dates  which  is  due 
to  the  common  practice  of  omitting  A.  D.  o.  in  calculating  their 
Christian  equivalents,  and  sometimes  to  a  change  in  the  new-year 
day. 

It  will  be  observed  that  between  the  dates  in  Tables  A  and  B  there 
is  a  difference  of  108  years.  For  example,  in  Table  A  the  Augustan 
year  of  the  tenth  avatar  of  lesnu  is  B.  C.  1128,  while  in  Table  B  the 
nirvana  of  Buddha  is  fixed  by  the  Augustan  chronology  in  B.  C. 
1236;  the  difference  being  108  years.  In  other  words,  the  Brahma- 
Buddhic  incarnation  dates  are  108  years  earlier  than  the  Brahminical. 
This  discrepancy  is  continued  throughout  all  the  divine  years.  Its 
effect  is  to  bring  one  of  the  divine  years — that  of  the  re-birth  of 
les  Chrishna,  Quichena,  Buddha,  Dionysius  or  Salivahana  (for  they 
were  all  one)  to  the  Christian  B.  C.  15,  or  the  Augustan  A.  D.  o., 
the  year  of  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  and  third  closure  (during  his 
reign)  of  the  temple  of  Janus.  If  we  turn  back  to  chapter  III,  it 
will  be  observed  that  the   difference  between  the  epoch  of  the  quin- 


VARIOUS    YEARS    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  53 

quennial  olympiads  B,  C.  884  and  that  of  the  quadrennial  olympiads 
B.  C.  776  is  precisely  the  same — 108  years.     This  coincidence  when 
strengthened  with  other  evidences  enables  us  to  detect  the  author 
and  the  motive  for  sinking  108  years  from  the  Brahminical  chronology, 
or  in  other  words,  for  adding  108  years  to  the  Buddhic.     The  author  \ 
was  evidently  Augustus  and  the  motive  was  to  prove  by  the  calendar  I 
that  he  himself  was  that  self  same  les  Chrishna,  Quichena,  or  Quirinus,  | 
whose  re-incarnation  had  been  predicted  and  who  was  expected  to  j 
appear  to  mankind  both  in  the  Orient  and  the  West.     It  is  quite 
possible  that  the  olympiads  were  altered  from  quinquennial  to  quad- 
rennial intervals  by  Julius  Caesar — indeed  the  aera  of  Iphitus  given  by 
Cicero  rather  indicates  this — but  as  stated  in  chapter  III  the  altera- 
tion appears  to  have  been  completed  by  Augustus. 

TABLE    C. 

Occidental  Divine  Years  employed  in  Chaldea  (Babylon),  Assyria, 
Persia,  Arabia,  Egypt,  Greece,  Gotland,  Etruria  and  Rome — 658 
years  apart. 

B.  C. 

2064.      Bel-Esus;   Chres;   Cres;    Deluge  of    Ogyges;    Anno    Mundi 

Eusebiano  (?) 
1406.     Nin-Ies;  Jasius;  Eric-theus;  Eleusinian    Mysteries;  Ousurt- 
Esen;  Marina. 
748.     Tiglath   Pil-Esar;  Nebo-Nazaru;  Osiris;    Adonis;    Pheidon; 
Messenia's  "Third  Age";  Tat;  Janus  Quirinus,  or  Romu- 
lus; Numa  Pompilius. 
90.     Woden,  or  Wotan ;  Minius  leus ;  Etrurian  doomsday;  Kab  ben 

Luayy;  Sylla;  Quintus  Sertorius. 

A.  D. 
567.      les  Chrishna   (re-appearance);   Meshdak;    Mahomet  (birth). 

1225.  Divine  years  now  became  obsolete  in  the  West;  though  they 
continued  to  be  observed  in  the  Orient.  At  Rome  the 
second  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  was  expected  down  to  the 
year  1260,  q.  v.,  after  which  date  this  expectation,  so  far 
as  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  are  concerned,  seems  to 
have  been  abandoned. 

It  will  be  observed  that  between  the  Indian  incarnation  dates  of 
Buddha's  nativity  in  Table  B  and  the  Occidental  incarnation  dates 
in  Table  C  there  is  a  discrepancy  of  twelve  years.  The  origin  and 
period  of  this  dislocation  have  not  been  satisfactorily  settled,  but 
it  seems  likely  to  have  been  established  before  the  Augustan  sera. 


54  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

TABLE    D. 

Buddhic,  Bacchic,  or  Dionysian  Divine  Years,  in  cycles  of  552 
years  reckoned  backward  and  forward  from  Salivahana. 


ndian. 

Christian. 

Augustan. 

Indian. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

7254 

7239 

7176 

2286 

6702 

6687 

6624 

1734 

6150 

6135 

6072 

*Il82 

5598 

5583 

5520 

630 

5046 

5031 

4968 

+B 

4494 

4479 

4416 

A.wr 

3942 

3927 

3864 

473 

3390 

3375 

3312 

1025 

2838 

2823 

2760 

1577 

Christian. 
B.  C. 

Augustan, 
B.  C. 

2271 

2208 

1719 
*ii67 

1656 
*ii04 

555 

488 

551 

1040 
1592 

1 103 

1655 

*  Reputed  sera  of  the  Indian  Bacchus  who  conquered  the  West.     This  is  evidently  the  same  god  or 
hero  that  was  worshipped  by  the  Jains.     See  next  chapter,  year  B.  C.  1219. 
+  Variant  aeras  of  Salivahana,  the  re-incarnation  of  les  Chrishna. 

TABLE    DD. 

Buddhic,  Bacchic,  or  Dionysian  Divine  Years,  in  cycles  of  532 
years,  reckoned  backward  and  forward  from  Salivahana. 


Indian. 

Cliristian. 

Augustan. 

Indian. 

Christian. 

Augustan 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

6994 

6979 

6916 

2206 

2191 

2128 

6462 

6447 

6384 

1674 

1659 

^^596 

5930 

5915 

5852 

*II42 

*II27 

*io64 

5398 

5383 

5320 

610 

A.  EC 

5^2 

4866 

4851 

4788 

'■■  o» 

4334 

4319 

4256 

A.D. 

A.TC 

3802 

3787 

3724 

453 

468 

531 

3270 

3255 

3192 

985 

1000 

1063 

2738 

2723 

2660 

1517 

1532 

1585 

1=  Reputed 

sera  of  the  Indian  Bacchus  who  conqi 

jered  the  West. 

+  Salivahana. 

Table  DDD  would  be  similar  to  Table  DD,  only  instead  of  counting  backward 
and  forward  from  A.  D.  o.  the  cycles  would  count  from  B.  C.  8,  which  was 
the  year  of  the  apotheosis  of  Augustus  in  Egypt.  A  table  of  this  character  was 
evidently  used  in  constructing  the  paschal  periods  of  Hippolytus,  a  writer  attributed 
to  the  third  century,  also  by  Dionysius  Exiguus,  who  is  assigned  to  the  sixth  century. 
See  Chapter  VIII,  under  "  532  years,"  where  this  series  of  Dionysian  divine  years  is 
again  mentioned. 

TABLE    E. 

Brahma-Buddhic  lokkals^  2700  years  apart,  according  to  various 
authorities. 


Sewell  and 

Varaha-Mihira. 

Gen.  Cunningham. 

Duff  Rickmers. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

B.  C. 

6077 

6777 

5777 

3377 

4077 

3077 

677 

1377 

377 

If  we  consider  the  hundreds  of  aeras  which  have  been  or  are  still 
being  used  to  mark  the  flight  of  time,  they  will  be  observed  to 
arrange  themselves  into  groups  or  constellations,  of  which  the  prin- 


VARIOUS    YEARS    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  55 

cipal  ones  relate  to  either  les,  or  Brahma,  or  Buddha.  For  example, 
it  will  scarcely  be  doubted  that  of  the  numerous  seras  shown  in  the 
next  Table,  F,  ranging  from  B.  C.  771  to  B.  C.  527,  the  majority, 
indeed  perhaps  all,  of  them  relate  one  way  or  another  to  the  second 
Buddha;  and  that  they  cluster  around  the  last  quarter  of  the  7th 
century  B.  C.  as  a  common  centre.  It  may  fairly  be  deduced  from 
Arrian  and  Diodorus  that  at  this  period  the  Indian  states  enjoyed 
one  of  their  few  intervals  of  freedom.  These  authors,  following 
Megasthenes,  accord  to  the  ancient  Indians  three  periods  of  political 
liberty,  one  each  of  200  (?),  300  and  120  years;  but  they  do  not 
mention  the  dates  at  which  such  periods  of  liberty  prevailed.  We 
may  reasonably  assume  that  the  two  last  periods  followed  respectively 
the  establishment  and  restoration  of  the  Buddhic  religion;  but  there 
is  no  guide  to  the  occurrence  of  the  first.  Some  other  aspects  of 
this  subject  are  dealt  with  further  on  in  the  text.  Baron  Bunsen's 
treatment  of  the  matter  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  Syrian 
mythology  and  historical  fact  are  one  and  the  same  thing;  an  extrav- 
agance by  no  means  confined  to  that  eminent  author. 

Ascending  from  the  7th  century  B.  C.  and  guided,  through  what 
otherwise  were  absolute  darkness,  by  the  light  of  the  Divine  Year, 
we  are  enabled  to  perceive  that  in  like  manner  the  various  aeras 
which  centre  in  the  13th  centuiy  B.  C.  relate  to  the  first  Buddha. 
See  Table  G, 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  numerous  seras  pertaining  to  gods, 
hiercharchs  and  tyrants,  which  evidently  do  not  belong  to  Buddhic 
clusters,  but  to  some  other  chronological  constellations.  For  exam- 
ple, in  the  nth  century.  Table  J,  we  find  a  cluster  of  so-called 
Indian  "  Buddhas  "  who  taught  not  the  principles  of  political  liberty, 
but  those  of  a  penal  code.  The  divinities  of  this  cluster  are  evi- 
dently related  to  one  another,  but  not  to  the  Buddhic  gods.  They 
are  Brahminical.  They  commemorate  no  period  or  impersonation 
of  liberty.  They  mark  the  triumph  of  hierarchical  tyranny  and  its 
concomitants :  feudalism,  caste,  slavery,  mysticism,  priestcraft  and 
superstition.  We  shall  consider  this  and  its  cognate  clusters  of  aeras 
in  their  proper  place  and  endeavor  to  point  out  their  relation 
to  the  Brahamical  messianic  theory  and  the  influence  of  the 
latter  upon  the  creation  of  new  myths.  Meanwhile  let  us  deal 
with  the  Buddhic  constellations.  The  following  dates  are  found 
upon,  coins  or  epigraphic  monuments,  or  in  literary  works,  or  else 
are  deduced  therefrom,  as  set  forth  in  Chapter  VII: 


56 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


TABLE    F. 

-^ras  of  the  Second  Buddha,  B.  C.  771-527. 


Messenic  jera  (by  the 
5  yr.  Olympiads). 

Tat,  or  Tatius, 

Romulus,      Quirinus, 
or  Quichena, 

Tiglath,  Pil  Esar, 

Messenic  a2ra(see  685) 

Nebo-Nazaru, 

Phoroneus, 

Adonis, 

Chinese  sera, 

Numa  Pompilius, 

Salivahana  (les  Chrish- 
na) 

les  Chrishna,  birth, 

Buddha,  birth, 

Sargon  II  (lesargon  ?) 

Jimmu,  birth, 

Cyaxares  (see  632) 

Zoroaster, 

Giemschid, 

Eetzana,  Burma, 

lesyges,  Tarentum, 

Thoth,  Egypt, 

Burma,  Sacred  xrn. 


B.C. 

673 
672 
667 
662 
660 
658 
658 


birth. 


B.C. 

Thammuz, 
771   Numa,  death, 
769  Lao-tsze,  China, 

Buddha,  nirvana, 
753  Jimmu,  regnal  year, 
748  lesnara,  Scythia, 

Buddha,  Crimea, 

747  Buddha,  nativity, 
747  Chinese  sra, 
747  Buddha,  nirvana, 
742  Chrestonian  sera, 
738  Nana-Sabesia, 

Mithra, 
736  lanus  Quirinus, 
724  les  Chrishna,  ascension,  644  Perseus, 
721  Thammuz,  nirvana,         641  ^sculapius, 
717  Solon,  birth,  639  Jain  Mahavira, 

712  Buddha,  Pegu,  638  Buddha,  Siam,  nir. 

710  Buddha,  China,  638  Buddha,  Ceylon,  nir. 

710  Eetzana  a^raof  Buddha,  633  Buddha,  Ava, 


Buddha, 
Solon, 

Panionic  C3'cle, 
Zoroaster,  birth, 
Mad-ies,  Khazaria, 
Thammuz, 
Servius  Tullius, 
658  Jain  Mahavira, 
657  Gotama,  nirvana, 
656  Buddha,  birth, 
656  Buddha,  nirvana, 
645  Buddha,  Burma,  nir. 
645  Armenian  eera, 
644  Confucius, 


632  Buddha,  Burma,  nir. 

630  Swetambara  Vira, 

629  Cyrus,  deified, 

619  Pythagoras,  advent, 

612  Pisistratus,  deified, 

610  Mahavira,  nirvana, 
604 


B.C. 

598 
592 

592 
590 

584 
582 

578 
569 
567 
557 
554 
552 
552 
551 
548 
548 
545 
544 
543 
543 
533 
533 
533 
533 
527 
527 


703  Cyaxares, 

701  Zoroaster,  death, 

694  Jain  Mahavira, 

692  Buddha,  Ceylon,  b, 

690  Servius  Tullius, 

Messenic  sera(Third  age)  685  Adrastus, 

Fed,  or  Budda,  birth,     677  Lao-tsze,  China, 

It  is  regarded  as  quite  possible  that  were  the  sources  of  these 
various  seras  closely  examined  they  could  nearly  all  be  resolved  into 
one;  in  other  words,  that  the  difference  in  years  between  most  of 
them  could  be  accounted  for  by  the  various  changes  which  have  been 
made  in  the  calendar.  Many  of  them  relate  to  ideal  personages 
whose  mythology  is  Duilt  upon  the  oft-repeated  incarnations  of  lesnu, 
or  Vishnu,  while  others  are  those  of  historical  characters  who  sought 
to  exalt  their  power  by  connecting  themselves  with  the  same  wide- 
spread myth. 

TABLE    G. 

^ras  of  the  First  Buddha,  B 


Buddha-Brahma, 
Nin-Ies,  or  Ninus, 
Ousurt-Esen, 
Jasius,  Crete, 
Eleusinian  aera, 
Greek,  Buddha  (Eric- 

theus, 
Buddha-Brahma, 
Marina,  Scythia, 
Buddha-Brahma, 
les  Chrishna, 
Bel  Issus, 
Buddha-Brahma, 
Thoth,      les-iris,      or 

Osiris 
Pan  (Eric-theus), 


B.C. 

1406  Buddha, 
1406  Troja  Capta, 
1406  les  Chrishna, 
1406  Buddha-Brahma, 
1406  Maryamma, 

les  Chrishna, 
1406  Pelasgian  sera, 
1394  Thoth,  or  Mercury, 
1394  les  Chrishna, 
1391  Kwar  Ismian  sera, 
1391  Yao,  China, 
1390  lanus, 
1366  Durga, 

les  Chrishna, 
1350  Bacchus  (Morea) 
1346  Troja  Capta, 


.  C.  1406-1193. 

B.C.  B.C. 

1336  Perseus,  1291  , 

1334  Bacchus,  Aretes,  1290 

1332  Troja  Capta,  1290 

1332  Pan,  of  Arcadia,  1260 

1332  Pan,  of  Ionia,  1252 

1332  Pan,  of  Ionia,  1248 

1331  les  Chrishna,  1248 

1322  Troja  Capta,  1248 

1315  Theseus,  1235 

1312  Jason,  Venetia,  1225 

1311  les  Chrishna,  1219 

1306  Ischenou,  Elis,  1219 

1306  Thammuz,  Egypt,  1200 

1300  Pelasgian  sera,  1200 

1300  Parasurama,  1193 

1292  Inachus,  1193 


VARIOUS    YEARS    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  57 

The  evidences  of  a  Buddhic  or  Bacchic  religion,  during  and  shortly- 
after  the  Mahabharata  wars,  both  in  India  and  the  Western  countries, 
which,  at  this  period,  were  doubtlessly  largely  peopled  by  refugees 
from  India,  are  so  numerous  and  convincing,  that  it  would  be  rash 
to  regard  all  these  aeras  and  personages  as  fabulous;  although  such 
is  probably  the  case  with  most  of  them.  That  the  Mahabharata  wars 
left  in  India  a  popular  leader  or  leaders  who  inculcated  the  principles 
of  liberty,  and  the  right  to  carry  arms,  will  scarcely  be  doubted, 
especially  by  persons  familiar  with  the  customs  and  traditions  of  the 
Sikhs,  the  Bheels  and  other  very  ancient  races,  which  still  survive  in 
their  native  country.  All  these  are  warrior  races,  and  some  of  them 
make  a  practice  never  to  go  unarmed.  While  accepting  the  peaceful 
tenets  and  social  aspirations  of  Buddhism,  they  evidently  believe 
that  liberty  is  not  to  be  preserved  through  the  unaided  medium  of 
faith;  but  that  it  needs  also  the  bulwark  of  courage  and  the  defense 
of  arms.  That  these  principles  of  liberty  were  carried  into  the 
Occident  and  furnished  a  foundation  for  the  free  states  of  Scythia, 
Asia-Minor  and  Greece,  has  been  maintained  with  no  little  ability  by- 
Buchanan,  Jameison,  Pococke  and  others.  Whether  the  name  of 
the  Oriental  hero  was  Chrishna,  Buddha,  Pan,  Mercury  or  Janus,  is 
of  no  practical  consequence.  The  principles  represented  by  his 
name  and  the  periods  when  and  where  they  were  promulgated,  dif- 
fused and  adopted,  are  alone  important.  In  this  sense  the  first 
Buddha  must  be  regarded  as  much  an  historical  personage  as  the 
second  or  the  third  Buddha.  He  certainly  existed  in  men's  minds, 
and  for  present  purposes  that  is  enough.  Diodorus  Siculus  says  that 
some  of  the  Greek  writers  denied  the  reality  of  Bacchus,  while 
others  contended  that  there  were  three  of  this  name,  or  one  who  re- 
visited the  earth  at  intervals;  that  the  first  one  was  born  at  Nissa,  in 
India,  and  having  been  deceived  by  Lycurgus  king  of  Thrace,  he 
marched  into  that  country  and  executed  the  treacherous  monarch  by 
nailing  him  to  a  cross.* 

Among  the  modern  writers  on  Indian  antiquities  who  have  asserted 
or  assumed  the  existence  of  a  First  Buddha  and  the  practice  of  a 
Buddhic  religion  in  India  during  the  period  above  indicated  are 
Jones,  Prinseps,  Marsden,  Wilson,  Tod,  Pococke  and  Colebrooke. 
The  last  one  especially  has  some  strong  passages  on  the  subject. 

Beside  the  opinions  of  these  writers  there  are  the  well  known 
evidences  afforded  by  the  Buddhic  or  Brahma-Buddhic  monuments  of 

*Dio.  Sic.  ed.  1700,  pp.  116-19. 


58 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


India,  many  of  which  are  evidently  much  more  ancient  than  the  Second 
Buddha,  and  the  fact  that  the  Phoenicians  who  appeared  in  the 
Levant  long  before  the  period  of  the  Second  Buddha  carried  Buddhic 
images  upon  the  prows  of  their  galleys.  The  worship  of  Thammuz 
(Buddha)  in  Syria  may  not  have  been  earlier  than  the  Second  Buddha, 
but  that  of  Thot  (Taat,  or  Buddha)  in  Egypt  was  certainly  as  ancient 
or  nearly  as  ancient  as  the  period  of  the  First  Buddha. 


TABLE    H. 

-^ras  of 

the  Third  Buddha,  .B  C.  90,  A.  D.  65. 

B.C.                                    B.C. 

B.C- 

Woden,  . 

90  Deiotaurus, 

53  Pontine  sera. 

2 

Minius  leus, 

go  ^ra  of  Antioch, 

49  Diviatiacus,  Gaul, 

57 

Doomsday;  Etruria, 

88  Julius  Cffisar,  apotheosis, 

48  Salivahana, 

2 

Woote, 

86  ^ras  of  Tyre,  Antioch, 

ApoUonius  of  Tyana, 

I 

Sylla, 

84       Pontus,Thessaly,  etc., 

48  Buddha,  Table  B, 

0 

Pontine  sera, 

82  .^ra  of  Rhodes, 

42 

A.D. 

Salivahana, 

78  Sextus  Pompeius, 

41  Buddha,  Table  B, 

I 

Ptolemy,  as  Dionysius, 

78  Herod,  deified, 

40  Chinzapagua, 

I 

JEra.  of  Mecca, 

78  Augustus,  advent. 

40  Augustus,  Egypt, 

8 

Quintus  Sertorius, 

78  Leucadian  eera. 

36  Abyssinian  sera, 

8 

JEra  of  Sinope, 

70  Marc  Antony, 

36  Augustus,  ascension, 

14 

JEra  of  Antioch, 

64  ^ra  of  Pontus, 

36  ^raof  Comana, 

35 

Augustus,  conception, 

64  Issus,  son  of  Mariam, 

25  Cingalese  sera. 

40 

Salivahana, 

63  Buddha,  Table  B, 

15  Moorish  sera, 

40 

Augustus,  nativity. 

63  Augustus,  apotheosis. 

15  Pontine  sera. 

64 

Pompey,  apotheosis. 

63  Augustus,  Egj'pt, 

8  Fod,  China, 

65 

Samvat  Vicramaditya, 

57  Pontine  sera, 

7  Indian  Vrihaspati, 

65 

Many  of  these  seras  relate  to  historical  personages,  who,  aware  of 
the  recurrences  of  the  oriental  Divine  Year,  sought  to  impose  them- 
selves upon  the  world  as  the  predicted  and  expected  king  of  kings. 
Woote  was  an  actual  emperor  of  China  who  assumed  the  Mongol 
and  Scythic  name  of  the  Messiah.  Minius  leus,  Sylla.  Sertorius, 
Pompey,  Diviatiacus,  Deiotaurus,  Julius  Ctesar,  Sextus  Pompey,  Marc 
Antony,  Augustus  and  ApoUonius  are  well  known  to  history. 

We  now  turn  backward  to  what,  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  confusion, 
we  have  ventured  to  term  Brahminical  seras,  though  so  far  as  concerns 
many  of  the  personages  or  names  of  personages  connected  with  them, 
they  are  in  fact  not  Brahminical,  but  Brahma-Buddhic. 

TABLE.    I. 

Brahminical  aeras,  ninth  avatar,  B.  C.  1897-1650. 

B.C.  B.C.  B.C. 

Isaac,  or  lesac,  1897  Phoenix  rera,  1847  Cycle  of  Yao,  1650 

Inachus,  1869  les  Chrishna,  1786 

lesnu,  ninth  avatar,       1864  Mahabharatawars,  1650 

The  last  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  or  les-nu,  appears  to  have  been 

expected  previous  to  the  Mahabharata  wars,  when  the  destruction  of 

the  world  was  to  take  place.     It  is  not  improbable  that  the  failure  of 


VARIOUS    YEARS    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  59 

this  event  had  something  to  do  with  the  revolt  from  Brahminism 
which  characterized  those  wars  and  the  reconstruction — after  an 
Interregnum — of  the  ancient  astrological  system,  into  the  later 
Brahma-Buddhic  form  which  it  still  bears.  There  are  no  other  traces 
of  the  earlier  Brahminical  aeras  now  extant,  though  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see,  there  are  numerous  marks  of  a  later  series. 

TABLE    J. 

Brahminical  jeras,  tenth  avatar,  B.  C.  1 300-1000. 

B.C.  B.C.  B.C. 

les  Chrishna,  1300  Ischenou,  1219  Bacchus,  ii44 

Rites  of  "  Bacchus,"     1300  Theseus,  death,  1206  Brahma, end  of  lothav,  1 128 

Troja  Capta,  1292  Rhainpsinitus,  1200  Chaldean  Kra,  1106 

Perseus,  1291  Parasurama,  1193  Josh,  or  Joss,  1104 

Inachus,  1290  Inachus,  1183  First  Zoroaster,  1076 

Lyksea,  1260  Parasurama,  1182  les  Chrishna,  1036 

Troja  Capta,  1258  les  Cnrishna,  1178  Fod,  son  of  Mai,  1036 

Ionian  aera,  1252  Parasurama,  ii77  Fod,  Brahma-Buddha,  1027 

Ionian  sera,  1248  Jovian  orbit  det'd,  11 76  First    Buddha    (a 

Troja  Capta,  1248  Parasurama,  11 76       Brahma- Buddha),  1207 

Theseus,  1235  Inachus,  11 71  Buddso  (Brahm-Bud),  1000 

Jason,  1225  les  Chrishna,  1156  Code  of  Manu,  circ.  1000 

les  Chrishna,  1219 

These  dates  are  Brahminical;  the  names,  with  few  exceptions,  are 
Buddhic;  the  combination  is  Brahma-Buddhic. 

TABLE    K. 

Brahminical  ^ras,  nth  avatar,  B.  C.  590-388. 

B.C.                                        B.C.  B.C. 

Zoroaster  II.,                   590  Darius,                              521  Druid  Cycles,  470 

Mad-Ies,                            584  Gebel-Eisis,  (Hesus)        495  Hesus,  470 

Servius  Tullius,                578  Hesus,  Spain  and  Gaul,  480  Phoenician  sera,  389 

Cyrus,  533  Chrysis,  479  Zoroaster  II.,  389 
Pisistratus,                         527  Roman  lustra  adopted,    472 

In  this  series  appear  the  names  of  several  historical  personages, 
who,  being  aware  that  a  Divine  Year  was  about  to  commence,  or  had 
just  passed,  assumed  to  be  that  predicted  Son  of  God,  who  was  ex- 
pected to  regenerate  mankind  and  inaugurate  a  reign  of  universal 
peace  and  happiness. 

TABLE    L. 

Brahminical  seras,  12th  avatar,  A.  D.  121-271. 

A.D.                                        A.D.  A.D. 

Attic-Hadrianic  sera,       121  Gupta,                                167  Caracalla,  211 

Osiris,                                 136  Commodus,                        1S8  Elagabalus,  220 

Barco-cheba,                      136  Manes,                                195  Sassanian  sra,  223 

Antonius  Pius                    138  Ardisher  (shah-in-shah),  205   Kalachuri  Samvat,  250 

Gupta,                                166  Gupta,                                206  Manes,  ascension,  271 

It  may  be  asked  what  warrant  there  is  for  regarding  certain  of 

these  aeras  as  Brahminical,  or  Brahma-Buddhic,  or  as  having  anything 

to  do  with  the  theogonies  of  India.      The  answer  is  that  the  heroes 

of  these  aeras  all  impiously  proclaimed  themselves  in  Rome  as  the 


6o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Son  of  God,  or  the  Messiah;  that  they  evidently  did  so  on  or  about 
the  occurrence  of  a  Brahminical  divine  year;  that  the  Messiah  was 
only  expected,  whether  in  the  East  or  West,  upon  the  occurrence  of 
a  divine  year;  that  they  were  all  founders  of  new  forms  of  religion, 
and  that  they  were  all  of  them,  as  well  Pompey,  Julius  and  Augustus 
before  them,  familiar  with  the  Oriental  theogony  and  the  influence 
it  possessed  both  in  the  East  and  West,  to  command  the  obedience, 
not  merely  of  the  superstitious  multitude,  but  also  of  vassal  kings, 
pro-consuls,  tetrarchs,  and  distant  officials,  as  well  as  to  ensure  rich 
offerings  and  endowments  to  the  temples  in  all  parts  of  the  empire. 
The  seras  of  Osiris,  Barco-cheba  and  Manes  are  sufficient  to  estab- 
lish the  recurrence,  rehabilitation  and  renewed  observance  of  the 
Brahminical  divine  year  down  to  near  the  middle  of  the  third  century 
of  our  sera,  for  it  should  be  remembered  that  these  Messiahs  were 
worshipped  by  vast  multitudes  in  Persia,  Syria,  Egypt,  and  also  the 
the  Western  provinces  of  the  empire.  This  induction  derives  addi- 
tional support  from  the  recrudesence  of  the  Brahminical  divine  year 
and  its  accompanying  Manifestation  in  the  ninth  century  of  our  «ra, 
as  shown  in  the  following  table: 

TABLE    LL. 

Brahminical  seras,  13th  avatar,  A.  D.  722-971. 

A.D.  A.D.  A.D. 

Quetzalcoatl,  722  Brahma,  846  Mansur,  the  Almighty,    922 

Aera  of  the  Papacy,  752  Aera  of  Tartary,  846  Ibu-Abi-Zakarriyya,        937 

Aera  of    Jesus  Christ             Nepal  sera,  870  Abd-el-Raman  III.,pre- 

first  used,  781  Khri-1-de-Ssrong,  880       tended  son  of  Mary,    936 

Amogavarsha,  800  Nepal  sera,  8S0  Peruvian  Manifestation,  937 

Sergius,  800  Salivahana,  890  Kalachakra  a;ra,                965 

Charlemagne,  800  Obeidallah, the  Messiah,  909  Seljuk,  son  of  Alanka- 

Parasurama,  825  Al  Hallaj,  914      van,the  Virgin  Mother  971 

It  will  scarcely  be  denied  that  these  various  clusters  of  earthly 
divinities  and  aeras,  centering  as  they  do  on  or  about  the  periods  of 
the  Brahminical  divine  years  shown  in  Table  A,  evince  a  remarkable 
persistence  in  the  messianic  belief,  and  that  this  belief  had  much  to 
do  with  the  progress  of  religion  and  the  history  of  states. 

If  our  historical  knowledge  were  sufficiently  extensiveand  accurate, 
it  would  probably  appear  that  many  of  the  ideal   Messiahs  were 
based  upon  actual  pretenders  who  arose  previous  to  the  date  assigned 
to  them  and  from  whose  worship  that  of  the  ideal  Messiah  was  a  re- 
action or  protest.     In  such  case  the  sera  of  the  Ideal  was  invented 
f  at  a  later  period  and  had  to  be  thrown  backward  some  centuries 
I  before  the  period  of  his  invention,  in  order  to  invest  him  with  the 
I  attributes  of  divinity,  surround  him  with  superstitious  mystery,  and 


VARIOUS    YEARS    OF    THE    INCARNATION.  6l 

thus  procure  for  him  the  veneration  due  to  antiquity.  For  example, 
in  the  history  of  Assyria,  Tiglath-pil-Esar  was  an  actual  personage 
who  pretended  to  be  a  Messiah  and  who  demanded  to  be  worshipped 
as  such.  The  same  impious  demand  was  made  by  his  royal  suc- 
cessors, until  a  time  came  when  their  evil  and  tyrannical  lives 
rendered  this  demand  so  odious  and  intolerable,  that  it  was  resisted 
even  by  the  degraded  multitude.  This  then  was  the  moment  for 
organized  revolt;  but  revolt,  without  an  Ideal,  a  perfect  Messiah,  to 
take  the  place  of  the  real  but  imperfect  one,  would  in  such  a  country 
and  under  such  circumstances,  have  necessarily  proved  abortive. 
An  ideal  had,  therefore,  to  be  invented;  and,  in  fact,  he  was  in- 
vented and  called  Nebo-Nazaru,  Nebo  being  the  equivalent  of 
Bacchus,  Mercury,  or  Liber  Pater,  the  god  of  freedom ;  and  Nazaru 
possibly  the  pretended  place  of  his  miraculous  advent.  To  complete 
the  imposture,  he  had  to  be  thrown  backward  in  time.  As  Herodotus, 
who  wrote  B.  C.  445,  says  nothing  about  him,  he  probably  was  not 
invented  until  after  the  immortal  Greek  composed  his  history.  Let 
us  say  that  he  was  invented  about  B.  C.  400.  The  sera  of  the  pre- 
tended Nebo-Nazaru  was  fixed  in  B.  C.  747,  the  same  as  that  of  the 
real  Tiglath-pil-Esar;  he  was,  therefore,  thrown  back  in  time,  or 
antedated,  about  350  years.  The  divine  attributes  and  mystery 
with  which  this  degree  of  antiquity  enabled  the  Ideal  Messiah  to  be 
surrounded,  might  have  rendered  his  name  the  battle  cry  of  a  holy 
war,  and  summoned  millions  in  arms  to  sweep  away  the  detested 
tyranny  that  had  called  the  new  Saviour  into  existence. 

Such  was  probably  the  case  not  only  with  Nebo-Nazaru  but  also 
with  many  other  of  the  Ideal  incarnations  of  the  past;  but  which 
were  the  real  and  which  the  ideal  Messiahs,  is  a  matter  that  cannot 
at  present  be  determined  upon  grounds  that  would  be  likely  to  meet 
with  general  acceptance. 


02 


CHAPTER  VII. 

^RAS. 

IN  the  following  collection  of  ^ras  (Table  M)  all  the  dates  have 
been  couched  in  the  Vulgar  JEsa.  beginning  January  ist,  A.  D.  i. 
This  date  coincides  with  the  year  4004  of  the  World,  according  to 
Bishop  Usher;  3760  of  the  modern  Jewish  Anno-Mundi;  3102  of  the 
Brahminical  Calijoga;  884  of  the  five-year  Olympiads;  816  of  Rome, 
according  to  Timasus,  Cicero  and  others;  776  of  the  four-year  Olym- 
piads; 753  of  Rome,  according  to  Varro;  747  of  Nebo-Nazaru,  or 
*'  Nabonassar  "  and  15  of  Augustus.  It  should  be  observed  that  the 
Greek  Olympiads,  which  were  originally  five-year  periods  or  penta- 
eteris,  whose  epoch  was  in  B.  C.  884  were  altered  during  the  Augustan 
period  to  four-year  periods  or  tetrateris,  whose  epoch  was  fixed  in 
B.  C.  776,  thus  making  a  difference  in  many  deduced  dates  of  108 
years.  It  should  also  be  observed  that  the  aera  of  Rome,  from  which 
many  dates  are  commonly  deduced  by  the  equivalent  A.  U.  753= 
A.  D.  o,  or  A.  U.  754=A.  D.  i,  has  evidently  been  altered  twice; 
that  the  antiquity  of  Rome  was  reduced  by  Augustus  from  B.  C.  816 
to  B.  C.  738  whilst  it  was  afterwards  augmented  by  the  Latm  Sacred 
College  to  B.  C.  753,  which  has  long  been  and  is  still  its  familiar  sera. 
When  these  changes  were  made,  the  various  manuscripts  within  reach 
of  the  college,  whether  Augustan  or  medieval,  in  which  deductions 
from,  or  comparisons  with  the  Greek  Olympiads  or  other  foreign 
aeras  occurred,  were  altered  to  tally  with  such  changes  of  the  sera. 
But  in  such  a  vast  undertaking  some  of  the  equivalent  dates  were 
overlooked;  manuscripts  then  lost  to  view  have  since  been  recov- 
ered; and  above  all,  immense  collections  of  ancient  coins  and  mar- 
bles have  been  brought  into  view  in  recent  years;  all  of  which  evi- 
dences unite  to  restore  the  ancient  dates  and  prove  the  age  and  ex- 
tent of  the  alterations.  In  the  present  work,  except  where  explicit 
notice  is  given  to  the  reader,  these  alterations  of  the  Sacred  College 
have  not  been  touched.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  reconstruct 
the  accepted  chronology.  Nevertheless,  it  is  but  proper  to  advise 
the  reader  that  the  alterations  of  the  Roman  sera  above  alluded  to 


^RAS.  63 

were  not  made  withont  introducing  a  host  of  conflicting  dates  into 
history,  which  hitherto  the  modern  critic  has  sought  in  vain  to  recon- 
cile with  probability.  A  large  proportion  of  these  dislocations  arise 
out  of  the  15  years  of  alteration  which  was  made  or  completed  by 
the  Sacred  College,  probably  during  the  pontificate  of  Gregory  VII, 
A.  D.  1073-85.  Many  dislocations  which  arose  from  the  Augustan 
alterations  of  108  and  78  years,  are  still  to  be  observed  in  histori- 
cal accounts. 

The  boldness  with  which  these  alterations  of  the  Western  Calen- 
dar were  made  raises  the  suspicion  that  similar  alterations  have  been 
made  in  the  Eastern  Calendar.  "Joannes  Moses,  collector  of  the 
land-tax  for  the  province  of  Pegu,  said  that  whenever  the  king 
thought  the  years  of  the  sera  too  many,  he  changed  it."  (Dr.  Francis 
Buchanan,  in  Asiat.  Res.  VI,  171.)  But  this  statement  only  relates 
to  one  province  and  to  the  last  century.  However,  there  are  rea- 
sons to  believe  that  a  similar  remark  is  applicable  to  earlier  times. 
Col.  Wilford  says  that  several  "corrections"  of  the  Indian  Calendar 
have  been  made  at  various  times,  especially  one  of  14  years,  the 
length  of  his  reign,  ascribed  to  Bhartrihari.  (Asiat.  Res.  IX,  200.) 
But  neither  he  nor  any  other  chronologist  has  yet  impugned  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  more  ancient  Indian  dates. 

In  this  maze  of  alterations  and  dislocated  dates  the  Divine  year 
will  be  found  a  steady  light  which,  though  not  absolutely  reliable, 
affords  a  guide  where  otherwise  all  were  darkness,  doubt  and  con- 
fusion. 


B.  C.  6984,  Europe. — Dionysian  Anno  Mundi,  computed  by  Al- 
fonso X,  King  of  Castile  and  Leon  and  published  under  his  patronage 
in  A.  D.  1488,  in  about  which  year  the  end  of  the  world  had  been  pre- 
dicted. This  collection  of  astronomical  and  astrological  materials  is 
known  as  the  Alfonsine  or  Alphonsine  tables.  According  to  MuUer, 
the  Anno  Mundi  of  the  royal  astrologer  was  B.  C.  6984;  while 
Strauchius  says  it  was  B.  C.  6484.  Assuming  Muller's  equivalent  to 
to  be  the  more  correct  one,  the  Anno  Mundi  of  Alfonso  appears  to 
have  been  constructed  of  13  Dionysian  divine  years  (each  of  532 
common  years),  dating  backward  from  B.  C.  78.  This  would  carry 
it  to  B.  C.  6994  instead  of  6984.     See  Table  D. 

B.  C.  8777,  N.  India.— Buddhic  sera.  Says  Pliny,  Nat.  Hist.  VI, 
xxxi,  5  :  "From  Liber  Pater  (Buddha,  or  Bacchus,  or  Dion-Isus), 
to   Alexander  the  Great,   the  Indians  count  645 1   years  and  three 


64  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

months." — '■'■  Annit  VI,  MCCCCLI  adjiciunt  et  menses  tres."  This 
sera  began  on  the  autumnal  equinox,  or  ^'•menses  ires'"  before  the  an- 
niversary of  the  Apotheosis  of  Alexander  the  Great,  which  latter 
event  was  celebrated  in  Egypt  on  the  winter  solstice.  The  6451 
years  are  reckoned  backward  from  Alexander's  Conquest  of  the  Pun- 
jab, B.  C.  326.  The  figure  given  by  Pliny,  namely  6451  years  from 
Dionysius  to  Alexander,  is  supported  by  Solinus,  who  in  ch.  64  (53) 
has  the  same  figure  for  the  same  interval.  Arrian's  figure  of  6042 
years  from  Dionysius  to  Sandrocottus  is  substantially  the  same 
thing:  It  measures  the  interval  from  Buddha,  B.  C.  6384  (Table  D) 
to  Chandra  Gupta,  B.  C.  342.  Pliny  and  Solinus  adopted  the  method 
of  computation  reported  by  Megasthenes,  while  Arrian  preferred  the 
Dionysian  method  which  had  become  popular  in  the  West. 

B.  C.  6777,  N.  India. — Saptarshi-Kal,  or  Lok-Kal,  or  the  sera  of 
the  Seven  Rishis,  or  asterisms,  of  the  Great  Bear:  a  Brahma-Buddhic 
sera  of  les  Chrishna  employed  in  Cashmere  and  Northern,  but  un- 
known in  Southern,  India.  Gen.  Alex.  Cunningham,  "  Book  of  In- 
dian ^ras."  He  employs  this  sera  by  synchronising  it  with  Pliny's 
6451^  years,  added  to  326  (B.  C),  the  year  of  Alexander's  Con- 
quest of  the  Punjab.  His  authorities  for  the  sera  of  the  Saptarshi- 
Kal  are  Vridda  Garga  and  the  Puranas,  who  accord  an  interval  of 
2700  years  between  one  Lok-Kal  and  another,  or  100  years  to  each 
of  the  27  Lunar  Mansions  into  which  the  Hindus  divide  the  ecliptic. 
Hence,  the  succeeding  Lok-Kal  was  in  4077,  "when  Chrishna,  the 
the  Splendour  of  Vishnu,  ascended  to  Heaven,"  etc.  Vrihat  San- 
hita,  c.  xiii,  1-4.  Cunningham's  rendition  of  the  Lok-Kal  is  not  un- 
disputed. According  to  Varaha  Mihira  and  the  later  astronomers, 
the  Lok-Kals  occurred  in  B.  C.  6077,  3377,  677,  etc.  Sewell  has 
still  other  periods.  (See  Table  E,  herein.)  But  Cunningham's 
seem  to  be  the  best  authenticated  and  he  is  supported  by  Stokvis 
and  other  chronologists. 

B.  C.  6717,  N.  India. — From  Buddha  (or  Bacchus,  or  Dion-Isus) 
to  the  ascension  (reign)  of  Sandracottus,  or  Kandra  Gupta  (B.  C. 
315)  the  Indians  calculated,  according  to  Magasthenes,  in  Arrian's 
**  India,"  just  6402  years.  Hence  6402  plus  315=6717.  Duncker's 
"India,"  72-4.  This  computation  has  neither  significance  nor  value. 
It  is  based  on  an  exceptional  ms.  of  Arrian  and  an  uncertain  date  of 
Kandra  Gupta. 

B.  C.  66S8,  N.  India. — Brahma-Buddhic  aera,  6402  years  before 
the  death  and  bodily  ascension  to  heaven  of  Sandracottus,  or  Kandra 
Gupta  (B.  C.  256).     Magasthenes,  in  the  version  of  Arrian's  "India" 


iERAS.  65 

employed  by  Duncker.  Bearing  in  mind  the  astrological  signifi- 
cance of  the  Divine  Year,  it  is  evident  from  this  and  the  foregoing 
dates,  all  of  which  were  deduced  from  the  accounts  brought  to  Eu- 
rope by  Megasthenes,  that  in  the  time  of  Alexander  and  Seleucus 
the  Hindus  looked  for  the  Dissolution  of  the  World  and  the  Day  of 
Judgment  within  a  comparatively  brief  period.  The  lifetime  they 
assigned  to  the  world  was  equal  to  ten  ages,  avatars,  or  incarna- 
tions, each  of  658  years  and  according  to  this  one,  the  lowest  of  the 
Megasthenic  computations  that  has  come  down  to  us,  the  Day  of 
Judgment  was  due  in  B.  C.  78,  the  period  of  Quichena,  les  Chrishna 
or  Salivahana.  Thus,  6658  less  78,  equals  6580  years,  which  was  the 
period  that  the  Brahminical  astrologers  assigned  to  the  lifetime  of 
the  world  from  beginning  to  end.  The  date  above  assigned  to 
Kandra  Gupta,  who  was  a  contemporary  of  Alexander  and  Seleucus, 
is  that  of  his  death  according  to  Bunsen.  See  B.  C.  330  and  315  for 
seras  of  Kandra  Gupta. 

B.  C.  6369,  India. — Brahma-Buddhic  sera.  According  to  Col. 
Wilford  in  Asiat.  Res.  V,  242,  etc.,  and  Dr.  Hales  I,  195,  Megas- 
thenes (they  say)  reported  the  Indian  Anno  Mundi  at  6042^  years 
before  Alexander's  invasion  of  India  in  B.  C.  327.  Hence  the  In- 
dian aera  was  in  B.  C.  6369.  This  computation  couples  the  fixed  year 
of  one  account  with  the  running  year  of  the  other. 

B.  C.  6369,  Persia. — Eudoxus  and  Aristotle  held  that  the  first 
Zoroaster  lived  6, 000  years  before  Plato.  Pliny  XXX,  2.  As  Plato's 
sera  was  B.  C.  427-347  this  computation  will  bring  the  sera  of  the  first 
Zoroaster  to  about  this  date.  Hermippus,  B.  C.  210,  thought  that  Zo- 
roaster flourished  about  5,000  years  before  the  Trojan  war.  Pliny, 
XXX,  2.  Niebuhr  believes  that  he  never  existed  at  all.  He  is  prob- 
ably a  Persian  adaptation  of  one  of  the  numerous  creations  of 
Brahma-Buddhic  astrological  fancy.     See  B.  C.  630  and  590. 

B.  C.  6310,  Rome. — Anno  Mundi  calculated  by  Onuphrius  Panvi- 
nus,  about  A.  D.  1560.     Hales  I,  211. 

B.  C.  6204,  Anlioch. — Anno  Mundi,  according  to  an  Indian  ac- 
count of  Megasthenes,  cited  by  Hales.     This  is  evidently  a  blunder. 

B.  C.  6174,  Arabia. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Arabians,  cited  by 
Hales.     See  B.  C.  6065. 

B.  C.  6158,  Babylon. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Chaldean  chronicles, 
cited  by  Bailly. 

B.  C.  6157,  China. — Anno  Mundi  according  to  the  Chinese  chron- 
icles, cited  by  Bailly. 


66  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  61 B8,  Alexandria. — Anno  Mundi  according  to  Diogenes 
Laertius  of  Cilicia  who  died  B.  C.  222.     Playfair. 

B.  C.  6128,  Egypt. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Greeks  in  Egypt. 
Bailly. 

B.  C.  6110,  Russia. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  modern  Russian  Greek 
church.     Whittaker's  Ahuanac,  1896,  p.  66. 

B.  C.  6081,  Greece. — Anno  Mundi  of  Diodorus  Siculus,  accord- 
ing to  Playfair.     Diodorus  died  in  tempo  Augusto. 

B.  C.  6077,  India. — Hindu  incarnation,  or  year  of  the  Lok-kal 
according  to  Varaha  Mihira.     See  Table  E. 

B.  C.  6065,  Arabia. — ^ra  of  "  the  Great  Isskander  of  the  Two 
Horns."  (Isskander  Zu  al-Karnayn.)  Epoch,  Safar  loth,  or  March 
25th,  the  vernal  equinox.  This  is  evidently  meant  for  les  Chrishna, 
Bacchus,  or  Buddha.  The  sera  is  curiously  preserved  in  the  "Tai- 
lor's Story  "  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  the  scene  of  which  is  laid  in 
Baghdad,  Safar  loth,  A.  H.  653',  or  March  25th,  A.  D.  1255,  which 
is  said  to  be  the  7320th  year  of  the  sera.  In  Sir  Richard  Burton's 
*'  literal  translation  "  (1885)  the  "  Two  Horns  "  are  omitted  and  in 
a  foot-note  to  his  "  Terminal  Essay"  the  sera  is  referred  to,  but  mis- 
understood, and  explained  away.  See  another  Arabian  Anno  Mundi 
herein  under  B.  C.  6174.  This  is  evidently  the  same  sera,  the  differ- 
ence being  108  (109)  years:  an  explanation  of  which  will  be  found 
in  Chapter  VI  herein. 

B.  C.  6000,  India. — Pre- Augustan  date  of  Buddha's  birth.  See 
Table  B. 

B.  C.  6000,   Byzantium. — Anno    Mundi    according  to    Suidas, 

A,  D.  1090.      Playfair. 

B.  C.  6000,  Antioch. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  "primitive  church  ' 
founded  on  the  "  Septuagint. "  Gibbon,  "Dec.  and  Fall,"  I,  562,  n. 
See  A.  D.  1000. 

B.  C.  5877,  Egypt. — Anno  Mundi  of  Manetho,  B.  C.  304.  Hales, 
I,  241. 

B.  C.  5872,  Judea. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Septuagint.  Putnam. 
This  sera  was  calculated  by  the  Jews  of  Spain  in  the  12th  or  13th 
century  of  our  sera. 

B.  C.  5812,  India. — Pre- Augustan  date  of  the  third  incarnation 
of  Brahma.     See  Table  A. 

B.  C.  5598,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Greek  church. 
Woolhouse,    "Measures  and  Moneys,"  p.  206. 


68  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Augustus.  Originally  this  synchronised  with  A.  D.  15;  but,  owing 
to  the  15  years'  alteration  of  the  Latin  Church,  it  now  agrees  with 
A.  D.  o.  or  A.  D.  i,  or,  according  to  Latin  chronology,  as  applied  to 
the  tables  of  Nicephorus,  with  the  15th  year  before  the  reign  of  Ti- 
berius. 

After  the  recovery  of  Constantinople  by  the  Byzantines  in  1261 
efforts  were  made  to  reconcile  the  Greek  and  Roman  religions,  chro- 
nologies, etc.  In  these  negociations  Nicephorus  took  an  active  part. 
A  portion  of  his  contribution  consisted  of  introducing  into  the  chro- 
nology of  the  Greek  Empire  as  many  years  (15)  as  had  already  been 
added  to  the  chronology  of  the  Roman  Empire  by  the  Latin  Church. 
Three  of  these  years  he  inserted  between  the  reigns  of  Pertinax  and 
Diocletian,  two  in  the  reign  of  Valens  and  four  in  that  of  Justin  II. 
The  remaining  six  years  were  distributed  throughout  a  dozen  reigns, 
as  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 


Nice- 

Equal 

Roman 

Differ- 

Nicephorus 

This  Liber  ends  with  the— 

phorus. 

to 

Fasti 

ence 

Lib. 

Page 

A.M. 

A.  D. 

A.D. 

I 

125 

19th 

Tiberius 

5539 

33 

32 

I 

II 

219 

14th  Nero 

5575 

70 

68 

2 

IV 

341 

Death  of  Pertinax 

5701 

196 

193 

3 

VI 

437 

14th  Diocletian 

5795 

290 

284 

6 

VIII 

667 

Death  of  Constantine 

5847 

342 

337 

5 

IX 

809 

"  Constantius  II. 

5872 

367 

361 

6 

X 

104 

"   Jovian 

5875 

370 

364 

6 

XI 

216 

"  Valens 

5891 

386 

378 

8 

XII 

336 

"  Theodosius 

5909 

404 

395 

9 

XIII 

430 

"  Arcadius 

5923 

418 

408 

10 

XIV 

581 

"  Theodosius  II. 

5965 

460 

450 

10 

XV 

635 

"  Leo 

5990 

485 

474 

II 

XVI 

727 

"  Anastasius 

6034 

529 

518 

II 

XVII 

803 

"  Justin  II. 

6098 

593 

578 

15 

B.  C 

.  5503 

s  Ale 

xandria. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Greek  Church  of 

Alexandria.     The  Pandits'  "  Chron.  Tables,"  p.  xxiv. 

B.  C.  5502,  Alexandria. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Copts  and  the 
Greek  Church  of  Alexandria.  Cf.  Stokvis,  ' '  Chron. "  and  Woolhouse 
"  Measures  and  Moneys."  From  this  sera  ten  years  were  subtracted 
by  the  Latins.     See  below,  B.  C.  5492. 

B.  C.  5500,  Byzantiuin. — Anno  Mundi,  commences  ist  Septem- 
ber (29th  August?),  attributed  to  Julius  Africanus.  "We  know  from 
Syncellus  and  a  fragment  (supposed  to  be)  of  Julius  Africanus  him- 
self that  he  assumed  the  year  of  the  world,  5500,  to  be  that  of  the 
Incarnation."  Rev.  E.  R.  Hodges'  rendition  of  "Cory's  Frag- 
ments," ed.  1876,  p.  98.  George  the  Syncellus,  (/.  ^. ,  cell-compan- 
ion) was  a  fellow-monk  of  the  Greek  patriarch  of  Constantinople  and 
was  born  about  A.  D.  800.  "Africanus,  in  his  Chronicle,  reckoned 
5500  years  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to  the  ageof  Julius(?)  Cse- 


iERAS.  67 

B.  C.  5512,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  of  "the  Christians,"  as 
reckoned  during  the  tenth  century  of  our  sera,  according  to  Albiruni; 
ed.  1879,  p.  18. 

B.  C.  5509,  Byzantitim. — Sept.  i.  Anno  Mundi  employed  by 
Argyrus  A.  D.  1372  and  by  Bury  and  Stokvis.  See  B.  C.  5508  and 
5493  and  A.  D.  1492. 

B.  C.  5508,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  attributed  to  JuHusAfri- 
canus,  who  is  said  to  have  flourished  A.  D.  222,  to  Lactantius,  who  is 
assigned  to  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  and  to  Panadorus, 
the  Alexandrian,  fifth  century;  subsequently  adopted  by  the  Italian 
papacy  under  Leo  VI.,  A.  D.  886-911.  (Greswell  F.  C.  II,  120.)  It 
commenced  ist  September.  Cf.  The  Pandits,  G.  C.  Tarkalankar  and 
P.  N.  Saraswati,  in  "Chronological  Tables,"  p.  xxix  (largely  copied 
from  Lieut.  Col.  John  Warren's  "Kala  Sankalita").  The  Russians 
continued  to  employ  this  sera  until  1700  (reign  of  Peter  the  Great) 
and  although  the  ecclesiastical  new  year  day  fell,  according  to  some 
authors,  on  21st  March  and  according  to  others,  on  ist  April,  yet 
the  civil  year  began  on  ist  September.  Picot,  "Tab.  Chron."  I, 
245.  See  B.  C.  5500.  The  same  year  (5508)  was  deduced  by  Jo- 
seph Scaliger  from  the  Septuagint.  Clinton  says  B.  C.  5508.  Ni- 
cephorus  says  B.  C.  5507,  or  5506.  According  to  Bailly,  the  (mod- 
ern) Persian  chronology  gives  B.  C.  5507.  Bury  says  (for  Byzan- 
tium) 5509.  "  Later  Rom.  Emp."  II,  xxii.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hales 
gives  120  different  years  for  the  creation,  varying  from  B.  C.  6984 
(Alfonso  X,  King  of  Spain)  to  B.  C.  3616  (Rabbi  Lipman,  in  •'  Uni- 
versal History  ")  and  adds  that  this  number  might  be  swelled  to  300. 
Dr.  Hales  himself  fixes  the  Creation  at  B.  C.  541 1. 

B.  C.  6506,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  deduced  by  the  Latin 
Sacred  College  from  the  chronological  work  of  Nicephorus  Gregoras, 
a  Greek  ecclesiastic,  and  at  one  time  a  favorite  of  the  emperor  Can- 
tacuzenus.  Nicephorus  was  born  about  A.  D.  1283,  died  about  1360. 
He  wrote  the  history  of  his  country  in  38  books,  extending  substan- 
tially from  the  Fall  of  Constantinople  in  1204  to  the  year  1358.  The 
last  14  of  these  books  remained  unpublished  until  after  the  Italian 
Pvcvolution  of  1848,  a  delay  which  is  attributable  to  obstacles  inter- 
posed by  the  Papal  See.  Nicephorus,  possessed  of  great  learning, 
was  especially  skilled  in  astronomy  and  chronology,  one  proof  of 
which  is  that  he  proposed  to  correct  the  Julian  year.  He  thus  an- 
ticipated by  more  than  two  centuries  the  calendar  reform  afterwards 
accomplished  by  Pope  Gregory  XIII.  The  work  of  Nicephorus 
opens  with  the  Nativity  of  Christ,  which  he  fixes  in  the  42nd  year  of 


^RAS.  69 

sar.     Nothing  remains  of   this  work  but  what  Eusebius  has  pre 
served."     Rev.  J.  Lempriere,   Class.   Die.      By  the   "age  of  Julii 
Cossar  "  is  probably  meant  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus  Caesar  (S 
below,  B.  C.  15)  which  according  to  several  of  the  Byzantine  chrono 
gists  marked  the  5500th  year  of  the  world.     The  period  of  5500  ye 
is  precisely  50  Ludi  Saeculares.     The  date  which  is  clearly  astro^ 
cal  was  probably  shifted  from  Augustus  to  Christ  some  time  d 
the  eighth  century. 

S.  C.  5500,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  attributed  to  Hipp 
who  is  said  to  have  suffered  under  Septimius  Severus,  A.  . 
See  A.  D.  i.  It  was  probably  shifted  from  Augustus  to  Chr 
ing  the  eighth  century. 

B.  C.  5493,  Abyssinia. — Coptic  sera  commences  29th  of 
Old  Style.     The  Pandits'  "  Chron."  p.  xxiv  and  Stokvis.     ' 
is  evidently  derived  from  the  Byzantine  B.  C.  5502,  whilst  t 
that  of  the  death  of  Augustus  Caesar.      See  A.  D.  14. 

B.  C.  5493,  Antioch. — Epoch  Aug.  29.     Anno  M"r,-'=  , ^iw^^^u 

by  Theophanes,  A.  D.  751-818.  "  It  differs  from  the  more  common 
Byzantine  aera  of  the  Nativity,  viz.,  A.  M.  5509,  by  16 years. "  Bury 
"Later  Rom.  Emp.,"  I,  xxii  and  413.  Bury  says  it  (5493)  was  "the 
asra  of  Antioch  (or  rather  of  Panodorus,  the  Alexandrian)  which  was 
used  by  Theophanes."  Ibid,  II,  425.  The  real  difference  is  one  in- 
diction,  or  15  years.      Stokvis  says  B.  C.  5494.     See  B.  C.  5508. 

B.  C.  5492,  Antioch. — Epoch  Aug.  29.  (Stokvis  says  Sept.  i.) 
Anno  Mundi  of  the  Latin  Church.  The  subtraction  of  ten  years 
from  the  Greek,  to  make  the  Roman  Septuagint  aera,  is  usually  at- 
tributed to  the  age  of  Diocletian;  but  there  is  no  valid  proof  that 
the  Greek  Anno  Mundi  was  employed  at  that  period.  The  earliest 
Greek  Anno  Mundi  must  have  been  fixed  later  than  the  adoption  of 
Constantinople  as  the  capital  of  the  Empire;  indeed  later  than  the 
canon  ascribed  to  Dionysius  Exiguus.  Cf.  "  Middle  Ages, "  ch.  VIIL 
See  also  B.  C.  5506. 

B,  C.  5469,  Rome. — Anno  Mundi  attributed  to  Sulpitius  Severus, 
who  died  A.  D.  420.      Hales,  I,  211. 

B.  C.  5411,  Byzantium. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Greek  Church. 
Hales,  p.  loi. 

B.  C.  5369,  Antioch. — Anno  Mundi,  based  on  Megasthenes. 
Hales. 

B.C.  5344, Judea. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Talmudists.  Putnam- 
Not  of  the  Talmudists,  but  of  the  commentators  on  the  Talmud, 
about  the  12th  or  13th  century. 


70 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


B.  C.  5342,  India. — Birth  of  Buddha.    Divine  Year.   Indian  date. 

"able  B. 

B.  C,  5206,  Mexico. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  native  astrologers,  ac- 

/rding  to  Boturini  in  Lord  Kingsborough's   "Mexico,"  VI,    176. 

ggins,  Anacal.,  II,  25. 

',  C.  5200,  Caesaria. — Anno    Mundi  of    Eusebius,  Gibbon,  I, 

C.  5199,  Mexico. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  laity  of  Mexico  accord- 
the  early  christian  converts  in  that  country.     Boturini,  op.  cit. 
'.  5054,  Persia. — Turki  ^ra  of  the  Creation.      "  From  the 
■  Timur  until  Julal-ud-din  Mohammed  Akbar,  there  were  three 
'  use,  the  Hegira,  the  Turki  and  the  Julal-ud-din.      The  Turki 
vith  the  Creation  of  the  world  and  is   computed  in   (Jovian) 
^  12  years.      In  Maharram  A.  H.  1138,  there  had  elapsed  565 
>d  the  fourth  year  of  the  following  cycle  was  in  progress, 
i.r  begins  with  the  new  moon  of  the  month  Jeth  (Jaistha,  or 
e  Hindu  calendar;  and  the  months  are  lunar.      Intercala- 
tion is  made  at  the  end  of  each  two  or  three  years."     The  Pandits' 
"Chronology,"  p.  xviii,  quoting  from   a  Persian  ms.  belonging  to  a 
gentleman  of  Benares  (see  A.  D.  1075). 

B.  C.  4825,  India. — Erronv?ous  sera  of  Parasurama,  employed 
in  some  works  of  reference.  See  B.  C.  11 76  or  1175  and  the  recur- 
rence of  the  Parasuramic  or  Kollam  ages  at  intervals  of  a  millennium 
thereafter. 

B.  C.  4714,  Europe. — January  ist,  commencement  of  the  "Julian 
period,"  an  astrological  cycle  invented  by  Joseph  Scaliger,  in  1583, 
to  avoid  the  uncertainty  of  mundane  seras.  It  begins  with  a  Solar- 
lunar  conjunction  and  continues  for  7980  years,  an  interval  formed 
by  multiplying  the  approximate  periods  of  a  solar  cycle  of  28,  a 
lunar  cycle  of  19  and  an  indiction  of  15  years,  in  other  words,  15 
Dionysian  Divine  Years  of  532  years  each.  Stokvis,  Chambers, 
Woolhouse,  The  Pandits,  and  Robert  Sewell,  "Indian  Calendars," 
all  commence  this  period  January  ist,  B.  C.  4713. 

B.  C.  4700,  Judea. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch. 
Putnam.  Abendana  says  that  the  earliest  use  of  any  mundane  sera 
among  the  Jews  was  about  A.  D.  1000.  Lyons,  "  Jewish  Calendar," 
p.  26. 

B.  C.  4684,  India. — Hindu  re-incarnation.     Table  B. 
B.  C.  4658,  Judea. — Anno  Mundi  of  Josephus.      Putnam. 
B.  C.  4346,  China. — Anno  Mundi  invented  by  Liu-Shu,   A.  D. 
1068,  in  his  book  "Wai-ki. "     Fergusson,  no. 


iERAS.  71 

B.  C.  4026,  India. — Hindu  re-incarnation.  Pre-Augustan  date 
of  Buddha's  birth.      Table  B. 

B.  C.  4007,  Rome. — Anno  Mundi.     Hutton;  the  Pandits;  etc, 

B.  C.  4004,  Rome. — April  21st.  First  day  of  Creation  and  Anno 
Mundi  of  the  English  Bible.  Pascal  and  De  Sacey  (authors  of  Port 
Royal);  Usher;  and  Greswell.  This  is  the  sera  commonly  used  in 
Protestant  states.  The  difference  between  this  and  the  Septaugint 
and  Samaritan  aeras  is  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  latter  add 
greatly  to  the  ages  of  the  patriarchs.  The  epoch  is  the  Roman 
Palalia. 

B.  C.  4000  Rome. — Anno  Mundi  of  Bell's  "Pantheon";  article 
"Merodach." 

B.  C.  3996  England. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Second  Adventists. 
Epoch,  the  autumnal  equinox.  "Lime-light  views  were  given  of 
the  Zodiac  in  order  to  show  that  there  could  not  have  been  any 
eclipses  before  (this)  Creation  year"!  J.  B.  Dimbleby  in  Proc.  Br. 
Chron.  and  Astron.   Ass.  London,  January,  1898. 

B.  C.  3950,  Judea. — Jewish  Anno  Mundi  of  Scaliger,  apud  Put- 
nam, p.  3. 

B.  C.  3780,  Judea. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Jews,  as  reckoned 
during  the  tenth  century  of  our  sera,  namely,  "3448  years  before 
Isskander  (Alexander)  ".  Albiruni,  op.  cit.  18.  This  was  the  earliest 
calculation  of  any  Mundane  sera  among  the  Jews.  Abendana,  apud 
Lyons. 

B.  C.  3761,  Bombay. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  Bombay  Jews,  that 
is,  the  "ancient  rera  "  .  .  .  which  is  "never  used  by  chronolo- 
gists,  but  for  times  before  Christ."  No  explanation  is  given  by  the 
Pandits  of  this  alleged  custom.  This  jera  began  with  Nissan  (about 
the  vernal  equinox),  whereas  the  years  otherwise  employed  begin  with 
Tishri  (about  the  autumnal  equinox).  Stokvis  says  October  5.  The 
ancient  Jews  are  alleged  to  have  employed  the  sera  of  Nebo-Nazaru. 
(But  this  began  on  February  26th.  See  B.  C.  747.)  The  chief  dif- 
ference between  the  Oriental  and  Western  Jewish  calendars  is  that 
the  former  place  the  embolismic  days  of  their  lunar  year  in  any  of 
the  five  longest  solar  months,  whereas  the  latter  invariably  throw 
them  into  Adar.  Intercalation  in  Bombay  is  made  on  the  3rd,  6th, 
8th,  nth,  14th,  17th,  and  19th  years  of  the  Metonic  cycle.  This 
custom  cannot  be  traced  higher  than  the  14th  century  of  our  sera, 
although  some  chronologists  have  assigned  it  to  the  nth  century. 
The  Pandits'  "  Chron  ".  The  sera  itself  can  hardly  be  older  than  the 
loth  century  of  our  sera. 


72  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  3760,  Cordova.— Molad   Tohu    (Birth   of   the   Void)    or 
Mundane  aera  of  the  Modern  Jews.     Rabbi  Abendana  (d.  1685)  says 
that  this  sera  was  first  used  by  the  Spanish  Jews  during  the  tenth 
century.     There  are  some  reasons  for  believing  it  to  have  been  fixed 
in  the  twelfth  century.     The  Calendar  is  lunar,  the  year  consisting 
of  354  days  with  an  intercalary  thirteenth  month   (Adar  II,)  every 
third  year,  to  take  in  the  lost  days  of  the  solar  year.   The  New  Year's 
day  is  Tishri  ist,  which  falls  about  the  autumnal  equinox  and  is  cele- 
brated as  Rosh  Hashanah,  and  also  as  the  feast  of  Trumpets.     It 
has  been  alleged  (See  B.  C.  3761)  that  the  "ancient"  Jews  used  the 
sera  of  Nebo-Nazaru;  but  there  are  no  coins,  or  other  monuments  to 
substantiate  this  statement,  which  negatively  is  contradicted  by  the 
entire  absence  of  dates  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  written  after  this 
period.     In  B.  C.  524  (Greswell)  the  Jews  gave  their  present  names 
to  the  months  of  the  year,   most  of  such  names  being  those  of 
Oriential  gods,  as  Nissan,   Ayar,  Zif,  Sivan,  Thammuz,  Abib  and 
Elool  for  Nyssa,  Ashar,  Deva  the  Zif,  Siva,  Thammuz  the  Buddha, 
Aswin  and  El.     At  the  same  time  they  changed  the  composition  of 
the  year  from  ten  civil  months  of  36  days  to  twelve  civil  months  of 
30  days  each  with  intercalaries,  such  added  months  being  Tishri  II, 
and  Kanoon   II.     The  earliest  Jewish  aera  of   which  any  explicit 
monumental  or  literary  remains  exist  is  that  of  the  Asmonean  repub- 
lic.    (See  B.  C.  143).     The  next  is  that  of  Rabbi  Hillel  (B.  C.  112- 
A.  D.  8)  who  is  said  to  have  fixed  the  Mundane  sera  in  a  Greek  year 
corresponding  with  B.  C.  3700.     Scaliger  says  that  though  the  modern 
rabbinical  calendar  professes  to  go  back  to  the  date  of  the  Creation,  its 
true  date  is  not  older  than  A.  D.  344.     Rev.  E.  Greswell,  F.  C, 
Intro.  103  and  II,  115  is  of  the  same  opinion.     But  see  B.  C.  3780 
for  Albiruni's  statement  with  regard  to  the  Jewish  Calendar.     In  the 
nth  century  the  Alexandrian  Jews  fixed  the  Mundane  sera  in  B.  C. 
3752.     Albiruni.      (See  B.  C.  3780  and  3752.)     In  the  nth  or  12th 
century  the  Jews  of  Cordova  fixed  upon  B.  C.  3760,  the  sera  which 
through  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Jews,  has  since 
grown  into  common  use.     In  the  13th  century  Abulfaragi,  an  Arme- 
nian bishop,  said  that  the  "  Eastern  "  Jews  fixed  their  Mundane  sera 
in  B.  C.  4220.     In  the  Sedar  01am  Sutha,  or  "Small  Chronicle  of 
the  World  ",  attributed  to  the  year  A.  D.  1121,  the  Mundane  sera  is 
fixed  in  B.  C.  4359,  which  is  precisely  one  Brahminical  Divine  year 
earlier  than  Hillel's  date;  just  as  the  Jewish  sera  of  Cordova  is  pre- 
cisely one  Brahminical  Divine  year  earlier  than  the  post- Augustan 
date  of  the  Brahminical  Calijoga;  a  fact  that  stamps  all  of  these  asras 


iERAS.  73 

as  astrological  and  serves  to  mark  the  period  of  their  invention. 
With  regard  to  the  head  of  the  year,  Dupuis  (II,  ii,  59,  285)  says  that 
Thammuz,  (which  is  the  same  as  Thamos,  Tamus,  Thamies,  Thor, 
Thoth,  Teut,  Tat,  Taat,  Tatius,  etc.),  at  present  the  fourth  month 
of  the  Hebrew  year,  was  anciently  the  first  month ;  that  it  was  sym- 
bolised by  the  zodion  of  the  Ram;  and  that  the  New  Year  began 
on  the  winter  solstice,  which  is  the  birthday  of  Buddha.  The 
scriptural  New  Year  is  Nissan  ist,  which,  in  a  solar  calendar  would 
fall  on  the  Vernal  equinox  and  in  a  lunar  one,  on  some  day  near  it. 
According  to  Rabbi  Joshua  this  was  the  day  of  the  Creation ;  while 
Rabbi  Eleazar,  with  equal  reason,  proves  that  the  world  was  created 
at  the  autumnal  equinox,  Cf.  Philo  Judseus;  Josephus;  the  Talmud 
("Rosh  Hashanah");  Albiruni;  Maimonides;  R.  Menassah  ben  Is- 
rael's "Conciliator,"  I,  127,  ed.  Lindo;  Rabbi  Isaac  Aberbanal's 
Commentaries;  Rabbi  Jacques  J.  Lyons  and  Abraham  de  Sola, 
"The  Jewish  Calendar,"  Montreal,  5614-1854;  and  "  Middle  Ages 
Revisited,"  App.  P. 

B.  C.  3760,  Masonry. — Mundane  sera  of  the  Feeemasons,  which 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Jews.  Another  Masonic  Anno  Mundi  is 
B.  C.  5000. 

B.  C.  3758,  Ghazaria. — Anno  Mundi.  Diodurus  Siculus,  lib. 
II,  iii,  says  that  in  the  island  of  the  Hypoboreans  they  observe  a 
cycle  of  19  years  during  which  time  "  the  stars  perform  their  courses 
and  return  to  the  same  point;  for  which  reason  the  Greeks  call  this 
revolution  of  19  years  the  Great  Year."  Booth,  the  English  trans- 
lator of  Diodorus,  supposed  this  "island"  to  be  Britain;  but  there 
is  nothing  except  national  partiality  to  sustain  this  conjecture, 
Britain  was  well  known  to  the  Greeks  as  the  Cassiterides  and  to  the 
Romans  as  Britain.  The  uniform  testimony  of  the  Greek  writers  in- 
dicates that  the  Hypoborean  regions  were  in  Scythia,  that  the  Greek 
knowledge  of  them  was  earlier  than  their  knowledge  of  Britain  and 
that  such  knowledge  came  with  the  Greek  trade  that  flowed  through 
Ghazaria  and  the  Caspian  sea.  This  trade  extended  westward  as  far 
Messapia  in  Italy,  close  to  Sicily,  where  Diodorus,  who  was  a  Sici- 
lian Greek,  probably  got  his  information,  "Island"  may  mean  in- 
differently an  island  or  a  promontory,  as  in  the  well  known  case  of 
Jutland.  The  Holy  Land  of  the  Ghazars  or  Khazars  appears  to  have 
been  situated  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Caspian  Sea  and  this  is 
probably  the  place  favoured  with  the  miracle  presently  to  be  men- 
tioned. The  cycle  alluded  to  is  evidently  the  Metonic,  of  235  luna- 
tions, about  19  years.     At  the  end  of  the  same  chapter  Diodorus 


74  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

says  that  the   197th  cycle  of  the  Hypoboreans  was  celebrated  by 
Apollo   in   person,  who  with  harps  and  other  musical  instruments 
chaunted  the  praises  of  his  own  glory,  these  heavenly  strains  lasting 
from  the  Vernal  equinox  to  "  the  rising  of  the  Pleiades."     Diodorus 
omits  to  say  in  what  year  Apollo  thus  appeared  upon  earth;  but  as  he 
wrote  during  the  Augustan  age  and  employed  the  Augustan  chro- 
nology, there  is  warrant  for  believing  that  the  story  was  intended  to 
synchronise  with  the  period  of  the  Roman  incarnation,  or  B.  C.  15. 
In  such  case  the  Anno  Mundi   of  the  Hypoboreans  was  197  x  235= 
46,295  lunations,    equal   to  something   over  3743  years  before  the 
Apotheosis  of  Augustus;  in  other  words,  about  3758  or  3759  years 
B.  C.     This  is  one  divine  year  or  658  common  years  before  the  In- 
dian Calijoga.     It  coincides  very  closely  with  the  Anno  Mundi  of  the 
Jews,  -who  evidently  got  more  than  one  of  their  institutes  from  the 
Gharzarians.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  this  Anno  Mundi  is 
of  Brahminical  origin.     This  chronology  of  the  Messianic  myth  was 
revived  in  the  13th  century  by  Genghis  Khan  the  monarch  of  Zaga- 
tai   (North  Caspian)  and  the  conqueror  of  China.     See  A.  D.  187, 
845,  1206  and  1227. 

B.  C.  3752,  Alexandria. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  tenth  century 
Jews,  who  counted  from  Adam  to  Alexander  3448  years  and  from 
Alexander  to  Jesus,  304  years.     Albiruni,  p.  18. 

B.  C.  3714,  Cashmir,  or  Little  Tibet. — ^ra  mentioned  in 
Taylor's  History  of  India. 

B.  C.  3590,  Persia. — Anno  Mundi  used  by  the  Persians  of  the 
tenth  century  of  our  aera,  who  counted  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  Zoroaster,  3000  years  and  to  Alexander,  258  more.  Albu- 
rini,  op.  cit.,  17.  Assuming  the  sera  of  Alexander  to  be  B.  C.  332, 
we  have  3000  plus  258  plus  332=3590. 

B.  C.  3562,  Persia. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  tenth  century  Persians, 
based  upon  the  medieval  Christian  assumption  that  the  aera  of  Alex- 
ander was  B.  C.  304.     Albiruni.     See  B.  C.  3590. 

B.  C.  3368,  India. — Hindu  pre- Augustan  date  of  the  Divine  Year 
dating  back  from  the  birth  of  Buddha.     Table  B. 

B.  C.  3185,  India. — Beginning  of  the  Vrihaspati  or  Jovian  60- 
year  cycles  according  to  the  Surya  Siddhanta.  See  B.  C.  3174  and 
1176  and  A.  D.  1796. 

B.  C.  3174,  India. — Beginning  of  the  Vrihaspati  or  Jovian  60- 
year  cycles  of  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  the  69th  cycle  having  ended  in 
A.  D.  965-6.     The  Pandits   "Chron."     See  A.  D.  1025. 

B.  C.  3164,  India,— Brahma  Kalpa.     Higgins,  "  Ancal."  I,  182. 


iERAS.  75 

This  may  be  a  corruption  of  the  Calijoga,  from  which  it  differs  by  63 
years. 

B.  C.  3128,  India. — Barhaspatya  Kala;  or  beginning  of  the  Jo- 
vian 60-year  cycles.     Stokvis. 

B.  C.  3114,  India. — Beginning  of  the  Vrihaspati  or  Jovian  60- 
year  cycles  by  the  TeUnga  account.  The  Pandits'  "Chron."  See 
A.  D.  1025  and  1807. 

B.  C.  3102,  India.  The  Calijoga,  sometimes  written  Kali- 
yuga;  Kali,  meaning  time,  and  joga  or  yuga,  conjunction.  Oppert, 
however,  translates  Kali  to  mean  "first."  The  Calijoga  commem- 
morates  the  end  of  the  seventh  and  beginning  of  the  eighth  incarna- 
tion of  lesnu  or  Vishnu,  "who  manifested  his  glory  to  mankind" 
in  the  name  and  form  of  les  Chrishna;  les  meaning  the  Sun  and 
Chrishna  meaning  black,  probably  referring  to  a  solar  eclipse. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  statues  of  les  Chrishna  represent  him  with  a 
black  face,  complemented  with  woolly  hair.  Father  Sonnerat  (Voy- 
age aux  Indes)  regards  the  Calijoga  as  the  beginning  of  the  Fourth 
Brahminical  Age  which  began  4883  years  before  his  time,  A.  D.  1782. 
This  relation  and  year  both  agree  with  the  determinations  of  Mr. 
Halhed  in  his  Preface  to  the  Code  of  Manu.  Father  Sonnerat  goes 
on  to  say  that  the  Calijoga  was  marked  by  the  erection  of  a  great 
temple  to  Juggernaut,  between  whose  devotees  and  the  celebration 
of  the  Calijoga  he  thus  establishes  a  connection.  The  great  an- 
tiquity of  the  Calijoga  is  confirmed  by  a  variety  of  evidences.  It  is 
c>lluded  to  in  the  Puranas;  it  is  employed  as  the  starting  point  of 
the  Brahma  Siddhanta  and  Surya  Siddhanta,  two  of  the  oldest 
astronomical  treatises  of  the  Hindus;  it  is  the  starting  point  of  the 
Chrishnabouram  or  astronomical  tables  of  the  Siamese  Chrishna,  ob- 
tained in  1687  by  Father  Loubere  and  compared  with  the  Tables  of 
Tirvalore  during  the  i8th  century  by  Father  Le  Gentil;  it  is  older 
than  the  Anno  Mundi  of  the  Jews  aad  Free-masons,  both  of  which 
are  based  upon  the  Calijoga;  and  it  is  older  than  the  sera  of  Liber 
Pater  brought  into  Europe  by  Megasthenes  and  preserved  by  Pliny 
and  Arrian,  because  that  sera  also  is  evidently  based  upon  the  Calijoga. 
The  reverence  in  which  it  is  still  held  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  employed  so  recently  as  the  last  century  in  dating  the  gold  mo- 
hurs  of  Hyder  Ali,  Sultan  of  Mysore,  A.  D.  1760-82  and  those  of  his 
son  Tippoo  Saib,  A.  D.  1785-99.     (Kelly's  "Cambist.,"  II,  217.) 

The  Hindu  astronomers  assert  and  Bailly  believed  that  the  Cali- 
joga was  the  date  when  a  conjunction  of  the  sun,  moon  and  several 
of  the  planets  was  actually  observed  and  recorded.      Laplace  could 


yS  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

find  no  such  conjunction  without  going  back  to  B.  C.  4300.  He, 
therefore,  concluded  that  the  Hindu  and  Siamese  astronomical  tables 
had  been  modified  in  modern  times,  a  conclusion  in  which  he  was 
corroborated  by  Playfair.  (Trans.  Royal  Soc.  Edinb.  1790.)  As 
these  eminent  savants  were  not  aware  of  the  alteration  in  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Hindu  year  from  ten  months  of  $6  days  to  12  months  of 
30  days  each,  their  calculations  will  require  revision.  On  the  other 
hand,  Brennand  (Hindu  Astron.  1896)  and  Rev.  E.  Burgess  (Jour. 
Am.  Or.  Soc.  1895)  regard  the  year  of  the  Calijoga  as  having  been 
fixed  before  or  during  the  Mahabharata  wars;  a  conclusion  which 
appears  to  be  corroborated  by  numerous  convincing  evidences.  The 
same  year,  B.  C.  3102,  is  deduced  by  Max  Duncker  (India,  p.  72) 
from  the  Puranas.  As  will  appear  further  on,  when  discussing  the 
epoch  of  the  Calijoga,  this  seems  to  have  been  originally  fixed  on  or 
about  the  winter  solstice,  and  afterwards  changed  to  Feb.  17-18,  a 
change  which  had  the  effect  to  alter  the  year  from  B.  C.  3102  toB.  C. 
3101.  (Wm.  Marsden,  Phil.  Trans.  LXXX,  pt.  ii,  565.)  But  it  is 
not  certain  that  the  epoch  fell  originally  on  the  winter  solstice,  be- 
cause the  epoch  of  the  sera  reported  by  Megasthenes  fell  on  the  au- 
tumnal equinox. 

An  attempt  was  made  by  Rev.  Wm.  Hales  to  lower  the  antiquity 
of  the  Calijoga  to  B.  C.  1913,  1905,  1370  and  1078  and  by  Baron 
Bunsen  to  lower  it  to  B.  C.  1448;  but  the  methods  employed  by  these 
chronologists  do  not  warrant  the  conclusions  they  reached.  The 
Calijoga  may  not  be  what  the  Hindus  have  pretended,  namely,  the 
sera  of  a  quintuple  conjunction  observed  and  recorded  at  the  time; 
but  it  certainly  is  an  aera  invented  not  later  than  the  12th  and  possi- 
bly the  15th  century  B.  C,  which,  like  the  Julian  sera  of  Scaliger, 
was  designed  to  afford  a  basis  for  astronomical  calculations  and  one 
which  has  actually  served  that  purpose  ever  since.  (Brennand;  Bur- 
gess.) 

Owing  to  numerous  changes  of  the  Indian  calendar — from  solar  to 
lunar  and  from  lunar  to  sidereal  reckonings,  from  ten  to  12  months' 
years  and  from  years  beginning  with  one  particular  month  to  years 
beginning  with  others — it  is  impracticable  to  trace  the  epoch  or  New 
Year's  Day  of  the  Calijoga  with  precision.  According  to  the  date 
preserved  by  Pliny  the  year  of  Liber  Pater  in  the  time  of  Megasthenes 
commenced  on  the  autumnal  equinox;  but  it  is  not  certain  that  such 
was  also  the  case  with  the  Calijoga.  The  beginning  of  the  Hebrew 
year  on  or  about  the  same  day  seems  to  confirm  the  day  given  by  Pliny, 
but  the  Hebrew  New  Year  day  appears  to  have  been  of  Seleucidan 


i^RAS.  77 

origin  and  of  not  very  ancient  date.  Albiruni  fixes  the  epoch  of  the 
Calijoga  on  the  first  Aswin,  which  in  the  Tamil  calendar  fell  in  1897 
on  September  i6th.  On  the  other  hand,  Stokvis,  Brennand,  Duff 
Rickmers,  Sewell  and  other  modern  astronomers  and  chronologists 
fix  the  epoch  of  the  Calijoga  on  the  i7th-i8th  February,  B.  C.  3102; 
and  there  we  must  be  content  to  leave  it,  Cf.  Bailly,  "  Astron. 
Ind. ;"  Col.  Wilford  in  Asiat.  Res.,  IX;  Prinsep,  "Useful  Tables;" 
Brennand,  82;  Colebrooke's  "Essays;"  Sir  Geo.  Cornewall-Lewis, 
etc. 

B.  C.  3102,  Arabia. — Anno  Mundi  of  the  ancient  Arabians, 
Max  Idler,  "  L'ere  des  Arabes,"  p.  32. 

B.  C.  3100,  India.— Tamil  Durmuki  Kali.  Pandits  "Chron." 
p.  xix, 

B.  C.  3098,  India. — Varapa  Kalpa.     Higgins,  Anacal.  I,  182. 

B.  C.  3076,  India.— Saptarshi,  Robt.  Sewell,  "The  Indian  Cal- 
endar," Table  III,  Duff,  p.  4,  calls  it  the  "Laukika,  or  Saptarshi" 
sera,  traditionally  used  in  Cashmir,  adding  that  it  reckons  by  cycles 
of  a  hundred  years.  On  p.  62  it  is  called  the  Saptarshi  or  Lokakala 
cycle.      Epoch,  Chaitra  ist. 

B.  C.  2757,  China. — Beginning  of  the  60-year  cycles  according 
to  Brennand,  "Hindu  Astron.",  p.  7. 

B.  C.  2717,  China. — Supposed  beginning  of  the  60-year  cycles. 
Souciet,      (See  below,  year  2337), 

B.  C.  2710,  India. — Hindu  re-incarnation  reckoning  backward 
from  the  Augustan  date  of  Salivahana,     Table  B, 

B.  C.  2697,  China. — Beginning  of  the  60-year  cycles.  The  Pan- 
dits.    See  A,  D.  1804, 

B.  C.  2687,  China. — Reign  of  the  mythical  Ti-hoang,  orHoang-ti, 
The  60-year  cycles  "invented",      Du  Halde.      (See  below,  2627.) 

B.  C.  2637,  China. — ^ra  of  the  pretended  incarnation  of  Fo-hi, 
according  to  Rev,  C.  Gutzlaff,  This  sera  was  revived  and  legalised 
by  the  Emperor  Kienlong,  A.  D.  1735-95.  Gibbon,  II,  575,  n.  It 
commences  on  the  winter  solstice.  Cf,  the  Pandits'  "Chron". 
According  to  Stokvis  the  Jovian  cycles  of  China  and  Japan  com- 
menced this  year, 

B.  C.  2627,  China. — Sixty-first  year  of  Ti-hoang,  or  Hoang-ti, 
The  60-year  cycles  "established,"  according  to  Freret,  who,  how- 
ever, makes  the  6ist  year  agree  with  B,  C.  2636,     See  B,  C,  1965, 

B.  C.  2540,  India. — According  to  Higgins,  Anacal,  I,  251,  this 
year  the  Sun  entered  the  sign  of  Aries,  from  Taurus;  the  Indians, 
hitherto  of  one  religion,  split  into  Brahmins  and  Buddhists;  and  the 


78  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

latter  were  driven  out  of  India.  This  is  as  bad  as  the  astrologers. 
There  was  no  12  sign  zodiac  with  Taurus  and  Aries  at  this  remote 
period.     The  entire  scheme  is  fanciful.      See  B.  C.  380. 

B.  C.  2474,  China. — .^ra  of  Yao,  or  Jove,  who  divided  the  year 
and  regulated  the  calendar.   The  Hebrew  name  for  Jove  is  also  Yao. 

B.  C.  2448,  Cashmir. — Epoch  of  the  chronicles  called  Rajahtar- 
angini.  Prof.  Wilson,  "Asiatic  Researches, "  vol.  XV;Pococke,  p.  131. 

B.  C.  2397,  China. — February.  Chinese  sera,  as  computed  by 
certain  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries.      (Prinsep). 

B.  C.  2357,  China. — Incarnation  and  Investiture  of  the  divine 
Yao.  Du  Halde.  This  is  feigned  to  have  occurred  at  the  winter  sol- 
stice. McDowell.  Higgins  Anacal.  I,  330,  contends  that  Yao,  Jove, 
Jupiter,^  etc.,  are  the  same.  In  such  case  the  divine  Yao  was  of  a 
much  later  period;  the  planet  Jupiter,  as  such,  being,  as  yet,  unknown 
and  the  ancients  worshipping  only  planets. 

B.  C.  2337,  China. — Nineteenth  year  of  Yao.  The  60-year 
cycles  "commenced".  Du  Halde,  Hist.  China,  I,  282.  This  is  the 
Chinese  sera  used  throughout  his  history.  Other  Jesuits  reckoned 
from  2397.      Prinseps.     See  A.  D.  1024. 

B.  C.  2256,  India. — Incarnation  of  Buddha.  Col.  Tod.  Winter 
solstice. 

B.  C.  2235,  Assyria. — Incarnation  of  Bel-Issus,  or  the  Lord 
Issus.  (Clinton;  Vernal  equinox?).  Hales  begins  this  sera  with  B.  C. 
2254.      (See  below,  years  2064,  1406  and  1390). 

B.  C.  2234,  Chaldea. — First  year  of  Chaldean  astronomical 
records  found  on  tablets  of  baked  clay.  (Rawlinson).  This  date  is 
1903  years  before  Alexander  visited  Babylon,  B.  C.  331,  and  is  from 
Callisthenes.  Freret,  Mem.  Acad.  Inscript.  XVI,.  205,  prefers  B.  C. 
1532.  These  records  were  undoubtedly  concocted  at  a  later  age,  to 
support  the  myth  of  Bel-Issus.  See  B.  C.  2235;  also,  "Middle  Ages 
Revisited,"  ch.  I,  n.  15. 

B.  C.  2218,  China. — Third  cycle,  second  year.  Accession  of 
Ta-Yu,  first  emperor  of  Hia  dynasty;  and  the  so-called  first  "cer- 
tain "  Chinese  date. 

B.  C.  2163,  China. — Incarnation  of  Yao,  according  to  Bunsen, 
III,  388. 

B.  C.  2157,  Chaldea. — Epoch  of  Chaldean  "historical"  sera. 
Jules  Oppert,  cited  by  Gustav  Oppert,  p.  331. 

B.  C.  2064,  India. — Brahmo-Buddhic  incarnation  of  les  Chrishna, 
evidently  invented  after  the  Mahabharata  wars.  The  proper  date  is 
B.  C.  2052,  q.  V. 


^RAS.  79 

B.  C.  2064,  Assyria. — Incarnation  of  Bel-Issus,  or  Bel-Esus. 
According  to  Eusebius,  "Chronol."!,  12,  "Castor  reckoned  1280 
years  from  the  first  Ninus  to  a  second  Ninus,  or  Nin-Ies,  successor 
to  Sardanapalus  ".  This  would  throw  the  sera  of  the  second  Ninus 
into  the  8th  century  B.  C.  and  the  sera  of  the  first  Ninus  into  the 
2ist  century  B.  C. ,  making  it  coincide  with  the  sera  of  Bel-Esus, 
The  whole  mythos  is  Oriental,  astrological,  and  pre-dated.  See  B.  C. 
1406  and  1390. 

B.  C.  2064,  Assyria. — Approximate  sera  assigned  by  Assyriolo- 
gists  to  Sargon  I,  who  was  evidently  merely  a  mythos  of  the  Sun 
worship.  He  is  said  to  have  been  born  miraculously  and  in  some 
obscure  place,  his  father  being  unknown  and  his  mother  a  person  of 
royal  descent,  by  whom  he  was  deposited  in  an  ark  of  reeds  and 
bitumen  and  left  to  the  care  of  the  River.  He  was  carried  by  the 
stream  to  the  dwelling  of  a  ferryman,  who  reared  him  as  his  own  son 
until  the  time  came  for  the  disclosure  of  his  true  rank,  when  he  was 
acknowledged  by  the  Assyrians  as  "The  constituted  king,"  (such 
being  the  meaning  of  his  name),  and  he  took  his  seat  upon  "the  throne 
of  his  ancestors. "  His  palace  was  at  ' '  Agane,  a  suburb  of  Sippara. " 
.  .  .  "  There  was  born  to  him  a  son  named  Naram-Sin."  All  this 
and  more  of  the  same  sort  appears  in  the  ninth  edition  of  the  Encyc. 
Brit.  art.  "Babylon,"  wherein  Sargon  is  treated  as  an  historical 
character  "about  B.  C.  2000"  who  possesed  a  library  and  a 
catalogue.  His  son,  Naram-Sin,  is  overthrown  in  battle  by  Kham- 
muragas,  another  ' '  historical  "  character  who  has  left  us  an  inscription 
which  is  now  in  the  Louvre!  After  the  incredibly  remote  dates 
which  the  Assyriologists  have  thrust  upon  us,  we  dare  not  wonder  at 
libraries  or  inscriptions  4000  years  old,  but  we  certainly  have  a  right 
to  draw  the  line  of  credulity  at  Naram-Sin,  in  whom  we  clearly 
recognize  the  fourth  incarnation  of  Vishnu;  the  mythical  spawn  of  a 
Brahminical  astrological  conceit,  here  smuggled  by  ignorance  into 
the  domain  of  history.  Cesnola  found  a  cylinder  in  Cyprus  bearing 
the  name  of  Nara-Sin,  son  of  Sharrukin,  "who  knew  not  his  father". 
This  last  is  evidently  Varuguin,  the  third  incarnation  of  Vishnu. 
Andrew  Laing,  "Human  Origins";  M.  A.  R.  c.  I,  n.  i. 

B.  C.  2064,  Argos. — Incarnation  of  Cres  (him  of  the  Eight 
Curetes,  or  Danoi).  Legendary  sera  of  Dan-aus  or  Dan-Ies  in  Argos. 
(Dhanaus  was  the  Indian  name  for  the  zodiacal  sign  of  the  Archer). 
This  sera  is  assigned,  by  Herodotus,  to  Bacchus.      Euterpe,  145. 

B.  C.  2064,  Attica. — Censorinus  reckons  from  the  Deluge  of 
Ogyges  to  the  first  Olympiad   (Olympiadem  primam)    "about  600 


8o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

years."  The  first  Olympiads  were  celebrated  at  Athens  B.  C.  1406, 
q.  V.  If  to  this  is  added  one  divine  year,  which  answers  to  "about 
600  years,"  we  have  B.  C.  2064  for  the  Deluge. 

B.  C.  2052,  India. — Birth  of  les  Chrishna,  or  Buddha,  (pre- 
Augustan  date)  the  third  avatar  before  that  of  Salivahana,  B.  C. 
78.     Table  B. 

B.  C.  2016,  Greece. — Anno  Mundi  Eusebiano,  as  used  in  his 
chronology.  Epoch,  at  midsummer.  Clinton;  Fasti  Romani,  II, 
217.  This  agra  was  also  used  by  Hieronymous.  It  is  probably 
couched  in  the  Csesarian  sera  and  should  be  B.  C.  2064. 

B.  C.  196S,  China. — Conjectural  original  sera  of  the  supposed 
incarnation  of  Hoang-ti,  the  second  messiah  of  the  ancient  Chinese 
mythological  scheme,  the  first  being  Fo-hi  with  eight  disciples,  and 
the  third  being  Yao,  with  twelve  disciples;  Hoang-ti  having  had  ten. 
For  Fohi  see  B.  C.  2637  and  for  Yao  see  B.  C.  131 1.  This  year, 
B.  C.  1965,  is  that  given  by  Hwang-fu-mi,  the  Chinese  astrologer 
(B.  C.  300,  for  the  incarnation  of  Yao,  which  in  fact,  that  is  to  say,  in 
the  mythological  scale,  was  one  divine  year  later  than  Hoang-ti.  (The 
Chinese  divine  year  was  probably  654  common  years.  See  Chap.  VIII). 
Hoang-ti  was  miraculously  born;  ere  he  left  the  breast  he  could 
speak.  To  the  sweetness  of  an  infant  he  united  the  penetration  and 
judgment  of  a  sage.  He  commenced  to  reign  when  he  was  only 
twelve  years  of  age.  He  invented  the  cycle  which  reconciles  the 
ancient  divisions  of  Ten  with  the  later  divisions  of  Twelve;  he  erected 
temples;  instituted  Ninths  to  support  the  priesthood;  encouraged 
agriculture  and  the  culture  of  the  silk- worm;  he  introduced  the  com- , 
pass,  abacus,  decimal  system,  knife-money,  uniform  weights  and 
measures,  etc.  One  of  his  disciples,  Chao-hao,  suppressed  a  religious 
insurrection;  introduced  church  music;  established  the  nine  classes, 
five  of  whom  were  to  govern  the  five  guilds  of  artisans  and  the 
others  to  preside  over  tillage  and — like  the  Roman  emperors  of  a 
later  period — regulate  the  manners  of  the  people.  Another  disciple, 
Tchuen-hio,  regulated  the  mines  (this  is  probably  meant  to  include 
money);  joined  the  crown  to  the  pontificate;  extirpated  heretics; 
reformed  the  canon  law ;  regulated  the  choice  of  animals  for  sacrifice ; 
reorganized  the  priesthood;  and  altered  the  calendar,  beginning  the 
year  "on  the  first  day  of  the  month  in  which  the  Sun  should  be 
nearest  the  fifteenth  degree  of  Aquarius."  Du  Halde.  All  this, 
except  the  Ten  disciples,  is  clearly  of  a  post-Jovian  and  post-Buddhic 
date.     See  B.  C.  2687  ^"d  2627. 


iERAS.  8l 

B.  C.  1913,  India. — Erroneous  ^ra  of  the  Calijoga,  computed  by 
Hales.     See  B.  C.  3102. 

B.  C.  1905,  India. — Erroneous  sera  of  the  Calijoga,  computed  by 
Hales.     See  B.  C.  3102. 

B.  C.  1897,  Judea. — Miraculous  conception  of  Sarai,  who  ismar- 
ried  to  Abram,  her  half-brother,  (Gen.  XX,  20).  When  Abram  is  99 
years  old  and  Sarai  is  90,  they  converse  familiarly  with  God  (Gen. 
XXVII  and  XXVIII),  who  thereupon  promises  Abram  a  child,  to  be 
born  exactly  a' year  later.  (Gen.  XXVII,  21).  That  a  year  in  this 
place  originally  meant  ten  months,  is  deducible  from  the  Chaldean 
word  Sar,  which,  says  Rev.  Dr.  Greswell,  is  the  root  of  saros,  and 
therefore  also  of  Sarai,  or  Sarah,  meaning  ten.  This  son,  the  miracu- 
lous issue  of  the  Creator  and  Sarai,  (Gen.  XXI,  i,  2)  was  called 
Isaac.  Abram  was  afterwards  ordered  to  sacrifice  this  son  and  he 
obeyed;  but  at  the  critical  moment  his  hand  was  arrested  by  the 
Creator  and  Isaac  was  saved.  Abram  lived  to  the  age  of  175  and 
Sarai  127  years.  Most  of  the  details  of  this  mythos  are  of  Hindu 
origin.  Abram  or  Bram  is  an  impersonation  of  the  Creator;  Isaac 
is  the  Hindu  sun-god  les-aac,  which  is  still  the  name  of  one  of  the 
Hindu  months;  the  marriage  of  brother  and  sister  was  a  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  the  Oriental,  and  Egyptian,  and  even  of  the 
Peruvian  incarnations;  the  full  year,  or  ten  months,  of  gestation,  is 
another  one;  the  order  for  the  destruction  of  the  divine  child;  his 
imminent  peril;  and  his  providential  escape  from  impending  death — 
these  and  other  features  of  the  story — are  evidently  oriental  and 
astrological;  and  they  cannot  be  accepted  as  history.  It  is  not  diffi- 
cult to  recognise  in  them  a  distorted  account  of  the  ninth  incarnation 
of  Brahma,  which  fell  due  B.  C.  1864,  just  33  years  after  the  date 
assigned  by  the  scriptural  chronologers  to  the  conception  of  Sarai. 
See  Table  A. 

B.  C.  1869,  Argos. — ^ra  of  Inachus,  the  reputed  founder  of  the 
kingdom  of  Argos,  in  the  Peloponnesus,  "Betwixt  the  2120th  and 
2150th  year  of  the  World."  Bell's  Pantheon.  As  Bell's  Anno  Mundi 
was  B.  C.  4000  this  would  fix  the  sera  of  Inachus  about  B.  C.  1869, 
Inachus  was  one  of  the  names  of  Bacchus,  whose  cult  is  asserted  to 
have  been  introduced  into  Argos  from  Crete.  The  Inachia  were 
Cretan  festivals  in  honour  of  this  divinity.  The  date  assigned  to 
Inachus  by  Bell  is  probably  the  invention  of  a  long  subsequent  age. 
B.  C.  1864,  India. — Ninth  avatar  of  Brahma,  or  Vishnu.  See 
Table  A,  chap.  VI. 

B.  C.  1847,  Egypt. — Phoenix  ^ra,  or  first  (original)  Julian  cal- 


82  '  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

endar,  or  calendar  of  z^S}i  days  to  the  year,  beginning  Tlioth  ist, 
or  Nov.  i8th,  B.  C.  1S48;  afterwards  altered  to  Tybi  7th  or  March 
24th,  B.  C.  1847,  from  which  date  its  author  calls  it  the  Epoch  of 
the  sphere  of  Mazzaroth.  Rev.  Edwd.  Greswell,  F.  C. ,  I,  552. 
As  Dr.  Greswell  failed  to  observe  the  change  from  the  year  of  ten  to 
that  of  twelve  months,  in  Egypt  and  elsewhere,  the  seras  he  deduces, 
when  they  are  older  than  the  eighth  century  B.  C. ,  are  only  of  liter- 
ary interest  and  have  no  historical  value. 

B.  C.  1786,  India. — Augustan  date  of  the  Brahminical  les 
Chrishna,  the  ninth  avatar  of  Brahma,  afterwards  called  lesnu  or 
Vishnu;  this  being  the  termination  of  his  manvantara.  This  was  an- 
ciently regarded  as  the  final  metamorphosis  of  Vishnu,  when  the 
world  Would  be  destroyed  and  the  human  race  brought  to  judgment, 
a  prediction  whose  failure  must  have  greatly  weakened  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Brahminical  system.  The  Banians,  though  they  accepted 
this  system,  yet  believed  in  a  tenth  manvantara,  that  of  Kalpi,  who 
was  to  appear  in  future  and  whose  zodion  is  a  winged  horse,  three  of 
whose  feet  rest  apon  the  earth,  while  the  fourth  paws  '.he  air.  When 
this  foot  descends  upon  our  planet  (time  not  fixed),  the  end  will 
come.  Noel,  "Die.  Fable."  See  B.  C.  1332  and  1315.  The  sys- 
tem of  nine  (or  ten)  incarnations  has  been  greatly  extended  by  the 
Brahmo-Buddhists. 

B.  C.  1650,  India. — Remotest  probable  sera  of  the  Mahabharata 
wars.  Pococke,  149-51,  prefers  B.  C.  1480;  Wilson  says  B.  C.  1430; 
Wilford  says  B.  C.  1370;  Prinseps,  "  Useful  Tables,"  217,  says  B.  C. 
1367;  Robertson's  "India,"  p.  329,  says  "before  2000  B.  C. ;"  but 
this  is  inadmissible.     See  below,  year  1430. 

B.  C.  1650,  India. — At  some  indefinite  period  the  60-year  cycles 
of  Yao  (China)  were  adopted  in  Egypt.  Martin,  "  Hist.  Sinica, "  p. 
14;  Bunsen's  "  Egypt,"  III,  385,  n.  For  reasons  given  above  and  in 
"  Middle  Ages,"  Appendix  P.,  n.  14,  it  is  believed  that  these  cycles 
were  not  actually  employed  in  India  until  long  after  the  Mahabharata 
wars.  Their  employment  in  Egypt  must  be  assigned  to  a  very  much 
later  date. 

B.  C.  1590,  India.— Epoch  of  the  "Line  of  the  Rishis,"  con- 
stellation of  Ursa-Major,  commencing  with  the  first  of  Magha,  as 
fixed  by  observation  at  that  time,  according  to  Brennand,  "Hindu 
Astronomy,"  p.  82.  For  further  information  on  this  subject  see  chap. 
VIII  herein. 

B.  C.  1528,  Egypt. — ^ra  of  Busiris,  a  king  or  lieutenant  under 
and  contemporaneous  with  Osiris,   according  to  Orosius,  who  fixes 


^RAS.  8;i 

the  sera  of  Busiris  at  775  years  before  the  foundation  of  Rom.e 
Eusebius  fixes  the  same  aera  at  about  700  years  before  the  founda- 
tion of  Rome.  On  the  other  hand,  Eratosthenes,  cited  in  Strabo, 
declares  that  there  never  was  a  king  or  tyrant  called  Busiris.  The 
name  is  probably  a  variant  of  Hesiris,  Osiris,  etc.  See  B.  C.  1235. 
The  eera  is  anachronical. 

B.  C.  1506,  Athens. — The  image  of  the  Mother  of  the  Gods  is 
brought  from  Mount  Cybele.  The  Parian  marbles.  This  is  a  Scy- 
thian date,  probably  connected  with  Targitaus,  Tages,  Taygetus, 
etc.,  and  adopted  by  the  Athenians  during  the  Solonic  period.      See 

1495- 

B.  C.  1495,  Scythia. — The  first  king  of  the  Scythians  was  Tar- 
gitaus, who  according  to  Herodotus  lived  "just  a  thousand  years" 
before  Darius  Hystaspes  invaded  their  country.  As  the  last-named 
event  occurred  in  B.  C.  495,  this  would  fix  the  sera,  of  Targitaus  in 
B.  C.  1495.  Targitaus  is  evidently  a  name  of  Buddha.  "As  one 
of  the  Tathagates  he  preached  to  all  mankind  the  mystery  of  suffer- 
ing." Trubner's  "Oriental  Record,"  1889,  No.  243,  p.  5.  The 
Etruscans,  whose  Divine  Years  occurred  in  B.  C.  1474,  816,  etc., 
worshipped  a  Divine  Child  whose  brow  was  adorned  with  the  Sacred 
Ram's  horns  and  whose  name  was  Tages.  F.  A.  David,  •' Antiqui- 
tes  Etrusques,"  V,  pi.  57.  There  is  a  possible  connection  between 
these  two  divinities;  also  with  the  cult  of  Tay-getus,  Son  of  Jupiter 
in  Laconia,  because  Targitaus  was  also  the  Son  of  Jupiter,  the  Su- 
preme God.  Herodotus,  Melpomene,  5.  In  Terpsichore,  3,  the 
same  author  says,  that  the  Getae,  or  Scythians,  were,  next  after  the 
Indians,  the  greatest  nation  on  earth.  Diodorus  Siculus  makes  a 
similar  remark.  Pococke  proves  that  they  colonised  Greece  and 
Etruria. 

B.  C.  1480,  India. — Mahabharata  Wars.      Pococke,  149-51. 

B.  C.  1451,Judea. — Nativity  of  Moses,  1571;  promulgates  the 
Ten  Commandments,  1494;  ascends  bodily  to  heaven,  1454.  Haydn. 
See  B.  C.  509. 

B.  C.  1448,  India. — Erroneous  date  of  the  Calijoga.  Rev.  Wm. 
Hales,  "Chronology."     See  B.  C.  3102. 

B.  C.  1432,  Candia. — Iron  found  on  Mt.  Ida  by  Jasius  and  the 
Dactyles.      The  Parian  marbles.      But  see  B.  C.  1406  and  1394. 

B.  C.  1430,  India. — Mahabharata  sera.  Prof.  Wilson,  Analysis 
of  the  Puranas,  As.  Jour.  XIII,  81.    Pococke,  149.     See  B.  C.  1650. 

B.  C.  1430,  Eypt. — Conjectural  gera  of  the  tablets  of  Tel-el- 
Amarna,  according  to  Dr.  Sam'l  Birch,   in    "Records  of  the  Past," 


§4  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

New  Series,  II,  57.  This  date  is  based  upon  the  fancied  resemblance 
of  Nahrima,  mentioned  in  one  of  the  tablets  and  Chushanrishathaim, 
in  Judges,  III,  8,  a  clue  whose  little  worth  is  admitted  by  Dr.  Birch 
himself,  op.  cit.,  Ill,  55.  These  tablets  constituted  part  of  the  offi- 
cial records  at  Thebes,  whence  they  were  removed  to  Tel-el-Amarna, 
a  place  midway  between  Minieh  and  Siout,  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Nile.  They  are  stamped  with  the  cuneiform  letter,  in  the  Baby- 
lonian language,  which  hitherto  has  only  been  imperfectly  mastered 
and  translated.  Many  of  the  expressions  in  them  point  to  a  date 
several  centuries  lower  than  that  conjectured  by  Dr.  Birch.  They 
were  discovered  in  A.  D.  1887.      See  sera  of  the  Hycsos,  B.  C.  1106. 

B.  C.  1426,  India. — Year  when  the  Equinoctial  point  V.  E.  was 
in  Crittica  (one  of  the  Pleiads).  Crittica  now  marks  the  third, 
whereas  formerly  it  marked  and  gave  its  name  to  the  first,  nach- 
shatra.  Colebrooke.  This  was  a  period  of  great  activity  in  Hindu 
astronomy.  It  was  also  the  period  when  Mercury,  Venus,  Mars  and 
Jupiter  were  in  occultation,  B.  C.  1424-6.  Brennand.  Laplace  ap- 
pears to  prefer  fixing  the  period  of  astronomical  activity  in  B.  C. 
149 1.  At  all  events  there  is  a  substantial  agreement  between 
Jones,  Bailly,  Laplace,  Colebrooke,  Bentley  and  Burgess  that  in  the 
15th  century  B.  C.  the  Hindus  were  acquainted  with  the  equable 
year,  the  nodical  cycle,  the  Precession  of  the  Equinoxes  and  the  pe- 
riod of  Jupiter.  These  phenomena  form  the  astronomical  bases  of 
the  astrology  of  the  Hindu  les  Chrishna,  the  Egyptian  Hes-iris,  the 
Greek  Jasius  and  the  Roman  Janus. 

B.  C.  1406,  Assyria. — Incarnation  of  Nin-Ies,  or  Ninus,  prob- 
ably invented  during  the  eighth  to  fifth  century  B,  C.  See  B.  C. 
2064.  Ninus  was  foretold  by  prophets;  his  celestial  father  was  les; 
his  putative  father  was  Belus  of  the  royal  line  of  les;  his  virgin 
mother  was  Semiramis,  although  the  Rev.  Alex.  Hislop  says  her 
name  was  Rhaah,  or  Rhea,  the  Gazing  Mother;  his  star  was  the 
Messianic;  he  was  born  at  the  Vernal  equinox  amidst  flowers  and 
the  sounds  of  heavenly  music;  he  was  recognised  as  the  Messiah  by 
the  seers  or  astrologers;  his  head  was  surrounded  by  a  nimbus  of 
light;  he  performed  numerous  miracles;  his  favorite  disciple,  of 
whom  he  had  ten,  afterwards  12,  was  Argon  or  Arjon;  and  after  sav- 
ing the  world,  from  sin  he  was  persecuted  and  crucified  to  death  at 
Babylon  on  the  winter  solstice;  descended  to  hell;  rose  again  after 
three  days  and  nights;  and  finally  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  His 
principal  sacrament  was  baptism,  his  epigraphic  symbols  were  the  + 
and  j-  and  his  zodion  was  the  Lamb.      The  sera  and  worship  of  Ni- 


^RAS.  85 

nus,  like  that  of  Belus,  were  probably  instituted  many  centuries 
after  the  date  ascribed  to  him  on  the  monuments. 

B.  C.  1406,  Crete. — ^ra  of  Jasius,  Lord  of  the  Ten  Incarna- 
tions of  the  Sun.  These  "incarnations"  (his  followers)  were  after- 
wards called  the  Ten  Dactyles  of  Mount  Ida,  the  inventors  of  iron 
and  founders  of  the  pentaeteris  or  five-year  Olympiads,  sometimes 
called  Panathenaea,  mentioned  by  Diodorus  and  by  Plutarch  in  The- 
seus. Diodorus,  V,  4,  says  that  the  Dactyles  "practiced  sacred  rites 
and  mysteries,"  and  were  "adored  and  worshipped  as  Gods."  The 
years  were  of  ten  months  each.  Potter,  Ant.  Gr.  I,  507.  Hence 
the  pentaeteris  were  celebrated  every  50  months.  This  year,  1406, 
was  exactly  one  astrological  cycle  (658  years)  before  the  incarnation 
of  Tiglath-pil-Esar  II,  the  Nebo-Nazaru  of  the  Chaldeans.  Cen- 
sorinus;  Noel,  Die.  de  la  Fable;  Townsend,  Die.  Dates,  p.  499. 
The  Ten  Dactyles  were  preceded,  or  else  followed  by  the  Nine  Cu- 
retes,  priests  of  Cybele.  Diodorus  says  the  Dactyles  were  followed 
by  the  Curetes,  but  as  both  were  imaginary,  and  only  relate  to  mat- 
ters of  belief,  the  order  of  precedence  is  only  important  when  it  re- 
lates to  the  history  of  the  belief.  The  five-year  Olympiads  were 
"revived"  by  Iphitus,  B.  C.  884,  q.  v.  Pausanias,  Eliacs,  V.  4,  8; 
Potter's  Ant.  Gr.  I,  507.  The  names  of  the  Ten  Dactyles  partly 
from  Pausanias  and  partly  from  Strabo  were  Jasius,  Hercules,  Peo- 
neus,  Epimedes,  Idas,  Carybas,  Hercules  (Mercury?),  Salaminus, 
Damnaneus  and  Acmon.  Hercules  is  repeated,  while  Mercury  is 
omitted.     Pausanias  names  Pyrrhicus  as  one  of  the  Curetes. 

B.  C.  1406,  Attica. — Eleusinian  aera.  Myth  of  the  Thracian 
(Scythic)  king  Eric-Theos,  Eric-Theus,  or  Eric-thonius,  Son  of  Vul- 
can and  Athena,  mother  of  gods.  Union  of  the  (Twelve)  states  of 
Attica.  "The  Emolpides,  or  descendants  of  the  High  Buddha 
Priest,  were  now  appointed  to  the  administration  of  the  holy  rites." 
Pococke,  270.  Cf.  Jamieson,  40;  Strabo,  Geog.  VII,  VIII,  and  X. 
Greswell,  Kal.  H.,  IV,  11.  "  Eu-mol-pides"  was  afterwards  con- 
verted into  "  Eumolpus,  the  first  hierophant."  The  scheme  is  as- 
trological and  anachronical.  The  Eleusinian  festival  was  originally 
held  on  the  winter  solstice  and,  after  the  Seleucidan  sera,  on  the  au- 
tumnal equinox.  It  was  observed  down  to  the  year  A.  D.  396. 
Townsend;  Pausanias,  Eliacs,  V,  4,  8;  Potter's  Ant.  Gr.  I,  507.  See 
B.  C.  1346,  12 19  and  776.  Townsend  (Die.  Dates)  says  that  Eric- 
thonius  introduced  silver  into  Attica.  This  is  a  feature  of  the  mes- 
sianic myth,  which  ascribes  all  good  things  to  the  Messiah. 

B.  C.  1406,  Attica.— Greswell.  Kal.   Hell.  I,  pref.,   alludes  to 


86 


(( 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


the  Athenian  solemnity  "  of  B.  C.  1342.  Add  the  63  or  64  years 
dropped  from  the  Roman  calendar  and  we  have  B.C.  1406,  the  aera 
of  Jasius  and  the  Eleusinia. 

B.  C.  1406,  Egypt. — Deification  of  Ousurt  Esen,  sovereign-pon- 
tiff, Xllth  dynasty.  Perrotand  Chipiez,  p.  335.  The  date  is  gained 
approximately  by  allowing  an  average  of  12  or  14  years  to  the  reign 
of  each  of  the  kings  mentioned  by  Bunsen  in  his  correction  of  Mane- 
tho's  dynasties.  It  is  fixed  precisely  in  B.  C.  1406,  because  that  is 
the  christian  date  of  the  Assyrian  and  Greek  incarnations.  (Table 
C.)  Bunsen,  by  allowing  ^^  years  to  each  reign,  carries  Ousurt- 
Esen  back  to  the  24th  century  B.  C,  but  there  is  nothing  to  justify 
such  a  computation. 

B.  C.  1394,  Scylhia. — Marina,  queen  of  the  Amazons,  over- 
runs Cilicia,  Syria,  Arabia  and  Egypt,  in  which  last-named  country 
she  makes  a  treaty  with  Horus,  the  miraculous  offspring  of  Osiris 
and  Isis.  On  her  way  to  Asia,  Marina  worships  the  Mother  of  God 
at  Samothrace,  and  grants  freedom  to  Cilicia.  She  builds  many 
cities,  including  Mitylene  in  Lesbos.  Upon  her  return  from  Egypt 
she  passed  through  Phrygia  and  settled  at  Marina,  a  place  which  she 
named,  on  the  river  Caicus,  between  Pergamus  and  Larissa.  Here 
she  was  attacked  by  the  Thracians,  who  killed  her  and  drove  her 
army  into  Libya,  where  it  perished.  Diodorus  Siculus.  This  is  a 
Scythian  legend  connected  with  the  worship  of  the  Matrem  Deorum, 
which  Tacitus  observed  was  practiced  by  the  Scythian  tribes  of  the 
Baltic  and  of  which  very  ancient  traces  will  be  found  scattered  all 
through  Scythia,  from  Bactria,  westward  to  Scandinavia  and  Thrace. 
The  year  above  attached  to  the  legend  of  Marina  is  the  Hindu  date 
of  the  birth  of  les  Chrishna,  the  first  Buddha.      (Table  B.) 

B.  C.  1394,  India. — Hindu  re-incarnation,  reckoning  backward 
from  Salivahana.  (Table  C.)  Probable  period  of  the  discovery  of 
iron  and  steel  in  the  Orient.  See  B.  C.  1432  for  a  pretended  earlier 
discovery  in  Candia. 

B.  C.  1391,  India. — Parasara's  astronomical  observations  go 
back  to  this  date.  Rev.  Ch.  Pritchard ;  who  also  assigns  the  Vedas  and 
the  Mahabharata  wars  to  the  same  period.  Parasara's  observations 
were  probably  designed  to  commence  with  the  birth  of  les  Chrishna, 
or  the  "First"  Buddha."  (See  above,  year  1394.)  The  three  years' 
variation  are  explained  in  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  ch.  VIII  and 
App.  S.     See  B.  C.  1181  and  B.  C.  576. 

B.  C.  1390,  Assyria. — Incarnation  of  Belus,  or  Bel-Issus.  (See 
above,  years  2235  and  2064).     A  small  stone  cylinder  in  the  British 


^RAS.  87 

Museum  is  ascribed  to  Budi-ela,  "king  of  Assyria,"  and  is  dated  by 
the  Museum  authorities  "B.  C.  1350."  All  the  dates  connected  with 
-the  worship  of  Belus  are  anachronical.  The  cult  of  Belus  is  prob- 
ably not  older  than  the  12th  century,  B.  C.  This  messiah  was 
variously  called  Belus,  Bel,  Bel-Esus,  Bala,  and  Baal.  His  coming 
was  foretold  in  the  sacred  books  of  Chaldea.  The  name  of  his 
celestial  father  is  given  by  the  Greek  writers  as  Jasus,  or  else  Acr- 
isius.  His  putative  father  was  les;  his  virgin  mother  was  Semiramis, 
or  Astarte.  His  birthplace,  in  Baalbec,  was  indicated  by  the 
Messianic  star  which  stood  over  it.  He  was  born  on  the  vernal 
equinox  (the  festival  of  beltane)  to  the  accompaniment  of  flowers 
and  heavenly  music.  He  was  recognized  as  the  Expected  One  by  the 
astrologers,  (belephantes).  Accompanied  by  his  faithful  disciple, 
Oannes,  one  of  ten,  he  performed  many  miracles,  which  were  recorded 
in  the  now  lost  sacred  scriptures  of  his  native  county.  For  preach- 
ing strange  doctrines  he  was  crucified  in  his  33d  year,  on  the  winter 
solstice;  descended  to  hell;  whence  he  rose  again  and  ascended 
bodily  to  heaven.  His  principal  sacrament  was  baptism,  both  by 
water  and  fire;  his  epigraphic  symbol,  the  cross,  which  appears  on 
numerous  Assyrian  and  Chaldean  cylinders;  and  his  zodions  were  the 
Bull  and  Ram  (belier).  Many  remains  of  this  cult  still  exist  in  the 
popular  customs  of  the  older  states  of  Asia  Minor  and  Europe; 
some  perhaps  in  the  British  Isles.  Among  several  jeras  ascribed  to 
Belus,  ranging  from  B.  C.  2064  to  B.  C.  1390,  the  lowest  one  has  been 
selected,  as  being  the  most  plausible,  though  even  this  one  is  prob- 
ably too  ancient. 

B.  C.  1370,  India. — End  of  the  Mahabharata  wars.  Col.  Wilford; 
Pococke,  149  n. 

B.  C.  1370,  India. — Erroneous  aera  of  the  Calijoga.  Rev.  Wm. 
Hales.     See  B.  C.  3102. 

B.  C.  1366,  India. — "Earliest  Buddha,"  according  to  Prinseps, 
"Useful  Tables,"  p.  164.  "  Brahminical  sera  of  Buddha,"  accord- 
ing to  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  II.  This  is  the  "  First  Buddha  "  of  the 
Hindu  pantheon,  and  there  are  many  indications  that  the  date  is  more 
or  less  correct,  though  the  mythos  evidently  belongs  to  les  Chrishna. 
This  Messiah  was  foretold  by  prophets;  he  was  the  son  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  the  Virgin  Maia;  he  was  born  in  the  village  or  town  of 
Rajagriha;  was  recognised  and  worshipped  by  the  Magi  and  by  kings; 
the  messianic  star  stood  over  the  place  of  his  nativity;  a  brilliant 
nimbus  of  light  surrounded  the  holy  infants'  head;  his  complexion 
was  black;  his  hair  woolly;  he  was  prematurely  wise,  and  as  he  grew 


88  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

up,  his  doctrines,  embodied  in  the  Puranas,  were  promulgated  by  ten 
disciples.  Though  he  came  to  reform  mankind  and  save  the  world, 
he  was  himself  persecuted  by  the  reigning  king,  who  caused  him  to 
be  crucified  at  the  age  of  ^^  years.  To  judge  the  dead,  Buddha 
descended  to  the  nether  world  where  he  remained  three  days  and 
nights.  Then  he  arose  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  His  sacra- 
ments were  the  eucharist  and  baptism ;  his  epigraphic  symbols  were 
the  cross  and  svastica;  his  zodion  was  the  Bull;  and  his  images  are 
represented  in  a  sitting  posture,  cross-legged. 

B.  C.  1350,  India. — "Modern  computation"  of  the  date  when 
the  vernal  equinox  corresponded  with  the  first  point  of  Cartica;  the 
Hindu- date  being  1426.  Brennand's  "Hindu  Astronomy,"  London, 
1896,  p.  54.      See  Chapter  IX  herein. 

B.  C.  1350,  Egypt. — First  sera  of  les-iris  (or  Osiris)  and  Isis. 
Epoch,  ist  Thoth,  then  the  22nd  July,  agreeing  with  the  heliacal 
rising  of  Sothis  in  Heliopolis  at  that  period.  (We  would  prefer  B.  C. 
1250  to  B.  C.  1350).  The  orthography  of  les-iris  is  so  given  by 
Hellanicus,  who  visited  Egypt  during  the  5th  century  B.  C.  (Plu- 
tarch, "  Isis  and  Osiris,"  34).  Sothis,  called  by  the  Greeks  Sirius, 
was  the  star  of  Heavenly  Conception;  sothis  meaning  conception. 
Isis  was  both  the  Wife  and  Mother  of  the  Sun;  les-iris  was  the 
progeny,  his  name  signifying  Son  of  God.  The  names  of  the  twelve 
months  of  the  year  cannot  be  traced  higher  than  this  date.  Rev. 
Dr.  Greswell,  Fasti  Cath.,  Ill,  138,  170,  193;  Kal.  Hell,  IV., 
131-3.  Dr.  Greswell  may  have  safely  extended  this  last  observation 
another  astrological  cycle  of  658  years  later.  The  names  of  the 
twelve  months  do  not  appear  to  be  older  than  the  7th  century  B.  C. , 
and  all  western  monuments  which  mention  them  and  profess  to  be  of 
an  older  date  must  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  The  12  signs  (and 
therefore  inferentially  the  12  months)  are  ascribed  to  Anaximander 
of  Miletus,  B.  C.  610-547.  Sir  Wm.  Jones  declared  that  the  Greeks 
and  Arabians  derived  their  zodiacs  from  the  Indians.  So  did  the 
Egyptians.  The  Twelve  months  are  distinctly  Buddhicand  are  cer- 
tainly not  older  than  the  second  Buddhic  sera.  See  B.  C.  692.  Some 
writers  say  that  the  celestial  father  of  Osiris  was  Ammon,  or  Amen; 
others  say  Seb,  or  Set;  others  again,  that  his  putative  father  was 
Menuis.  His  mother's  name  is  variously  given  as  Isis,  Neith,  or 
Nout,  and  Marionymous,  or  the  Thousand-named.  His  natal  star 
was  Sirius;  his  natal  day  was  at  one  period  fixed  at  the  winter  sol- 
stice. Plutarch  in  ancient  times  and  Haliburton  in  modern,  (F.  D. 
30,32)  fixed  the  resurrection  of  Osiris  in  our  November.    These  variant 


^RAS.  89 

dates  may  be  due  to  the  change  from  a  ten  to  a  twelve  months  year, 
or  to  some  other  alterations  of  the  calendar.  Osiris  was  sun-rayed; 
his  complexion  was  black,  and  his  hair  was  woolly.  He  was  included 
in  a  slaughter  of  innocents  ordered  by  Typhon,  from  which  he  of 
course  escaped.  His  legitimacy  was  proved  by  numerous  miracles; 
some  of  his  doctrines  appear  in  the  Book  of  the  Dead ;  the  number  of 
his  disciples  was  10,  afterwards  i2;4iewas  crucified  on  the  vernal 
equinox  (probably  an  altered  date;)  he  descended  to  hell,  where  he 
remained  three  days  and  nights  to  judge  the  dead,  and  he  rose  again 
and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  His  principal  sacrament  was  bap- 
tism; his  emblems  were  the  "  Latin"  cross,  the  crux  ansata  and  the 
Christian  monogram,  while  his  zodion  was  the  Bull  or  Calf  (Apis).  His 
name  is  variously  written  Osiris,  Hes-iris,  les-iris  and  Em-esa.  les- 
iris  (from  Hellenicus)  is  probably  correct.  Em-esa  as  the  equivalent 
of  Crisis  is  given  by  the  Edinburgh  Review,  July,  1893. 

B.  C.  1346,  Greece. — Panathenaic  calendar  of  Ericthonius,  July 
21.     Greswell,  F.  C.  I,  553.      "Panathenaic"  is  doubtful. 

B.  C.  1336,  India. — First  Buddhic  sera,  according  to  Abul-Fazl. 
The  Pandits'   "Chron."     See  B.  C.  1366. 

B.  C.  1334,  Troy.— Fall  of  Troy,  oldest  date;  but  see  B.  C.  1292 
and  1248. 

B.  C.  1332,  India. — Approximate  sera  of  Maryamma,  wife  of  Jam- 
adagni,  a  village  carpenter,  and  the  virgin  mother  of  les  Chrishna, 
the  ninth  incarnation  of  lesnu,  or  Vishnu.  The  name  of  this  di- 
vinity is  written  Maryamma  by  Oppert  and  Mariatala  by  Noel.  The 
latter  regards  her  as  the  mother  of  Parasurama;  the  former  as  the 
sister  of  les  Chrishna.  Oppert  explains  that  amma  means  mother; 
hence  Maryamma  means  Mother  Mary.  She  is  also  called  Gana- 
gamma,  or  Ganga-gamma,  Mother  of  God,  and  has  many  other 
names.  She  is  worshipped  all  over  India,  especially  at  Canaanur,  in 
Trichinopoly,  Chrishna's  birthplace.  Annnal  festivals  to  her  honour 
are  celebrated  with  great  solemnity  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  light 
fortnight  of  the  month  of  Sravana.  This  brings  the  beginning  of 
the  festival  to  the  day  before  Ourgati  Tirounal,  or  birth-day  of  les 
Chrishna,  which  day,  the  use  of  a  lunar  calendar,  has  shifted  about 
three  weeks  back  from  Aswin  ist.  The  festival  is  called  Sitalasap- 
tami  and  lasts  seven  days.  At  these  festivals  Maryamma  is  carried 
about  on  a  gorgeous  car  with  the  same  pomp  as  are  the  statues  of 
Vishnu  and  lesora,  the  latter  being  the  god  with  the  Bleeding 
Heart.  "  On  cdRbre  sa  fete  avec  beaucoup  de  solemnite',  et  on  le  nihie 
en  procession  sur  un  char  avec  autant  de  potnpe  que  les  grands  dieux 


90  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

Vishnu  et  Ixora. "  (Noel.)  Ordinarily  the  sacrifices  consist  of  buffalo 
bulls,  heifers,  or  black  rams,  but  there  have  been  occasions  when 
human  victims  were  immolated,  by  being  persuaded  to  throw  them- 
selves under  the  car,  similar  to  the  practice  of  Juggernaut.  Until 
forbidden  by  the  British  authorities,  hook-swinging,  as  an  act  of  pi- 
ety and  penitence,  by  her  worshippers,  was  common;  and  in  spite  of 
the  legal  interdict,  a  sacrifice  of  this  character  occurred  recently  in 
Colavandan.  Maryamma  is  also  worshipped  daily  in  the  form  of  a 
black  stone  called  Baddukal,  which  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  house- 
hold deity  among  the  Indian  villagers,  each  of  whom  possesses  one. 
The  worship  of  Maryamma  anciently  became  so  popular  among  the 
Sudra  class  that  the  Brahmins,  who  were  unwilling  to  kneel  to  the 
same  divinity  as  their  inferiors,  reduced  her  caste  by  circulating  the 
following  legend:  Maryamma  was  the  principal  one  of  the  nine  sak- 
tis  (graces)  and  was  originally  placed  by  the  supreme  deity  in  com- 
mand of  the  elements,  an  empire  which  she  could  retain  only  so  long 
as  she  remained  unchanged.  When  her  commerce  with  the  grand- 
overs  (winged  spirits  of  the  air;  aurse;  sylphs)  was  discovered,  Ja- 
madagni  persuaded  his  son  to  deprive  his  Holy  Mother  of  life.  The 
request  was  obeyed;  but  Parasurama's  grief  for  his  mother  was 
so  intense  that  his  putative  father  permitted  him  to  recall  the  god- 
dess to  life.  She  was  accordingly  resurrected,  to  the  great  joy  of 
Parasurama  (or  les  Chrishna),  who,  however,  in  joining  the  decapi- 
tated head  of  his  mother  to  a  human  form  selected  the  body  of  a 
Sudra  woman;  so  that  Maryamma  was  no  longer  holy  enough  for 
the  worship  of  high  caste  Brahmins.  The  Sudra  class  make  up  for 
this  by  placing  Maryamma  above  the  supreme  deity.  While  the 
Brahmins  insist  that  she  is  now  only  a  goddess  to  invoke  heaven 
against  diseases  and  especially  the  small-pox,  the  Pariahs  venerate 
her  and  her  infant  son  as  the  most  exalted  of  all  the  divinities,  '"'■Les 
Parias  partagent  leurs  adorations  entre  sa  mere  et  lui  .  .  .  qui  la 
mettent  au  dessus  de  Dieu."  (Noel.)  Her  symbol  is  a  branch  of  the 
margosa,  which  in  all  cases  of  sickness  is  suspended  over  the  bed  of 
the  sufferer.  The  cocoanut,  which  is  thrown  and  broken  on  the 
threshold  of  the  temple;  offerings  of  myrr  and  frakincense;  the 
wood  of  the  Nimb  tree,  upon  which  les  Chrishna  suffered;  and  the 
-custom  of  treading  on  embers  and  walking  through  bonfires;  are  also 
peculiar  to  her  worship.  She  is  the  only  deity  to  whom  salted  fish 
and  other  cooked  dishes  are  offered.  "  She  removes  the  sin  of  those 
who  address  her  with  the  holy  five  letters,  pancasara."  Like  the 
Greek  Medusa,   the  hair  of  Maryamma  is  made  of  twisted  serpents, 


/ERAS.  91 

these  animals  being  an  object  of  sacerdotal  significance  to  the  Hin- 
dus. (So  were  they  to  the  Assyrians,  Egyptians,  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, as  witness  the  stories  of  the  conceptions  of  their  various  in- 
carnations). The  rites  of  Maryamma  have  undoubtedly  been  altered 
since  their  first  inception.  The  length  of  the  annual  festival,  which 
is  now  seven  days,  was  probably  nine  days  in  more  ancient  times. 
The  worship  of  Maryamma  can  be  traced  from  India  into  Asia  Mi- 
nor, with  the  UTtuki  Turcomans  or  Venetians,  of  Pontus  and  Bith- 
ynia,  who,  many  centuries  before  our  sera,  raised  a  shrine  to  her  at 
Piscenus  in  Mariandynia,  a  province  which  was  doubtless  named 
after  this  goddess.  As  in  India,  she  was  worshipped  at  Piscenus  in 
the  form  of  a  black  stone;  probably  an  ^reolite.  This  sacred  stone 
having  been  captured  and  removed  to  Elam  by  a  King  of  Assyria, 
was  afterwards  restored  by  Assur-bani-pal,  in  B.  C.  645,  q.  v.  We 
next  find  the  worship  of  Maryamma  utilized  by  the  deified  Cyrus  of 
Persia,  who  bestowed  her  revered  name  upon  his  own  mother,  a  de- 
vice which  was  imitated  by  Alexander  the  Great,  who  conferred  up- 
on his  mother  the  sacred  name  of  Olympia.  See  B.  C.  533.  The 
Tauri,  probably  related  to  the  lesyges,  established  the  worship  of 
Maryamma  in  the  Crimea  and  the  vicinity.  See  B.  C.  658.  At  a 
later  period  this  venerable  goddess  was  removed  from  Piscenus  to 
Rome,  where  she  became  an  object  of  profound  adoration  to  the 
pious,  especially  to  those  of  the  gentler  sex.  See  B.  C.  205.  The 
black  stone  of  the  Caaba,  in  Mecca,  appears  to  be  related  to  the 
same  worship.  The  Matrem  Deorum  subsequently  made  her  way 
into  Gaul  (see  B.  C.  470)  and  the  Gothic  countries  of  the  Baltic 
(Tacitus),  in  all  of  which  places  she  was  the  especial  divinity  of  the 
poor  and  afi^icted.  Gustav  Oppert,  op.  cit. ;  Fr.  Fawcett,  "Festi- 
vals to  Village  Goddesses"  in  Jour.  Anthrop.  See.  of  Bombay,  II, 
164-224;  and  the  other  authorities  above  cited.  Mr.  Fawcett's  ac- 
count includes  the  significant  circumstance  that  the  services  at  the 
annual  festival  to  Maryamma  have  to  be  conducted  by  a  carpenter. 
Mr.  Oppert  copied  all  of  Fawcett's  account  verbatim  except  the  sen- 
tence which  mentions  the  carpenter. 

B.  C.  1332,  India. — Birth  of  les  Chrishna,  the  ninth  incarnation 
of  lesnu,  or  Vishnu.  Some  authors  say  B.  C.  1315.  (See  B.  C. 
1786.)  The  name  is  spelt  by  the  Abbe  Raynal  as  Christna.  The 
name  of  the  sacred  river  of  India  upon  which  his  principal  temple 
stands  is  spelt  Kristna.  This  is  also  the  name  given  to  his  images 
in  the  Musee  Guimet.  Father  Sonnerat,  "  Voy.  aux  Indes,"  I,  30, 
says  it  is  written  in  the  various  idioms  of  India  as  follows:  Crisnen, 


92  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Criten,  Crixnou,  and  Quichena,  all  of  these  words  meaning  black. 
Noel  gives  Kistner  for  another  variant.  Crixnou  is  probably  the 
origin  of  the  Greek  Ischenou,  while  Quichena  is  that  of  the  Roman 
Quirinus,  from  which  comes  the  existing  Quirinal.  The  advent  of 
Chrishna  was  foretold  in  the  sacred  books;  also  by  Nared,  the  astrol- 
oger. His  celestial  father  is  variously  called  les-saca  and  Brahma; 
his  putative  father,  Josa,  Jesa,  Nanda  and  Jamadagni.  Some  au- 
thorities say  that  the  latter  was  a  carpenter;  others,  a  shepherd.  He 
was  of  the  royal  line  of  Yadu  or  Yudava.  Chrishna's  virgin  moth- 
er's name  is  variously  given  as  Maryamma,  Maritala,  Mai,  Lakshmi, 
Decki,  Devaci,  Adita  and  Vasudeva.  The  Messianic  star  indicated 
the  place  of  Chrishna's  birth,  which  took  place  at  Canaanur,  or 
Mathura  (Brahmin)  or  Gorakpore  (Buddhic),  and  on  the  winter  sol- 
stice. He  was  born  in  a  cave,  among  cowherds.  The  nativity  was 
ushered  in  with  flowers  and  music.  He  was  recognized  by  the  Magi 
and  presented  with  gifts  of  sandal  wood  and  perfumes.  At  the  period 
of  the  nativity  his  putative  father  was  called  away  to  pay  the  taxes. 
Chrishna's  head  shone  with  a  divine  effulgence;  his  complexion  was 
black  and  his  hair  woolly.  A  slaughter  of  the  innocents  was  ordered 
by  King  Kansa  with  the  object  of  destroying  the  infant  Messiah, 
who,  however,  escaped.  He  was  transfigured  and  performed  many 
miracles.  The  doctrines  which  he  preached  are  contained  in  the 
Vedas  and  Puranas.  These  caused  his  betrayal  and  death.  He  par- 
took of  a  last  supper  with  his  ten  disciples  and  was  condemned  to 
death  by  Kansa  and  crucified  at  Kusinara,  upon  a  Nimb  tree,  on  the 
Vernal  equinox  in  the  33rd  year  of  his  age.  To  judge  the  dead  he 
descended  to  the  nether  world  (bhuvana)  where  he  sojourned  three 
days  and  nights,  after  which  he  reappeared  upon  earth,  only  to 
ascend  bodily  to  heaven  (mocksha).  This  event  is  commemorated 
by  the  festival  of  Houli,  for  which  see  B.  C.  1219.  His  principal 
sacraments  were  the  eucharist  and  baptism;  his  epigraphic  symbols 
were  the  cross,  the  bee  and  the  mystic  letters  O  M,  or  A  U  M; 
his  zodion  was  the  Bull.  His  favorite  disciple  was  Ar-joona,  or  Ar- 
jun;  some  say  Jain;  others,  Jon.  His  carne-vale  (masupadu)  lasted 
exactly  40  days.  At  his  death  the  sun  was  eclipsed,  the  earth  shook 
with  violent  commotions  and  ghosts  stalked  the  highways.  His  fa- 
vorite plant,  or  that  of  his  followers,  was  the  margosa,  or  passion- 
flower. The  sole  of  his  foot  was  marked  with  the  lotus.  The  attri- 
bute of  his  images  was  the  spotted  fawn-skin  mantle.  The  sign  of 
his  future  or  last  coming  will  be  his  re-appearance  as  Kalpa,  mounted 
upon  a  white  horse. 


iERAS.  93 

B.  C.  1332,  India. — ^ra  used  by  Kalhana  Pandit,  in  his  "  His- 
tory of  Cashmir. "  Prinsep.  This  is  evidently  the  sera  of  the 
Buddhic  Tes  Chrishna,  whose  later  incarnation  Ramchandra  Gosha 
fixes  in  B.  C.  644. 

B.  C.  1331,  Samos. — Pelasgian  sera.  Approximate  date  of  the 
colonisation  of  Cipar-Issa,  afterwards  called  Samos,  by  an  Oriental 
race  from  Pontus,  who  are  known  by  the  name  of  Pelasgi,  and  who 
appear  to  have  been  connected  with  the  lesiges  of  the  Cimmerian 
Bosphorus,  the  lesiges  of  Tarentum,  the  Phoenicians,  the  Veneti,  the 
Leuco-Syrians,  etc.,  in  short,  an  Oriental  maritime  and  trading  race, 
who  previous  to  the  rise  of  the  Greek  power,  established  a  series  of 
factories  or  trading-posts  stretching  from  the  Palus  Maeotis  along 
the  Southern  shores  of  the  Pontus  and  the  Byzantine  Bosphorus  to 
the  ^gean  sea  and  afterwards  along  the  coasts  and  upon  the  islands 
of  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Western  Ocean.  The  date  is  deduced 
from  several  circumstances: 

i:  Thucydides  (Intro.)  says  that  before  the  Trojan  war  the 
Pelasgians  occupied  the  principal  coasts  of  the  Levant. 

2  :  The  foundation  of  Cadiz  by  the  Phoenicians,  among  whom  must 
be  included  the  Samians,  is  ascribed  to  the  year  iioi,  and  it  must 
have  taken  many  years  to  found  the  series  of  intermediate  island 
colonies  which  enabled  them  to  push  thus  far  westward. 

3:  The  Samians  worshipped  Jasion  and  the  Eight  Cabiri,  or  Chil- 
dren of  the  Sun.  At  the  head  of  these  Disciples  was  Dardanos,  the 
god  or  genius  of  the  Sea.  (The  Prince  of  Mingrelia,  in  Colchis, 
who  rules  a  remnant  of  this  ancient  race,  still  calls  himself  the  Dar- 
dianos,  or  Ruler  of  the  Sea.  He  is  again  mentioned  below.)  The 
relation  between  Jasion  and  Dardanos  in  the  Samian  cult  seems  to 
have  been  similar  to  that  of  the  les  Chrishna  and  Jain  of  the  Hindus, 
or  that  of  Messiah  and  Disciple.  For  these  sacred  characters,  the 
Greeks,  when  they  supplanted  the  lesiges  in  the  Crimea,  substituted 
the  Dioscurii.  The  period  of  the  cult  of  les  Chrishna  and  Jain 
in  Rajputana  and  Guzerat,  varies  from  B.  C.  1332  to  B.  C.  1219. 

4:  The  year  1331  marks  the  re-incarnation  of  Buddha,  (Table  B), 
a  period  when  it  is  most  likely  that  a  schism  would  arise  in  the 
Buddho-Brahminical  church  and  when  new  forms  and  mysteries  of 
worship  and  the  migration  of  non-conformists  would  take  place. 

A  peculiar  custom  appears  to  connect  the  ancient  trading  race  of 
Pontus,  Samos  and  Venetia:  that  of  marrying  the  sea  with  a  ring. 
A  remnant  of  the  Pontine  race,  who  were  driven  by  the  Romans 
from  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus  into  the  mountains  of  Colchis,  existed 


94  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

SO  late  as  the  17th  century  of  our  aera  and  perhaps  exists  yet.  The 
Prince  of  Mingrelia  still  called  himself  Lord  of  the  Sea  and  annually 
wedded  the  ocean  with  a  ring,  though  he  possessed  neither  a  sea-port 
nor  a  ship.  Malte  Brun,  I,  304.  The  story  of  Polycrates  and  the 
emerald  ring  which  he  cast  into  the  sea,  is  evidently  a  Greek  perver- 
sion of  the  custom  which  that  commander  probably  found  and  sup- 
pressed or  modified  at  Samos.  Pliny  says  that  the  ring  of  Polycrates 
was  shown  at  Rome  in  his  day,  but  he  evidently  doubted  the  Greek 
story  and  regarded  the  ring  as  spurious.  The  later  custom  of  the 
doges  of  Venice  is  well  known,  and  though  it  is  said  to  have  been 
invented  by  one  of  the  five  Popes  of  the  year  1197,  it  was  in  fact 
extremely  ancient.  Samos  is  said  to  have  been  successfully  invaded 
by  the  loniaas  under  Prodis  about  B.  C.  1050  and  to  have  had  fac- 
tories or  emporia  at  Perinthus,  (Propontis),  Nagidus  and  Celendaria 
(Cilicia).  After  this  invasion,  Samos  became  a  member  of  the  Ionic 
confederacy. 

By  the  end  of  the  7th  century  B.  C.  the  Samians  were  so  much 
behind  the  age  as  to  be  obliged  to  send  to  Corinth  for  Aminocles,  a 
Greek  ship-wright,  that  he  might  build  ships  for  them.  (Thucydides). 
In  B.  C.  639  Colseus,  a  Samian  captain  with  a  Greek  crew,  was  driven 
westward  to  Tartessus,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Guadalquiver  and 
made  a  profit  of  60  talents  by  trading  with  the  natives.  Herod.  Mel. 
52;  the  date  being  computed  by  the  Encyc.  Brit.  Samos  possessed 
what  Herodotus  considered  the  largest  temple  in  Asia  Minor.  This 
was  erected  to  an  Asiatic  goddess,  the  Matrem  Deorum,  whom  the 
Greeks  call  Demeter,  or  Hera,  and  whose  image,  as  seen  upon  coins, 
resembled  the  goddess  of  Ephesus.  Samos  was  famous  for  its  trading 
fleet,  the  art  of  casting  images  in  bronze,  which  was  here  first  prac- 
tised in  the  Western  world  and  for  its  pottery  or  Samian  ware.  The 
principal  divinity  of  Samos,  Jasion,  invented  the  Mysteries,  patron- 
ised the  culture  of  the  vine  and  generally  possessed  the  attributes  of 
Hermes  or  Dionysius.  Herod.  Thalia,  41 ;  Pliny,  xxxiii,  6;  xxxvii,  2; 
Cicero,  de  Fin.,  iv. 

It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  it  was  the  race  of  traders  and 
navigators  here  alluded  to,  whether  called  Pelasgii,  or  by  some 
local  or  else  characteristic  name,  who  introduced  from  the  Orient 
into  the  West  the  Brahminical  theory  of  divine  incarnations,  media- 
tors, or  messiahs.  Leaving  out  of  view  writings,  because  writings 
are  easily  forged,  the  earliest  valid  monuments  of  the  West  are  not 
only  later  than  those  of  the  East,  they  are  later  than  the  invention  of 
avatars,    or   incarnations;   for   they  all  bear  some   impress  of    this 


^RAS.  95 

mystery.  The  superior  learning,  skill  and  resources  of  the  Phoe- 
nicians naturally  provided  a  ready  acceptance  for  their  religion.  But 
after  they  had  accepted  it  and  modified  or  coloured  it  with  their  own 
myths,  the  natives  everywhere  evinced  an  anxiety  to  get  rid  of  their 
teachers;  perhaps  in  order  that  their  own  versions  of  Chres,  Jasius, 
Jason,  and  Dionysius  might  go  unchallenged.  The  desire  to  supplant 
their  envied  visitors  in  the  lucrative  trade  of  the  Orient  and  of  the 
Western  coasts  might  have  had  no  small  share  in  this  resolution. 
However  this  may  be,  the  Assyrians,  the  Egytians  and  the  Greeks 
attacked  them  upon  every  occasion  or  pretext  that  offered;  yet  it 
was  not  until  after  some  centuries  of  exhausting  resistance  that  the 
Phoenicians  were  eventually  overcome.  In  the  6th  century  B.  C.  the 
Greeks  captured  the  Phoenician  cities  of  the  ^gean  and  of  the  Pontus, 
eastward  to  Colchis  and  the  Palus  Mteotis;  whilst  the  Egyptians 
under  Necho  cut  a  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  and  diverted 
the  oriental  trade,  or  at  least  a  portion  of  it,  into  the  Red  Sea. 
Even  when  the  power  of  the  Greek  States  declined  and  the  remnants 
of  the  Phoenician  communities  along  the  coasts  of  Europe  and  Asia 
Minor  once  more  raised  their  heads,  they  were  assailed  by  a  new  set 
of  conquerors,  the  Romans,  with  the  same  bitterness  that  had  char- 
acterized the  Greeks,  Egyptians  and  Assyrians.  They  were  all  but 
extirpated  at  Tarentum,  Lissa,  Santa  Maura,  Corfu,  Trapesus  and 
other  places  along  the  coasts  of  Greece,  Italy  and  Pontus.  Almost 
the  latest  identification  of  this  people  was  at  Samos,  B.C.  T)^  (?)  when 
Marc  Antony,  the  Roman  Bacchus,  made  that  port  the  refuge  of  his 
fleet. 

B.  C.  1322,  Egypt. — Thoth  ist.  Egyptian  sera,  evidently  taken 
from  the  Nebu-Nazarian  epoch  of  the  Sothiacal  period  ending  with 
the  Divine  Year  A.  D.  139.  Censorinus.  Cf.  Theon  Alexandrinus, 
(4th  cent.)  as  quoted  by  Biot,  "  Recherches,  sur  I'astronomie  Egyp- 
tienne,"  Paris,  1823,  p.  303.  The  equivalent  Roman  day,  July  22nd, 
is  given  by  Greswell,  F.  C.  Ill,  158.  In  the  Alexandrian  Augustan 
calendar  Thoth  ist  corresponded  with  August  29th,  the  birthday  of 
the  Indian  Dennus  and  long' afterwards  the  day  of  Augustus'  Ascen- 
sion, Theon  gives  this  year  as  the  aera  of  Meno-phres  or  Mene- 
phres,  who  is  unknown  to  history.  The  scheme  is  essentially  Chaldean 
and  astrological.  Cf.  Hales,  Chron.,  p.  40;  Prinsep,  Ind.  Ant.  II, 
140;  Records  of  the  Past,  II,  208;  and  Plutarch,  De  Is.  etOs. ,  xiii; 
xlii;  xliii.  Biot's  year  for  this  aera  shows  the  15-year  discrepancy 
between  the  Augustan  and  Christian  calendars. 

B.  C.  1315,  India. — zEraof  lesChrishna,  of  his  death,  according 


Q!)  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

to  ancient  Indian  dates;  of  his  birth,  according  to  Augustan  dates. 
His  coming  was  predicted  or  foretold  by  prophets;  he  was  born  of  a 
Virgin;  at  Mathura;  cradled  and  fostered  by  shepherds;  concealed 
soon  after  his  birth  for  fear  of  being  destroyed  by  the  tyrant  Kansa, 
who  had  ordered  all  the  male  children  to  be  slaughtered,  etc.  All 
this  is  sculptured  at  Elephanta.  "Over  the  head  of  the  principal 
figure  of  the  group  (which  portrays  the  Slaughter  of  the  Innocents) 
are  to  be  seen  the  mitre,  the  crosier  and  the  cross."  Higgins, 
Anacal.  I,  133.  Chrishna,  though  he  had  a  staunch  friend  who  stood 
by  him  in  all  his  trials  and  sufferings,  yet  he  died  a  martyr  on  the 
cross;  descended  into  hell;  returned  to  earth;  and  finally  ascended 
to  heaven.  Maurice,  II,  149.  "The  statue  of  Chrishna  at  Mathura 
is  black;  and  the  temple  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross."  Crawford's 
' '  Researches, "  II,  18.  His  hair  was  woolly ;  and  he  is  so  depicted  in 
all  the  Indian  paintings  and  statues. 

B.  C.  1312,  Chorasmia. — Foundation  aera  of  the  Chorasmians, 
or  Kwar-Ismians,  980  years  before  Alexander  the  Great.  Albiruni's 
"Chronology,"  ed.  Sachau,  p.  39.  The Chorasmii were  a  great  and 
rich  nation  of  Sacse,  who  dwelt  in  Bactria,  on  the  Oxus,  south  of  the 
Aral  and  east  of  the  Caspian  sea.  They  worshipped  the  Sun,  to  whom 
they  sacrificed  horses,  says  Strabo,  XI,  viii,  6  to  8.  They  also 
worshipped  the  incarnations  of  the  Sun,  especially  les  Chrishna,  for 
whose  sera  this  year  is  evidently  meant.  The  principal  city  of  the 
khanate  was  Khiva. 

B.  C.  1311,  China. — Conjectural  original  sera  of  Yao,  the  third 
Messiah  of  the  ancient  Chinese  mythological  scheme,  the  first  being 
Fo-hi  and  the  second  Hoang-ti.  The  various  dates  assigned  to  Yao 
by  Chinese  native  authorities  are  B.  C.  241 1,  2337,  2334,  2331,  2326, 
2303,  2264,  2145,  2145,  2132,  1965,  the  last  being  that  of  the  astrologer 
Hwang-fu-mi,  From  this  date,  which,  though  the  lowest  of  any,  is 
evidently  far  too  ancient,  we  have  ventured  to  subtract  one  Chinese 
"phen,"  or  divine  year,  which  appears  to  have  been  equal  to  654 
common  years.  (See  Chap.  VIII).  Yao  was  assisted  or  supported 
in  his  reign  by  Chun,  or  John.  Yao  was  a  wise  and  virtuous  (myth- 
ological) ruler,  whom,  together  with  his  Twelve  disciples,  the  Chinese 
converted  into  actual  emperors,  adding  four  or  five  more  to  the  line, 
whom  they  probably  took  from  the  mythological  followers  of  Hoang- 
ti  to  enrich  Yao.  It  was  in  the  reign  of  this  fabulous  being  that  the 
Deluge,  hung-shway,  took  place,  as  described  in  the  "Shu-king."  Be- 
tween the  native  dates  above  given  and  some  of  those  brought  to  Eu- 
rope by  Du  Halde  and  other  Jesuit  missionaries,  there  is  a  difference 


jEras,  97 

of  exactly  65  years.  Compare  B.  C.  2474  and  2397  with  241 1  and  2334. 
With  other  dates  the  difference  is  73  years.  Compare  2337  and  2218 
with  2264  and  2145.  This  is  an  indication  that  some  of  the  Chinese 
native  dates  have  come  to  us  through  East  Indian  equivalents,  be- 
tween which  and  our  chronology  there  is  a  difference  of  6;^  years. 
Others  have  come  through  both  Indian  and  Byzantine  equivalents, 
media  which  widen  the  difference  to  73  years.  For  details  concern- 
ing Yao  see  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  Appendix  Q. 

B.  C.  1306,  India. — Institution  of  the  solar  year  and  of  the  festi- 
val of  Durgha,  Mother  of  God,  and  of  Dennus,  Dionysius,  or  lanus, 
Son  of  God.  Correction  of  the  Indian  Calendar,  previously  lunar. 
Head  of  the  year,  ist  Aswin  (then  29th  August).  Greswell,  "K.  H." 
V,  87.  See  B.  C.  11 76.  "The  Indian  Deunnus  and  Durga  were 
absolutely  the  same  kind  of  conceptions  and  impersonations  in  India, 
as  Crisis  and  Isis  in  Egypt."  Greswell,  F.  C,  IV,  31.  De  Milloue 
identifies  Durga  with  Parvati  and  Pritheri.     See  B.  C.  1336. 

B.  C.  ISOO,  India. — vEra  of  Chrishna  Dvaipayana  Jesa,  accord- 
ing to  Ramchandra  Ghosha,  a  modern  writer,  who  says  that  Chrishna 
"re-arranged"  the  Vedas  and  taught  them  to  his  disciples.  The 
abbe  Raynal  writes  this  name  "  Christna  "  which  he  gives  both  to  the 
Indian  Messiah  and  the  sacred  river  of  India. 

B.  C.  1300,  Peloponnesus. — ^ra  of  the  Dorian  Conquest,  when 
the  rites  of  Ceres  (and  Bacchus)  were  suppressed  by  the  Dorians, 
except  in  Arcadia.  Herodotus,  Euterpe,  171 ;  Max  Muller;  Clinton, 
F.  H.,  I,  xii.  Herodotus  adds  that  these  rites  were  brought  from 
Egypt  by  the  daughters  of  Danaus.  This  date  forms  an  important 
link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  which  connects  the  Indian  Chrishna 
with  the'Greek  Bacchus. 

B.  C.  1292,  Troy. — Troja  Capta.  Did.  Sic.  and  several  other 
of  the  Greek  chronologists  count  408  years  from  the  first  Olympiad 
backward  to  Troja  Capta.  This  has  usually  been  counted  backward 
from  the  Olympiads  of  Coroebus,  B.  C.  776,  making  Troja  Capta  B.  C. 
1 184  or  1 183 ;  but  if  it  is  counted  from  the  Olympiads  of  Iphitus,  B.  C. 
884,  as  it  properly  should  be,  it  will  fix  Troja  Capta  in  B.C.  1292  or 
1291.  This  agrees  with  the  seras  of  Perseus,  les  Chrishna,  Bacchus, 
etc.,  and  is 'probably  of  the  same  mythological  orgin. 

B.  C.  1291,  Argos. — False  sera  of  Medusa.  Acrisius,  K.  of 
Argos,  being  told  by  the  oracle  that  he  would  be  killed  by  his  grand- 
child, imprisoned  his  daughter  Danae  in  a  bronze  tower,  that  she 
might  have  no  issue.  In  spite  of  this  precaution  she  was  visited  by 
Jupiter,  the   supreme  deity,  by  whom  she  miraculously  conceived  a 


98  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

son  named  Perseus.  Whereupon  Acrisius  committed  both  Danae 
and  her  divine  infant  to  an  ark,  which  was  launched  upon  the  sea. 
From  this  vessel  they  were  rescued  by  the  fishermen  of  Seriphusand 
protected  by  Polydectes  the  K.  of  this  ^gean  isle.  This  Indian 
legend  is  also  told,  in  various  forms,  of  les  Chrishna,  Foh,  Fod  or 
Bod,  Osiris,  Ericthonius,  Bacchus,  Nyssos,  Adonis,  Tennes,  Cypse- 
lus,  Darius,  Cleomedes,  etc.  The  story  of  Astyges,  Mandane  and 
Cyrus,  in  Herodotus  I,  107,  is  of  similar  origin.  See  also  Madyain 
the  Vishnu  Purana.  Thomas,  "Jainism,"  II,  3.  Among  the  adven- 
tures of  Perseus  are  his  killing  of  Medusa,  queen  of  the  Gorgons, 
who  was  the  vanquisher  and  successor  of  Marina,  queen  of  the  Ama- 
zons, etc.  Diod.  Sic.  This  legend  of  les  Chrishna  evidently 
travelled  from  India  to  China  and  Scythia  and  from  Scythia  into 
Greece  and  Egypt,  where  it  was  adapted  to  the  Scythian  raid  under 
Madyes,  B.  C.  548  q.  v.  The  commentator  upon  Booth's  Diodorus 
fixes  the  slaying  of  Medusa  by  Perseus  in  B.  C.  1291,  which  is  a  few 
years  after  the  Augustan  date  of  the  birth  of  the  first  Buddha,  B.  C. 
1316,  and  one  divine  year  before  the  sack  of  Ascalon.  For  Marina 
see  B.  C.  1394.  For  the  aera  of  Medusa  and  sack  of  Ascalon,  see 
B.  C.  548. 

B.  C.  1290,  Greece. — Aeraof  Inachus,  or  Bacchus,  acording  to 
Aretes,  apud  Censorinus,  ch.  XXI.  Following  are  the  various  other 
aeras  of  Bacchus  cited  by  Censorinus,  who  gives  them  in  years  before 
the  consulate  of  Ulpius  and  Pontianus,  (A.  D.  238).  The  equiva- 
lents are  made  in  years  of  the  present  calendar,  which  begins  in  the 
Olympian  year  776  or  A.  U.  754=A.  D.  i.  Aera  of  Bacchus, 
according  to  Timaeus,  B.  C.  1193;  Eratosthenes,  B.  C.  1183;  Sosibius, 
B.  C.  1171.  When  the  6$  years  which  have  been  sunk  from  the  cal- 
endar are  restored  to  it,  all  these  geras  are  seen  to  be  derived  from 
Chrishna.     See  B.  C.  1156,  ii8i,  1300  and  1306. 

Among  the  many  names  of  Bacchus  were  lacchus,  laccho,  Inachus, 
laku  or  Jaku,  Liber  Pater,  Logon  Pater  and  Dionysius.  His  celestial 
father  was  Zeus,  or  Jupiter;  his  virgin  mother  was  Maia,  though  ac- 
cording to  others  her  name  was  Semele,  Demeter,  Cybele,  Venus 
Melainis  (the  Black)  and  Rhea,  or  Proserpine.  Bacchus  was  born  on 
the  winter  solstice,  either  atNyssain  India,  or  according  to  others, 
Nysa  or  Nissa  in  Arabia;  he  was  born  in  a  cave;  among  shepherds: 
his  head  was  rayed;  and  according  to  Ovid,  Pausanias  and  Anacreon, 
his  complexion  was  black  and  his  hair  woolly,  though  according  to 
others  he  was  of  florid  complexion  with  auburn  hair  parted  in  the 
middle  and  floating  down  in  ringlets.     Some  of  the  extant  images 


iERAS.  99 

are  black;  others  white;  in  all  cases  he  is  portrayed  as  young  and 
beautiful;  the  corpulent  Bacchus  striding  a  wine  barrel  being  a  me- 
disevc'  invention.  Bacchus  was  included  in  a  slaughter  of  infants 
ordered  by  K.  Cadmus,  but  he  escaped.  He  performed  numerous 
well  attested  miracles  and  invented  or  established  many  of  the  most 
useful  arts  known  to  man.  His  doctrines  were  contained  in  the 
Book  of  Petrouma.  The  number  of  his  disciples  was  12.  For 
preaching  levelling  doctrines  he  was  condemned  to  death  by  Cadmus 
and  subjected  to  be  torn  to  pieces,  some  say  crucified,  on  a  vernal 
equinox,  at  the  age  of  ^^  years.  At  his  death  the  sun  was  eclipsed. 
To  judge  the  dead  he  descended  to  Hades,  where  he  remained  three 
days  and  nights;  some  say  a  much  longer  interval.  From  Hades  he 
rose  again  and  finally  ascended  bodily  to  Elysium.  His  sacraments 
were  the  communion,  baptism,  the  oscophoria  and  the  thaumagoria; 
his  emblematic  plant  was  the  ivy;  his  epigraphic  symbols  were  the 
+,  -f",  les,  the  bee,  and  the  mystic  fan;  his  zodion  was  the  Bull; 
and  the  attributes  of  his  images,  the  Cross,  Bleeding  Heart,  Cantha- 
rus,  (or  sacrificial  Cup),  the  staff  of  augury,  the  thyrsus  and  the 
fawn  skin  mantle. 

B.  C.  1290,  Troy  —Fall  of  Troy,  according  to  Aretes,  that  is,  if 
Troja  Capta  is  assumed  to  synchronise  with  his  Bacchic  sera,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  1260,  Arcadia. — April  25.  Aera  of  the  "  Lykgea  of  Arca- 
dia." Greswell,  Kal.  Hellen.,  Ill,  373.  Lyksea  was  a  surname  of 
Diana;  Lykseeus  was  a  surname  of  Pan,  whom  Greswell,  III,  372, 
recognises  as  the  Sun  and  identifies  with  Poseidon  of  Troezen,  Osiris 
of  Egypt  and  Janus  of  Rome.  In  his  Fasti  Cath.  I,  552,  Greswell 
gives  June  25,  B.  C.  1260,  for  the  epoch  of  the  Calendar  of  Pelops. 

B.  C.  12S8,  Troy  — Siege  of  Troy  deduced  from  Herodotus  in 
Euterpe,  145.  He  computes  it  at  above  800  years  before  his  time. 
The  siege  lasted  ten  years  and  therefore  ended  B,  C.  1248,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  1252,  Ionia. — Aera  of  Ancient  Ionia.  Either  this  year,  or 
B.  C.  1248  (q.  V.)  says  Greswell,  K.  H.  Ill,  373. 

B.  C.  1248,  Ionia. — April  25.  Aera  of  Ionia  and  epoch  of  First 
Panionic  cycle.  The  second  cycle  began  April  25,  B.  C.  592.  Gres- 
well, K.  H.  Ill,  373.  These  Panionic  cycles  were  656  years  apart, 
roughly  equal  to  one  astrological  cycle,  or  Divine  Year.  Cf.  Herod- 
otus, Euterpe,  145. 

B.  C.  1248,  Troy^ — Fall  of  Troy  according  to  the  deduction  from 
Herodotus  given  under  B.  C.  1258.  There  are  over  40  different  an- 
cient authorities  who  have  given  a  date  to  this  event,  most  of  them 
derived  from  Eratosthenes,  who  said  "408  years  before  the  first 


lOO  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

Olympiad."  If  the  quadrennial  Olympiads  were  meant,  this  would 
fix  Troja  Capta  in  B.  C.  1183;  if  the  quinquennial  Olympiads,  then 
Troja  Capta  would  answer  to  B.  C.  1291  or  1292,  q.  v.  The  date 
of  Troja  Capta  given  by  the  remaining  authorities  is  as  varied  as  the 
sera  of  Chrishna  or  Bacchus,  from  whose  advent  the  date  (not  the 
story)  of  the  Fall  of  Troy  is  evidently  derived.  Aretes  says  B.  C. 
1290:  Herodotus  (as  above)  1248;  Dicsearchus  12 12  (to  this  date 
should  be  added  the  Augustan  alteration  of  78  years) ;  while  the 
Parian  marbles  say  Thargelion  7th,  1209  (add  78).  The  date  from 
the  Parian  marbles  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  Diognetus  was 
archon  of  Athens  in  B.  C.  264  or  263,  which,  to  the  extent  that  the 
calendar  has  been  altered,  may  be  incorrect.  Herodotus,  Euterpe, 
145,  fixes  Troja  Capta  before  Pan.  Its  most  probable  date  is  B.  C. 
1292. 

B.  C.  1235,  Attica. — ^ra  of  Theseus,  according  to  Rev.  Lem- 
priere.  The  Rev.  E.  Greswell  prefers  B.  C.  1206.  In  point  of  fact 
the  date  should  precede  that  of  Troja  Capta.  The  name  of  Theseus 
is  evidently  a  corruption  of  Esus,  because  the  initial  letter,  0,  theta, 
with  which  the  name  is  spelled,  was  unknown  to  the  Greek  alpha- 
bet at  the  period  assigned  to  Theseus;  theta,  xi,  phi,  and  chi,  hav- 
ing been  invented  by  Palamedes,  a  reputed  grandson  of  Neptune,  at 
a  later  period.  Pliny,  N.  H.  VII,  57.  Theseus  (or  Esus)  was  the 
son  of  Neptune  by  ^thra;  the  putative  father  being  JEgeus,  King 
of  Athens.  Theseus  was  born  at  Genethliam,  the  place  of  the  birth. 
Among  his  ten  famous  exploits  was  his  victory  over  Busiris.  See 
B.  C.  1528.  Most  of  these  adventures,  as  well  as  his  return  to  Ath- 
ens from  Crete,  took  place  on  the  eighth  day  of  a  month,  the  number 
eight  having  (once)  been  sacred  to  Neptune.  Bell's  "Pantheon." 
Hence  the  Athenian  sacrifices  to  Theseus  were  made  on  the  eighth 
day  of  every  month.  Theseus  was  condemned  to  death  by  -^geus, 
but  saved  through  the  recognition  of  the  tokens  he  wore.  A  sacred 
dance,  called  by  the  Delians  the  Crane,  was  performed  at  Delos  in 
his  honor.  The  identical  ship  in  which  he  had  voyaged  from  Crete 
was  preserved  in  Athens  for  over  a  thousand  years!  He  changed  the 
the  name  of  the  city  from  Attis  to  Athens;  he  instituted  the  Pana- 
thensea  and  the  Synoecia;  he  coined  money  stamped  with  the  figure 
of  a  bull,  or  ox;  he  established  the  Isthmian  games  to  Neptune;  he 
voyaged  into  the  Euxine  to  wage  war  against  the  Scythian  amazons; 
he  saved  Athens  by  marrying  their  leader,  Hippolyta,  who  otherwise 
would  have  entered  and  destroyed  the  city;  and  his  sons  went  into 
the  Trojan  war.     He  descended  into  hell  to  carry  off  Prosperine  and 


^RAS.  lOI 

afterwards  rose  again  to  life.  Finally  he  was  shown  the  riches  of 
the  earth  by  Lycomedes  from  the  top  of  a  high  rock,  from  which  he 
was  treacherously  thrown  and  killed.  After  the  death  of  Theseus 
his  bones  were  preserved  by  the  Athenians  as  sacred  relics  and  his 
tomb  became  a  sanctuary  for  the  poor  and  oppressed.  The  story  of 
Thesues  is  evidently  that  of  the  Pelasgian  Ischenou,  distorted  and 
embellished  by  Greek  fancy. 

B.  C.  1225,  Argos. — Year  of  the  Argonautic  expedition,  accord- 
ing to  Rev.  Dr.  Clinton.  Rev.  E.  Greswell,  K.  H.,  II,  485,  prefers 
B.  C.  1230  and  says  that  Orpheus  took  part  in  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  Geodfrey  Higgins,  Anacal.  I,  344,  and  Dr.  Daniel  Rutherford 
regard  the  story  as  altogether  fictitious.  Rutherford  says  that  the 
star  Canopus  which  is  said  to  have  guided  the  adventurers,  was  in 
fact  not  visible  from  Greece.     Higgins  says  it  is  an  Indian  tale. 

B.  C.  1225,  Venetia. — Conjectural  sera  of  Diomede,  a  surname 
of  Jason  (Myth,  de  Banier,  t.  VI),  to  whom  a  temple  was  erected  in 
Timatum,  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic  Gulf,  now  San  Giovanni  del 
Carso,  and  after  whom  were  named  the  Diomedean  Islands,  on  the 
east  coast  of  Italy.  One  of  these  islands  was  called  Teutria,  or 
Taat-ria,  which,  in  the  language  of  the  Veneti,  meant  the  city  of 
Taat.  There  was  also  a  city  of  Teate  on  the  adjacent  mainland.  In 
the  former,  according  to  the  Veneti,  this  divinity  received  his  Apoth- 
eosis, and  from  this  place  he  vanished,  or  ascended  to  heaven.  The 
place-names  are  Buddhic.  The  victims  sacrificed  by  the  Veneti  to 
Jason  were  white  horses.  Strabo  V,  i,  10;  VI,  iii,  9.  The  aera  of 
this  myth  of  Jason  has  been  fixed  with  regard  to  the  period  ascribed 
to  the  Argonautic  Expedition.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  ancient 
Veneti  worshipped  Jason,  with  probably  a  sacrifice  of  horses ;  but 
much  of  the  rest  is  Greek  fable  and  perversion.  In  the  Odyssey 
XVII,  443,  Diomede  is  changed  to  Dmetor,  son  of  Jasus,  king  of 
Cyprus. 

B.  C.  1219,  Rajputana. — Jain  sera  of  the  incarnation  of  les 
Chrishna,  Son  of  the  Virgin  Mai  (or  Deoki),  the  Mediator  and  Sa- 
viour of  mankind,  to  whose  worship  have  been  erected  some  of  the 
most  magnificent  temples  in  India.  Prominent  among  these  are  the 
shrines  of  Dilwara,  orDiluara  and  Duarka,  variously  written  Dwarka, 
Dwaraca,  Dwarica,  etc.  Dilwara  is  situated  half  way  up  Guru  Sikra 
(the  "Saint's  Steeple"),  a  lofty  summit  of  the  Aravulli  Range  in 
Rajputana.  It  consists  of  four  temples  arranged  in  the  form  of  a 
cross,  which,  says  Col.  Tod,  form  the  most  superb  structure  in  all 
India.     The  site  was  purchased  at  the  expense  of  covering  it  com- 


I02  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

pletely  with  silver  coins  and  the  total  cost  of  the  buildings  and  site 
fell  but  little  short  of  $100,000,000.  The  dates  of  the  structures 
range  from  the  nth  to  the  15th  centuries  of  our  sera.  Dwarka  is 
situated  on  the  promontory  at  the  southern  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of 
Cutch.  Here  splendid  shrines  are  erected  to  Chrishna  and  Deoki. 
It  is  this  location  and  the  surrounding  topography  and  place-names 
from  which  Pococke  drew  the  famous  parallel  with  the  temple  of 
Crissa,  on  the  shores  of  the  Crissean  Sea,  near  the  Gulf  of  Salona, 
in  Greece.     The  coincidences  are  certainly  very  remarkable. 

The  Jains  trace  the  establishment  of  their  religion  on  its  present 
basis  to  Parsavanasa,  about  B.  C.  800.  They  are  divided  into  two 
sects,  whose  tenets,  a  mingling  of  Brahminism  and  Buddhism,  do 
not  essentially  differ.  To  them  the  creation  is  eternal,  but  not  so 
the  heavenly  incarnations  of  the  Deity,  who,  at  the  beginning  of 
each  Divine  Year,  are  sent  to  restore  peace  on  earth  and  re-establish 
the  affairs  of  mankind.  These  avatars  return  to  the  bosom  of  the 
Eternal  into  which  they  are  absorbed  for  a  time  to  again  and  again 
issue  forth  in  the  metempsychosis.  The  most  eminent  convert  to 
Jainism  was  Asoka,  B.  C.  263,  who  at  first  professed  himself  a  wor- 
shipper of  les  Chrishna,  but  finally  went  over  to  Buddhism  pure  and 
simple.  Thomas,  "Jainism,"  p.  8.  That  form  of  the  cross  called 
the  svastika  was  the  symbol  of  Suparswa,  the  seventh  Ticthankaru 
of  the  Jains.  The  following  table  supplies  the  various  Jain,  or 
Janus  aeras;  those  in  brackets  being  regarded  as  erroneous; 

B.  C.  SWETAMBARA    JAINS. 

1 2 19. — Incarnation  of  les  Chrishna,  1156  years  before  the  Vicrama- 

ditya  of  B.  C.  62,.     Col.  Wilford,  Asiat.  Res.  IX,  209. 
1207. — Birth  of  Jain,   the  Disciple,    12  years  later.      He  lived  257 

years  and  died  B.  C.  950. 
545-4. — Re-incarnation  of  les  Chrishna.      Duff  Rickmers.    This  date 

is  one  pseudo-Brahminical  Divine  Year,  or  675  common  years 

after  B.  C.  1219. 
533-2. — Second  appearance  of  Jain,  the  Mahavira,  one  Divine  year 

after  B.  C.  1207,  or  470  years  before  the  Vicrama  of  B.  C. 

6T).     Gen.  Cunningham  calls  this  a  nirvana  of  Mahavira. 
528-7. — Mahavira,  470  years  before  the  Vicrama  of  B.  C.  57.     Cun- 
ningham. 

B.  C.  DIGAMBARA    JAINS. 

1219. — Incarnation  of  les  Chrishna,  1297  years  before  the  Vicrama- 
ditya  of  A.  D.  78. 


iERAS.  103 

B.  C.  DIGAMBARA  JAINS. CONTINUED. 

1 1 78. — (Incarnation  of  les  Chrishna.  Variant  date.) 
1108. — (Incarnation  of  les  Chrishna.  Variant  date.) 
1078. — Incarnation  of  les  Chrishna,  1156  years  before  the  Vicrama- 

ditya  of  A.  D.  78.     Col.  Wilford,  op.>  cit. 
1036. — Jain,  the  Disciple,  born  42  years  later.     He  lived  86  years 

and  died  B.  C.  950.     Wilford. 
662. — (Mahavira,  605  years  before  the  Vicrama  of  B.  C.  57.     Cun- 
ningham.) 
629. — (Jain  aera.     The  Pandits'    "Chronology.") 
569. — (Jain  Mahavira.     The  Pandits.) 
528-7. — Re-incarnation  of  les  Chrishna,  one  Buddhic  Divine  year, 
550  common  years,  after  B.  C.  1078  or  605  years  before  A.  D. 
78.     Gen.  Cunningham  has  discovered  monumental  proofs  of 
Jainism  at  this  date.     Thomas,  "  Jainism,"  II,  80. 

A.  D. 

800. — ^ra  of  Avarsha,  son  of  Govinda,  a  Digambara  rajah  of  Gu- 
zerat,  in  the  year  of  Salivahana  736,  which,  being  computed 
from  A.  D.  63-4,  is  equal  to  A.  D.  800. 

The  Jain  sera  of  les  Chrishna  must  not  be  mistaken  for  the  Jain 
Anno  Mundi,  which  is  far  more  ancient.  The  confusion  into  which 
some  of  these  seras  are  thrown  is  largely  due  to  the  alterations  of  the 
Roman  calendar.  For  example,  the  incarnation  of  les  Chrishna  is 
fixed  by  the  Swetambaras  in  the  equivalent  of  B.  C.  12 19  and  by  the 
Digambaras,  in  the  equivalent  of  B.  C.  1078;  a  difference  of  141 
years.  This  is  precisely  the  difference  between  the  Salivahanna  or 
Vicamaditya  of  B.  C.  6^  and  that  of  A.  D.  78.  The  Indian  accounts 
are  chronologically  correct  and  harmonious:  it  is  our  own  thrice  al- 
tered calendar  that  makes  them  appear  discordant.  The  Jain  colos- 
sal statues  of  Iswaru  (les)  at  Bellagolla  and  other  places  in  India 
have  woolly  hair.     Davis,  in  Asiatic  Researches,  IX,  256-64. 

B.  C.  1219,  Rajputana. — Swetambara  aera  of  the  Caliioga- 
Wilford,  op.  cit. 

B.C.  1219,  Elis. — JEraoi  Ischenus,  or  Ischenou,7crjej^oi;,  whose 
holy  sepulchre  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  stadium  of  Pisa,  a  city 
situated  on  the  river  Alpheus  in  Elis.  See  Lycophron,  in  "  Cassan- 
dra," circ.  B.  C.  260  and  the  Commentary  of  Tzetzes.  This  sepulchre 
was  successively  called  the  tomb  of  Pelops,  of  Poseidon,  etc.  Pindar; 
Pliny;  Dio  Chrysostom.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Alpheus  stood  the 
promontory  of  Ichthys,  the  Fish.    Pliny,   N.  H.  IV,  6.      The  date 


I04  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

when  this  name  was  given  it  is  unknown.  Ischenus,  (evidently  a  cor- 
ruption of  les  Chrishna),  was  the  god  of  the  Veneti,  who,  after  his 
adoption  by  the  Greeks,  was  affected  by  the  priests  to  be  the  grand- 
son of  Mercury  and  of  Hera  "our  Lady,"  a  sobriquet  of  Juno. 
There  was  an  annual  festival  to  Ischenus,  called  Ischenia;  also  a  quin- 
quennial one,  the  celebrated  festival,  which  successively  bore  the 
name  of  Ischenia,  Cronia,  Pelopeia,  and  Olympiade.  The  fable  that 
Pelops  was  the  son  of  Jupiter  and  that  he  came  from  Phrygia,  also 
the  fact  that  he  was  worshipped  as  a  god,  belongs  to  a  later  age  than 
the  worship  either  of  Ischenus,  or  of  Cronos.  Pliny,  N.  H.  XXVIII, 
6,  says  that  the  ivory  rib  of  Pelops  was  preserved  at  Elis.  Pausanius, 
V,  xiii,  3,  says  that  the  relic  was  the  shoulder-blade  of  Pelops,  which 
had  been  miraculously  recovered  from  the  ocean.  It  had  no  doubt 
been  previously  venerated  as  a  relic  of  Ischenus.  Both  this  and  the 
colossal  foot  of  Hercules,  which  measured  the  course  of  the  stadium, 
are  legends  of  the  first  Buddha  and  are  doubtless  of  Pontine  and 
Oriental  origin.  The  sacred  festival  and  exercises  successively 
called  Ischenia,  Cronia  (in  Latin,  Saturnalia)  Pelopeia  and  Olym- 
piade, took  place  every  five  years  and  lasted  for  five  days,  occupying 
the  epagomenae,  or  interval,  which  distinguished  the  year  of  360 
from  that  of  365  days;  a  proof  that  the  Ischenia  were  instituted  be- 
fore the  discovery  of  the  Julian  year  of  365^  days.  As  such  dis- 
covery (so  far  as  it  related  to  the  Occident),  is  attributed  to  the  6th 
century  B.  C,  while  the  quinquennial  Ischenia,  even  after  they  came 
to  be  known  as  Olympiades,  are  assigned  to  the  9th  century  B.  C, 
it  might  seem  to  be  superfluous  to  mention  this  deduction.  But  it 
must  be  borne  in  m^ind  that  the  assignment  of  the  Julian  year  to  the 
6th  century  is  a  fact,  or  at  all  events  an  approximation  to  the  truth; 
while  the  celebration  of  the  Olympiades  in  the  9th  century  B.C.,  is  a 
fable.  The  Babylonians  had  a  similar  five-day  festival  to  Anai'tis,  which 
was  approximately  called  the  Sacaen  or  Sakaen;  the  Phrygians  had  a 
similar  one  to  Attis  and  Cybele,  mother  of  the  gods.  In  Elis,  at 
the  end  of  five  years,  the  five  epagomenase  were  made  up  into  an 
intercalary  month  called  Cronia.  Plutarch  in  Theseus  assigns  this 
month  by  name  and  dedication  to  this  hero;  whose  aera,  it  should  be 
stated,  coincides  with  that  of  Ischenus.  In  the  Greek  states  the 
Olympiads — if  this  familiar  name  may  properly  be  used  in  alluding 
to  their  archaic  phrase — were  celebrated  every  five  years;  and  as 
these  periods  were  universally  employed  for  the  computation  of  time, 
a  correct  knowledge  of  their  origin  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest  to 
the  chronologer  and  historian. 


iERAS.  105 

The  classical  story  is  that  the  five-year  Olympiads  were  instituted 
by  Jasius,  B.  C.  1406;  revived  by  Iphitus  king  of  Elis,  and  Lycurgus 
king  of  Sparta,  B.  C.  884;  and  altered  to  four-year  periods  and 
named  after  Coroebus,  in  B.  C.  776;  the  first  and  last  of  these  attri- 
butions and  dates  being  fabulous.  The  five-year  festivals  or  penta- 
eteris  cannot  be  historically  traced  back  farther  than  the  festival  and 
sera  of  Ischenus,  nor  was  this  earlier  than  the  Indian  sera  of  les 
Chrishna,  of  which  it  is  doubtless  an  adaptation.  Its  epoch,  there- 
fore, is  about  B.  C.  12 19,  concerning  which  we  have  the  explicit 
testimony  of  Valleius  Paterculus,  I,  7:  "Hoc  sacrum  eodum  loco 
instuisse  fertur  abhinc  annos  MCCL,  Atreus  cum  Pelopi  patre  fune- 
bris  ludos  faceret,"  that  is  to  say,  1250  years  before  the  consulate  of 
of  M.  Vinucius,  A.  U.  783,  or  A,  D.  30.  This  is  equal  to  B.  C. 
1220. 

The  altar  at  Olympia  which  was  common  to  Cronios  and  Helios; 
the  name  of  Elis  itself,  which  is  probably  a  form  of  Helios  (the  Sun); 
and  the  testimony  of  Pausanius  III,  61,  that  a  stated  or  regular  sac- 
rifice was  there  annually  made  on  the  vernal  equinox,  suggest  that, 
following  the  Indian  Houli,  the  annual  Ischenia  were  originally  cele- 
brated at  this  period  of  the  year.  However,  the  festival  was 
afterwards,  date  unknown,  transferred  to  the  full  moon  following 
midsummer,  and  eventually  to  midwinter.  The  quinquennial  Ischenia 
like  its  original  in  India,  was  always  celebrated  at  midsummer. 
"Story  of  the  Gods,"  IV,  4. 

Among  the  attributes  which  were  common  to  both  les  Chrishna 
(the  Indian  Dionysius)  and  to  Ischenus  (the  Greek  Dionysius),  were 
the  cross,  the  sacerdotal  cup  and  the  mantle  of  fawn-skin  with  white 
spots,  mentioned  in  Pliny,  N.  H.,  VIII,  31.  The  Tanagra  terra 
cottas  in  the  British  Museum  may  belong  to  the  same  cult.  Among 
these  are  No.  C.  293  (39)  a  bearded  and  rayed  Figure  entitled 
"  Dionysius  holding  a  cantharus  "  (sacerdotal  cup) ;  the  rayed  Virgin 
holding  a  Bleeding  Heart;  No.  C.  278,  Holy  Mother  and  Child;  and 
No.  B.  412,  Ischenus  (?)  with  a  Lamb  upon  his  shoulders.  All  of 
these  attributes,  not  the  figures,  are  shown  to  be  both  oriental  and 
Dionysian,  in  the  cuts  published  by  Rev.  Alex.  Hislop,  in  his  "Two 
Babylons  "  and  in  Maurice's  "Indian  Antiquities." 

The  Olympiads  as  four-year  intervals  are  not  referred  to  by  Homer 
or  Hesiod.  Herodotus  frequently  mentions  the  Olympian  games, 
but  he  does  not  state  their  interval  nor  employ  them  as  dates.  Be- 
tween Herodotus  and  Timgeus  there  are  no  writings  from  which  it 
can  be  deduced  that  they  were   regarded  as   four-year  intervals. 


I06  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Acusilaus  and  Hellanicus,  for  all  that  can  be  shown  to  the  contrary, 
may  have  meant  them  for  five-year  periods.  Cf.  Africanus  and  Eu- 
sebius,  (Prep.  Evan.  X,  lo).  Nor  is  it  certain  that  Timseus  meant 
them  for  four-year  and  not  for  five-year  periods.  Had  Caesar  ordered 
the  Olympiads  to  be  reckoned  as  four-year  instead  of  five-year  pe- 
riods, the  difference  which  this  would  have  made  in  ancient  chronology, 
which  is  io8  years,  is  fully  represented  in  the  discordant  dates  of 
Troja  Capta.  What  is  certain  about  them  is  that  the  Olympiads 
even  after  the  name  of  Olympiads  was  taken  from  them,  never  lost 
their  name  of  five-year  periods;  to  the  last  they  were  always  called 
pentaeteris,  or  quinquennales,  both  of  which  terms  relate  to  five  and 
not  fouf  years. 

Phlegon  or  Tralles,  (tempo  Hadrianus),  says  that  the  olive  crown 
was  instituted  in  the  7th  olympiad  after  Iphitus,  and  won  by  Daicles, 
of  Messina.  This  event  is  commonly  assigned  in  chronological  works 
to  B.  C.  752;  but  the  computation  is  without  warrant.  For  ail  we 
know  to  the  contrary,  Daicles  may  have  won  his  prize  in  B.  C.  854. 

Turning  now  to  the  four-year  olympiads,  they  could  not  have  been 
earlier  than  the  Julian  year,  because  the  only  event  they  celebrated 
was  what  we  now  call  the  leap-year,  which  is  peculiar  to  that  cycle. 
There  are  many  reasons  for  believing  that  the  four-year  olympiads 
are  not  earlier  than  the  Roman  imperial  period.  After  the  institu- 
tion of  the  four-year  periods,  in  chronology,  the  quinquennales  were 
called  Caesar's  Games  and  they  ceased  to  be  known  as  Olympiads. 
This  was  in  the  Augustan  age.  In  the  reign  of  Tiberius  they  were 
called  Augustan  games.  See  B.  C.  63  for  further  mention  of  them. 
Ischenou  had  ten  disciples;  his  earlier  zodion  was  the  Bull;  after- 
wards the  Lamb  and  the  Fishes. 

B.  C.  1206,  Attica. — Death  of  Theseus,  according  to  Gresswell, 
K.  H.,  IV,  513. 

B.  C.  1200,  Egypt. — ^ra  of  Rhampsinitus,  according  to  Blair. 
Variants  of  name,  Ram-Ies,  Rhempsis.  Bryant  identifies  him  with 
Orus,  or  Horus,  Thammuz,  Adonis,  etc.  He  was  miraculously  born 
of  a  Virgin,  died  at  the  winter  solstice,  descended  to  hell,  rose  again 
and  ascended  to  heaven,  etc..  Herodotus  says  that  the  resurrection 
of  the  Messiah  was  celebrated  in  his  day  by  a  solemn  festival. 

B.  C.  1193,  Southern  India. — ^ra  of  Parasurama,  accoraing 
to  one  of  the  calculations  in  Bentley's  "Hindu  Astronomy."  This 
is  sixteen  years  earlier  than  the  common  reckoning,  which  is  B.  C. 
1177. 

B.  C.  1193,  Argos. — Inachus,  according  to  Timaeus,  in  Censo- 


^RAS.  107 

rinus  XX.      See  the  Hebrew  Inachus,  or  Enoch,  under  B.  C.  1188. 

B.C.  1188,Judea. — Conjectural  aera  of  Enoch.  According  to 
Rev.  Wm.  Hales,  author  of  "  Chronology  upon  scriptural  and  scien- 
tific principles  .  .  .  tending  to  obviate  the  cavils  of  Sceptics,  Jews, 
and  infidels,"  London,  1830,  p.  36,  "The  apochryphal  Book  of 
Enoch  states  that  the  '  Archangel  Ariel,  president  of  the  stars,  dis- 
covered the  nature  of  the  month  and  of  the  year  to  Enoch,  in  the 
165th  year  of  his  age  and  the  year  of  the  world  1286.' "  On  p.  loi 
Dr.  Hales  follows  the  Greek  Church  and  assigns  the  Creation  to  B.  C. 
541 1 ;  hence,  by  his  reckoning,  Enoch's  revelation  of  the  month  and 
year  was  in  B.  C.  4125.  According  to  the  Hebrew  calendar  this  was 
365  years  before  the  Creation.  But  as  the  Book  of  Enoch  was  pre- 
sumably a  Hebrew  (or  Hebraicised)  work  and  as  the  Anno  Mundi  of 
the  Hebrews  was  fixed  in  B.  C.  3760  it  follows  that  Enoch's  revela- 
tion was  intended  to  be  fixed  in  B.  C.  2474,  which  is  the  period  of 
the  Chinese  Jove  (Yao)  to  whose  regulation  of  the  calendar  this 
legend  appears  to  bear  some  resemblance.  If  from  this  starting 
point  the  1 286  years  of  Enoch  are  again  deducted,  the  product  is  B.  C. 
1 188,  which  is  approximately  the  sera  of  the  Indian  Parasurama  and 
the  Greek  Inachus.  Higgins  says  that  the  Book  of  Enoch  was 
quoted  by  Eupolemos,  about  B.  C.  200.  Anacal.  I,  545.  Both  the 
name,  the  date  and  the  story  are  of  astrological  origin. 

B.  C.  1183,  Greece. — ^ra  of  Inachus,  also  of  Troja  Capta,  ac- 
cording to  Eratosthenes.  Censorinus  XXI;  Clinton,  F.  H.  I,  139, 
et  al.  Callimachus  fixes  the  sera  of  Inachus  in  a  year  equal  to  B.  C. 
1127  ;  both  of  these  computations  being  reckoned  backward  from  the 
four-year  Olympiads.  Here  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  between  all 
the  dates  of  Eratosthenes  and  Callimachus  there  is  a  difference  of 
just  56  years  until  they  come  to  the  four-year  Olympiads  (of  Coroe- 
bus),  B.  C.  776,  when  they  agree.  This  variance  may  be  due  to  a 
difference  in  using  a  starting  point  for  both  previous  and  subsequent 
dates,  namely,  at  the  five-year  Olympiads  of  Iphitus,  whose  aera  Era- 
tosthenes fixes  in  B.  C.  884,  while  Callimachus  fixes  it  in  B.  C.  828. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  due  to  the  alteration  of  the  calendar 
by  Augustus  Caesar. 

B.  C.  1183,  Troy. — Troja  Capta,  apud  Eratosthenes,  Apollo- 
dorus;  Dion.  Hal.;  and  Dio.  Sic.  Computed  from  the  four-year- 
Olympiads. 

B.  C.  1182,  Southern  India. — Incarnation  of  Parasurama,  ac- 
cording to  another  calculation  of  Bentley,  op.  cit.  This  is  five  years 
earlier  than  the  common  reckoning.  Another  European  calculation 
says  B.  C.  1181. 


Io8  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  1181,  India. — Festival  of  Durgha  celebrated  this  year. 
Owing  to  more  correct  astronomical  data,  which  were  obtained  B.  C. 
945,  the  date  of  the  Festival  of  Durgha  was  put  back  to  B.  C,  1192. 
Brennand,  op.  cit,  61. 

B.  C.  1181,  India. — ^ra  of  the  Indian  astronomer  Parasara  and 
of  the  INIahabharata  wars.  Brennand.  For  Parasara  see  also  B.  C. 
1391  and  596. 

B.  C.  1181,  Troy.—"  Fall  of  Troy, "according  to  Greswell,  K.H., 

I,  303- 

B.  C.  1178,  India. — Digambara  variation  of  the  sera  of  les 
Chrishna.      See  B.  C.  1219. 

B.  C.  1177,  Southern  India. — ^ra  of  Parasurama  and  his  ten 
disciples.  Common  reckoning.  Greswell,  F.  C.  IV,  31.  By  some 
writers  this  incarnation  is  called  Dennus.  Parasurama  was  the 
eighth  incarnation  of  lesnu  or  Vishnu,  as  les  Chrishna  was  the 
ninth;  yet  the  followers  of  the  latter  have  attributed  a  greater  an- 
tiquity to  their  divinity  than  the  followers  of  the  former  have  given 
to  theirs.  The  epoch  was  Aswin  ist,  agreeing  with  our  August  29th. 
Cowasjee  Patell  regards  this  as  the  period  (Aswin  ist,  B.  C.  11 76) 
when  the  solar  calendar  was  adopted  in  Southern  India.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  planetary  character  of  Jupiter,  the  basis  of  the  Jovian 
cult  is  also  to  be  ascribed  to  (about)  the  same  period.  It  is  rather 
singular  that  the  worshippers  of  Augustus  Caesar  should  have  changed 
his  ascension  day  in  the  calendar  from  February  26th  to  the  birth- 
day of  Parasurama,  August  29th.  In  the  Roman  ecclesiastical  calen- 
dar it  is  still  called  the  day  of  "  Saint  Augustine." 

B.  C.  1176,  Southern  India. — Parasurama,  or  Quilon,  or  Kol- 
1am  (western)  aera  confined  to  Malayana,  /.  e.,  Mangalore,  Malabar, 
Cotiote,  and  Travancor  to  Cape  Comorin.  This  year,  says  Cowasjee 
Patell,  the  Indians  changed  from  a  lunar  to  a  solar  calendar,  begin- 
ning with  ist  Aswina==29th  August.  Gen.  Cunningham,  op.  cit. 
This  was  the  birthday  of  the  Indian  Dennus.  It  was  also  connected 
with  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mother.  It  was  long  afterward 
adopted  for  the  alleged  ascension  day  of  the  Roman  Augustus.  It 
is  still  the  day  of  "  Saint  Augustine."  See  B.  C.  1306  and  dy,  and 
A.  D.  14  and  825.      Cf.  the  Pandits'   "  Chron." 

B.  C.  1176,  India. — Most  probable  date  when  the  orbit  of  Jupi- 
ter was  determined  and  the  Jovian  cycles  were  commenced  to  be 
used  for  computing  time.  This  conjecture  is  based  in  part  upon  the 
periods  when  sidereal,  or  else  solar,  years  (Pan  cycles),   instead  of 


^RAS.  109 

lunar  ones,  were  begun  to  be  actually  employed  in  India  and  in  the 
Greek  states,  both  in  Asia  and  Europe. 

B.  C.  1171,  Greece. — ^ra  of  Inachus,  according  to  Sosibius, 
cited  in  Censorinus,  XX.     See  B.  C.  1290. 

B.  C.  1169,  India. — The  various  seras  which  cluster  around  this 
period,  viz.,  B.C.  1193,  Parasurama;  1193,  Inachus;  1183,  Inachus; 
1183,  Troja  Capta;  1182,  Parsurama;  1181,  TrojaCapta;  1178,  les 
Chrishna;  1177,  Parasurama;  1176,  Dennus;  1171,  Inachus;  and 
1 156,  les  Chrishna,  are  drawn  variously  from  Indian  and  Greek 
sources,  a  conjunction  which  when  they  are  corrected  by  the  addi- 
tion of  78  or  else  108  years  points  to  this  period  as  the  date  of  some 
actual  event  of  world  wide  importance.  The  statement  of  Cowasjee 
Patell  that  this  year  the  Indians  changed  from  a  lunar  to  a  solar 
(sidereal)  calendar;  the  adoption  of  the  ist  Aswin  (our  29th  August) 
as  the  head  of  the  calendar;  the  connection  of  the  Indian  les 
Chrishna,  Dennus,  or  Dionysius  with  the  Greek  Inachus  or  Bacchus 
of  this  period;  the  aera  of  the  worship  of  Zeus-pitar,  Jupiter  or  Jove 
in  Asia  Minor  and  Greece — these  and  the  other  considerations  al- 
luded to  elsewhere  in  this  work  point  to  this  period  as  that  of  the  re- 
construction of  the  Brahminical,  Chaldean  and  Greek  astrologies. 

B.  C.  1156,  India. — ^ra  of  les  Chrishna,  according  to  Col.  Tod. 
See  B.  C.  131 5  for  details  concerning  this  favorite  incarnation  of  the 
Orient. 

B.  C.  1144,  Thebes, — Conjectural  date  of  the  Nativity  of  the 
Scythian  or  Indian  messiah  known  to  the  Greeks  as  the  Indian  Bac- 
chus, or  the  Bearded  Bacchus,  or  Dionysius,  who  was  born  in  Nyssa, 
near  Mount  Meroe,  a  mythological  location,  which  Alexander  the 
Great  pretended  to  identify,  on  his  march  to  the  Indus.  Here,  at 
Nyssa,  his  soldiers  sacrificed  to  the  great  oriental  Conqueror  of  the 
World,  whose  footsteps  the  Macedonian  declared  he  was  retracing. 
Pliny,  N.  H.  VI,  23;  Justin,  XII,  7.  The  Zendavesta  places  Nyssa, 
or  Nissa,  between  Bactria  and  Merv.  Duncker's  "Persia,"  31.  But 
indeed  there  were  Nissas  and  Meroes  in  all  countries  which  laid 
claim  to  the  honour  of  having  given  birth  to  les  Chrishna  or  Bac- 
chus. Before  issuing  from  his  Scythian  birth-place  Bacchus  made  a 
covenant  with  Lycurgus,  King  of  Thrace,  son  of  Dryas,  one  of  the 
Seven  great  leaders  who  went  with  Eteocles  and  who  perished  in  the 
Theban  war,  B.  C.  11 20.  Eteocles  was  brother  to  Polynices,  who 
had  married  a  daughter  of  Adrastus,  King  of  Sicyon,  another  of  the 
Seven  who  went  against  Thebes.  Lycurgus  having  proved  false  to 
his  covenant,  the  god  caused  him  to  be  nailed  to  a  Bacchic  cross, 


no  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

upon  which  he  perished  in  agony.  Dio.  Sic,  p.  119.  In  the  shrine 
excavated  in  the  island  of  Milo  in  181 9,  and  which  contained  the 
celebrated  image  misnamed  the  Venus  di  Milo,  now  in  the  Louvre 
of  Paris,  were  also  found  images  of  the  Bearded  Bacchus  and  the 
Youthful  Bacchus,  one  on  each  side  of  the  goddess.  The  year  B.  C. 
1 1 20  marks  the  foundation  of  a  republic  in  Thebes.  The  city  was 
destroyed  by  Alexander  the  Great,  B.  C.  334,  before  he  went  to  In- 
dia. To  make  the  date  given  above  harmonize  with  Indian  dates,  62, 
years  must  be  added,  thus  1144  plus  63=1207  B.  C. 

B.  C.  1128,  India. — End  of  the  Tenth  divine  incarnation  of  les 
Chrishna,  or  Vishnu.     Augustan  date.     See  Table  A. 

B.  C. -1122,  China. — First  year  of  Tcheou  or  Chow  dynasty  em- 
ployed for  computing  time  by  the  Chinese  Jews.      See  B.  C.  509. 

B.  C.  1108,  India. — Nativity  of  Jaina,  or  Mahavira.  See  B.  C. 
1207. 

B.  C.  1106,  Chaldea. — August  8.  Epoch  mentioned  by  Gres- 
well,  F.  C,  III,  475- 

B.  C.  1106,  Egypt. — Conjectural  date  of  the  Hycsos  invasion, 
couched  in  terms  of  the  Christian  calendar.  To  harmonize  it  with 
oriental  dates  6^  years  must  be  added,  making  it  B.  C.  1169.  The 
date  is  based  upon  the  conjunction  of  the  various  aeras  and  calendar 
changes  shown  under  B.  C.  1169  and  the  civil  and  religious  changes 
and  shifting  of  populations  which  appear  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
Pontine  and  Greek  states  at  about  the  same  period.  According  to 
Manetho,  the  Hycsos  were  driven  out  of  Egypt  after  a  residence  of 
511  years.  The  Assyrologists  say  that  the  Scythians  were  driven 
out  of  Assyria  by  Sargon  II.,  who  defeated  them  at  Carchemish,  in 
B.  C.  717.  Another  band  was  driven  out  in  605.  (See  6^t^.)  Egypt- 
ologists have  commonly  assigned  a  higher  date  to  the  Hycsos,  be- 
cause they  have  permitted  themselves  to  be  guided  by  an  Egyptian 
chronology  that  is  based  not  only  upon  myths,  but  upon  isolated 
myths  and  myths  of  comparatively  recent  construction,  not  one  of 
them  having  regard  for  the  division  of  the  year  into  ten  months, 
which  was  universally  established  in  the  Occident  until  it  was  changed 
to  12  months  during  the  sera  of  the  second  Buddha.  Their  date  for 
the  Hycsos  invasion  is  about  the  15th  or  i6th  century  B.  C,  which 
is  far  too  early. 

Josephus  on  Appion  argued  that  the  Hycsos  were  Jews.  Biblical 
scholars  have  attempted  to  identify  them  with  the  Hittites  of  the 
Bible.  Rev.  Dr.  Sayce  identifies  the  Hittites  with  the  almond-eyed 
pig-tailed  race  sculptured  on  the  rocks  of  Hamathand  other  places  in 


^RAS.  Ill 

Syria  and  Mesopotamia.  Mr.  John  D.  Baldwin  and  others  have  writ- 
ten what  Prof.  A.  Schwartz  calls  historical  romances  on  the  Hittite 
race.  In  truth,  the  facts  thus  far  known  do  not  warrant  the  infer- 
ences of  these  writers.  Pococke,  198,  identified  the  Hycsos  with 
the  Hucsos  or  Scythic  tribes  of  the  Oxus.  The  511  years  of  Mane- 
tho  (if  indeed  there  is  any  truth  in  it  at  all)  may  simply  mean  the  in- 
terval betv/een  the  Hycsos  invasion,  circ.  B.  C.  1169-06,  and  the 
Scythic  withdrawal,  circ.  B.  C.  633.  The  monuments  of  Egypt  af- 
ford no  corroboration  of  the  assertion  that  any  foreign  race  domi- 
nated the  land  for  so  long  a  period  as  511  years. 

B.  C.  1104,  China. — First  recorded  observance  of  winter-solstice 
festival,  worship  of  Joss  or  Josh,  in  China,  B.  C.  1 104-1098,  reign  of 
Wu-wang,  Chow  (Tcheou)  dynasty.      Fergusson,  96. 

B.C.  1100,  China. — Astronomical  observations  at  Loyangin.  La- 
place, "  Connaissance  des  Temps."  Probable  date  of  the  first  intro- 
duction of  Brahmo-Buddhism  into  China. 

B.  C.  1078,  Rajputana. — Alleged  Digambara  sera  of  the  Cali- 
joga.     Wilford.     Probably  a  blunder. 

B.  C.  1076,  Persia. — ^ra  of  Zoroaster,  according  to  Xanthus, 
who  places  him  "600  years"  before  Xerxes.  See  B.  C.  947,  590, 
etc. 

B.  C.  1036,  India. — Swetambara  Jain  sera  of  les  Chrishna,  son 
of  Maia.  See  B.  C.  1219  and  1036,  China.  The  Benedictines  have 
lowered  this  incarnation  down  to  A.  D.  65  ! 

B.  C.  1036,  China. — ^ra  of  Fod,  son  of  Maya,  who  was  born  in 
India,  according  to  an  alleged  account  of  the  Chinese,  viz.,  "28th 
cycle,  41st year,  or  B.C.  1036. "  Asiat. Res.  ,vol.  II.  Fod  is  the  Chinese 
name  of  Buddha.  Volney  says  there  was  no  F  sound  in  Chinese 
and  that  this  name  was  pronounced  Bod.  The  28th  cycle  and  41st 
year  given  in  Asiat.  Res.  is  a  Chinese  date.  It  agrees,  not  with  B.  C. 
1036,  but  with  B.  C.  677.  This  is  a  Jovian  cyclical  date  adapted  to 
Buddho-Brahminical  purposes.  B.  C.  1036  is  a  Swetambara  sera  of 
the  first  Buddha. 

B.  C.  1027,  Cashmir. — ^ra  of  Fod,  who  was  born  in  Cashmir. 
De  Guignes,  Asiat.  Res.,  vol.  II. 

B.  C.  1027,  India. — .^ra  of  the  first  Buddha,  according  to  Sir 
Wm.  Jones,  Klaproth,  Volney  and  others,  evidently  from  De  Guignes. 
"The  Buddha  of  1027  B.  C.  is  identically  the  same  as  the  one  who 
died  554  B.  C.  As  far  as  real  chronology  is  concerned,  the  recent 
date  is  alone  in  use."  The  Pandits'  "Chron."  p.  xiii.  That  Buddha 
died  B.  C.  554  is  a  religious  belief;  not  an  historical  fact. 


112  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  1000,  Japan. — JEra.  of  Buddha,  Buddhso,  Budz,  or  Siaha, 
possibly  derived  from  Mat-sya,  a  surname  of  les  Chrishna,  the  in- 
carnation of  lesnu  or  Vishnu,  whose  zodion  is  the  Fishes.  He  was 
born  at  Sicka  (the  country  of  the  heavens)  about  B.  C.  looo.  At 
the  age  of  19  he  became  a  hermit  and  taught  the  doctrines  of  immor- 
tality and  of  future  rewards  and  punishments.  He  prescribed  five 
precepts:  Thou  shalt  not  kill,  steal,  commit  adultery,  lie,  nor  drink 
strong  liquors.  He  wrote  upon  palm  leaves  the  materials  of  a  sa- 
cred book  called  Fodekio  (pronounced  Bodekio)  which  his  disciples 
venerated  as  we  do  the  Bible.  A  gigantic  gilded  image  of  this  Bud- 
dha, seated  on  a  lotus  flower,  is  erected  in  the  temple  of  Kata-isi. 
Bell's  Pantheon.  It  should  be  added  that  in  this  image,  as  in  most 
other  images  of  Buddha,  he  is  represented  with  woolly  hair;  a  pecu- 
liarity that  enables  this  divinity  to  be  traced  under  all  disguises  of 
name  and  caprices  of  art.  Bell's  date  for  the  Japanese  Buddha  is 
far  too  ancient.  This  is  evidently  the  second  Buddha,  whose  sera 
fell  in  the  seventh  century  B.  C.      See  B.  C.  712  and  660. 

B.  C.  1000,  India. — Approximate  sera  of  the  original  Hindu  code 
of  Manu.  The  variants,  Manu,  Manou,  Mani,  Muni,  Manes,  Manis, 
Mannus,  Menes,  Menu,  Minas,  Munnoo,  etc.,  represent  the  name  of 
an  ancient  oriental  god,  lawgiver,  hero,  or  my thos,  whose  alleged  insti- 
tutes are  still  observed  by  the  Brahmins  of  India  and  whose  imaginary 
sera  stands  at  the  head  of  the  false  chronologies  both  of  that  country 
and  of  Egypt.  The  Hindu  Code  of  Manu  has  been  frequently  altered, 
the  last  time  apparently  about  A.  D.  500.  It  was  translated  from 
Sanscrit  into  Persian  and  thence  into  English  in  1775.  An  English 
translation  was  made  direct  from  the  Sanscrit  in  1794.  The  work 
in  its  present  form  has  evidently  undergone  many  alterations,  some 
of  which  are  regarded  by  Buller  (ed.  1884)  to  be  as  recent  as  the 
date  above  mentioned.  But  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  bulk 
of  the  work  belongs  to  a  remoter  antiquity.  Colebrooke  ascribes  it 
to  the  i6th  century  B.  C.  ;  Vivien  de  Ste.  Martin,  13th  to  12th  century 
B.  C.  ;  Sir  Wm.  Jones,  to  some  period  after  the  loth  century  B.  C.  ; 
and  H.  H.  Wilson,  to  the  9th  century  B.  C.  For  the  more  extreme 
views  of  Miiller  and  of  Cowell,  consult  Marsden's  "Num.  Orient," 
ed.  1874,  p.  5.  In  the  Greek  mythology  of  the  republican  period 
Manes  was  multiplied  and  degraded  into  a  plurality  of  gods,  spirits 
or  genii,  whose  common  mother  was  Mania  and  whose  beneficence 
is  first  invoked  in  the  alleged  poems  of  Orpheus.  This  would  assign 
the  Greek  conception  of  Manes  to  a  period  prior  to  the  Fall  of 
Troy.      But  Aristotle's  doubt  concerning  the  reality  of  Orpheus  and 


^RAS.  113 

of  the  genuineness  of  his  hymns  deprives  these  dates  of  any  certain 
historical  basis.  We  can  only  conclude  with  safety  that  the  Greek 
knowledge  of  Manes  ascends  to  and  probably  beyond  the  age  of 
Solon,  and  coincides  with  that  of  the  second  Buddha;  while  in  the 
Orient,  his  code  was  in  vogue  several  centuries  earlier. 

B.  C.  977,  China. — Aera  of  Fod,  who,  according  to  the  Chinese, 
was  born  in  India,  "23rd  cycle,  41st  year,"  or  B.  C.  977.  Father 
Du  Halde,  Hist.  China,  I,  317.     A  Jovian  date. 

B.  C.  959,  Tartary. — Aera  of  Barkhan  or  Buddha,  who  was  born 
in  Tartary.     A  Jovian  date. 

B.  C.  959,  Tibet. — Aera  of  Fod,  who  was  born  in  Tibet.  Cas- 
sini,  Asiat.  Res.,  II,  27.  This  is  really  a  Jovian  date,  or  a  date 
arising  from  the  Jovian  cycles,  and  as  such  is  really  not  connected 
with  the  chronology  of  Buddha. 

B.  C.  955,  America. — Aera  of  Votan,  the  Messiah  of  Yucatan, 
who  descended  from  Imos,  of  the  race  of  Chan,  or  the  Serpent. 
Votan  introduced  the  religious  Mysteries  and  after  having  appointed 
Zamna  as  his  successor,  he  died  and  was  buried  in  Isumal,  to  his  sepul- 
chre, in  which  town,  pious  pilgrimages  were  still  made  by  the  natives 
at  the  period  of  the  Spanish  conquest.  It  was  Zamna,  his  disciple, 
who  conferred  upon  the  country  the  name  of  Maayha.  Am.  Encyc. 
Brit.  His  followers  erected  the  temple  at  Palenque  on  which  is 
sculptured  in  gypsum  an  immense  Latin  cross  with  a  figure  on  each 
side  of  it.  Doane,  348.  It  is  not  difficult  to  recognise  in  the  hero 
of  this  legend  the  Cashmirian,  Tibetan  and  Mongolian  Wotan,  Woden, 
Barkhan,  Fod,  Buddha,  or  Quichena,  son  of  Maia,  whose  aera  in 
those  countries  is  variously  fixed  in  B.  C.  1036,  1027,  977,  or  959, 
(q.  v.),  these  variations  being  probably  the  result  of  defective  or 
altered  calendars.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  sera  of 
Votan  appears  to  be  Jovian,  and  not  Buddhic.  The  name  Imos,  or 
Jamos,  also  belongs  to  the  Jovian  cult.  Cox's  "Aryan  Myth.,"  II, 
81.  The  following  dates  relating  to  America,  are,  with  one  excep- 
tion, given  by  the  same  authority,  which,  however,  does  not  vouch 
for  their  correctness.  (Cf.  A.  D.  700  and  722). 
297  B.  C. — Quetzalcoatl,  CukulcanorBacob,  the|Messiah,  appears  in 

Yucatan.   This  seems  to  have  been  a  re-incarnation  of  Votan. 

The  date  is  supplied  by  conjecture,  being  one  Hindu  divine 

year  after  the  native  sera  of  Votan.      The  name  Quetzalcoatl 

may  be  a  corruption  of  Quichena. 
174  A.  D. — Yucatan;  dispersion  of  the  followers  of  Quetzalcoatl. 
174. — Guatemala;  arrival  of  four  Tutul-Xius  people  from  Tulapan. 


114  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

258. — Guatemala;  others  of  the  same  sect  arrive. 
488. — Hwui  Shan,  together  with  a  party  of  other  Buddhist  mission- 
aries from  China  (by  way  of  Japan),  land  on  the  coasts  of 
America  and  travel  southward  to  the  land  of  "pointed  plants, " 
(the  maguey?)  which  may  be  Mexico  or  Yucatan.    This  date, 
unlike  the  others  herein,  is  from  a  Chinese  account. 
635. — The    Chichimecs    (literally   maguey-suckers,    equivalent    to 
barbarians),  invade  Mexico  from   the  north,  that  is  to  say, 
from  Chicomoztoc,  which  some  have  identified  with  the  val- 
ley of  the  Gila. 
686. — The  Chichimecs  established  the  Toltec  empire  of  Mexico, 

with  Nauhyotsin  as  their  first  king. 
895. — Re-appearance  of  Quetzalcoatl,  as  king  of  the  Toltecs.  Dis- 
satisfied with  his  subjects  he  establishes  a  new  empire  at 
Huitzilapan  (now  Puebla),  after  which  he  mysteriously  dis- 
appears. (This  is  the  sera  of  Quichena  at  Delhi.  See  A,  D. 
890). 
945. — Nauhyotl,  one  of  his  disciples,  reigns  until  this  year  as  king 

of  Huitzilapan;  then  dies. 
990. — (Circ.)  Advent  of  Cukulcan  in  Guatemala.      He  appears  to 

have  been  regarded  as  the  same  with  Quetzalcoatl. 
1041. — Irruptions  of  savage  Chichimecs  from  the  North,  who,  in  1047, 

destroy  the  Toltec  power. 
1070. — Death  of  Huemec  Atecpanecatl,  the  last  king  of  the  Toltecs. 
1090. — The  Aztecs  start  from  what  is  supposed  to  have  been  Lower 

California.      (See  A.  D.  1090). 
1 1 16. — They  reach  Chicomoztoc. 
1 177. — They  enter  the  Valley  of  Anahuac. 
1325. — They  found  or  establish  the  city  of  Mexico. 
1352. — Aera  of  the  Mexican  monarchy,  of  which  Montezuma,  who 

died  152 1,  was  the  eighth  king. 
1464. — Guatemala.  The  empire  of  the  Tutul-Xius  is  overthrown. 
B.  C.  947,  Persia. — Aera  of  Magianism  and  of  the  "First  Zo- 
roaster." Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  178.  This  date  is  deduced  by  Dr. 
Greswell  from  no  other  testimony  than  the  Persian  custom,  observed 
in  a  recent  age,  of  painting  paschal  eggs!  If  there  were  any  valid 
evidences,  either  of  a  "First  Zoroaster"  or  of  a  belief  in  one,  we 
should  be  rather  more  inclined  to  look  for  them  at  an  interval  of  a 
divine  year  before  the  "Second"  or  principal  Zoroaster.  This 
would  fix  the  first  one  in  B.  C.  1046  instead  of  947.  See  B.  C.  1076, 
590  and  389. 


^RAS.  115 

B.  C.  927,  Greece. — Aera  of  Homer,  B.  C.  962-27.  Clinton, 
F.  H.,  I,  362.  Mr.  F.  A.  Wolf  in  his  "Prolegomena,"  1795,  proves 
pretty  conclusively  that  the  epics  of  Homer  were  collected  and  "ar- 
ranged "  by  Pisistratus  about  550  B.  C.  In  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  far  this  revision  extended. 
Clinton  fixes  the  sera  of  Hesiod  a  century  later  than  Homer. 

B.  C.  895,  Aegina. — Silver  coined  into  money  by  Pheidon  of 
Argos.     Parian  Marbles,  sub  anno.     But  see  B.  C.  748  herein. 

B.  C.  884,  Attica. — Five-year  Olympiads— pentaeteris— revived  or 
else  established  in  the  reign  of  King  Iphitus;  epoch,  the  summer 
solstice.  This  great  festival  is  incidentally  said  to  have  been  origi- 
nally established  by  Jasius  B.  C.  1406.  According  to  Callimachus, 
it  was  revived  by  Iphitus,  whose  sera,  in  the  equivalent  of  B.  C.  884, 
is  fixed  by  Erastosthenes.  As  the  festival  appears  to  have  been  in- 
tended to  commemorate  the  discovery  of  the  equable  year  (the  year 
of  365  days)  or  else  the  establishment  of  an  equable  calendar,  the 
attribution  to  Jasius,  or  rather  to  the  period  of  Jasius,  may  be  cor- 
rect; yet  we  have  no  positive  reference  to  the  pentaeteris  earlier 
than  Iphitus.  This  occurs  in  Callimachus.  Both  Aristotle  and  Pau- 
sanias  state  that  the  terms  (establishment  or  revival)  of  the  Olympiads 
were  sculptured  on  the  Disk  of  Iphitus,  a  monument  of  a  remote 
period  to  both  of  these  authorities.  The  pentaeteris  or  quinquennial 
Olympiads  were  probably  in  Rome  altered  by  Csesar  to  four-year 
(quadrennial)  intervals,  in  which  form  they  served  to  celebrate  the 
Julian  year  which  was  instituted  B.  C.  48.  Thereafter  the  pentaeteris 
took  the  name  of  Csesar's  games  and  finally  that  of  Augustan  games 
until  they  were  abolished  by  Theodosius  A.  D.  394.  In  Athens  the 
quinquennial  was  changed  to  a  quadrennial  festival  and  games,  in 
tempo  Augusto.   Josephus,  Wars,  I,  xxi,  12. 

B.  C.  884,  Sparta. — Apotheosis  of  Lycurgus  according  to  Era- 
tosthenes. Epoch,  the  summer  solstice.  Aristotle  said  that  Lycur- 
gus was  "contemporaneous  with  Iphitus  and  joined  him  in  settling 
the  cessation  of  arms  during  the  Olympic  games. "  (Plutarch,  in  vita.) 
This  determination  of  his  sera  agrees  with  Herodotus,  Thucydides, 
Cicero  and  Strabo.  Thucydides  I,  18,  dates  the  legislation  of  Ly- 
curgus 400  years  before  the  end  of  the  Peloponnesian  war.  To  this 
date  should  be  added  6^  years.  This  will  make  it  about  B.  C.  867. 
Lycurgus  was  a  king  of  the  dynasty  of  Procles;  his  mother's  name 
was  Dion-assa;  he  pretended  to  have  obtained  his  code  of  laws  from 
the  god  Apollo;  the  priestess  of  Delphi  said  that  Lycurgus  was  the 
beloved  of  Jupiter  and  more  God  than  man;  Plato  says  in  the  Third 


Il6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Book  of  his  Laws  that  Lycurgus  was  a  divine  spirit  residing  in  a  hu- 
man body;  among  other  rehgious  rites  he  introduced  flagellation  at 
the  altars  of  Diana  Orthia.  Cicero,  Repub.  II,  lo,  says  that  Lycur- 
gus was  a  contemporary  of  King  Iphitus  and  lived  io8  years  before 
the  first  (quadrennial)  Olympiad.  This  is  equal  to  the  first  year  of 
the  quinquennial  Olympiads.  Both  Thirlwall  and  Grote  regard  Ly- 
curgus as  a  real  personage  of  the  ninth  century  B.  C. 

B.  C.  880,  Chaldea. — Ragosin's  date  for  the  8-rayed  Disk  of 
Shamash  (the  Sun)  found  at  Sippara,  by  Rassam,  in  1881. 

B.  C.  876,  Rome. — Aera  of  Romulus,  according  to  Ennius.  See 
B.  C.  814. 

B.  C.  841,  China. — Winter  solstice.  Beginning  of  the  60-year 
cycles  calculated  by  Sze-ma-ts'ien,  the  astrologer,  who  lived  in  the 
reign  of  the  divine  Woote,  B.  C.  86,  q.  v.;  Freret,  XIII,  303-4.  B.  C. 
841  is  indeed  a  Jovian  date,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  connected 
with  the  avatars  or  avataras  of  that  sacred  personage  (Woden)  whom 
Woote  seems  to  have  personated. 

B.C.  835,  Tibet.— Aera  used  at  L'hassa.  Pandits'  "Chronol- 
ogy." 

B.  C.  828,  India. — Parasuramic  cycle;  more  properly,  B.  C.  825, 
q.  v.  According  to  one  astrological  system,  these  cycles  begin  B.  C. 
4825,  q.  V.  According  to  another  system,  they  begin  B.  C.  1176. 
The  cycles  are  millenial.     See  Ch.  VIII,  under  cycles  of  1000  years. 

B.  C.  828,  Athens. — Revival  of  the  five-year  Olympiads,  by  Iph- 
itus, according  to  Callimachus. 

B.  C.  827,  China. — According  to  Liu-shu,  A.  D.  1068,  in  his 
book  called  "Wai-ki,"  the  "certain"  or  strictly  historical  sera  of 
China,  began  this  year.      Fergusson,  p.  no. 

B.  C.  816,  Etruria. — The  Etruscan  aera,  according  to  Varro.  See 
"Middle  Ages,"  Appendix  S.      See  also  B.  C.  814. 

B.  C.  816,  Alba.— Aera  of  Procas.  Henry  Dodwell,  "  De  Veteri- 
bus  Grsecorum  Romanorumque  Cyclis. " 

B.  C.  816,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  Foundation,  according  to  Tim- 
seus.     See  B.  C.  814  for  a  variant  date. 

B.  C.  814,  Carthage. — Aera  of  Carthage,  according  to  Timasus, 
in  Dio.  Hal.  I,  74.     Niebuhr  says  B.  C.  826. 

B.  C.  814,  Rome. — Aera  of  Romulus,  according  to  Timseus,  in 
Dio.  Hal.  I,  74.  This  sera  is  corroborated  by  Ennius's  expression  of 
"about  700  years  ago;"  by  Cicero's  Eera  of  Carthage;  by  Cato,  in 
Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  8;  by  the  Alban,  Etruscan  and  Carthaginian  vul- 
gar seras;  by  the  cycles  of  Syllaand  Piso;  and  by  the  other  evidences 


^RAS.  117 

furnished  in  chapter  II.  This  year,  or  more  likely  B.  C.  816,  seems 
to  have  been  the  correct  sera  of  Romulus,  as  was  believed  during  the 
Commonwealth,  and  down  to  the  time  of  Augustus,  who  altered  it 
to  the  equivalent  of  B.  C.  738.  At  a  subsequent  date  it  was  altered 
by  the  Latin  Church  to  the  equivalent  of  B.  C.  753.  For  two  years 
of  the  discrepancy,  see  B.  C.  307. 

B.  C.  776,  China. — Eclipse  of  the  Sun  recorded  in  the  Shu-king, 
sixth  year  of  Yeu-Vang,  dynasty  of  Tsheou.  Bunsen,  III,  381; 
Hales,  I,  202. 

B.  C.  776,  Attica. — Vulgar  sera  of  the  four-year  Olympiads 
(named  after  Coroebus)  which  are  said  to  have  commenced  at  the 
summer  solstice,  which  then  agreed  with  Hecatombion  ist,  our  July 
15th  or  1 6th.  It  is  alleged  that  they  were  afterwards  altered  to  the 
first  moon  after  the  solstice  and  subsequently  to  the  Roman  July  ist, 
the  first  of  a  month  nearest  to  the  anniversary  of  the  Apotheosis  of 
Lycurgus.  These  Olympiads  were  supposed  to  have  been  cited  in 
Greek  literature  or  monuments,  about  B.  C.  260.  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
"Prophecies  of  Daniel."  This  is  a  deduction  from  the  Parian  Mar- 
bles, which  were  supposed  to  have  been  sculptured  in  the  archon- 
ship  of  Diognetes  B.C.  263;  but  they  are  now  known  to  be  spurious. 
See  the  (five-year)  Olympiads,  under  the  years  1406,  12 19,  1183,  884 
and  828.  The  four-year  Olympiads  were  last  used  in  existing  litera- 
ture A.  D.  440. 

B.  C.  770,  Scythia. — Scythian  or  Tartar  Invasion  of  China;  sub- 
jection of  the  Northwestern  provinces;  removal  of  the  Chinese  Im- 
perial Court  from  Shen-se  to  Honan ;  death  of  the  Emperor  Yeu-Vang ; 
succeeded  by  his  son  Ping- Vang,  who  reigns  over  the  distracted 
Empire  until  B.  C.  719.  The  Nirvana  of  Buddha,  which  Fa-Hian 
places  in  this  reign,  770-19,  probably  marks  the  Tartar  Invasion. 
The  history,  Tchun  Tsion,  composed  by  Confucius,  begins  with  the 
same  period.     Cunningham,  op.  cit. ;  Du  Halde,  I,  323. 

B.  C.  769,  Sabinia. — Aera  of  Tat,  or  Tatius  (a  name  of  Buddha), 
legendary  king  of  the  Sabines.  Tat  reigned  at  Cures,  which  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  Curetes,  the  Cretan  priests  of  Maia  and  con- 
ferred it  upon  curates,  cures,  etc.  (Cf.  Homer,  II.,  ix,  529;  Adams 
Rom.  Ant.)  In  B.  C.  742  Tat  (so  runs  the  legend)  became,  with 
Romulus,  joint-king  of  Rome,  and,  as  such,  he  reigned  six  years, 
when,  upon  going  to  sacrifice  at  Lavinium,  he  met  with  a  violent 
death  in  his  33rd  year,  A.  U.  18.  His  daughter  espoused  Numa 
Pompilius.  Echard,  Rom.  Hist.  I,  15;  Lempriere,  Die.  Biog.  It 
was  long  ago  observed  by  Dupuis,  Higgins  and  other  mythological 


Il8  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

critics,  that  a  period  of  ^^  years  was  commonly  attached  to  incarna- 
tions. This  was  an  astrological  conceit,  founded  upon  the  difference 
between  the  equable  solar  year  of  365  d.  and  the  lunar  year  of  354d. , 
the  interval  being  about  11  days;  so  that  it  takes  about  ^^  years 
to  carry  the  beginning  of  the  lunar  year  through  all  the  seasons  to 
the  same  solar  point  and  conjunction  again.  The  interval  between 
such  conjunctions  determined  the  earthly  sojourn  of  the  incarna- 
tion. This  interval  can  be  observed  by  comparing  the  Mahometan 
cycles  with  our  own;  the  former  being  lunar  and  the  latter  solar. 

B.  C.  753,  Rome. — Anno  Urbis  Conditge,  the  Year  of  the  Build, 
ing  of  Rome,  according  to  Varro,  hence  called  the  Varronian  date. 
A  number  of  other  determinations  are  mentioned  in  chapter  III 
hereof.  See  also  B.  C.  816,  814  and '750.  The  epoch  is  universally 
fixed  in  Palalia,  11  Cal.  May,  translated  April  21st.  The  date  of 
the  Building,  or  Foundation,  also  marks  the  incarnation  of  Romulus, 
or  Quirinus,  who  was  born  of  the  god  Mars  and  the  vestal  virgin, 
Rhea  Silvia  (sometimes  Ilia,  sometimes  Romana,  sometimes  Roma). 
Romulus  was  a  ten  months'  child  of  florid  complexion  and  auburn 
locks;  who  soon  after  his  birth,  which  occurred  in  a  lowly  cottage 
in  Rama  or  Rome,  was  condemned,  together  with  his  twin  brother 
Remus,  to  be  drowned.  The  water  shrank  back  from  the  odious 
crime  and  the  infants  were  saved  by  a  she-wolf,  who  reared  them  on 
her  milk  until  they  were  rescued  by  shepherds.  During  his  active 
career  he  was  guarded  or  accompanied  by  300  Celeres  or  Selecti. 
Not  only  his  birth,  but  his  death  was  miraculous;  for  being  con- 
demned by  the  tyrant  Amulius,  he  was  torn  to  pieces,  died,  rose 
again  and  was  seen  by  Proculus  Julius  walking  after  his  demise, 
which  occurred  in  his  33rd  year.  Cicero,  de  Legibus  I,  2,  3;  Ovid, 
Fasti,  III.     The  Sun  was  eclipsed  when  Romulus  expired. 

B.  C.  750,  Rome. — Anno  Urbis  Conditae,  according  to  one  ms. 
of  Cicero's  "  Republica,"  II,  10.     But  see  814  and  753. 

B.  C.  748,  Assyria. — Deification  of  Tiglath-pil-Esar  II.  Vernal 
equinox?  Altered  in  Babylon  to  the  27th  year  of  Nebu-Nazaru,  says 
Ptolemy.  This  modernization  of  date  rendered  the  gera  less  ancient 
than  that  of  the  Babylonian  Nebu-Nazaru,  whose  epoch  was  fixed  at 
February  25th  and  afterwards  at  February  26th,  B.  C.  747.  Albiruni 
calls  this  the  '  'Anno  Astronorum  Babylonise. "  According  to  the  Greek 
writers,  the  Babylonians  called  it  their  First  Aera.  It  was  used  in 
Egypt  until  the  Augustan  period,  when  the  head  of  the  Alexandrian 
calendar  was  shifted  to  the  Roman  August  26th,  (See  ' '  Middle  Ages, " 
Appendix  L,  note  2),  and  finally  to  August  29th,  corresponding  with 


jEras,  119 

both  Aswin  ist  and  Thoth  ist.  The  Babylonian  alteration  from  25th 
to  26th  February  was  evidently  made  because  the  latter  fell  on 
Wednesday.  This  difference  of  one  day  is  carefully  noted  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Greswell,  F.  C,  II,  403"  but  without  explanation.  Gesenius 
says  that  the  Babylonian  Nebu  is  Mercury,  which  is  the  same  as 
Buddha,  Bacchus,  etc.  Rodwell  in  "Records  of  the  Past,"  p.  201, 
says  the  same  thing:  Nebu  is  Mercury,  or  Dionysius.  Among  the 
variants  of  this  Messiah's  name  were  Nabon-Assar,  Nabon-Issa,  Nad- 
lus,  Nebo-Sabesio,  Nebo  Nissa,  and  Nebo  or  Nebu-Nazaru,  the  last 
being  from  Censorinus.  He  is  identified  with  the  Hebrew  Thammuz 
and  Greek  Bacchus.  Nebu  was  foretold  by  the  Babylonian  prophets; 
his  celestial  or  else  his  putative  father  was  Asshur;  his  mother  was 
the  Chaldean  Mylitta,  or  Greek  Venus ;  he  was  born  at  Nazaru  (?)  near 
Babylon;  the  Messianic  star  stood  over  his  birthplace;  flowers  and 
music  attended  his  nativity;  he  was  worshipped  by  the  Magi;  a 
divine  effulgence  issued  from  his  person;  after  many  trials  and  suf- 
ferings, endured  in  his  mission  to  disenthrall  and  elevate  mankind, 
he  was  condemned  to  a  violent  death.  His  disciples  were  12;  they 
fasted  40  days.  When,  on  the  vernal  equinox,  Nebu  suffered  the 
inevitable  end,  the  sun  was  eclipsed  and  the  earth  rent  with  internal 
commotions,  Nebu  descended  to  hell  to  judge  the  dead;  he  rose 
again  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  His  principal  sacrament  was 
baptism;  his  emblematic  plants  or  woods  were  the  fir-tree  and  yule- 
log;  his  epigraphic  symbols  were  the  f,  +,  t  and  mystic  fan  and  his 
zodion  was  the  Lamb. 

B.  C.  748,  Messenia. — Beginning  of.  the  "Third  Age  "  or  Aera; 
revolt  of  the  Messenians  in  the  "fourth  year  of  the  twenty- third 
Olympiad."  Pausanias,  Messenics,  xv.  This  year  by  the  five-year 
olympiads  was  B.  C.  771 ;  by  the  four-year  olympiads  and  our  present 
calendar,  it  was  B.  C.  685.  Add  the  78  years  sunk  by  Augustus  and 
subtract  the  15  years  added  by  the  Italian  chronologists,  leaves  63 
years,  which,  when  added  to  685,  makes  748  years  B.  C.  The  First 
Aera  of  Pausanius  was  evidently  the  Brahmo-Buddhic-Chaldean  aera, 
commencing  (by  our  present  calendar),  B.  C.  2064.  Herodotus 
(Euterpe,  145),  calls  this  the  sera  of  Bacchus.  The  Second  Aera  of 
Pausanius  was  the  first  "Brahmo-Buddhic-Chaldean,"  or  Bacchic, 
B.  C.  1406,  and  the  Third  Aera  of  Pausanias  was  the  Nebo-Nazarene, 
or  second  Brahmo-Buddhic-Chaldean,  B.  C.  748.  "After  the  revolt 
of  the  Messenians"  .  .  .  "iron  began  to  be  used  in  battle."  Pau- 
sanias, Laconics,  iii. 


I20  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  748,  Aegina. — Clinton,  F.  H.,  I,  248,  prefers  this  date  for 
the  aera  and  coinages  of  Pheidon.      See  B.  C.  895. 

B.  C.  747,  Babylon. — Aera  of  the  birth  and  incarnation  of  Nebu- 
Nazaru,  or  Nabon-Assar.  Both  Hipparchus  and  Ptolemy  employ  it  in 
their  works.  The  epoch  of  this  sera  was  fixed,  as  noted  by  Ptolemy,  on 
the  Roman  February  26th,  B.  C.  747,  at  noon,  afterwards  changed 
in  Babylon  to  December  25th,  B.  C.  748.  Both  of  these  days  were 
determined  by  the  Roman  astrologers  to  have  fallen  on  the  fourth 
day  of  the  septuary  week,  which  is  the  Hindu  Buddha-war,  or  the 
Gothic  Wednesday,  the  natal  day  and  name  day  of  Buddha,  or  Woden. 
It  is  rather  singular  that  after  the  advent  of  Augustus  the  Roman 
writers,  (Censorinus,  for  example),  should  have  employed  or  even 
have  referred  to  this  foreign  and  antiquated  sera  of  Babylon;  but  if 
the  difference  between  this  sera  and  that  of  the  olympiads  of  Iphitus, 
(which  must  anciently  have  been  employed  in  Magna  Graecia),  be 
computed,  it  will  be  found  that  such  difference  closely  corresponds 
with  the  number  of  years  sunk  from  the  Roman  calendar  by  Augus- 
tus. In  other  words,  there  is  reason  to  suspect  that  the  78  years 
sunk  by  Augustus  from  the  chronology  of  Rome  were  78  of  the  80 
years  between  B.  C.  828  and  B.  C.  748. 

B.  C.  747,  Argos. — Reputed  sera  of  Phoroneus  the  Emancipa- 
tor, who  sacrificed  to  Juno,  yet  was  himself  worshipped.  Lutatius 
Placidus,  in  Stat.  Theb.  lib.,  IV,  v.,  589.  Bryant,  III,  65.  Gres- 
well,  K.  H.,  IV,  191,  believes  that  neither  Inachus  nor  Phoroneus 
ever  existed.  This  is  quite  possible.  Pausanias,  I,  xxxix,  4;  xl,  5; 
II,  xxii,  12;  II,  XXV,  3,  4,  5;  XV,  5;  XVI,  I. 

B.  C.  747,  Greece. — Aera  of  the  worship  of  Adonis,  the  Saviour, 
also  called  lao,  Thammuz,  Hes-Iris,  Osiris,  etc.  According  to  one 
account  Adonis  was  miraculously  born  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the 
virgin  Myrrha,  his  putative  father  being  King  Theias.  He  was  born 
in  a  cave  in  Syria,  Doane  365,  citing  St.  Jerome,  says  Bethlehem. 
According  to  another  account  Adonis  was  the  son  of  the  mortal  Ve- 
nus, Mother  of  God,  her  progenitor  being  Julus,  the  son  of  j^nea.s. 
Hence  she  was  also  called  Julius  Caesar  Dionasus,  or  Dionseus  Mater. 
This  account  preserved  the  name  of  the  Indian  Houli,  of  which  more 
below.  Adonis  was  born  on  the  Winter  Solstice.  In  Rome  this 
was  the  occasion  of  the  great  festival  of  the  25th  December,  called 
Natalis  Solis  Invicti  (Birthday  of  the  Sun,  the  Invincible).  "All 
public  business  was  suspended,  declarations  of  war  and  criminal  exe- 
cutions were  postponed,  friends  made  presents  to  one  another,  and 
the  slaves  were  indulged  with  great  liberties."     (Rev.  Dr.  Gross). 


^RAS.  121 

During  his  infancy  Adonis  was  enclosed  in  an  ark  and  committed  to 
the  waves,  with  the  object  of  destroying  him.  In  this  vessel  he  re- 
mained a  year  and  a  day  before  he  was  providentially  rescued.  Adonis 
was  killed  by  a  wild  boar  (Typhon)  whom  he  had  rashly  wounded 
while  hunting.  This  occurred  on  the  Vernal  Equinox.  After  being 
laid  in  his  sepulchre,  in  which  he  remained  several  days,  he  rose  from 
the  dead  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  The  Death  and  subsequent 
Resurrection  of  this  god  were  made  the  occasion  of  the  most  elabo- 
rate ceremonies  both  in  the  Greek  states  and  colonies,  in  Ptolemaic 
Egypt  and  afterwards  in  Rome.  The  lights  in  the  temples  were  ex- 
tinguished or  turned  down  and  an  image  of  the  god,  bleeding  from 
his  death  wounds,  was  placed  upon  a  bier  and  bewailed  in  sorrowful 
hymns,  the  presiding  priests  anointing  the  mouths  of  the  mourners 
with  oil  and  saying:  "Trust  ye  in  the  Lord,  who  by  the  pains  he 
hath  suffered  hath  procured  our  salvation."  Plutarch,  in  Alcib.  and 
Nicias  says  that  the  streets  of  Athens  were  filled  with  images  of  the 
dead  Adonis,  borne  to  the  sepulchre  by  trains  of  women,  who  were 
weeping,  beating  their  breasts  and  exhibiting  all  the  outward  marks 
of  grief.  Says  Calmet  in  "  Fragments  " :  "In  these  mysteries,  after 
the  attendants  had  for  a  long  while  bewailed  the  death  of  this  just 
person,  he  was  at  length  understood  to  be  restored  to  life,  to  have 
experienced  a  Resurrection;  signified  by  the  re-admission  of  light. 
On  this,  the  priest  addressed  the  company  saying:  'Comfort  your- 
selves, all  ye  who  have  been  partakers  of  the  Mysteries  of  the  Deity 
thus  preserved,  for  we  shall  now  enjoy  some  respite  from  our  labours; ' 
to  which  were  added  these  words,  '  I  have  now  escaped  a  sad  calam- 
ity and  my  lot  is  greatly  mended.'  The  people  answered  by  the 
invocation  'Hail  to  the  Dove,  the  Restorer  of  Light! '  "  According 
to  Pindar,  B.  C.  522,  an  image  of  the  typical  Dove  was  exhibited 
stretched  upon  a  cross.  Doane.  Says  Dupuis:  "  The  obsequies  of 
Adonis  were  celebrated  at  Alexandria  with  great  ceremony.  His 
image  was  solemnly  borne  to  a  sepulchre  which  served  the  purpose 
of  rendering  him  funereal  honors.  Before  welcoming  his  return  to 
life,  mournful  rites  were  performed  in  memory  of  his  sufferings  and 
death.  The  great  wound  which  he  had  received  was  shown,  just  as 
afterwards  was  shown  the  wound  which  Christ  received  from  the 
thrust  of  a  spear.  The  feast  of  the  Resurrection  of  Adonis  was  cele- 
brated on  the  25th  March."  Says  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor:  This  festival, 
identical  with  our  Easter,  was  called  Hilaria  and  was  celebrated  on 
or  shortly  after  the  vernal  equinox.  Its  name  was  afterwards  trans- 
ferred from  the  religious  festival  to  the  term  of  the  law  courts,  which 


122  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

began  with  the  first  day  of  the  year,  formerly  March  ist,  now  Janu- 
ary I  St.  Hence  the  January  term  is  still  called  hilary.  From  the 
rejoicings  which  attended  this  festival  we  have  the  word  hilarious 
with  its  cognates.  This  word,  together  with  Yule  and  others,  is  the 
progeny  of  the  Indian  HouH.  The  rites  of  Adonis  were  publicly 
celebrated  at  Antiochand  Bethlehem  (St.  Jerome,  in  Doane,  220),  so 
late  as  the  4th  century  (arrival  of  the  Emperor  Julian)  and  at  Alex- 
andria down  to  the  5th  century  (time  of  St.  Cyril).  Cf.  Pindar;  Plu- 
tarch; Julius  Firmicius;  St.  Jerome;  Rev.  Dr  Adams,  "Rom.  Ant."; 
Rev.  Dr.  Gross,  "Heathen  Idol";  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor,  "Diegesis^"; 
Dunlap,  "Myst.  of  Adonis";  Murray,  "Mythol.";  etc.  Although 
the  pretended  pedigree  of  Adonis  connects  his  name  with  the  geraof 
Troy,  the  materials  of  his  worship  cannot  be  traced  further  back 
than  the  8th  century  B.  C,  and  even  this  date  is  suspiciously  remote. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  cult  in  the  Greek  States  could  hardly  have 
originated  more  than  a  century  or  two  earlier  than  the  time  of  Pin- 
dar.    Somes  of  its  features  are  of  a  period  several  centuries  later, 

B.  C.  742,  China. — Chinese  sera,  according  to  Greswell,  F.  C, 
I,  561. 

B.  C.  738,  Rome. — Nativity  of  Numa  Pompilius.  In  B.  C.  715 
Numa  was  elected  king  (Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  354,  prefers  B.  C.  714, 
or  713;  but  in  IV,  156,  he  says  B.  C,  715).  Numa  afterwards  erects 
a  statue  of  Janus,  the  position  of  whose  fingers  indicated  the  num- 
ber 365;  in  B.  C.  705,  Numa  institutes  the  festival  of  Rubigalia; 
and  in  B.  C.  672  he  dies,  after  a  reign  of  43  years.  Livy,  I,  21; 
Pliny,  XVIII,  69,  5 ;  XXXIV,  16,  i.  According  to  Livy,  Numa  was 
elected  king  in  A.  U.  39.  He  had  espoused  the  daughter  of  Tat,  the 
king  of  Sabinia,  and  was  then  a  widower.  He  must  therefore  have  at 
least  attained  the  age  of  manhood.  The  year  assumed  for  his  birth 
makes  him  23  years  old  when  he  was  elected  king.  The  year  also  agrees 
with  the  false  aera  of  Romulus  adopted  by  Divus  Augustus.  It  does 
not  follow  from  this  that  Numa  was  a  myth,  yet  such  is  the  opinion 
of  several  historians.  As  with  most  of  the  demi-gods,  his  epoch  was 
purposely  antiquated  in  order  to  procure  for  him  and  his  ordinances 
increased  veneration.  Pliny  states  that  Numa  was,  (whilst  Livy  says 
he  was  reputed  to  have  been,)  a  contemporary  of  Pythagoras.  Pli- 
ny's view  of  his  sera  is  corroborated  by  the  character  of  the  astrol- 
ogy of  Numa  and  Pythagoras,  which,  in  both  cases,  was  that  of  the 
Second  Buddhic  age.  Pliny  says  that  Pythagoras  discovered  the 
movements  of  the  planet  Venus  in  either  Olym.  32,  ^^,  42,  or  62, 
such  being  the  variance  of  the  mss.      The  equivalents  in  A.  U.  are 


iERAS.  123 

given  variously  in  the  same  mss. ,  at  109,  113,  142  and  222.  These 
discrepancies  of  dates  hardly  warrant  Niebuhr  in  doubting  (as  he 
does)  the  existence  either  of  Numa  or  Pythagoras.  Rather  do  they 
bespeak  the  use  of  an  altered  calendar  and  an  object  of  superstition 
removed  backward  in  time,  without  also  removing  his  contemporaries 
and  other  environment.     See  B.  C.  533. 

B.  C.  736,  India. — Pre- Augustan  or  Indian  date  of  the  Nativity 
of  the  Buddhic  les  Chrishna,  Vicramaditya,  Salivahana,  or  Buddha. 
See  chapter  VI,  table  B.  According  to  Gen.  Cunningham,  the  Chi- 
nese missionary  Fa  Hian  (fourth  century)  fixed  the  nirvana  of 
Buddha  at  this  period,  namely,  in  the  reign  of  Ping  Vang,  B.C.  770-19; 
but  this  appears  to  be  a  mistake  of  the  nirvana  for  the  nativity.  The 
practice  of  substituting  the  geras  of  mythological,  for  those  who  are 
assumed  to  have  been  real,  personages  and  vice  versa,  has  led  tO' great 
confusion  in  the  identification  of  Indian  divinities.  The  sera  given 
by  Fa  Hian  for  Buddha  is  really  that  of  the  Brahmo-Buddhic  incar- 
nation, known  as  les  Chrishna,  the  Salivahana,  or  the  Vicramaditya; 
but  since  it  has  been  also  assigned  to  Buddha,  there  is  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  accept  it  in  that  sense.      See  B.  C.  78. 

B,  C.  721,  India. — Aera  of  the  Nativity  of  Buddha,  son  of  Maya. 
He  was  born  on  the  eighth  day  of  the  second  month,  the  year  begin- 
ning with  the  culmination  of  the  Pleiades.  This  culmination  occurred 
on  Nov.  17,  or  Martimas  (Haliburton).  Hence  the  "eighth  day  of 
the  second  month  "  was  Dec.  25.  Lillie,  "  Buddha  and  Early  Bud- 
dhism," 73.  Among  the  many  names  of  this,  the  second  or  princi- 
pal Buddha,  (who  may  have  been  in  some  respects  historical,)  are  Is- 
war,  les  Chrishna,  Gautama  and  Sakya-Muni.  The  Scythians  and 
Goths  called  him  Woden  and  the  Greeks,  Dionysios.  His  advent 
was  foretold  by  prophets ;  his  celestial  father  in  India  was  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  in  Burma  the  god  Phralaong;  his  putative  father  was  Sudd- 
hodana  (India)  or  Thoodandana  (Burma)  who  in  India  was  a  she  ^- 
herd  of  the  royal  line  of  Maha  Sammatu,  and  in  Burma,  a  king.  His 
virgin  mother  was  Maya,  or  Maia.  The  Messianic  star  stood  over 
the  place  of  his  birth,  which  was  assigned  to  various  localities,  the 
favorite  one  being  beneath  a  tree  in  or  near  the  town  of  Kapilavasta 
in  Nepal.  But  in  recent  years  (1896)  a  monolith  of  Asoka  has  been 
excavated  which  marks  or  pretends  to  mark  the  exact  spot  of  Bud- 
dha's nativity.  This  is  at  Manza  Poderiya,  in  Nepal,  about  18  miles 
south-east  of  Kapilavasta.  London  "  Times,"  Dec.  26,  1896.  Hali- 
burton's  date  for  the  birth-day  apparently  belongs  to  the  First  Bud- 
dha and  the  ten  months'  year,  when  the  birth-day  itself  was  Martin 


124  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

mas,  afterward  changed  in  respect  of  Sakya  Muni  to  December  25th, 
both  of  these  days  having  synchronised  at  one  time  or  another  with 
the  winter  solstice.  Buddha  was  born  among  shepherds,  to  the  ac- 
companiment of  flowers,  music  and  perfumes.  He  was  recognized 
as  the  Expected  One  by  the  seers  or  Magi;  his  head  was  rayed;  his 
complexion  was  black  and  his  hair  was  woolly.  A  slaughter  of  In- 
nocents was  ordered  by  the  tyrant  Bimbasara,  from  which  Buddha 
happily  escaped,  to  perform  his  appointed  mission  of  bringing  peace 
and  happiness  to  the  world.  The  proofs  of  his  legitimacy  or  identity 
were  his  transfiguration  and  numerous  miracles.  His  favorite  disci- 
ple, of  whom  there  were  12,  was  Arjon.  The  duration  of  his  long 
fast  was  40  days,  some  say  "many  days."  He  was  tempted  by  the 
Evil  One,  Mara,  but  resisted  his  advances  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  saving  of  souls.  His  doctrines  are  contained  in  the  Baghavat 
Geeta,  the  Pittakattayan  and  other  scriptures.  "  He  preached  to 
all  mankind  the  mystery  of  suffering."  Address  of  Supt.  Gen.  of 
Shway  Dagon  Pagoda  of  Burma,  in  Trubner's  Record,  1880,  After  a 
life  of  great  toil,  austerity  and  voluntary  sacrifice,  Buddha  was  con- 
demned to  death  and  he  partook  of  a  Last  Supper  with  his  disciples. 
(Bishop  Bigandet,  II,  ^6.)  Buddha  was  cruelly  murdered  on  the  ver- 
nal equinox  in  the  80th  year  of  his  age,  upon  which  occasion  the  sun 
became  eclipsed  and  earthquakes  and  meteors  shook  the  earth.  He 
descended  to  hell  to  judge  the  dead;  remained  there  three  days  and 
nights;  rose  again  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  His  principal 
sacrament  was  baptism;  his  flower  the  lotus;  his  epigraphic  symbols 
the  t,  +  and  mystic  fan;  his  zodion  was  the  Lamb;  the  sign  of  his 
future  coming  is  the  White  Horse;  and  his  images  sit  cross-legged, 
with  a  button  on  the  forehead  and  a  svastica  on  the  naked  breast. 

B.  C.  717,  Assyria. — Sargon  II.  defeats  the  Scythians  at  Carche- 
mish  or  Karchemich. 

B.  C.  712,  Japan. — Nativity  of  Sin-mu,  Iva-sikono-mikotto,  or 
Sin-mu-ten-00,  the  first  mikado,  or  sovereign-pontiff.  Posthumous 
title,  Jimmu.  His  reign  began  B.  C.  660  (q.  v.)  and  lasted  until 
B.  C.  585.  His  reputed  age  at  death  was  127  years.  The  Burmese 
Buddha  (who  is  probably  the  same  with  Jimmu)  died  in  the  128th 
year  of  the  Eetzana  sera.  (This  sera  began  B.  C.  701.)  Bishop  Bi- 
gandet says  the  148th  year.     See  B.  C.  552. 

B.  C.  710,  Media. — "Herodotus  says  that  in  01.  17,2,  Cyaxares 
was  elected  king  by  the  Medes."  Diod.  Sic,  p.  71.  The  passages  in 
the  extant  copies  of  Herodotus  relating  to  Cyaxares  no  longer  con- 
tain any  dates.     01.  17,2  is  equal  to  66  years  after  the  year  B.  C. 


i*;RAS.  125 

776,  therefore  B.  C.  710.  Picot's  date  for  the  accession  of  CyaxareS 
is  B.  C.  635;  Haydn's  is  B.  C.  632,  which  is  just  78  years  later  than 
that  of  Diodorus,  an  interval  equal  to  the  alteration  of  the  calendar 
made  by  Augustus  after  Diodorus  wrote  his  history.  But  this  is  not 
all.  Herodotus,  I,  106,  says  that  Cyaxares  reigned  40  years,  which 
according  to  Diodorus  would  be  B.  C.  710-671,  yet  it  was  in  the 
reign  of  this  sanje  Cyaxares,  as  Herodotus  explicitly  informs  us,  and 
in  the  sixth  year  of  his  war  with  the  Lydians,  that  "  in  the  heat  0£ 
the  battle,  day  was  suddenly  turned  into  night,"  and  that  "this  phen. 
omenon,  Thales,  the  Melesian,  had  foretold  to  the  lonians,  fixing 
beforehand  this  year  as  the  very  period  in  which  it  would  take 
place."  Herod.  I,  74,  103.  Apollodorus  says  that  Thales  was  born 
in  01.  35,1  equal  to  B.  C.  639,  while  Phlegon  of  Tralles,  according  to 
Suidas,  places  the  acme  of  Thales  in  01.  37,  say  37,2,  equal  to  B.  C. 
630.  The  former  of  these  dates  would  not  make  Thales  the  contem- 
porary of  Cyaxares,  if  the  latter  lived  so  early  as  the  date  given  by 
Diodorus.  In  order  to  agree  with  Diodorus,  the  date  given  by  Phle- 
gon renders  it  necessary  to  regard  Thales  as  being  over  60  years  of 
age  before  he  reached  his  acme.  As  according  to  Lucian  he  lived 
to  the  age  of  100,  this  is  not  impossible;  but  it  does  not  agree  with 
Herodotus,  I,  75  and  170,  who  represents  Thales  as  diverting  the 
river  Halys  to  enable  Croesus  to  ford  it  during  his  expedition  against 
Cyrus,  circ.  B.  C.  547,  or  with  his  being  in  Ionia  when  Cyrus  reduced 
the  Ionic  cities,  circ.  B.  C.  546.  See  B.  C.  585  for  further  remarks 
on  the  date  of  the  eclipse  predicted  by  Thales. 

B.C. 703,  Persia. — Reputed  sera  of  Giemshid,  Gjemschid,  Djem- 
schid  or  Jumsheed,  the  heaven-born  king  of  Persia,  who  is  said  to 
have  abolished  misery  and  death  during  his  reign,  invented  wine, 
performed  numerous  miracles  and  reconciled  an  equable  and  Julian 
calendar,  by  intercalating,  every  120  years,  one  month  of  30  days. 
Hales,  42,  apud  Hyde,  205;  Fraser,  Hist.  Persia,  103  and  149;  Ores- 
well,  F.  C,  II,  81.  This  last  statement  implies  that  Giemshid  was 
familiar  with  a  Julian  solar  year  of  365^  days;  also  that  at  his 
epoch  the  year  was  divided  into  12  months  of  30  days  (average) ;  as- 
sumptions which  barely  and  suspiciously  come  within  the  limits  of 
probability.  In  point  of  fact  the  Persian  calendar  was  reformed  not 
in  B.  C.  703,  but  about  B.  C.  590,  during  the  period  ascribed  to  Zor- 
oaster. The  120-year  cycle  of  the  Persians  may  have  been  devised, 
as  we  know  was  the  case  in  China,  not  to  harmonize  the  equable  and 
Julian  year,  at  a  time  when  the  latter  was  unknown,  but  to  regulate 
the  church  festivals  of  a  year  which  had  originally  consisted  of  eight 


126  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

months  each  of  45  days,  afterwards  of  ten  months  each  of  36  days, 
and  finally  of  12  months  each  of  30  days.  •  Rev.  Dr.  Hales'  view  of 
the  antiquity  of  the  1 20-year  cycle  in  Persia  has  been  recently  adopted 
by  Prof.  Flinders  Petrie  with  respect  to  Egypt,  concerning  which  see 
cycles  of  120  years  herein.  D'Herbelot  says  that  although  since 
theMoslem  conquest  the  Persians  have  used  the  lunar  calendar  of 
their  conquerors,  yet  they  still  keep  the  Neuroz  at  the  vernal  equi- 
nox, as  it  was  established  by  Giemshid  of  their  first  dynasty.  Al- 
though this  is  quite  credible,  it  is  not  explained  how  it  is  carried  out 
in  practice.      Giemshid  is  probably  the  same  as  Buddha,  Jimmu,  etc. 

B.  C.  701,  Burma. — Eetzana  sera,  in  the  68th  year  of  which  Bud- 
dha was  incarnated.     Bigandet.     See  B.  C.  632  and  552. 

B.  C.  694,  lesygia. — Aera  of  the  lesyges  of  Tarentum.     After 
the  Messenian  war,  B.  C.  743-24,   the  Lacedsemonian  youths,  called 
Partheniae,  were  expatriated  and  sent  to  the  lesyges,  a  tribe  (of  the 
Veneti?)  who  occupied  Tarentum,  in  the  district  of  lesygia,  or  Mes- 
sapia,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Italy.     These  lesyges  came  from  II- 
lyria,  or  Venetia.      The  place-names  are  those  of  their  god  les,  or 
Taras,  the  Messiah.     The  lesyges  (sometimes  lazyges,  Jezides,  etc.) 
of    Italy    had   their  own  khans  so  late  as  B.  C.    480,   and  perhaps 
later.     We  hear  of  their  settling  Heraclea,  in  Lucania,  in  B.  C.  436. 
Strabo.  VI,  iii,  i  to  3.      The  lesyges,  or  Messapians,  had  the  follow- 
ing settlements:   i.  In  Bosphorus,   on  the  north  coast  of  the  Palus 
Mseotis,  (Sea  of  Azof,)   between  the  Tanais,  (Don,)  and  the  Cher- 
sonesus  (Crimea) ;   2,  In  Thracia,  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  Eux- 
ine,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Danube,  whence  they  conducted  the  over- 
land trade  to  the  East.      Ovid,  Tristia,   II;  3,  On  the  west  coast 
of  the  ^gean  sea,  near  Tanagra;  4,  In  the  auriferous  district  on  the 
Marissus,  a  Pannonian  affluent  of  the  Ister  (Danube) ;  5,  At  the  head 
of  the  Adriatic  gulf,  near  Aquilaea  and  the  auriferous  district  of  the 
Taurici  Norici;  6,  In  Messapia,    or  Apulia,   on  the  south  coast  of 
Italy;  7,  At  Cape  Finistere  in  Spain  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Loire, 
near  Cape  Finistere,  in  Gaul;  8,  In  Menapia.     They  probably  also 
had  an  emporium  in  Britain.     With  respect  to  the  lesyges  of  Bos- 
phorus, Thracia,  Illyria  and  Cape  Finistere,  they  all  tattooed  their 
bodies.      Herod,  v.   6;  Ency.  Brit.,   art.  "  Khazares;"  Strabo,  VII, 
V.  4.     This  may  also  be  true  of  the  others,  though   we  have  no 
records  of  the  fact.     Tattooing  is  still  a  common  practice  along  the 
shores  of  Illyria,  France,  Britain  and  Germany.     The  word  itself  sug- 
gests the  name  of  Taat  or  Buddha.      At  Cape  Finistere  they  were 
known  both  as  Veneti  and  Picts,  or   "painted  men."     At  about  the 


^RAS.  127 

sera  given  above  there  were  settlements  or  factories  of  a  similar  char- 
acter on  all  the  coasts  of  Europe;  such  factories  being  probably 
united  by  a  sort  of  Hansa;  but  with  the  exception  of  the  tribes  men- 
tioned above,  we  are  not  yet  warranted  in  regarding  the  other  trad- 
ing settlements  as  connected  with  the  lesyges.  The  latter  are  prob- 
ably the  same  people  as  the  White  Huns,  the  Leuco-Syrians,  etc. 
See  the  aera  of  Chersonesus  and  Santa  Maura,  B.  C.  36,  which  is  ex- 
actly one  divine  year  after  this  date. 

lesides,  Jezides,  or  Jezideen,  is  a  name  which  to  the  pious  and 
uneducated  Mahometans  of  the  present  day  merely  means  heretics, 
but  which  as  we  have  seen  has  a  far  more  significant  origin.  The 
Moslem  authors  allude  to  the  Jezides  of  Turkey  as  a  peculiar  people 
who  speak  a  language  different  from  the  Turkish  or  the  Persian,  yet 
somewhat  similar  to  the  latter.  They  say  that  there  are  two  kinds 
of  Jezides,  black  ones  and  white  ones;  they  distinguish  the  white 
ones  by  remarking  that  they  have  no  collars  to  their  shirts,  there  is 
only  a  round  opening  for  the  head  to  pass  through ;  and  they  say 
that  this  opening  is  made  in  imitation  of  the  circle  of  gold  and  rays 
of  heavenly  light,  to  be  seen  in  the  pictures  of  their  supreme  khan, 
or  spiritual  leader.      The  black  Jezides  are  mostly  fakirs  or  monks. 

The  Turks  and  the  Jezides  cordially  hate  each  other,  and  the 
greatest  insult  that  can  be  offered  to  a  Turk  is  to  call  him  a  Jezide. 
On  the  contrary,  the  Jezides  are  very  partial  to  christians,  because 
they  believe  that  Jezide,  their  spiritual  Master,  was  les  Chrishna, 
whom  they  confound  with  Jesus  Christ. 

They  drink  wine  even  to  excess;  they  eat  pork;  they  receive  cir- 
cumcision only  when  forced  to  do  so  by  the  Turks;  their  ignorance 
is  extreme;  they  have  no  books;  they  believe,  however,  in  the  chris- 
tian evangelists  and  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jews,  without  being 
able  to  read  or  possess  them;  they  make  vows  and  pilgrimages;  but 
they  are  not  permitted  by  the  Moslems  to  have  either  churches,  tem- 
ples, oratories,  public  festivals,  or  public  ceremonies.  Their  rites 
are  limited  to  singing  sacred  hymns  in  honour  of  les  Chrishna  and 
the  Virgin. 

When  they  pray  they  turn  towards  the  east,  while  the  Turks  turn 
towards  the  south ;  they  believe  in  the  Devil  and  look  upon  him  as 
God's  agent  in  the  other  world.  One  point  of  their  religion  is  never 
to  curse;  for  fear  of  the  Devil's  vengeance. 

The  black  Jezides  are  regarded  as  holy  men  and  it  is  not  customary 
to  lament  their  death;  on  the  contrary,  the  custom  is  to  rejoice. 
For  the  most  part  the  blacks  follow  a  pastoral  occupation.     They  do 


128  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

not  kill  their  own  meat;  but  leave  this  to  the  white  Jezides.  All  the 
Jezides  march  in  troops  like  the  Arabs,  often  changing  their  habita- 
tion, and  living  in  tents  made  of  goatskins.  They  arrange  their  tents 
in  a  circle,  with  their  cattle  in  the  middle.  They  purchase  their 
wives,  who  ordinarily  cost  200  ecus  each.  This  was  also  a  custom  of 
the  ancient  Veneti.  Herod.  Clio,  196.  They  are  allowed  to  di- 
vorce their  wives,  if  it  is  in  order  to  become  a  monk.  It  is  a  crime 
among  them  to  shave  or  cut  their  beards,  no  matter  how  little  may 
be  cut.  Ovid  in  Tristia,  says  the  same  of  the  Getae  of  Pontus.  Cer- 
tain of  the  lesidian  customs  bear  a  curious  resemblance  to  our  Chris- 
tian rites;  for  example,  atone  of  their  sacred  feasts,  their  priests 
present  to  each  a  cup  full  of  wine,  saying  to  him:  "Take  thou  this 
chalice  of  les  Chrishna's  blood."  The  other  then  kisses  the  hand  of 
him  who  presents  the  cup  and  drinks  from  it. 

B.  C.  692,  Egypto— True  ^era  of  Thoth  (pronounced  Tot  or  Taat). 
The  Egyptian  priests,  in  order  to  extort  that  veneration  for  the  Bud- 
dhic  god  which  is  due  to  superior  antiquity,  carried  the  sera  of  Tot 
back  to  B.  C.  1350,  which  is  exactly  one  Brahmo-Buddhic  divine  year 
prior  to  this  date.     Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  138. 

B.  C.  691,  Burma. — Sacred  ^ra  oi  Grand  Epoch,  said  to  have 
been  established  by  An-ja-na,  the  grandfather  of  Gotama.  The 
Pandit's  "Chron."  This  is  probably  identical  with  the  Eetzana 
sera. 

B.  C.  677,  India.— ^ra  of  Fod,  or  Buddha.  See  B.  C.  1036  and 
A.  D.  65. 

B.  C.  673,  Syria. — ^ra  of  the  Syrian  Thammuz.  Several  com- 
putations fix  the  date  between  B.  C.  673  and  B.  C.  659  in  the  Vulgar 
sera.  Among  the  various  names  of  this  Messiah  were  Thamoez, 
Adonai,  (Greek,  Adonis)  Adonissus,  (Gr.  Dionysios),  Nazaratus,  and 
Nizzuz,  (Psalms  xxiv,  8,  Hebrew  ed.);  the  last  being  evidently  the 
same  as  Nissus.  The  worship  of  this  incarnation,  which  may  have 
come  from  Pontus  and  Babylon,  extended  during  the  sixth  to  the 
fourth  century  B.  C.  from  Syria  to  Egypt  and  Greece.  ^  Thammuz 
was  foretold  by  prophets;  engendered  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  conceived 
by  the  virgin  Maya  or  Mylitta,  and  born  on  the  winter  solstice  among 
shepherds.  He  was  recognised  by  the  Magi,  had  12  disciples,  per- 
formed numerous  miracles,  strove  for  the  enfranchisement  of  man, 
fasted  forty  days,  was  grievously  persecuted,  and  finally  condemned 
to  a  violent  death,  upon  the  vernal  equinox,  on  which  mournful  occa- 
sion the  sun  was  eclipsed  and  the  people  "wept  for  Thammuz."  He 
descended  to  Hell,  rose  again,  and  finally  ascended  to  Heaven,  there 


iERAS.  129 

to  join  the  Father.  His  sacrament  was  baptism;  his  epigraphic 
symbols  were  the  +  and  f;  and  his  zodion  was  the  Lamb.  The  Lord's 
Prayer  (in  Hebrew,  the  Kadish)  appears  to  have  been  borrowed  from 
this  cult.      It  is  given  in  full  by  Massey,  in  his  "Genesis,"  II,  469. 

B.  C.  667,  China. — ^ra  of  Lao-kiun,  or  Lao-tsze,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  born  in  the  third  year  of  Ting- Vang  of  the  Chow  dynasty. 
The  date  given  in<T.  W.  Doane's  "Bible  Myths  "  is  B.  C.  604.  The 
present  date  is  attained  by  adding  the  6;^  years  still  lacking  in  the 
Roman  calendar.  Lao-tsze  was  "a  divine  emanation  incarnate  in  a 
human  form."  He  was  "born  of  a  virgin,  black  in  complexion  and  as 
beautiful  as  jasper."  He  was  "antecedent  to  the  birth  of  the  ele- 
ments in  the  great  absolute,  the  pure  essence  of  the  Teen,  the  original 
ancestor  of  the  prime  breath  of  life,"  who  "gave  form  to  the  heavens 
and  the  earth."  Thornton,  Hist.  China,  I,  134,  137.  Chamber's 
Encyc. ,  art.  "Lao-tsze."  Both  "king  and  people  honor  him  with 
divine  worship. "  Le  Compte.  "  Lao-kiun  believed  in  One  God,  whom 
he  called  Tao,  and  the  sect  which  he  formed  is  called  Tao-tse,  or 
Sect  of  Reason. "     Doane. 

B.  C.  662,  India. — If  the  Digambara  aera  of  Mahavira's  nirvana, 
which  is  "605  years  before  Vicrama,"  is  reckoned  from  B.  C.  57,  it 
will  make  this  date;  and,  as  such,  it  has  been  adopted  by  some 
writers;  but  this  is  not  the  asra  of  Vicrama  as  meant  by  the  Digam- 
bara Jains,  who  reckon  from  A.  D.  78.  According  to  this  sect,  a  Ma- 
havira's nirvana  falls  in  B.  C.  527,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  660,  Japan. — Aera  of  Jimmu,  according  to  some  chronolo- 
gists,  among  them  Rev.  Dr.  Greswell,  who  fixes  the  epoch  on  Feb- 
ruary 19.  Jimmu  is  none  other  than  the  second  Buddha,  or  les 
Chrishna,  who  is  incarnated  every  658  years  and  was  due  to  appear 
658  years  after  the  first  Buddha.  There  are  no  historical  records  of 
Japan  earlier  than  the  third  century  of  our  sera.  See  B.  C.  1000 
and  712. 

B.  C.  658,  Scylhia. — Aera  of  les-anara,  or  Zanara,  virgin 
spouse  of  God  (Jupiter)  and  mother  of  the  miraculously  conceived 
Scythes  (or  lesythes),  the  Messiah  of  the  great  Scythian  nation, 
which  included  the  Sacse,  Massagetse,and  Arimaspians.  "  Their  vast 
and  glorious  empire  extended  from  the  river  Araxes  and  the  Caucasus 
mountains  to  the  Euxine  sea.  (It  therefore  included  the  Colchians, 
Khazarians  and  Getaej.  It  also  extended  from  the  Indian  ocean  to 
the  Caspian  sea  and  even  (at  times)  to  Syria  and  Egypt.  The  Scythians 
established  colonies  in  Paphlagonia,  Pontus  and  Sarmatia,  (Germany 
and  the  Baltic  coasts).      Their  sacrifices  to  Mars  and  Diana  (lesythes 


130  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

and  lesnara)  were  called  tam-ibolia.  They  conquered  as  far  (west- 
ward) as  Thrace.  In  the  Island  of  the  Hypoboreans  they  observed  the 
cycle  of  19  years  (the  Metonic).  Their  year  begins  with  the  vernal 
equinox.  Zanara  civilised  Scythia,  built  numerous  cities,  enriched 
the  people  and  extended  the  empire.  Upon  her  death  the  Sacae 
erected  to  her  memory  an  enormous  pyramid,  crowned  with  her 
image  in  gold  and  worshipped  her  as  the  Mother  of  God."  Diod.  Sic. 
B.  C.  658,  Crimea. — In  this  year  the  Heracleotes  crossed  the 
Euxine  and  established  a  colony  in  the  Crimea,  near  the  present  Se- 
bastopol,  which  they  called  Cherronesus,  or  else  Chersonesus,  the 
Greek  word  for  a  promontory,  and  there  they  lived,  under  free  institu- 
tions, for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  Encyc.  Brit. ,  art. ' '  Khazares. " 
Herodotus  represents  the  Heracleotes,  or  Heraclidae,  to  have  been  a 
Greek  colony  of  Lydia,  which  descended  both  from  Hercules,  a 
Greek  god,  and  from  Belus  and  Ninus,  who  were  Babylonian  gods. 
(Cleo,  7).  Probably  the  truth,  behind  this  evidently  mythological 
account,  is  that  the  Leucosyrians  and  Dionysian  Greeks  of  Amisus, 
in  southern  Pontus,  having  been  driven  away,  either  by  Tiglath-pil- 
Esar  II,  or  else  by  Assur-bani-pal  II,  founded  or  else  reinforced 
a  colony  in  the  great  Scythian  peninsular,  which  they  named  Crim- 
isus,  since  corrupted  to  Crimea.  Near  Amisus  in  Pontus  were 
Heracleam,  Sebastopolis,  Eupatoria,  and  other  places  whose  names, 
like  Crimisus,  the  colonists  transferred  to  the  shores  of  Scythia. 
Here  they  met  and  intermingled  with  Ugrian  traders,  whose  racial 
name  was  conferred  by  the  Greek  mythologists  upon  Agron,  the 
fabulous  progenitor  of  the  Heracleotes.  "For  the  Geloni  were 
originally  Greeks  who,  being  expelled  from  the  trading  ports,  settled 
among  the  Budini;  where  they  use  a  language  partly  Scythian  and 
partly  Greek."  Melpomene,  109.  They  worshipped  a  Messiah,  or 
Mediator,  known  to  the  natives  as  les  Chrishna,  to  the  Greeks  as 
Bacchus,  or  Dionysios,  and  to  the  Egyptians  as  Hesiris,  or  Osiris. 
The  people  of  the  Crimea  also  worshipped  the  virgin  mother  of 
God.  "The  Tauri  sacrifice  to  the  Virgin  all  who  suffer  shipwreck. 
.  .  .  The  Budini  are  a  great  and  populous  nation.  .  .  .  The  Geloni 
adorn  their  temples  after  the  Grecian  manner,  with  images,  altars 
and  wooden  shrines.  They  celebrate  the  triennial  festivals  of  Bacchus 
and  perform  the  Bacchanalian  ceremonies.  .  .  .  By  the  Greeks  the 
Budini  are  erroneously  called  Geloni. "  Melpomene,  103-108.  This 
form  of  worship  may  not  have  been  in  vogue  when  the  Greeks  first 
invaded  the  Crimea;  yet  the  foregoing  extracts  leave  but  little  doubt 
of  its  prevalence  in  the  time  of  Herodotus,  which  was  about  B.  C. 


yERAS.  131 

450.  The  Dionysian  cult  subsequently  extended  along  the  shores  of 
the  Euxine  until  it  eventually  embraced  both  of  the  extensive  prov- 
inces known  to  the  Occident  as  Bosphorus  and  Pontus.  When  the 
Greek  colonies  of  the  Crimea  had  fully  established  an  overland  trade 
with  the  Orient,  which  they  did  by  way  of  the  Palus  Maeotis,  and 
the  rivers  Tanais  (Don)  and  Volga,  this  commerce  encouraged  the 
settlement  in  the  intermediate  countries  of  tribes  of  Armenians, 
Caucasians,  and  Scythians,  who,  together,  formed  that  mixed  and 
very  remarkable  race,  the  Caesaris,  Chozares,  or  Khazares,  whose 
history  stretches  from  les  Chrishna  to  the  period  of  the  crusades, 

A.  D.  1 106;  and  the  emblems  of  whose  religion  are  stamped  upon  the 
coins  of  Bosphorus  and  Pontus.  That  religion  was  Bacchic  and  Budd- 
hic.  See  A.  D.  64.  The  term  "Greek,"  as  used  in  this  connection, 
is  from  Herodotus  and  maybe  misleading.  It  implies  that  the  Greek 
Asiatic  colonies  were  settled  from  Greece  and  therefore  after  Greece 
itself  was  settled  by  the  Greek  race  or  races;  whilst  the  contrary 
may  be  the  fact.  The  so-called  colonies  may  have  been  first  settled 
by  this  race  and  Greece  proper  may  have  been  settled  afterward. 
Such  indeed  is  the  opinion  of  Pococke,  and  apparently  also  that  of 
Jameison,  Buchanan  and  other  writers  on  the  subject.  Moreover, 
they  all  agree  with  Niebuhr  in  the  opinion  that  most,  if  not  all,  of 
the  history  of  Greece,  prior  to  the  age  of  Solon,  is  either  fabulous 
or  else  greatly  perverted.  Herodotus  himself  says  that  the  Phrygians, 
whom  we  moderns  have  been  led  to  regard  as  Greek  colonists,  were 
older  than  the  Egyptians.  Euterpe,  II,  2.  This  of  course  makes 
them  older  than  the  Greeks  of  Europe.  In  another  place  (Mel.  ;^;i) 
Herodotus  affirms  that  a  complete  line  of  communication  existed  in 
his  day  from  the  hypoborean  regions  in  north-eastern  Scythia,  through 
Scythia,  Thrace  and  Greece  to  the  Adriatic  gulf,  (Istria  and 
Illyria),  along  which  line  offerings  were  sent  by  the  hypoboreans  to 
the  shrine  of  Delos;  and  in  Terp.  3  he  says  that  "the  nation  of  the 
Thracians  is  the  greatest  of  any  among  men,  except  the  Indians." 

B.  C.  658,  India. — Augustan  date  of  the  birth  of  Buddha.     See 

B.  C.  662,  660,  656,  etc. 

B.  C.  657,  China. — Aera  given  by  Greswell,  I,  582.  Epoch, 
February  16. 

B.  C.  656,  India. — Nirvana  of  Buddha,  B.  C.  656-33,  according 
to  an  inscription  cited  by  Gen.  Cunningham  and  his  translation  of 
the  years  into  the  Christian  reckoning.  The  year  656  is  the  Indian 
or  pre-Augustan  date  of  Buddha's  death.  The  post-Justinian  or 
Christian  date  of  Buddha's  birth  was  B.  C.  673  and  his  death  B.  C.  593. 


132  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  656,  Thracia. — Aera  of  Buddha  or  Mercury  observed  by 
the  Chrestonians  and  other  Gothic  tribes  of  the  Balkan  Peninsular, 
** Their  kings  reverence  Mercury  most  of  all  the  gods;  they  swear 
only  by  him  and  claim  to  be  descended  from  him."  Herodotus, 
Terpsichore,  7.  The  same  custom  prevailed  in  England  down  to  the 
reign  of  Henry  II.,  whose  pedigree,  traced  from  Woden  or  Buddha, 
will  be  found  at  length  in  Palgrave's  "  Eng.  Com.",  p.  613.  Among 
the  customs  of  the  Thracian  Goths  was  the  suttee.  Herod.,  Terp.,  5. 
This  is  clearly  Oriental.  The  Buddhic  or  Bacchic  cult  is  mentioned 
by  Herodotus  as  the  prevailing  one  among  those  tribes  who  occupied 
the  Peninsular  and  the  littoral  of  the  Euxine,  including  the  Crimea, 
where  Justinian  found  it  practised  in  the  seventh  century  of  our  asra. 

B.C.  656,  Chorasmia. — Conjectural  sra  of  Kutaiba,  who  de- 
stroyed the  ancient  literature  of  Chorasmia  and  eatablished  a  religious 
schism.  Albiruni.  The  various  places  named  after  this  Chorasmian 
khan  indicate  the  line  of  his  conquests.  Among  these  are  Kutais 
in  the  Caucasus  60  m.  east  from  Poti  and  Kutaiak,  Kutaya,  or  Kiu- 
tapia  (anc.  Coteseum)  on  the  Pursak,  an  affluent  of  the  Sakaria,  the 
ancient  Sangarius.  The  last  named  place  was  the  seat  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  Piscenian  Mother.      See  B.  C.  645. 

B.  C.  645,  Assyria. — ^ra  of  Nana-Sab-Esia,  mother  of  the  gods. 
A  cylinder  of  Assur-bani-pal,  of  a  year  which  is  believed  to  corre- 
spond with  645  B.  C.  relates  that  he  captured  the  image  of  Nana  in 
Elam,  "a  place  not  appointed  for  her,"  and  restored  it  to  "  Urukh 
in  Bitanna,"  from  whence  it  had  been  taken  1635  years  before.  (Ra- 
gozin's  "  Chaldea,"  195.)  It  is  related  by  the  Greek  writers  that, 
during  the  Trojan  war,  the  date  of  which  varies  between  1334  and 
1 129  B.  C,  the  king  of  Assyria  drove  the  Venetians  out  of  Pontus 
and  Cappadocia.  This  was  not  1635  years;  it  was  at  the  most  about 
635  years  before  Assur-bani-pal.  The  Venetians  were  probably  al- 
lied to  the  Urtuki  Turcomans  of  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  worshippers 
of  Nana-sab-Esia.  It  was  a  common  practise  of  the  ancients  after 
ravaging  a  hostile  country,  to  bear  away  its  gods  and  display  them 
in  the  ensuing  triumph,  a  custom  which  survived  to  the  sera  of  Na- 
poleon Buonaparte  and  which  was  certainly  not  neglected  by  the 
sovereigns  of  Assyria.  At  a  later  aera,  Assur-bani-pal  restored  an 
image  of  Nana  to  the  "  Urukh  in  Britanna,"  from  whom  (not  whence) 
it  had  been  taken.  Meanwhile  the  goddess  had  been  doiug  duty  in 
Elam,  where  the  Chaldean  priests  had  carved  a  false  date  upon  it,  a 
species  of  pious  fraud,  which,  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sayce  shows  ( '  'Assyria", 
189),  Assur-bani-pal   himself  did  not  disdain   to   practice.      Nana's 


iERAS.  IJ3 

shrine  in  Bithynia  was  at  Piscenus;  and  her  image,  or  symbol,  could 
scarcely  have  been  older  than  the  period  assigned  to  the  Trojan  war. 
Similar  to  this  is  the  fable  of  Orestes,  himself  a  Scythian  god,  who 
was  instructed  by  the  Delphic  oracle  of  Apollo  to  remove  the  image 
of  Diana,  mother  of  God,  from  the  Taurica-Chersonesus  to  Greece. 
Pausanias,  III,  3.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  employed  the  same  prac- 
tice.    See  B.  C.  297  and  205. 

B.  C.  645,  Persia. — Approximate  sera  of  the  worship  of  Mithra 
in  Persia.  This  cult  may  be  traced  backward  to  India.  Maurice,  II, 
204.  Vestiges  of  it  in  that  country  may  reasonably  be  assigned  to 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  earlier  than  in  Persia,  say  to  about  B.  C. 
780.  It  was  introduced  into  Rome  during  the  first  century  of  our 
rera.  Lajard.  Another  name  for  Mithra  or  Mithras  is  Nanaia,  or 
Nana;  although  contrariwise  Langlois  and  others  hold  that  Nana 
was  a  female  god,  the  divine  mother  of  Mithras.  Ragozin  says  that 
Nannan  was  the  Chaldean  name  for  the  moon;  therefore  the  name 
of  a  female;  an  opinion  which  is  greatly  strengthened  by  the  femin- 
ine appearance  of  all  the  Mithraic  images  now  extant.  It  may  be 
that  Mithra  and  Mithras  were  the  female  and  male  embodiment  of  the 
same  divinity.  Assuming  (in  deference  to  common  opinion)  that 
Mithras  was  a  male,  he  was,  according  to  Dupuis,  Doane  and  oth- 
ers, the  son  of  the  virgin  Nana;  foretold  and  welcomed  by  the  Magi ; 
miraculously  born  in  a  cave;  on  the  winter  solstice  (Mirgan,  Pers., 
Natalis  Soils,  Rom.);  head  rayed;  complexion  fair;  tresses  flowing; 
number  of  disciples,  ten,  afterwards  12.  After  a  life  of  suffering, 
endured  for  the  sake  of  mankind,  Mithras  died  a  violent  death  on 
the  vernal  equinox;  descended  to  the  nether  world;  remained  three 
days  and  nights;  rose  again  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  Sacra- 
ments: eucharist  and  baptism;  plants:  palm,  cypress,  pine  and  lily. 
F^/igraphic  symbols:  ?,  +;  zodion,  the  Bull.  Attribute:  Phrygian 
cap.     Mithra  is  usually  represented  slaughtering  the  Bull. 

B.  C.  644,  India. — Death  and  Ascension  of  the  Buddhic  les 
Chrishna.  He  was  born  in  the  tribe  of  Yadu  (Vishnu  Purana,  V,  23) 
at  Gorakpore  in  Rajputana  and  was  the  issue  of  les-Saca  the  Sun- 
god  and  the  virgin  Vasudeva.  His  complexion  was  black;  his  hair 
vvOoUy.  At  the  age  of  29  he  became  an  ascetic  and  preached  social 
equality,  charity,  meekness,  and  faith  in  immortality.  He  performed 
many  astonishing  miracles,  declared  that  he  had  created  himself, 
died  in  Kusinara  at  the  age  of  80,  descended  to  hell,  rose  again  and 
finally  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  These  dates  and  some  of  the  de- 
tails are  from  Ramchandra  Gosha,  while  others  are  from  Wilson  and 


134  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Sir  Wm.  Jones,  the  last  of  whom,  however,  alludes  to  the  Brahmini- 
cal  les  Chrishna,  whose  aera  he  fixes  during  the  Mahabharata  wars. 
B.  C.  644,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  re-incarnation  of  lanus  Quirinus. 
This  is  the  name  given  to  him  by  Ovid,   Fasti,  I,  69,  and  others. 
Virgil  calls  him  "  Father  lasius,  from  whom  our  race  is  descended." 
Aeneid,  III,  168.      The  name  of  Quirinus  is  probably  a  Roman  cor- 
ruption of  Chrishna,  or  Quichena,  as  lasius  is  of  les.     The  date  is 
that  of  the  nirvana  of  Chrishna.     The  earliest  bronze  ace,  or  eis,  or 
ies  of  Rome,  upon  which  the  effigy  of  lasius  or  lanus  is  cast,   and 
which,  according  to  G.  Feuardent  and  M.  Garrault,  derived  its  name 
from  the  effigy,  is  of  about  the  date  B.  C.  450.      Its  symbol,  which 
accompanies  the  effigy  of  lanus,  is  the  Cross.     The  statues  of  lanus 
represented  the  hands  raised,  with  the  fingers  expressing  the  number 
of  days  in  the  equable  solar  year,  viz.,  365.      Pliny,  N.  H.,  XXXIV, 
16  (7).    The  earliest  explicit  mention  of  the  equable  year  in  the  Oc- 
cident is  connected  with  Thales  of  Miletus,  who  is  said  to  have  "dis- 
covered it,"  though  in  fact  it  was  probably  known  ages  previously 
both  to  the  Hindus  and  the  lesiges.     The  adoption  of  a  solar  year  in 
Rome  is  of  a  later  date  than  Thales,  therefore,  historically,  the  wor- 
ship of  lanus  or  Janus  in  Rome  and  the  emission  of  coins  with  his 
image  cast  or  stamped  upon  them,  cannot  be  assigned  to  an  earlier 
date  than  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  B.  C.     According  to  Cato,  Janus 
was  a  Scythian  divinity.      He  was   the  son  of  the  virgin  Crissa,  or 
Creusa,  by  the  god  Apollo.     To  avoid  the  displeasure  of  her  father, 
(Ericthonius,)  Creusa  entrusted  her  infant  to  an   ark,  which  being 
transported  to  the  temple  of  Delphos,  the  priestess  of  that  sanctuary 
reared  it  tenderly  and  eventually  restored  it  to  its  mother.      Janus 
was  a  ten  months'  infant;  born  in  an  humble  cottage;  and  among 
shepherds.      He  was  the  patron  of  peace,  of  commerce  and  the  vine. 
In  virtue  of  his  divine  origin  he  became  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  the 
Doorkeeper  of  Heaven.    We  here  have  the  mythology  of  several  ages 
jumbled  together.      Plutarch;   Fabius  Pictor;  Virgil;  Ovid,  Fasti,  I, 
23,  122,  141,  199,  254;  Noel,  "Die.  Fable."  The  attributes  of  Janus 
were  the  same  as  those  of  Dionysios  and  Osiris.   Faber,  ' '  Pagan  Idol. " 
He  was  also  Bi-frons  (two-faced)  and  held  the  keys  of  heaven.    Diod- 
orus  and  Macrobius  state  that  the  temple  of  Janus  in  Rome  was  built 
by  Romulus;  probably  a  fable.     This  temple  had  four  sides,  each 
with  a  door  and  three  windows,  representing  the  four  seasons  and 
twelve  months.   Such  a  division  of  the  year  in  Rome  was  in  fact  much 
later  than  the  period  assigned  to  Romulus.      Says  Ovid:   "When  the 
Founder  of  the  City  divided  the  periods,  he  provided  that  there  should 


iERAS.  135 

be  twice  five  months  in  ttie  year."  Fasti,  T,  28.  According  to  Livy, 
I,  19,  the  temple  of  Janus  was  built  by  Numa.  But  Numa's  year  was 
a  lunar  one  and  it  consisted  of  (at  the  most)  354  days,  which  does 
not  fit  the  365  days  represented  by  the  fingers  of  Janus.  These  con- 
siderations fix  the  erection  of  his  temple  at  Rome  at  a  much  later 
period.  The  real  sera  of  Janus  probably  coincides  with  that  of  the 
Jain  sera  of  les  Chrishna  and  his  worship  was  most  likely  introduced 
from  the  Orient  by  way  of  Pontus.  See  B.  C.  12 19.  Janus  died  a 
violent  death  at  the  age  of  33  years. 

B.  C.  641,  Syria. — Death  or  nirvana  of  Thamoez  or  Thammuz 
(Buddha),  as  fixed  by  the  post- Augustan  or  Christian  reckoning.  The 
nirvana  of  Thammuz  was  celebrated  on  the  last  day  of  the  month 
Thamoez.  The  sera  began  on  Ab  ist.  The  division  of  the  year  into 
12  months  and  the  week  of  seven  days  probably  followed  the  intro- 
duction of  this  worship  into  Syria.  See  Maimonides,  under  B.  C.  582. 
The  alteration  of  the  calendar  possibly  synchronises  with  the  Armen- 
ian sera  of  B.  C,  552,  q.  v.  The  two  intercalated  Syrian  months  were 
evidently  Teshrin  II  and  Canoon  II. 

B.  C.  639,  Athens. — Birth  of  Solon,  who  died  at  the  age  of  80 
years.     Greswell,  K.  H.,  I,  8,  n. 

B.  C.  638,  China. — Chinese  and  Peguan  sera  of  Buddha.  Prof. 
Wilson. 

B.  C.  633,  Pontus. — Invasion  of  the  Sacse,  according  to  Herod- 
otus and  Ctesias.  The  Sacse  invaded  Asia  Minor  in  the  reign  of  Cy- 
axares  of  Media  and  Psammitichus  of  Egypt.  To  these,  as  a  contem- 
porary monarch,  has  been  added  Sardanapalus,  who  is  identified  with 
Esar-banipal,  of  Assyria,  B.  C.  668-626.  Rodwell,  in  "Records  of 
the  Past,"  p.  287,  prefers  B.  C.  625  for  the  date  of  this  invasion  of 
the  Sacse.  They  continued  in  Western  Asia  for  28  years  before  they 
were  driven  out.      See  B.  C.  548. 

B.  C.  633,  Burma. — Buddhic  sera.  According  to  Bigandet,  the 
birth  of  Buddha  occurred  in  the  68th  year  of  the  Eetzana  sera,  which 
commenced  B.  C.  701,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  630,  Persia. — Death  of  the  first  Zoroaster,  according  to  the 
Abbe  Foucher.  Mem.  Acad.  Ins.,  vols.  27,  29,  31,  39.  He  says  that 
Zoroaster  was  born  in  Media,  established  his  religion  in  Bactria  under 
Cyaxares  I.  and  was  put  to  death  by  the  Scythians  in  B.  C.  630. 
Hence  he  was  born  about  B.  C.  710.  The  second  Zoroaster  appeared 
in  the  reign  of  Darius. 

On  the  other  hand,  M.  Anquetil  du  Perron  maintains  that  there 
never  was  more  than  one  Zoroaster,  born  about  B.  C.  589  and  put  to 


136  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

death  by  the  Scythians  in  512.  To  this  view  Mr.  Hyde  and  Dean 
Prideaux  both  assent.  M.  du  Perron  believes  that  the  first  Zoroaster 
of  Pliny  was  no  other  than  Horn  or  Hoomo,  who  flourished  in  the  reign 
of  Gjemschid.  Mem.  Acad.  Ins.,  vols.  31,  37.  For  Pliny's  views  see 
B.  C.  6369.  For  other  opinions  see  B.  C.  590.  Niebuhr  regards  both 
the  Zoroasters  as  mythical. 

B.  C.  629,  India.— Jain  sera  of  Mahavira.   The  Pandits'  "  Chron." 
See  B.  C.  1219. 

B.  C.  619,  Ceylon. — Cingalese  sera  of  Buddha.     Prof.  Wilson. 
B.  €.  612,  Rome. — Approximate  date  of  the  birth  of  Servius  Tul- 
lius.      See  B.  C.  578. 

B.  C.  610,  Sicyon. — Approximate  sera  of  the  deification  and 
worship  by  his  subjects  of  Adrastus,  son  of  Talaus,  and  son-in-law  of 
Polybus.  This  worship  consisted  of  prayers,  sacrifices,  sacred  dances, 
the  observance  of  festivals  and  the  performance  of  tragic  choruses. 
A  shrine  was  erected  to  Adrastus  in  the  forum  or  market-place  of 
Sicyon,  which  shrine  was  still  standuig  in  the  time  of  Herodotus. 
The  Sicyonians  had  previously  worshipped  Bacchus.  Herod. , Terp.  67. 
B.  C.  604,  China. — Aera  of  Lao-tsze.  See  B.  C.  667. 
B.  C.  600,  Dioscurias. — A  city  of  Colchis,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Charus,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Euxine,  was  founded  about  this 
time  by  the  Milesians.  Koehne,  II,  437.  The  interest  in  this  event 
arises  from  the  corroboration  it  may  afford  to  the  colonisation  of  the 
Crimea  by  the  Heracleotes,  B.  C.  658. 

B.  C.  598,  India. — Birth  of  Buddha,  according  to  Taylor's  "  In- 
dia," p.  44. 

B.  C.  592,  Attica. — Aera  of  Solon  and  the  Republic.  But  see 
B,  C.  582.  Down  to  this  period  the  government  of  Athens  was  an 
unmitigated  oligarchy.  Aristotle.  Until  the  period  of  Solon  the 
Athenians  "displayed  no  signs  of  that  intellectual  superiority  which 
they  were  destined  to  assume."  Clinton,  F.  H.,  I,  viii.  From  this 
sera  may  be  dated  the  rights  of  citizenship  and  suffrage,  representa- 
tion in  the  legislature,  juries,  (discasts,)  habeas  corpus,  marriage 
laws,  and  many  other  institutes  of  freedom  and  civilisation,  since  be- 
come familiar  to  the  states  of  Europe  and  America,  but  wholly  un- 
known to  them  previous  to  the  age  of  Solon. 

B  C.  592,  Attica. — Lunar-solar  octseteric  calendar  of  Solon,  be- 
ginning Gamelion  ist=January  i8-i9th  at  midnight  B.  C.  592,  the 
year  which  followed  the  archonship  of  Solon.  (Greswell.)  January 
i8th  is  still  the  Armenian   New  Year  day.      This  was  anciently  the 


iERAS.  137 

period  of  the  Halcyon  Days ;  but  various  alterations  of  the  calendar 
have  shifted  them  about  and  finally  shuffled  them  off  altogether. 

B.  C.  592,  Ionia. — April  25.     Beginning  of  the  second  Panionic 
cycle.     Greswell,  Kal.  Hell.,  Ill,  375. 

B.  C.  590,  Persia. — Aera  of  Zoroaster:  viz.,  258  years  before 
Alexander  and  3000  years  after  the  Creation.  Albiruni,  op.  cit. ,  17. 
Greswell  treats  of  the  ' '  first "  and  ' '  second  "  Zoroaster,  as  the  Hindus 
spoke  of  the  first  and  second  Buddha,  the  Macedo-Egyptians  of  the 
first  and  second  Hermes  and  the  Greeks,  of  the  first  and  second  Mer- 
cury. Stanley  ("  Chaldaic  Philosophy  ")  translated  Zoroaster,  "Son 
of  a  Star."  Others  called  him  Zara.  Suidas  says  he  was  also  called 
Nazaratus.  This  is  the  same  as  Thammuz  or  Buddha.  Plato,  who 
calls  him  the  son  of  Oromases,  or  Or-om-esus,  or  Son  of  God,  says 
that  he  wrote  a  book  called  "  Revelations,"  that  after  his  death  he 
rose  again  and  lived  ten  days  more,  etc.  ("Lives  of  the  Ancient 
Philosophers,"  [Anon.,]  pp.  ii-iv.)  Xan thus  says  that  Zoroaster  flour- 
ished 600  years  before  Xerxes'  expedition  into  Greece,  which  occurred 
i'n  Olym.  Ixxv,  i,  or  (B.C.  476),  a  reckoning  that  would  fix  Zoroaster 
in  B.  C.  1076.  This  is  the  sera  of  les  Chrishna.  Cf.  Anonymous 
"  Lives  of  the  Ancient  Philosophers."  London,  1702;  8vo. :  Br.  Mu- 
seum Library  No.  275,  g.  8.  But  see  herein  B.  C.  389.  Zoroaster 
was  foretold  by  the  Magi ;  his  celestial  father  was  Ormuzd,  otherwise 
Or-om-esus,  or  lesdan;  he  was  born  in  Bactria  on  the  vernal  equinox 
(hilaria)  to  the  accompaniment  of  flowers  and  music;  he  was  recog- 
nized by  the  Magi  as  the  Expected  One  and  presented  with  flowers 
and  perfumes;  from  his  visage  shone  a  divine  light  and  his  Messianic 
character  was  proved  by  numerous  miracles.  Though  tempted  by 
Ahriman,  the  Evil  One,  he  pursued  his  beneficent  mission,  which  was 
to  bring  true  religion,  peace  and  happiness  to  mankind;  these  prin- 
ciples being  incorporated  in  his  Avesta,  or  as  it  is  commonly  called, 
the  Zendavesta.  He  had  12  disciples.  His  doctrines  required  or 
caused  him  to  suffer  a  violent  death,  which  occurred  upon  the  winter 
solstice  and  was  commemorated  by  the  ceremonies  of  the  Mega- 
lenses,  or  Mourners.  His  descent  to  hell  and  his  sojourn  there  of 
ten  days  (some  writers  say  three  days  and  nights)  appear  to  be  of 
comparatively  modern  invention.  So  may  also  he  his  bodily  ascent 
to  heaven.  His  principal  sacrament  was  baptism;  his  epigraphic 
symbol,  the  cross;  his  zodions  the  Lamb  and  Fishes;  whilst  his  sec- 
ond (or  third)  advent  was  to  be  after  three  divine  years.  These  have 
since  expired. 

B.  C.  584,  Ionia. — Augustan  date  of  the  solar  eclipse  said  to  have 


138  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

been  predicted  by  Thales  of  Miletus,  the  Christian  date  being  B.  C. 
601.     Says  Herodotus  in  Clio  74:   "  In  the  sixth  year  (of  the  M'ar  be- 
tween the  Lydians  and  Medes,  the  latter  being  commanded  by  Cy- 
axares),  it  happened  that  in  the  heat  of  the  battle,  day  was  suddenly 
turned  into  night.     This  phenomenon  Thales  the  Milesian  had  fore- 
told to  the  lonians,  fixing  beforehand  this  year  as  the  very  period  in 
which  it  would  take  place."     Greswell,  K.  H.,  VI,  653,  declares  that 
in  the  western  world  no  eclipse  was  ever  calculated  from  actual  ob- 
servations before  the  time  of  Hipparchus,  B.  C.  160-45;  and  that  the 
prediction  of  Thales  was  based  upon  the  cycle  of  the  eclipses,  or  Di- 
vine Year,  which  determines  the  round  of  eclipses  once  in  6586  days, 
without  reflecting  that  a  knowledge  of  the  cycle  itself  could  only  have 
been  derived  from  actual  and  oft-repeated  observations  previously 
made  and  therefore  many  ages  before  the  time  of  Hipparchus.      Sir 
G.  B.  Airy,  and  F.  Partington,  in  Brit.  Cyc.  1835,  ^^^-  "Astronomy," 
fix  this  eclipse,  Sept.  30,  B.  C.  610;  Calvisius  and  Father  Petau,  July 
30,  607;  Mayer,  Costard,  Stukely,  Montucla,  Kennedy  ("Scriptural 
Chron.")  and  Hales,  603;  Pingre  and  Bishop  Usher,  601;  Petavius 
and  Larcher,  597;  Pliny  (Nat.  Hist.  II  (ix),  xii,  says  A.  U.  170,  which 
is  equal  to  B.  C.  584.     Scaliger,  Newton,  Riccioli,  Des  Mignoles, 
Kepler,  Strauchius,  Manfredi,  De  Brosses  and  others  say  B.  C.  5 85. 
Rev.  Wm.  Hales  ("Scriptural  Chron.")  says  the  eclipse  of  607  was 
only  visible  near  the  equator;  that  of  601,  north  of  the  Euxine;  that 
of  597,  north  of  the  Caspian;  while  that  of  585,  "  followed  the  course 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  did  not  touch  Cappadocia."     Though 
this  is  not  impossible,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  could  do  one  with- 
out the  other.      If  the  story  is  true,  Kepler,  Newton,  Riccioli,  and 
Manfredi  should  be  decisive  as  to  the  date  of  the  eclipse;  but  in  fact 
the  date  really  belongs  to  mythology  and  not  to  astronomy.     Thales 
predicted  the  eclipse,  not  from  the  appearance  or  movements  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  but  by  means  of  the  Divine  Year.    Add  the  78  years 
sunk  by  Augustus,  to  B.  C.  584  and  it  becomes  the  Indian  date  of  the 
death  of  Buddha,  or  les  Chrishna,  the  god  of  the  Khazares,  who  at 
this  period  were  the  masters  of  the  so-called  kingdom  of  Media.    The 
name  of  "  Cyaxares,  son  of  Phraortes  "  sounds  so  much  like  a  Greek 
corruption  of  the  "Khazares,  sons  of  Prototh-Ies,"  that  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  this  portion  of  the  history  of  Herodotus  is  confused  and 
unreliable. 

B.  C.  584,  Khazaria. — ^ra  of  Mad- les,  son  of  Prototh-Ies, 
king  of  the  Scythians.  Herod.  I,  103.  F.  Dubois  de  Montpereaux, 
in  his  "Voyage  autour  du  Caucase,"  1839,  IV,  354,  says  that  accord- 


^RAS.  139 

ing  to  the  Georgian  historians,  these  "  Scythians  "  were  the  Khazares 
or  Ghazares  of  the  Cimmerian  Bosphorus. 

B.  C.  584,  Ascalon. — Aera  of  the  fable  of  Medusa.  The  first 
regnal  year  of  Cyaxares,  (son  of  Phraortes,)  king  of  Media,  the  Ir- 
ruption of  the  Scythians  and  the  Plunder  of  Ascalon,  all  occurred  in 
B.  C.  6^^.  The  Scythians  (Montpereaux  calls  them  Khazares),  under 
Madyes,  entered  Asia  Minor  and  marched  through  Syria  to  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt.  Upon  the  frontier  Psammitichus  met  them  with 
presents  and  turned  them  away.  On  reaching  Ascalon  a  portion  of 
their  number  plundered  the  temple  of  the  Celestial  Venus,  or  Venus 
Urania,  the  oldest  and  probably  the  richest  temple  erected  to  the 
worship  of  this  mother  of  the  gods.  "  Upon  the  Scythians  who  com- 
mitted this  profanation  and  upon  all  their  posterity,  the  goddess  vis- 
ited the  punishment  of  effeminacy."  (So  is  this  dififtcult  passage  in 
Herodotus,  I,  105,  construed  by  Prof.  Ch.  G.  Heyne,  in  Com.  Soc. 
Reg.  Gotting.,  anni  1770,  II,  28-44.)  During  the  following  28  years 
the  Scythians  ravaged  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor,  but  were  at  last 
driven  out  by  Cyaxares,  who  inveigled  and  destroyed  their  leaders. 
In  B.  C.  548,  Cyrus  of  Persia  conquers  Asia  Minor,  and  in  keeping 
with  his  tolerant  attitude  toward  the  Jews,  as  shown  in  the  Bible,  he 
restores  the  temple  of  Ascalon  to  the  worshippers  of  Venus.  We  have 
here  all  the  elements  of  the  fable  of  Perseus,  which  was  probably  in- 
vented by  the  priests  of  the  plundered  temple.  Madyes,  upon  being 
effeminated,  becomes  Madyesa,  whom  the  Greeks  call  Medusa.  The 
detachment  who  plundered  the  temple,  being  effeminated,  become 
Amazons.  Their  ferocity  is  symbolized  by  the  horrid  aspect  and  ser- 
pent hair  of  Medusa  and  their  ravages  are  compensated  by  the  valour 
and  generosity  of  Persia,  or  Perseus.  The  Persian  priests  did  more 
than  this;  they  deified  Cyrus  himself.     See  B.  C.  1291. 

B.  C.  582,  Babylon. — Aera  of  Thammuz,  Probable  date  when 
the  Chaldean  calendar  was  altered.  This  is  believed  to  have  been 
done  by  Nebo-Chadn-Izzar,  whose  father,  Nebo-Pol-Izzar,  had  been 
appointed  by  Saracas,  king  of  Assyria,  as  his  viceroy,  in  Babylon. 
Pol-Izzar  betrayed  his  master  and  plotted  with  the  Medes,  and  in 
606  Nineveh  was  captured  and  the  Assyrian  empire  overthrown.  Af- 
ter a  reign  of  two  years  asking  of  Babylon,  Pol-Izzar  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  who  had  already  defeated  Necho  of  Egypt,  at  Karchemish 
and  who  subsequently  (in  582)  invaded  and  ravaged  Egypt  itself.  It 
was  probably  after  his  return  from  this  enterprise  that  Nebo-Chadn- 
Izzar  made  those  alterations  of  the  calendar  which  have  been  attrib- 
uted to  the  mythical  Nebo-Nazaru,  or  Thammuz.    The  changed  divi- 


140  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

sion  of  the  year  from  ten  to  12  months;  the  invention  of  the  myth 
of  Nebo-Nazaru;  and  the  estabHshment  of  his  aera,  by  dating  back 
to  B.  C.  747  or  748;  all  appear  to  have  been  effected  during  this 
reign.  On  the  subject  of  Thammuz  (or  Tammuz,  or  Tham-Ies) 
Maimonides  has  the  following:  Thammuz  was  a  false  Messiah  who 
appeared  before  the  king  of  Assyria  and  proclaimed  to  him  that  he 
had  brought  into  the  land  the  worship  of  the  Seven  planets  and  the 
zodiac  of  Twelve  Signs.  The  king,  indignant  at  his  boldness,  or- 
dered him  to  be  put  to  death.  On  the  following  night  all  the  statues 
of  the  gods  from  every  part  of  the  world  assembled  in  the  Temple 
of  the  Sun  at  Babylon.  The  statue  of  the  Sun,  which  stood  amidst 
them  all,  was  hurled  to  the  earth,  whilst  those  who  surrounded  him 
began  to  weep  for  Thammuz,  and  this  weeping  they  continued  until 
he  arrived.  Upon  the  following  day,  at  dawn,  each  of  the  gods  re- 
turned to  his  proper  temple;  in  memory  of  which  (strange  occur- 
rences) the  Salians  (Crestos)  weep  for  Thammuz  on  the  last  day  of 
the  month  which  goes  by  his  name.  Noel,  Weeping  for  Thammuz 
is  mentioned  as  an  idolatrous  rite  in  Ezekiel,  viii.  Greswell,  II,  554, 
says  the  rite  was  observed  on  the  first  day  of  Thammuz,  which  he 
tallies  with  August  28th  in  the  Julian  calendar;  but  in  his  zeal  to 
maintain  a  Hebrew  Primeval  Year  of  12  months,  Dr.  Greswell,  al- 
though a  most  learned  and  industrious  writer,  has  closed  his  pages 
to  the  reception  of  almost  all  evidences  that  fail  to  harmonise  with 
this  theory.  August  28-29  is  a  sacerdotal  day  of  great  antiquity  con- 
nected with  the  worship  of  les  Chrishna.  It  is  also  that  to  which  the 
Romans  assigned  the  death  of  their  god,  Augustus  Dionysius.  It  is 
still  the  day  of  "  Saint  Augustine  "  in  the  Roman  calendar.  For  the 
day  of  Thammuz,  see  B.  C.  641. 

B.  C.  582,  Attica. — Most  probable  date  of  the  archonship  and 
legislation  ascribed  to  Solon  and  described  herein  under  B.  C.  592. 
Suidas  says  in  one  place,  Ol.  xlvii,  which  is  B.  C.  588;  Aulus  Gellius 
says  the  33d  year  of  Tarquinius  Priscus,  which  is  equal  to  B.  C.  582; 
Demosthenes  intimates  an  equivalent  date;  "  Eusebius  "  and  "Je- 
rome" date  the  previous  legislation  of  Draco  in  01.  xxxix,  or  B.  C. 
624-620;  while  Diod.  Sic,  as  quoted  by  Ulpian,  says  that  the  legis- 
lation of  Solon  was  47  years  later,  which  is  B.  C.  577-73;  Cicero,  in 
Brutus,  10,  39,  regards  Solon  and  Pisistratus  as  contemporaries  of 
Servius  Tullius,  who  reigned  B.  C.  576-33;  finally,  Suidas,  in  another 
place,  says  01.  Ixi,  which  is  equal  to  B.  C.  554.  The  mutilated 
Parian  marbles  do  not  give  the  aera  of  Solon,  but  they  fix  the  ' '  tyranny  " 
of  Pisistratus  in  the  archonship  of  Comias,  which  was  297  years  be- 


/ERAS.  141 

fore  that  of  Diognetus.  This  is  equal  to  B.  C.  561.  The  mutually 
corroborative  dates  of  Demosthenes  and  Aulus  Gellius  are  regarded 
as  furnishing  the  most  reliable  information  on  the  subject. 

B.  C.  578,  Rome. — Accession  of  Servius  Tullius.  He  was  born 
about  612,  the  son  of  a  captive  woman  of  Corniculum;  his  father  un- 
known. While  yet  a  youth  he  was  found  asleep  in  the  palace  of 
Tarquinius  Priscus,  his  head  surrounded  by  a  divine  flame.  Both  the 
king  and  his  queen  Tanaquil  having  witnessed  this  prodigy,  Servius 
was  adopted  by  them  and  educated  as  one  who  was  destined  by  the 
gods  to  fill  an  exalted  station.  Tarquinius  betrothed  his  daughter  to 
the  youth,  who,  upon  the  death  of  his  patron  in  578,  was  called  by 
Tanaquil  to  the  vacant  throne.  During  his  reign,  "the  temple  of 
Diana  at  Ephesus  was  universally  venerated  "  and  Servius,  in  order 
to  foster  the  worship  of  this  goddess,  encouraged  the  building  of  a 
temple  to  her  in  Rome,  among  the  principal  rites  of  which  was  that 
of  baptism  in  running  water.  The  ambition  of  Tarquinius  Superbus 
and  the  favours  which  Servius  bestowed  upon  the  lower  orders  of 
citizens  led  to  his  assassination  by  the  nobles  in  the  Via  Cypriana, 
close  to  the  temple  which  he  had  erected  to  Diana,  B.  C.  534,  aged 
about  78  years.  Livy,  I,  18  to  48;  IV,  3.  Higgins,  Anal.,  II,  393, 
regards  the  story  of  Servius  Tullius  as  mythical  and  as  resembling 
that  of  the  Hindu  incarnations.  With  this  opinion,  the  present  writer 
cannot  altogether  agree. 

B.  C.  576,  India. — Aera  of  Parasara,  a  celebrated  Indian  astron- 
omer, according  to  the  scriptural  astronomer,  Bentley.  See  B.  C. 
1391  and  1181. 

B.  C.  569,  India. — Jain  sera  of  Mahavira.  "The  Jains  in  some 
parts  of  India  follow  the  sera  of  Mahavira,  their  last  Jain,  whom  they 
regard  as  the  preceptor  of  Gotama,  placing  him  in  the  year  569  B.  C, 
and  thus  a  few  years  prior  to  Gotama.  Others  call  him  the  Disciple, 
twelve  years  later  than  Gotama.  He  was  the  24th  teacher  of  the 
Jain  religion.  No  Jain  inscriptions  show  traces  of  an  exclusive 
chronology.  They  bear  invariably,  the  Sumbatdate  of  Vicramaditya." 
The  Pandits  "Chron."  As  the  Sumbat  sera  coincides  with  B.  C.  57, 
the  24th  teacher  and  the  date  of  569  B.  C,  both  appear  to  be  after- 
thoughts. See  B.  C.  12 19.  The  Pandits'  statement  with  regard  to 
the  chronology  of  the  Jains  does  not  agree  with  Col.  Wilford,  Gen, 
Cunningham,  or  Mr.  Edward  Thomas'  work  on  "  Jainism. " 

B.  C.  567,  India. — Augustan  date  of  the  death  of  Gotama,  the 
Buddha,  as  given  in  Asiatic  Researches.  Duff  Rickmer's  "Indian 
Chronology"  fixes  Buddha's  birth  in  B.  C.  557  and  his  death  in  B.  C. 


142  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

477.  Rhys  Davids  assigns  his  death  to  about  B.  C.  412;  Westergaard 
and  Kern  to  between  B.  C.  388  and  370.  These  dates  are  entirely 
out  of  harmony  with  what  is  known,  beyond  question,  of  Buddhic 
laws  and  institutes.  The  lowest  admissible  date  for  the  death  (nir- 
vana) of  the  Second  Buddha  is  B.  C.  578.  The  Cingalese  date  of 
B.  C.  543,  though  commonly  used  in  works  of  reference,  is  35  years 
wrong. 

B.  C.  552,  Burma. — Death  of  Buddha  in  his  Both  year.  The 
148th  year  of  the  Eetzana  aera  and  commencement  of  the  Religious 
aera.  I'he  world  convulsed  by  earthquakes.  Bishop  Paul  A.  Bigan- 
det,  in  his  "Life  or  Legend  of  Gaudama,"  furnishes  the  following 
account  from  Burmese  sources:  Buddha  was  a  ten  months'  child, 
miraculously  born  of  the  queen  Maia,  impregnated  by  the  god  Phra- 
laong,  his  putative  father  being  king  Thoodandana,  Immediately 
after  his  birth  Buddha  was  recognised  as  of  divine  origin  and  was 
worshipped  by  the  wise  and  powerful,  among  others  by  his  putative 
father.  He  preached  a  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  converted  the  cour- 
tesan Apapalika,  performed  numerous  miracles,  partook  of  a  Last 
Supper  with  his  disciples  and  died  in  the  "  148th  year  of  the  Eetzana 
sera,  in  the  full  moon  of  Katson,  on  a  Tuesday,  a  little  before  day- 
break." He  was  conceived  in  the  year  67  of  the  Eetzana;  born  in 
68,  on  a  Friday;  retired  to  meditate  in  solitude  in  96,  on  a  Monday; 
and  became  a  Buddha  in  103,  on  a  Wednesday.  After  his  ascension 
king  Adzatathat  abolished  the  Eetzana  aera  and  substituted  the  Re- 
ligious sera  beginning  in  the  148th  year  thereof,  or  that  of  the  Buddha's 
death. 

B.  C.  552,  Armenia. — Aera  of  Armenia,  which  about  this  year 
was  colonised  by  a  mixed  race  of  Khazares  and  Greeks,  worshippers 
of  les  Chrishna  or  Dionysios.  See  Gotland,  B.  C.  90,  and  Armenia, 
A.  D.  552. 

B.  C.  551,  China. — Birth  of  Confucius,  according  to  Rev.  C. 
Hole.     But  see  511. 

B.  C.  548,  Magna  Graecia. — Apotheosis  of  Aesculapius,  this 
being  his  33rd  year.  He  was  born  at  Samos,  some  say  Epidaurus, 
in  the  50th  olympiad,  B.  C.  580;  his  celestial  father  was  Apollo;  his 
virgin  mother  was  Coronis;  his  putative  father  was  Mnesarchos;  he 
was  exposed,  when  an  infant,  on  a  mountain,  but  saved  by  goat- 
herds; he  was  recognised  by  the  sages  as  the  Expected  One,  "the 
Saviour";  rays  of  glory  encircled  his  head;  he  had  12  disciples  and 
300  selecti;  he  performed  innumerable  miracles,  and  after  many  suf- 
ferings which  he  underwent  for  the  sake  of  saving  humanity,  he  was 


iERAS.  143 

at  last  snatched  up  to  heaven.  The  principal  scene  of  his  activity 
was  Croton,  in  Magna  Graecia.  Grote  says  that  Aesculapius  estab- 
lished a  select  aristocracy;  Pococke  says  that  his  religion  was 
Buddhic-Lamaism.  Both  of  these  views  seem  far-fetched.  Accord- 
ing to  Ovid,  (Metam.)  Aesculapius,  after  suffering  death  for  mankind, 
rose  again  before  his  final  disappearance.  He  was  worshipped  in 
Greece,  Ptolemaic  Egypt,  Rome  and  several  other  countries  of  the 
ancient  world.  His  zodion  was  the  Lamb,  and  at  the  temple  erected 
to  his  worship  at  Mendes  in  Egypt,  this  zodion  was  employed  to  rep- 
resent the  god.  One  of  his  statuesque  attributes  is  the  serpent.  He 
is  sometimes  referred  to  as  Aesclepiades. 

B.  C.  547,  Egypt. — Real  date  of  an  Egyptian  calendar  in  the 
British  Museum,  which,  according  to  Greswell,  is  falsely  and  fraudu- 
lently dated  in  the  "  56th  year  of  Rameses  the  Great,"  whom  he  re- 
gards as  a  personage  "who  never  had  any  real  existence,  except  in 
the  chronology  of  the  monuments."  F.  C.,  IH,  411,  n.  Judging 
from  the  calendrical  alteration  which  seems  to  have  been  effected  in 
Babylon  B.  C.  582,  (q.  v.)  this  year,  B.  C.  547,  appears  to  mark  the 
date  when  a  similar  alteration  was  effected  in  Egypt. 

B.  C.  545,  India. — Vira  aera  of  the  Jains.  Duff  Rickmers,  p.  23. 
For  Vira,  read  Mahavira.     See  B.  C.  12 19. 

B.  C.  544,  India. — Sakya  (sera)  or  nirvana  of  the  Second  Buddha. 
This  is  only  one  of  many  dates  accorded  to  this  aera  in  the  Orient. 
It  is  deduced  in  the  following  manner:  The  Nirvana  occurred  196 
years  before  Kandra  Gupta,  (the  contemporary  of  Alexander  the 
Great),  B.  C.  348.   Hence  348+196  =  544  B.C.   The  Pandits  "Chron." 

B.  C.  544,  Siam. — Nirvana  of  Buddha,  December  25th.  Mars- 
den,  op.  cit,  and  Stokvis.     Greswell,  I,  583,  says  B.  C.  545. 

B.  C.  543,  Ceylon. — Nirvana  of  Buddha,  Son  of  the  Virgin  Maia. 
Massey,  "Genesis,"  550.  The  favorite  name  of  this  incarnation  is 
Sakya  Muni.  Taylor's  "India,"  p.  44,  says  that  Buddha  was  born 
B.  C.  598. 

B.  C.  543,  India. — Sacred  sera  of  India,  Ceylon,  Ava,  Siam,  etc. 
Pandits'  "Chron." 

B.  C.  543,  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon. — The  nirvana  of  Buddha 
occurred  214  years  before  Asoka,  according  to  the  Indian  records. 
Cunningham.  But  see  B.  C.  263.  If  the  christian  date  of  Asoka's 
accession  is  correct,  viz.,  B.  C.  263,  this  would  place  the  nirvana  of 
Buddha  in  477,  whereas  the  common  (christian)  date  in  Ceylon  and 
Burma  is  543.  The  difference  of  66  years  is  noticed,  but  not  ac- 
counted for,  by  Gen.  Cunningham.   An  explanation  is  offered  herein 


144  ^    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

under  the  year  B.  C.  814,  "Rome."  The puranas date  the  accession 
of  Asoka  in  311  or  312  of  the  nirvana.  If  we  add  the  oldest  date 
of  Asoka,  B.  C.  266,  and  the  6^  years  dropped  from  the  calendar, 
this  would  place  the  nirvana  in  B.  C.  641. 

B.  C.  534,  Rome. — Calendar  ascribed  to  Numa.     See  B.  C.  452. 

B.  C.  533,  India. — Nirvana  of  Mahavira,  according  to  the  Swet- 
ambara  sect  of  Jains,  who  date  it  470  years  before  Vicrama,  who 
was  born,  by  the  christian  calendar,  B.  C.  63.  This  reckoning 
throws  Mahavira  into  B.  C.  533.  The  Digambara  Jains  fix  the  nir- 
vana of  Mahavira  605  years  before  the  sera  of  a  Vicrama,  who  is  141 
years  later  than  him  of  B.  C.  63,  hence  his  date  is  A.  D.  78.  This 
computation  throws  Mahavira  into  B.  C.  527.  Both  of  these  dates 
are  from  Gen.  Cunningham. 

B.  C.  533,  Persia. — Persian  sera.  Deification  of  Cyrus  the  Elder. 
He  was  the  son  of  god,  miraculously  born  of  the  virgin  Mandane, 
the  daughter  of  Astyges,  his  putative  father  being  Cambyses.  (Herod. 
Clio.,  107,  204).  Owing  to  the  prediction  of  the  Magi,  his  grand- 
father issued  orders  for  his  destruction  while  he  was  yet  an  infant. 
In  pursuance  of  this  cruel  decree  Cyrus  was  given  out  to  be  put  to 
death,  but  was  providentially  saved  by  a  shepherd.  After  some  years 
of  service  as  a  pastor,  Cyrus  was  recognised  as  the  predicted  heaven- 
born  prince  of  the  world,  and  as  such  was  invited  to  ascend  the 
throne  of  Persia.  The  name  of  his  mother,  as  it  appears  in  the  ex- 
tant Mss.  of  Herodotus,  may  be  a  corruption  of  Mania,  Mariana,  etc. 
This  name  appears  in  Mariandynia,a  province  and  people  of  AsiaMinor 
under  the  sway  of  Cyrus,  probably  named  after  Maryamma  or  else 
her  namesake,  the  Pescenuntian  mother.  See  B.  C.  205  Rome.  The 
Mariandynians  were  apparently  the  same  people  alluded  to  in  Polym- 
nia  76,  whose  name  is  effaced  in  the  mss.  ,  and  who,  like  the  Carians, 
or  Leleges,  wore  peculiar  crests  upon  their  horned  helmets.  Herod. 
Clio,  171;  Strabo,  voc.  Leleges.  Cf.  Abbe  Halma,  on  Ptolemy,  p. 
208.  Cyrus  was  born  about  B.  C.  594,  ascended  the  throne  569,  was 
deified  and  worshipped  in  543  or  533,  and  died  in  529.  According 
to  Mirkhond,  Cyrus  did  not  die  at  all;  he  disappeared  supernaturally. 
Diodorus  says  that  he  was  crucified. 

B.  C.  533,  Crotona. — Pretended  advent  of  Pythagoras  and  his 
twelve  disciples,  whom  the  Benedictine  monks  of  a  recent  age  adroitly 
alluded  to  as  the  "  Twelve  Spheres."  These  numbers  were  obtained 
from  an  anonymous  biographer  whom  Sir  Geo.  Cornewall  Lewis  dis- 
credits. Instead  of  12,  the  Pythagoreans  held  that  the  number  10 
was  alone  perfect.     They  had  ten  (not  12)  celestial  bodies,  viz.,  the 


iERAS.  145 

five  planets,  sun,  moon,  earth,  heavens  and  the  antichthon,  the  latter 
an  invisible  body  that  sometimes  caused  eclipses.  Roth  regarded 
Xenophanes,  Anaximenes,  and  Pythagoras  as  exact  contemporaries, 
fixing  the  sera  of  the  latter  B.  C.  569-470.  Pauly  fixes  his  birth, 
580-68.  Meiners  fixes  his  birth  in  Olym.  xlix,  2  and  death  in  Olym. 
lxviii,3,  or  Ixix,  2.  In  the  quadrennial  olympiadsthis  would  be  583-506 
oi*  503?  while  in  the  quinquennial  olympiads  it  would  be  643-547  or 
543.  See  B.  C.  738.  Lewis  regards  the  account  of  the  travels  of 
Pythagoras  in  Babylon  and  the  East  as  "too  suspicious  to  fulfil  the 
conditions  of  historical  credibility."  The  300  Select!  of  Pythagoras 
and  Pisistratus  appear  in  the  300  Celeres  of  Romulus  and  Tamerlane. 

B.  C.  527,  India. — Nirvana  of  Mahavira,  according  to  the  Di- 
gambara  sect  of  Jains.     See  B.  C.  12 19. 

B.  C.  527,  Athens. — Death  of  Pisistratus,  who  had  been  worship- 
ped during  his  lifetime  as  an  incarnation  of  the  deity  and  had  reigned 
absolutely  S3  years,  during  which  time  he  altered  and  published  the 
poems  and  theogeny  ascribed  to  Homer.  Herodotus;  Cicero;  Pau- 
sanias.      He  was  guarded  by  300  Seiecti.      Polyaenus. 

B.  C.  525,  Egypt. — Conquest  and  plunder  of  Egypt  by  Cambyses, 
k.  of  Persia,  who  for  his  disrespect  to  the  native  gods,  was  loaded 
with  infamy  by  the  priests.  Diodorus  says  that  the  Persians  reigned 
in  Egypt  135  and  the  Macedonians  276  years;  but  as  this  does  not 
agree  with  the  received  chronology,  it  has  yet  to  be  seen  which  is 
right. 

B.  C.  521,  Persia. — Aera  of  Darius,  son  of  Hystapses.  He  was 
born  about  547  ;  ascended  the  throne  and  was  deified  about  521 ;  con- 
quered Babylon,  517  (Greswell  prefers  520-19);  reconnoitered  the 
valley  of  the  Indus,  515;  and  in  or  about  the  same  year  proclaimed 
himself  and  demanded  to  be  worshipped,  as  a  Manifestation  of  the 
Deity.  Revolt  of  the  lonians,  499;  suppression  of  the  revolt  by 
Darius,  498;  revolt  of  the  Scythians  (Goths),  499;  Scythic  invasion 
of  Asia  Minor,  495 ;  ineffectual  invasion  of  Scythia  (Thracia)  by 
Darius,  495;  his  Retreat,  494;  Darius  defeated  by  the  Greeks  and 
allies  at  Marathon,  490;  conquers  Egypt,  where  he  is  worshipped  as 
god;  (Diodorous,  book  I;)  and  dies  in  485.  The  Greek  writers  in 
suppressing  some  of  these  particulars  and  concealing  the  fact  that 
Darius  was  their  lawful  suzerain,  have  greatly  perverted  the  meaning 
of  ancient  history. 

B.  C.  521,  Lydia. — Aera  of  Lydia.  Humphreys*  "  Coin  Manual," 
p.  548.  It  is  quite  possible  that  this  is  identical  with  the  sra  of  the 
Ionian  revolt  given  above  as  having  occurred  in  499. 


146  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  SI  2,  Attica. — Institution  of  the  ten  tribes  and  prytanies. 
Grote,  "Hist.  Greece,"  IV,  219-20.  The  Athenians  had  previously 
consisted  of  four  tribes.     Herod.  Terp,  66-9. 

B.  C.  511,  China. — Confucius,  (Kung-fu-tsu)  born  B.  C.  511. 
De  Milloue,  "Guide  au  Musee  Guimet,"  Paris,  1894,  p.  96.  Rev.  Ch. 
Hole  fixes  his  birth  in  551  and  death  in  479;  but  De  Milloue's  date 
is  preferable.  Confucius  was  the  author  of  a  moral  code,  which, 
though  recognising  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Creator,  (Kang-ti) 
taught  that  true  religion  embraced  not  man's  relation  to  the  gods, 
but  to  .his  fellowmen.  Praying,  on  the  part  of  individuals,  is  dispensed 
with ;  this  act  of  piety  being  relegated  exclusively  to  the  Emperor, 
who,  upon  the  solstices  and  equinoxes,  is  required  to  pray  for  the 
entire  nation.  Veneration,  not  worship,  is  enjoined  for  ancestors, 
who  should  be  regarded  as  though  still  living.  This  constitutes  ''la 
seule  veritable  religion  des  Chinois  Confuceens. "     De  Milloue. 

B.  C.  510,  Athens. — After  the  expulsion  of  the  Pisistratidse,  Isa- 
goras,  the  son  of  Tisander,  whose  ancestry  is  alluded  toby  Herodotus 
in  a  mysterious  manner,  supposedly  because  it  pretended  to  be  derived 
from  Bacchus,  was  worshipped  (for  a  brief  period)  until  he  was  de- 
posed by  Clisthenes  of  Athens.     Herod.  Terp.,  66-72. 

B.  C.  510,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  Republic,  the  first  consuls  being 
Lucius  Junius  Brutus  and  Lucius  Tarquinius  Collatinus.  Lenglet 
says  B.  C.  509.  These  consuls  began  their  offices  on  August,  ist, 
our  Lammas.  See  B.  C.  156.  The  Fasti  Consulares,  or  Lists  of 
the  Consuls,  from  this  date  onward,  are  given  by  Livy,  Gothofredi, 
Lenglet,  Lempriere,  Greswell,  Babelonand  Cohen;  the  two  last  being 
the  most  complete. 

B.  C.  509,  Chorassan. — Aera  of  Moses,  according  to  an  ancient 
marble  inscription  erected  by  the  Jews  of  Cai-fong-fou,  the  capital 
of  Honan,  150  leagues  from  Pekin,  China.  The  Jews  in  this  place 
were  a  colony  which  came  from  Chorassan  and  Samarcand,  about 
A.  D.  73.  The  inscription  relates  that  "Moses  lived  613  years  after 
the  beginning  of  Tcheou."  This  reign  began  B.  C.  1122.  Accord- 
ing to  this  account  Moses  lived  B.  C.  509.  This  is  two  Divine  years 
later  than  the  period  assigned  to  the  Moses  of  the  Bible.  See  Zal- 
mosis,  B.  C.  495. 

B.  C.  495,  Thracia. — Appearance  of  Gebel-Eisis,  orZalmosis,  "a 
native  deity  among  the  Getae  "  of  Thracia,  who  taught  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  gave  laws  to  the  Getae,  (Diodorus,  book  I),  disappeared  in 
a  subterranean  abode  for  three  years,  was  lamented  as  dead,  and  yet 
was  resurrected  and  returned  to  life  again.      Festivals  with  human 


1 


.ERAS.  147 

sacrifices  were  offered  to  him  every  fifth  year.  Herod.  Mel.,  93-96. 
Herodotus  rather  diffidently  expresses  the  opinion  that  Zalmosis,  or 
Eisis,  was  earlier  than  Pythagoras,  son  of  Mnesarchos,  but  if  this 
was  true  he  has  mentioned  Eisis  out  of  his  chronological  order,  for 
such  mention  occurs  during  his  account  of  the  Scythian  expedition 
of  Darius.  The  worship  of  Eisis  in  Thracia,  Scythia  and  the  Crimea, 
was  continued  to  a  much  later  date.  He  is  probably  the  same  with 
the  Hesus  of  the  Gauls,  one  of  whose  altars  was  recovered  in  1726 
from  beneath  the  Roman  foundations  of  Notre  Dame  and  is  now  in 
the  Cluny  Museum  of  Paris.      Dupuis,  I,  22.     See  Moses,  B.C.  509. 

B.  C.  495,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  Roman  Habeas  Corpus  Act.  On 
the  ides  of  May  (this  is  now  Whitsuntide)  A.  U.  259,  a  temple  to 
Liber  Pater  was  erected  near  the  Circus  Maximus,  probably  to  com- 
memorate the  passage  of  an  act  which  resembled  the  modern  Habeas 
Corpus.  Down  to  that  time  the  Roman  creditor  had  the  right  to 
seize  and  imprison  the  person  of  his  debtor.  In  that  year,  owing  to 
certain  affecting  circumstances  related  by  Livy,  the  consul  issued  an 
edict  that  "no  person  should  hold  any  Roman  citizen  in  bonds  or 
confinement,  so  as  to  hinder  his  being  brought  before  the  consuls; 
that  no  person  should  take  possession  nor  make  sale  of  the  effects  of 
a  soldier  while  upon  service,  nor  detain  in  custody  either  his  children 
or  grandchildren."  Livy,  II,  24.  A  similar  edict  was  issued  by 
Solon.     See  B.  C.  325  and  592. 

B.  C.  485,  Spain  and  Gaul. — Aera  of  Hesus,  son  of  God  and  of 
Maria,  the  Virgo  Paritura.  St.  John  Chrysostom,  in  a  sermon  which 
he  is  asserted  to  have  preached  on  December  25,  A.  D.  386,  said  that 
the  observance  of  this  day  as  a  religious  festival  had  not  been  clearly 
known  to  "them"  (his  hearers)  longer  than  ten  years,  "but  that  it 
had  been  familiar,  from  the  beginning,  to  those  who  dwelt  in  the 
West."  London  "Chronicle,"  December  25,  1897.  In  this  connec- 
tion, those  who  dwelt  in  the  West  could  only  have  meant  the  Celts 
or  Gauls,  who  worshipped  Hesus,  as  mentioned  in  Ovid  and  Lucan. 
In  France,  on  Christmas  Day,  so  late  as  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV., 
the  monks  used  to  go  about  with  a  box,  crying,  "tire-lire,"  and  beg- 
ging for  alms  for  "a  Lady  in  labor."  This  was  said  to  have  been  a 
custom  derived  from  the  Druids,  who  practiced  it  before  the  Chris- 
tian aera.  Dr.  Robinson  (of  Edinburgh),  in  his  "Natural  Philoso- 
phy," pp.  200-210,  cited  in  Rev.  Wm.  D.  D.  Hales'  "Chronology," 
p.  50.  See  B.  C.  495  and  470.  For  authorities  concerning  Hesus, 
the  son  of  Maria,  consult  Higgins'  "  Celtic  Druids." 

B.  C.  480,  Bosporus. — Approximate  sera  of  the  kingdom  of  Bos- 


148  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

porus.  Humphreys,  p.  169.  This  date  probably  marks  the  emanci- 
pation of  Bosporus  from  the  suzerainty  of  Persia.  At  a  later  period 
Bosporus  was  added  to  Pontus.      See  B.  C.  301. 

B.  C.  479,  Argos. — Aera  of  Chrysis,  priestess  of  the  Pelasgian 
Juno  at  Argos.  This  sera  is  used  by  Thucydides  in  his  history  of 
the  Peloponnesian  war,  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  year  of  the  war, 
which  was  the  48th  of  Chrysis.      This  answers  to  B.  C.  431. 

B.  C.  472,  Rome. — Beginning  of  the  Roman  lustra,  or  five-year 
cycles.  Haydn.  Contrariwise,  Censorinus,  XVIII,  attributes  them 
to  the  reign  of  Servius  Tullius,  about  a  century  earlier.  Epoch  :  Au- 
gust ist  (now  called  Lammas),  at  that  time  the  New  Year  day  in 
Rome. 

B.  C.  470,  India. — Brahminical  tera  of  les  Chrishna. 

B.  C.  470,  Gaul. — Conjectural  date  when  the  Druidical  30-year 
cycles  began.  They  are  mentioned  by  Pliny,  N.  H.,  XVI,  95.  The 
Gauls  (Gallaicans)  are  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  VII,  108,  as  having 
"anciently"  occupied  Samothracian  Greece,  near  the  river  LTssus, 
Their  sea-port  (now  inland)  was  Issmarus.  The  next  historical  no- 
tice is  in  390-85,  when  vast  bodies  of  Gauls  overran  Italy  and  Greece, 
plundered  the  temple  at  Delphos  and  marched  in  a  sort  of  crusade 
to  their  holy  land  of  Maryandynia,  where  many  of  them  remained. 
Simon  Pelloutier,  in  his  "  Histoire  des  Celtes,"  V,  15,  says  that  the 
Virgo  Paritura  was  worshipped  in  the  district  of  Chartres  more  than 
a  century  before  the  Christian  aera.  Cf.  Dupuis,  III,  51.  A  similar 
statement  appears  in  Rigordius,  cited  by  L'Escaloperius  de  Theolo- 
gia  Veterum,  Gallorum,  cap.  X,  and  in  Andre  Duchesne,  Les  An- 
tiquitez  et  Recherches  des  Villes,  ed.  1609,  pp.  292-6.  Of  a  possi- 
bly still  more  ancient  date  is  the  Druid  altar,  on  which  is  carved  a 
representation  and  the  name  of  their  god,  Hesus,  cutting  the  sacred 
mistletoe.  This  stone  was  found  in  1726  beneath  the  Roman  founda- 
tions of  Notre  Dame  de  Paris  and  is  now  in  the  Cluny  Museum. 
Hesus  is  alluded  to  in  Ovid  and  Lucan.  Rev.  G.  S.  Faber,  in  his 
"  Orig.  Pagan  Idol.,"  says  that  Hesus,  Esa,  Ma-Hesa  and  and  Har- 
Esa  are  the  same;  and  were  known  to  the  Latin  writers  as  Mercury. 
Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  154.  Arrian,  ch.  VIII,  alludes  to  the  same  god 
as  Herichrishna.  The  Druidical  reverence  for  the  samolus,  or  passion 
flower,  is  mentioned  by  Pliny,  N.  H.,  XXIV,  63.  It  must  be  gath- 
ered with  the  left  hand,  while  fasting;  the  person  who  gathers  it 
must  not  look  behind  him,  etc.  The  samolus  and  passion  flower  are 
identified  by  Anguillara.  Certain  Druidical  rites  were  forbidden  by 
decree  of  the  Roman  Senate,  B.  C.  97,  q.  v.     Diod.  Sic,  who  flour- 


.ERAS.  149 

ished  B.  C.  44,  says  (V,  2)  that  the  Gauls  wore  gold  crosses  on  their 
breasts.  The  30-year  cycles  were  employed  in  ancient  Greece  as  a 
sseculum,  or  "  age,"  by  which  to  compute  time. 

B.  C.  463,  Rome. — Consular  year  begun  August  ist.  Livy,  III, 
6.     This  New  Year  day,  belonged,  in  fact,  to  a  much  earlier  period. 

B.  C.  453,  Judea. — Ezra  writes  the  Chronicles.      Putnam. 

B.  C.  452,  Rome. — "In  this  year  the  Decemvirs  changed  the 
order  of  the  months  and  placed  February  after  January."  Am.  En- 
cyc.  Brit.,  art.  "Calendar."  According  to  this  authority,  when 
"  Numa  "  divided  the  year  into  12  months,  instead  of  ten,  as  it  stood 
more  anciently,  he  placed  January  at  the  beginning  of  the  "year" 
and  February  at  the  end.  If  the  sarne  ' '  year  "  is  meant  in  both  cases 
this  would  place  January  between  February  and  March ;  and  it  would 
follow  that  the  reform  of  the  Decemvirs  simply  consisted  of  chang- 
ing the  places  of  January  and  February — one  for  the  other.  But  this 
is  probably  not  what  took  place.  "  Numa"  is  more  likely  to  have 
been  the  Decemvirs  themselves,  who  placed  February  at  the  end  of 
the  Consular  year,  which  began  with  Lammas,  and  January  at  the 
beginning  of  what  has  since  become  the  Julian  year;  in  other  words, 
they  placed  one  of  the  new  months  at  the  end  of  each  of  the  two 
sets  of  five  months  in  the  ancient  year  of  ten.  January  was,  there- 
fore, between  December  and  March,  while  February  was  between 
July  and  August.  The  essential  point  is  the  admission  of  the  Brit- 
anica  that  the  existing  order  of  the  months  was  established  by  the 
Decemvirs.  John  of  Nikios  hints  that  under  Augustus,  February 
was  made  to  change  places  with  August.  See  chap.  II  of  the  present 
work. 

B.C.  432,  Athens. — Metonic  "euneakaidecseteric"  lunar-solar  cal- 
endar, commencing  Hecatombion  ist,  July  15th,  invented  by  Meton. 
Adopted  by  the  state,  B.  C.  425,  to  supersede  the  Solonic  calendar, 
which  began  on  Gamelion  ist.  Although  itself  erroneous  and  al- 
though the  measure  of  the  error  was  calculated  and  offered  to  be 
remedied  by  Calippus,  B.  C.  330,  the  Metonic  calendar  was  not  su- 
perseded until  it  was  absorbed  in  the  Julian,  B.  C.  48.  Meton  retained 
Solon's  three  decads  to  the  month  and  left  unchanged  the  intercalary 
month  at  the  end  of  Poseidon;  but  he  changed  the  New  Year  day  to 
first  Hecatombion,  whose  position  he  also  altered,  making  it  equal 
to  our  15th  July.  Greswell,  Kal.  Hell.,  I,  507.  Parker  says  July 
16,  B.  C.  432. 

B.  C.  415,  India. — Ctesias,  a  Greek  physician  of  Cnidus,  resided, 
between  415  and  388,  at  the  court  of  Dariu«  II.  of  Persia.    He  wrote 


150  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

"Indica,"  the  earliest  western  work  on  India,  an  ''abridgment"  of 
which  by  Photios  still  exists.     Duff  Rickmers. 

B.  C.  395,  Sparta. — Death  of  Lysander,  a  Spartan  commander, 
who,  after  destroying  the  Athenian  fleet  in  the  Hellespont,  sailed  to 
Athens,  obtained  its  surrender  and  thus  ended  the  Peloponnesian 
war,  B.  C.  404.  The  glory  of  this  achievement,  coupled  perhaps, 
with  the  reading  of  Ctesias'  account  of  the  Indian  incarnations, 
turned  his  head.  He  set  himself  up  for  a  god,  and,  as  such,  accepted 
worship  from  the  terrified  and  servile  inhabitants  of  Asia  Minor.  His 
pretensions  were  resented  by  the  Spartans,  who,  charging  him  with 
embezzlement,  consigned  him  to  opprobrium,  neglect  and  poverty. 
His  attitude  and  history  were  curiously  repeated  two  centuries  later 
by  Scipio  Africanus.      See  Rome,  B.  C.  201. 

B.  C.  389,  Persia. — Aera  of  Zoroaster,  according  to  Avicenna, 
who  says  Zoroaster  was  born  372,  660  days  (z.  ^.,  about  1020^  solar 
years)  before  the  sera  of  lesdigerd,  which  makes  Zoroaster's  birth- 
day equal  to  March  3,  B.  C.  389.  The  Pandits  "Chron."  See  ante, 
B.  C.  590,  for  another  account.  Zoroaster  is  assigned  by  Persian 
writers  to  the  reign  of  Gustasp,  whose  name  is  mentioned  in  the 
Zendavesta.  Zoroaster  himself  is  mentioned  by  Plato,  B.  C.  427- 
347.  In  these  dates  no  account  is  taken  of  the  78  years  dropped 
from  the  calendar  by  Augustus,  nor  of  the  15  years  restored  (proba- 
bly) after  Justinian  II.  In  adopting  Avicenna's  opinion  of  Zor- 
oaster's sera,  the  Pandits,  p.  xxiii,  refer  to  Troyer's  translation  of 
Dabistan;  Sir  W.  Ouseley's  "  Travels  in  the  East"  (who  cites  Ag- 
athias);  Shea's  translation  of  Mirkhond  ;  Conder's  "Persia  and 
China;"  Clement  of  Alexandria  (who  says  that  Pythagoras  was  the 
"forerunner"  of  Zoroaster) ;  and  Jamblichus'  "  Life  of  Pythagoras." 
See  also  works  of  Walter  Moyle. 

B.  C.  389,  Phoenicia. — Persian  sera  of  Tripolis,  comprising  the 
cities  of  Aradia,  Sidon  and  Tyre,  on  the  coast  of  Phoenicia.  This 
sera  was  found  by  Cardinal  Henry  Noris,  on  several  coins  of  Ela- 
gabalus  (years  "531,  532  and  533  ")  and  by  him  mistaken  for  the  sera 
of  Seleucus.  Diodorus  Siculus  says  that  in  Olym.  cvii,  2  (B.  C.  351), 
Tripolis  rebelled  against  and  repelled  the  Persians.  See  A.  D.  220 
for  other  dates  of  Elagabalus. 

B.  C.  380,  Europe,  etc. — The  Sun  left  the  sign  of  Aries  and  en- 
tered Pisces  in  the  12-sign  zodiac.  It  takes  2160  years  to  make  the 
precession  of  each  sign.  Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  194.  Hence  the  en- 
trance of  the  sun  into  the  next  sign  occurred  A.  D,  1780,  q.  v.  Else- 
where Higgins  fixes  the  first-named  event  in  B.  C.  360,  his  year  for 
Alexander's  birth.     Anacal.,  I,   777;  II,  346. 


^RAS.  151 

B.  C.  365,  Gotland. — Aera  of  the  Scandinavians,  British  and 
Icelanders.  Epoch:  December  25.  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  575.  This 
epoch  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  Gothic  winter  solstice  fell 
on  the  Roman  Brumalia  or  Christmas,  whereas  it  really  fell  on  Mar- 
tinmas. 

B.  C.  351,  Phoenicia. — Revolt  of  Tennes,  king  of  Sidon,  against 
the  suzerainty  of  Persia.  Picot,  "  Tablettes  chronologiques,  apres 
I'abbe  Lenglet  du  Fresnoy,"  1808. 

B.  C.  350,  India. — Panini,  the  Indian  grammarian,  from  whose 
work  numerous  data  have  been  gathered  relating  to  chronology,  is 
assigned  to  this  date  by  Bohlingk;  while  Goldstiickerand  Bhandarker 
place  him  earlier  than  the  second  Buddha. 

B.  C.  332,  Egypt. — Apotheosis  of  Alexander  the  Great,  the  con- 
queror of  Egypt  and  afterwards  of  India,  who,  it  was  subsequently 
pretended,  died  aged  ;^;^  years.  Scene,  the  Temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon ; 
time,  the  winter  solstice;  zodion,  the  Fishes.  Quintus  Curtius; 
Censorinus,  D.  N.,  ch.  XXI.  The  same  year  was  afterwards  adopted 
for  the  "  Coptic  "  aera.  Ten  years  are  sometimes  wrongly  subtracted 
from  this  aera  by  disregarding  the  difference  between  the  Anno  Mundi 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  (See  B.  C.  5502,  552  and  323).  According 
to  Mirkhond,  Alexander  frequently  declared  that  his  conquests  were 
made  for  the  glory  of  God  and  to  propagate  the  true  faith.  Shea's 
trans.,  396,  405.  This  was  also  the  pretence  of  Coesar,  Mahomet, 
Cortes,  and  others.  Higgins,  Anacal.,  II,  347,  says  that  Alexander's 
conquests  were  facilitated  by  the  popular  belief  that  he  was  the  Ex- 
pected One,  Al-Ischa,  the  Saviour;  hence  also  his  name  of  Isskander, 
This  belief  could  only  have  been  founded  on  the  eleventh  incarna- 
tion of  Brahma,  or  lesnu,  due,  by  the  Augustan  chronology,  B.  C. 
470  and  by  the  Indian  chronology,  B.  C.  548.  In  such  case  Alexan- 
der was  born  two  centuries  too  late.  There  is  no  other  incarnation 
year  which  fits  his  chronology  so  nearly,  unless  it  be  the  Lokkal  of 
B.  C.  377.  The  following  are  the  dates  of  the  principal  events  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  Alexander: 

B.  C.       CHRONOLOGY  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 

356. — Alexander  born,  21st  July. 

335. — Philip  assassinated  by  Pausanias. 

335. — Alexander  begins  to  reign  over  Macedonia. 

334. — Alexander  destroys  Thebes  in  Boeotia  and  advances  against  the 

Persian  satraps  in  Asia. 
334. — Battle  of  the  Granicus.     Submission  of  Asia  Minor. 
333. — Defeat  of  Darius  and  the  Persian  forces  at  Jassus. 


152  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

332. — Alexander  destroys  Tyre,  July.     Takes  Egypt.     Is  deified  on 

the  winter  solstice.     Beginning  of  the  Alexandrian  ^ra. 
331. — Alexander  takes  Babylon. 
331. — Conquers  Persia.     Begins  his  Persian  reign. 
327. — Departs  from  Nicaea,  October  23. 
326. — Crosses  the  Indus  and  conquers  Hither  India.   Arrives  at  Pat- 

tala  (mouth  of  the  Indus)  in  August. 
326. — Departure  of  the  fleet  from  the  Indus,  October  2. 
324. — Erects  altars  to  the  twelve  gods  on  the  Hyphasis  and  returns. 
Townsend  erroneously  gives  this  year  for  the  Aera  of  Alexan- 
der. 
323. — Alexander  dies  at  Babylon,  November  12.     The  Rabbins  say 

B.  C.  308,  a  difference  of  15  years. 
322. — Is  buried  near  Memphis  in  Egypt. 

298. — Serapion  built,  and  Alexander's  remains  removed  thither.  For 
,  some  of  these  dates  see  Vincent's  notes  to  Strabo,  111,122,  141. 
B«  C.  330,  Punjab. — ^ra  of  Kandra  Gupta,  the  sacred  king  of 
the  Punjab  and  Magadha,  the  Sandrocottus  of  Magasthenes  and  of 
Justin,  XV,  4.  The  Pandits  fix  his  sera  in  B.  C.  348.  (See  B.  C. 
554).  While  Bunsen  fixes  his  death  in  B.  C.  256.  (See  B.  C.  6658). 
Dunker,  Lassen,  and  the  numismatists  fix  the  asra  of  Sandrocottus  in 
B.  C.  315,  q.  V. 

B.  C.  327,  India. — Year  of  the  Invasion  of  India  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  according  to  Albiruni,  who  evidently  regards  this  as  his 
cBra,  par  excellence.  This  year  is  also  adopted  by  the  Abbe  Lenglet 
de  Fresnoy,  Dr.  Greswell,  Haydn,  Townsend  and  other  chronolo- 
gists.  Diodorus  also  regards  the  invasion  of  India  as  the  sera  of 
Alexander;  for  he  says,  book  I,  that  the  Egyptians  count  23,000 
years  from  the  reign  of  the  Sun  to  Alexander's  "  passage  into  Asia  "; 
although  he  does  not  give  its  date.  Some  chronologists  date  the  in- 
vasion of  India  in  B.  C.  326. 

B.  C.  325,  Rome. — ^ra  of  the  Paetelian  law,  A.  U.  429,  by 
which  it  was  made  a  misdemeanor  to  detain  any  person  in  custody  or 
confinement,  unless  as  a  punishment  for  crime  and  after  lawful  con- 
viction. Livy,  VIII,  28.  This  was  substantially  a  re-enactment  of 
the  Habeas  Corpus  act  of  A.  U.  259,  or  B.  C.  495.  It  constitutes 
one  of  the  greatest  monuments  of  human  liberty  and  progress.  See 
B.  C.  495  and  132. 

B.  C.  323,  Macedonia.— ^ra  Philippica  (Philip  III).     Epoch, 

November  12.    (Martinmas.)   Clinton,  F.  R.,  II,  217,  says  B.  C.  324. 

B.  C.  323,  Egypt. — False  Alexandrian  sera,  dated  from  the  death 


^RAS.  153 

of  Alexander,  which  occurred  at  Babylon,  November  12,  B.  C.  323, 
his  reputed  age  being  ^^  years.  "In  A.  D.  285,  ten  years  were  dis- 
carded from  this  ^era."  Hadyn,  voc.  "Alex."  and  "  Mundane,"  and 
Abulfeda,  in  Gibbon,  V,  193,  «.  This  is  all  wrong.  The  common  Alex- 
andrian sera,  was  not  dated  from  the  death,  but  from  either  the  apoth- 
eosis of  that  prince  or  else  from  his  invasion  of  India.  The  ten  years 
were  not  discarded  in  A.D.  285,  but  in  the  reign  of  Justinian  II.,  or 
else  at  a  still  later  period.  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  ch.  VIII.  The 
sera  of  B.  C.  323  is  that  of  Philip  III.,  Alexander's  successor.  Cen- 
sorinus,  XXI.     See  B.  C.  323  (324). 

B.  C.  322,  Egypt.— "  Incarnation "  of  Ptolemy  Soter.  The 
Ptolemaic  sera  began  on  Thoth  ist  or  August  29th. 

B.  C.  322,  Egypt. — Phenix,  or  Phoenix  period  began;  the  215th 
year  (some  MSS.  say  the  225th)  year,  of  which,  fell  in  the  consulate 
of  P.  Licinius  and  Cneius  Cornelius,  A.  U.  657.  Pliny,  N.  H.,  X,  2. 
Hardouin  says  that  the  Phenix  was  a  period  or  cycle  of  532  years. 
If  so,  it  was  the  same  as  the  Paschal  cycle  of  Dionysius,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  315,  India. — Accession  of  Kandra  Gupta,  according  to 
Duncker's  "India,"  p.  74;  and  Lassen.  His  "divine  mission"  is 
mentioned  by  Justin.     See  B.  C.  330.     His  reign  lasted  24  pears. 

B.  C.  312,  Antioch. — "Incarnation"  of  Seleucus  Nicanor,  or 
Epiphanes,  Son  of  Apollo,  and  conqueror  of  India.  Autumnal  equi- 
nox. Some  chronologists  place  thisaera  (the  Seleucidan)  in  B.  C.  311 
and  the  epoch  on  September  ist.  The  Arabs  say  October  ist.  The 
Pandits'  "Chron.,"  p.  xxxi.  Stokvis  says  October  4,  B.  C.  312. 
The  miraculous  conception  and  birth  of  Seleucus  and  his  treaty  with 
Sandracottus,  or  Chandra  Gupta,  are  related  in  Justin,  XV,  4.  The 
Seleucidan  sera  is  believed  to  have  been  employed  in  the  Syriac  ver- 
sion of  the  New  Testament,  mentioned  in  Marsh's  Michaelis,  II,  31. 
At  the  end  of  the  book  was  written:  "  This  sacred  book  was  finished 
on  Wednesday  the  eighteenth  day  of  the  first  month,  Conun,  in  the 
year  389,  by  the  hand  of  the  apostle  Achasus,  a  fellow  labourer  of 
Mar  Maris."  Michaelis  supposed  this  date  to  agree  with  A.  D.  78 
and  the  month  with  December.  Conun  was  not  the  first  month  of 
the  Seleucidan,  but  of  the  Alexandrian  calendar.  This  colophon  is 
probably  a  modern  forgery. 

B.  C.  311,  Edessa. — yEra  used  by  Hieronymous,  probably  de- 
rived from  or  identical  with  the  Seleucidan.  Clinton,  F.  R.,  I  317. 
Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  238,  calls  it  the  "  ^ra  Graecorum."  Appleton 
says  it  was  used  by  the  Jews  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

B.  C.  307,  Athens. — Deification  and  worship  of  the  living  Dem- 


154  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

etrius  Poliorcetes,  whose  aera  dates  from  this  year,  the  epoch  being 
the  vernal  equinox  in  the  month  of  Munychion. 

Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  born  B.  C.  337,  died  B.  C.  283,  was  king  of 
Macedon,  294-287.  He  was  the  son  of  Antigonus,  who,  in  the  first 
division  of  Alexander's  empire,  received  for  his  share  several  prov- 
inces of  Asia  Minor.  After  taking  part  in  his  father's  wars  in  Syria 
against  Eumenes  and  Ptolemy,  Demetrius  sailed  to  Greece,  and  in 
307  took  Athens  without  resistance.  Anarchy,  civil  wars,  and  fear, 
had  now  brought  the  Greeks  so  low,  that  they  hastened  to  greet  and 
worship  both  the  absent  Antigonus  and  the  present  Demetrius,  as 
gods  and  "god-protectors."  Temples  were  erected  or  altered  to 
their  honour,  priests  were  appointed  to  conduct  a  worship  which  was 
profanely  addressed  to  these  divinities,  an  altar  was  erected  upon 
the  spot  where  Demetrius  first  landed,  and  it  was  consecrated  to 
Demetrius  Cantabates;  his  portrait  was  wrought  in  the  peplum  or 
holy  veil;  and  the  Greeks  changed  the  number  of  their  tribes  from 
ten  to  twelve,  calling  the  new  ones  Antigonis  and  Demetrias;  thus 
increasing  the  senate  from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  members. 
But  adulation  did  not  stop  even  here.  Led  by  Stratocles,  Dromoclides, 
and  other  sycophants,  the  senate  decreed  that  the  messengers  who 
should  be  sent  on  public  business  to  either  Antigonus  or  Demetrius 
should  be  called  theori,  a  sacred  title,  hitherto  reserved  for  the  holy 
officers  who  on  solemn  festivals  carried  the  sacrifices  to  Delphi  and 
Olympia;  that  the  same  worship  should  be  paid  to  Demetrius  as  to 
Ceres  (Maia)  and  the  infant  Bacchus;  that  the  festival  of  Bacchus, 
previously  called  Dion-Issus,  should  be  called  Demetrius;  that  the 
month  of  his  apotheosis,  Munychion,  should  be  called  Demetrion ; 
that  the  last  day  of  every  month  should  be  called  Demetrias;  that 
sacrifices  should  be  made  to  Demetrius  as  to  a  god;  that  Demetrius, 
as  the  god-protector,  should  be  consulted  as  an  holy  oracle  and  be- 
sought to  reveal  to  mankind  the  most  pious  and  acceptable  method 
or  ritual  of  consecrating  an  intended  offering  of  shields  to  Delphi; 
that  the  temple  of  the  Parthenon,  sacred  to  the  virgin-goddess  Mi- 
nerva, should  be  consecrated  as  a  palace  for  the  sacred  Demetrius; 
that  his  word  and  act  were  Infallible  and  should  be  accounted  holy 
in  respect  of  the  gods  and  just  in  respect  of  men;  that  he  be  in- 
vited both  to  the  lesser  mysteries  and  the  greater;  that  the  office 
of  archon  and  the  custom  of  giving  the  archon's  name  to  the  year, 
be  abolished;  and  that  a  new  sera  should  begin,  with  the  advent  of 
the  new  god  Demetrius.  Demetrius  wore  "a  double  diadem,  a  robe 
of  purple  interwoven  with  gold,  and  shoes  of  gold  cloth,  with  soles 


MRAS.  155 

of  fine  purple.  There  was  a  robe  a  long  time  in  weaving  for  him, 
of  most  sumptuous  munificence.  The  figure  of  the  world  and  of  all 
the  heavenly  bodies  were  being  displayed  upon  it,  but  it  was  left 
unfinished."  He  became  difficult  of  access  and  either  declined  to 
grant  an  interview  to  those  accredited  to  him,  or  else  treated  them 
in  a  distant  and  haughty  manner.  Though  he  favoured  the  Athenians 
more  than  the  other  Greeks,  their  ambassadors  waited  at  his  court 
(of  Pella)  two  years  for  an  answer.  For  an  ampler  account  of  this 
scandalous  worship,  see  "Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  II,  8. 

B.  C.  307,  Athens. — In  this  year,  according  to  Greswell,  the 
Prytanes  were  increased  from  10  to  12,  the  two  new  tribes  being 
named  after  Demetrius  and  his  father  Antigonus.  Greswell,  K.  H., 
I,  84,  ;/,  citing  Diodorus,  Plutarch,  Pausanias,  etc. 

B.  C.  307,  Rome.— The  years  A.  U.  446  and  447,  answering  in 
Baker's  edition  to  B.  C.  306  and  305,  appear  to  have  been  inserted 
into  the  Roman  annals  by  Livy.  There  was  no  account  of  them  in 
Piso,  as  he  himself  states  (IX,  44)  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
annals  of  the  years  inserted  were  taken  from  other  years,  so  as  to 
make  the  reckoning  of  time  agree  with  the  calendar  alterations  of 
Augustus,  to  whom  Livy  personally  submitted  his  History  of  Rome, 
before  committing  it  to  the  public.  According  to  Lenglet,  the  years 
inserted  were  A.  U.  447  and  448,  corresponding  with  B.  C.  307  and 
306,  in  the  earlier  one  of  which  the  consuls  were  Ap.  Claudius  C^ecus 
and  L.  Vulumnius  Flamma,  and  in  the  later,  Q.  Marcius  Tremulus 
and  P.  Cornelius  Arvina;  the  dictator  being  L.  Papirius  Cursor,  I. 
The  two  years  of  discrepancy  may  be  identical  with  the  two  years 
mentioned  in  chapter  II  herein. 

B.  C.  305,  Rome. — A.  U.  449.  Upon  the  m.otion  of  Caius  or 
Cneius  Flavins,  curule  sedile,  the  Roman  calendar  (hitherto  announced 
verbally)  was  now  first  required  to  be  posted  up  in  writing,  probably 
to  prevent  further  jugglery.  This  was  "  203  years  after  the  conse- 
cration of  the  Capitol."  Livy,  IX,  46;  Pliny,  XXXIII,  6.  In  this 
year,  or  in  the  previous  one,  B.  C.  306,  the  first  sun  dial  was  erected 
in  Rome  by  Papirius  Cursor.  Both  of  these  events  imply  a  return 
to  the  use  of  a  solar  calendar. 

B.  C.  301,  Pontus. — Reputed  gera  of  the  kingdom  of  Pontus,  it 
having  been  previously  a  satrapy  of  Persia.  (See  Bosporus,  B.  C.  480.) 
Perisades,  who  reigned  B.  C.  289,  struck  gold  coins  with  the  legend 
"  Perisades  Basileus."  The  coins  of  this  kingdom  commonly  bore 
Dionysian  emblems;  and  for  this  reason  were  held  in  great  venera- 
tion by  the  pious  Greeks  and  Romans.    The  kingdom  of  Pontus  was 


156  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

alone  permitted  by  the  Romans  to  strike  gold  coins.      M.  A.  R. 

B.  C.  300,  Antioch. — Artemisius  22nd.  Date  of  the  Foundation 
of  Antioch  and  Seleucias  by  Seleucus,  according  to  Greswell,  Kal. 
Hell.,  Ill,  437. 

B.  C.  298,  Bosporus. — Reputed  sera  of  the  kingdom  of  Cimme- 
rian Bosporus.  This  kingdom  having  become  united  to  Pontus,  the 
aera,  which  differs  from  the  Pontine  by  only  three  years,  is  probably 
of  the  same  origin.  Both  of  these  asras  are  deduced  from  extant 
coins  (Humphreys,  Coin  Manual,  164-8);  but  this  deduction  should 
be  accepted  with  caution.  Stokvis  and  Koehne  fix  the  seras  of  both 
kingdoms  in  A.  U.  457,  or  B.  C.  297. 

B.  C.  297,  Pontus. — Approximate  date  when  the  image  of  Dion- 
ysius,  Mercury,  Hermes,  Osiris,  or  Serapis,  was  carried  in  state  from 
Sinope,  in  Pontus,  to  Rhacotis,  the  ancient  name  of  Alexandria,  in 
Egypt.  Ptolemy  I.,  surnamed  the  Saviour,  dreamt  that  a  godlike 
Youth  appeared  before  him  and  entreated  that  His  image  and  shrine 
might  be  brought  from  the  temple'  of  Sinope,  in  Pontus,  promising 
that  if  this  were  done  Egypt's  power  and  the  City's  prosperity  would 
be  assured.  Having  spoken  thus,  the  bright  Vision  ascended  to 
heaven  in  a  column  of  fire.  Upon  consulting  Timotheus  of  Athens, 
a  Dionysianpri'estand  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Eumolpides,  (High- 
Buddha-priests;  Pococke,)  the  king  sent  an  embassy  to  consult  the 
oracle  at  Delos.  They  received  this  reply:  "Continue  your  voy- 
age: carry  off  the  image  of  my  Father;  but  let  that  of  my  Sister  re- 
main." The  ambassadors  next  sailed  to  Sinope,  from  whence,  after 
three  years'  persistent  entreaty,  backed  by  rich  presents.  King  Scy- 
drothemis  gave  them  permission  to  remove  the  sacred  image  to 
Egypt.  However,  the  image  itself  somewhat  anticipated  these  tedi- 
ous negotiations  by  walking  aboard  the  ambassadors'  ship,  which 
soon  afterwards  sped  to  Alexandria,  where  the  god  was  received 
with  great  rejoicings  and  enshrined  in  a  gorgeous  temple,  (Serapion,) 
especially  built  for  his  accommodation  and  that  of  Isis.  Tacitus, 
Hist.,  IV,  83-4.  The  relation  of  this  prodigy  by  so  respectable  an 
authority  as  Tacitus,  corroborated,  as  he  is,  in  the  main  by  Plutarch 
and  Clement  Alexandrinus,  affords  no  slight  proof  of  the  partiality 
of  the  Romans,  for  whom  this  account  was  written,  for  the  cult  of 
Dionysius;  and  that,  too,  at  a  period  (that  of  Tacitus)  when  the 
worship  of  Augustus  had  been  established  by  law  for  more  than  a 
century.  The  locality  assigned  to  the  miracle  is  corroborated  by 
the  coins  and  other  monuments  of  Pontus,  which  assure  us  that, 
from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  period  of  its  autonomy,  its  religion  was 


iERAS.  157 

Dionysian.  As  to  the  identity  of  Dionysius,  Osiris  and  Serapis,  see 
M.  Gaignant's  Dissertation  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  volume  of  Bur- 
nouf's  Tacitus;  also  Plutarch,  De  Isis  et  Osiris.  Jerome  fixes  the 
removal  of  the  shrine  of  Serapis  in  B.  C.  286  and  Eusebius  in  B.  C. 
278;  a  difference  from  the  date  above  assumed  of  11  to  19  years. 
Greswell  says  B.  C.  281.  Dionysios,  Mercury,  Hermes,  or  Serapis, 
who  was  foretold  by  the  angelic  vision  which  appeared  to  Ptolemy, 
had  for  his  celestial  father,  Jove,  the  Supreme;  his  virgin  mother 
was  Maia  (in  Egypt,  Isis);  the  Messianic  star  indicated  his  birth- 
place, which,  in  the  case  of  Hermes  was  on  the  Kyllemian  Hill;  he 
was  born  on  the  winter  solstice  and  was  recognized  by  the  "  bishops 
of  Chrestos. "  His  head  was  rayed;  his  complexion  florid;  and  his 
hair,  auburn.  He  performed  numerous  miracles,  fasted  40  days,  was 
tempted  by  the  Devil  and,  in  the  case  of  Hermes,  embodied  his  doc- 
trines of  salvation  in  a  book  that  went  by  his  own  name.  His  apos- 
tles were  12;  he  was  persecuted  for  his  religion  and  condemned  to 
death  by  crucifixion.  He  was  executed  on  the  vernal  equinox;  rose 
again  and  ascended  bodily  to  heaven;  yet  the  serapion  at  Alexandria 
was  exhibited  as  his  sepulchre  and  at  the  base  of  it  was  deposited  a 
cross.  His  principal  sacrament  was  baptism  and  his  epigraphic  sym- 
bols were  the  t,  ?  and  i^  :  the  last  one  being  the  well-known  symbol 
of  Mercury,  still  used  as  a  trade  sign  by  chemists  and  apothecaries. 

B.  C.  293,  Rome. — In  the  dictatorship  of  L.  Papirius  Cursor  II., 
(B.  C.  293,)  the  "year  of  12  months  was  introduced  instead  of  the 
old  Roman  year  of  ten;  and  the  first  sun  dial  was  set  up."  Mrs.  Al- 
fred Gatty,  per  H.  K.  F.  Gatty,  in  Archeol.  Jour. ,  January,  1889,  p. 
188.  No  authority  for  this  statement  concerning  the  calendar  ap- 
pears in  Livy's  Annals  of  this  year.      See  chap.  II  herein. 

B.  C.  288,  Bithyaia. — Erroneous  sera  of  Bithynia,  deduced  by 
Humphreys,  102,  from  the  coins  of  Nicomedes  II.,  (Epiphanes,) 
B.  C.  149-93,  Nicomedes  III.,  (Philopater,)  B.  C.  93-75  and  Nico- 
medes IV,,  B.  C.  75-65,  which  are  respectively  stamped  160,  205  and 
223  years,  evidently  of  the  Seleucidan  sera  of  B.  C.  312.  To  hide  the 
14  or  15  years'  alteration  in  the  christian  sera  which  these  dates  dis- 
close, an  imaginary  sera  has  been  imputed  to  Zissetes  or  Zipoetes,  a 
Persian  satrap,  the  father  of  the  first  king  of  Bithynia. 

B,  C.  283,  Ponlus. — ^ras  of  Apamea,  Bithynium,  Nicsa,  Nico- 
media  and  Prusa  ad  Olympam,  found  on  coins  of  those  cities.  Rei- 
nach.  Rev.  Num.,  1887;  W.  Wroth,  "Cat.  of  Greek  Coins,"  1889, 
ed.  Poole. 

B.  C.  282,  Antioch. — Regnal  sera  of  AntiochusL,  the  "Saviour," 


158  '  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

king  of  Syria,    son  of  Seleucus  Nicanor  and  father  of  Antiochus 
Theos,  or  "The  Living  God." 

B.  C.  263,  India. — ^ra  of  the  accession  of  Asoka,  son  of  Bin- 
dusara,  son  of  Chandra  Gupta,  which  is  variously  dated  B.  C.  266, 
264,  263,  232,  231  and  226,  all  of  these  dates  being  in  the  vulgar 
aera.  If  63  years,  the  difference  between  the  vulgar  and  the  pre- 
Augustan  sera  of  Rome,  are  added,  these  dates  become  B.  C.  329, 
327,  326,  295,  294  and  289.  None  of  these  dates  synchronise  with 
the  Divine  years  either  of  Brahma  or  Brahma-Buddha.  B.  C.  263  is 
from  Duncker,  p.  525,  who  calls  it  that  of  the  Eleventh  incarnation 
of  lesnu,  Ishnu,  Vishnu,  or  the  Matsya.  (Zodion  of  the  Fishes.) 
B.  C.  232  and  231  are  from  the  Puranas,  which  date  the  accession 
(reign)  of  Asoka,  311  or  312  years  from  the  nirvana  of  Buddha;  yet 
Gen.  Cunningham  dates  the  nirvana  214  years  before  Asoka.  B.  C. 
226  is  assigned  for  the  death  of  Asoka.  As  the  sera  of  Asoka  is  em- 
ployed for  the  starting  point  of  many  Indian  dates,  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  it  cannot  be  fixed  with  more  precision.  The  date  above 
selected,  B.  C.  263,  seems  the  most  likely,  for  it  is  asserted  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  LII,  ;^6,  that  the  third  Budd- 
hic  ecleastical  council  was  held  in  Southern  India,  B.  C.  246;  and 
this,  if  correct,  was  almost  certainly  during  the  reign  of  Asoka. 
Nevertheless,  the  subject  is  not  without  difficulty.  See  B.  C.  255. 
Senart  fixes  the  accession  of  Asoka  in  B.  C.  273. 

B.  Co  2Q3,  Athens. — Assumed  year  af  Diognetus,  the  archon  in- 
scribed in  the  Parian  marbles  and  the  year  from  which  all  the  dates 
are  calculated  by  Abbe  Lenglet  de  Fresnoy.  Both  Rev.  J.  Robert- 
son and  M.  Gibert  have  proved  that  the  important  date  in  Marble 
XLV  has  been  altered  and  the  archon's  name  defaced.  Rev.  Wm. 
Hales  says  that  some  of  the  marbles  were  used  to  repair  a  chimney 
in  Arundel  House.  Rev.  J.  Robertson  says  the  dates  are  all  false. 
Selden  detected  that  the  marbles  embrace  two  methods  of  computa- 
tion, with  a  difference  of  25  years  between  them;  this  difference  run- 
ning along  without  variation  from  Cecrops  to  the  Fall  of  Troy;  after 
which  they  agree.  If  this  difference  were  followed  down,  it  would  fix 
Diognetus  in  B.  C.  238. 

B.  C.  255,  Egypt  and  Syria.— "  Christ,  as  Ichthys,  the  Fish, 
dates  from  B.  C.  255."  Gerald  Massey,  in  "  The  Natural  Genesis," 
I,  455.  Mr.  Massey  means  by  this  that  the  Messianic  symbol,  which, 
from  the  sixth  century  B.  C,  down  to  this  year,  was  the  Lamb,  was 
supeixeded  by  the  Fishes,  or  Pisces.  The  year  B.  C.  255  (or  B.  C 
254)  is  that  of  the  Apotheosis  of  Alexander,  namely,  B.  C.  332,  al- 


tered  78  years  by  t-he  Augustan  chronologists.  The  zodion  assigned 
to  this  "incarnation  "was  the  Fishes.  See  the  zodion  of  Asoka,  un- 
der B.  C.  263.     See  also  B.  C.  24. 

B.  C.  254,  Cyprus.— ^ra  of  Citium,  deduced  by  the  authorities 
of  the  British  Museum  from  a  stone  monument  now  in  their  "  Re- 
Hgious  "  collection.  They  say  that  the  57th  year  of  this  sera  corre- 
sponds with  the  31st  regnal  year  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus.  This 
reign  began  B.  C.  284:  hence  the  sera  of  Citium  would  be  B.  C.  310. 
On  another  stone  monument  in  the  same  collection  the  5  2nd  year  of 
Citium  is  said  to  correspond  with  the  25th  year  of  Ptolemy  Soter, 
whose  reign  began  B.  C.  322.  Hence  the  sera  of  Citium  was  B.  C. 
349.     There  is  evidently  some  confusion  here. 

B.  C.  250,  Parthia.—"  Incarnation "  of  Arsaces  I.,  King  of 
Kings. 

B.  C.  247,  Parthia.— ^ra  of  Arsaces  I.,  deduced  by  Geo.  Smith 
from  a  cuneiform  tablet  dated  "year  108  of  Arsaces."  Cunningham. 
Thomas,  "  Jainism, "  p.  14,  says,  B.  C.  248. 

B.  C.  238.  Athens.— Possible  year  of  Diognetus.    See  B.  C.  263. 

B.  C.  235,  Rome. — Six  years  after  the  end  of  the  first  Punic  War 
the  Temple  of  Janus  was  closed,  and  it  remained  closed  for  17  years. 
Adams,  553. 

B.  C.  206,  Syria. — Antiochus  III.  invades  India  and  concludes  a 
treaty  with  Sophogasenos. 

B.  C.  205,  Rome. — ^ra  of  the  Matrem  Deorum  in  Rome.  Her 
statue,  or  symbol,  supposed  to  have  been  a  mass  of  meteoric  iron, 
like  that  of  Mania,  in  the  Caaba,  was  brought  this  year  (B.  C.  205-4) 
from  Piscenus,  in  Mariandynia  (Galatia)  by  order  of  the  Senate. 
The  ceremonies  were  both  solemn  and  magnificent.  Livy.  "Be- 
tween the  Mater  Ideea  Piscenuntia,  or  Phrygia,  whose  proper  name 
was  Cybele,  and  her  co-mate  Attes,  Attis,  or  Attia  and  Isis,  there 
was  absolutely  no  difference  except  in  name.  It  must  have  been  the 
height  of  inconsistency  to  recognize  or  to  tolerate  the  former  and 
yet  not  to  recognize,  or  to  refuse  to  tolerate,  the  latter."  Rev.  Edw. 
Greswell,  Fasti  Catholici,  II,  443,  n.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
Maryamma  (see  B.  C.  1332  and  533)  and  of  Mania,  Mother  of  the 
Lares,  or  household  gods,  whose  festival,  the  Compitalia,  is  con- 
nected with  so  early  a  period  as  the  reign  of  Servius  Tullius.  Bell's 
Panth. ;  Noel,  Die.  Fable.  Hislop,  "Two  Babylons,"  206,  makes 
the  same  remark  of  Cardea,  the  mother  or  wife  of  Janus,  mentioned 
-in  Ovid,  Fasti,  VI,  loi.  For  the  cognate  fables  of  Nana  and  Diana, 
see  B.  C.  645.      About  this  time,  B.  C.    191,  plus   15  years,  the  Lex 


l6o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Acilia  resigned  the  intercalation  of  the  calendar  to    the  pontiffs. 
Smith's  Die.  Rom.  Ant.     See  B.  C.  191  herein, 

B.  C.  205,  Numidia. — ^^ra  of  Massin-Issa,  King  of  Massylia,  in 
Numidia,  this  being  the  year  in  which,  after  defeating  Scylax,  he  re- 
covered his  kingdom.      Livy. 

B.  C.  204,  Egypt,— /Era  of  Ptolemy  IV.,  Philopater,  B.  C.  221-04, 
who,  after  putting  to  death  his  mother,  Berenice,  and  taking  to 
wife  his  sister  Arsinoe,  (whom  he  subsequently  murdered,)  pretended 
to  be  the  Son  of  God  and  demanded  to  be  worshipped  as  such.  His 
pedigree  began  with  Bacchus  and  Althea  (daughter  of  Thestius),  and 
was  carried  through  their  daughter,  Dejanira,  and  the  line  of  the 
Heraclidse  down  to  Arsinoe,  the  wife  of  Lagus,  the  father  of  Ptolemy 
I.,  Soter.  From  the  latter  to  himself  (Philopater)  the  descent  was 
matter  of  notoriety.  Upon  his  return  from  Syria  to  Alexandria,  after 
defeating  Antiochus  III.,  at  Rhaphia,  B.  C.  217,  Philopater  caused 
all  the  Jews  in  Egypt  to  be  assembled  in  Alexandria  and  branded 
with  the  Chrissophyllo^  or  symbol  of  Bacchus  (the  cross),  a  mark  that 
he  himself  wore.  Satyrus,  in  Theophilus  ad  Autolycum,  ii,  7,  8; 
III  Maccabees,  ii,  29. 

B.  C.  201,  Rome — ^raof  ScipioAfricanus,  who  attempted  about 
this  time,  (the  5th  Ludi  Saeculares  fell  in  A.  U.  550),  to  get  himself 
recognised  by  the  Romans  as  the  Son  of  God.  Aulus  Gellius;  Cen- 
sorinus;  Herbert. 

B.  C.  200,  Rome. — Cicero  de  Legg.,  lib.  ii,  says  that  the  ancient 
year  of  ten  months  was  changed  to  12  months,  during  the  consulate 
of  Dec.  Brutus,  or  A.  U.  616.  If  we  accept  the  Varronian  date  of 
the  Foundation  of  Rome,  this  corresponds  with  B.  C.  138.  If  we 
adopt  the  Timsean  and  Ciceronian  computation,  it  corresponds  with 
B,  C.  200.  Cf.  R.  T.  Pothier,  Pandectae  Justinianeae,  Parisis,  1818, 
I,  clxvi.     See  above,  B.  C.  452. 

B.  C.  199,  Epirus. — /Era  of  Titus  Quintius  Flamininus,  a  Roman 
general,  who,  while  in  Epirus  and  in  the  year  of  Rome  555  (the  fifth 
Ludi  Saeculares  fell  in  A.  U.  550)  impiously  assumed  the  title  and 
authority  of  God  on  Earth.      Plutarch. 

B,  C.  191,  Rome. — Lex  Acilia.  Intercalation  of  the  calendar 
resigned  to  the  pontiffs.     See  B.  C.  205. 

B.  C.  190,  India. — Millenium  of  Parasurama,  /.  ^.,  when  the 
Christian  15  years  alteration  are  added  to  the  Augustan  chronology. 

B.  C,  190,  Khazaria. — /Era  of  the  Khazares,  according  to  the 
Encyc.  Brit. 

B.  C,  175,  India. — Millenium  ot  Parasurama.  See  B.  C.  11 75 
and  190, 


.ERAS.  l6l 

B.  C.  165,  Bactria. — The  Hiang-nu  drive  the  Yueh-ti  westward 
into  Sogdiana;  while  the  latter  drive  the  Sacae  into  Bactria.  Specht, 
according  to  Duff  Rickmers,  p.  15. 

B.  C.  156,  Rome. — Date  of  the  latest  change  in  the  Epoch  of  the 
Roman  consular  year.  The  consular  day  at  the  outset  of  the  Re- 
public, A.  U.  244,  <B.  C.  510,  was  in  all  probability  the  calends  of 
Sextilis,  afterwards  known  as  August  ist,  now  called  Lammas.  Be- 
cause Tarquin  was  expelled  on  Regifugium  (the  King's  Flight)  Feb- 
ruary 23rd  or  24th,  Dr.  Adams  believes  that  the  first  consuls  (A.  U. 
244  orB.  C.  510)  were  elected  and  went  into  office  on  this  day.  But 
aside  from  the  doubtfulness  or  there  having  been  any  February  in 
the  Roman  calendar  at  the  outset  of  the  Republic,  it  does  not  follow 
from  Livy  that  the  new  consuls  entered  office  on  the  very  same  day 
that  Tarquin  was  expelled.  It  would  be  more  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  they  began  their  term  a  few  months  later,  say  on  the  Middle  Day 
of  the  ecclesiastical  year.  Livy  says  of  the  year  of  Rome  291  or 
B.  C.  463  (corrected  by  the  Abbe  Lenglet  to  289  or  B.  C.  465)  that 
"the  elections  were  then  held,  and  Lucius  ^butius  and  Publius 
Servilius  being  chosen  consuls,  they  began  their  office  on  the  calends 
of  August,  which  was  at  that  time  considered  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  year."  This  is  the  most  exact  definition  of  the  Roman  new 
year  in  any  ancient  author.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  cus- 
tom of  beginning  the  civil  year  with  the  day  now  called  the  first  of 
August  went  back  to  the  foundation  of  the  Republic.  As  the  first 
of  March  (the  epoch  of  the  ecclesiastical  year)  was  called  Messo, 
(from  Mesotheus,  a  surname  of  Bacchus,  Janus,  or  Mercury),  so  the 
first  of  August  was  anciently  called  Messa,  a  surname  of  Ceres.  The 
Goths  called  the  first  one  the  Mess  or  Mass-day  par  excellence  and 
the  second  one  (by  way  of  distinction)  the  Latter  Mass,  corrupted 
to  Lammas  (Dr.  Johnson).  Several  metonyms  of  these  terms  will 
be  found  in  chapter  II,  herein.  Although  we  are  informed  that  so 
late  as  A.  U.  291  or  B.  C.  463  the  consular  day  was  still  Messa,  or 
Lammas,  yet  in  A.  U.  299  or  B.  C.  455  it  was  changed  to  the  day 
now  known  as  Whitsuntide.  Livy,  III,  36.  In  A.  U.  331  or  B.  C. 
423  it  wAs  changed  to  the  ides,  the  middle  or  mass-day,  of  December. 
Dio.  Ha\.,  XI,  15;  Livy,  IV,  37;  V,  11.  In  A.  U.  36^  or  B.  C.  391 
it  was  changed  to  July  ist.  Livy,  V,  32;  VIII,  20.  In  A.  U.  530 
or  B.  C.  224  it  was  changed  to  the  calends  of  March.  Furgault, 
"Recueil  Hist.  d'Ant.,"  mot  "Calendrie."  Finally,  in  A.  U.  598  or 
B,  C.  156,  it  was  changed  to  January  ist.  Ovid.  Fasti,  I,  81;  III^ 
147;  Livy,  Ep.  47;  Adams,  Roman.  Antiq. 


l62  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  146,  Achaia. — Macedo-Achsen  sera.  Stokvis.  In  this  year 
Achaia  became  a  Roman  province. 

B.  C.  143,  Judea. — Maccabean  or  Asmonean  aera  November  24. 
Townsend  says  B.  C.  166.  The  Abbe  Lenglet  says  "Kislev  25,  our 
November  24,  B.  C.  165,  when  Judas  Maccabseus  purified  the  temple 
and  re-estabHshed  divine  worship."  Humphreys  says  the  earliest 
Hebrew  shekels,  those  of  Simon  Maccabaeus,  were  stamped  "Year  I " 
and  issued  about  B.  C.  144.  Lenglet  commences  the  pontificate  of 
Simon  in  B.  C.  143,  which  is  the  year  herein  adopted  for  this  sera. 

B.  C.  125,  Sidon  and  Tyre—"  Incarnation  "  of  Antiochus  VIII., 
(Gryphus),  the  conqueror  of  Sidon  and  Tyre.  It  commenced  with 
the  first  day  of  Hyperberetacus,  or  19th  October,  Hieronymous,  in 
Clinton,  F.  R.,  I,  317.  Humphreys,  p.  548,  says,  B.  C.  126.  See 
B.  C.  no. 

B.  C.  122,  Rome. — yEra  of  the  Sempronian  law,  A.  U.  632,  which 
provided  that  no  sentence  should  be  passed  upon  a  Roman  citizen 
unless  by  virtue  of  law  or  warrant  of  the  Comitia.  Cicero,  pro  Rabir. , 
4.    See  B.  C.  495  and  325. 

B.  C.  110,  Sidon  and  Tyre. — Variant  date  of  the  "incarnation" 
of  Antiochus  Gryphus,  according  to  Stokvis.  (See  above,  B.  C. 
125.)  The  difference  which  now  appears  between  this  and  the  pre- 
vious date  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  change  of  15  years  in 
the  calendar  was  effected  during  the  interval  when  the  translation 
of  each  date  severally  was  made  into  the  Christian  sera. 

B.  C.  103,  Ascalon. — Aera  mentioned  by  Hieronymous,  in  Clin- 
ton, F.  R.,  I,  317. 

B.  C.  100,  Rome. — Birth  of  Caius  Julius  Csesar,  a  descendant  of 
Venus  (the  mother  of  gods,  who  was  called  Julius  Caesar  Dionaeus, 
or  Dionseus  Mater).      He  was  a  ten  months'  child;  born  miracu- 
lously (from  the  side) ;  he  laughed  at  the  moment  of  his  birth;  and 
over  his  cradle  a  star  appeared  to  announce  his  advent  to  the  world. 
At  the  age  of  17,  in  B.  C.  83  he  became  a  priest  of  Jupiter.     His  first 
public  service  was  in  Bithynia  and  Cilicia,  where  he  doubtless  in;;i. 
bibed  that  Oriental  theogony  which  he  afterwards  so  effectu^^^^  „  g^n- 
ployed  as  a  political  instrument.      In  B.  C.  73  he  became  a  c.^Ydimd, 
or  member  of  the  Sacred  College;  B.  C.  64,  Pontifex  Maximus,.  g_  q 
60,  Consul  for  five  years,  afterwards  extended  to  ten  years;  J 1  q  ^g, 
battle  of  Pharsalia,  conquest  of  Egypt,  acquisition  of  the  (  Oriental 
trade,  command  of  the  world;  B.  C.  48,  deified  in  Egypt  in  tl  ^g  tg^. 
pie  of  Jupiter  Amnion;  B.  C.  47,  reform  of  the  calendar;  BJ    q    ^5^ 
deified  by  the  Seriate  of  Rome  March  25  (10),  monument  fd  ^^^^^  at 


Evora,  in  Portugal,  inscribed  "  Divo  Julio,"  or  the  living  god  Julius; 
a  fastigium,  or  steeple,  a  mark  of  ecclesiastical  sanctity,  was  placed 
upon  his  house;  a  coin  was  struck  with  his  efifigy  holding  a  sword  in 
one  hand  and  a  book  in  the  other,  with  an  inscription  importing  that 
he  governed  both  spiritually  and  temporally  (Du  Prez) ;  his  face  was 
concealed  by  a  peplum  or  veil;  and  the  custom  of  kissing  his  foot 
was  introduced  at  court.  These  practices  were  suddenly  arrested  by 
his  assassination,  which  occurred  March  15,  44,  the  day  afterwards 
called  "  parricidium."  Upon  his  death  the  earth  was  convulsed;  six 
hours  of  darkness  supervened;  and  a  comet  arose  in  the  afternoon 
which  appeared  for  a  week  together  and  was  believed  to  be  Caesar's 
spirit  in  heaven.      (Suetonius.) 

B.  C.  98,  Arabia. — Death  and  sera,  of  Kab  ben  Luayy,  according 
to  Albiruni,  Sachau's  trans.,  1879,  p.  39.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  Kab  ben  Luayy  is  possibly  a  corrupted  Roman  name. 

B.  C.  97,  Rome. — A.  U.  657,  Cneius  Cornelius  Lentulus  and  P. 
Licinius  Crassus,  consuls.  A  decree  of  the  Senate  was  passed  for- 
bidding human  sacrifices.  This  appears  to  have  been  aimed  at  the 
worship  and  rites  of  Hesus,  both  in  Scythia,  Persia,  Antioch,  Gaul 
and  Britain.  A  similar  decree  appears  to  have  been  issued  by  Tibe- 
rius. Pliny,  N.  H.,  XXX,  3;  Tacitus,  Annals,  II,  69.  The  Brah- 
mins of  India  very  anciently  had  a  similar  interdict;  also  the  Egyp- 
tians;  (Herod.,  Eut. ,  45;)  also  the  Jews. 

B.  C.  90,  Gotland. — ^ra  of  Woden,  or  Odin,   the  Buddhic  god 
of  the  Scythians  and  Norsemen.      This  sera  began  on  the  first  Thor, 
which  coincided  with  the  winter  solstice.     The  Norse  Woden  is  prob- 
ably identical  with  the  Mongolian-Chinese  Woote.      (See  B.  C.  86.) 
This  sera  of  Woden  is  one  Divine  Year  after  Nebo-Nazaru,  B.  C.  748, 
and  two  Divine  Years  after  Jasius  and  the  Ten  Dactyles,  B.  C.  1406; 
there  being  an  interval  of  exactly  658  years  between  each  of  these 
three  dates.     Allowing  for  the  12  years  inserted  in  the  calendar  by 
the  Chaldeans  (See  chapter  III)  the  sera  of  Woden  was  exactly  three 
Divine  Years  after  les  Chrishna,   Bel  Issus,  Cres,  etc.,  with  all  of 
which  incarnations  it  was  evidently  connected.     There  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  these  cycles  and  the  myths  concerning  them  were 
carried  from  India  into  Asia  Minor  and  Europe,  by  the  Scythians 
and  Goths.     The  great  festivals  of  the  Norsemen  during  the  earlier 
centuries  of  our  sera  appear  to  have  fallen  on  what  are  now  known 
as  the  Cross-Quarter  Days,  which,  in  fact,  are  relics  of  the  ancient 
ten  1.  onths'year.     According  to  Brady,  II,  353,  the  Yule  festival  of 
the  No.  -emen   commenced   on   Hokunott,    or    Holy    Night,    which 


164  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

agreed  with  the  beginning  of  the  month  Thor.  Du  Chaillu  says  that 
Yule  fell  in  the  "  middle  "  of  our  month  of  January.  This  may  mean 
the  i8th,  or  the  ides  (the  ides  in  the  36-day  month)  of  January,  which 
is  still  the  Christmas  and  New  Years'  day  of  the  Armenians,  namely, 
i8th  January.  If  correcc,  this  belongs  to  a  different  period  from  that 
alluded  to  by  Brady.  According  to  the  Landnama,  V,  15,  Yule  was 
changed  to  our  25th  December  during  the  reign  of  Hakon,  king  of 
Norway  and  foster-son  of  Athelstan,  king  of  England,  who  had  con- 
verted Hakon  to  Christianity,  about  A.  D.  940,  but  we  are  not  in- 
formed on  or  about  what  day  it  was  previously  kept.  As  Yule  (now 
our  Christmas)  falls  at  midwinter,  the  changes  alluded  to,  did  not 
necessarily  alter  the  solar  period  of  the  festival,  but  merely  the 
nominal  date  of  it;  in  other  words,  what  took  place  (dates  uncer- 
tain) was  one  or  more  alterations  of  the  calendar.  The  fact  that  the 
English  kings  down  to  the  reign  of  Henry  H.  traced  their  royal 
pedigree  down  from  Woden,  by  just  as  many  generations  as  would 
suffice  to  fix  the  ara  of  this  heaven-born  personage  in  A.  U.  664,  or 
B.  C.  90,  affords  reason  to  suspect  that  the  history  and  sera  of  Christ 
was  not  known  in  England  until  a  later  period  than  that  assigned  by 
the  Romanised  Landnama  to  the  proselyting  efforts  of  Athelstan. 

B.  C.  90,  Rome. — -^ra  of  Minius  leus,  who  led  the  insurgents  in 
the  Social  War  of  A.  U.  664;  he  adopted  a  sacred  name  (leus) ;  and 
struck  gold  coins  stamped  "Italia,"  some  of  which  are  still  extant. 
Del  Mar's  "Hist.  Monetary  Systems." 

B.  C.  88,  Rome. — "  In  the  year  of  Rome  666,  the  haruspices  an- 
nounced that  the  earthly  day  of  Etruria  was  drawing  to  a  close." 
This  prediction  was  probably  based  upon  the  knowledge  that  the  cy- 
cle of  Eclipses,  or  Indian  cycle  of  the  Incarnation,  or  Divine  Year, 
would  soon  recur.     Higgins'  Anacal.,  I,  181.     See  B.  C.  78. 

B.  C.  86,  China. — Death  and  posthumous  deification  of  Woote, 
possibly  named  after  Buddha,  Wooten,  or  Woden,  as  he  was  called 
by  the  Baltic  Goths.  The  Chinese  Woote,  by  avoiding  war,  earnt 
the  sobriquet  of  the  "  Prince  of  Peace."  He  ordered  that  upon  the 
death  of  a  noble,  his  estate  should  be  equally  divided  amongst  his 
lawful  children,  thus  abolishing  primogeniture.  He  restored  the 
Buddhic  literature,  which  had  been  destroyed  a  century  previously 
by  Chi-hoang-ti.  Woote  ordered  the  doctrines  of  Confucius  and 
Mencius  to  be  publicly  taught.  He  drove  the  Tartars  beyond  the 
Great  Wall,  conquered  Pegu,  Siam,  Cambaia  and  Bengal,  appointed 
kings  over  these  states,  and  thus  himself  became  a  king  of  kings. 
Felted  paper  was  invented  in  the  reign  of  Woote's  grandfather;  pa- 


^RAS.  165 

per  money  was  first  used  In  Woote's  reign;  while  printing  became 
common  in  that  of   his  grandson. 

B.  C.  84,  Athens. — ^ra  of  L.  Cornelius  Sylla,  who  was  deified 
this  year  in  Athens  and  hailed  as  Epaphroditus,  the  son  of  Venus, 
mother  of  gods.  The  date  is  derived  from  inscriptions;  (Rev.  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  "The  Apostolic  Fathers,"  I,  494;)  the  Apotheosis  ap- 
pears in  ■  Plutarch.  Two  years  later,  Sylla  was  created  Perpetual 
Dictator  in  Rome,  the  first  instance  of  the  kind,  says  Plutarch,  in 
120  years.  As  the  last  instance  was  that  of  Q.  Fabius  Maximus, 
S-  C.  537  (Lenglet),  the  present  difference  is  135,  not  120  years;  in- 
dicating an  alteration  in  the  Christian  calendar  of  15  years.  In  B.  C. 
89  Sylla  married  the  daughter  of  Metellus,  the  Pontifex  Maximum." 
About  B.  C.  84  he  was  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  Ceres,  at  Ath- 
ens. Plutarch.  The  Syllan  sera,  A.  U.  670,  which,  according  to  the 
Christian  calendar,  is  B.  C.  84,  was  adopted  by  numerous  urban  com- 
munities in  the  eastern  provinces,  for  the  reason  that  being  brought, 
after  the  close  of  the  Mithradatic  War,  under  direct  Roman  admin- 
istration, they  then  first  received  city  rights.  Mommsen,  Hist.  Rome, 
1886,  I,  327. 

B.  C.  82,  Pontus. — ^ra  of  the  union  of  Pontus  and  Bosporus, 
B.  C.  82. 

B.  C.  78,  India. — Augustan  date  of  the  Nativity  of  les  Chrishna, 
or  Salivahana,  which  some  translate  as  Son-of-a- Virgin,  and  others  as 
Cross-borne.  The  sera  is  also  assigned  to  Vicramaditya,  the  Holy 
Vicar  of  God:  a  Buddhic  re-incarnation,  according  to  native  astrolo- 
gers. Greek  sign  of  the  Fishes.  This  was  the  nth  incarnation,  or 
avatar;  it  was  also  the  period  when,  according  to  the  Hindu  theory, 
the  world  was  to  come  to  an  end ;  an  event  that  was  confidently 
looked  for  by  the  pious,  in  every  portion  of  the  earth  into  which  the 
astrology  of  the  orient  had  penetrated.  The  real  date  of  Salivahana 
or  Vicramaditya — for  according  to  Col.  Wilford,  they  are  practically 
the  same — was  that  of  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus.  It  is  the  sink- 
ing of  78  years  from  the  Roman  calendar,  which  makes  it  appear  78 
years  older  than  it  really  is.  Moreover,  by  sinking  these  78  years 
from  the  latter  instead  of  from  the  former  part  of  the  calendar,  the 
sera  of  Salivahana  is  sometimes  thrown  into  A.  D.  78.  The  identity 
of  the  Salivahanic  and  Augustan  seras  was  asserted  by  Nicoli  di 
Conti;  and  repeated  by  Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  763;  who  noticed  that 
' '  since  the  Romans  have  entered  India,  the  Hindus  accepted  the  birth 
of  Augustus  Csesar  for  the  sera  of  Salivahana."  These  statements 
have  been  confirmed  by  the  discovery  of  the  identity  of  Aurguti  Ti- 


l66  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGV. 

rounal  and  Augustus  Quirinus.     See  Rome,  B.  C.  63.     Thetranslation 
of  "Cross-borne  "  is  from  Maurice,  "  Brah.  Fraud  Exposed,"  p.  161. 

B.  C.  78,  Egypt.— Deification  of  Ptolemy  IX.  as  the  god  Diony- 
sios,  whose  coming  had  been  foretold  by  the  priests  of  Osiris,  and 
whose  mission  upon  earth  was  to  restore  peace  and  happiness  to  man- 
kind. His  assumption  of  the  role  of  Dionysios  is  mentioned  by  Di- 
odorus  Siculus,  who  visited  Egypt  during  his  reign. 

B.  C.  78,  Mecca.— Aera  of  the   Caaba  temple,  whose  linen  or 
silken  veil  "was  first  offered  by  a  pious  king  of  the  Homerites,  who 
reigned  700  years  before  the  time  of  Mahomet."     Hence,  622  (year 
of  Mahomet)  from  700  leaves  78.     Abulfeda  in  vit.  Mahomet,  c.  6, 
-cited  by  Gibbon,  V,  191.     The  Caaba  is  not  mentioned  by  Agath- 
arcidc.-.,  who  wrote  A.  U.  650,  but  it  is  mentioned  by  Diodorus,  who 
wrote  A.  U.  746;  hence  it  was  probably  erected  during  the  interval. 
It  is  again  mentioned,  together  with  its  venerated  Black  Stone,  by 
Maximus  of  Tyre,  in  the  second  century.     Gibbon,  V,  192  ;?.     The 
Black  Stone  is  held  by  Higgins  to  typify  the  Messianic  Buddha;  by 
others,  the  virgin  mother  of  Buddha.     The  epoch  of  the  Caaba  aera 
appears  to  have  been  midsummer.    Gibbon,  V,  186//.     Yet  Stanley, 
(Hist.  Phil.  Ldn.,  1687,  p.  1066,)  says  the  Arabians  celebrated  the 
birthday  of  the  Lord  on  the  24th  day  of  the  tenth  month.      Hislop, 

T.  B.,  94. 

B.  C.  78,  Rome. — ^ra    of  Quintus    Sertorius,   who,    it    is    pre- 
tended, was  born   in   Nursia,  near  the   headwaters  of  the   Arno  in 
Italy,   in  the  year  B.  C.    125,   exactly  one  specular  interval  before 
the  Apotheosis  and  the  wrongful  celebration  of  the  Ludi  Sseculares 
by  Augustus;  a  circumstance  that  leads  to  the  suspicion  that  the 
latter  may  have  been  anticipated  in  his  alterations  of  the  calendar  by 
either  Sylla  or  Sertorius,  both  of  whom  set  themselves  up  for  gods. 
Sertorius  took  sides  with  Marius  in  the  civil  war.     After  the  defeat 
of  the  latter,  he  went  to  Spain,  where  he  raised  a  force  of  rebellious 
Romans  and  native  provincials,  with  which  he  kept  the  field  for  sev- 
eral years,  successfully  resisting  the  arms  of  Sylla,    Metellus  and 
Pompey.     It  is  alleged  that  in  order  to  augment  his  influence  with  the 
Spaniards,  Sertorius  pretended  that  he  was  the  miraculous  progeny 
of  the  Deity  by  the  Virgin  Rhea  and  that  a  white  fawn  which  always 
accompanied  him  was  the  agent  of  communications  vouchsafed  to 
him  from  heaven.   He  appears  to  have  been  a  Dionysian  and  an  initiate 
of  the  Eleusinian  mysteries.     He  had  been  allied  with  King  Mith- 
radatesof  Pontus,  where  the  Dionysian  cult  was  in  universal  esteem. 
(Florus,  III,  5).      Sertorius  was  treacherously  stabbed  to  death  B.  C. 


^RAS.  167 

73  by  the  members  of  his  council  or  "  Senate  "  who  had  invited  him 
to  supper  with  that  object  and  who  doubtless  were  rewarded  for  their 
services  by  the  aristocratic  party  in  Rome. 

B.  C.  70,  Sinope. — ^ra  recovered  from  coins.  W.  Wroth,  Gr. 
Coins,  ed.  R.  S.  Poole.    Wroth  also  uses  the  Sinopian  sera  of  B.  C. 

45,  q-  V. 

B.  C.  64,  Antioch. — ^ra  discovered  on  coins  by  Cardinal  Henry 
Noris,  "Annus  et  Epochae  Syro-Macedonum,"  Lipsse,  4to,  1696,  p. 
156.  He  says  that  this  aera  agreed  with  Olym.  clxxviii,  4.  He  sup- 
poses that  it  commemorated  the  action  of  Pompey,  who  in  that  year 
drove  Tigranes  out  of  Syria.  In  reality,  it  marks  the  Christian  year 
of  Salivahana,  whose  aera  Augustus  lowered  by  78  years  and  the 
Sacred  College  afterwards  increased  by  15  or  16  years,  making  it 
fall  in  B.  C.  6^  or  64,  whereas  its  true  date  is  A.  D.  o  or  A.  D,  i. 
The  Caesarian  aera  of  Antioch,  which  was  in  common  use  throughout 
the  West,  down  to  the  seventh  century,  commenced  B.  C.  48,  q.  v. 

B.  C.  64,  Rome. — Year  of  the  miraculous  Conception  of  Atia,  or 
Maia,  the  mother  of  Augustus  Caesar,  who  was  worshipped  during 
his  lifetime  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Living  God,  the  Sacro-sanct, 
Dionysius,  Mercury,  etc.  Suetonius,  in  vita;  Pliny;  Tacitus;  Virgil; 
Ovid;  "Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  Appendix  V;  Rushforth,  "Latin 
Inscriptions,"  ch.  V;  "  Monumentum  Ancyranum  ";  Duruy's  "  Hist. 
Rome,"  etc.     The  Conception  occurred  at  Martinmas. 

B.  C.  63,  India. — Aera  of  Salivahana,  or  Vicramaditya,  the  re- 
incarnation of  les  Chrishna;  these  deities  being  evidently  one.  Col. 
Wilford  (Asiat.  Res.  vol.  IX)  says  that:  "In  general  the  Hindus 
know  but  one  Vicramaditya,  but  the  learned  acknowledge  four;  and 
when  at  my  request  they  produced  written  authorities,  I  was  greatly 
surprised  to  find  no  less  than  eight  or  nine.  .  .  .  Every  Vicrama- 
ditya is  made  to  wage  war  against  an  antagonist  called  Salivahana, 
Salavan,  and  often  denominated  Nrishina,  Nagendra,  etc.,  except 
one,  whose  name  was  Maha-Bat,  and  that  of  his  followers  Mahabhata- 
dicas,  that  is  to  say  Mahomet  and  the  Mahometans."  Vicramaditya 
was  granted  sway  over  the  entire  world  for  1000  years;  after  which 
Salivahana,  "a  divine  child  born  of  a  virgin  and  the  son  of  Tacshaca, 
a  carpenter,"  would  deprive  him  of  his  kingdom.  In  the  Cumarica- 
c'handra  it  was  predicted  that  this  would  happen  after  the  expiration 
of  Calijoga  3100.  Toward  the  end  of  his  millenial  term  Vicrama- 
ditya sent  out  to  find  the  Expected  One,  that  he  might  destroy  him; 
on  the  contrary,  he  was  himself  destroyed  by  Salivahana,  the  Divine 
Child,   then  but  five  years  of  age.     Col.  Wilford  refers  to  Major 


l68  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Mackenzie's  "  Vicrama-charitra "  and  believes  that  this  legend  is 
"derived  from  the  apochryphal  gospel  of  Christ,"  an  opinion  which 
is  at  variance  with  the  conclusions  of  the  same  author  in  vol.  V  of 
the  "  Asiat.  Researches. "  It  is  also  at  variance  with  the  monuments. 
Wilford  repeats  that  to  every  Vicramaditya  there  was  a  correspond- 
ing Salivahana,  so  that  virtually  the  aera  of  one  is  that  of  the  other; 
indeed  "originally,"  /.  ^.,  in  the  chronological  lists  in  the  Puranas, 
they  were  considered  but  as  one  individual.  That  they  were  the 
same  is  also  the  opinion  of  Di  Conti,  Marsden,  Prinsep,  Tod,  Cun- 
ningham, Higgins,  Massey.and  other  orientalists  and  critics.  The 
aera  which  the  Cumarica-c'handra  predicted,  when  Vicramaditya  or 
Salivahana  would  appear,  originally  tallied  with  that  of  the  apothe- 
osis of  Augustus.  The  Augustan  alteration  of  the  calendar  put  the 
sera  of  Salivahana  back  to  B.  C.  78  and  the  subsequent  alteration  by 
the  Latin  Sacred  College  has  put  it  forward  to  B.  C.  6^.  By  deduct- 
ing and  adding  the  sunken  and  restored  years  from  and  to  the  wrong 
end  of  the  calendar  and  by  other  arithmetical  means,  this  sera  has 
been  cast  into  B.  C.  58,  (Sewell's  "Ind.  Cal.,"  1896)  B.  C.  57,  B.  C. 
56  and  A.  D.  78.  The  141  years  of  difference  between  the  two 
Jain  seras  mark  the  extreme  limits  of  these  variants,  /.  e.,  B.  C.  63 
and  A.  D.  78;  and  while  it  proves  that  one  is  post-christian,  it  im- 
plies that  the  other  is  pre-christian.  Mr.  Sewell  (op.  cit.)  also  shows 
that  an  Indian  sidereal  year,  or  the  beginning  of  a  new  series  of 
Jovian  cycles,  dates  from  A.  D.  78:  a  circumstance  that  must  have 
added  to  the  confusion  which  has  been  made  to  surround  the  sera  of 
les  Chrishna  or  Salivahana. 

Cunningham  says  that  the  sera  of  Salivahana  or  Vicramaditya  is 
commonly  used  in  all  Northern  India,  except  Bengal,  where  it  is 
only  partially  employed.  In  different  parts  of  India  the  head  of  the 
Vicrama  calendar  is  either  the  first  day,  or  the  first  day  of  the  full 
moon  of  Chaitra,  or  Ashadha,  or  Addi,  or  Assar,  or  Kartika.  (Sewell) . 
In  the  Hindu  Panjangam  for  1897  the  year  begins  with  Chaitra  ist 
(our  April  13th)  and  Houli  (Yule)  falls  on  April  17th,  which  is  the 
first  day  of  the  full  moon  following  the  vernal  equinox.  Rickmers  pre- 
fers the  full  moon  of  Chaitra.  This  corresponds  with  the  Persian  New 
Year  day,  or  Neuroz.  Houli  or  Yule  is  sacred  to  les  Chrishna  and 
is  celebrated  in  most  parts  of  India  by  persons  of  both  sexes  and 
all  ages,  even  by  the  Moslems.  The  ceremonies  are  gay  and  joyous. 
Coloured  balls  made  of  the  red  flour  of  Juba  are  thrown  about,  as  in 
the  confetti  carnival  of  the  Italians.  It  is  a  festival  of  universal 
rejoicing,  in  which  the  women  join  with  great  hilarity  and  pleasantry, 


MRAS.  169 

shouting  Houli!  Houli!  Houli!  When  Chrishna  descended  to  earth 
he  encountered  the  nine  Houlis  (Muses)  and  danced  with  them.  Noel 
citing  Turner's  *' Ambassy  to  Thibet."  The  number  of  the  Houlis 
probably  stood  for  the  nine  days  of  the  ancient  week,  ornundinum, 
of  the  solar  calendar.  Like  the  other  oriental  incarnations  Saliva- 
hana's  advent  was  foretold  by  the  astrologers  and  it  appears  in  the 
Cumarica  Chandra ;  his  celestial  father  was  les-nu ;  his  putative  father 
Taishaca,  the  carpenter;  his  virgin  mother,  Maia;  his  star,  the  Mes- 
sianic. Originally  the  nativity  of  Salivahana  was  fixed  at  Easter 
B.  C.  I ;  it  now  stands,  owing  to  the  alteration  of  the  Roman  calen- 
dar, at  the  winter  solstice,  B.  C.  63.  Salivahana  was  born  in  a  cottage, 
among  shepherds,  but  was  immediately  recognised  by  seers  as  the 
Expected  One.  His  head  was  rayed;  his  complexion  black;  his  hair 
woolly.  He  performed  numerous  miracles,  fasted  40  days,  had  12 
disciples,  was  persecuted  by  Vicramaditya  and  overcame  him.  At 
length  he  was  condemned  for  his  doctrines  and  died  upon  the  cross, 
(Higgins'  Anacal.,  I,  662)  at  the  vernal  equinox,  upon  which,  the  sun 
was  eclipsed.  He  descended  to  hell,  released  the  condemned,  re- 
mained three  days  and  nights,  rose  again  and  ascended  to  heaven, 
an  event  which  is  celebrated  by  the  Indian  Houli,  His  principal  sac- 
rament was  baptism,  his  symbol  the  ■}■  and  his  zodion,  the  Fishes. 

B.  C.  63,  Asia  Minor. — Christian  equivalent  of  the  year  stamped 
by  Pompey  as  his  own  asra  upon  the  coins  of  the  numerous  cities 
which  he  conquered  in  Asia  Minor,  cities  which  probably  yielded  to 
his  supernatural  pretensions  as  much  as  to  his  valour.  Noris,  op.  cit. 
Humphreys,  548. 

B.  C.  63,  Rome. — Elevation  of  Caius  Julius  Csesar  to  the  office 
of  Pontifex  Maximus.     Greswell,  F.  C. ,  II,  42. 

B.  C.  63,  Rome. — Sept.  23.  Nativity  of  Caius  Octavius  Caepias, 
afterwards  called  Caius  J.  C.  Octavius,  and  afterwards  Augustus,  of 
the  gens  Maria,  the  putative  son  of  Caius  Octavius,  a  tradesman  and 
the  son  of  a  baker,  by  his  wife,  Atia,  or  Maia,  who  was  niece  to  Ju- 
lius Caesar.  In  B.  C.  59  Augustus  was  adopted  by  L.  Philippus  and 
in  B.  C.  47  he  was  adopted  by  Julius  Csesar,  as  his  own  son.  Augus- 
tus was  born  in  A.  U.  691,  in  the  consulship  of  Cicero  and  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Velitre,  near  Rome.  Its  walls  having  been  blasted  by  light- 
ning, the  sacred  oracle  was  interrogated,  and  replied  that  the  future 
Ruler  of  the  World  would  arise  from  the  spot.  By  this  was  meant 
the  Advent  of  the  god  Augustus.  His  advent  was  also  predicted  in 
the  Sibylline  books  and  by  the  astrologer,  Figulus.  JuliusMarathus 
reported  that  five  or  six  months  before  the  Nativity  of  Augustus,  it 


17©  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

!jt  was  predicted  by  a  public  miracle  that  Nature  was  about  to  bring 
V  forth  a  Prince  to  rule  the  World.  Upon  this,  the  Senate  enacted  that 
■<^no  male  child  born  that  year  should  be  suffered  to  live;  yet  Augus- 
^'tus  escaped.  His  father  had  designed  to  sacrifice  him.  From  this 
danger  he  also  escaped.  (Dion  Cass.)  In  the  Theologoumenon, 
written  by  Asclepiades  of  Mendes,  it  is  related  that  Atia  (or  Maia) 
having  fallen  asleep  in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  a  sacred  serpent  slipped 
close  to  her,  and  afterwards  left  her.  Upon  awakening,  she  seemed 
to  know  what  had  happened,  and  purified.  When  the  mark  upon  her 
person  could  not  be  concealed,  she  ceased  to  frequent  the  public 
baths.  -  In  the  tenth  month  [mefise  decimo)  after  this  miracle  she  was 
delivered  of  Augustus,  who,  for  the  reason  stated,  was  known  as  the 
Son  of  the  god  Apollo,  or  the  Sun.  The  Conception,  therefore,  oc- 
curred on  the  winter  solstice,  now  known  as  Christmas.  Before  Maia 
was  brought  to  bed  of  him  she  dreamed  that  her  body  was  scattered 
to  the  stars  and  encompassed  the  Universe.  Octavius,  her  husband, 
also  dreamed  that  from  within  her  shone  the  bright  beams  of  the 
Sun.  In  the  Curia,  Augustus,  having  told  P.  Nigidius  the  hour  of 
his  Nativity,  the  latter  proclaimed  him  the  Lord  of  the  Universe. 
Afterwards  Octavius  (the  putative  father)  consulted  the  oracle  of 
Liber  Pater  (Dionysius)  in  Thrace,  and  when  wine  was  poured  upon 
the  altar,  it  blazed  into  a  flame  that  enveloped  the  steeple  (fastigium) 
of  the  temple  and  ascended  to  heaven;  a  miracle  that  had  occurred 
but  once  before,  when  Alexander  the  Great  had  sacrificed  upon  the 
same  altar.  On  the  following  night,  Octavius  dreamed  that  his 
heaven-born  Son  grasped  the  Thunderbolt  and  Sceptre  and  wore  the 
triumphant  robe  of  Jupiter,  his  head  surrounded  by  a  radiance  of 
glory,  his  chariot  decked  with  laurel,  whilst  yoked  to  it,  were  six 
steeds  of  purest  white.  C.  Drusus  relates  that  while  yet  a  babe,  Au- 
gustus, being  left  in  his  cradle,  was  found  next  morning  upon  the 
turret  of  the  mansion,  facing  the  rising  Sun.  So  soon  as  he  was  old 
enough  to  speak,  he  reproved  a  troop  of  clamorous  animals,  and 
from  that  moment  they  were  hushed  to  silence.  Q.  Catalus  dreamed 
that  Augustus  was  Jupiter  Optimus  Maximus.  Marcus  Cicero  dreamed 
that  Augustus  was  let  down  from  heaven  by  a  golden  chain.  Dio., 
xlv,  2,  says  that  at  the  precocious  age  of  12,  Augustus  was  familiar 
with  Greek  and  made  a  funeral  oration  in  public.  At  16  he  went  to 
study  at  the  temple  of  Apollonia,  in  Epirus.  When  Augustus  went 
with  Agrippa  to  the  studio  of  Theogenes  at  Apollonia,  and  divulged 
the  hour  of  his  Nativity,  Theogenes,  who  was  one  of  the  wisest  men 
of  his  age,  fell  down  and  worshipped  him  as  the  Almighty  {adora- 


MO 


MKAS.  171 

vitque  earn).  In  memory  of  this  circumstance,  Augustus  afterwards 
struck  a  coin  with  the  Capricorn;  that  being  his  natal  zodion.  Ovid, 
in  the  Pontine  letters,  which  are  still  extant,  addresses  or  alludes  to 
Augustus  as  God,  or,  the  Living  God,  (Theos.)  He  built  a  shrine 
to  this  god  in  his  house  at  Tomis  and  there  worshipped  him,  both 
during  the  life-time  of  Augustus  and  after  his  Ascension  to  heaven. 
In  the  Fourth  Eclogue  Virgil  addresses  Augustus  as  the  divine  Son 
of  God,  the  Son  of  the  Immaculate  Virgin  and  Prince  of  Peace;  and  '1 
m  the  ^neid,  VI,  789-93,  as  Augustus  Caesar,  Son  of  God.  Horace 
calls  him  "Maia's  winged  Child,"  "Father  and  Guardian  of  the  hu- 
man race,"  "The  Living  God  "  [praesens  divus)^  etc.,  while  Manilius 
invokes  him  as  "the  colleague  of  Jove,  thyself  a  God;  all  of  these 
writers  being  contemporaries  of  this  divinity.  Pliny  and  numerous 
others  of  a  later  age  allude  to  him  as  God  (Theos,  or  Deos),  or  the 
Son  of  God  (Divus  filius).  The  Senate  recognized  him  as  the  long 
predicted  and  expected  Sacrosanct,  or  Messiah,  a  fact  that  Augustus 
mentions  in  his  will,  which  is  carved  on  the  temple  of  Ancyra,  still 
standing  with  the  inscription  upon  it.  The  year  of  his  Apotheosis 
was  B.  C.  15,  when  a  tax  v/as  laid  upon  the  Roman  world.  The  name 
of  one  of  the  months,  Sextilis,  was  changed  to  Augustus,  an  honor  \_. 

accorded  only  to  gods.    At  first  Augustus  only  claimed  to  be  the  Son;   -   . 
of  God;  afterwards  he  accepted  the  title  and  prayers  due  to  the  Cre-     K^j^ 
ator  and,  as  such,  was  addressed  in  the  temples  which  were  dedi-j      ZJA'' 
cated  to  his  worship.    He  erected  near  the  Tarpeian  Rock  in  Rome,  ai-p 
temple,  which  was  inscribed,  "to  Augustus,  the  First  Born  of  God."  , 
Baronius,  App.,  XXVI,  p.  447.     Frickius,  cap.  X,  p.  98,  says  that  the 
inscription  proclaimed  him  to  be  the  Son  of  ApoJlo  and  the  Virgin 
Mother.     Many  of  these  temples,  called  Augusteums,  are  still  stand- 
ing; and  one  of  them,  in  Vienne,  Dauphiny,  has  the  nail  holes  of  the 
original  block  letter  dedication  cut  upon  it.      In  the  inscriptions  of 
the  recently  exhumed   public  edifices  of  Ephesus,  Augustus  is  ad- 
dressed as  Tioz  Qeov,  the  Son  of  God.     A  special  corporation  of 
priests.  Collegium  Sodalium  Augustalium,  was  instituted  to  conduct 
this  worship,  and  11  cities  of  Asia  contended  for  the  honor  of  erect- 
ing a  new  Augusteum.     As  the  supreme  pontiff  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, Augustus  lawfully  acquired  and  exercised  authority  over  all 
cardinals,  priests,  curates,  monks,  nuns,  flamens,  augurs,  vestal  vir- 
gins, temples,  altars,  shrines,  sanctuaries  and  monasteries,  and  over 
all  religious  rites,  ceremonies,  festivals,  holidays,  dedications,  canon- 
izations,  marriages,  divorces,   adoptions,    benefices,  wills,   burying- 
grounds^  fairs  and  other  ecclesiastical  subjects  and  matters.     Altars 


.^v 


172  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

have  been  found  at  Ancyra,  Lyons,  Leon   (Spain)  and  other  places, 
inscribed  to  him  as  the  Son  of  God;  and  numerous  coins  are  extant 
bearing  the  same  title.     Says  Tacitus:   "  The  reverence  due  to  the 
gods  was  no  longer  exclusive.     Augustus  claimed  equal  worship. 
Temples  were  built  and  statues  were  erected  to  him;  a  mortal  man 
was  worshipped  and  priests  and  pontiffs  were  appointed  to  pay  him 
impious  homage."     Even  the  emperors  who  succeeded  him,  among 
them  Tiberius,  Nero  and  Hadrian,  built  altars  and  offered  sacrifices 
to  Augustus.     The  common  people  wore  little  images  of  Augustus 
suspended  from  the  neck.    Great  images  and  shrines  of  the  same  god 
were  erected  in  the  highways  and  resorted  to  for  sanctuary.     There 
were  a  thousand  such  shrines  in  Rome  alone.     Augustus  wore  on  his 
head  a  pontifical  mitre  surmounted  by  a  Latin  cross,  an  engraving 
of  which,  taken  from  a  coin  of  the  Colonia  Julia  Gemella,  appears  in 
Harduini,  de  Nummis  Antiquis,  plate  I.     The  number  of  prodigies 
and  miracles  related  of  or  concerning  him  is  endless;  among  others, 
that  the  ghost  of  Julius  presaged  his  victory  at  Philippi;  that  fishes 
leapt  from  the  sea  to  do  him  homage;  that  a  thunderbolt  struck  the 
letter  C  from  the  title  of  "  Caesar"  upon  his  statue,  and  thus  made  it 
"^sar,"  or  "^Esus,"  which,  in  the  Etruscan  language,  signified  the 
deity  (deus).    The  image  of  Augustus  upon  the  coins  of  his  own  mint- 
age, or  that  of  his  vassals,  is  surrounded  with  the  halo  of  light  which 
indicates  divinity,  and  on  the  reverse  of  the  coins  are  displayed  the 
various  emblems  of  religion,  such  as  the  mitre,  cross,  crook,  fishes, 
labarum,  and  the  Buddhic  and  Bacchic,  or  Dionysian  monogram  of 
VM.  a  P.     His  heavenly  character  was  also  attested  by  the  miracle  of  his 
J-  ■     f  touch    which  was  sufficient  to  cure  deformity  or  disease.     So  univer- 
/^<V      sally  were  his  divine  origin  and  attributes  conceded,  that  many  peo- 
y*         (pie,  in  dying,  left  their  entire  fortunes  to  his  sacred  (personal)  fisc, 
3^  <^  I  in  gratitude,  as  they  themselves  expressed  it,   for  having  been  per- 
'   \^       mitted  to  live  during  the  incarnation  and  earthly  sojourn  of  this  Son 
J?  of  God.      In  the  course  of  20  years  he  thus  inherited  no  less  than 

135,000,000  aurei,  each  containing  as  much  gold  as  the  modern  Eng- 
lish sovereign.  Many  potentates  bequeathed  him  not  only  their  pri- 
vate fortunes,  but  also  their  kingdoms  and  people  in  vassalage.  Not 
only  was  his  godship  accepted,  it  was  exacted,  both  during  and  after 
his  life-time.  The  senator  Afidius  Memla,  for  refusing  to  take  an 
oath  in  the  name  of  the  god  Augustus,  was  heavily  punished;  and  the 
ancient  city  of  Cyzicus,  for  neglecting  the  worship  of  Augustus,  the 
Son  of  God,  was  deprived  of  its  privileges.  For  removing  the  head 
from  an  image  of  Augustus,  several  persons  were  put  to  the  torture 


\ 


iERAS,  173 

and  others  executed.  For  changing  one's  clothes  in  the  presence  of 
his  image,  the  penalty  was  death.  For  whipping  a  slave  near  a  shrine 
of  Augustus,  the  penalty  was  death.  For  defacing  the  effigy  of  Au- 
gustus upon  a  coin,  the  penalty  was  death.  For  defacing  his  effigy 
upon  a  ring,  the  penalty  was  death.  For  accepting  honours  in  a  dis- 
tant province  on  the  same  day  that  somewhat  similar  honours  had 
been  decreed  to  Augustus,  the  penalty  was  death.  Caius  Silanus, 
pro-consul  of  Asia,  for  "irreverence  to  the  divinity  of  Augustus," 
was  excommunicated,  and  banished  to  the  desert  isle  of  Cythera 
(Cerigo)  and  forbidden  fire  or  water.  Even  Apuleia  Varilla,  a  niece 
or  grand-niece  of  Augustus,  for  alluding  to  him  irreverently,  barely 
escaped  a  capital  sentence.  In  B.  C.  9,  Herod,  who,  after  the  battle 
of  Actium,  had  acknowledged  and  worshipped  Augustus  as  the  Son 
of  God,  went  so  far  in  his  homage  as  to  celebrate  the  panageia  of 
Jasius,  or  the  pentaeteris,  or  five  years'  sacred  games,  and  to  call 
them  Caesar's  games.  These  games  were  celebrated  by  Augustus  as 
Caesar's  games  and  were  afterwards  kept  up  by  a  decree  of  Tiberius, 
which  named  them  the  Augustan  games.  At  a  private  feast  which 
became  known  as  the  Supper  of  the  Twelve  Gods,  twelve  intimate 
friends  of  Augustus  were  attired  as  gods  and  goddesses,  himself  per- 
sonating Apollo.  His  favorite  titles,  however,  were  Janus  Quirinus 
and  Dionysius^  and  as  he  had  been  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  Ceres, 
he  was  commonly  worshipped  as  Augustus  Dionysius,  a  statue  of  him 
in  this  character  being  depicted  in  Duruy's  "Rome."  He  gave  evi- 
dence of  his  humility  and  charity  by  publicly  begging  alms  for  the 
poor  once  a  year,  on  the  New  Year  day,  holding  his  own  hand  forth 
to  receive  what  was  offered.  As  he  approached  his  76th  year  his 
coming  demise  was  foretold  by  the  sacred  oracle,  and  when  he  sank 
at  last  to  a  peaceful  rest,  he  was  mourned  by  the  whole  empire.  A 
stately  funeral  bore  his  remains  to  the  mausoleum,  his  dirge  was 
'chaunted  by  the  children  of  the  nobles,  the  Senate  decreed  him  divine 
honors,  and  the  Senator  Numericus  Atticus  swore  that  he  saw  his  y^. 
effigy  ascend  to  heaven.  A  splendid  representation  of  the  Ascen- )  ***^ '" 
sion,  carved  upon  a  huge  cameo,  was  presented  by  the  Emperorf 
Baldwin  II.  to  Louis  IX.  of  France,  and  is  now  in  the  cabinet  off 
France.  It  is  depicted  by  Duruy,  op.  cit.  Suetonius  says  that  Au- 
gustus died  on  the  14th  calends  of  September.  For  sacerdotal  rea- 
sons and  in  order  to  make  it  agree  with  a  certain  ancient  festival,  ^  .LaX' ■  '  .^ 
both  of  India  and  Egypt,  his  death  and  Ascension  day  has  been  fixed  fj^^^^^t^ 
to  August  29th,  still  dedicated  to  "  Saint  Augustine."    For  a  similar  "   '^ 

reason  his  Nativity  had  previously  been  altered  by  transposing  the 


Lt.-- 


174  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

months  of  February  and  August,  as  mentioned  by  John  of  Nikios. 
This,  or  like  tamperings  with  the  calendar,  evidently  arrested  the  at- 
tention of  Dr.  Clinton  and  Sir  Cornewall  Lewis,  the  former  of  whom 
reproves  Archbishop  Usher  for  venturing  to  make  precise  calculations 
as  to  the  position  of  the  months  prior  to  and  after  the  Julian  correc- 
tion ;  "  a  precision, "  says  he,  ' '  for  which  we  have  no  authority. "  Fasti, 
Hell.,  Ill,  xi.  Nicoli  di  Conti,  who  travelled  in  Bengal  and  other 
parts  of  India  during  the  early  part  of  the  15th  century,  declares  that 
in  the  orient,  Augustus  and  the  Indian  Vicramaditya  (or  Salivahana) 
were  regarded  as  the  same.  "  De  Comitibus,"  published  in  A.  D. 
1444.  A  famous  holiday  is  still  observed  in  India  which  may  have 
furnished  a  date  (Aswin  ist,  or  August  29th)  to  the  Augustan  cult 
of  Rome.  See  B.  C.  11 76.  This  is  the  festival  of  Aurguti  Tirounal, 
which  is  celebrated  in  the  month  of  Pretachi,  or  Bhadra,  (Buddha,) 
and  lasts  nine  days,  to  Aswin  ist,  answering  to  our  August  20-29.  It 
commemorates  the  birthday  of  Quichena.  For  Aurguti  Quichena 
read  Augustus  Quirinus,  and  consult  Nicoli  di  Conti.  The  festival 
is  especially  observed  by  shepherds,  from  the  tradition  that  Quichena, 
whose  emblem  was  the  Lamb,  was  born  in  that  class.  The  ceremon- 
ies include  a  procession,  in  which  is  borne  the  statue  of  les-nu,  or 
Chrishna,  or  Quichena,  or  Quirinus,  for  these  names  are  all  one.  A 
cocoa-nut  shell,  containing  some  small  silver  coins  (formerly  half- 
denarii,  now  fanams),  is  suspended  from  the  porches  of  the  houses. 
When  the  procession  arrives  opposite  to  them,  the  shells  are  smashed 
and  the  coins  scattered.  Tirounal  is  the  Indian  word  tor  a  chariot, 
which  was  the  emblem  stamped  upon  the  reverse  of  those  Roman 
quinarii  whose  export  from  Rome  to  India  is  so  much  deplored  by 
Pliny.  The  obverse  was  stamped  with  the  image  of  Augustus. 
Brugsch  (Materiaux,  17),  thinks  that  August  29th  was  celebrated  as 
a  feast  day  in  Egypt  so  far  back  as  the  Vlth  dynasty  of  Egypt,  while 
Dr.  Greswell,  with  ample  warrant,  regards  the  dates  on  Egyptian 
monuments  as  anachronical  forgeries.  The  Indian  Parasurama  of 
B.  C.  1 1 76,  which  celebrated  the  birth  of  Dennus  (Dionysius)  began 
Aswin  ist,  which  coincided  with  our  August  29th.  Beside  the  au- 
thorities incidentally  mentioned  in  this  account  the  reader  is  referred 
to  Seutonius,  in  "Aug.;"  the  Monumentum  Ancyranum;  Bundell 
Lewis  on  the  Antiquities  of  Vienne;  Lanciani,  "  Pagan  and  Chris- 
tian Rome;"  Rev.  A.  Herbert,  "Nimrod;"  Dion.  Cass.;  Lucretius; 
Pliny,  N.  H. ;  Macrobius;  Allmer,  "  Les  Gestes  du  dieu  Auguste;" 
Mommsen,  "  Res  Gestae  divi  Augusti;"  Du  Choul;  the  Corpus  In- 
scriptionum   Latinorum  et  Grsecorum;  Rushforth,    "Latin  Inscrip- 


^RAS.  175 

tions;"  Manigan,  "Worship  of  the  Emperors;"  Josephus;  Babelon, 
' '  Moneys  of  the  Roman  Republic ;"  Cohen,  ' '  Coins  of  the  Republic 
and  Empire;"  John  Penn,  "Fourth  Ecologue;"  and  the  Dizionario 
Epigrafico  de  Ruggiero,  art.  "Augustus."  In  the  last-named  work 
nearly  one  hundred  sacred  titles,  given  to  Augustus,  are  cited  from 
marble  and  bronze  monuments  still  extant.  Among  them  are  Jupi- 
ter Op.  Max.,  Apollo,  Janus,  Quirinus,  Dionysius,  Mercurius,  Vol- 
canus,  Neptunus,  Liber  Pater,  Savus  (Sayiour),  etc.  The  epigraphjc 
symbols  of  the  Augustan  cult  were  the  t^nd  $'. 

B,  C.  58,  India. — ^ra  of  Vicramaditya,  according  to  Stokvis 
and  other  chronologists.  Sewell  places  it  in  B.  C.  57;  possibly  a 
variation  of  B.  C,  63.         ' 

B.  C.  57,  India. — Samvat  or  Sumbat,  according  to  Sewell  and  the 
Pandits,  the  latter  fixing  it  at  the  expiration  of  the  3044th  year  of 
the  Calijoga  and  giving  it  also  the  name  of  Vicramaditya,  of  whose 
sera  it  is  evidently  a  perversion.  Of  the  various  Indian  seras  con- 
nected with  the  lunar-solar  year,  this  has  now  become  the  principal 
one.  It  is  chiefly  used  in  Telingana,  Hindostan  proper  and  Nepal, 
but  not  much  in  Bengal,  and  scarcely  at  all  in  the  Peninsular.  As 
the  festivals  and  religious  observances  of  the  Hindus  and  Buddhists 
have  been  made  to  depend  on  the  lunar  reckoning  (c'handra-mana) 
the  Samvat,  which  is  a  luni-solar  division  of  the  year,  has  been 
adapted  to  seras  which  once  were  on  a  solar  basis.  The  Samvat 
"begins  with  the  Hindu  luni-solar  year."  The  Pandits  "Chron.,"p. 
xxix.  This  is  Easter,  or  the  first  full  moon  after  the  vernal  equinox. 
Duff  says  the  new  moon.  Dr.  Hales  fixes  Samvat  in  B.  C.  56  and 
says  that  a  copper  plate  has  been  found  in  the  ruins  of  Mongeer 
(Monghyr)  in  Bengal,  on  the  Ganges,  dated  Samvat  2>2)i  which  he 
makes  equal  to  B.  C.  23.  The  place  mentioned  was  anciently  called 
Mudgalpur  and  once  possessedahandsomeBrahminical  temple  which 
the  Moslems  converted  into  a  mosque.  The  river  at  Monghyr  is  still 
used  by  the  Hindus  for  ritual  bathing  (baptism)  and  pilgrimages. 
Thornton. 

B.  C.  57,  Gaul. — Aera  of  Divitiacus,  sovereign-pontiff  of  Gaul, 
for  so  is  he  regarded  by  Higgins,  in  his  "  Celtic  Druids,"  p.  12.  This 
view  is  founded  upon  various  passages  in  Caesar  de  Bell.  Gall,  and 
one  in  Cicero  de  Div.,  1,41,  in  which  Cicero  ascribes  to  Divitiacus  the 
gift  of  prophecy.  This  was  common  to  every  augur  and  haruspice, 
not  only  among  the  Druids,  but  also  among  the  Etruscans  and  Ro- 
mans.    The  supernatural  pretensions  of  Divitiacus  were  probably 


A, 


n, 


I76  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

greatly  modified  by  the  victorious  Csesar.      The  aera  is  possibly  a  va^ 
nation  of  B.  C.  63. 

B.  C.  53,  Ponlus. — Deification  of  Deiotaurus,  tetrach  of  Galatia, 
whose  city  of  Piscenus  or  Pesinus  v/as  the  seat  of  the  worship  of 
Maia,  Mother  of  the  Gods.  As  a  reward  for  his  services  to  the  Ro- 
mans in  their  Asiatic  wars  and  especially  the  one  against  Midthra- 
dates,  king  of  Pontus,  the  Senate  conferred  upon  Deiotauras  the 
title  of  king  of  Lesser  Armenia;  whereupon  he  declared  himself  to 
be  the  Son  of  God  and  began  to  build  a  new  city  in  which  his  wor- 
ship was  intended  to  be  conducted.  "What  do  you  mean,"  said  M. 
Crassus  to  him,  "by  proceeding  to  build  a  new  city  when  the  Twelfth 
Hour,  (meaning  the  Divine  Year),  is  at  hand  "?  Deiotaurus  alter- 
nately embraced  the  causes  of  Pompey  and  Caesar  and  by  the  latter 
was  confirmed  in  his  title  of  king,  but  probably  warned  at  the  same 
time,  to  drop  his  impious  pretensions.  In  B.  C.  46  the  grandson  of 
Deiotaurus  is  said  to  have  instigated  Phillip,  his  physician,  to  accuse 
the  king  of  desiring  to  poison  Caesar,  while  the  latter  was  on  his  way 
from  Egypt  to  Rome.  From  this  accusation  Deiotaurus  was  success- 
fully defended  by  Cicero  and  Brutus,  the  discourse  of  the  former 
being  still  extant.  Cicero,  Letters,  III,  225;  and  Orat.  pro  Deio- 
taurus. 

B.  C.  49,  Anlioch. — Aera  of  Antioch.      See  B.  C.  48,  Antioch. 

B.  C.  48,  Rome. — Apotheosis,  aera  and  calendar,  of  Julius  Caesar. 
At  the  Winter  Solstice  of  this  year  (December  25)  Julius  Caesar  was 
publicly  acknowledged  and  proclaimed  in  the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Amnion  as  the  Son  of  God.  Like  the  various  pretenders  to  divinity 
who  had  preceded  him,  Caesar  was  of  divine  origin,  the  offspring 
(somewhat  distantly  removed)  of  the  Celestial  or  Virgin  Venus  and 
Anchises.  He  was  a  ten  months'  child  and,  like  Salivahana,  he  was 
cross-borne  and  issued  from  the  side  of  his  mother,  of  whom  he  was 
delivered  by  an  operation  that  still  bears  his  name:  he  was  born 
laughing,  while  a  Star  appeared  over  the  place  of  his  birth  to  an- 
nounce the  auspicious  event  to  mankind.  Upon  being  officially 
recognised  as  the  expected  Messiah  he  secluded  himself  from  the 
public  view,  became  difficult  of  access,  clothed  himself  in  a  pontifical 
robe,  wore  a  sacred  veil  upon  his  head  and  rich  slippers  upon  his  feet, 
which  those  who  approached  his  throne  were  required  to  kiss.  (Sue- 
tonius). "  Julius  Caesar  ordered  a  coin  to  be  struck  with  his  effigy, 
holding  a  sword  in  his  right  hand,  and  a  book  in  the  other,  with  an 
inscription  that  imported  he  was  Caesar  both  by  one  and  the  other." 
Du  Prez,  Notes  on  Horace,  in  Usum  Delphini.      This  was  the  origin 


^RAS.  177 

of  the  Roman  pontifical  claim  to  both  "temporals  and  spirituals." 
It  was  evidently  for  these  pretensions  that  Caesar  suffered  death  at 
the  hands  of  the  Roman  nobles  and  not  for  the  inferior  offense  im- 
puted to  him  by  the  Poet,  of  having  aspired  to  be  a  king;  for  he  was 
already,  and  by  the  sufferance  of  the  entire  nation,  much  more  than 
a  king.  But  Shakespeare  wrote  at  a  time  when  the  truth  of  these 
matters  dared  not  be  discussed;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  he 
made  the  most  of  the  only  motive  which  he  could  safely  venture  to 
assign  for  the  assassination  of  Rome's  transcendent  hero.  Violent 
commotions  of  the  earth  and  six  hours  of  darkness  followed  his 
death.  He  was  not  only  deified  by  decree  of  the  Senate,  but  wor- 
shipped as  a  god  by  the  people.  "When  his  heir,  Augustus,  first  ex- 
hibited those  sacred  games  which  had  been  consecrated  to  his  mem- 
ory there  arose  a  comet  in  the  afternoon  which  appeared  for  a  week 
together  and  was  believed  to  be  Caesar's  soul  in  heaven;  for  which 
reason  there  was  always  a  Star  placed  upon  the  vertex  of  his  statue." 
(Suetonius,  in  vita).  The  date  of  the  assassination  was  the  ides  of 
March,  B.  C.  44.  Picot.  Among  the  changes  effected  in  the  Roman 
state  by  this  greatest  of  men  none  is  of  greater  interest  at  the  pres- 
ent distance  of  time  than  his  reform  of  the  calendar.  He  adopted 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Julian  solar  year  of  365^  days,  appor- 
tioning 365  days  to  the  year  of  twelve  months  and  intercalating  the 
remaining  quarter  of  a  day  into  every  fourth  year,  known  to  us  as 
the  leap  year.  He  began  this  new  solar  calendar  of  Rome  with  Jan- 
uary ist  in  a  year  that,  according  to  Smith's  Die.  of  the  Bible,  cor- 
responded with  A.  U.  707,  or  B.  C.  47.  Furgault  says  January  i, 
B.  C.  46.  Greswell  says  December  30,  B.  C.  46.  Picot  says  Janu- 
ary I,  B.  C.  45.  Dr.  Smith's  date  was  selected  by  him  perhaps  be- 
cause it  corresponds  more  nearly  with  the  Caesarian  aeras  of  Antioch 
and  Laodicea.  As  for  the  day,  January  ist,  it  was  already  the  be- 
ginning of  the  consular  or  civil  year;  and  it  appears  to  have  been  so 
ever  since  B.  C.  156,  q.  v.  There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
Caesar  did  not  alter  it;  yet  Dr.  Greswell,  in  order  to  complete  his 
theory  of  a  primitive  Hebrew  year,  has  attached  the  Julian  calendar 
to  the  epoch  of  December  30th.  Assuming  Dr.  Smith's  date  to  be 
correct,  Caesar's  calendar  commenced  one  week  after  his  deification 
at  Alexandria.  The  date  in  Censorinus  corresponds  with  B.  C.  46. 
Stokvis  says  January  i,  B.  C.  45.  Dr.  Hales  says  that  the  first  day 
of  Caesar's  calendar  began  a  lunar  cycle;  but  unless  he  means  that 
Caesar's  calendar  was  a  lunar  one,  which  it  certainly  was  not,  the  re- 
mark appears  to  lack  significance. 


lyS  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

B.  C.  48,  Thessaly. — Battle  of  Pharsalia,  at  which  Julius  Caesar 
defeated  Pompey.  In  the  time  of  Lucan,  which  was  about  a  century 
after  this  famous  battle,  its  date  was  not  known. 

Tempora  signavit  leviorum  Roma  malorum. 
Hunc  voluit  nescire  diem.      Luc.  vii,  410. 
Modern  chronologists  usually  fix  it  on  August  9,  B.  C.  48.     Gres- 
well,  F.  C,  I,  254  «,  says   "  Sextilis  9,"  whieh  he  makes  equal  to 
June  5,  B.  C.  48.      Lucan's  expression  possibly  refers  to  the  altera- 
tion of  the  calendar  by  Augustus. 

B.  C^48,  Tyre. — Caesarian  aera  of  Tyre,  Tishri,  ist,  B.  C.  48 
(Syrian),  or  Gorpiseus,  ist,  49  (Greek). 

B.  C.  48,  Anlioch. — Caesarian  aera  of  Antioch.  Greek  epoch, 
Gorpiaeus  ist  (as  in  Tyre);  Syrian  epoch,  Sextilis  (or  August)  9th. 
The  Syrians,  however,  fix  the  ^ra  in  B.  C.  47.  Evagrius,  III,  ^^, 
fixes  it  in  B.  C.  48-9.  Woolhouse  and  Stokvis  say  September  ist, 
B.  C.  48.  Cardinal  Henry  Noris  attempted  to  prove  by  means  of 
two  coins  that  the  fera  of  Antioch  was  in  B.  C.  49.  One  of  these 
is  of  Tiberius,  with  "  Tiberius  Augustus,  sub  Flacco  Antiochensium, 
Anno  LXXXII,"  in  Greek.  He  says  that  as  Flaccus  was  pro-praetor 
of  Syria,  A.  D.  33,  it  follows  from  this  inscription  that  the  sera  of 
Antioch  was  B.  C.  49.  Naturally;  but  the  year  of  the  pro-praetor- 
ship  is  by  no  means  certain.  The  other  coin,  which  is  ascribed  to 
Galba,  is  without  his  name  and  only  says  "sub  Muciano:  Antioch- 
ensium: Anno  CXVII,"  in  Greek.  Noris  takes  this  Muciano  to  be 
Publius  Licinius  Mucianus,  mentioned  in  Tacitus,  Hist.  II,  whom  he 
supposes  was  pro-praetor  in  A.  D.  68.  The  validity  of  the  deduction 
depends  upon  the  years  when  these  men  were  pro-praetors  in  Syria, 
of  which  there  appears  to  be  no  certainty.  Upon  a  comparison  of 
all  the  evidence  on  this  subject,  the  year  B.  C.  48  has  been  deter- 
mined as  the  most  likely  one. 

B.  C.  48,  Pontiis. — Caesarian  aera  of  Neo  Claudipolis,  recovered 
from  coins.  W.  Wroth  (R.  S.  Poole),  "Cat.  Gr.  Coins."  See  also 
B.  C.  7  and  A.  D.  64. 

B.  C.  47,  Laodicea. — ^ra  mentioned  by  Hieronymous.  Clinton, 
F.  R. ,  I,  317.     Also  recovered  from  coins.      Picot,  I,  470. 

B.  C.  45,  Sinope. — Aera  recovered  from  coins.  Picot,  I,  470. 
See  B.  C.  70. 

B.  C.  44,  Rome. — Assassination  of  Julius  Caesar  on  the  ides  of 
March.  Some  chronologists  say  B.  C.  45.  Cf.  "  Middle  Ages  Re- 
visited." App.  V. 


^RAS.  179 

B.  C.  42,  Rome. — Battle  and  aera  of  Phillipi.  Epoch,  September 
9.     Greswell,  K.  H.,  II,  114;  V,  228. 

B.  C.  42,  Rhodes. — Roman  aera  of  Rhodes,  as  deduced  from 
coins.  The  principal  dates,  relating  to  this  once  foremost  maritime 
state,  which  have  survived  the  wreck  of  time,  are  as  follows;  After 
the  Persian  war,  about  B.  C.  470,  Rhodes  became  tributary  to  Ath- 
ens; B.  C.  412,  Rhodes  joins  the  Peloponnesians;  408,  the  three 
Rhodian  cities  of  lal-Yssus,  Lindus,  and  Camirus,  unite  to  build  or 
improve  the  great  port  of  Rhodes;  394,  Rhodes  becomes  subject  to 
Athens;  357-5,  during  the  Social  War  Rhodes  defies  Athens  and 
achieves  her  independence;  351,  Rhodes  sues  for  Athenian  protec- 
tion, and  through  the  influence  of  Demosthenes,  she  obtains  it;  331, 
Rhodes  is  conquered  by  Alexander  the  Great  and  receives  a  Mace- 
donian garrison;  about  B.  C.  320,  Rhodes  again  achieves  her  inde- 
pendence and  now  enters  upon  the  most  glorious  period  of  her  career, 
during  which  she  establishes  the  Maritime  Code  which  still  goes  by 
her  name;  285,  Rhodes  is  besieged  by  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  who  is 
defeated  and  leaves  behind  him  such  a  vast  number  of  bronze  en- 
gines, implements  and  weapons  that  the  Rhodians  are  enabled  to 
erect  a  trophy  from  them;  280,  this  trophy,  an  immense  bronze 
statue  of  the  SUN,  familiarly  known  as  the  Colossus,  is  erected  near 
the  port,  not  stradding  it,  as  is  represented  in  popular  engravings; 
224,  the  Colossus  is  overthrown  by  an  earthquake;  48,  Rhodes  es- 
pouses the  cause  of  Julius  Caesar;  43,  in  revenge  for  which,  the  city 
is  attacked,  captured  and  plundered  by  Cassius;  42,  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  it  is  succoured  and  protected  by  the  troops  of  Augustus, 
after  which  time  the  island  becomes  an  appanage  of  Rome. 

B.  C.  41,  Sicily. — Aera  of  Sextus  Pompeius,  the  real  son  of 
Pompey  the  Great  and  the  pretended  son  of  Neptune,  or  Taras.  He 
demanded  to  be  worshipped  as  a  god  on  earth.  Born  B.  C.  75.  De- 
feated by  Augustus  and  killed  B.  C.  35. 

B.  C.  40,  Judea. — After  the  assassination  of  Caesar  several  provin- 
cial rulers  impiously  set  themselves  up  as  gods  on  earth  and  demanded 
to  be  worshipped  as  such.  Among  these  were  Herod,  Marc  Antony, 
Sextus  Pompeius  and  Augustus;  the  last  one  destroying  or  subduing 
all  the  rest.  Herod  was  born  in  B.  C.  73,  (Hole),  or  B.  C.  66, 
(Hales).  He  assumed  the  godship  in  Olym.  clxxxv,  B.  C.  40),  when 
Cn.  DomitiusCalvinus  II,  and  C.  Asinius  Pollio  were  consuls.  Upon 
his  coins  appeared  the  sacred  symbol  of  the  cross,  in  several  forms, 
mostly  with  "Year  III."  His  employment  of  the  cross  on  his  coins 
was  probably  interdicted  by  Augustus  and  Antony,  who,  however, 


l8o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

subsequently  confirmed  him  in  his  kingdom,  but  not  in  his  godship. 
After  the  battle  of  Actium  he  paid  a  relief  of  800  talents  to  Augus- 
tus. Herod  rebuilt  the  Jewish  temple  to  Yaova,  but'erected  a  larger 
one  to  Augustus,  called  the  Csesareum.  The  City  of  Samaria  he  re- 
named Sebastos,  and  throughout  his  life  he  erected  numerous  temples 
to  Augustus,  which  he  named  after  him  and  in  which  the  worship  of 
Augustus,  as  god  upon  earth,  was  enjoined  and  conducted.  Herod 
reigned  37  years  and  died  B.  C.  4.  Josephus,  Ant.  XIV,  xiv,  5; 
XIV,  xiv,  15;  XIV,  xvi,  4;  XVII,  viii,  i;  Wars,  I,  xxxiii,  8. 

B,  C.  40,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  sacerdotal  Advent  of  Augustus  and 
(as  it  afterwards  proved,  of  the  temporary)  closure  of  the  temple  of 
Janus,  which  occurred  after  the  treaty  with  Marc  Antony,  in  the 
consulship  of  Cn.  Domitius  Calvinus  II  and  C.  Asinius  Pollio,  A.  U. 
714.  This  is  the  Advent  and  the  jera  sung  by  Virgil  in  the  Fourth 
Eclogue.  "The  great  months  shall  then  begin  to  roll,"  etc.  See 
Penn's  elaborate  Treatise  on  this  subject.  But  Antony  broke  the 
Peace,  the  temple  of  Janus  had  to  be  reopened,  the  contest  was  re- 
newed, and,  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  a  new  sera,  that  of  the 
Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  B.  C.  15,  had  to  be  substituted  for  the  one 
thus  prematurely  glorified  by  the  court  poet.  An  Augustan  coin  of 
this  year,  A.  U.  714,  is  stamped  "Imp.  Ctesar  Divi  F,"  (Penn's 
"Fourth  Eclogue,"  153).  The  word  sera  itself  is  derived  from 
this  epoch,  A,  meaning  anno;  E  R,  erat;  A,  Augusti.  Vide  Isidore 
("Origines"  V,  ^6);  Sepulveda;  and  Vossius.  This  sera  of  Augustus 
is  used  by  the  monk  Polydore  Vergil  (15th  century)  in  his  De  Rerum 
Inventoribus,  ed.  1868,  p.  124. 

B.  C.  38,  Rome. — So-called  Spanish  sera,  January  ist.  For  ex- 
ample, a  Spanish  charter  dated  1292  agrees  with  our  A.  D.  1254. 
Archeol.  Jour.,  XLVII,  26.  This  is  the  Julian  (Caesarian)  sera, 
whose  equivalent  in  Anno  Domini  has  been  altered  ten  years.  Rev. 
E.  C.  Brewster,  "Die.  Phrase  and  Fable,"  and  Appleton's  Encyc, 
say  the  Spanish  sera  began  with  the  year  when  Spain  fell  under  the 
dominion  of  Augustus.  In  such  case  it  began  B.  C.  40.  The  Pan- 
dits fix  it  in  A.  U.  715,  or  B.  C.  38,  and  regard  it  as  "fictitious."  It 
was  only  abolished  in  A.  D.  1415,  or  1422,  down  to  which  year  it 
was  used  in  Africa,  Spain,  Portugal  and  the  Southern  provinces  of 
France.  The  Pandits'  "Chron.,"p.  xxix.  The  months  and  days 
of  this  sera  are  those  of  the  Julian  calendar. 

B.  C.  36,  Ponlus. — Aera  of  Cherronesus,  or  Chersonesus,  in  the 
Crimea,  deduced  from  dates  on  coins.  Koehne,  I,  169.  "Cher- 
sonesus, a  town  of  the  Heracleotse,"  (Pliny),  on  a  small  peninsular 


.ERAS.  l8l 

about  the  middle  of  the  Crimean  shore,  is  said  to  have  been  founded 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Heracleium,  a  city  situated  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Amisus  in  Pontus.  This  is  probably  just  the  reverse  of  the 
truth.  The  town  of  Kosleve,  or  Eupatoria,  is  supposed  to  stand  on 
the  site  of  Chersonesus.  The  asra  of  Chersonesus  is  astrological.  It 
possibly  also  marks  the  date  when  "its  freedom  "  was  granted  by 
Marc  Antony.  Pliny  says  the  town  was  anciently  called  Megarice 
and  afterwards  Heraclia  Chersonesus. 

B.  C.  36.  Ircucas. — Aera  of  Leucadia,  one  of  the  Ionian  Islands, 
now  called  Santa  Maura.  (See  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  App.  V). 
This  aera,  whether  from  Leucas,  the  White  Horns,  or  from  Leuca- 
dius,  a  surname  of  Apollo,  is  significant;  because  it  appears  to  be 
exactly  one  astrological  cycle  after  the  sera  of  the  Khazares  and  one 
cycle  before  the  Hegira  of  Mahomet.  See  B.C.  694,  and  B.  C.  ;^6, 
Pontus. 

B.  C.  36,  Asia  Minor. — Marc  Antony  pretends  to  be  an  incar- 
nation of  the  deity  and  calls  himself  "the  new  Bacchus,  the  husband 
of  Minerva  and  the  lineal  descendant  of  Hercules."  Herbert  (Nim- 
rod).     The  time  was  ripe  for  this. 

B.  C.  31,  Rome. — Battle  of  Actium,  fought  September  2  (Dion 
Cassius),  B.  C.  31.  This  was  altered  afterwards  to  August  29,  to 
make  the  day  tally  with  the  festivals  of  the  Augustan  chronology, 
"Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  ch.  VIII,  note  18.  It  was  employed  by 
Josephus,  Ant,  XVIII,  ii,  i.  It  is  said  that  amongst  the  Greeks 
of  Antioch  it  was  used  so  late  as  the  ninth  century,  under  the  date 
of  September  i,  B.  C.  30;  but  this  was  probably  the  epoch  of  the 
First  Indiction.  The  Actian  asra  was  altered  at  a  later  period  to 
December  25,  B,  C.  31,  and  finally  to  January  i,  B.  C,  30. 

B.  C.  30,  Rome. — Aera  of  the  First  Indiction.  The  Indictions 
are  alluded  to  in  Malala,  the  Paschal  Chronicon,  and  in  the  letters  of 
Pliny  the  Younger  to  the  emperor  Trajan,  during  the  first  century 
of  our  sera;  yet  Gibbon  II,  62,  did  not  trace  them  higher  than  Con- 
stantine. 

B.  C.  30,  Egypt. — Augustan  sera,  first  regnal  year  in  Egypt. 
Epoch,  January  ist.  Censorinus,  XXI.  This  author,  from  his  own 
year,  namely,  the  consulate  of  Ulpius  and  Pontianus,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  Christian  calendar  is  fixed  in  A.  D.  238,  reckoned  as  fol- 
lows: From  the  origin  of  man  to  the  Deluge  of  Oxyges,  unknown; 
Oxyges  to  Inachus,  about  400  years;  Inachus  to  first  Olympiad, 
about  400  years;  Olympiad  to  present  year,  1014  years;  Founda- 
tion of  Rome  to  present  year,  991 ;  calend«  of  January  in  calendar 


l82  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

of  Julius  Caesar,  to  present  year,  283  ;  Augustan  aera  i  1  Egypt,  com- 
mencing with  calends  of  January,  to  present  year,  267;  same  in  Rome, 
(Augustus  VII  and  Agrippa  III,  Coss.,)  265  years.  Assuming  the 
Christian  equivalent  of  his  starting  point  to  be  correct,  the  deduc- 
tions given  herein  must  follow.  Greswell  fixes  the  epoch  of  the 
Augustan  sera  in  Egypt  on  Thoth  ist,  then  August  31st;  yet  Censo- 
rinus  is  explicit  as  to  the  calends  of  January. 

B.  C.  28,  Rome. — First  Augustan  regnal  year  in  Rome,  two  years 
later  than  his  "aera"  in  Egypt,  because  "the  Egyptians  at  this  date 
had  been  for  two  years  under  the  power  and  authority  of  Rome." 
Epoch;  January  ist,     Censorinus,  XXI. 

B.  C.  28,  Rome, — Year  of  the  Natjyity  of  "  Issus,  son  of  Mariam, " 
namely,  "Anno  Alexandro,  304,"  as  fixed  by  the  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians, Albiruni,  op.  cit. ,  21.  This  date,  if  reckoned  from  the  Apoth- 
eosis of  Alexander,  which  took  place  in  his  24th  year,  is  equivalent 
to  B.  C.  28;  if  reckoned,  as  Albiruni  reckons  it,  from  the  27th  year 
of  Alexander,  it  is  equivalent  to  B.  C.  25,  which  is  the  year  of  the 
Lex  Regia  and  accession  of  Augustus.  In  another  place  Albiruni 
says  that  the  Christians  of  his  time  (tenth  and  nth  centuries)  fixed 
the  Nativity  of  Jesus  in  Anno  Augusto  43,  which,  he  contends,  is 
erroneous.  Nicephorus  Gregoras  fixed  it  in  Anno  Augusto  42,  See 
B.  C.  5506. 

B.  C.  27,  Rome. — Augustan  regnal  sera,  commencing  February 
14.  Woolhouse,  op.  cit.  This  is  a  curious  combination  of  errors. 
The  year  results  from  deducting  Censorinus'  23S  from  265  and  omit- 
ting A.  D.  o;  the  day  results  from  Censorinus'  remark  that  although 
the  Augustan  sera  dated  from  the  calends  of  January,  the  bill  estab- 
lishing it  was  not  enacted  until  the  i6th  calends  of  February.  This 
is  not  February  14th,  but  January  17th.  Haydn  gives  this  year  for 
the  beginning  of  Augustus'  reign.  Stokvis  says  the  same  and  gives 
two  epochs,  viz.,  February  14  and  September  i. 

B.  C.  25,  Rome. — Lex  Regia  and  Accession  of  Augustus  Caesar, 
according  to  some  chronologists. 

B.  C.  25,  Alexandria. — ^ra  of  the  Nativity  of  "Issus,  son  of 
Mariam,"  according  to  Albiruni,  who  says  that  in  his  time  it  was  so 
fixed  by  both  the  Jews  and  Christians,  namely,  in  "Anno  Alexandro, 
304."  This  last-named  aera  he  commences  with  the  27th  year  of  Al- 
exander's life.  The  year  B.  C.  25  is  given  by  some  chronologists  as 
that  of  the  Lex  Regia  and  the  Accession  of  Augustus.  It  is  also  the 
date  of  the  Augusto- Egyptian  calendar,  according  to  Massey, ' '  Gen. " 
II,  400. 


MKAS.  183 

B.  C.  24,  Southern  India.— Beginning  of  the  Grahar-parivritti 
90-year  cycles,  whose  ep»ch  is  fixed  in  the  3078th  year  of  Calijoga. 
The  year  is  "solar."  Pandits'  "Chron.,"  p.  xxix.  See  A.  D.  1777. 
Other  authorities  say  that  the  year  is  sidereal. 

B.  C.  24,  Syria. — According  to  some  authors  this  year,  instead 
of  B.  C.  28  or  25,  marked  the  Accession  and  First  Tribunitian  year 
of  Augustus,  when  the  latter  struck  or  permitted  to  be  struck  a  coin 
in  Syria  stamped  "Aug.  Tr.  Pot./'  and  the  year  "230,"  in  an  sera 
which  was  unrecognized  by  Cohen.  ("  Mon.  et  Med.  Imp.,"  2d  ed., 
I,  164).  When  the  78  years  are  restored,  which  Augustus  sunk  from 
the  calendar,  this  becomes  the  sera  of  Alexander,  thus  24+230-I-78 
=332  B.  C.  See  B.  C.  255.  It  corroborates  the  computation  herein 
under  B.  C.  25. 

B.  C.  21,  Samos. — Indian  embassy  received  at  Samos  by  Augus- 
tus.     Duff  Rickmers. 

B.  C.  18,  Cilicia. — Aera  of  Anazarba,  the  metropolis  of  Cilicia, 
according  to  the  Abbe  Belley,  cited  in  Barker's  "  Lares  and  Penates," 

P-  55,  «• 

B.  C.  15,  Rome. — Apotheosis  of  Augustus  Cssar,  as  Lord  of  the 

World  and  Prince  of  Peace,  and  the  official  date  of  his  sera,  viz., 
A.  U.  738.  Augustus  was  the  Son  of  Maia,  (Horace,  lib.  I,  ode  ii, 
line  43,)  by  the  god  Apollo.  (Suet,  in  Aug.  94.)  This  year  marks 
the  permanent  closure  of  the  temple  of  Janus  and  an  epoch  of  uni- 
versal peace.  By  assuming  that  the  sera  of  Romulus  Quirinus  began 
738  years  before,  that  it  was  that  of  his  Apotheosis,  and  that  his 
Apotheosis  occurred  when  Romulus  Quirinus  was  ss  years  old,  the 
Augustan  astrologers  brought  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  cycle  of 
no  years,  celebrated  by  the  Ludi  Sseculares,  precisely  to  this  year, 
and  the  Ludi  were  actually  celebrated  in  accordance  with  that  reck- 
oning. Thus,  seven  cycles=77o  years,  less  33=A.  U.  737.  This 
ended  the  seventh  cycle.  The  eighth  began  with  A.  U.  738,  or  B.  C. 
15.  Suetonius,  Aug.  100;  Censorinus,  DeDieNatale,  XVII;  "  Mid- 
dle Ages  Revisited,"  App.  S.  From  this  time  forward  the  worship 
of  Augustus  as  the  Son  of  God  became  the  official  religion  of  Rome. 
Aera  i,  or  Anno  Domini,  i,  meant  the  first  year  of  our  Lord  Augus- 
tus. All  these  dates  were  afterwards  altered  to  the  extent  of  1 5  years, 
(For  the  word  "sera,"  see  B.  C,  40.)  From  the  chronological  evi- 
dence furnished  by  coins,  some  of  the  most  important  institutes  of 
the  empire  have  been  traced  to  this  date.  Thus,  Lenormant,  II,  218, 
shows  that  the  re-organization  of  the  monetary  system,  the  division 
of  the  prerogative  of  coinage  between  Augustus  and  the  Senate,  and 


184  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  granting  of  coinage  authority  to  the  pro-consuls,  all  date  from 
this  year.  The  sera  of  Augustus  can  be  shifted  backward  or  forward 
to  the  extent  of  30  years,  at  pleasure  of  the  chronologist,  by  apply- 
ing the  15  years'  interval,  since  made  between  the  Christian  and 
pagan  Roman  calendars,  either  to  the  last  year  before,  or  to  the  first 
year  after,  the  interval,  and  by  confusing  the  regnal  year  of  Augustus 
with  his  Apotheosis.  By  these  means  the  "sera  "of  Augustus  has 
been  variously  thrown  into  A.  D.  15,  14,  B.  C.  8,  B.  C.  10,  B.  C.  15, 
B.  C.  28  and  B.  C.  30.  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  ch.  VIII,  n,  18. 
It  is  evident  that  Livy,  Pliny,  Censorinus,  and  other  ancient  authors 
have  been  tampered  with  by  thus  shifting  the  Augustan  sera;  so  that 
now  every  date  is  either  a  puzzle  or  a  battle  ground.  A  brief  chro- 
nology of  Augustus  appears  under  A.  D.  14. 

B.  C.  10,  Rome. — Shifted  year  of  the  Augustan  sera  employed  by 
some  chronologists.  Censorinus  shows  that  there  were  only  18  years' 
difference  between  the  Julian  «ra  (B.  C.  46)  and  the  Augustan  regnal 
year  in  Rome. 

B.  C.  8,  Egypt. — Year  of  the  Augustan  Apotheosis  in  Egypt, 
where  he  was  worshipped  as  Thurinus,  or  Thoth.  Epoch,  January 
ist.  After  the  death  of  Augustus  the  epoch  in  Egypt  was  reckoned 
from  the  29th  August,  a  day  with  which  the  Sothic  and  Ptolemaic 
aeras  both  agreed.  See  above,  years  B.  C.  1322  and  322.  With  re- 
gard to  the  transposition  of  February  and  August  in  the  Egyptian 
calendar,  consult  Ovid  and  John  of  Nikios,  ch.  64.  For  the  name 
Thurinus,  consult  Suetonius. 

B.  C.  7,  Pontus. — Aera,  probably  Augustan,  of  Neo  Claudipolis, 
recovered  from  coins.  W.  Wroth  (R.  S.  Poole),  Cat.  Gr.  Coins.  See 
also  B.  C.  48  and  A.  D.  64. 

B.  C.  7,  Poatus. — Aera,  probably  Augustan,  of  Germanicopolis, 
recovered  from  coins.  W.  Wroth  (R.  S.  Poole),  Cat.  Gr.  Coins.  See 
A.  D.  64. 

B.  C.  2,  India. — The  Cumarica-c'handra  says:  "  After  3100  years 
of  the  Calijoga  expire,  king  Saka,  or  Salivahana,  will  appear,  to  re- 
move wretchedness  from  the  world."  Salivahana  was  to  be  a  Divine 
Child,  born  of  a  Virgin,  and  the  son  of  Tacshaca,  the  carpenter. 
Col.  Wilford's  "King  of  Magadha,"  in  Asiat.  Res.,  IX,  435,  as  cited 
by  Rev.  Wm.  Hales,  I,  197.  This  is  within  three  years  of  the  death 
of  the  third  Buddha,  (nth  Chrishna)  by  the  Indian  calendar,  or  of 
his  birth  by  the  Augustan. 

B.  C.  2,  Ponlus. — Aeras  of  Amasia  and  Sebastopolis  Heracleopis, 
recovered  from  coins.   Renier,    Rev.    Arch.,    1877;  Ramsey,   Jour. 


jEras.  185 

Phil.  II,  151;  Wroth,  (Poole,)  Cat.  Gr.  Coins.  (The  sera  of  Amasia 
is  printed  as  of  B.  C.  7,  but  corrected  in  Mr.  Wroth's  copy  at  the 
British  Museum  to  B.  C.  2.     See  A.  D.  64. 

B.  C.  1,  Tyana. — Apollonius  of  Tyana  was  a  youth  of  between  16 
and  20  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Archelaus.  Philos- 
tratus,  in  vita,  I,  7,  12,  13.  Archelaus  died  A.  D.  17.  Hence  the 
birth  of  Apollonius  was  coincident  with  the  Christian  gera.  Clinton, 
F.  R.,  I,  8.  This  is  also  the  opinion  of  Gibbon,  I,  369.  Hole  says 
he  was  born  B.  C.  3  and  died  A.  D.  98.  Priaulx  says  that  Apollonius 
visited  India  about  A.  D.  45.  See  the  hebdomadal  cycle  in  chapter 
VIII  hereof.  The  mother  of  Apollonius  was  informed  by  a  god  who 
appeared  to  her,  that  "he  himself  should  be  born  of  her,"  and  the 
divine  Apollonius  was  the  result.  Doane,  128,  citing  Philostratus. 
Apollonius,  while  yet  a  mere  youth,  abjured  the  pleasures  of  life  and 
became  an  ascetic.  He  lived  upon  the  simple  fruits  of  the  soil,  wore 
only  linen  clothing,  went  bare-footed,  suffered  his  hair  to  grow  long 
and  slept  on  the  bare  ground.  He  observed  the  Pythagorean  five 
years  of  self-imposed  silence,  and  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
performed  innumerable  miracles,  testifying  to  his  divine  origin  and 
mission  upon  earth.  But  the  universal  worship  of  Augustus  throughout 
the  Roman  world  soon  put  an  end  to  the  pretensions  not  only  of 
Apollonius,  but  also  to  those  of  the  many  other  aspirants  for  divine 
honours  who  appeared  at  this  period. 

A.  D.  1,  India  and  China. — Nativity  or  re-incarnation  of  the 
Indo-Chinese  Buddhic  les  Chrishna,  or  Joss.  Most  of  the  following 
details  are  from  Father  Du  Halde's  "History  of  China."  In  A.  D. 
51,  Ming-ti,  a  legitimate  sovereign  of  the  Han  dynasty,  ascended 
the  throne  of  China.  In  the  fifteenth  year  of  his  reign,  A.  D.  65, 
there  appeared  to  him  a  gigantic  and  godlike  apparition,  whose 
effulgence  covered  the  entire  earth,  reminding  him  of  the  prediction 
of  the  prophetic  Confucius,  namely,  that  in  this  year  the  Holy  One, 
would  re-appear  in  the  West.  Upon  awakening  from  his  pious  vision, 
Ming-ti  immediately  dispatched  an  embassy  of  venerable  and  learned 
men  to  India,  where  the  Divine  Incarnation  was  expected  to  appear. 
These  magi,  having  arrived  at  the  principal  place  in  India  celebrated 
for  the  worship  of  the  Buddhic  incarnation,  (probably  Gorakpore  in 
Rajputana,)  took  part  in  the  solemn  rites  of  the  religion  founded  by 
les  Chrishna,  familiarly  known  in  China  as  Jess  or  Joss,  and  they 
adored  His  sacred  image;  after  which,  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
bonzes,  or  Buddhic  priests  of  India,  they  returned  to  China.  So 
soon  as  the  report  of  their  mission  was  conveyed  to  the  emperor,  he 


l86  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

issued  a  proclamation  recognizing  and  authorizing  the  practice  of 
Buddhism  and  the  worship  of  Joss,  as  one  of  the  three  great  religions 
of  the  state.  The  epoch  of  this  incarnation  is  the  first  moon  after 
the  vernal  equinox,  which  corresponds  with  our  Easter.  If,  in  order 
to  make  it  correspond  with  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  year,  the 
fifteenth  year  of  Ming-ti  is  reckoned  from  the  ist  of  January,  then 
the  incarnation  of  the  Indo-Chinese  les  Chrishna  took  place  in  A.  D. 
64.  But  as  this  year  is  deduced  by  Father  Du  Halde  from  the  years 
of  the  Chinese  Jovian  cycle,  which  are  6^  years  older  than  the 
Christian  sera,  63  years  have  to  be  deducted  in  order  to  reduce  the 
year  of  the  Indo-Chinese  incarnation  aera  to  the  Christian  reckoning. 
Hence  the  incarnation  took  place  in  A.  D.  i ;  in  other  words,  it  oc- 
curred, or  was  believed  to  have  occurred,  1899  years  before  the 
present  year,  1900.  This  is  evidently  the  same  les  Chrishna,  who, 
according  to  Ramchandra  Gosha,  was  previously  incarnated  B.  C. 
724,  (apotheosized  B.  C.  657,)  and  ascended  to  heaven  B.  C.  644. 
In  such  case  the  putative  father  of  the  Indo-Chinese  les  Crishna  was 
of  the  royal  race  of  les-saca,  and  he  was  the  son  or  husband  of  Vasu- 
deva.  les  Chrishna's  mission  on  earth  was  antagonism  to  the  Phar- 
isaical religion  of  Brahm;  the  rejection  of  his  ritual,  sacrifices, 
puranas  and  institutions  of  caste  and  slavery :  and  the  inculcation  of 
justice,  meekness,  and  faith  in  salvation.  He  aided  with  the  multi- 
tude against  the  few  and  with  the  poor  against  the  rich,  claiming 
equal  rights  for  all  men  who  accepted  the  faith.  According  to  Du 
Halde's  Jovian  chronology  and  the  Buddhic  years  of  the  apotheosis 
and  death,  Joss  was  apotheosized  in  A.  D.  130  and  died  A.  D.  144; 
according  to  the  Christian  chronology  Joss  was  apotheosized  A.  D. 
67  and  died  A.  D.  81. 

A.  D.  1,  New  Granada. — Approximate  sera  of  Chinzapagua 
(Sent  by  God)  which,  according  to  the  archaeologist  Senor  Gonzalo 
Ramos  Ruiz,  must  be  placed  "at  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christ- 
ian aera. "  Chinzapagua  was  the  Messiah  of  the  Chibcha  or  Muiska 
Indians,  a  nation  of  more  than  a  million  souls,  who  inhabited  the 
elevated  region  of  Lake  Guatavita,  about  eight  leagues  from  Bogota 
in  New  Granada.  Chinzapagua  was  born  of  the  Sun  and  one  of  the 
daughters  of  an  earthly  king  or  zaque.  Having  ascended  a  hill  to  the 
eastward  of  her  father's  palace,  the  young  virgin  encountered  the 
rays  of  the  Sun  and,  in  consequence,  gave  birth  to  an  emerald,  which, 
being  wrapped  in  cotton  and  carried  in  her  bosom  during  five  days, 
at  length  developed  into  a  beautiful  Youth,  who  was  univerally  ac- 
knowledged as  the  Child  of  the  Sun.    After  beginning  a  magnificent 


yERAS.  187 

temple  to  his  heavenly  father — of  which,  it  is  said,  there  are  ruins  at 
Tunja — this  Messiah  predicted  the  coming  of  a  strange  and  cruel 
race,  who  would  conquer  the  country.  Subsequent  to  the  making 
of  this  prediction  he  mysteriously  disappeared  in  Suamoz,  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Sogamoso.  "At  the  time  of  his  disappearance  he  was 
an  old  man  with  a  long  white  beard  and  of  a  different  race  from  the 
Chibchas,  whom  he  taught  agriculture  and  how  to  spin  and  weave 
and  to  build  cities."  His  footprints  were  to  be  seen  in  the  solid 
rock  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  One  of  his  images  (of  gold) 
shows  a  large  cross  behind  the  head  and  ears;  another  one  exhibits 
the  Sacred  Heart  of  the  messianic  myth.  Senor  Paravey,  who  has 
compared  the  language  of  the  Chibchas  with  the  Sewa  dialect  of 
Japan,  finds  many  philological  analogies  "with  almost  complete 
identity  of  their  respective  numeral  characters."  The  Chibchas 
counted  by  scores,  had  a  zodiac  of  ten  signs,  divided  the  year  into 
twenty  months  and  had  a  cycle  of  twenty  years,  "which  was  marked 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  Guesa. "  The  ten  zodions  were  Ata,  Boza, 
Mica,  Muihica,  Hisca,  Ta,  Cuhupcua,  Suhuza,  Aca  and  Ulchihica. 
These  are  supposed  to  be  the  names  of  Chinzapagua's  disciples.  The 
Guesa  rite  consisted  in  sacrificing  a  youth  once  in  twenty  years  to 
the  god  of  harvests.      Cf.  Century  Magazine,  October,  189 1. 

A.  D.  1,  Rome. — The  Christian  sera,  which,  as  now  used,  began 
at  midnight  between  December  31,  B.  C.  i,  and  January  i,  A.  D.  i. 
The  year  (not  the  day)  of  this  aera  is  attributed  to  Dionysius  Exiguus, 
a  Scythian  monk  and  astrologer,  who,  it  is  claimed,  flourished  during 
the  reign  of  Justinian  I.,  and  computed  this  year  from  the  paschal 
cycle  which  began  B.  C.  8  and  ended  A.  D.  524,  but  who  is  much 
more  likely  to  have  flourished  during  the  reign  of  Justinian  II.,  A.  D. 
705,  because  no  evidence  has  been  adduced  to  prove  that  the  sera 
was  employed  before  December  i,  A.  D.  781,  during  the  pontificate 
of  Hadrian  I.  Bury's  '  Later  Roman  Empire,"  II,  504.  Cf.  Brady, 
II,  343,  who  claims,  though  not  upon  equally  convincing  grounds,  that 
the  Christian  aera  was  used  so  early  as  either  730,  or  742,  that  is  to 
say,  during  the  reign  of  Pepin,  A.  D.  714-68.  Cf.  Scaliger,  de 
Emend.  Temp.  The  Christian  asra  is  based  on  the  Nativity  of  Jesus 
Christ  at  Bethlehem  in  Judea,  which,  according  to  the  gospels,  oc- 
curred during  the  procuratorship  of  Cyrenius,  or  Quirinus,  and  the 
reign  of  Herod,  while  the  Roman  tax  levy  of  Augustus  was  in  progress 
and  at  a  period  of  the  year  when  the  flocks  were  feeding  in  the 
fields.  Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  sychronise  these 
dates,  but  with  so  little  success  that  Scaliger  regarded  the  determin- 


l88  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

ation  of  the  Nativity  as  beyond  the  skill  of  man.  The  Natal  Djv/ 
has  been  celebrated  in  various  ages  on  Martinmas,  Whitsuntide, 
Jesus  Day,  Palalia,  Easter,  the  Vernal  Equinox,  Caesar's  Day,  the 
Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  Brumalia,  or  Christmas;  the  last  one  now 
superceding  all  the  others.  Cle"m.  Alex,  ap.,  Putnam,  Chron.,  252; 
Massey,  Gen.,  II,  399;  Bower,  vita  Bon.  VIII;  Cassini,  op.  cit. ; 
Brady,  II,  121,  341,  343;  Matthew  Paris;  and  Zonaras.  Greswell, 
F.  C. ,  I,  536,  says  the  Nativity  occurred  April  5th,  but  he  does  not 
say  that  it  was  ever  celebrated  on  that  day.  In  order  to  bring  the 
Nativity  within  the  reign  of  Herod,  Archbishop  Usher  computed 
that  it  occurred  in  B.  C.  4,  that  being  the  year  in  which  Herod  died. 
On  the  other  hand,  Waddington  (Pastes  Asiat.,  Paris,  1872,)  proves 
that  neither  this  year  nor  A.  D.  i,  fell  in  the  procuratorship  or  gov- 
ernorship of  Quirinus,  which  occurred  eleven  years  earlier.  The 
census  appears  to  have  been  taken  under  Augustus  in  A.  U.  723  and 
738.  Mon.  Ancyc. ,  VIII;  Cohen,  Rom.  Fasti.  It  is  amost  cer- 
tain that  the  tax  levy  was  made  in  the  same  years. 

A.  D.  8,  Abyssinia. — So-called  Anno  Christo  of  Abyssinia.  Prin- 
sep,  "Ind.  Antiq.,"  ed.  1858.  Thisisreally  the  year  of  the  apotheosis 
of  Augustus  in  Egypt,  B,  C.  8,  shifted  to  A.  D.  8,  as  explained  under 
B.  C.  15.  See  also  A.  D.  14,  284  and  524;  also  cycles  of  532  years 
in  chap.  VIII,  herein. 

A.  D.  14,  Rome. — August  29th.  Death  and  bodily  Ascension 
to  heaven  of  Augustus  Divus  Filius  (Son  of  God),  this  having  been 
his  official  title,  which  is  stamped  on  his  coins  and  is  employed  by 
Horace,  Ovid,  Virgil,  Manilius,  Suetonius,  Pliny,  Tacitus,  Censorinus, 
and  indeed  all  the  writers  of  the  Augustan  period.  The  Ascension 
was  sworn  to  as  having  been  actually  witnessed  in  effigy  by  Numeri- 
cus  Atticus,  a  senator  and  noble  of  the  Praetorian  order.  Suetonius, 
Aug.,  100. 

Following  are  the  principal  dates  relating  to  Augustus: 
65  B.  C. — Nativity,  9  cal.  October. 

40  B.  C. — Advent.  Virgil;  Fourth  Eclogue.      Premature  closure  of 
temple  of  Janus.     Title  "  Son  of  God  "  stamped  on  coins 
of  this  year. 
30  B.  C. — January  i.      First  regnal  year  in  Egypt.      Censorinus. 
28  B.  C. — Januaryi.    First  regnal  year  in  Rome.   Censorinus.    "Mid- 
dle Ages  Revisited  "  says  B.  C.  27;  other  authorities  say 
B.  C.  25,  24,  etc.     Augustus  acknowledged  by  the  Senate 
as  the  Sebastos,  or  Sacro-sanct.     Mon.  Ancyr. 
25  B.  C. — Imperial  accession.     Second  closure  of  Janus. 


iERAS.  189 

15  B.  C. — Apotheosis  in  Rome.     Ludi  Saeculares.      "Middle  Ages 
Revisited  "  says  B.  C.  16.     Third  and  permanent  closure 
of  Janus. 
8  B.  C. — January  i,  afterwards  August  29.      Apotheosis  in  Egypt. 

"  Reform  "  of  the  Egyptian  calendar. 
8  A.  D. — So-called  Anno  Christo  of  Abyssinia;  really  the  apotheosis 
of  Augustus  in  Egypt  of  B.  C.  8,  shifted  to  A.  D.  8,  as  ex- 
explained  under  B.  C.  15.      Epoch,  August  29. 
14  A.  D. — August  29.    Death  and  Ascension  to  heaven  of  Augustus. 
An  ampler  chronology  appears  in  ' '  Middle  Ages  Revisited, "  App.  T. 

A.  D.  14,  Egypt. — Shifted  aera  of  Augustus  employed  by  some 
chronologists;  really  that  of  his  death  and  Ascension.  Cf.  "Middle 
Ages  Revisited,"  App.  V. 

A.  D.  35,  Pontus. — Aera  of  Comana,  recovered  from  coins.  W. 
Wroth,  op.  cit.  The  sera  is  printed  as  of  A.  D.  38-39  but  corrected 
to  A.  D.  35  in  the  author's  copy  at  the  Br.  Museum,      See  A.  D.  64. 

A.  D.  40,  Ceylon.— Nirvana  of  the  Third  Buddha.      Noel. 

A.  D.  40,  Mauretania. — Moorish  aera  according  to  Stokvis,  who, 
however,  gives  no  explanation  of  it.  Mauretania  was  divided  by 
the  Romans  into  two  provinces,  A.  D,  42.  Perhaps  this  date  and 
the  sera  are  connected. 

A.  I).  64,  Pontus. — Aeras  of  Cerasus  (Cer-Iasus)  Neo  Csesaria, 
Trapesus  and  Zela,  recovered  from  coins.  W.  Wroth,  op.  cit. 
Printed  as  of  A.  D.  63,  but  corrected  in  the  author's  copy  at  the 
Brit.  Museum  to  A.  D.  64.  It  requires  but  slight  examination  of 
the  process  by  which  this  date  has  been  computed  to  perceive  that 
it  belongs  to  the  sera  of  Augustus.  The  usual  type  of  the  coins 
issued  by  the  Greek  colonies  of  the  Euxine,  before  the  period  of 
Augustus,  was  the  bust  of  Dionysius,  encircled  by  a  fillet  of  ivy, 
sometimes  wearing  the  Phrygian  cap  of  Liberty;  the  Cross,  sur- 
mounted by  a  Ser-apis,  or  head  of  Bacchus  (Koehne  calls  it  the  head 
of  Osiris) ;  the  plain  cross ;  the  p  or  so-called  Christian  but  really 
Bacchic  monogram;  or  else  the  svastica.  Koehne,  PI.  VIII,  figs. 
4,  7;  XXI,  2;  XXXVIII,  4.  With  the  advent  of  Augustus  these 
sacred  emblems  were  swept  away  and  replaced  by  the  head  of  the 
new  Messiah,  whom  Rome  had  accepted  as  the  object  of  its  religious 
devotion.  Ovid's  letters  prove  that  even  in  Pontus  the  worship  of 
Augustus  was  supreme. 

A.  D.  65,  China. — Aera  of  Fo,  Fod,  or  Bod.  App.  Cyc,  X,  264. 
See  B.  C.  1036. 


190  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

A.  D.  65,  India. — Beginning  of  the  Jovian  or  60-year  cycles  of 
the  Jyotistava.      The  Pandits'  "Chronology."     See  A.  D.  1025. 

A,  D.  68,  Rome. — Dionysian  ^era  of  Rome.  "Upon  the  news 
of  Nero's  death  (June  9,  A.  D.  68)  many  people,  adopting  for  the 
emblem  of  their  hopes  the  Phrygian  cap  of  Liber  Pater,  ran  widely 
through  the  streets,  uttering  revolutionary  cries,  and  fomenting  an 
excitement  that  ended  by  involving  the  Senate  in  their  design  and 
the  issuance  of  an  act  proclaiming  a  republican  government.  Among 
the  measures  of  the  short-lived  administration  was  the  coinage  of 
money  designed  to  announce  the  restoration  "  .  .  .  "  A  common 
type  of  these  coins  was  a  citizen  clad  in  a  toga  with  a  cap  of  Liberty 
on  his  head  and  the  legend  Libert ati."  Others  had  "Libert as 
Restituta,"  etc.  Within  a  single  year  the  ephemeral  republic  was 
succeeded  by  no  less  than  four  emperors,  to  wit,  Galba,  Otho,  Vitel- 
lius  and  Vespasian.  Del  Mar's  "Hist.  Monetary  Systems,"  chap,  on 
"Rome." 

A.  D.  74,  Java. — Saka,  deduced  from  the  Roman  year.  The  Pan- 
dits, p.  xix,  citing  Sir  Stamford  Raffles  and  Crawfurd.    See  A.  D.  78. 

A.  D.  78,  Madras,  etc. — Shifted  Saka  of  Salivahana,  or  Vicra- 
maditya,  the  real  epoch  of  which  was  Easter  Day,  A.D.  i.  See  also 
B.  C.  78  and  63.  This  saka  was  shifted  78  years  by  being  computed 
from  the  Roman  dates  that  had  previously  been  altered  by  Augustus 
Caesar.  The  migration  of  Indian  families  from  one  province  to  an- 
other and  the  resulting  commingling  of  Indian  customs  and  dates 
alluded  to  by  Sankara  Balkrishna  Dikshit,  in  the  "  Indian  Calendar," 
may  have  assisted  the  blunder.  Unaware  of  such  shifting,  the  Pan- 
dits date  the  Nativity  of  Salivahana  from  the  Nauroz,  or  beginning, 
of  the  Hindu  luni-solar  year,  Baisack,  i,  Calijoga  3179,  the  Roman 
equivalent  of  which  is  now  March  14,  A.  D.  78.  Stokvis  repeats  the 
same  error.  Other  authorities  make  Baisack  i,  equal  April  13. 
Sewell  also  fixes  the  Saka  of  Salivahana  in  A.  D.  78;  Wilford  says 
A.  D.  79;  Cunningham  also  says  A.  D.  79;  yet  in  dating  Gupta  in 
A.  D.  167  (Saka,  241,)  he  fixes  Salivahana  in  B.  C.  75.  The  earliest 
actual  inscription  yet  found  with  "Saka"  is  dated  725;  the  earliest 
with  "  Samvat  "  is  dated  S3,  equal  to  B.  C.  23,  according  to  Rev  Wm. 
Hales,  I,  198. 

A.  D.  78,  India. — Re-establishment  of  the  Indian  Jovian  cycles 
of  60  years,  which  Cunningham  admits  "must  have  been  in  use  be- 
fore the  Christian  sera."  This  epoch  was  probably  shifted  like  the 
Saka  of  Salivahana.  The  Indian  Jovian  cycles  originally  began  on 
the  vernal  equinox.     Thomas,  in  "Jainism,"  p.  15,  says  they  began 


iERAS.  191 

March    14.     Sewell,   in   "South    Indian  Chronology,"  p.    10,  says 
March  15. 

A.  D.  79,  Burma. — Prome  sera  established  by  King  Samandri. 
This  is  evidently  the  same  as  the  Saka  of  A.  D.  78  and  was  doubt- 
less deduced  in  the  same  manner. 

A.  D.  81,  Balli.— Saka  deduced  from  that  of  Java.  See  A.  D.  74. 
Cf.   The  Pandits'  "Chron.,"  p.  xix. 

A.  D.  121,  Athens. — Christian  equivalent  of  the  Attic-Hadrianic 
sera,  referred  to  in  Corpus  Inscrip.  No.  281,  as  that  of  Hadrian, 
archon  of  Athens  and  sovereign-pontiff  of  Rome.  In  this  inscrip- 
tion he  is  styled  "Theos,"  or  the  living  God.  Cf.  Phlegon,  de 
Mirabilibus,  XXV,  93;  Corsini,  Fasti  Attici,  IV,  173-5.  Hadrian 
enlarged  and  beautified  Athens,  called  the  new  portion  after  his  own 
name,  completed  and  dedicated  the  Olympian  temple  to  Jupiter, 
which  had  been  560  years  in  course  of  construction,  presided  at  the 
Dionysia,  gave  Athens  a  new  Code  of  Laws  and  was  recognised  in 
the  inscriptions  as  its  Second  Founder.  Corp.  Inscrip.,  520.  Cf. 
Spartianus,  in  vita;  Scaliger,  De  Emend.,  etc.;  Gruter,  cclxxvi,  4. 
Basing  his  conjecture  on  certain  remarks  in  Galen,  Dr.  Greswell, 
K.  H.,  II,  155,  thinks  that  this  vear  marked  for  Athens  the  adop- 
tion of  a  solar  calendar,  to  supersede  the  Metonic  luni-solar,  and 
that  the  New  Year  day  was  changed  from  ist  Hecat.,  to  istBoedrom. ; 
but  whether  this  change  took  place  in  121  or  136,  or  some  other  year, 
seems  doubtful.  The  dated  coins,  "A.  U.  874,"  of  Hadrian,  point 
to  the  date  last  named  as  the  true  one. 

A.  D.  136,  Egypt. — Appearance  of  Osiris,  the  Redeemer,  in  the 
form  of  Apis,  the  Bull.  Life  of  Hadrian,  by  ^lius  Spartianus.  This 
is  exactly  one  Divine  Year  (658  common  years)  from  the  Apotheosis 
of  Darius  Hystaspes,  who  ruled  both  in  Persia  and  Egypt  and  was 
worshipped  in  the  last-named  country  as  the  Creator.  Perhaps  this 
Apis  miracle  is  connected  with  the  Annus  Magnus  of  Censorinus. 
See  below,  A.  D.  138,  Rome. 

A.  D.  136,Judea. — ^ra  of  Barco-cheba.  In  '131  Hadrian  re- 
built Jerusalem,  gave  it  the  name  of  ^lia  Capitolina,  erected  in  it  a 
temple  to  Jupiter,  placed  his  own  image  in  it  and  commanded  it  to 
be  worshipped.  The  indignity  offered  by  this  ordinance,  the  near 
approach  of  the  Brahminical  Divine  Year,  the  prediction  of  a  solar 
eclipse  and  the  exciting  harangues  of  the  Rabbis,  raised  up  a  national 
champion  in  the  person  of  Barco-cheba,  or  Barkobab,  who  in  A.  D. 
134  proclaimed  himself  to  be  the  Promised  One  and  bade  defiance  to 
the  Roman  arms.    In  two  years'  time  the  Romans  slew  580,000  Jews, 


192  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

including  their  ill-starred  Saviour,  and  reduced  Judea  to  a  desert,  in 
which  condition  it  has  remained  substantially  ever  since. 

A.  D.  138,  Rome. — Accession  and  aera  of  Antoninus  Pius,  consu- 
late of  Antoninus  Pius  and  Brittius  Prsesena,  when  the  i8th  Thoth 
corresponded  with  12  cal.  August,  whereas,  a  century  later,  it  corre- 
sponded with  7  cal.  July.  This  sera  appears  to  have  been  called  An- 
nus Magnus;  but  no  explanation  is  given.  Censorinus,  Die  Natale, 
ch.  XXI.  The  reason  is  probably  that  the  Brahminical  Annus  Mag- 
nus,  or  Divine  Year,  fell  in  A.  D.  188;  and  that  the  alteration  of  the 
calendar,  occasioned  chiefly  by  the  action  of  Augustus,  resulted  in  a 
dislocation  of  many  years  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  aeras. 
See  A.  D.  78,  A.  D.  136,  Egypt,  and  A.  D.  187,  Rome. 

A.  D.  166,  India. — Gupta  sera,  according  to  Stokvis. 

A.  D.  167,  India. — vEra  of  Gupta.  Cunningham.  But  see  A.  D. 
78,  206,  318  and  319. 

A.  D.  187,  Rome. — Brahminical  Divine  Year,  Table  A.  Reign 
of  Commodus.  Dr.  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  525,  says  that  in  this  reign 
the  calendar  was  "wantonly  tampered  with  and  deranged;"  but  fur- 
nishes no  particulars.  Commodus,  who  reigned  180-192,  gave  great 
encouragement  to  the  worship  of  Isis-Osiris. 

A.  D.  195,  Persia. — Birth  of  Mani,  or  Manes,  founder  of  the 
Manichsean  religion  and  author  of  the  "Shabarkan."  Albiruni. 
Barkan,  or  Barkhan,  is  one  of  the  names  of  Buddha;  whilst  the  sera 
of  Manes  is  Brahminical.  Manes  styled  himself  both  Messiah  and 
Paraclete,  and  was  attended  by  Twelve  Apostles.  Herbert,  "Britannia 
after  the  Romans,"  II,  155.  Manes  received  divine  revelation  in  his 
13th  year  (mitsva),  the  2nd  of  Ardishir,  King  of  Kings.  He  was  cru- 
elly put  to  death  by  Ormuz  I.,  about  A.  D.  271.  According  to  Albi- 
runi, if  we  reckon  from  the  anno  astronorum  Babyloniae  (B.  C.  747), 
Manes  was  born  A.  D.  220,  whilst  if  we  reckon  from  the  regnal 
period  of  Alexander  the  Great,  Manes  was  born  A.  D.  206  and  died 
A,  D.  271  to  273.  Here  is  a  discreancy  of  14  or  15  years.  Some 
Manichseans  still  existed  in  the  time  of  Albiruni,  the  nth  century. 

A.  D.  205,  Persia. — ^ra  of  Ardishir  ben  Bebek,  King  of  Kings 
and  founder  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty.  Albiruni  says  "  from  Alex- 
ander to  Ardishir  is  537  years."     Title  assumed,  "  Shah-in-shah." 

A.  D.  206,  India. — Aera  of  Gupta,  A.  D.  206-9,  according  to  Dr. 
Buhler.      But  see  A.  D.  78,  167,  318  and  319. 

A.  D.  211,  Rome. — Beginning  of  the  reign  of  Caracalla,  who  died 
in  217.  Yet  this  monarch,  according  to  Eckhel,  (Doc.  Num.  Vet., 
II,  63,  III,)  issued  coins  in  Macedonia  with  the  head  of  Alexander 


yERAS. 


193 


the  Great,  radiated,  stamped  in  an  unknown  jera  with  the  Greek 
letters  denoting  the  year  275.  By  the  received  chronology  this  date 
cannot  be  explained;  but  if  allowance  is  made  for  the  15  or  16  years' 
alteration  of  the  Augustan  calendar,  effected  by  the  Italian  Sacred 
College,  the  year  was  reckoned  from  the  aera  of  Julius  Caesar;  thus 
B.  C.  48  plus  16  plus  211=275. 

A.  D.  220,  Rome. — Establishment  of  sun-worship,  or  Mithraism, 
as  the  official  religion  of  Rome,  under  Elagabalus.  See  "  Middle 
Ages  Revisited,"  Appendix  R.  See  also  B.  C.  389  for  dated  coins 
of  Elagabalus. 

A.  D.  223,  Persia. — Sassanian sera.  Epoch:  September  27.  Stok- 
vis.      Lenglet  and  others  say  A.  D.  225.     See  205. 

A.  D.  250,  Central  India. — Chedi,  Chesh,  or  Kalachuri  samvat, 
or  ^ra  of  Central  India.  Cunningham.  It  is  fixed  by  Robert  Sewell 
in  A.  D.  248  and  called  Chesh,  or  Chedi,  its  epoch  being  Aswin  ist. 
"The  Indian  Calendar,"  Table  III.  Stokvis  and  Duff  Rickmers 
say  Calijoga  3350,  or  A.  D.  249.     This  sera  is  now  obsolete. 

A.  D.  262,  Ephesus. — Destruction  of  the  temple  of  Diana  in 
Ephesus  by  the  Goths,  Gallien  being  emperor  of  Rome.  Townsend. 
When  the  ruins  were  excavated  by  J.  T.  Wood,  1865-70,  the  follow- 
ing inscription  was  found  upon  the  peribolus  wall :  Augustus  Csesar, 
Son  of  God,  emperor,  consul  XII  times,  tribune  XVIII  times,  pon- 
tifex  maximus,  restored  the  fane  of  Diana  and  repaired  the  fortified 
wall  of  the  Augusteum.  G.  Asinio  Gallo,  pro-consul;  Sextus  Lar- 
tidio,  legate.      Middle  Ages  Revisited,  App.  T. 

A.  D.  271,  Persia. — Death  and  Ascension  to  heaven  of  Manes, 
the  Messiah,  the  most  noted  of  whose  followers  was  Augustine  of 
Hippo,  fifth  century.  See  A.  D.  195.  Clinton,  F.  R. ,  I,  317,  fixes 
the  death  of  Manes  in  A.  D.  278;  Eusebius  says  A.  D.  282. 

A.  D.  279,  Rome. — ^ra  of  the  ordinance  of  Probus,  permitting 
the  cultivation  of  the  vine  in  Champagne  (Gaul),  Germany  and  other 
northern  provinces.  Gibbon,  I,  67,  thinks  that  the  vines  of  Bur- 
gundy may  be  as  old  as  the  age  of  the  Antonines;  the  evidence  upon 
which  this  opinion  rests  being  that  of  Eumenius,  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. Dio.  Sic.  V,  2,  said  that  Gaul  did  not  produce  wine;  yet  Pliny 
alludes  to  the  culture  of  the  vine  in  Gallia  Narbonensis,  Vienne,  Spain 
and  Egypt.  Book  III,  Nat.  Hist.  It  was  the  policy  of  Persia,  and 
afterwards  of  Greece,  Rome  and  Spain,  to  monopolize  the  culture  of 
the  vine  in  the  Mother  country,  and  to  forbid  or  discourage  it  in  the 
provinces.     The  date  when  this  rule  was  relaxed  or  abrogated  often 


194  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

marked  the  dawn  of  provincial  independence  and  the  rehabilitation 
of  the  popular  cult  of  Dionysius. 

A.  D.  284,  Eastern  Empire. — ^ra  of  Diocletian.  In  the  Asi- 
atic provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  this  sera  took  for  its  epoch  the 
New  Year  day  of  the  Seleucidan  sera  and  began  on  the  autumnal 
equinox;  in  Egypt  and  Abyssinia  it  took  for  its  epoch  the  day  of  the 
Augustan  Apotheosis,  namely,  Thoth  ist,  our  August  29th.  Stokvis 
and  Cunningham.  The  latter  says  it  was  extensively  used.  See  B.  C. 
8  and  A.  D.  8  and  14. 

A.  D.  312,By2jantiuni. — ^ra  of  Constantine.  Autumnal  equi- 
nox. Some  chronologists  assign  to  this  year,  or  else  to  A.  D.  313, 
the  beginning  of  the  Indictions;  others  hold  that  they  were  estab- 
lished long  before  the  aera  of  Constantine.  Scaliger  and  Lenglet  be- 
gin the  Indictions  from  the  sera  of  Julius  Csesar.  They  were  really 
of  oriental  and  Pelasgian  origin  and  were  re-established  by  Augustus, 
B.  C.  30.  From  the  inscription  on  a  coin  of  Constantine  (No.  463), 
representing  a  section  of  a  zodiac  with  "Rector  totius  orbis," Cohen 
infers  "a  change  of  calendar"  in  this  reign;  but  we  have  no  details. 
''''Description  historique  des  Mommies  frappe'es  sous  r  empire  Remain" 
2nd  ed.,  1880. 

A.  D.  318,  Guzerat. — Gupta,  or  Balabhi,  or  Valabhi  sera,  accord- 
ing to  the  Pandits,  op.  cit.,  who  derive  it  from  an  inscription  found 
at  Somnath,  and  who  date  it  Vicramaditya,  375.  Prof.  Cowell  says 
A.  D.  318-19;  Dutt  says  A.  D.  319;  Dr.  T.  Block,  Asiat.  Soc.  of 
London,  Dec.  11,  1894,  says  A.  D.  329. 

A.  D.  319,  Guzerat. — Gupta,  or  Balabhi,  or  Valabhi  sera,  "241 
years  after  Saka,"  commencing  with  the  month  of  Kartika.  Sewell. 
It  was  discontinued  A.  D.  802,  when  the  city  of  Balabhi  was  de- 
stroyed.    See  A.  D.  78. 

A.  D.  348,  Abyssinia. — ^ra  of  Maherat  (or  grace).  See  A.  D. 
1348. 

A.  D.  377,  Arabia. — Saracenic  sera.  In  this  (?)  year  (fifth  con- 
sulate of  Valens)  Mavia,  or  Mania,  queen  of  the  Saracens,  at  the 
head  of  an  army,  invaded  the  Roman  province  of  "Arabia,"  lying 
between  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Nile,  demanding,  among  other  things, 
the  liberation  of  Moses,  a  Saracenic  priest,  who  had  been  condemned 
by  the  Romans  to  the  Bisharee  mines,  and  who,  though  a  worker  of 
miracles,  was  unable  to  effect  his  own  release.  After  Mavia  had  de- 
feated the  Roman  army,  "an  occurrence  still  held  in  remembrance 
among  the  people  of  the  country  and  celebrated  in  songs  by  the 
Saracens,"  (Sozomen,)  the  venerated  Moses  was  liberated.    In  A.  D. 


yKRAS. 


195 


379,  the  year  following  Valens'  death,  Mavia  sent  a  contingent  of 
Saracens  to  assist  the  empress  Dominica  in  her  defence  of  Constan- 
tinople against  the  Goths.  Confused  accounts  of  these  transactions, 
mingled  with  circumstances  impossible  of  belief,  appear  in  the  pages 
of  Sozomen  and  Socrates.  The  sera  of  Mavia  extends  320-92.  She 
is  mentioned  by  Rufinus,  who  died  in  410.  Mania,  Mavia,  Maria, 
Mary,  Maera,  Maia  and  Maha  are  regarded  as  the  same  by  Higgins, 
Anacal.,  I,  308,  and  La  Loubere,  III,   136. 

A.  D.  389,  Rome. — First  triumph  of  Theodosius.  Supposed  offi- 
cial change  of  the  Roman  state  religion.      Gibbon,  ch.  XXVIII. 

A.  D.  393,  Rome. — Re-consecration  of  Roman  temples.  Lanci- 
ani's  "Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  39.  The  usurper  Eugenius 
re-consecrates  them  to  the  ancient  state  religion.  "  Ancient  Brit- 
ain,'  chap.  VI.  The  date  seems  astrological.  After  deducting  the 
6$  years'  alteration  of  the  calendar,  it  remains  one-half  of  658  years, 
or  of  a  Divine  Year. 

A.  D.  394,  Rome. — Second  triumph  of  Theodosius;  death  of 
Eugenius;  re-consecration  of  the  temples;  final  official  adoption  of 
the  new  religion.  Zosimus,  (Vatican  ms.)  Mendelssohn,  (1887), 
fixes  the  history  of  Zosimus  in  A.  D.  450-501. 

A.  D.  397,  Gaul. — ^Era  formerly  used  in  Gaul  and  Britain;  epoch, 
November  18,  since  changed  to  November  11,  and  now  called  Mar- 
tinmas. This  festival,  once  known  as  Brumalia,  was  celebrated  in 
Scythia  and  Greece  in  very  remote  times  as  the  natal  day  of  Diony- 
sius.  It  constituted  one  of  the  four  great  Dionysian  holidays  and 
was  observed  for  ten,  afterwards  seven,  days,  before  and  after  No- 
vember i8th,  an  interval  once  known  as  the  Halcyon  Days  and  sub- 
sequently as  St.  Martin's  Summer.  After  the  decline  of  emperor- 
worship,  it  was  revived  in  Rome,  from  whence  it  probably  made  its 
way,  together  with  the  other  Dionysian  festivals,  to  Gaul,  some  time 
during  the  fourth  century.  The  date  of  November  18,  397,  possibly 
marks  the  revival  of  the  Dionysian  cult  in  Gaul.  The  medieval 
monks,  to  hide  this  fact,  invented  St.  Martin,  who,  as  they  allege, 
was  born  at  Sabaric,  in  Pannonia,  in  316,  became  bishop  of  Tours 
in  375,  and  died  on  November  18,  397,  in  whose  memory  they  pre- 
tended that  this  day  was  kept.  The  festal  ceremonies  which  are 
still  observed  at  Martinmas  by  the  people  of  Gaul,  Britain  and  Scot- 
land, and  which  closely  resemble  those  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  do  not 
support  this  theory.  Cf.  Picot,  "Chron.";  L.  De  Mas  Latrie, 
"Chron.";  Bell's  Pantheon,  voc.  "Halcyon  Days";  Brady,  op.  cit. 


196  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

II,  274;  Potter,  I,  443;  Putnam,  252;  Townsend,  voc.  "Martinmas"; 
and  Chapter  I,  hereof. 

A.  D.  406,  Mecklenburg. — Death  of  the  Gothic  leader  Rada- 
Gaisus,  who  had  proclaimed  himself  an  incarnation  of  the  Deity  and 
who,  as  such,  was  worshipped  or  venerated  by  the  Obotrites  of 
Mecklenburg.  The  last  incarnation  of  Woden  was  fixed  in  a  year 
equal  to  B.  C.  90.  According  to  the  Dionysian  astrology  this  incarna- 
tion was  due  to  recur  after  an  interval  of  532  years;  that  is  to  say, 
in  A.  D.  442.  However,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  Goths 
of  the  Baltic  employed  a  Dionysian  divine  year.  In  406  Rada-Gaisus 
invaded  Italy  with  a  large  force,  expecting  to  capture  Rome  and  in- 
augurate a  new  Empire;  but  in  this  enterprise  he  failed.  He  was 
defeated  before  Florence  and  barbarously  put  to  death  by  Stilicho. 
Mascou,  Hist.  Goth.  Gibbon,  who  follows  De  Guignes,  ascribes  the 
Gothic  invasion  of  Italy  to  the  Hunnish  invasion  of  Tartary  and  the 
latter  to  the  displacement  of  population  in  China;  but  the  chronology 
of  the  period  does  not  support  this  theory.      See  A.  D.  421. 

A.  D.  410,  Rome. — Death  of  the  Gothic  leader  Alaric,  who  set 
himself  up  for  an  incarnation  of  the  Deity,  He  was  born  about  A.  D. 
375.  In  397  he  ravaged  the  whole  of  Greece,  and  although  checked 
by  Stilicho,  his  actions  were  approved,  or  condoned,  through  the 
weakness  of  Arcadius,  who  appointed  him  Master-general  of  the 
provinces  he  had  desolated.  Alaric  besieged,  captured  and  ransomed 
Rome  in  410  and  afterwards  marched  into  Apulia,  where  he  died  the 
same  year.  He  was  buried  in  the  channel  of  the  river  Busentinus, 
near  Cosentia. 

A.  D.  412,  Arabia. — Year  of  Treason,  which,  according  to  Al- 
biruni,  was  no  years  before  the  "Year  of  the  Elephants,"  which 
nevertheless  is  fixed  herein  at  A.  D.  532,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  421,  Baetria. — First  regnal  year  of  Baharam  Gur,  (Gur 
meaning  Holy,  or  Saint),  King  of  the  lesha,  (these  people  were  so 
named  by  Sung-yun,  A.  D.  520),  or  the  White  Huns,  (so  named  by 
Col.  Francis  Wilford,  in  Asiat.  Res.,  IX,  206),  or  the  Indo-Scythians, 
(so  named  in  Duff  Rickmers  "  Chron.  of  India,"  sub  anno,  460). 
Their  rule  extended  from  the  borders  of  Persia  to  the  Punjab.  The 
date  is  from  Wilford,  who  deduces  it  from  the  Augustan  year  of  the 
Calijoga.  It  would  therefore,  together  with  the  dates  derived  from 
it,  differ  15  years  from  the  Christian  dates.  In  A.  D.  376  (Christian 
date)  the  Huns  of  the  Caspian  drove  the  Scythians  back  from  Pan- 
nonia  into  Thrace  (Sozomen) ;  about  420  the  lesha  are  persecuted 
and  driven  from  Merv  by  Varanes,  or  Baharam  V.,  the  Sassanian  k. 


^RAS.  197 

of  Persia;  430,  the  lesha  are  attacked  by  Kitolo  of  Peshawar;  434, 
accession  of  Attila;  446,  Attila's  treaty  with  Theodosius;  448,  Pris- 
cus,  who  was  born  in  Attila's  capital  of  leshelburg,  now  Buda-Pesth, 
learned  this  year  of  the  conquest  of  Bactria  by  the  White  Huns. 
The  sera  of  Vicramaditya,  a  son  of  Baharam  Gur,  is  20  years  after 
the  first  regnal  year  of  his  father,  or  A.  D.  441  (Wilford).  In  A.  D, 
458  (deduced  from  an  oriental  date)  Balkh  was  the  metropolis  of 
this  people.  It  is  presumed  that  the  coins  (which  are  still  extant), 
struck  by  their  king  Toroman,  near  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century, 
stamped  "52"  in  an  unknown  aera,  refer  to  the  advent  of  this 
Vicramaditya.  Duff  Rickmers  begins  Toroman's  reign  in  460  and 
continues  it  to  510.  It  is  more  likely  to  have  commenced  in  441  + 
52  =  493  and  to  have  lasted  until  510.  Toroman  erected  a  temple  at 
Mooltan  in  the  Punjab,  which  is  said  to  have  been  dedicated  to  the 
Sun.  In  600  the  lesha  were  peaceably  settled  in  this  portion  of  In- 
dia. Wilford,  op.  cit.  ;  Cunningham,  in  "  Numis.  Chron.,"  1894, 
and  "Anc.  Geog.  India,"  pt.  I;  Specht,  "Asie  Central";  Rawlin- 
son,  "Seventh  Monarchy."     See  A.  D.  441. 

A.  D.  422,  Arabia. —  "Year  of  Treason,"  520  years  after  the 
death  of  Kab  ben  Luayy.  Albiruni.  Kab  ben  Luayy's  sera  roughly 
synchronises  with  that  of  Salivahana. 

A.  D.  441,  Bactria. — ^ra  of  the  ninth  one  of  the  various  Vic- 
ramadityas  discovered  by  Col.  Wilford  in  the  Indian  annals.  This 
Vicramaditya  was  the  putative  son  of  Baharam  Gur,  k.  of  the  White 
Huns.  From  his  sera,  which  was  Calijoga  3543,  to  the  Hegira,  the 
Indians  reckon  196  years;  yet  according  to  the  Christian  dates 
there  is  an  interval  between  them  of  only  181  years;  a  discrepancy 
of  15  years.     Col.  Francis  Wilford,  in  Asiat.  Res.  IX,  302. 

A.  D.  444,  Rome. — Restoration  of  the  Ischenian  quinquenalles, 
or  quinquennial  games,  by  Theodosius  II.  Lenglet;  Picot  II,  279; 
Lempriere. 

A.  D.  493,  Rome. — Theoretical  Gothic  period  in  Italy.  It  began 
after  the  close  of  a  Dionysian  paschal  period  of  532  years  from  the 
Advent  of  Divus  Augustus,  B.  C.  40,  coinciding  with  the  first  year 
of  Theodoric,  who  reigned  just  33  years,  A.  D.  493-525.  All  these 
features  are  astrological  This  Gothic  sera  was  followed  by  a  Gothico, 
or  Lombardo-Byzantine period,  553-752,  when  Ravenna  was  taken  by 
Pepin;  the  imperial  exarch  retired  to  Byzantium;  and  the  temporal 
kingdom  of  the  Italian  popes  was  founded.  The  Roman  coins  and 
marbles  of  this  period,  493-525,  indicate  the  prevalence  of  the  Ische- 


198  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY, 

nian  or  else  Dionysian  cult  in  Rome  down  to  near  the  beginning  of 
the  temporal  power. 

A.  D.  524,  Rome. — Year  when  it  is  pretended  that  the  Canon  of 
Dionysius  Exiguus  was  constructed.  Greswell,  F.  C.  Intro.,  192, 
reluctantly  admits  that  this  canon  might  not  be  earlier  than  "the 
end  of  the  seventh  century."  It  really  belongs  to  a  period  later 
than  the  Restoration  of  Justinian  II,  The  year  A.  D.  524  completes 
one  Dionysian  divine  year  commencing  with  the  Egyptian  apotheo- 
sis of  Divus  Augustus,  B.  C.  8.  It  is  therefore  astrological,  and  as 
such  is  open  to  the  suspicion  of  having  been  connected  with  the 
name  of  Dionysius  Exiguus  in  after  times  and  for  theoretical  pur- 
poses. Bury  says  that  the  Christian  sera  was  not  used  anywhere  un- 
til 781,  q.  V. 

A.  D.  530,  Byzantium  (Constantinople). — "An  embassy, 
said  to  be  Indian,  bringing  gifts  to  the  Emperor  Justinian,  reaches 
Constantinople."  Priaulx,  "  Ind.  Emb.  to  Rome, "  126;  Duff  Rick- 
mers.  As  this  event  was  of  an  extraordinary  character  its  date  may 
be  conjectured  not  to  have  been  wholly  unconnected  with  the  Dio- 
nysian cycle  and  expected  re-incarnation  of  Ourgouti  Tirounal,  or 
Augustus  Quichena. 

A.  D.  531,  Persia. — -^ra  of  Meshdak,  the  Messiah  of  God  on 
earth,  his  advent  coinciding  with  the  last  year  of  Kobad  ben  Feroz, 
the  shah-in-shah  of  Persia.  Albiruni.  The  advent  of  Meshdak 
(sometimes  Messdak,  Machdak,  Mashdak,  or  Mazdac),  occurred  one 
Dionysian  cycle  after  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  when,  according 
to  a  belief  long  entertained  throughout  the  Roman  world,  that  divin- 
ity would  again  visit  the  earth  to  restore  it  to  peace  and  happiness. 
Meshdak  taught  a  community  of  wives  and  property.  He  was  exe- 
cuted this  year  by  Chosroes.     Eraser's  "Persia,"  p.  132. 

A,  D.  532,  Armenia. — ^ra  Armeniacum  Augustorum,  the  com- 
pletion of  which  was  one  Dionysian  cycle  after  the  Apotheosis  of 
Augustus,  when  this  Messiah  was  confidently  expected  to  re-visit  the 
earth.  The  new  cycle  was  to  begin  Navasardi  ist=August  11,  which 
is  the  Augustan  ascension-day,  as  shifted  by  an  equable  calendar 
that  continued  in  use  down  to  very  recent  years.  The  head  of  the 
calendar  belonging  to  this  cycle  was  January  i.  The  Christian  Ar- 
menian sera  was  invented  in  the  13th  century  and  attributed  to  A.  D. 

552,  q.  V. 

A.  D.  532,  Arabia. — Augustan  sera  of  Arabia,  exactly  one  Dion- 
ysian cycle  from  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  son  of  God  and  Lord 
of  the  World.      In  order  to  conceal  the  origin  of  a  cycle  whose  long 


iERAS.  199 

continued  use  and  significance  they  coufd  not  at  once  suppress,  the 
pious  Mahometans  of  the  following  century  entitled  this  sera  the 
* '  Year  of  the  Elephants, "  and  alleged  that  it  commemorated  the  defeat 
of  the  Abyssinians  and  their  elephants  by  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  under 
Abraha;  events  whose  inconsequential  character  mark  the  fictitious 
character  of  the  commemoration.  Albiruni  fixes  this  victory  of  the 
Koreish  no  years  (this  is  equal  to  one  Ludi  Saeculares)  after  the 
"Year  of  Treason,"  and  90  years  before  the  Hegira.  Gibbon,  V, 
198,  assigns  the  "defeat  of  the  Abyssinians,"  which  is  evidently  the 
same  event,  to  the  year  of  Mahomet's  birth.  This  he  fixes  in  A.  D. 
569.  It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  no  such  uncertainty  about  the 
aera  as  there  is  about  the  occurrence  assigned  for  its  observance. 
But  the  mollahs  probably  did  the  best  they  could  with  the  obnoxious 
out-growths  of  the  monstrous  and  degrading  religion  of  emperor  wor- 
ship which  they  inherited  from  Rome. 

A.  D.  548,  India. — Magi  San,  548-9,  which  is  45  years  before  the 
Bengali  San.  Sewell. 

A.  D.  548,  Scythia. — Conjectural  year  assigned  by  Genghis  Khan 
to  the  incarnation  of  Budantsar,  who  was  miraculously  conceived  of 
a  Mongol  widow  and  from  whom  he  claimed  descent,  through  Yesu- 
kai,  or  lesu-chri.      See  A.  D.  1206. 

A.  D.  552,  Armenia. — ^ra  Haicana,  or  so-called  Christian  aera 
of  Armenia,  invented  probably  in  the  13th  century  and  dated  back 
to  July  9,  552.  Stokvis  says  July  7.  This  year  is  one  Dionysian 
cycle  from  the  Apotheosis  of  Augustus,  while  the  epoch  is  that  of 
the  Greek  Olympiads.  The  sera  is  attributed  by  Cardinal  Pagi,  (a 
Roman  papal  secretary,)  to  the  mission  of  Julian  of  Halicarnassus 
and  the  schism  it  wrought  in  the  Armenian  religion;  but  this  pious 
legend  of  the  church  cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  light  which  ar- 
chaeology and  numismatics  have  thrown  upon  the  history  of  religion 
in  Armenia. 

A.  D.  552,  Japan. — In  this  year,  according  to  Klaproth,  the  re- 
ligion of  Buddha  was  introduced  into  Japan  from  Corea.  But  see 
B.  C.  712  and  660. 

A.  D.  567,  Byzantium  (Constantinople). — Greek  cycle  of  the 
re-incarnation  of  lesChrishna.  Greek  zodion  of  Aquarius,  the  Water- 
man. This  cycle  may  have  facilitated  the  advent  of  Meshdack,  Ma- 
homet, Musailima,  etc. 

A.  D.  569, Mecca. — November  loth.  (Martinmas.)  Birth  of  Ma- 
homet, according  to  Gibbon.  The  Benedictines,  also  Hole  and 
Townsend,  fix  this  event  in  570;  while  the  Penny  Encyp.  prefers  5 71. 


200  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Following  Townsend,  who  follows  the  Benedictine  monks  in  the  re- 
maining dates,  Mahomet  begins  to  preach  in  609;  is  Summoned  by 
the  angel  Gabriel,  610;  is  opposed  by  the  Koreishites,  613;  flies  to 
Medina  (Hegira),  622;  of  which  place  he  is  appointed  Prince;  de- 
feats the  Koreishites,  623-25;  captures  Mecca,  630;  dies  at  Medina, 
Monday,  June  8,  632,  after  having  founded  one  of  the  greatest  em- 
pires of  the  world.     See  A.  D.  610  and  622. 

A.  D.  570,  Mysore. — Tippoo  Saib,  (A.  D.  1783-99,)  besides  em- 
ploying the  Hindu  jera  of  the  Calijoga,  (See  B.  C.  3102,)  established 
an  gera  dating  not  from  the  Flight,  but  from  the  Birth  of  Mahomet, 
and  at  the  same  time  re-introduced  the  60-year  Jovian  cycles.  These 
regulations  did  not  survive  him.  He  died  in  1799,  at  the  age  of  52. 
They  are  partly  explained  in  Kirkpatrick's  "  Select  Letters  of  Tip- 
poo Sultan."     For  birth  of  Mahomet,  see  A.  D.  569. 

A.  D.  583,  India. — Shifted  year  of  the  Hegira.    The  Pandits,  xix. 

A.  D.  591,  Southern  India. — Fasali,  or  Fuslee  asra  of  Southern 
India.     Sewell.      It  was  established  in  A.  D.  1638.     The  Pandits. 

A.  D.  592,  Northern  India. — Fasali  sera  of  Northern  India. 
Sewell.  About  this  period,  A.  D.  592,  Amsuvarman  of  Nepal  ruled 
in  the  name  of  Siva-deva.  Hiuen  Tsing,  in  Beale,  II,  Si  n.  This 
aera  was  established  by  Akbar  in  A.  D.  1556.     The  Pandits. 

A.  D.  592,  Upper  India. — Fasali  ara  of  Akbar.  "This  and  the 
Sumbat  years  are  both  current  in  the  provinces  of  Bahar,  Benares 
and  the  ceded  and  conquered  provinces."  The  government  revenue 
is  collected  by  the  Fasali,  or  Fuslee,  (or  harvest,  or  revenue,)  year 
and  the  common  affairs  of  life  are  reckoned  by  it.  The  Sumbat  year 
is  chiefly  used  by  the  native  merchants  and  bankers.  "  The  Fuslee 
(sometimes  Fussily),  or  harvest,  and  the  Vilayuty,  or  country  year, 
1 197,  began  in  September,  1789;  the  Bengal  year  1197,  in  April, 
1790."  (This  seems  to  be  the  year  used  by  Sonnerat  and  Noel.) 
"  These  seras  appear  to  have  been  introduced  in  the  reign  of  Akbar, 
who  ascended  the  throne  of  Delhi  on  Rub-us-sanee  2nd,  A.  H.  963, 
or  February  14,  A.  D.  1556."  (For  a  different  translation  of  these 
dates,  see  A.  D.  1556.)  "A  solar  year  for  financial  and  civil  transac- 
tions was  then  engrafted  on  the  current  lunar  year  of  the  Hegira,  or 
subsequently  adjusted  to  the  first  year  of  Akbar's  reign.  But  the 
Fuslee  year  963  having  expired  in  September,  1556,  the  commence- 
ment of  it  must  be  reckoned  back  to  September,  1555,  whereas  the 
Bengal  year  963  did  not  commence  till  April,  1556,  and  extended  to 
April,  1557.  The  difference  between  the  Fuslee  and  Christian  aeras 
is  592  years  from  the  commencement  of  the  Fuslee  year,  Aswin  ist, 


^RAS.  20I 

in  September,  to  the  end  of  December,  and  593  years  from  January 
to  the  Fuslee  year's  termination  on  Bhadoon  30,  corresponding  with 
a  variable  date  in  September.  Thus,  Aswin  i,  1197,  plus  592=Sep- 
tember  5,  1789,  when  the  Fuslee  year  1197  began,  and  Bhadoon  30, 
1 197  plus  593=September  23,  1790,  when  it  ended.  The  Vilayuty, 
or  Amli  year,  current  in  Orissa,  differs  from  the  Fuslee  in  a  few  days 
only,  by  adopting  the  Bengal  method  of  reckoning  the  months.  The 
Christian  exceeds  the  Bengal  sera  593  years  from  April  11  to  the  end 
of  December,  and  594  years  from  January  to  April  10.  Thus,  lesaac 
or  Bysaack  i,  the  commen-  lent  of  the  Bengal  year  1197,  plus  593 
=April  II,  1790,  anr"  .^  termination,  Cheyt  or  Chittere,  31,  1197, 
plus  594=April  10,  1791.  This  furnishes  an  easy  (?)  rule  for  ascer- 
taining the  corresponding  years  of  the  Fuslee,  Vilayuty,  Bengal  and 
Christian  seras  respectively."  Harrington's  "Analysis,"  vol.  II,  p. 
176  and  5th  Report,  p.  38. 

Ac  D.  592,  Bengal  and  Orissa.— Vilayuty  San,  A.  D.  592-3. 
The  Amli  San  of  Girisa-Chandra's  "  Chron.  Tables"  (Pref.,  xvi)  dif- 
fers from  the  Vilayuty  San  only  in  details.      Sewell. 

A.  D.  593,  Bengal. — Bengali  San,  or  Meshadi  (Messianic)  sera. 
Sewell,  in  "Indian  Cal.,"  p.  42,  says  A.  D.  593-4- 

A.  D.  593,  Orissa. — Amli  San,  commences  from  the  birth  of  In- 
dradryumna,  or  12th  day  of  the  light  half  of  Bhadra.  Each  month 
commences  when  the  Sun  enters  a  sign  of  the  zodiac.  It  is  used  in 
the  law  courts  of  Orissa  and  in  business  transactions.     The  Pandits. 

A.  D.  593,  Orissa.— Vilayuty,  or  Vilaity  San,  commences  Aswin 
I.  Used  in  collecting  government  revenue  in  Orissa.  In  the  Bengal 
Presidency  it  is  customary  to  insert  all  of  the  following  seras  at  the 
head  of  every  regulation  enacted  by  the  government:  i.  The  Ben- 
gali San;  2,  the  Vilayuty  or  Amli  year  of  Orissa;  3,  the  Fuslee  year 
of  the  Upper  Provinces;  4,  the  Fuslee  year  of  the  Peninsular.  The 
Pandits. 

A.  D.  600,  India. — ^Era  of  Mahratta  Sur-San.  Sewell  says  599- 
600. 

A.  D.  603,  India. — Harsha  asra.  Sewell.  Duff  Rickmers  says 
October  22nd,  606.     See  A.  D.  607. 

A.  D.  607,  India. — Sri-Harsha  sera  of  Kanauj.  Epoch :  March 
3rd.      Cunningham.      See  A.  D.  622. 

A.  D.  609,  Arabia. — Advent  of  the  impostor  Musailima,  who  pre- 
tended that  he  was  the  Paraclete.     Albiruni. 

A.  D.  610,  Arabia. — Year  of  the  Summons.  Mahomet  is  sum- 
moned on  the  27th  of  Ramadan  by  the  Angel  Gabriel,  to  redeem  the 


202  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

evangelical  promise  of  the  Paraclete.  This  year  is  exactly  one  Di- 
vine Year,  or  one  astrological  incarnation  cycle,  (658  years,)  from 
the  deification  and  sra  of  Julius  Caesar.  It  is  evident  that  this  sera 
was  intended  to  replace  the  Julian  (Caesarian)  which  was  in  use  in 
the  Greek  provinces,  whilst  the  year  of  the  Hegira,  an  afterthought 
of  Omar,  was  invented  to  supplant  that  of  lesdigerd,  used  in  the 
Persian  provinces,  which  fell  under  the  sway  of  the  Moslems.  Ma- 
homet's birth  was  also  made  to  tally  with  the  re-incarnation  of  les 
Chrishna.  His  miracles,  his  twelve  apostles  and  the  other  astrologi- 
cal features  of  his  religion,  are  noticed  by  Gibbon,  ch.  I ;  Boulain- 
villiers,  book  III;  and  Higgins,  in  the  "  Anacalypsis. " 

A.  D.  622,  Tibet. — Srong  Tsau  Sgampo,  Grand  Lama,  an  "  in- 
carnation "  of  the  deity.  L.  A.  Waddell,  "Buddhism  of  Tibet," 
1895,  places  his  aera  in  641 ;  Appleton's  Cyc,  X,  261,  and  Duff  Rick- 
mers  say  632. 

A.  D.  022,  Tibet. — >5i;ra  of  the  Lama  Teshi-lunpo,  an  aera  em- 
ployed within  the  last  two  centuries.     The  Pandits'  "  Chron. " 

A,  D.  622,  Tibet. — ^ra  of  Mekha-gya-tsho,  a  symbolical  name 
for  the  number  403,  such  being  the  mode  of  reckoning  in  Tibetan 
mediseval  works.  It  indicates  the  employment  in  Tibet  of  the  He- 
gira, or  the  aera  of  Mekha,  or  Mecca.  "The  Tibetan  writers,  in- 
deed, ascribe  the  destruction  of  the  Buddhist  religion  in  the  North 
to  the  Mahometans."  If  403  be  deducted  from  the  Tibeto- Jovian 
aera  of  A.  D.  1025,  the  quotient  is  622,  the  year  of  the  Hegira.  The 
The  Pandits'  "Chron." 

A.  D.  622,  India. — Harsha  Kala,  orHarshavardhana,  of  Kanouj, 
or  Kanauj.  A.  D.  606-48.  This  aera  varies,  in  different  authorities, 
from  603  to  635.  Calcutta  Review,  April,  1891,  Sewell  says  603 
and  606-7;  Cunningham  says  607. 

A.  D.  622,  Persia. — lesdigerdllL,  deified  26  June,  (29  August), 
A.  D.  632.  (Prinsep.)  By  sinking  ten  years  of  the  calendar,  this 
has  been  altered  to  622.  (See  Anno  Mundi  B.  C.  5502).  The  altera- 
tion from  June  to  August  made  the  deification  of  lesdigerd  agree 
with  the  day  of  the  Augustan  aera  in  Egypt.  Woolhouse  says  16 
June,  632.  Albiruni  says  "from  Alexander  to  lesdigerd's  accession 
is  944  years."  This  would  make  the  latter  A.  D.  617,  thus  944  less 
327  =  617. 

A.  D.  622,  Arabia. — Hegira,  or  the  Flight,  from  Mecca  to  Me- 
dina, or  £era  of  Mahomet,  Friday,  July  16.  This  day  is  said  to  have 
been  instituted  by  Omar;  but  Albiruni  says  the  Moslem  calendar  was 
reformed  by  the  caliph  Al  Mutadid,  tenth  century.     This  year,  622^ 


^RAS.  203 

is  that  of  lesdigerd,  (see  Persia,  A.  D.  632  and  622),  while  the  day 
is  that  of  the  Greek  Olympiads.  The  year  is  astrological,  while  the 
day  is  ecclesiastical.  (See  Elis,  B.  C.  12 19).  The  Arabian  astron- 
omers date  the  Hegira  from  Thursday,  Moharran  ist,  (July  15,)  622. 
This  difference  of  one  day  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Moslem 
mollahs  begin  the  day  at  sunset,  whilst  the  astronomers,  with  more 
precision,  begin  it  at  noon.  The  Moslem  year  is  substantially  lunar. 
The  civil  months  are  adjusted  by  a  cycle  of  approximately  30  years, 
19  of  which  consist  of  354  and  11  of  355  days,  in  all  10,631  days,  or 
29  years  and  39  days,  Julian.  The  12  months  of  the  Moslem  calen- 
dar contain  alternately  29  and  30  days.  The  last  month  of  the  inter- 
calary years  has  30  days.  The  intercalated  years  are  the  2nd,  5th, 
7th,  loth,  13th,  i6th,  i8th,  2ist,  24th,  26th,  and  29th  of  the  cycle.  The 
month  commences  from  the  evening  on  which  the  New  Moon  is  seen ; 
hence  its  duration  depends  on  the  weather  and  it  may  differ  in  places 
not  far  apart.  (This  was  formerly  the  case  also  with  the  Jewish  lu- 
nar calendar.  Lyons,  14.)  But  in  the  Moslem  calendar  no  month 
may  contain  less  than  29  nor  more  than  30  days.  In  legal  deeds 
dated  by  the  Hegira,  the  day  of  the  week  should  be  inserted.  The 
Pandits  "Chron." 

A.  D.  632,  Persia. — ^raof  lesdigerd;  epoch,  June  16,  Stokvis. 
See  A.  D.  622. 

A.  D.  634,  Arabia. — The  Koran  was  published  by  Abubeker  in 
A.  D.  634  and  revised  by  Othman  in  652  and  by  other  princes  at 
subsequent  dates.  See  A.  D.  622  and  cf.  Blackie's  Pop.  Encyc,  art. 
"  Literature."  The  English  translation  by  Sale  is  said  to  be  merely 
an  adaptation  of  Maracci's  Italian  translation  which  was  made  under 
the  direction  of  the  Italian  papal  censorship.  It  is  greatly  perverted, 
a  fact  which  has  in  its  turn  influenced  other  translations.  The  Mos- 
lem World,  1893. 

A.  D.  637,  Siam  and  Burma.^Siamese  and  Burmese  incarna- 
tion sera.  Marsden,  op.  cit. ,  calls  it ' '  the  astronomical  year  "  and  says 
the  sera  was  deduced  from  a  letter  written  A.  D.  1769,  by  the  king 
of  Pegu  to  the  French  commander  at  Pondicherry,  dated  "  12th  of 
the  month  Kchong,  year  1132."  Robertson,  "India";  Cunningham, 
"Indian  ^ras;"  and  Stokvis,  "Chronology,"  fix  this  sera  at  Satur- 
day, March  21st,  A.  D.  638,  for  India  and  Burma.  It  is  mentioned 
by  Cassini  and  by  Higgins,  in  his  "Anacal."  I,  168.  Sewell  calls  it 
the  aera  of  the  Magi  and  fixes  it  at  A.  D.  638.  The  Pandits  call  it 
the  Muggee  San  and  fix  its  epoch  in  A.  D.  639.  The  days  and  months 
in  this  aera  correspond  exactly  with  those  in  the  Bengalee  San  of 


204  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

^  A.  D.  593-4,  the  difference  between  them  being  45  years.  The  Pan- 
dits "Chron. "  Duff  Rickmers  calls  this  the  Arakan  sera  and  fixes 
it  in  639.  "Joannes  Moses,  collector  of  the  land  tax  for  the  prov- 
ince of  Pegu,  said  that  whenever  the  king  thought  the  years  of  the 
sera  too  many,  he  changed  it."  The  Peguan  sera  was  derived  from 
the  astronomers  of  Siam  who  fixed  it  in  638.  Francis  Buchanan, 
M.  D.,  in  "Asiatic  Researches,"  VI,  171. 

A.  D.  638,  Pegu. — ^ra  mentioned  by  Dr.  Buchanan.  See  637 
Siam  and  Burma. 

A.  D.  639,  Ceylon  and  Ava. — Pouppa-Azan  San  of  Ceylon. 
Established  by  Pouppa-chan-ra-han.  Bishop  Paul  A.  Bigandet.  Year 
begins  with  new  moon  of  solar  month,  Chittere.  The  division  of 
months  is  the  same  as  in  the  luni-solar  system  of  India.   The  Pandits. 

A.  D.  657,  Siam. — The  re-incarnation  of  Salivahana,  due  in  the 
Orient  A.  D.  579,  was  (owing  to  63  years  difference  between  the 
Eastern  and  Western  astrological  calendars),  not  due  until  A.  D.  642 
in  the  Occident.  (Table  B).  Between  these  two  dates  fell  the  In. 
carnation  of  Salivahana  marked  by  the  zodiacal  sign  of  the  Water- 
man, the  Summons  of  Mahomet,  the  Hegira,  the  Incarnation  of 
Srong  Tsau  Sgampo,  Kanouj,  and  lesdigerd,  and  finally  the  Siamese 
incarnation,  all  of  which,  except  that  of  Salivahana,  evidently  re- 
lated to  actual  historical  personages.  This — among  other  rea- 
sons— accounts  for  their  not  having  taken  place  in  the  proper 
astrological  year,  according  to  the  Western,  or  Roman,  calendar. 
In  this  interval,  A.  D.  579-642,  were  also  completed  the  Twelve 
Ages  of  Etruria,  according  to  Varro.  Thus  12x110  (the  period  of 
the  Ludi  Saeculares)=i32o,  less  738,  (the  year  of  Romulus  by  the 
Augustan  calendar  used  by  Varro),  equals  582.  "  Middle  Ages  Re- 
visited," App.  S. 

A.  D.  700,  Europe. — Approximate  sera  of  Gothic  architecture  in 
Europe. 

A.  D.  700,  Mexico. — Toltec  aera,  according  to  Greswell,  F.  C,  I, 
361.     The  astrologically  correct  date  is  A.  D.  722,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  705,  Constantinople. — Restoration  of  Justinian  II.  to 
the  throne  of  the  Roman  Empire,  assisted  by  the  Goths,  an  event 
marked  by  the  issuance  of  a  gold  solidus,  stamped  with  the  earliest 
valid  effigy  of  Jesus  Christ  known  to  exist.  The  legend  is  "d,  N. 
Ihs.  Chs.  Rex  Regnantivm."  The  requirement  of  Justinian,  that 
his  tribute  should  be  paid  in  coins  of  the  imperial  stamp,  had  caused 
the  war  with  Abd-el-Melik  and  led  to  the  complete  independence 
(rather  an  extension)  of  the  Arabian  Empire,  and  the  coinage  of 


JERAS.  205 

pieces  with  monotheistic  legends,  to  which  this  coin  was  a  reply. 
Theophanes;  Cedrenus;  Zonaras;  "Hist,  of  Monetary  Systems," 
p.  171.  Brady,  "Clavis  Calendaria,"  I,  403,  says  that  the  earliest 
effigy  of  Jesus  Christ  is  of  the  year  707 ;  but  in  this  respect  the 
learned  author  appears  to  be  mistaken  to  the  extent  of  two  years. 

A,  D.  712,  Spain. — Conquest  of  Spain  by  Tarik,  a  lieutenant  of 
Mousa-ben-Nosier,  the  commander  of  the  Moslem  forces  at  Ceuta. 
After  Tarik  had  defeated  the  army  of  the  Gothic  king  Roderic,  A.  D. 
709,  he  advanced  to  Toledo  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  nearly  the 
whole  of  Spain  fell  beneath  his  arms.  "The  fame  of  this  extraor- 
dinary exploit  aroused  the  jealousy  of  Mousa,  who,  crossing  from 
Africa,  hastened  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Spain  and  share  the 
vast  spoil  of  Tarik.  By  A.  H.  94  (A.  D.  712),  the  conquest  was 
completed  and  Mousa,  like  Cortes  at  a  later  period,  found  himself 
master  of  an  empire  greater  and  richer  than  that  of  the  caliph,  his 
master."  "Hist.  Mon,  Sys.,"  ch.  IX.  "When  Mousa  arrived  in 
Andalusia,  one  of  the  bishops  of  that  country  said  to  him,  'Oh, 
Mousa!  We  find  thee  mentioned  in  one  of  the  prophets,  who  pre- 
dicted an  illustrious  Prince,  answering  exactly  to  thy  description, 
who  is  to  enter  this  country' "  (and  conquer  it,  by  the  will  of  God). 
Ibn  Dhahan,  in  Al-Makkari,  Appendix  Ixxvii.  Jaddus,  the  high- 
priest  of  Jerusalem,  had  the  same  welcome  for  Alexander  and  the 
Aztec  priests  in  Mexico  the  same  for  Cortes:  they  said  he  was  the 
Expected  One. 

A.  D.  722,  Mexico. — Conjectural  aera  of  Quetzalcoatl,  orBacab, 
or  Bacob,  the  Messiah,  Son  of  God  (lesona),  begot  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  (Echiah),  upon  the  earthly  virgin  Sochiquetzal.  Quetzalcoatl 
was  foretold  by  prophets ;  tlje  place  of  his  birth  was  indicated  by  the 
Morning  Star;  he  was  born  at  Tula,  on  the  winter  solstice;  to  the 
accompaniment  of  flowers  and  music;  he  was  recognised  as  the  Mes- 
siah by  seers  and  astrologers;  his  head  was  rayed;  his  complexion 
was  black;  his  hair  was  woolly ;  he  performed  numerous  miracles; 
he  fasted  40  days;  he  was  tempted  by  the  Evil  One;  he  resisted,  was 
persecuted  and  eventually  crucified  on  the  vernal  equinox,  by  order 
of  the  tyrant  Eupaco;  on  which  occasion  the  sun  was  eclipsed.  He 
descended  into  hell  to  judge  the  dead;  was  absent  three  days  and 
nights;  he  rose  again;  and  finally  ascended  bodily  to  heaven.  He 
had  12  disciples;  his  sacraments  were  the  communion,  eucharistand 
baptism;  his  emblematic  plant,  the  maguey;  his  epigraphic  symbols 
were  the  +and  svastica;  and  the  sign  of  his  second  coming  was  the 
White  Horse.      More  curious  than  any  of  the  above  details,  all  of 


2o6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

which  according  to  Doane  will  be  found  in  Lord  Kingsborough,  VI, 
164,  180,  and  in  Humboldt,  is  the  fact  that  while  the  horse  was  un- 
known in  any  portion  of  America,  yet  the  Second  Advent  of  Quet- 
zalcoatl  was  depicted  in  the  Mexican  picture-chronicles  with  a  figure 
of  what  the  astonished  Spaniards  had  no  difficulty  in  recognising  as 
a  White  Horse.  Quetzalcoatl's  other  name  of  Bacob  suggests  the 
Buddhic  Barcan  and  Hebrew  Bacocheba.     See  A.  D.  700. 

A.  D,  752,  Rome. — Temporal  kingdom  of  the  Pope  founded.  See 
Rome,  A.  D.  493  and  A.  D.  1870. 

A.  D.  771,  Baghdad. — An  embassy  from  Sindh  to  the  caliph  Al- 
Mansur  is  "supposed  to  have  given  the  Arabs  their  first  knowledge 
of  Hindu  astronomy."     Duff  Rickmers,  68. 

A.  D.  781,  Rome. — In  this  year,  ist  December,  Pope  Hadrian 
"  ceased  to  use  the  years  of  the  Emperors  as  dates  and  adopted  the 
formula,  '  Under  the  reign  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  God  and 
Redeemer!'  "  Bury,  "  Later  Rom.  Emp.,"  II,  504.  This  date  con- 
troverts the  reputed  adoption  of  the  dates  ascribed  to  Dionysius  Ex- 
iguus.     Cf.  also  Massey,  "Genesis."  I,  443. 

A.  D.  786,  Arabia. — Death  of  Almukanna,  who  impiously  pre- 
tended to  be  the  Son  of  God,  A.  H.,  169.  Albiruni,  p.  188,  says  that 
this  impostor  affected  to  be  the  Creator  himself. 

A.  D.  790,  Tibet. — Fisher,  "Hist.  Siberia,"  assigns  this  year 
for  the  sera  of  Dalai-Lamaism,  which  he  supposes  to  be  a  mixture  of 
Buddhism  and  Nestorianism.  Malte-Brun,  II,  104.  But  Fisher  is 
mistaken,  both  as  to  date  and  inference.  Dalai-Lamaism  is  much 
order  than  Nestorianism.  Its  sources  are  Shamaism  and  Buddhism. 
Lama  is  the  name  of  the  sea-god  of  the  Tibetan  lakes  Kara,  Dsida, 
Eldzighen,  Buka,  Teugri,  etc.,  which  in  ancient  times  were  proba- 
bly united.  The  same  sea-god  was  named  by  the  Hindus,  Varuna; 
by  the  Babylonians,  Cannes;  and  by  theTarentines,  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, Taras,  Poseidon,  or  Neptune. 

A.  D.  800,  Rome. — In  the  Italian  pontificate  of  Leo  III. ,  795-816, 
one  year  of  an  "  Indiction  was  left  out,  or  (else)  a  year  of  the  world 
counted  twice  over."  Bury,  op.  cit,  II,  425.  Heimbach,  in  "  Ersch 
und  Gruber,"  p.  215,  holds  the  latter,  whilst  Bury  adheres  to  the 
former  view.  The  year  thus  "tampered  with  "  (Bury)  belongs  to  the 
eighth  century.  Perhaps  it  was  dropped  by  Gregory  VII.  in  order 
to  bring  the  coronation  and  sera  of  Charlemagne,  which  is  dated  in 
this  year,  to  a  round  number  of  years  after  the  Nativity  of  Christ. 
(See  below.) 


^RAS.  207 

A.  D.  800,  India. — Coronation,  first  regnal  year  and  sera  of  Amo- 
gavarsha  I.,  son  of  Govinda  III.,  rajah  of  Gujerat.  (Salivahana,  736, 
is  equal  to  the  Christian  year  800,  or  the  Augustan  year  815;  hence, 
Duff  Rickmers  says  A.  D.  814.)  Amogavarsha  was  a  Digambara 
Jain,  who  having  conquered  many  of  the  Western  countries  of  India, 
set  himself  up  for  a  god  and  was  worshipped  as  such  by  the  lords  of 
Vanga,  Anga,  Magadha,  Malava  and  Vengi. 

A.  D.  800,  India. — Sergius,  a  Manichean,  appeared  and  preached 
at  Lha-dac,  (near  Canacor,)  the  metropolis  of  the  Gangeatic  prov- 
inces, about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  Col.  Wilford,  in 
Asiat.  Res.,  IX,  217. 

A.  D.  800,  Rome. — Brumalia,  now  Christmas  Day,  December  25. 
Coronation  and  aera  of  Charlemagne  and  of  his  adoration  by  Pope 
Leo  III.  Chronicle  of  Moissac;  Bury,  op.  cit. ;  Bryce,  op.  cit.  See 
A.  D.  790. 

A.  D.  825,  Southern  India. — Kollam,  or  Parasurama,  (Simha; 
Kanya.)  Sewell's  "  Indian  Calendar."  Because  he  can  find  no  ex- 
tant record  of  its  use  earlier  than  A.  D.  825,  Sewell  believed  this  year 
to  be  the  epoch  of  the  Kollam  sera.  Such  a  conclusion  is  hardly 
warranted  of  a  country  whose  antiquities  are  as  yet  so  little  under- 
stood in  the  Occident  as  those  of  India.  Indeed,  Sewell  contradicts 
himself  in  saying  further  on  that  the  Kollam  is  divided  by  the  Hindus 
into  cycles  of  1,000  years,  of  which  the  present  period  is  deemed  the 
fourth;  and  therefore,  that  according  to  them,  this  Kollam  began  in 
Calijoga  1927,  or  B.  C.  11 75,  or  in  3528  of  Scaliger's  Julian  period. 
As  the  latter  corresponds  with  B.  C.  1185,  either  the  calendar,  or 
Mr.  Sewell,  is,  in  this  instance,  ten  years  wrong.  The  Pandits  say 
that  the  fourth  cycle  of  the  Parsurama  commenced  in  September, 

A.  D.  825.  This  is  a  mistake  for  A.  D.  1825.  Duff  Rickmers  calls 
this  year,  beginning  August  25th,  "the  epoch  of  the  Kollam  Andu, 
or  sidereal  reckoning,  of  North  Malabar,  dating  from  the  sun's  en- 
tering Kanya  on  the  1,434,  i6oth  day  of  the  Calijoga.  There  is  a 
Southern  Kollam,  which  begins  a  month  earlier.  Thirty  days  are  inter- 
calated in  116  years,  making  the  average  year  365d,,  6h.,  24.8s."  See 

B.  C.  1 1 76. 

A.  D.  845,  India. — Augustan  date  of  the  re-incarnation  of 
Brahma,  the  sixth  Divine  Year  since  the  Calijoga.     Table  A. 

A.  D.  845,  Tarlary. — ^ra  of  this  empire,  according  to  Genghis 
Khan,  12th  century,  who  declared  that  he  was  the  re-incarnation  of 
that  Deity  who  was  due  to  appear,  and  who  h-ad  appeared,  in  Tartary 


208  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

towards  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century  of  ourgera.     Major  R.  D. 
Osborn's  "Islam,"  p.  371. 

A.  D.  849,  England.— Alfred  the  Great,  b.  849;  r.  871;  d.  Oct. 
28,  901. 

A.  D.  870,  Nepal.— Newar  aera.    The  Pandits'  "  Chron.,"  p.  xix. 

A.  D.  879,  Nepal. — Newar  sera.     Sewell  and  Duff  Rickmers. 

A.  D.  880,  Nepal. — Nepal,  or  Newar  sera,  recovered  from  coins. 
In  1768,  when  Nepal  was  conquered  by  the  Goorkhas,  this  sera  was 
discarded  for  that  of  Salivahana,  or  the  Vicramaditya,  or  else  for 
the  Jovian  Saka,  which  was  re-established  in  A.  D,  78.  Cunning- 
ham. The  Pandits  state  that  the  Nepal  sera  has  been  superceded  by 
the  Vicramaditya.  Sewell  fixed  this  sera  (the  Nepalese)  in  A.  D.  879 
and  its  epoch  on  Kartika  ist.  Stokvis  says  October,  880.  For  a 
similar  change  of  sera  at  same  period  in  Mysore,  see  B.  C.  3102.  For 
a  like  change  in  China,  see  B.  C.  2632. 

A.  D.  880,  Tibet— ^ra  of  Khri  1  De  Ssrong  b  Tsan,  an  "in- 
carnation" of  the  Deity.     App.  Cyc.  art.  "Lamaism." 

A.  D.  890,  India. — Toward  the  end  of  the  ninth  century  another 
Salivahana  "manifested  himself  at  Delhi,"  Col.  Wilford,  op.  cit. 
The  date  890  is  conjectural. 

A.  D.  909,  Egypt. — ^ra  of  Abu  Mohammed  Obeidallah,  the  first 
Fatimite  caliph  of  Egypt.  He  announced  himself  as  the  Mahdi,  or 
Messiah,  foretold  in  the  Koran.  His  successor,  Ahmed,  A.  D.  929, 
struck  gold  coins,  whilst  another  of  the  same  line,  A.  D.  974,  struck 
glass  coins;  both  in  defiance  of  the  prerogatives  assumed  by  the 
caliph  of  Baghdad. 

A.  D.  914,  Arabia.— Death  of  Al  Hallaj,  A.  H.  301.  This  im- 
postor pretended  to  be  the  Messiah,  or  Son  of  God.  Albiruni,  188, 
says  he  affected  to  be  the  Almighty  himself. 

A.  D.  922,  Baghdad. — ^ra  of  Mansur,  or  Huseyn  Ibn  Mansur, 
called  also  Abul-Mughith.  He  was  born  at  Beyza  in  Fars,  and  "af- 
ter a  life  spent  in  teaching  the  most  exalted  mysticism,"  was  put  to 
death  by  command  of  the  Mahometan  mollahs  for  impiously  declar- 
ing himself  to  be  the  Almighty.  His  execution  took  place  at  Bagh- 
dad, on  the  24th  of  Zil-Kada,  A.  H.  309,  or  March  26th,  A.  D.  922. 
Note  on  p.  242  of  Browne's  "  History  of  the  Bab."  It  is  not  known 
how  many,  if  any,  of  Mansur's  followers  survive  at  the  present  day. 

A.  D.  930,  Iceland. — Establishment  of  the  Republic  of  lesland 
by  the  Norsemen. 

A.  D.  931,  Arabia. — Death  of  Ibn  Abi-Zakariyya,   A.  H.  319. 


^RAS.  209 

This  impostor  pretended  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  Son  of  God.  Albiruni, 
188,  says  that  he  impiously  proclaimed  himself  as  God. 

A.  D.  936,  Granada. — Secession  of  Granada  from  the  Caliphate 
of  Baghdad,  which  was  declared  and  effected  this  year  by  Abd-el- 
Raman  III.,  "Son  of  Maria,"  (Calcott,  I,  200,)  the  first  Moslem 
sovereign  in  Spain  who  struck  coins  of  gold. 

A.  D.  937,  Peru. — Supposed  date  and  correction  of  the  native 
calendar,  deduced  by  Greswell  from  his  hypothesis  of  a  Primitive 
Hebrew  Year. 

A.  D.  965,  Northern  India. — Rise  of  the  Kalachakra  system  of 
Buddhism  in  Northern  India,  Cashmir  and  Nepal.  Csoma,  "Gram- 
mar," p.  192.     Duff  Rickmers. 

A.  D.  965,  India. — Re-establishment  of  the  Vri-haspati  cycles  of 
60  years.  According  to  the  Joyotistava,  this  year  completed  the  15th 
cycle.     The  Pandits.     But  see  A.  D.  78,  1024,  1025,  1027  and  1807. 

A.  D.  978,  Turkestan. — ^ra  of  Seljuk,  son  of  Alankavah,  the 
Virgin  Mother.  Mirkhond,  cited  by  Gibbon,  V,  654,  n.  Year  un- 
certain; varying  from  971  to  978.     See  sera  of  Roum,  A.  D.  1078. 

A.  D.  982,  America. — Discovery  of  America  by  the  Norsemen 
from  Iceland,  which,  since  A.  D.  930,  had  been  an  independent  Re- 
public, whose  populace,  history  and  religion  removed  it  entirely 
beyond  the  influence  of  the  Roman  empire.  After  America  was  dis- 
covered Christianity  was  introduced,  A.  D.  1008.  The  dates  and 
leadership  of  the  various  expeditions  which  sailed  to  and  explored 
the  coasts  of  America  are  given  by  Mallet  as  follows: 

982. — Eric  the  Red;  lands  near  Cape  Farewell. 

986. — Eric  the  Red;  East  coast  of  Baffin's  Bay. 

986. — Bjarni;  Herjulf-ness,  Greenland. 

998. — Leif,  son  of  Eric;  East  and  West  Bygd,  Greenland,  where 
colonies  were  planted,  280  farms  were  cultivated  and  15  Christian 
churches  and  83  monasteries  were  erected  before  1121,  when  the  first 
bishop  was  ordained. 

1000. — Leif ;  discovers  Helluland  (Newfoundland),  Markland(Nova 
Scotia),  Leifsbooths  (Nantucket  Bay)  and  Vine-  land  (Martha's  Vine- 
yard). 

1002. — Thorvald  colonises  Leifsbooths. 

1003. — Thorvald  discovers  coasts  of  the  Carolinas. 

1004. — Thorvald  sails  inside  Cape  Cod  and  lands  at  Keel-ness. 

1005. — Thornstein;  East  coast  Baffin's  Bay. 

1007. — Thorfinn  and  Gudrida  his  wife,  together  with  160  persons 
provided  with  live  stock  and  other  supplies  visit  Cape  Sable  Island, 


2IO  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Cape  Cod  and  Stromfiord,  Buzzard's  Bay,  at  which  last  place  they 
settle.  Here  in  1008  was  born  Snorri  Thorfinnson,  the  progenitor  of 
Thorwalsden,  the  famous  Danish  sculptor. 

1008. — Thorfinn,  Mount  Hope  Bay. 

loii. — Helgi  and  Finnbogi,  Leifbooths. 

1014. — Thorfinn  returns  with  his  wife  and  child  and  a  valuable 
cargo  to  Iceland.  There  leaving  his  family,  he  sails  to  Norway  and 
Bremen,  where  he  disposes  of  his  cargo  and  again  returns  to  Iceland, 
where  he  dies.  The  widow  then  performs  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome, 
where,  had  they  not  been  already  known  through  other  sources,  she 
would  scarcely  have  failed  to  mention  the  American  discoveries.  At 
all  events,  they  were  published  in  the  reign  of  Sveyn  II.,  by  Adam  of 
Bremen,  about  1067,  who  wrote:  "The  king  also  made  mention  of 
another  region  discovered  in  the  Northern  Ocean,  which  had  been 
visited  by  many  people  and  was  called  Vineland,  because  grapes  that 
produce  a  very  good  wine  grew  there  spontaneously;  corn  also 
grows  there,  without  sowing,  in  great  abundance.  We  know  this, 
not  by  fabulous  hearsay,  but  from  authentic  accounts  furnished  by 
Danes."  (Adam  Brem.  de  situ  Dan.  c.  246.)  The  narrative  of 
Thorfinn's  colony,  published  about  1123  was  probably  written  by 
Tholak  Runolf's  son. 

1121. — Eric,  first  Christian  bishop  of  Greenland,  appointed  this 
year,  visits  the  colony  of  Vineland,  which  he  probably  persuaded 
to  return  to  Iceland;  for  except  in  the  sagas,  we  hear  no  more  of  it. 

1264. — Iceland  becomes  subject  to  Norway  and  loses  its  repub- 
lican constitution.  Before  this  date  all  further  exploration  to  the 
westward  had  ceased. 

1285. — Athalbrand  and  Thorvald  discover  a  new  land  west  of  Ice- 
land, but  no  results  follow. 

1290. — Eric  III.,  king  of  Norway,  called  the  "Priest-hater," 
dispatches  Rolf,  the  Discoverer,  to  explore  the  coasts  of  America. 
In  1 29 1  the  Genoese  send  a  ship  to  the  Westward  with  the  same  ob- 
ject.    Anderson,  sub  anno. 

1295. — Assassination  of  Rolf  the  Discoverer.  The  exploration 
of  America  again  dropped.  In  1299  a  voyage  was  made  from 
Bilbao  to  Greenland.     Anderson. 

1347. — A  Greenland  bark  which  had  visited  Stromfiord  reports 
that  she  had  rescued  17  men  from  a  boat  or  wreck  at  sea.  They 
had  attempted  to  reach  Markland,  but  had  failed. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  last  of  the  Norse  voyages  to  Amer- 
ica.    Indeed,  they  ceased  substantially  about  the  period  that  Iceland 


iBRAS.  211 

lost  its  autonomy;  an  event  that  followed  closely  upon  the  conquest 
of  Constantinople  by  the  Latin  papacy  and  its  assumption  of  entire 
control  over  the  Western  Kingdoms.  This  prompted  its  legates  and 
bishops  to  discourage  any  further  exploration  of  America,  for  fear 
that  it  might  result  in  the  discovery  of  a  sea  route  to  India  and  so 
ruin  the  trade  of  the  Levant.  Many  runic  monuments  and  other  re- 
mains of  the  Norsemen  have  been  found  in  Greenland,  but  none  of 
an  unquestionably  valid  character  in  Markland  or  Vineland;  the  rude 
characters  engraved  on  the  Dighton  rock  being  of  doubtful  origin. 
Among  the  Greenland  remains  is  a  runic  monument  discovered  in 
i824atKingiktorsoak,  Baffin's  Bay,  the  inscription  upon  which  is  thus 
translated:  "  Erling  Sighvats-son  and  Bjarni  Thordarsson  and  Ein- 
dridi  Odds-son,  on  Laugarday  (Saturday)  before  Gangday  (Whitsun- 
tide), raised  these  marks  and  cleared  the  land,  1135."  Mallet,  North. 
Ant.  248;  "Ancient  Britain,"  chap.  II,  n.  13;  Sagas  of  Eirek  the 
Red  and  Thorfinn  Karlsefni,  in  the  Codex  Flatoiensis,  published  A.  D. 
1387  to  1395;  Ant.  Am.  Copenh.  1837.   See  also  A.  D.  1453,  herein. 

A.  D.  999,  Ghazni. — Mahmoud  of  Ghazni  declares  his  indepen- 
dence of  the  caliphate  of  Baghdad  and  separates  Balkh,  Herat,  and 
other  districts  of  Caubal,  (the  Greek  Bactria),  from  the  Arabian  Em- 
pire. 

A.  D.  1000,  Europe. — The  Millenium.  The  Brahmo-Buddhic 
date  of  Buddha's  birth  was  B.  C.  6000  (Table  B).  The  second  Budd- 
hic,  Bacchic,  or  Dionysian  Cycle  from  Salivahana,  or  les  Chrishna, 
ended  with  A.  D.  1000.  (Table  D).  Upon  these  materials  the 
medieval  astrologers  built  a  new  mythos  which  is  thus  described: 
As  the  world  had  been  created  in  six  days,  which  were  followed  by  a 
seventh  day  of  rest,  it  was  argued  by  "  analogy  "  that  the  6000  years 
of  the  Septuagint,  which  closed  with  the  birth  of  Christ,  would  be 
followed  by  1000  years  of  Sabbath,  which  would  terminate  with  the 
second  coming  of  the  Saviour.  Gibbon,  I,  562^.  "It  was  a  uni- 
versal belief  in  the  Middle  Ages  that  the  world  was  to  finish  with 
the  year  1000  of  the  Incarnation.  .  .  .  Donations  to  the  churches 
were  multipled.  ...  A  terrible  plague  raged  in  Aquitaine;  the 
churches  were  besieged  and  all  the  roads  leading  to  popular  shrines, 
or  places  of  pilgrimage,  were  crowded  with  the  plague-stricken  popu- 
lation." Morell's  Hist.  France,  107.  For  a  long  period  previous  to 
this  year  no  public  buildings  were  erected,  no  basilicae,  temples,  or 
monuments;  but  when  the  dreaded  year  was  safely  passed  numerous 
structures  were  commenced.  Encyc.  Brit.,  "Architecture."  Vol- 
taire I,  265,  declares  that  two  crusades  to  Jerusalem  were  attempted 


212  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

at  this  period,  and  he  intimates  that  their  object  was  to  reach  the 
Holy  City  before  the  end  of  the  world  approached.  According  to 
this  opinion  Peter  Hermit,  Joachim  the  Prophet,  St.  Barnard  of 
Clairvaux  and  St.  Norbert  were  all  imitators.  Cf.  Baronius,  XII,  51, 
An.  1 1 06.  It  is  rather  singular  both  of  this  year  and  1492  that 
while  the  Romans  were  looking  for  the  destruction  of  the  old  world, 
the  Norse  pagans  and  Moslem  heretics  took  part  in  discovering  a 
new  one. 

A.  D.  1002,  England. — Massacre  of  the  Danes  by  order  of  King 
Ethelred,  on  Hokeday,  afterwards  called  St.  Brice's;  not  St.  Bride's, 
nor  St.  Bridget's,  as  in  some  works.  Grafton  and  Holingshed  fix 
this  event  in  the  year  1012.  In  medieval  hagiology  St.  Brice  was  a 
bishop  of  Tours,  the  successor  of  St.  Martin  and  the  putative  father 
of  a  miraculous  infant,  which,  when  only  30  days  old,  testified  re- 
garding its  own  paternity  and  whose  mother  was  the  bishop's  laun- 
dress. Brady,  "Clavis  Calendaria,"  II,  276.  The  festival  day  of 
St.  Brice  is  fixed  by  Brady  on  November  13th,  which  is  so  near  Mar- 
tinmas as  to  excite  the  suspicion  that  these  festivals  may  have  an- 
ciently been  connected.  Sebastiano  de  Covarruvias  Orosco,  in  his 
"Tesoro,"  Madrid,  161 1,  says  that  Hoguera  was  anciently  a  Feast 
of  the  Dead.  This  was  the  Sothic  festival  marking  the  heliacal 
rising  of  the  Pleiades,  which  has  been  elucidated  so  fully  by  Hali- 
burton.    The  massacre  seems  to  have  been  incited  by  the  millenium. 

A.  D.  1009,  Egypt. — ^ra  of  Hakem,  a  Fatimite  caliph,  "the 
tenth  manifestation  of  the  Most  High,"  upon  whose  advent  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Druses  is  supposed  to  be  founded.  See  A.  D.  909. 
This  "incarnation"  styled  himself  Hakem-biamr- Allah,  which  was 
shortened  to  Bemrillah.  Higgins  identifies  his  followers  with  the 
Assassins.  Anacal.  I,  699,  and  authorities  cited.  But  this  is  doubt- 
ful.    See  A.  D.  909  and  1090. 

A.  D.  1024,  China.— First  year  of  Jovian  cycle  57;  birth  of 
Tchin-tsong,  who,  in  A.  D.  1035,  picked  up  the  book  of  Tao,  which 
had  fallen  from  Heaven.  (See  A.  D.  1035.)  The  year  A.  D.  1024 
marks  the  establishment  of  the  Kia-tse,  or  Jovian  cycles  of  60  years, 
says  Cunningham,  who,  however,  in  admitting  that  the  Jovian  cycles 
of  India  "must  have  been  in  use  before  the  Christian  sera,"  implies 
a  somewhat  like  antiquity  for  those  of  China.  The  Jesuit  astrono- 
mers, cited  by  Father  Du  Halde,  admitted,  without  reserve,  a  far 
greater  antiquity  for  the  Kia-tse,  holding  that  they  had  actually 
been  in  use  in  all  strictly  historical  time.  See  B.  C.  2717  and  A.  D. 
1025  and  1027.     The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  Kia-tse  were  used  in 


iERAS.  213 

China  many  centuries  before  our  sera,  the  Chinese  fixing  their  begin- 
ning in  B.  C.  2337,  though  this  date  is  much  too  ancient.  The  Kia-tse 
were  abandoned  in  favour  of  other  methods  of  computing  time,  and 
were  finally  revived  by  the  Taoists  of  the  nth  century.  This  revival 
is  what  Cunningham,  Bentley  and  others,  have  mistaken  for  the  origin 
of  these  cycles  and  geras. 

A.  D.  1025,  Tibet. — Re-establishment  of  the  Vri-haspati-chakra, 
or  method  of  counting  time  by  Jovian  cycles  of  60  years.  The  Ti- 
beto-Moslem  writers  on  the  Kali-chakra  claim  that  the  Jovian  60- 
year  cycles  in  India  are  not  older  than  about  A.  D.  965-6,  nor  in 
Tibet  than  about  1025-6.  (See  A.  D.  622.)  Mr.  Bentley,  the  eccle- 
siastical astronomer,  used  this  evidence  to  invalidate  the  antiquity  of 
oriental  astronomy,  and  in  this  respect  Gen,  Cunningham  followed 
him.  The  Pandits,  remembering  that  Bentley  and  Cunningham  were 
English,  and  fearful  of  offending  their  English  readers,  have  followed 
these  writers ;  yet  elsewhere  in  their  "chronology"  they  represent 
this  cycle  as  "one  of  the  most  ancient  in  all  Asia,"  and  begin  its  use 
in  B.  C.  3185,  3174  and  31 14.  The  true  cycle  of  Jupiter  is  approxi- 
mately 12  years;  the  60-year  cycle  being  merely  one  of  its  multiples; 
so  that  in  speaking  of  one,  the  other  is  implied;  and  both  are  repre- 
sented in  our  divisions  of  the  zodiac,  the  clock,  etc.,  which  in  Chal- 
dea  are  certainly  as  old  as  Nebu-Nazaru,  and  in  the  orient  very  much 
older.  The  Chinese  begin  these  cycles  in  B.  C.  2717,  (q.  v.).  Says 
Rev.  Dr.  Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  361 :  "  The  existence  of  this  dodecse- 
teric  period  of  antiquity  is  an  acknowledged  fact."  Brennand  and 
Lewis  are  more  explicit  and  assign  the  Jovian  cycle  to  a  high  antiq- 
uity. Such  cycles  are  mentioned  in  the  fragments  attributed  to  Or- 
pheus. Censorinus,  who  wrote  during  the  third  century,  attributes 
a  dodecgeteris  to  the  ancient  Chaldeans.  (D.  N.,  xviii.)  A  dodecas- 
teris,  which  appears  to  have  been  formed  on  the  Jovian  cycle,  is  rec- 
ognized in  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  the  Geoponica  and  many  other  very 
ancient  works  and  systems.  The  oriental  nations  have  evidently 
exaggerated  the  antiquity  of  this  cycle;  but  it  was  certainly  known 
and  used  at  the  period  of  the  second  Buddha,  and  probably  at  that 
of  the  first  Buddha.  The  Pandits  furnish  formulae  for  computing  the 
years  of  this  cycle  by  three  systems,  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  Jyotistava, 
and  Telinga.  Each  year  of  the  60  has  a  different  name,  both  in  In- 
dia, China  and  Japan.  In  Tibet  they  use  both  the  Chinese  and  Indian 
names.  The  astronomical  year  of  Tibet  begins  with  lesaac,  or  Bai- 
sack  ist,  on  the  vernal  equinox.  The  civil  year  is  luni-solar,  its  epoch 
varying  in  the  several  provinces  from  December  to  February.     The 


214  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Hers,  or  Turks,  keep  their  New  Year  some  days  after  the  winter 
solstice;  the  people  of  U'tsang  at  L'hassa  begin  theirs  with  the  new 
moon  of  February.  The  year  A.  D.  965-6  is  believed  to  have  com- 
pleted the  69th  cycle  of  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  68th  of  the  Telinga 
astronomers  and  15th  of  the  Jyotistava.     The  Pandits. 

A.  D.  1027,  India. — Re-establishment  of  the  Vrihaspati-chakra, 
or  Jovian  cycles,  of  60  years,  a  difference  of  three  years  from  the 
Chinese  reckoning  of  A.  D.  1024,  Cunningham.  See  A.  D.  1024, 
1025,  and  A.  D.  1807, 

A.  D.  1035,  China. — The  Book  of  Tao  falls  from  Heaven.  See 
A.  D.  1024. 

A.  D.  1038,  Korassan. — The  Seljuks  annex  Korassan  in  the 
name  of  Tugril  Beg,  A.  H.  429.  Some  authorities  date  the  Seljukian 
sera  from  this  year;  others  from  A.  H.  431 ;  and  still  others  from  A.  D. 
1076,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  1050,  Rome. — Lanfranc,  superior  of  the  Benedictine  con- 
vent of  St.  Maur,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  Nico- 
las, cardinal  and  librarian  of  of  the  Roman  church,  revise  the  text 
of  the  Scriptures.     Gibbon,  ch.  XXXVII,  note  117. 

A.  D.  1075,  Persia. — Julali,  or  Jul-al-ad-din  aera.  "The  Julali 
begins  from  Shaban  5th,  A..H.  468,  under  Jul-al-ad-din.  The  year 
begins  with  the  Nauroz,  (New  Year,)  or  the  day  that  the  sun  enters 
Aries."     The  Pandits  "Chron.,"p.  xviii.     See  A.  D.  1079. 

A.  D.  1076,  Korassan. — ^ra  of  the  Chalukya,  or  Seljuka  dyn- 
asty. Cunningham.  Gibbon,  V,  654,  says  A.  D.  1038.  Stokvissays 
A.  D,  1077.     Sewell  says  this  sera  was  not  used  after  1162. 

A.  D.  1076,  Chalukya. — Epoch,  14th  February,  Salivahana,  997. 
Beginning  of  the  Chalukya  (Seljuk)  Vikrama-varsha  sera.  First  year 
of  the  reign  of  Vikramaditya  VI.     Duff  Rickmers. 

A.  D.  1078,  Roum. — ^ra  of  the  Seljukian  kingdom  of  Roum, 
whose  capital  was  fixed  this  year  at  Nicsea  by  Soliman,  the  Gazi, 
Gibbon,  V,  675.     See  sera  of  Seljuk,  ante. 

A.  D.  1079,  Persia. — Jul-al-ad-din  sera,  begins  15th  Ma.^h,  at 
noon.  This  was  the  day  of  the  vernal  equinox  at  Ispahan.  Duff 
Rickmers  says  March  24th.  Stokvis  says  March  14th.  Jul-al-ad-din, 
or  "Divine  Glory,"  a  Seljukian  Sultan,  was  otherwise  called  Melek 
Shah.  He  was  the  first  "barbarian  "  to  "become  a  caliph,  or  Emir- 
al-omra,  Commander  of  the  Faithful."  Gibbon,  V,  670.  Greswell, 
F.  C,  I,  682,  who  calls  this  sera  the  "Gelalaean,"  fixes  its  epoch 
in  Phervandinmah  ist=March  15th,  A.  D.  1079,  and  elsewhere  says 
it  was  calculated  with  such  precision  that  some  astronomers  have 


iERAS.  215 

preferred  it  to  the  Gregorian  correction  of  the  Julian  sera;  and  that 
the  French  Directory  of  1792  contemplated  its  adoption  for  the  cal- 
endar of  the  Republic.  The  author  of  the  Persian  calculations  was 
the  celebrated  astronomer  and  poet,  Omar  Khayyam. 

A.  D.  1081,  Armenia. — ^ra  Armeniaca  Azaraica.  Two  or  three 
years  after  the  publication  of  the  calendar  of  Omar  Khayyam  the 
Armenians  dropped  their  previous  method  of  computing  time  by  Budd- 
hic  cycles  of  552  years  and,  instead,  adopted  the  Dionysian  or  Pas- 
chal cycle  of  532  years.  Cf.  Greswell,  F.  C,  Intro.,  xvii.  See 
A.  D.  552. 

A.  D.  1090,  Persia. — ^ra  of  the  Assassins,  under  Nassan-ben- 
Sabah.  The  leader  of  this  murderous  sect  in  Syria  was  known  as 
the  "Old  Man  of  the  Mountain."  Yet,  so  late  as  the  end  of  the 
12th  century  the  Assassins  employed  the  sera  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

A.  D.  1090,  Mexico. — Beginning  of  the  native  Aztec  Julian  sera, 
the  previous  calendar  years  having  been  equable.  Epoch,  correspond- 
ing to  our  ist  January.  Prinsep.  Other  authorities  say  25th  De- 
cember of  the  same  year.  In  both  cases  the  winter  solstice  of  A.D. 
1090,  may  be  meant.  Humboldt  dates  the  reform  in  A.  D.  1091. 
The  Aztec  Julian  year  consisted  of  sS^d.  5h.  46m.  9  3- 13s.,  being 
only  2m.  $6  10-13S.  shorter  than  the  true  time.  According  to  New- 
comb  this  is  365d.  5h.  48m.  46s.  At  the  end  of  a  cycle  of  52  years 
the  Aztecs  added  13  days;  and  at  the  end  of  another  cycle  of  52 
years  they  added  12  days  to  their  calendar;  thus  25  days  in  104  years. 
The  Pandits'  "Chron."  Aztec  tradition  says  that  the  Quinames 
were  the  original  possessors  of  Mexico.  Their  records  furnish  the 
following  dates:  A.  D.  544,  the  Toltecs  leave  their  original  seat; 
A.  D.  648,  they  enter  Mexico;  A.  D.  700,  beginning  of  Toltec  aera 
in  Mexico  (Greswell);  A.  D.  1325,  foundation  of  the  Aztec  empire 
in  Mexico;  A.  D,  1525,  death  of  Montezuma  and  conquest  of  the 
empire  by  the  Spaniards,  under  Hernando  Cortes.  For  other  dates 
relating  to  Mexico  see  B.  C.  955, 

A.  D.  1095,  Europe. — Popular  date  of  the  first  Crusade,  But 
see  A.  D.  1000. 

A.  D.  1105,  Bengal. — Lakshmana  Sena  sera,  epoch,  Kartika  ist. 
Cunningham.  Stokvis  says  January,  11 06.  Keilhorn  and  Sewell  say 
A.  D.  1 1 19;  a  difference  of  14  years  from  Cunningham. 

A.  D.  1114,  Simla. — ^ra  of  Simla,  beginning  with  the  month  of 
Ashadha.  Duff  Rickmers  says  11 13.  Sewell  fixes  the  Simla  Sam  vat 
used  in  Guzerat,  in  11 13-14.   The  Pandits  fix  the  Siva-Sinha  Samvat 


2l6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

of  the  Gohils,  in  the  island  of  Dee,  in  Vicramaditya  Samvat  1169, 
or  A.  D.  1 1 12. 

A.  D.  1119,  Bengal. — Lakshmana  Sena,  according  to  Sewell, 
epoch,  Kartika  ist.  This  aera  was  established  by  a  Vaidya  king  of 
Bengal,  named  Laksmanasena. 

A.  D.  1145,  Rome. — The  alleged  venality  and  corruption  of  the 
Roman  pontifical  court  led  to  a  movement  for  the  separation  of 
Church  and  State  which  was  voiced  by  Arnold  of  Brescia.  For  this 
he  was  condemned  at  the  Lateran  Council  of  1139  ^^^  banished  from 
Italy.  In  1145  the  exactions  of  the  papal  See  led  to  popular  resist- 
ance; a  Republic  was  proclaimed;  the  Senate  was  reconstituted;  the 
temporal  power  of  the  pope  was  repudiated  and  the  holy  father  was 
forced  to  retire  from  the  city;  coins  were  struck  in  the  name  of  the 
Roman  Republic ;  liberty  was  proclaimed;  a  secular  magistrate  was 
appointed;  Arnold  was  sent  for;  and  he  returned  to  Rome  to  govern 
the  new  state.  In  1155  a  counter-revolution  of  the  fickle  populace 
compelled  Arnold  to  seek  refuge  in  the  country;  the  pope  returned 
to  Rome  in  triumph  and  Arnold  was  apprehended,  dragged  to  Rome 
and  crucified  on  the  Piazza  del  Popolo.  To  hinder  the  degraded  popu- 
lace from  worshipping  his  remains  they  were  burnt  and  the  ashes 
thrown  into  the  Tiber. 

A.  D.  1154,  Bengal. — ^ra  of  Bengal:  Marsden,  op.  cit.  It  is 
based  on  the  Divine  Year  of  Salivahana,  the  variance  being  due  to 
the  Augustan  alteration  of  the  calendar  and  to  the  difference  between 
the  Moslem  and  Hindu  calendars. 

A.  D.  1163,  Tartary. — Birth,  of  Genghis  Khan,  or  Zinghis  Khan. 
See  A.  D.  1206. 

A.  D.  1186,  Europe. — End  of  the  world  in  this  year,  foretold 
by  astrologers.      Encyc.  Brit.,  art.  "Astrologers." 

A.  D.  1190,  Persia. — Advent  of  David  El  David,  a  Jewish  Mes- 
siah, during  the  reign  of  Laid  Alladin.  Wm.  a'Beckett,  L'niv.  Biog. 
Year  uncertain. 

A.  D.  1204,  Europe. — Fall  of  Constantinople  and  termination 
of  the  Sacred  Roman  Empire. 

A.  D.  1206,  Tartary. — ^raof  the  Apotheosis  of  Genghis  Khan, 
born  1 163;  deified  1206;  started  from  Lake  Baikal  for  the  conquest 
of  China,  1214;  died  1227.  This  conqueror  claimed  to  be  a  re- 
incarnation of  the  Deity,  who  had  formerly  appeared  upon  earth,  an 
event  that  had  occurred,  according  toMaj.  R.  D.  Osborn's  "Islam," 
p.  371,  about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century.  The  incarnation 
thus  referred  to  could  only  have  been  that  of  the  13th  Brahma,  or 


iERAS.  217 


Vishnu,  due  A.  D.  845,  Augustan  date.  If  so,  it  marked  the  rise  of 
three  other  independent  Moslem  empires  besides  that  of  Tartary,  viz. , 
Egypt,  Granada  and  Ghazni.  See  A.  D.  845,  909,  936  and  999.  Hig- 
gins,  Anacal.  II,  353,  says  that  Genghis  claimed  to  be  the  tenth 
avatar;  and  that  his  mother  was  a  widow,  who  pretended  she  had 
been  impregnated  by  the  Sun.  In  stating  his  claim  to  supernatural 
origin  Genghis  appears  to  have  been  badly  advised  by  the  astrolo- 
gers, for  his  case  would  have  been  very  much  stronger  had  he  pre- 
tended to  be,  not  the  relic  of  a  Brahminical,  but  the  hero  of  the 
Hindu  incarnation  due  A.  D.  1237.  Cf.  Rankin,  Hist.  Mong.,  177. 
As  the  reigning  Chinese  monarchs  claim  descent  from  this  Son  of 
Heaven,  it  is  possible  that  Genghis  permitted  his  astrology  to  be 
modified  by  the  requirements  of  his  new  subjects.  The  Encyc.  Brit, 
presents  what  might  be  called  the  Chinese,  or  Buddhic,  case  for 
Genghis,  It  says  that  he  was  the  son  of  Yesukai,  the  eighth  in  de- 
scent from  Budantsar.  As  it  intimates  that  Budanstar  is  mentioned 
in  the  "History  of  the  T'ang  dynasty  of  China"  (A.  D.  619-90,)  it 
follows  that  Budantsar's  aera  was  of  a  previous  date,  say  A.  D.  548, 
that  being  just  one  divine  year  before  the  deification  of  Genghis 
Khan.  The  names  both  of  Budantsar  and  Yesukai,  or  lesuchi,  are 
significant. 

A.  D.  1227,  Tartary. — Death  and  bodily  ascension  to  heaven 
of  Genghis  Khan,  who  was  worshipped  as  the  expected  Messiah  or 
God  on  earth,  according  to  Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  356. 

A.  D.  1237,  India. — Pre- Augustan  date  of  the  Brahmo-Buddhic 
re-incarnation,  or  re-birth,  or  Divine  Year,  of  the  Hindu  Brahma- 
Buddha,  or  les  Chrishna. 

A.  D.  1260,  Rome. — Second  coming  of  Christ  expected  by  the 
Sacred  College.     Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  689. 

A.  D.  1281,  Tibet. — Ti-ssu,  the  Saca  Lama.  Exactly  one  Divine 
Year,  or  Astrological  cycle,  or  phen,  after  Srong  Tsau  Sgampo 
and  the  deification  of  lesdegerd,  Kanouj,  etc.  He  was  called  "the 
Lama  of  Sakya."     Appleton  fixes  his  apotheosis  in  1280. 

A.  D.  1296,  Delhi.— ^ra  of  Ala,  a  Patau  King  of  Delhi,  during 
whose  reign,  A.  D.  1296-1316,  the  particular  year  being  uncertain, 
he  set  himself  up  for  an  incarnation  of  the  Deity  and  affected  the 
sacred  name  of  Iss-kander  (the  name  assumed  by  Alexander  the 
Great)  and  Jul-al-addin  (Melek  Shah).  See  above,  A.  D.  1079.  Ala's 
impious  pretensions  were  cut  short  by  poison,  administered  by  Kafur, 
grand  vizier.     Garrett,  Hist.  Ind.,  63. 


2l8  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

A.  D.  1307,  Switzerland.— ^ra  of  the  Republic.  Declaration 
of  Independence,  November  4th. 

A.  D.  1311,  Boeotia.— Thebes  plundered  and  destroyed  by  the 
Catalan  Grand  Company  of  Barcelona.     Encyc.  Brit. 

A.  D.  1317,  India.— Nirvana  of  Buddha,  Augustan  date,  Table  B. 

A.D.  1344,  Tibet.— ^ra  of  the  Great  Buddha's  last  re-incarna- 
tion, according  to  the  information  derived  personally  from  the  Grand 
Lama  or  Little  Buddha,  by  Rev.  D.  W.  Le  Lacheur.  "  When  we  en- 
tered the  Buddha's  tent,  he  sat  me  on  his  mat  and  (in  that  sacred 
seat)  I  am  sorry  to  say,  I  was  worshipped  (by  his  people).  .  .  . 
The  Buddha  was  laughing  all  the  time  (at  my  confusion).  .  .  .  Asked 
when  the  Great  Buddha  would  return,  he  said:  '  In  773  (years)  from 
this  Chicken  year  (1887)  the  Great  Buddha  will  be  upon  the  earth.'  " 
"The  Land  of  the  Llamas,"  by  Le  Lacheur,  South  Nyack,  N.  Y., 
1887,  p.  58.  Adding  773  to  18S7  makes  2660,  the  year  of  the  Great 
Buddha.  Deducting  from  this,  three  divine  years  each  of  658  com- 
mon years,  carries  the  computation  of  the  Great  Buddha  year  back 
to  A.  D.  1344.     See  A.  D.  1281,  1347,  1355  and  1360. 

A.  D.  1 344,  Southern  Konkan. — Joor  san,  Shoo-hur,  or  Shahur. 
(Shahur  is  the  Arabian  word  for  "months").  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  this  sera  was  established  by  one  of  the  Moslem  kings  of 
the  Deccan,  subject  to  the  sway  of  Tugluk  Khan.  It  is  founded  on 
the  Hegira  and  is  distant  from  it  one  astrological  cycle,  plus  64 
years,  thus  622  plus  658  plus  64=1344.  There  is  much  confusion 
concerning  its  epoch.  In  one  place  the  Pandits  fix  this  at  June  6, 
1342,  or  A.  H.  743,  and  they  add  that  "others  place  it  a  year 
earlier."  In  another  part  of  their  chronology  they  say  Shahur  1313 
equals  A.  D.  1834.  Their  final  figure  for  the  epoch  of  Shahur  is 
A.  D.  1344,  and  they  refer  to  Jervis'  "Report  on  the  Weights  and 
Measures  of  Southern  Konkan,"  or  Concan,  which  is  now  included  in 
the  Presidency  of  Bombay. 

A.  D.  1347,  Tibet.— ^ra  of  Tasi,  a  Buddhisatva.  Appleton's  Cyc. 

A.  D.  1348,  Abyssinia.— ^ra  of  Maherat,  (or  Year  of  Grace). 
The  Abyssinians  pretend  that  they  were  converted  to  Christianity 
A.  D.  348,  and  that  when  a  thousand  years  from  this  period  had  ac- 
cumulated they  were  cast  off  and  a  new  reckoning  of  another  thou- 
sand years  was  begun  from  the  point  where  the  previous  millenium 
ended.     Gresswell,  F.  C.  Introd.,  xvi. 

A.D.  1355,  Tibet. — Immaculate  conception  and  miraculous  birth 
of  Tsong-K'apa  Lama,  the  "incarnation  of  Makala."  Ascended 
bodily  to  heaven  in  1419.     Appleton's  Cyc. 


yERAS.  219 

A.  D.  1360,  Tibet. — According  to  the  "Century  Magazine"  for 
December,  1890,  Tsong-K'apa  was  born  A.  D.  1360,  near  where 
Kumbum  now  stands.  After  performing  his  religious  mission  and 
ascending  to  heaven  he  was  "transmigrated  into  the  person  of  Gedun- 
drupa,  who  founded  the  Trashil  'unpo  lamasery  in  1446  and  became 
the  first  of  the  series  of  incarnated  gods,  known  as  Panch'en  rinpoche  ; 
although  native  works  say  that  the  first  pontiff  bearing  this  title  was 
born  in  1567,  (a  Brahminical  date).  Becoming  afterwards  incarnate 
in  Gedunjyats'o,  he  returned  to  L'hassa,"  etc.  Jyats'o  means  the 
sea;  hence  "  Ged  un  Jyats'o,"  possibly,  God  of  the  Seas;  a  form  of 
the  Neptune  Myth.  The  Japanese  conferred  a  similar  title  upon 
some  of  their  deified  emperors.  At  Samos,  during  the  sixth  century 
B.  C.  the  king  threw  into  the  sea  a  golden  ring.  Herodotus,  Thalia, 
41.  "The  prince  of  Mingrelia  (Colchis)  assumes  the  title  of  Dadian 
(Dar-dion?)  or  Lord  of  the  Sea,  though  he  possesses  not  even  a  fish- 
ing boat."  (Malte-Brun,  Geog.  I,  304.)  In  Venice  the  doge,  or 
duke,  annually  weds  the  sea,  by  casting  a  ring  into  its  waters.  This 
custom  is  said  to  have  been  instituted  by  ' '  the  Pope  "  of  Rome  in  A.  D. 
1 1 77,  a  year  in  which  there  were  five  rival  Popes,  viz.,  Alexander, 
Victor,  Paschal,  Calixtus  and  Innocent.  In  fact  the  custom  is  of  far 
higher  antiquity.  It  appears  to  have  been  brought  from  the  Orient* 
through  Colchis,  Pontus  and  Samos  to  Venice  and  perhaps  also  to 
Tarentum.      ^  tf  -^  /■)^  Od 

A.  D.  1370,  Tartary,  Zagatai. — ^ra  or  first  regnal  year  of 
Timur-Bec,  (Tamerlane,)  born  1336;  died  February  19,  1405.  His 
conquests,  which  began  with  the  empire  of  Zagatai,  (capital,  Samar- 
cand,)  afterwards  extended  over  Persia,  Baghdad,  Muscovy,  Russia, 
India,  Syria,  and  also,  nominally,  over  Egypt  and  several  other  states. 
He  announced  himself  as  the  Paraclete  and  Deliverer,  whose  divine 
mission  it  was  to  proclaim  the  kingdom  of  God,  punish  idolatry  and 
advance  the  cause  of  civilisation.  He  was  guarded  by  300  Selecti. 
Life  by  Sherefeddin  Ali,  translated  by  P.  de  la  Croix,  London,  1723. 
Tamerlane  pretended  to  be  the  Son  of  the  Sun.     Higgins,  Anacal., 

II,  353- 

A.  D.  1391,  Corea. — ^ra  of  "the  Foundation,"  that  is  to  say, 
the  Mongol  conquest  of  Corea,  deduced  from  the  Treaty  between 
Corea  and  Japan,  A.  D.  1894.  Sinensis,  (Japanese  Min.  to  England, 
1896,)  says  the  epoch  of  the  Foundation  was  1392.  "The  23rd  day, 
sixth  moon  "  of  Corea  agrees  with  the  Japanese  sera  of  Meiji,  "25th 
day,  seventh  moon."  Sinensis  also  says  that  the  17th  day  of  the 
nth  moon  of  the  504th  year  of  the  Corean  monarchy,  became,  after 


220  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

January  6th,  1896,  the  first  day  of  the  first  moon,  of  the  505th  year; 
the  king  having  resolved  to  adopt  the  Gregorian  calendar. 

A.  D.  1436,  Abyssinia. — ^ra  of  Abyssinia,  according  to  Gres- 
well,  F.  C,  I,  555. 

A.  D.  1453,  Constantinople. — May  29.  Capture  of  Constanti- 
nople by  the  Turks  under  Mahomet  II.,  and  final  dissolution  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Mahomet  granted  the  subjugated  Christians  per- 
sonal security  and  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.  Haydn,  voc. 
"Eastern  Empire."  In  1492,  the  Latins  responded  to  this  act  of 
clemency  by  plundering  and  expelling  all  the  Moslems  and  Jews  from 
Spain.  The  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  had  the  effect  to  close  the 
lucrative  oriental  trade  to  Venice,  Genoa  and  the  other  Latinized 
states,  and  confer  it  entirely  upon  the  Moslems.  This  event  induced 
the  Latin  Pontificate  to  moderate  that  hostility  toward  maritime  ex- 
ploration westward,  which  had  marked  its  policy  with  the  Norsemen. 
(See  A.  D.  982.)  The  removal  of  this  discouragement  was  soon  af- 
terwards followed  by  Columbus' discovery  of  America  and  De  Gama's 
opening  of  the  sea-route  to  India. 

A.  D.  1469,  Punjab. — ^ra  of  Nanek,  Nanac,  or  Baba  Nanac,  at 
first  the  leader  and  teacher,  afterwards  the  Messiah  of  the  Sikhs. 
"  The  belief  of  the  Sikhs  was  originally,  according  to  Malcolm,  a 
pure  deism,  but  it  has  so  far  degenerated  that  they  now  consider 
their  founder  as  a  Saviour  and  Mediator  with  God."  Thornton's 
Gaz.,  art.  "  Punjab."  Nanac  was  born  at  Raypur,  60  miles  west  of 
Lahore,  and  was  named  Guru,  or  "  Spiritual  pastor  "  by  his  votaries, 
who  called  themselves  Sikhs,  or  "disciples."  Nanac  advocated  the 
assumption  of  arms,  the  renunciation  of  caste,  the  elevation  of  wo- 
man, the  protection  and  education  of  children,  the  admission  of  pros- 
elytes, the  unity  and  incorporeality  of  God,  and  religious  toleration 
to  all.  While  he  deplored  religious  disputes,  he  never  ceased  to  preach 
against  the  Hindu  trinity,  polytheism,  the  worship  of  £::iiits  and  im- 
ages and  the  decoration  of  temples.  His  justice  was  inflexible;  his 
courage  above  suspicion;  his  reading  immense.  His  only  weapon  of 
proselytism  was  persuasion  and  simplicity  of  manners.  In  15  years 
he  traversed  the  kingdoms  of  India,  Persia,  Arabia  and  Ceylon, 
preaching  the  unity  of  God.  After  many  adventures,  the  Rajah  of 
Callanor,  one  of  his  disciples,  offered  him  a  retreat  for  his  old  age, 
where  he  died  in  tranquility  A.  D.  1539,  aged  70  years;  a  term  which 
is  rarely  attained  by  the  founders  of  religions.  The  place  of  his 
burial  became  famous,  and  every  year  upon  the  return  of  his  death- 
day  an  immense  concourse  of  people  gather  to  pay  their  respects  to 


iERAS,  221 

his  remains.  Noel,  art.  "  Nanac."  Those  Sikhs  who  adhere  to  the 
original  doctrines  of  Nanac  are  called  Khalasa;  they  are  less  fanati- 
cal than  the  Singhs  (lions),  a  class  of  Sikhs  who  in  resentment  for 
the  murder  of  Guru  Govind,  the  fourth  leader  after  Nanac,  have  never 
ceased  to  bear  arms,  even  in  times  of  peace.  To  such  an  inexcusa- 
ble extreme  has  this  precept  been  carried  that,  as  Barnes  observes, 
it  has  rendered  many  of  them  insane;  a  disease  which,  it  may  be 
added,  has  not  been  lessened  by  their  proclivity  to  renounce  the 
purer  doctrine  of  the  Khalasas  and  relapse  into  image-worship. 
Thornton's  Gaz.  of  India,  art.  "Amritsu." 

A.  D.  1488,  India. — Termination  of  the  XlVth  avatar  of  lesnu, 
according  to  Christian  chronology.  Table  A.  It  was  possibly  to 
dissipate  the  fears  which  this  sera  engendered  concerning  the  des- 
truction of  the  world  that  induced  the  learned  Alfonso  of  Castile  to 
construct  a  chronology  based  upon  Dionysian  divine  years — which 
went  back  to  B.  C.  6994  and  threw  the  incarnation  periods  into  new 
forms.     See  B.  C.  6984. 

A.  D.  1492,  Byzantium. — Expected  millenium  and  end  of  the 

World.  Upon  the  assumption  that  the  Creation  took  place  Septem- 
ber I,  B.  C.  5509,  q.  v.,  the  present  year  was  A.  M.  7000,  when  the 
world  was  to  come  to  an  end.  Uranologium,  379,  E.  cap.  xvi.  While 
the  Greek  church  were  looking  for  this  catastrophe,  the  Latin  church, 
which  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  different  Anno  Mundi,  employed 
its  energies  in  persecuting  the  Moslems  and  Jews,  several  hundred 
thousands  of  whom  were  this  year  (March  30)  robbed,  tortured  and 
driven  out  of  Spain,  Meanwhile,  following  the  route  laid  down  for 
him  in  1474  by  the  Moor  Toscanelli,  Columbus,  who  indulged  no 
theories  of  a  millenium  and  was  a  mere  navigator  with  a  practical 
object  in  view,  found  a  New  World,  the  plunder  of  which  enabled 
the  almost  extinguished  torch  of  European  progress  to  be  lit  afresh. 
See  A.  D.  493. 

A.  D.  1492,  America. — Its  discovery  by  Columbus,  October  12. 
This  great  event,  combined  with  De  Gama's  voyage  to  India  in  1497, 
had  the  effect,  eventually,  to  change  the  whole  course  of  astrological 
and  religious  doctrine  and  political  development.  However,  before 
this  occurred,  Cortes  advised  the  king  of  Spain  by  letter  (in  Kings- 
borough,  VI,  iii),  to  obtain  a  grant  of  the  tithes  of  the  Mexicans 
from  Pope  Alexander  VI.  The  royal  application  was  refused,  the 
Pope  preferring  to  enfeoff  the  king  in  the  lands  of  America  and  reserve 
the  vectigals,  which  were  payable  in  cash,  for  himself.     Higgins, 


222  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Anacal.,  II,  393,     This  and  like  reservations  may  have  had  no  little 
to  do  with  promoting  the  Reformation  of  15 17,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  1492,  America. — Columbus,  Cortes,  Cabesa  de  Vaca  and 
other  of  the  Spanish  conquistadores  were  guilty  of  the  grave  im- 
posture of  assuming  either  that  they  themselves,  or  their  master, 
Charles  I.,  of  Spain,  was  that  Messiah  whom  the  Indians  of  the  An- 
tilles, Mexico  and  Florida  all  believed  would  soon  make  his  appear- 
ance on  earth.  They  were  worshipped  by  the  natives  in  so  ample"^ 
manner  that  all  the  rights  of  property  fell  before  their  presentee. 
The  Indians  who  guided  Cabesa  de  Vaca  did  not  take  him  to  un- 
friendly tribes,  because  they  were  unwilling  that  their  enemies  should 
enjoy  so  great  an  advantage  as  to  behold  this  divinity.  Even  when 
the  Spaniards  despoiled  them,  the  natives  begged  their  visitors  not 
to  distress  themselves  about  it,  assuring  them  that  they  held  the  loss 
of  their  goods  as  naught  compared  with  the  pleasure  of  having  be- 
held them.  So  the  Spaniards  moved  on  in  the  accepted  character  of 
Children  of  the  Sun,  who  had  power  to  confer  or  take  away  life  and 
from  whom  nothing  could  be  concealed  because  everything  was 
known  to  them.  Until  their  real  character  was  disclosed  by  their 
repeated  crimes,  the  natives  never  stood  before  them  without  trem- 
bling and  did  not  dare  to  speak  or  to  lift  up  their  eyes.  The  Span- 
iards kept  up  this  imposture  by  assuming  great  state  and  gravity  with 
them  and  by  speaking  but  seldom.  Sir  Francis  Drake  practiced  a 
similar  imposture  upon  the  natives  of  California.  Some  writers  have 
assumed  that  what  the  Indians  worshipped  was  not  a  Messiah,  but 
strength,  power,  splendour,  superior  craft,  the  guns,  the  horses,  the 
armor,  the  glittering  trappings  and  brave  array  of  the  Spaniards; 
while  others  have  ascribed  it  to  the  Spaniards'  knowledge  of  letters, 
medicine,  etc. ;  but  these  theories  will  not  account  for  the  explicit 
declarations  on  this  subject  which  were  made  by  Montezuma  and 
conveyed  by  Cortes  in  his  letters  to  the  King  of  Spain.  Consult 
Helps'  Conquerors  of  America,  vols.  II  and  IV;  Irving's  "  Colum- 
bus, "passim;  Naufragios  de  Cabesa  de  Vaca,  c.  31;  and  U.  S.  Miner- 
ological  Rep.,  1867,  p.  271. 

A.  D.  1497,  India. — Vasco  de  Gama  opens  the  sea  route  to  In- 
dia, China  and  Japan.  This  brought  to  Europe  some  knowledge  of 
Indian  literature  and  astrology,  which  was  not  without  its  influence 
in  stimulating  that  resistance  to  the  claims  and  exactions  of  the 
Latin  papal  See  which  formed  the  distinguishing  event  of  the  ensu- 
ing half  century. 

A.  D.  1503,  India. — Brahminical  Divine  Year,   Augustan  date. 


iERAS.  223 

To  make  the  true  date,  deduct  the  78  years  sunk  by  Augustus.  (See 
ch.  IX.)     The  Hindu  date  is  A.  D.  1425.      (Table  A). 

A.  D,  1504,  Peru. — Approximate  aeraof  Viracocha,  the  Messiah, 
who  was  due  on  earth  during  the  reign  of  the  twelfth  Inca,  Huayna 
Capac,  who  died  in  1525.  Pizzarro  grimly  announced  himself  as  the 
Lieutenant  of  the  expected  Messiah  and  as  such  he  was  actually 
venerated  by  the  confiding  and  deluded  natives,  whose  king  he  had 
betrayed  and  murdered  in  cold  blood.  Garcillaso  de  la  Vega;  Pres- 
cott's  Peru,  I,  325,  330,  437. 

A.  D.  1510,  Calicut, — In  this  year  Alfonso  Alboquerque,  a 
Portuguese  naval  commander  made  his  appearance  off  Calicut,  or 
Kolikod,  a  seaport  of  Malabar,  560  m.  south  of  Bombay,  and  cap- 
tured and  plundered  the  city.  The  sovereign  of  Calicut  was  called 
by  the  Moplahs  (a  mixed  race  of  Arabians  and  Brahmins)  their 
Isamorin,  corrupted  to  Zamorin,  whom  they  worshipped  as  sovereign- 
pontiff  and  God  upon  Earth.  He  was  suzerain  to  the  kings  of 
Cochin,  Canamor  and  Coulao,  none  of  whom  could  coin  money  with- 
out his  authority.  He  appears  to  have  descended  from  a  line  of  Isa- 
morins  whose  epoch  went  back  to  the  ninth  century  of  our  sera. 

A.  D.  1517,  Europe. — On  the  eve  of  All  Saints  Day,  the  31st  of 
October,  15 17,  Martin  Luther,  a  Saxon  monk  of  the  Augustine  order, 
nailed  to  the  door  of  the  Schlosskirche  in  Wittenberg  on  the  Elbe, 
his  "  Ninety-five  Theses  "  denouncing  the  sale  of  indulgences  by  the 
See  of  Rome.  This  action  is  commonly  taken  to  mark  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Protestant  Reformation.  But,  in  fact,  the  protest  and 
movement  against  Papal  simony  began  long  before.  It  is  much 
more  convincingly  condemned  in  the  pages  of  Matthew  Paris  than  in 
those  of  Martin  Luther.  However,  in  Matthew's  time  (13th  century) 
the  movement  received  no  popular  support.  The  people  were  so 
poor  and  miserable  that  they  could  only  suffer.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  15th  century,  when  John  Huss  dared  to  brave  the  resentment  of 
Rome,  by  denouncing  its  encouragement  of  religious  imposture  and  its 
simoniacal  practices,  the  populace,  though  in  sympathy  with  its  cham- 
pion, shrank  from  his  support  and  saw  him  burned  at  the  stake  with- 
out an  attempt  at  rescue.  But  in  Luther's  time  the  case  was  different. 
A  new  world  had  been  discovered,  the  cosmogony  of  the  Church  had 
proved  to  be  false  and  its  authority  was  much  shaken.  America  had 
yielded  during  the  first  25  years  of  its  despoilment  more  gold  and  silver 
than  Europe  had  possessed  in  coin  and  plate  previous  to  the  Discovery. 
This  metal  had  been  hastily  coined  and  thrown  into  the  circulation, 
first  of  Spain  and  afterwards  of  France,  England  and  Germany.   The 


224  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

resulting  Rise  of  Prices  threw  all  Europe  into  a  ferment;  a  condition 
of  affairs  which  afforded  very  substantial  support  to  Luther's  stand 
against  the  Church.      ("Halcyon  Age,"  p.  14). 

A.  D.  1524,  Europe, — Year  of  the  predicted  recurrence  of  the 
biblical  deluge  and  destruction  of  mankind.  To  avert  this  ca- 
lamity floating  arks  were  built  by  many  persons,  among  others  by 
President  Aurial  of  Toulouse,  who  expected  to  be  stranded  on  the 
Puy  de  Dome;  but  the  cataclysm  failed  to  occur  and  indeed  the  sea- 
son turned  out  to  be  unusually  dry.  Haydn,  Die.  Dates,  art.  "Del- 
uge." Encyc.  Brit.,  art.  "Astrology."  In  the  Miller's  Tale  of 
Chaucer,  A.  D.  1340- 1400,  something  of  the  sort  is  related  of  an 
earlier  period. 

A.  D.  1534,  England. — April  21,  (Palalia).  Execution  of  Eliza- 
beth Barton,  the  "  Holy  Maid  of  Kent."  She  was  born  in  Aldington, 
Kent,  about  the  beginning  of  the  century,  became  a  nun,  and  saw  visions 
in  which  were  revealed  to  her  many  forecasts  of  future  events,  some 
of  them  of  a  partly  political  character,  as  the  consequences  of  the 
divorce  of  Henry  VIII.  from  Catherine  of  Aragon.  Her  parish 
priest,  Richard  Masters,  and  Dr.  Bockling,  a  canon  of  Canterbury, 
regarded  these  as  divine  revelations.  The  chapel  at  Aldington  be- 
came the  centre  of  numerous  pilgrimages  and  of  many  excited  and 
tumultuous  assemblages.  Elizabeth's  visions  multiplied.  She  re- 
ceived letters  written  in  gold  by  Mary  Magdalene.  The  emissaries 
of  the  Pope  of  Rome  and  the  partisans  of  Queen  Catherine  encour- 
aged these  delusions.  Even  such  men  as  Sir  Thomas  More,  Johsi 
Fisher,  bishop  of  Rochester,  and  Warham,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
lent  their  support  to  her  ravings.  In  1533,  the  king  ordered  her  to 
be  examined  before  Parliament,  who  found  her  guilty  of  treason,  and 
in  1534  ordered  her  to  the  block. 

A.  D,  1555,  Bengal, — Ilali  sera,  according  to  some  authors. 

A.  D.  1556,  Bengal. — Ilali,  Ilahi,  or  Bengalee  San  of  Akbar,  a 
solar  sera  and  calendar  dating  from  the  deification  and  first  regnal 
year  of  Akbar  in  1556,  but  not  established  until  1584.  The  apothe- 
osis of  Akbar  is  discussed  by  Col.  Van  Kennedy  in  Bombay  Trans., 
II,  242,  and  Higgins,  II,  354.  His  sera  commenced  on  lesaac,  or 
Bysaac  ist,  which  coincided  with  the  entrance  of  the  Sun  into  Aries. 
The  month  of  Cheyt,  or  Chittere,  began  with  Pisces  and  so  on  through 
the  calendar,  each  of  the  twelve  months  beginning  with  a  different 
zodion,  in  the  customary  Greek  order  of  rotation.  According  to  the 
Pandits'  "Chron.,"  Akbar's  reign  began  on  Rubi-us-sani  2nd,  A.  PI. 
963,  or  February  14th,  A.  D.  1556,  which  those  writers  regard  as  the 


iERAS.  225 

true  epoch  of  the  Tarikh  Ilali,  or  Bengalee  San.  This  is  also  the  date 
adopted  by  Sewell  and  by  Cunningham.  Amir  Fatteh  Ul-lah  Shirazi, 
who  corrected  the  calendar  from  the  time  of  Ulugh  Beg  to  Akbar, 
says  Friday,  Rubi-us-sani  5,  A.  H.  963,  or  February  19,  1556,  N.  S. 
Here  is  a  difference  of  three  days  and  a  discrepancy  of  five  days. 
The  Pandits,  in  another  place,  also  Poole,  both  say  that  the  Ilali 
began  on  the  vernal  equinox;  whilst  the  Pandits,  in  still  another 
place,  say  April  11,  1556.  These  last  named  dates  appear  to  be  er- 
roneous. The  names  of  the  Ilali  months  are  the  same  as  the  ancient 
Persian.  Most  of  them  have  either  29  or  30  days,  although  some 
have  32.  There  are  no  septuary  divisions.  The  Ilali  aera  is  used  on 
the  coins,  inscriptions  and  records  of  the  reigns  of  Akbar,  Jehangir 
and  other  sovereigns.  In  the  reign  of  Jehangir  and  in  subsequent 
reigns  the  Ilali  date  was  usually  coupled  with  that  of  the  Hegira. 
From  Timur  to  Akbar  the  principal  aeras  in  use  were  the  Hegira,  A.  D. 
622,  the  Turki,  B.  C.  5054,  and  the  Julal-ad-din,  A.  D.  1075,  or  1079, 
To  these  Akbar  added  the  Bengalee  San,  A.  D.  1556,  the  Fasali  sera, 
A.  D.  592,  and  the  Vilayati,  Vilaity,  Amli,  or  Dakhani  aera,  A.  D.  592-3. 

A.  D.  1564,  France. — New  Year  day  changed  by  edict  of  Charles 
IX.,  from  March  25  to  January  i.      See  1582. 

A.  D.  1580,  Holland. — Aera  of  the  Dutch  Republic.  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  and  foundation  of  the  Seven  United  Provin- 
ces, September  29.  The  Roman  names  of  the  months  were  changed 
to  others,  which,  like  those  of  the  Goths,  were  descriptive  of  the 
seasons,  but  they  have  since  become  obsolete.  The  same  fate  after- 
wards befell  the  months  of  the  French  Republic. 

The  following  dates  are  connected  with  the  Revolution:  1524  and, 
1546,  capricious  monetary  laws  of  Charles  V.,  causing  widespread 
commercial  distress  ;  1566,  Confederation  of  Beggars  ;  1572,  Resort 
to  arms  ;  1574,  paper  money  issued  at  Leyden  ;  1576,  Sack  of  Mechlin 
and  Antwerp  by  the  Spaniards;  1576,  November  8,  Treaty  of  Ghent; 
1579,  January  29,  Union  of  Utrecht  ;  1580,  Establishment  of  the 
Republic. 

A.  D.  1682,  Rome. — Institution  of  the  Gregorian  calendar, 
which  required  that  October  5,  1582,  should  be  counted  as  October 
15,  thus  altering  and  correcting  the  Julian  (Caesarian)  calendar,  ten 
days.  This  alteration  was  soon  afterwards  officially  adopted  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  states,  to  the  destruction  of  the  Caesarian  aera.  By 
the  Protestant  states  of  Germany  it  was  adopted  partly  in  1700,  and 
partly  in  1774,  and  by  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies  (including 
British  America)  in  September,  1752,  when  the  third  of  that  month 


226  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

was  called  the  14th.  These  eleven  days  constitute  one  difference 
between  O.  S.  and  N.  S.  Another,  arises  from  the  fact  that  with 
the  adoption  of  the  Gregorian  calendar,  the  New  Year  Day  was 
changed  from  March  25th  backward  to  the  previous  January  ist. 
Events  which  occured  between  these  dates  were  at  first  assigned  to 
both:  e.g.,  the  English  Revolution  of  1688,  (William  and  Mary) 
which  occurred  in  February  of  that  legal  year,  was  for  a  time  dated 
February  1688-9.  ^^  ^^^  say  February,  1689.  Russia,  although 
she  has  adopted  the  Christian  year,  still  employs  the  Julian  day,  be- 
tween which  and  the  Gregorian  reckoning  there  is  now  a  difference 
of  12  days.  The  origin  of  the  difference  was  in  Julius  Caesar's 
assumption  that  the  solar  year  consisted  of  exactly  365^  days, 
which  is  not  the  fact.  Neither  is  the  Gregorian  mean  year  of  365d. 
5h.  49m.  I2S.  quite  correct,  the  latest  and  most  exact  determination 
of  astronomers  being  365d,  5h.  48m.  46s.  (Newcomb).  Neverthe- 
less at  the  date  of  it  adoption,  the  Gregorian  year  was  supposed  to 
be  correct.     See  A.  D.    1564. 

A.  D.  1600,  Europe. — Epoch  January  ist  (Gregorian)  the*'yEra 
of  Man,"  as  employed  by  the  modern  Reformers,  Agnostics,  Free- 
thinkers, etc.,  of  Europe  and  America,  many  of  whose  periodicals 
employ  this  one  as  well  as  the  Christian  sera.  Its  inventor  was 
Thaddeus  B.  Wakeman,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  who,  in  a  brief 
memoir  on  the  subject  explains  that  the  first  year  of  the  aera  ter- 
minated January  ist,  1601,  and  that  it  marks  the  introduction  of 
the  Copernican  system  of  astronomy,  "which  put  xn  end  to  the 
previous  geocentric  fallacies  and  sounded  the  knell  of  its  attendant 
ignorance  and  superstition.  It  was  also  the  year,  February  17,  1600, 
when  Bruno  sealed  with  his  life  his  devotion  to  the  new  truth." 
This  sera  likewise  marks  the  Halcyon  Age  of  Europe,  when  most  of 
the  great  discoveries  and  improvements  in  science,  legislation,  art, 
and  mechanics,  which  have  distinguished  the  subsequent  period, 
had  their  origin.  For  a  detailed  account  of  these  discoveries  and 
improvements,  consult  Del  Mar's  "Halcyon  Age." 

A.  D.  161 1  jjapan. — Rising  against  the  Portugese  in  Japan  during 
the  shogunate  of  lyeyasu,  whose  posthumous  title  was  Gongen.  In 
1542  two  Portugese  were  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Japan;  in  1545 
Mendez  Pinto,  a  Portugese  adventurer,  was  driven  into  a  Japanese 
port  by  stress  of  weather.  Within  a  year  after  this  event  a  regular 
trade  was  established  by  the  Portuguese  between  Ningpo  and  Naga- 
saki. Trading  was  succeeded  by  mining  and  mining,  by  the  ascend- 
ancy of  the  Portugese  and  the  practical  enslavement  of  the  natives. 


iERAS.  227 

The  Portugese  having  discovered  a  great  resemblance  between  the 
institutes  and  forms  of  Buddhism  and  Christianity  conceived  the 
plan  of  usurping  the  government  through  the  agency  of  religion. 
Affecting  to  believe  that  Christ  and  Buddha  were  the  same,  they  as- 
serted that  the  period  of  his  re-appearance  was  drawing  nigh, 
"The  very  idols  of  Buddha  served  after  a  little  alteration  with  the 
chisel  for  images  of  Christ."  (Grififis.)  They  made  converts  of 
Bingo  and  other  discontented  daimios  and  employed  them  to  be- 
tray and  enslave  their  countrymen.  Okubo,  the  converted  gov- 
ernor of  Sado,  was  promised  by  the  Portuguese  to  be  made  heredi- 
itary  emperor.  "  Fire  and  sword,  as  well  as  preaching,  were  employed 
as  instruments  of  conversion."  (Griffis.)  By  these  nefarious  means 
they  rapidly  made  a  million  of  "communicants,"  including  military 
leaders,  officers  of  the  fleet,  and  other  persons  of  influence.  Document- 
ary proof  of  their  treacherous  designs  having  reached  the  Shogun, 
measures  were  taken  to  defeat  them.  The  ringleaders  were  arrested 
and  their  followers  proceeded  against.  In  the  four  years  of  civil  war 
which  ensued,  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  lives  were  sacrificed. 
By  the  year  1615,  the  "communicants"  were  all  suppressed,  and  in 
1624  the  last  of  the  Portuguese  were  driven  from  the  kingdom.  One 
of  the  consequences  of  these  events  was  the  renunciation  of  the 
Buddhic  and  a  reversion  to  the  more  ancient  Shinto  religion,  by  vast 
numbers  of  Japanese.  Griffis,  "  Mikado's  Empire;"  Encyc.  Brit., 
art.  "Japan." 

A.  D.  1648,  England. — ^ra  of  the  Commonwealth,  which  is 
usually  dated  from  the  flight  of  the  king,  Charles  I.,  and  the  assump- 
tion of  administrative  powers  by  the  Parliament.  The  following 
dates  relate  to  this  period:  Oliver  Cromwell  born,  1599;  member  for 
Huntingdon,  1628;  for  Cambridge,  1640;  rupture  between  parlia- 
ment and  king,  when  Cromwell  is  appointed  captain  in  pari,  army, 
1642;  lieut. -general,  1644;  battle  of  Naseby,  1645;  he  returns  to 
pari.,  1646;  pari,  army  enters  London  and  flight  of  king,  1647;  pari, 
assumes  government,  1648;  king  beheaded,  January  30,  1649;  Crom- 
well, as  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  concludes  brief  campaign  in 
that  country  and  returns  to  London,  1650;  Charles  II.  lands  in  Scot- 
land, 1650;  Cromwell's  victories  at  Dunbar,  1650  and  Worcester, 
1651,  cause  Charles'  flight  to  France,  1651;  Cromwell  forcibly  dis- 
solves Long  Pari,  and  is  invested  in  Westminster  Hall  as  Lord  Pro- 
tector, 1653;  domestic  tranquility  and  vigorous  foreign  policy, 
marked  by  great  advance  in  British  naval  power,  1654-5;  new  pari., 
1656;  Cromwell  dies,  1658;  succeeded  by  Richard  Cromwell,  who  is 


228  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

deserted  by  Monk,  the  commanding  general  of  his  forces.  The  lat- 
ter invites  Charles  II.  to  return  to  England.  Entry  of  the  king  into 
London  and  Restoration  of  the  monarchy  May  2,  1660. 

A.  D.  1650,  Tibet. — Incarnation  of  Nag-wan  Lo-zang.   Waddell. 

A.  D.  1653,  Brazil. — Pretended  divinity  of  an  Indian  chieftain 
on  the  Orellana,  who  set  himself  up  for  the  Fish-god,  and  as  such 
was  worshipped  by  his  tribe.  These  people,  or  else  others  near  them, 
wore  jade  ornaments,  practised  circumcision  and  the  tonsure,  affirmed 
the  metempsychosis,  etc.  They  were  first  encountered  during 
D'Acunha's  survey  of  the  Orellana  (Amazon)  in  1639,  when  the  Fish- 
god  was  invited  into  the  camp  of  Commander  Teixeira.  Southey's 
Hist.  Brazil,  I,  xviii,  pp.  590-621,  ed.  1810. 

A.  D.  1656,  Begapoor. — Jaloos  san,  an  sera  established  by  Adil 
Shah  II.      The  Pandits'  "Chron." 

A.  D.  1664,  Konkan. — Raj-Abhishek  seraof  Sivaji  (Sevajee)  the 
celebrated  Mahratta  chieftain,  as  stamped  on  his  coins.  To  get  the 
Christian  year,  add  1664  to  the  coin  dates.  The  months  "probably" 
accord  with  the  Shaka  system.     The  Pandits'  "  Chron." 

A.  D.  1673,  India. — Rajasaka,  beginning  with  the  month  of  les- 
tha.     Sewell.     (Obsolete). 

A.  D.  1747,  India. — Cycles  of  60  years  ratified  or  confirmed. 
Marsden,  op.  cit.  See  analogous  confirmation  of  the  Calijoga  by 
Hyder  AH,  under  B.  C.  3102. 

A.  D.  1752,  Travancore. — ^ra  of  Martanda  Varma,  28th  rajah 
of  Travancore.  He  succeeded  his  uncle,  Nama  Varma,  in  1729. 
Like  all  the  rajahs  of  Travancore,  Martanda  was  a  Nair,  one  of  the 
inferior  Brahminical  castes.  Dissatisfied  with  his  caste,  Martanda 
caused  himself  to  be  regenerated,  or  re-created,  by  the  following 
ceremony,  which  is  described  by  the  Abbe  Raynal,  in  his  "Hist,  of 
the  East  and  West  Indies,"  II,  85:  "In  1752  he  caused  a  Golden 
Calf  to  be  cast  which  he  entered  into  by  the  muzzle  and  came  out .  .  . 
Since  that  time  his  edicts  were  all  dated  from  the  day  of  this  glorious 
regeneration  and,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  remainder  of  Hindostan, 
he  was  acknowledged  for  a  Brahmin  by  all  his  Brahminical  subjects." 
His  full  name  was  Vanji  Martanda  Varma  Kulsek'hara  Perumal.  He 
died  in  1758. 

A.  D.  1752,  England. — Adoption  of  the  Gregorian  calendar. 
This  Year  of  Change  had  but  nine  months.      See  A.  D.  1582. 

A.  D.  1 752,  America. — British  Colonies.  Adoption  of  the  Grego- 
rian calendar.  This  year  had  but  nine  months.  See  A.  D.  1582  and 
England,  1752. 


^RAS.  229 

A.  D.  1776,  United  States  of  America.— ^ra  of  the  Inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States  of  America,  July  4th.  This  sera, 
coupled  with  the  Christian  aera,  appears  in  all  the  Proclamations  of 
the  President, 

A.  D.  1777,  India. — First  year  of  the  21st  cycle  of  the  Grahar- 
parivritti,  or  90-year  cyles.  Pandits'  "  Chron.,"  p.  xxix.  This  carries 
the  beginning  of  these  cycles  back  to  Calijoga  3078,  or  B.  C.  24. 
The  epoch  begins  with  the  Hindu  solar  year. 

A.  D.  1780,  Europe,  etc. — The  Sun  left  Pisces  and  entered 
Aquarius.     See  B.  C.  380. 

A.  D.  1792,  France. — ^ra  of  the  Republic,  Vendemaire  i,  or 
September  22.  This  sera  was  established  November  24,  1793,  and 
abolished  December  31,  1805. 

A.  D.  1792,  England. — Appearance  in  London  of  Joanna  South- 
cott,  a  fanatic,  from  Exeter,  where  she  was  born  in  1750.  She 
announced  herself  as  the  Woman  predicted  in  Revelations,  xii, 
"  clothed  with  the  sun  .  .  .  being  with  child  ,  .  .  and  she  brought 
forth  a  man-child  who  was  to  rule  all  nations,"  etc.  In  this  delusion, 
or  imposture,  Joanna  was  supported  by  four  divines,  named  Whit- 
field, Wesley,  Southcote  and  Brothers.  "A  disease  favoured  the 
delusion  that  she  would  be  the  mother  of  the  promised  Shiloh.  She 
died  December  27,  1814.  In  185 1  there  existed  in  England  four 
congregations  professing  to  expect  her  return."     Haydn. 

A.  D.  1796,  India. — Vrihaspati:  first  year  of  the  84th  cycle,  ac- 
cording to  the  Surya  Siddhanta.     The  Pandits.     See  B.  C.  3185. 

A.  D.  1804,  China. — Vrihaspati:  first  year  of  the  76th  Jovian 
cycle,  according  to  the  Chinese  account.  The  Pandits.  This  makes 
the  cycles  begin  with  B.  C.  2657,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  1807,  India. — Vrihaspati:  first  year  of  the  83rd  cycle,  ac- 
cording to  the  Telinga  account.  The  Pandits.  This  makes  the  cycles 
begin  with  B.  C.  3144,  q.  v. 

A.  D.  1807,  India. — Vrihaspati:  first  year  of  the  14th  cycle,  ac- 
cording to  the  Tibetan  account.  The  Pandits.  This  makes  the 
cycles  begin  with  A.  D.  967,     See  A.  D.  966. 

A.  D.  1825,  India. — Beginning  of  the  Fourth  millenial  of  Para- 
surama.     See  Kollam  cycles  under  A.  D.  825. 

A.  D.  1827,  Utah. — Mormon  sera,  church  of  Latter  Day  Saints. 
In  this  year  Joseph  Smith  found  the  Book  of  the  Law  which  had 
fallen  from  heaven  into  Westchester  County,  New  York.  In  1830  the 
first  Mormon  church  was  organised  at  Kirkland,  Ohio;  1844,  Smith 
killed  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois;   1848,  the  Mormons  emigrate  to  Utah; 


230  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

1885,  polygamy  interdicted  in  the  territory  of  Utah  by  the  United 
States  government. 

A.  D.  1843,  America. — The  second  coming  of  Jesus  Christ  fore- 
told in  the  Apocalypse  of  John  and  as  computed  by  the  Adventists 
led  by  William  Miller  and  hence  called  Millerites.  Miller  was  born 
in  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  in  1781 ;  died  in  1849.  At  the  period  when  the 
second  advent  of  Christ  was  expected,  Miller  had  a  following  of  over 
50,000  people,  some  of  them  in  Philadelphia,  where  the  present 
writer  then  resided.  Among  the  Millerites  were  many  tradesmen, 
who  being  led  to  believe  in  the  fast  approaching  day  of  judgment, 
abandoned  their  warehouses  stored  with  valuable  merchandise,  to  the 
depredations  of  the  unbelieving  rabble,  who  rapidly  bore  away  their 
contents,  while  the  owners  looked  on  with  unconcern  and  apathy, 
wondering  why  any  people  should  be  so  simple  as  to  burden  them- 
selves with  goods  at  a  time  when  goods  could  be  of  no  further  use  to 
them.  After  the  predicted  day  had  passed  without  any  sign  from 
heaven,  the  deluded  votaries  were  buoyed  up  with  further  pre- 
dictions aud  postponed  dates;  and  even  at  the  present  time  there  are 
said  to  be  15,000  or  20,000  of  the  sect  in  America  still  looking  for 
the  momentous  day  of  the  second  advent.     See  1898. 

A.  D.  1844,  Persia. — Bab  sera.  Mirza  Ali  Mahomet,  or  the  Bab, 
(Gate)  was  born  at  Shiraz,  in  181 7  or  1818  '^nd  executed  at  Tabriz, 
July  8,  1850.  His  Manifestation  is  dated  Jemadi-ul-Ula,  5th,  A.H., 
1260,  May  23rd,  A.  D.  1844;  but  his  sera  is  reckoned  by  his  fol- 
lowers from  the  preceding  Persian  Nauroz,  or  New  Year's  day, 
Wednesday,  March  20th,  1844.  He  claimed  to  be  a  lineal  descen- 
dant of  Mahomet,  through  Hescham,  and  to  be  the  Sacred  Person- 
age foretold  by  Jabir,  one  of  the  twelve  Imams  of  the  prophet,  as 
He  who  would  appear  on  earth  exactly  one  thousand  years  ("equal 
to  the  period  of  Noah's  prophetic  mission  ")  after  the  Minor  Occul- 
tation  of  Mahomet,  the  12th  Imam,  which  occured  A.  H.  260.  He 
was  also  foretold  by  another  one  of  the  twelve  Imams,  to  wit,  Jafar- 
i-Sadik,  who  said  that  the  promised  Deliverer  would  appear  in  the 
year  "  60."  The  Bab  appeared  in  A.  H.  "  1260."  The  Bab's  pre- 
decessor (for  he  had  one)  in  the  pretension  of  divinity,  was  Hazrat- 
i-Kudduz.  He  was  a  six  month's  child,  who  called  himself  the 
"  Lord  Jesus,"  the  "  Kaim, "  and  other  titles  pertaining  to  divinity. 
For  these  pretensions  Hazrat  was  executed  May  22nd,  1849.  It 
was  not  until  after  this  event  that  the  Bab  announced  himself  as  the 
Holy  One,  the  Lord  of  the  World,  etc.,  and  he  took  care  to  per- 
petuate the  title  by  appointing  as  his  successor,  Ezel,  or  Subh-i-Ezel, 


iERAS.  231 


the  Morning  of  Eternity,  a  personage  who  in  1893  was  still  living  in 
Adrianople.  Nothwithstanding  the  tragic  fate  of  the  Bab  and  the  exile 
of  Ezel,  the  followers  of  the  religion  they  founded  are  said  to 
number  at  the  present  day  between  half  a  million  and  a  million  of  per- 
sons.    Browne's  "  History  of  the  Bab;  "  Curzon's  "  Persia." 

A.  D.  1845,  India. — Deification  of  Ghasi  Das,  about  this  time. 
Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  "Asiatic  Studies,"  p.  108. 

A.  D.  1845,  England.— The  Agapemone  (Greek,  "The  Abode 
of  Love,")  was  established  this  year  at  Charlinch,  near  Bridgewater 
Somersetshire,  in  pretended  imitation  of  the  Agapae  of  the  Bacchan- 
als. The  leader  was  a  physician  named  Henry  James  Prince,  born 
181 1,  physician  1832,  revivalist  1836.  In  1845  he  claimed  to  be  an 
Incarnation  of  the  Deity;  and,  attracting  numerous  followers, 
mostly  women  of  property,  they  all  lived  in  common  and  took 
public  part  in  the  perpetration  of  the  grossest  indecencies.  These 
were  exposed  in  the  trial  of  Nottidge  v.  Prince,  July  25th,  i860. 
The  sect  is  still  in  existence.  Cf.  "Spiritual  Wives,"  by  Hepworth 
Dixon,  1868;  Haydn's  Die.  Dates;  Story  of  the  Gods,  vita  "  Nebo- 
Nazaru,"  p.  2. 

A.  D.  1848,  Europe. — A  revolution  broke  out  in  France,  Feb- 
ruary 23rd,  1848,  the  immediate  cause  of  which  was  the  interference 
of  the  government  with  a  popular  banquet  and  demonstration  which 
had  been  planned  for  Washington's  Birthday,  February  22nd.  The 
result  of  this  rising  was  the  flight  of  the  king,  Louis  Philippe,  to 
England,  where  he  died  shortly  afterward.  Meanwhile  the  spirit  of 
revolt  rapidly  spread  to  Germany,  Hungary  and  Italy,  in  all  of 
which  countries  popular  governments  were  erected.  After  a  brief 
interval  and  chiefly  through  the  influence  of  the  clerical  parties  in 
each  country,  who  were  encouraged  and  actively  aided  by  Pope 
Pius  IX.,  the  popular  governments  were  suppressed,  the  leaders  (this 
relates  chiefly  to  the  Italian  states)  were  tortured  and  butchered, 
and  the  former  regimes  were  restored. 

A.  D.  1852,  China. — First  regnal  year  of  Hun-seu-tseun,  the 
leader  of  the  Taiping  rebellion  and  usurping  "  Emperor"  of  China. 
This  person,  who  was  born  at  Kuang-si  or  Quang-si  about  1815,  be- 
came a  convert  to  Christianity  in  1850,  and  as  such  was  instigated 
to  overthrow  the  established  government  and  open  the  country  to 
the  benefits  of  a  superior  civilization.  However,  he  took  a  some- 
what more  independent  attitude  than  had  been  intended  by  his 
mentors.      He  announced  himself  as  a  descendant  of  the  last  em- 


232  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

peror  of  the  Ming,  or  only  legitimate  dynasty,  the  "restorer  of  the 
worship  of  the  true  god,  Shang-ti,  ....  the  brother  of  Jesus 
and  the  second  Son  of  God."  Beside  the  name  of  Hun-seu-tseun, 
he  assumed  that  of  Tien-teh,  or  Celestial  Virtue,  Tien-wang,  or 
Celestial  King  and  many  others.  Haydn.  In  1852  he  captured 
Nanking  and  issued  silver  coins  with  the  legend,  "  Sacred  Money  of 
the  Tai-ping."  During  the  next  few  years  he  acquired  virtual  con- 
trol of  the  Yang-tse-kiang  Valley  and  was  materially  assisted  in  his 
design  of  conquest  by  the  attitude  of  the  European  powers.  In  1857 
England  declared  war  against  China  and  captured  Canton;  in  1858 
the  Taku  forts  were  taken.  France  also  declared  war  against  China  and 
in  i860  Peking  was  captured  and  looted.  Harassed  by  internal  foes 
and  threatened  with  overthrow  by  foreigners,  China  was  induced  to 
sign  the  Elgin  Treaty  and  pay  an  indemnity  of  eight  million  taels, 
about  eleven  million  dollars.  The  Imperial  army,  which  had  lately 
been  drilled  by  the  American  colonel  Ward,  was  now  placed  under 
the  English  colonel  Charles  G.  Gordon.  In  June,  1864,  the  im- 
perial forces  led  by  Gordon  besieged  Nanking;  on  June  30th,  Hun- 
seu-tseun  committed  suicide;  and  a  few  days  afterward  Nanking  fell 
and,  with  it,  the  Taipingrebel'^on.  Gordon  himself  died  in  the  de- 
fense of  Khartoum  (Egypt)  January  26,  1885. 

A.  D.  1868,  England. — Advent  of  Mrs.  Girling,  who  claimed  to 
be  "the  Bride  of  Christ,"  and  as  such  to  be  immortal.  She  led  a 
community  of  Shakers,  which  survived  until  1885  ;  their  immortal 
leader  dying  in  1895.      The  date  of  the  advent  is  uncertain. 

A.  D.  1868,  Japan. — ^ra  of  Meiji,  when  the  hierarchy  and 
feudalism  both  came  to  an  end.  The  Nengo,  or  aera,  of  Meiji  was 
originally  in  A.  D.  1867.  In  the  5th  year  of  Meiji,  1872,  the  Jap- 
anese government  abrogated  its  lunar  calendar  and  adopted  the 
Gregorian  system.  In  that  year  the  2nd  day  of  the  12th  month  fell 
on  December  31st.  The  remainder  of  the  Japanese  month  was 
dropped  from  the  calendar  and  the  following  day,  or  January  ist, 
1873,  was  reckoned  the  first  day,  of  the  first  month,  of  the  sixth  year, 
of  Meiji.     Wm.  Bramsen,  "Jap.  Chronology,"  1880. 

A.  D.  1870,  Italy. — September  20th.  Capture  of  Rome  by  the 
Sardinian  forces,  followed  October  9th,  by  a  Royal  decree  declaring 
that  "  Rome  and  the  Roman  provinces  shall  constitute  an  integral 
part  of  the  Kingdom  of  Italy."  This  decree  had  the  effect  to  ab- 
sorb the  dominions  and  terminate  the  temporal  power  of  the  Latin 
Papacy,  whose  foundations  had  been  laid  by  Pepin  the  Short,  so 
long  ago  as  A.  D.  752.      In  1850  the  Siccardi  bill,  abolishing  exter- 


iERAS.  233 

nal  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  had  passed  the  Sardinian  Chambers, 
and  in  1861  (the  second  period  of  Garibaldi's  activity)  this  law  was 
extended  to  the  whole  kingdom  of  Italy;  so  that  the  termination  of 
the  temporal  power  in  1870  was  not  unheralded.  Upon  the  facade 
of  an  enormous  theatre  which  is  now  (1898)  being  erected  at  Co- 
senza,  in  Calabria,  is  graven  this  inscription,  "September  20,  1870. 
This  political  date  marks  the  end  of  Theocracy  in  civil  life.  The 
Day  which  terminates  its  moral  rule  will  be  the  Epoch  of  Humanity," 
— "sara  la  dataumana. "     London  Daily  Chronicle,  May,  1898. 

A.  D.  1872,  Punjab. — Deification  of  Ram  Singh.     Lyall,  op.  cit. 

A.  D.  1883,  Soudan. — Manifestation  of  Mahomet  Ahmed.  It 
being  a  widespread  belief  among  Mahometans  that  the  Mahdi  will 
appear  at  the  close  of  some  century  from  the  Flight,  advantage 
was  taken  of  it  by  this  impostor,  in  the  year  A.  H.  1300  or  A.  D. 
1882-3,  to  raise  the  standard  of  a  holy  war  in  the  Soudan.  The  ter- 
rible fate  of  the  brave  but  misguided  Arabians  who  followed  the 
Mahdi  is  related  under  A.  D.  1898.  The  burial  place  of  the  Mahdi 
was  obliterated  by  General  Kitchener  in  1899. 

A.  D.  1895,  India. — Period  when  the  reincarnation  of  Dionysius, 
les  Chrishna,  Salivahana,  or  Vicramaditya,  was  due.  Greek  sign  of 
the  Archer,  the  Indian  Dhanaus.  From  this  time  forward  was  to 
begin  a  New  Age.  This  belief  threw  the  whole  of  India  into  a  state 
of  excitement  and  unrest. 

A.  D.  1895,  Punjab, — Manifestation  of  Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad, 
who  signed  himself  "  Chief  of  Qadian,  Gurdaspur  District,  Panjab." 
This  personage  pretended  to  be  a  prophet  and  messenger  of  God, 
A  letter  written  by  him  in  Pali  was  translated  into  English,  published 
in  1886  or  1887,  and  addressed  to  the  ministers  of  religion  "every- 
where." It  offered  to  forfeit  to  them  200  rupees  a  month  if  he, 
Mirza,  failed  to  perform  miracles  in  proof  of  his  divine  mission.  A 
further  proclamation  from  him  in  English  and  signed  as  above,  with 
the  date  of  March  23rd,  1894,  the  original  of  which  is  before  the 
writer,  offered  to  forfeit  5,000  rupees  to  any  one  who  should  write 
"an  Arabic  book  equal  to  mine  in  beauty  of  language  and  size. " 
His  own  composition  (in  Arabic  and  Urdu)  is  entitled  "  Nurr-ul- 
Haqq, "  (Divine  Light).  His  pretensions  were  similar  to  those  of  the 
Bab  (see  A.  D.  1844)  and,  like  the  Bab's,  they  were  based  on  the 
Koran.  However,  his  sera,  or  the  "date  of  his  Manifestation,  were 
evidently  based  upon  the  Hindu  aera  of  Salivahana  B.  C.  78;  for  the 
year  1895  is  exactly  three  Divine  Years,  of  658  years  each,  after  that 
date. 


234  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

A.  D.  1895,  Messiahs. — Appearance  in  the  United  States  of 
Francis  Schlatter  and  several  other  German  fanatics,  who  pretended 
to  be  in  communication  with  the  Deity  and  to  work  cures  or  mira- 
cles. A  similar  pretender  named  Antonio  appeared  in  Brazil  and 
had  numerous  followers.  Other  persons  of  similar  pretensions  ap- 
peared in  the  same  year,  one  each  in  India,  Tibet,  Sicily,  Mexico, 
and  Mashonaland,  South  Africa.  The  personage  last  alluded  to 
was  named  Ka-goo-bie,  or  Gumbar-ish-amba,  who  called  himself  the 
M'lenga,  or  the  Deity  and  who  instigated  the  Mashona  war  of  1895-96. 
A  full  length  portrait  of  this  "manifestation"  (evidently  from  a 
photo)  was  published  in  the  Illustrated  London  Graphic  of  Decem- 
ber 25th  1897, 

The  following  account  of  Schlatter's  death  is  from  the  New  York 
Sun  of  June  loth,  1897: 

El  Paso,  Texas,  June  6th,  1897. — A  week  ago  on  last  Friday  two  American  mine 
prospectors  found  in  the  foot  hills  of  the  Sierre  Madre  on  the  Puentas  Verdas  River, 
thirty-five  miles  southwest  of  Casa  Grande,  in  the  State  of  Chihuahua,  all  that  re- 
mained of  Francis  Schlatter,  the  "  Divine  Healer."  The  prospectors'  attention  was 
attracted  to  his  "  camp  "  by  espying  a  saddle  astride  a  limb  in  a  dead  tree  high  up  in 
a  gorge  through  which  the  rivf-'runs.  Schlatter's  skeleton  was  found  lying  stretched 
out  on  a  blanket  close  up  to  the  tree.  His  bones  were  bleached  white,  and  along- 
side was  a  copper  rod  and  a  miniature  baseball  bat. 

Piled  up  beside  the  trunk  of  the  tree  were  saddlebags,  a  large  memorandum  book, 
a  package  of  letters  bound  by  a  rubber  band,  some  blankets,  and  six  suits  of  under- 
wear. A  Bible  and  a  canteen  were  in  the  pile,  and  a  canteen  half  full  of  water.  The 
saddle  ropes  and  some  extra  clothing  were  directly  over  the  skeleton  on  a  limb  of  the 
tree.  In  a  knot  hole  in  the  tree  were  found  needle,  thread  and  buttons.  In  the  in- 
side cover  of  the  Bible  was  inscribed  the  name  "  Francis  Schlatter."  Under  this  were 
two  verses  in  prayer,  followed  by  the  signature  "Clarence  J.  Clark,  Denver,  Col." 
There  were  no  signs  of  violence,  and  the  prospectors  believe  that  Schlatter  died  of 
self-imposed  starv^ation,  as  there  were  no  cooking  utensils  of  any  kind  in  camp. 

The  Jefe  Politico  at  Casa  Grande  was  notified  on  May  30,  and  on  June  2  the  skele- 
ton and  effects  were  brought  to  that  village,  where  the  authorities  hold  them  awaiting 
a  claimant.  Casa  Grande  is  situated  fifteen  miles  from  the  present  terminal  of  the 
Rio  Grande,  Sierre  Madre  and  Pacific  Railway — a  new  line  for  the  past  year  under 
construction  from  this  city  to  Casa  Grande.  Americans  at  Casa  Grande  examined  the 
letters  and  other  effects  and  pronounced  them  undoubtedly  those  of  Schlatter.  An 
Indian  informed  the  authorities  that  several  months  ago  he  came  upon  a  gray  horse 
in  the  neighborhood  where  the  camp  was  found.  The  horse  was  hobbled.  A  Mor- 
mon cowboy  said  that  during  the  month  of  November  last  Schlatter  rode  up  to  his 
camp,  fifty  miles  west  of  Casa  Grande,  on  a  gray  horse.  He  was  unarmed,  carried 
no  provisions  or  cooking  utensils,  refused  to  eat  anything,  and  said  he  was  fasting. 
The  cowboy  said  his  visitor  seemed  strange  and  preoccupied,  and  during  the  few 
hours  at  his  camp,  cured  the  cowboy's  horse  of  a  swelling  on  the  back  and  forelegs  by 
rubbing  his  hands  over  them.  He  identified  the  saddle  at  Casa  Grande  as  that  of  his 
visitor  in  November.     It  bears  the  mark  of  a  Denver  manufacturer. 

Francis  Schlatter,  three  years  ago,  was  a  shoe-cobbler  in  Denver,  and  earned  a 
precarious  living  at  his  trade.  He  began  to  hear  "  silent  "  voices,  as  he  said,  and  in 
obedience  to  their  commands  gave  away  his  tools  and  began  a  pilgrimage  toward  the 
Pacific  coast,  He  was  arrested  several  times  as  a  vagrant  and  thrown  into  jail.  He 
footed  the  entire  distance  to  California  and  returned  to  New  Mexico,  where  he  was 
heard  of  among  the  Indians  as  the  Messiah.  The  newspaper  reporters  discovered 
that  he  was  followed  by  mobs  of  Indians  who  worshipped  him  and  that  he  cured  the 
sick  by  touching  the  afflicted  with  his  hands.     He  fasted  for  forty  days,  labouring  con- 


M-RAS.  235 

tinuously,  and  went  to  Denver,  where  he  was  besieged  daily  by  immense  throngs  of 
people  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  When  some  persons  were  arrested  for  selling 
handkerchiefs  blessed  by  him,  and  against  whom  he  was  summoned  as  a  witness,  he 
suddenly  disappeared.  He  was  soon  afterward  found  in  New  Mexico,  travelling 
through  the  most  uninhabited  parts,  going  southward.  He  was  last  seen  in  the 
United  States,  by  cowboys  near  Lordsburg,  nine  months  ago,  going  toward  the  Mexi- 
can line, 

A.  D.  1895,  Tibet. — Re-incarnation  of  Mina  Fu-yeh.  Wellby's 
"Through  Unknown  Tibet"  1898.  This  re-incarnated  Buddha 
seems  to  have  possessed  a  genuine  charm  of  character  and  fascina- 
tion of  manner.     Captain  Wellby  really  liked  him: 

"  His  explanation  of  how  he  came  to  be  recognised  as  the  re-incarnation  of  the 
previous  Mina  Fu-yeh  shows  how  convincing  the  proofs  of  identity  are  to  one  who 
has  been  brought  up  to  accept  and  believe  in  the  theory.  He  relates  how,  when  very 
small,  various  articles  were  laid  out,  from  which  he  was  to  select  those  which  had  been 
his  own  in  his  previous  life-time.  Among  these  was  a  number  of  rosaries,  from  which 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  choosing  his  own.  '  For,'  he  says,  '  I  had  used  it  daily  for 
years  ;  how  is  it  possible  that  I  should  not  know  it  from  among  all  the  others?  Of 
course  I  knew  it.'  So  on  with  other  articles;  his  own  identity  was  established  without 
a  doubt  ;  and  he  became  heir  to  the  accumulated  property  of  fifteen  former  life-times. 
He  talks  freely  of  his  last  life-time,  pointing  out  the  site  of  the  house  in  which  he 
lived,  and  which  was  burnt  down  about  two  years  before  his  death;  it  was,  he  says,  a 
far  finer  house  than  the  one  he  now  occupies." 

When  he  was  not  praying  or  writing  or  reading,  the  Buddha  was 

quite  willing  to  make  himself  useful. 

"But  early  as  we  were,  our  host  was  before  us,  and  when  we  left  our  room  we 
found  him  making  preparations  for  breakfast.  He  explained  that  his  steward  and 
several  of  his  servants  were  away,  so  he  had  to  do  a  great  deal  himself.  It  seemed 
strange  to  see  an  incarnate  saint,  who  is  held  in  the  deepest  reverence  and  worshipped 
by  men,  busying  himself  unlocking  drawers,  producing  sugar  and  butter,  and  gener- 
ally attending  to  the  most  trivial  and  mundane  matters,  chattering  away  all  the  time 
like  an  ordinary  mortal." 

A.  D.  1897,  Kiao  Chao. — Seizure  of  Kiao  Chao,  China,  by  the 
German  forces,  whose  commander  issued  a  proclamation  dated  "14th 
November,  A.  D,  1897,  or  the  21st  day,  nth  moon,  23rd  year  of 
(the  emperor)  Huang  Tsu,  Chinese  Reckoning."  London  "Chron- 
icle," January  6th,  1898.  This  makes  the  first  year  of  Huang  Tseu 
agree  with  A.  D.  1875, 

A.  D.  1897,  Austria. — In  May,  1897,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  Bukovina,  near  Gallicia,  the  peasant  population  was  greatly  ex- 
cited by  an  eighteen-year-old  prophetess  named  Jaryna  Jeryernkowna. 
The  girl  declared  that  she  died  and  was  buried  four  years  ago,  and 
went  to  heaven,  and  was  sent  by  God  to  redeem  mankind.  Despite 
the  parish  priest's  protests  a  procession  was  arranged,  and  hundreds 
followed  her  to  the  Church  of  Szerowce,  where  she  prayed  aloud  and 
delivered  a  sermon.  The  Mayor  and  councillors  were  convinced  of 
the  girl's  heavenly  mission.  The  prophetess  and  the  attendant  crowds 
then  made  their  way  to  Stara  Zuczka,  where  she  delivered  another 


236  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

sermon  in  the  church.  At  Sadagora,  a  number  of  gendarmes,  after 
a  violent  scuffle  with  the  excited  crowd,  arrested  the  girl,  and  com- 
mitted her  to  prison.     London  "Chronicle,"  May  26,  1897. 

A.  D.  1898,  Arabia. — September  3.  "Battle  "  of  Omdurman,  at 
which  12,000  to  15,000  Arabians,  under  the  leadership  of  the  Kha- 
lifa Abdullah,  successor  to  the  Mahdi,  or  Messiah,  were  slaughtered 
by  the  British  and  Egyptian  forces  under  Gen.  Kitchener.  Said 
G.  W.  Stevens,  correspondent  of  the  London  Daily  Mail : 

"  It  was  not  a  battle  but  an  execution.  .  .  .  The  Dervishes  were  not  driven 
back  ;  they  were  all  killed  in  coming  on.  .  .  .  The  bodies  were  not  in  heaps  ;  they 
spread  evenly  over  acres  and  acres.  .  .  .  The  honour  of  the  fight  must  go  with 
the  men  who  died.  Our  men  were  perfect  but  the  Dervishes  were  superb — beyond 
perfection.  .  .  .  Their  riflemen,  mangled  by  every  kind  of  death  and  torment  that 
man  can  devise,  clung  round  the  Black  Flag  and  the  Green,  dauntlessly  emptying  their 
poor  rotten  home-made  cartridges.  .  .  .  The  last  Dervish  stood  up  and  filled  his 
chest ;  he  shouted  the  name  of  his  God  and  hurled  his  spear  ;  then  toppled  with  his 
face  to  his  conquerors."     The  Khalifa  escaped  to  the  White  Nile. 

A.  D.  1898,  England. — Easter  day.  End  of  the  Gentile  times, 
to  be  followed  by  the  second  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  to 
the  Second  Adventis^^.  "If  our  predictions  fall,  the  Sun  will  fall 
with  us.  ...  The  Gentile  times  end  (Luke  xxi,  24,)  on  the  20th 
of  March,  1898,  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon."  London  "Past  and 
Future,"  February  2,  1898,  p.  71.      See  A.  D.  1843, 

A.  D.  1908,  England. — Beginning  of  the  thousand  years,  at  the 
termination  of  which,  the  world  will  be  destroyed.  Rev.  M.  P. 
Baxter. 

"On  Thursday,  June  gth,  i8g8,  a  meeting  of  the  Court  of  Common  Council  was 
held  at  Guildhall,  the  Lord  Mayor  presiding.  On  the  recommendation  of  the  City 
Lands  Committee,  it  was  resolved  that  on  the  Rev.  M.  P.  Baxter  surrendering  his 
present  lease  of  premises  in  Tudor  Street,  a  building  lease  be  granted  to  him  for 
eighty  years,  from  midsummer  next,  at  ground-rents  varying  from  £qo  to  ^^424  per 
annum.  When  his  petition  was  before  the  court  it  was  elicited  that  the  lessee  was  the 
gentleman  who  recently  predicted  the  immediate  end  of  the  world.  The  Prophet,  how- 
ever, has  since  written  to  explain  that  the  end  of  the  world,  in  the  sense  of  the  general 
conflagration,  will  not  take  place  until  the  termination  of  1,000  years  from  Easter, 
1908."     London  Weekly  Times  and  Echo,  June  12,  1898. 

A.  D.  1928,  England. — End  of  the  thousand  years  when  (on 
Easter  Day)  the  world  will  be  destroyed;  the  next  Millenium  of  the 

Second  Adventists.      "Past  and  Future,"  1898,  p.  70. 


237 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
CYCLES. 

THE  author  has  endeavoured  to  bring  together  in  this  chapter  all 
the  cycles,  whether  astronomical,  astrological,  or  civil,  which 
have  come  under  his  notice  during  several  years  of  study.  They  are 
arranged  in  the  order  of  their  duration,  beginning  with  one  day  and 
ending  with  240  million  years,  one  of  those  vast  eons  of  time,  if 
we  may  use  such  an  expression  with  propriety,  which  practically  re- 
presents eternity  and  which  could  only  have  emanated  from  peoples 
who  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Among  these  were  the 
Indians,  Egyptians,  Chaldeans  and  Greeks.  The  Chinese  had  no  such 
vast  ages;  neither  had  the  Jews,  nor  the  Romans:  the  Chinese  cos- 
mic cycle — an  unique  instance — being  probably  of  Hindu  origin  and 
modern  invention  or  adoption. 


1  day. — The  period  of  the  earth's  revolution  on  its  axis  consti- 
tutes the  most  perfect  measure  of  time.  The  time  occupied  in  this 
movement  is  called  a  day. 

7  day  week,  or  the  Hebdomadal  cycle.  This  is  not  a  natural, 
that  is  to  say,  an  astronomical  cycle,  but  an  artificial  one.  It  is  not 
exactly,  but  only  roughly,  the  fourth  part  oi  a  lunar  month,  which 
consists  of  about  29}^  days.  The  seven-day  wake,  or  week,  might 
possibly  have  been  employed  by  primitive  tribes  before  any  solar 
calendar  was  in  use;  though  of  such  a  circumstance  no  record  sur- 
vives :  the  ' '  Accadian  "  and  Chaldean  evidence  on  this  point  being  un- 
satisfactory. The  seven-day  week  had  no  existence  during  the  many 
centuries  when  time  was  reckoned  by  solar  years  of  ten  civil  months. 
Its  present  observance  as  a  day  of  rest  has  not  been  traced  further 
backward  than  the  adoption  of  a  twelve  months  year,  which  occured 
during  the  second  Buddhic  period.  Even  during  that  period  it  was 
not  used  by  the  Greeks  or  Romans  until  those  peoples  adopted  the 
Dionysian  cult.  On  this  point  we  have  the  explicit  testimony  of 
Dion  Cassius,  who,  writing  about  A.  D.  229,  says  of  the  septuary 
week:   "  It  is  not  very  long  since  this  custom  was  introduced  by  the 


238  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Egyptians  to  other  nations;  for  I  believe  tlie ancient  Greeks  had  no 
knowledge  of  it."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hales,  who  could  not  refute  the 
innumerable  evidences  that  the  Romans  observed  a  week  of  nine  days, 
nundinse,  said,  in  his  Chronology  I,  19,  that  the  gentiles  "dropped" 
the  seventh  day;  the  Greek  gentiles  observing  the  tenth  day  and  the 
Roman  gentiles  the  ninth.  This  is  disingenuous  and  might  be  mis- 
leading. The  gentile  Greeks  never  observed  the  seventh  day ;  neither 
did  the  gentile  Romans;  therefore  they  did  not  "drop  "it.  Dion 
Cassius  says  (xxxvii,  18,  or  Xiphilinus  Abridg.  pp.  14,  15)  that  the. 
days  of  the  septuary  week  were  named  by  the  Egyptians  after  the 
seven  planets,  the  Egyptians  being  the  "first authors  of  it  ;  "  that 
the  Romans  and  other  nations  now  employ  this  week;  that  the  first 
day  is  Saturn's  day,  which  the  Jews  celebrate  as  a  holiday,  upon 
which  they  abstain  from  work;  that  the  order  of  the  days  among  the 
Egyptians  runs  as  i,  Saturn;  2,  Jupiter;  3,  Mars;  4,  Sun;  5,  Venus; 

6,  Mercury,  and  7,  Moon;  or,  as  they  are  now  named,  i,  Saturday; 
2,  Thursday;  3,  Tuesday;  4,  Sunday;  5,  Friday;  6,  Wednesday;  and 

7,  Monday.  Although  he  does  not  give  the  order  of  the  days  in 
Rome,  it  is  quite  evident  from  what  he  does  say  that  it  was  not  the 
Egyptian  order,  but  the  Buddhic,  or  Dionysian  order.  He  says  that 
the  first  day  was  Saturday  and  that  the  fourth  or  middle  day,  like  the 
fourth  string  in  the  musical  scale,  was  the  foundation  of  the  system; 
"so  that,"  to  use  his  own  words,  "it  will  be  found  that  the  heavens 
rule  the  days  with  a  harmony  which  is  analogous  to  that  of  music." 
This  influential  middle  or  mess-day,  (Gothic,  mid-wik,)  originally 
Sun-day,  was  subsequently  named  after  Dionysius,  the  Roman  Mer- 
curius,  from  whom  the  fourth  day  of  the  septimana  still  takes  its  name, 
as  in  the  French  Mercredi,  the  Spanish  Miercoles,  and  the  English 
Wednesday;  because  there  was  no  such  messianic  influence  over  the 
other  days  nor  no  such  name  of  mess,  mid,  medial,  or  mediator,  ascribed 
to  any  other  god  except  Dionysius.  As  to  Dion's  belief  that  the  Egyp- 
tians were  the  first  authors  of  the  septuary  week,  or  the  first  to  give 
these  names  to  the  days,  though  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  its  sincer- 
ity, it  is  evidently  a  mistake.  The  Hindu  and  perhaps  even  the  Scyth- 
ian septuary  week  appears  to  be  older:  in  short,  both  the  astronomy 
and  the  astrology  of  the  Seven  days,  like  that  of  the  Seven  asterisms, 
are  Oriental.  Apollonius  of  Tyana  found  the  septimana,  or  septu- 
ary week,  in  use  in  India,  when  he  visited  it  about  A.  D.  45 ;  (Philos- 
tratus,  in  vita.  III,  xiii,  148,  A);  and  the  names  then  given  to  the 
days  were  probably  those  which  we  find  in  the  Code  of  Manou  to-day, 
though  in  this  place  they  are  of  comparatively  modern  insertion. 


CYCLES.  239 

They  are  as  follows:  Rabi-var,  Som-var,  Mangal-var,  Buddh-var, 
Vrishpat-var,  Gurn-var,  Shukra-var  and  Sani-var.  In  fact  the  septu- 
ary  week  is  probably  several  centuries  earlier  than  ApoUonius  and 
many  centuries  later  than  Manu. 

9  day  "week. — An  artificial  cycle :  precisely  the  fourth  part  of 
the  36-day  civil  month  in  the  lo-months' solar  year.  This  cycle  was 
called  nundinum  by  the  Romans  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  novenas 
of  the  Italians,  which  occur  in  their  church  festivals  and  ceremonies. 
On  the  ninth  day  the  temples  were  thrown  open  for  public  worship. 
The  peasants  improved  the  occasion  to  fetch  their  farm  produce  and 
home-made  wares  into  the  cities  and  expose  them  for  sale  within  the  en- 
closures of  the  temples,  which  were  thus  converted  into  fairs.  For 
this  privilege  they  paid  a  tax  to  the  temples.  This  custom  still  sur- 
vives in  the  smaller  towns  of  France,  Germany  and  other  continental 
states,  though  now  the  fair-day  is  the  first  of  the  cycle  of  seven, 
instead  of,  as  formerly,  the  last  of  the  cycle  of  nine.  Nor  is  there 
now  any  tax.  The  first  day  of  the  nundinum  was  called  prima- 
feria,  the  second,  secunda-feria,  etc.,  whence  we  have  the  word  fair. 
Sunday  fairs,  a  relic  of  the  ancient  custom,  were  only  abolished  in 
England  by  the  act  of  June  loth,  1850.     Townsend. 

10  days, — The  Greek  cycle  of  10  days  is  sufficiently  noticed 
under  a  previous  head.  The  days  of  the  Chinese  lo-day  cycle  are 
named  Kia,  Yih,  Ping,  Ting,  Wu,  Ki,  Keng,  Sin,  Jen,  and  Kwei. 
Gaubil,  "  Lettres  Edifiantes,"  xxvi,  225,  228.  The  Greek  custom  of 
dividing  the  month  into  three  decades  each  of  ten  days  was  revived 
by  the  French  during  the  Revolution,  but  abolished  by  Napoleon  I. 

30  and  31  days.— For  months  of  30  and  31  days,  see  "36 
days  "  and  10  and  12  months. 

36  days. — Prior  to  the  second  Buddhic  period  the  solar  year  in  all 
the  principal  states  of  the  world  was  divided  into  ten  civil  months 
each  of  ^6  days,  with  5  intercalary  days,  or  epagomenae,  to  make  the 
equable  year.  The  period  of  the  change  from  10  months  of  ^6  days 
to  12  months  of  30  days,  with  intercalaries,  is  believed  to  have  been 
as  follows:  India,  B.  C.  662;  China,  657  ;  Miletus,  592;  Athens,  582  ; 
Babylon,  582;  Egypt,  547  and  Rome,  451.  The  period  of  the 
"Second  Hermes,"  or  second  Buddha,  i*:, recognized  by  both  Strabo 
and  Diodorus. 

45  days. — There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  during  the  preva- 
lence of  the  earlier  form  of  the  Solar  worship  in  India,  Scythia, 
Assyria  and  Egypt,  the  solar  year  was  divided  into  eight  civil  months 


240  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY 

each  of  45  days,  with  intercalaries.  The  Sun  god  was  typified  by  a 
human  figure  holding  an  eight-spoked  wheel;  the  Eight  principal 
gods  of  early  Egypt,  to  each  of  whom  one  month  of  the  year  was 
consecrated,  are  mentioned  by  Herodotus  (Euterpe,  82,  145,  156); 
ancient  zodiacs  have  been  discovered  which  are  divided  into  eight 
sections;  while  the  dislocated  features  of  the  present  calendar  and 
the  odd  days  set  apart  for  certain  astrological  festivals,  also  indicate 
a  remote  subdivision  of  the  year  into  eight  parts. 

304  days. — Censorinus,  (D.  N.  XX,)  says  that  Philolaus  reckoned 
the  natural  year  to  consist  of  364^  days;  Aphrodisius,  365^;  Cal- 
ippus,  365;  Aristarchus  of  Samos,  365  1-1623;  Meton,  365  5-19; 
CEnopides,  365  22-59;  Harpalus,  365  13-24;  and  Ennius,  366  days. 
Moreover,  he  argues,  that  by  the  recession  of  Thoth  ist  from  July 
20th  to  February  26th,  ending  with  the  Divine  year  A.  D.  138,  (namely, 
144  days  in  576  years  of  the  Sothiacal  cycle,)  the  Egyptians  and 
before  them  the  Chaldeans,  employed  the  Julian  year  of  exactly  365  ^ 
days.  (Other  ostensibly  ancient  authorities  to  the  same  effect,  are 
cited  by  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  74,  75,  etc.)  But  see  the  360-day  and 
especially  the  365  ^-day  cycles  given  below. 

After  thus  showing  and  arguing  that  both  the  Romans,  Greeks, 
Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  were  very  accurately  acquainted  with  the 
length  of  the  year  in  days,  Censorinus  informs  us  that  in  the  Alban 
calendar,  from  which  the  Roman  calendar  descended,  there  were  only 
ten  months,  with  altogether  304  days,  as  follows :  March  3 1 ;  April  30 ; 
May  31 ;  June  30;  Quintilis  (now  July)  31 ;  Sextilis  (now  August)  30; 
September  30;  October  31;  November  30;  and  December  30.  He 
adds  that  when  Numa,  or  else  Tarquin,  extended  the  year  to  twelve 
months,  it  was  done  by  supplementing  January  with  29  days  and 
February  with  28;  and  that  one  day  was  taken  from  each  of  the  six 
months  that  had  had  30  days,  thus  making  four  months  each  of  3 1  days, 
seven  months  each  of  29  days  and  one  month  of  28  days;  total  355 
days.  Finally,  that  an  intercalary  month  of  22  or  23  days  was  added 
every  two  years  between  the  last  day  of  February  and  the  first  of 
March. 

Except  as  to  the  last  sentence,  this  account  is  anachronical,  con- 
fused and  defective.  It  has  every  appearance  of  having  been  tampered 
with  by  the  custodians  of  the  manuscript.  An  intercalary  month, 
every  two  years,  of  22  or  23  days,  would  add  11^  days  to  355,  making 
a  mean  year  of  366^  days,  which  is  in  excess  of  the  fact  by  one  day. 
But  this  is  the  least.     It  is  simply  incredible  that  any  calendar,  we 


CYCLES.  241 

will  not  say  the  Roman,  but  even  the  Alban,  should  have  reckoned 
only  304  days  to  the  year,  whether  the  latter  was  divided  into  ten 
months,  or  any  other  number.  The  merest  child  would  not  fail  to 
observe  that  the  year  had  many  more  days  than  304.  It  is  evident, 
from  the  confused  condition  into  which  the  Roman  calendar  fell  be- 
fore the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  as  well  from  the  lateness  of  the  period 
when  Censorinus  wrote,  (which  was  A.  D.  238,  or  about  seven  cen- 
turies after  the  Roman  year  was  divided  into  twelve  months,)  that 
all  the  details  of  the  ancient  calendars,  both  of  Rome  and  Alba, 
were  lost;  and  therefore  that  with  respect  to  the  number  of  days  in 
the  months,  of  which  ten  went  to  the  year,  the  text  offered  for  that 
of  Censorinus,  even  if  it  has  not  been  altered,  is  not  to  be  altogether 
relied  upon.  But  that  it  has  been  altered  is  the  opinion  of  every  critic 
who  has  examined  it. 

Brady,  (Clavis  Cal.,  I,  15,)  in  repeating  that  the  Alban  year  con- 
sisted of  304  days,  furnishes  the  following  details:  April  36  days; 
May  22;  March  36;  June  26;  Quintilis  36;  Sextilis  28;  September 
16;  October  39;  November  30;  December  35 ;  total  304.  Here  is 
one  month  with  35  days,  three  months  with  56,  and  one  month  with 
39  days,  besides  several  small  and  unequal  months,  one  of  which  con- 
tains but  16  days.  Such  a  calendar  is  preposterous.  It  is  contradicted 
by  common  sense;  by  the  Roman  method  of  dividing  the  months 
into  calends,  nones  and  ides;  and  by  the  nundinse;  all  of  which  in- 
dications and  features  point  to  four  intervals  of  nine  days  in  each 
month;  a  conclusion  admitted  even  by  Hales,  (I,  19,)  but  still  denied 
by  the  Sacred  College  of  Rome  and  its  apologists. 

In  order  to  account  for  a  304-day  year,  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  503, 
invents  a  nundinal  cycle  of  8  days  and  a  lunation  of  32  days,  19  of 
which  imaginary  lunations  make  608  days,  or  two  years  of  304  days 
each !  A  304-day  year  is  bad  enough,  but  a  32-day  moon  and  an  8-day 
week  are  still  worse.  There  is  neither  astronomical  nor  historical 
foundation  for  any  of  them.  A  lo-months'  lunar  year  is  simply  im- 
possible. Whenever  the  year  was  thus  divided  the  calendar  must 
have  been  a  solar  one. 

Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis,  in  his  "Astronomy  of  the  Ancients," 
London,  1862,  examined  this  matter  with  great  care.  He  showed  that 
Macrobius,  I,  xii,  39,  Scaliger,  de  Emend.  Temp.,  ii,  p.  172,  ed.  1629, 
and  Dodwell,  all  rejected  the  304-day  year  as  preposterous;  and  to 
the  opinion  of  these  chronologists  he  adds  his  own,  which  is  that 
the  304-day  year  is  impossible.  Moreover,  he  contends  that  both  the 
Greeks  before  Solon  and  the  Romans  before  Numa,  had  a  360-day 


242  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

year.  Finally,  he  shows,  upon  numerous  ancient  testimonies,  that  the 
Greek  and  Roman  years  were  full  years  and  that  they  were  divided 
into  ten  months.  Yet  he  shrinks  from  expressing  the  very  palpable 
conclusion  that  if  the  years  were  full  and  had  365,  or  even  360  days 
and  there  were  but  ten  months,  the  latter  must  have  consisted  of  36 
days  each.  The  nundinum  or  week  of  nine  days  should  have  taught 
him  better;  but  his  superstition  was  evidently  stronger  than  his  rea- 
son. After  labouring  to  prove  with  Greswell  that  a  nundinum  meant 
eight  days,  he  declares  himself  unable  to  harmonise  the  conflicting 
testimonies  on  the  subject  of  the  ten  months'  year,  which  he  leaves 
precisely  where  he  found  it. 

The  notion  of  a  304-day  year  seems  to  have  arisen  in  this  way :  if 
12  months  now  contain  365  days,  how  many  days  did  ten  months 
anciently  contain?  Answer,  304  days.  It  was  a  mere  arithmetical 
result;  a  qu^^cient  in  the  rule  of  three;  having  no  relation  to  history 
and  merely  suggested  by  the  desire  to  avoid  confessing  that  the  sep- 
tuary  week  is  not  so  ancient  as  is  pretended.  The  32-day  moons  and 
8-day  nundines  of  Dr.  Greswell  and  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis  are 
of  the  same  arithmetical  character.  Plutarch  in  Numa  says  that  so 
far  back  as  the  time  of  that  demi-god,  the  Roman  year  had  360  days. 
To  these  days  may  be  added  the  five  epagomenae.  The  fingers  of  the 
statues  of  Janus,  one  of  which  is  said  to  have  been  erected  by  Numa 
himself,  commonly  indicated  the  numbers  365.  Pliny,  XXXIV,  16; 
Macrobius,  I,  ix,  10;  Lydus  de  Mens.,  IV,  i;  and  Suidas.  Macro- 
bius  even  argues,  Sat.,  I,  13,  that  Numa's  intercalary  cycle  proves 
that  he  knew  the  year  to  consist  of  365^  days.  In  the  face  of  such 
evidences,  what  is  the  value  of  an  argument  for  a  year  of  304  days? 
Cf,  Livy,  I,  19;   Macrobius,  op.  cit.  ;  and  the  24-year  cycle,  herein. 

327  days. — Dr.  Greswell,  F.  C.,  I,  61,  assures  us  that  "chronol- 
ogy has  little  to  do  with  any  revolution  of  the  moon  but  the  synodic." 
This  learned,  but  far  too  credulous  writer,  never  seems  to  have  sus- 
pected the  sinister  resources  of  lunar  chronology,  the  cunning  of  the 
ancient  priests,  nor  the  significance  of  the  Divine  year.  Albiruni 
explicitly  informs  us  that  the  Hindus,  not  of  his  own  time,  but  of 
some  earlier  age,  used  a  year  of  12  lunar  revolutions,  aggregating 
327  days  7^  hours.  (Sachau's  ed.,  p.  15.)  This  accords  to  each 
lunar  revolution  27  d.  6h.  38m.  20s.  Consequently  the  Hindu  lunar 
month  was  not  the  synodic.  It  was  either  the  sidereal  of  27  days 
7h.  43m.  11.54s.  or  else  the  nodical,  of  27d.  5h.  5m.  35.6s.,  prefer- 
ably the  latter,  on  account  of  its  superior  amenability  to  intercalation 


CYCLES.  243 

with  the  solar  year.  The  nodical  month  as  the  basis  of  a  chrono- 
logical system  grafted  upon  the  worship  of  the  Sun,  inevitably  led  to 
the  nodical  cycle,  the  Divine  year  and  the  Brahminical  system  of 
avatars  or  incarnations.  The  measurements  of  the  nodical  and  sider- 
eal months  given  above  are  those  of  Lockyer.  The  ancient  Hindu 
measurements  probably  slightly  differed. 

354  days. — This  is  a  lunar  year,  or  a  year  of  12  lunations.  The 
354-day  year  of  Solon  which  followed  the  360-day  solar  year  of  Athens 
was  of  this  character.  So  was  the  year  (whether  instituted  by  Numa,  or 
Tarquin,  or  the  Decemvirs,)  which  probably  followed  immediately 
after  the  Roman  ten  months'  solar  year  of  360  days.  A  lunar  year  of 
354  days  is  still  used  by  the  Hindus,  Jews  and  Moslems.  To  make 
up  the  11^  days  (approx.)  of  the  solar  year,  an  intercalary  month  is 
added  to  this  lunar  year,  at  appropriate  intervals.  Numa  is  said  to 
have  added  one  day  for  luck  and  intercalated  the  remaining  odd  days 
every  two  years,  between  the  23rd  and  24th  of  February.  Pliny,  N.  H. , 
XXIV,  7;  Livy,  I,  19;  Adams,  "Rom.  Ant."  It  is  now  tolerably 
certain  that  it  was  not  Numa,  but  the  Decemvirs 

360  days. — A  solar  year  of  360  days  with  5  intercalaries  (the 
equable  year,  q.  v.)  was  in  common  use  in  many  ancient  states,  es- 
pecially during  republican  periods.  Whenever  the  nobles  and  ec- 
clesiastics regained  their  ascendancy,  they  invariably  altered  the 
calendar  to  a  lunar,  or  else  to  a  luni-solar,  year,  so  as  to  confuse  the 
computation  of  time  and  render  themselves  the  arbiters  of  contracts 
and  sponsors  of  the  festivals.  A  360-day  year  was  used  in  Babylon: 
Berosus  apud  Josephus,  Ant.  X,  11;  in  Egypt,  Dio.  Sic.  XVII;  and 
in  Greece;  Plutarch.  For  the  epochs  when  this  year  was  employed, 
see  below. 

365  days. — The  equable  solar  year.  It  is  ascribed  by  Diogenes 
Laertes  (Thai.  §  5)  to  Thales  (circ.  B.  C.  585)  which  may  mean  either 
that  Thales  discovered  it  or  else  that  previous  to  that  date  the  calendar 
of  Miletus  was  lunar.  But  the  authority  is  virtually  anonymous  and 
worthless.  The  equable  year  is  mentioned  by  the  Hellenicus  in  Plut- 
arch and  by  Herodotus  with  reference  to  Egypt.  Censorinus  says 
that  the  equable  year  was  employed  by  Calippus  in  Greece  B.  C.  330; 
but  Lindenbruch  has  proved  that  Calippus  used  the  Julian  year. 
The  equable  year  in  Greece  was  much  earlier  than  Calippus.  See 
chap.  VII,  B.  C.  1219.  The  equable  year  appears  to  have  been  used 
in  Etruria  so  early  as  the  time  of  Procas  and  in  Rome  so  late  as  the 
time  when  Cneius  Flavius  ordered  the  calendar  to  be  affixed  to  the 


244  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

public  buildings,  about  B.  C.  305,  and  was  probably  used  down  to 
the  period  of  Caesar's  reform  of  the  calendar.  Its  employment 
seems  to  have  begun  in  India  during  the  first  Buddhic  period  and 
thence  radiated  to  China,  Chaldea,  Miletus,  Egypt,  Greece  and 
Rome.     Euterpe,  IV;  Brady  I,  15. 

The  following  dates  are  at  present  only  to  be  regarded  tentatively : 

CHRONOLOGY    OF    THE    EQUABLE    YEAR. 

Date  B.  C.         Country.  Authorities. 

1426  iBdia  Bailey,  Laplace,  et  al.    See  Ch.  VII,  herein,  sub  anno. 

1306  India  Epoch,  Aswin  1st.     Greswell,  K.  H.,  V,  87. 

II 76  Southern  India    Epoch,  Aswin  ist.     Cowasjee  Patell.     See  les  Chrishna, 

Parasurama,  etc. 
?  Chaldea  Epoch,  the  festival  of  Anaites.   Cf.  Berosusin  Josephus. 

?        -       Phrygia  Epoch,  the  festival  to  Attis  and  Cybele. 

1250  ?  Egypt  Epoch,  Thoth  ist.      Hellenicus  in    Plutarch's    Isis  and 

Osiris:    Herod.,  Eut. 
1219  Greece  Epoch,  Vernal  equinox,  (Ischenia,)  Valleius  Paterculus; 

Plutarch  in  Theseus.     The  equable  year  was  abolished 
by  Solon.     Sir  G.  Cornewall  Lewis,  Anc.  Astron. 
816  ?  Etruriaor  Rome  Plutarch  in  Numa.     Epoch,  March  ist. 

The  determination  of  the  equable  solar  year,  its  incorporation  into 
the  law  of  the  land,  and  its  adoption  in  practice,  constituted  a  veri- 
table charter  of  freedom  to  mankind.  The  previous  employment  of 
a  lunar  calendar  had  everywhere  enabled  the  priesthood  at  thdr  pleas- 
ure to  lengthen  or  shorten  the  months,  to  precipitate  or  postpone 
important  events,  to  accelerate  or  delay  payments,  to  shift  the  holi- 
days and  festivals  and  to  alter  or  destroy  their  significance,  so  as  to 
give  them  new  and  false  meanings  and  attributes.  Actual  instances  of 
this  sort  are  given  by  Livy,  Censorinus  and  other  ancient  writers. 
So  flagrant  did  this  abuse  of  privilege  become,  that  in  many  states  of 
antiquity  it  was  demanded  of  each  new  monarch  that  he  should  swear 
before  being  crowned  that  he  would  not  permit  the  calendar  to  be 
altered.  The  institution  of  the  equable  year  swept  away  the  lunar 
calendar  and  with  it  many  of  those  mysteries  and  impostures,  which, 
in  the  hands  of  an  unscrupulous  hierarchy,  had  become  a  potent 
means  of  deception,  tyranny  and  oppression. 

Lunar  calendars  are  still  employed  by  the  Brahmins,  Moslems  and 
Jews.  With  regard  to  their  practical  effects  among  the  followers  of 
the  two  first  mentioned  cults,  no  details  worthy  of  consideration  have 
reached  the  Western  world.  The  Jews  retain  a  lunar  calendar  in 
their  prayer  books  and  ecclesiastical  almanacs,  but  in  actual  practice 
and  in  every  day  life  they  use  the  Roman  solar  calendar.  Indeed, 
without  consulting  an  almanac,  the  laity  would  be  quite  unable  to  fix 
the  New  Year  day,  the  Day  of   Atonement,  the  Passover,  the  Feast 


CYCLES.  245 

of  Tabernacles,  or  any  other  great  festival  to  any  particular  day  of 
the  year. 

In  view  of  the  synchronism  between  the  institution  of  the  equable 
solar  year  in  India,  Chaldea  and  Greece  and  the  sera  and  festivals  as- 
signed to  les  Chrishna,  lesnu  and  Ischenou,  it  will  hardly  be  ques- 
tioned that  the  legends,  mysteries  and  r'tes  peculiar  to  these  deities 
and  their  relation  to  the  apparent  course  of  the  Sun,  were  originally 
intended  to  fix,  celebrate  and  commemorate  the  institution  of  the 
Solar  Year.  At  a  later  period — that  of  the  second  Buddha — some  of 
these  rites,  which  meanwhile  had  been  overthrown  by  the  temporary 
ascendancy  of  the  aristocratic  and  ecclesiastical  party,  were  revived, 
in  Greece,  for  example,  by  Solon,  and  piously  ascribed  to  Bacchus; 
whose  sera,  that  is  to  say  the  sera  of  the  restoration  of  the  Solar 
Calendar,  was  thrown  back  to  and  confused  with  that  of  Ischenou. 

365.242392  days. — The  decimal  expression  of  the  "true  solar 
year,"  as  given  by  Joseph  N.  Lockyer,  "  Dawn  of  Astronomy,"  Lon- 
don, 1894,  p.  251. 

365  1=4  days. — A  year  composed  of  this  number  of  days  is  called 
the  Julian,  because  it  was  first  fixed  and  permanently  established  in  the 
law  of  any  country  by  Julius  Csesar,   who   incorporated  it   into  the 
law  of  the  Roman  Empire,   B.  C.  48.      In  some  countries  the  Julian 
year  was  approximately  known  several  centuries  earlier  than  Csesar. 
Herodotus  only  mentions  the  equable  year  of  365  days  (Euterpe,  4); 
while  Strabo  and  Diodorus  believed  that  the  year  of  365^  days  was 
known  to  the  priests  of  Thebes  (Egypt)  so  early  as  the  sera  of  the 
of  the  "Second  Hermes."     Although  this  perhaps  claimed  too  much, 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Julian  year  was  approximately 
known  in  Egypt  much  earlier  than  in  Rome.     As  for  Dr.  Hales'  sug- 
gestion that  the  Egyptian  rectification  of  the  sidereal   (Sothiacal) 
year,  of  one  year  in  1460  years,  proves  that  a  knowledge  of  the  Julian 
year  was  as  old  as    the  use  of   the  Sothiacal  cycle  in   Eg)'pt,    it 
rather  proves  the  contrary;  for  had  the  Julian  year  been  known,  the 
rectification  could  have  been  made  once  in  four  years  and  the  calen- 
dar preserved  from  a  confusing  retrogression  running  through   15 
centuries.     The  Sothiacal  cycle  was  employed  to  harmonize  the  sid- 
ereal and  solar  year  and  for  that  purpose  only.     The  following  table 
shows  the  oldest  dates  known  of  the  Julian  year  or  of  any  approxi- 
mation toward  it: 


246  A  NEW  CHRONOLOGY. 

CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  JULIAN  YEAR. 

Date,  B.  C.    Discoverer  and  Country.  Authority. 

Uncertain     Indian  Bailly  ;  Delambre. 

"  Chinese  Delambre,  Astron.  Anc.    I,  417. 

"  Siamese  Bailly ;  Cassini. 

"  Chaldean  Bailly ;  Delambre ;  Freret. 

547  Egyptian  Strabo ;  Diodorus.     (Doubtful). 

542  CEnopides  of  Chios  Censorinus,  XIX,  says  365d.  8h.  57m. 

432  Meton  of  Athens  Censorinus  says  365d.  6h.  iSm.  57s. 

Aphrodisius  Censorinus  says  365d.  3h. 

480  Harpalus  Censorinus  says  365d.  I3h. 

432  Meton  of  Athens  Greswell  says  365d.  6h.  i8m.  56.8s. 

330  Calippus  Greswell  says  365X  days. 

280  Aristarchus  of  Samos  Censorinus  says  365d.  oh.  om.  53s. 

150  Hipparchus  Greswell  says  365d.  5h.  55m.  12s. 

80  Geminus  of  Rhodes  Delambre,  Astron.  Anc.,  I,  298,  says  365^^. 

48  Julius  Caesar  His  year  was  exactly  365X  days. 

The  sera  of  CEnopides  of  Chios  is  uncertain.  He  is  mentioned  by 
Diodorus  (I,  96,)  Stobaeus  and  Sextus  Empiricus,  of  whom  only 
Stobseus  makes  him  later  than  Pythagoras.  The  date  adopted  in 
the  table  is  from  Greswell,  who,  though  a  very  learned  man,  too 
often  enslaved  his  judgment  to  his  theory  of  a  primeval  year  and 
calendar.  Could  reliance  be  placed  upon  this  date  it  would  follow 
that  the  Greeks  approximated  the  Julian  year  so  early  as  the  time  of 
Pythagoras.  But  the  absence  of  the  Julian  year  from  the  pages  of 
Herodotus,  is  a  serious  obstacle  to  this  theory.  Upon  a  review  of 
all  the  evidence  it  seems  hazardous  to  admit  even  a  knowledge  of 
the  Julian  year  in  the  West  earlier  than  the  time  of  Meton.  As  to 
its  establishment  in  the  law  and  practical  use,  there  is  no  record 
earlier  than  Julius  Caesar  With  regard  to  its  chronology  in  the  Orient, 
we  are  without  reliable  dates.  We  can  only  surmise  that  this  knowl- 
edge, like  most  other  knowledge  of  the  kmd,  radiated  from  India  to 
China  and  Siam,  on  the  one  hand  and  to  Chaldea  and  Egypt,  on  the 
other.  Nothing  more  can  be  said  until  Oriental  archaeology  is  able 
to  add  its  testimony  to  our  at  present  very  slender  stock  of  reliable 
information  on  this  subject.  The  determinations  assigned  to  Meton, 
Callippus  and  Geminus  are  the  deductions  of  modern  astronomers 

Whatever  may  be  the  real  antiquity  of  the  Julian  year,  when  Caesar 
established  and  supported  it  with  the  authority,  the  arms,  and  the 
literature  of  Rome,  he  conferred  upon  the  world  a  boon  of  the  highest 
value.  Tedious  as  are  the  steps  by  which  mankind  has  endeavoured 
to  emancipate  itself  from  hierarchical  rule,  none  has  proved  of  more 
practical  importance  than  the  recognition  and  adoption  of  a  true  year 
in  place  of  a  false  one;  a  solar  year  in  place  of  a  lunar  one.  It  res- 
cued from  the  control  of  hierarchs  the  archives  of  the  past  and  the 
framing  of  history.     It  laid  the  foundation  of  political  and  religious 


CYCLES.  247 

literature,  which  before  that  time  could  have  had  no  stable  existence, 
because  before  that  time  there  was  no  certain  date;  no  reason- 
ing from  experience;  no  science  of  causation.  It  inflicted  a  death- 
blow to  lunar  calendars,  one  of  the  principal  supports  of  religious 
imposture.  Above  all,  it  vindicated  the  holiness  and  majesty  of  sci- 
entific truth  and  its  superiority  over  mere  human  contrivances  to 
secure  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  mankind.  Caesar  was  a  priest 
of  Jupiter;  he  was  the  High-priest,  the  Pontifex  Maximus  of  Rome; 
a  man  of  great  intelligence,  the  most  comprehensive  knowledge  and 
the  utmost  refinement.  It  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  he  was  fully 
aware  of  the  importance  of  his  decree  which  established  and  enforced 
the  Julian  year;  and  much  might  be  written  to  prove  that  this  had 
more  to  do  with  the  hatred  which  afterwards  assailed  him  from  noble 
and  hierarch  than  the  peurile  charge  of  having  set  up  himself  for  a 
king. 

6585  2=3  days. — The  Ecliptical  Cycle,  or  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses, 
of  exactly  6585. 78  days.  This  is  the  most  significant  of  all  the  cycles, 
and  was  well  known  to  the  Hindus  at  a  very  early  date,  "  says  Bren- 
nand."  The  Chinese  called  this  number  of  days  a  Ven,  Fen,  or 
Phen,  (which  means  ten),  the  Chaldeans,  ''The  Period,"  and  the 
Greeks,  as  many  authors  assert,  a  "saros,"  the  root  of  the  word 
being  sar,  meaning  ten.  However,  the  terms  sossos,  neuros  and 
saros  have  been  explained  by  Polyhistor,  Syncellus,  Abydenus,  Suidas, 
Valiancy,  Dupuis,  Greswell  and  other  commentators,  so  variously, 
that  in  order  to  avoid  a  verbal  dispute,  they  have  not  been  used  in 
the  present  work  at  all.  The  Ecliptical  cycle  embraces  the  entire 
series  of  eclipses,  of  which  there  are  usually  29  lunar  and  41  solar. 
The  priests  employed  it  to  awe  the  multitude  and  the  commanders  of 
armies  to  terrify  the  enemy  Moreover,  there  was  built  upon  it  an 
astrology  and  a  messianic  theory  which  pervades  all  the  religions  of 
antiquity  and  which  therefore  renders  a  knowledge  of  this  cycle  and 
of  its  origin  and  the  uses  to  which  it  was  put,  of  essential  importance 
to  the  study  of  religion  and  history. 

Bailly  fixes  the  discovery  of  this  cycle  in  India  and  Tartary  to  the 
period  when  the  vernal  equinox  was  well  within  the  constellation 
Taurus,  in  other  words,  over  four  thousand  years  ago.  This  date 
for  the  vernal  equinox  in  Taurus  is  based  upon  the  erroneous  assump- 
tion that  the  number  of  the  zodions  has  always  been  twelve.  It  must 
therefore  share  the  fate  of  the  erroneous  assumption.  Other  writers 
have  discerned  evidences  of  this  cycle  in  India  so  early  as  the  Ma- 
habharatawars,  although  it  may  not  have  been  determined  accurately 


248  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

until  a  later  period.  It  was  only  after  the  12th  century  B.  C.  that 
what  appears  to  be  distinct  marks  may  be  seen  of  the  messianic  the- 
ory to  which  the  cycle  gave  rise,  or  with  which  it  was  connected. 
This  theory  was  that  the  Creator  would  appear  upon  earth  to  rectify 
the  deranged  affairs  of  mankind  every  6585  months,  or  in  as  many 
months  as  there  were  whole  days  in  the  cycle.  As  the  year  then  con- 
sisted of  ten  months,  the  incarnations  or  avatars  fell  every  658th 
year.  Continuing  upon  the  same  line  of  thought,  the  messianic  theory 
foretold  the  destruction  of  the  world  in  the  same  number  of  years 
6585,  from  the  Creation,  Grotesque  as  this  theory  may  seem  to  us 
when  set  forth  in  sober  terms,  it  actually  forms  the  basis  and  it  may 
be  added  the  only  basis,  for  some  of  the  holiest  and  most  tender  be- 
liefs in  which  humanity  has  found  consolation  for  the  wounds  and 
havoc  of  Injustice,  misfortune  and  death.  The  philosopher  may  al- 
lude to  it  with  coldness  and  contempt:  the  worshipper  can  only  re- 
member the  maternal  sanctuary  at  which  he  learnt  those  exquisite 
allegories  behind  which  lurks  this  skeleton  of  an  astronomical  truth. 
As  the  cycle  is  really  not  a  diurnal,  but  a  lunar  one,  it  is  treated  more 
at  length  under  223  lunations  and  6555  lunations,  q.  v. 

6660  days. — The  Ecliptical  cycle,accordingtoBerosus.  Higgins, 
Anacal.,  I,  180. 

6793  1=2  days. — Revolution  of  the  moon's  node.  Lockyer.  See 
230  months.  Brennand  calls  it  the  sidereal  period  of  the  moon's 
node  and  fixes  it  at  6793.39108  days.  The  Surya  Siddhanta  made 
it  6794.443  mean  solar  days.      Brennand,  43. 

19,756  days. — Exieligmos,  a  cycle  consisting  of  three  ecliptical 
cycles,  which  was  used  by  the  Greeks,  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  to 
foretell  eclipses.  Greswell,  F,  C,  I,  Sg  n  ;  IV,  100.  See  669  luna- 
tions.     The  Hindus  had  the  ecliptical  cycle  in  the  15th  century  B.C. 

1  montli. — A  revolution  of  the  moon,  or  a  synodic  lunation, 
consists  of  29d.  i2h.  44m.  2.84s.  Lockyer,  p.  213.  This  is  a  month. 
Eleven  other  determinations  will  be  found  in  Greswell,  F.  C. ,  I,  69. 
The  nodical,  tropical,  sidereal  and  anomalistic  months  consist  each 
of  27  days  and  a  fraction,  such  fraction  of  a  day  varying  from  5  plus, 
to  13  plus  hours.     The  civil  month  has  varied  from  45  to  30  days. 

10  months. — The  ancient  year  consisted  of  ten  civil  months 
each  of  36  days,  with  five  intercalaries.  On  this  subject  we  have  the 
testimony  of  Ovid,  Livy,  Censorinus,  Aulus  Gellius  and  other  ancient 
M'riters.  This  testimony  is  corroborated  by  proofs  from  extra- 
neous sources.  There  cannot  be  any  reasonable  doubt  that  previous 
to  the  period  ascribed  to  the  second  Buddha,  Bacchus,  or  Hermes, 


CYCLES.  249 

that  is  to  say,  between  the  eighth  and  sixth  centuries  B.  C. ,  the  year, 
among  all  civilised  peoples,  was  divided  into  ten  months  each  of  ^6 
days  and  that  in  Rome,  the  day  of  rest,  of  worship  and  of  fairs,  was 
the  ninth  and  not  the  seventh,  as  it  became  at  a  later  period. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  which  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily 
explained,  that  in  the  mythos  of  the  Brahminical  or  Brahmo-Buddhic 
avatars  the  incarnated  god  is  often  described  as  a  ten  months'  child, 
and  that  in  such  respect,  as  well  as  in  others,  it  differed  wondrously 
from  other  children.  Ten  months  of  30  days  each  would  not  differ 
so  much  irom  the  ordinary  period  of  gestation  as  to  render  it  at  all 
wonderful;  whilst  ten  months  of  ;i6  days  would.  It  is  therefore  sug- 
gested that  the  true  explanation  of  this  detail  of  the  mythos  is  con- 
nected with  the  superior  length  of  the  ancient  month. 

12  months. — There  is  no  valid  evidence  extant  to  support  a  year 
of  twelve  civil  months,  that  is  to  say,  a  solar  or  luni-solar  year  of 
360,  365,  or  365  J^  days,  divided  into  12  months  of  30  days  each, 
or  thereabouts,  prior  to  the  period  of  the  second  Buddha,  or  Hermes. 
There  were,  indeed,  years  of  this  number  of  days,  but  not  of  this 
number  of  months.  The  year  was  divided  not  into  12,  but  into  ten, 
and  still  more  anciently  into  eight,  months;  the  division  into  12 
months  being  apparently  a  product  of  this  period.  The  testimony 
of  the  Bible,  upon  which  Hales,  Greswell,  Kennedy  and  other  scrip- 
tural chronologists  rely  so  implicitly,  does  not  touch  the  case  at  all; 
because  there  is  no  portion  of  the  Bible  which  may  not  have  been 
written  after  that  period.     See  $6  and  365^  days. 

13  months. — An  ancient  year  of  13  lunar  months  is  mentioned 
by  Gerald  Massey  (The  Natural  Genesis,  II,  308,)  who  believes 
(though  erroneously)  that  it  gave  rise  to  the  superstitious  notion  of 
i  1-luck  which  is  attached  to  the  number  Thirteen.  In  A.  D.  1899  an 
American  inventor,  (State  of  Indiana),  patented  a  calendar  year  of 
13  civil  months  each  of  28  days  (with  an  intercalary  day)  in  the  be- 
lief that  his  invention  was  novel  and  was  likely  to  be  generally  adopted 
throughout  the  world! 

27  lunar  mansions. — At  a  very  early  period  (Bentley  says  be- 
tween B.  C.  1528  and  1371)  the  Hindus  divided  the  ecliptic  into  27 
(previously  28)  lunar  mansions  or  nachshatras,  giving  to  each  one 
13/^  degrees,  thus  27x13/^=360.  Each  mansion,  nachshatra,  or 
asterism  included  a  group  of  stars,  whose  principal  one,  the  yoga- 
tara,  gave  to,  or  took  its  name  from,  the  nachshatra.  The  Vedas 
called  these  the  27  daughters  of  Daksha,  whom  he  gave  in  marriage 
to  the  moon,  Soma.     The  Chinese  have  a  similar  division  of  the 


250  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

ecliptic  into  27  sieu,  but  they  apportion  it  differently,  giving  to  some 
of  the  mansions  or  sieu  30  degrees  and  to  others  but  a  few  minutes. 
The  Arabians  had  28  mansions,  differing  from  both  the  foregoing, 
but  with  some  analogy  for  the  Chinese  system.  The  Egyptians 
adopted  the  lunar  mansions  at  a  comparatively  late  date,  but  made 
little  or  no  use  of  them.  The  lunar  mansions  had  no  place  in  Greek 
astronomy.  The  period  when  the  Hindus  changed  their  division  of 
the  ecliptic  from  28  to  27  parts  is  regarded  by  Brennand  as  earlier 
than  the  composition  of  the  Vedas,  or  indeed,  of  any  historical  record. 
These  lunar  mansions  served  somewhat  the  same  purpose  in  Hindu 
astronomy  as  the  solar  zodiac  in  that  of  the  Western  nations.  Sir 
Geo.  Cornewall  Lewis;  Gerald  Massey. 

99  Imations. — Approximately  2922  days.  The  octseteris  cycle, 
so  called,  because  it  equalled  eight  Julian  years,  e.  g.,Sx 365 ^1^2922 
days.  In  this  period  the  lunar  year  and  the  Julian  (but  not  the  natu- 
ral) solar  year  can  be  adjusted.  Censorinus,  XVIII,  ascribed  the 
invention  or  discovery  of  the  octaeteris  cycle  to  Eudoxus  of  Cnidus, 
who  flourished  in  the  fourth  century  before  our  aera.  Boeckh,  Ideler 
and  Gotfried  Miiller  believe  that  the  octseteris  is  as  early  as  Proclus, 
fifth  century  B.  C.  This  conclusion  is  derived  from  the  festival  of 
Chresto-mathia,  which  Proclus  describes.  A  large  ball  was  fastened 
to  the  top  of  an  olive  stick  and  another  smaller  ball  in  the  middle. 
To  the  latter  were  attached  365  smaller  balls,  by  purple  fillets.  The 
top  ball  represented  the  Sun,  the  middle  ball  the  Moon  and  the 
smaller  ones,  the  Stars;  the  correspondiug  fillets  representing  the 
course  of  the  Sun  in  Days.  The  objection  to  the  theory  of  the 
German  savants  is  that  the  number  of  fillets  implies  an  equable,  not 
a  Julian  year.  It  is  probably  for  this  reason  that  it  is  rejected  by 
Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis.  The  antiquity  of  the  octseteris  in 
Greece  must  therefore  rest  for  the  present  with  Eudoxus  of  Cnidus. 
Greswell,  K.  H.,  I,  40,  contends  that  the  octaeteris  was  employed  in 
Greece  before  the  time  of  Solon  and  in  another  work,  F.  C,  I,  67, 
he  traces  it  in  Egypt  back  to  B.  C.  1261;  but  these  dates  and  the 
arguments  by  which  they  are  supported,  are  of  very  doubtful  validity. 
See  1980  lunations  further  on. 

198  lunations. — The  hekkaidekseteris,  or  double  octaeteris  cycle. 
It  was  used  to  adjust  the  solar  and  lunar  calendars  of  Greece.  It 
loses  about  3)^  days  on  the  moon:  Geminus,  "  Uranologium,"  about 
B.  C.  80.  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  105,  is  of  opinion  that  it  was  nearly 
as  ancient  as  the  octaeteris,  but  was  little  employed,  because  it  had 
no  practical  advantages  over  the  the  other.     See  1980  lunations. 


CYCLES.  251 

223  lunations. — The  great  Ecliptical  Cycle,  already  iutroduced 
under  the  heading  of  6585^  days.  As  there  stated,  this  significant 
cycle  is  not  a  diurnal,  but  a  lunar  one.  To  couch  it  in  days  or  years 
is  apt  to  be  misleading.  It  has  sometimes  been  called  the  Nodical 
cycle.  According  to  Lockyer  this  also  is  wrong:  the  Nodical  cycle 
consisting  of  230  lunations,  or  6793^  days,  q.  v.  The  Ecliptical 
cycle  begins  With  a  conjunction  of  the  sun  and  moon  (new  moon) 
and  continues  until  the  sun  and  moon  (some  say  also  the  node)  re- 
turn to  the  same  positions  as  at  the  outset.  This  occurs  in  223  luna- 
tions, or  18  years  and  ten  (or  11)  days  and  seven,  (or  eight),  hours. 
Brennand  says  "and  eighteen  hours."  During  this  period  there  will 
usually  occur  41  solar  and  29  lunar  eclipses.  At  the  end  of  the  period 
the  same  routine  of  eclipses  will  begin  to  recur,  and  they  will  happen 
on  or  about  the  same  days  of  the  equable  solar  year.  A  cycle  com- 
posed of  three  Ecliptical  cycles,  or  669  lunations,  will  bring  the 
eclipses  to  the  day  and  almost  to  the  hour  required  by  the  rule.  See 
65857^  days  and  658  years. 

230  lunations. — Revolution  of  the  moon's  node.    Lockyer.    See 
67933^  days. 

235  lunations. — Metonic  Cycle,  so  named  after  Meton  of  Athens, 
its  Greek  discoverer,  B.  C.  432.  During  the  course  of  this  cycle  and 
upon  a  given  system  of  intercalation  the  new  and  full  moons  return 
to  the  same  days  of  the  (30-day)  month.  Consequently  the  cycle  was 
not  em.ployed  until  after  the  year  was  divided  into  1 2  months,  which,  as 
before  stated,  took  place  in  various  states  some  time  between  the 
eighth  and  sixth  centuries  B.  C.  The  priests  of  Meton's  time  were 
so  delighted  with  a  discovery  that  enabled  them  to  identify  and  re- 
tain their  lunar  festivals  in  a  solar  calendar,  that  they  loaded  the 
astronomer  with  honors,  called  his  Cycle  the  Golden  and  set  it  up  in 
the  Athenian  pynx  in  letters  of  gold;  at  all  events,  they  said  in  after 
times  that  they  had  done  so,  which,  as  things  go,  is  much  the  same 
thing.  Bentley  and  Greswell,  who  argued  that  the  Metonic  cycle 
was  necessarily  connected  with  the  Julian  year,  which  it  is  not,  traced 
this  cycle  back  to  India  B.  C. ,  946 ;  Japan,  660 ;  China,  65  7  ;  Siam,  545  ; 
and  Egypt  (Ptolemaic,)  360.  All  these  dates,  except  perhaps  the  first 
one,  are  possible.  Greswell,  F.  C,  I,  109,  579-83.  The  Metonic  cycle 
is  purely  lunar;  and  the  practice  of  stating  it  in  days  (6939d.  i4h.  27m.) 
or  in  years  (about  19)  is  misleading.  Its  epoch  in  Athens  was  Heca- 
tombian  ist  (July  15th)  B.  C.  432.  Diodorus,  II,  iii,  says  thatin  the 
Island  of  the  Hyperboreans  they  observe  a  cycle  of  19  years,  during 
which  "  the  stars  perform  their  courses  and  return  to  the  same  point; 


252  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

and  therefore  the  Greeks  call  this  revolution  of  19  years  the  Great 
Year."  Dr.  Whewell  says  that  the  Metonic  cycle  is  still  used  to  calcu- 
late the  new  moon  for  the  time  of  Easter.  Cf.  Sir  Geo.  Cornewall 
Lewis. 

309  lunations. — Apis  cycle.  During  this  period  and  upon  a  given 
system  of  intercalation,  (the  equable  year,  with  five  epagomense,)  the 
lunar  and  solar  dates  in  the  equable  year  are  restored.  A  very  high 
antiquity  has  been  claimed  for  this  cycle;  but  for  such  antiquity  there 
appears  to  be  no  sufficient  warrant.  The  Apis  cycle  was  celebrated  by 
the  Egyptian  priests  with  great  rejoicings  and  was  made  the  occasion 
when  a  calf,  called  the  Apis,  was  exhibited  in  the  temple  at  Memphis, 
which  it  was  claimed  had  been  foaled  upon  a  cow  by  lightning  from 
heaven.  This  fable  led  to  the  worship  of  the  calf  as  a  heaven-born 
creature.  For  slaying  the  Apis  of  his  time  the  Egyptian  priests  black- 
ened the  character  of  Cambyses  to  all  eternity.  Herodotus,  II,  153; 
III,  27.  Dupuis,  following  Plutarch  and  Jablowski,  appears  to  re- 
gard the  Apis  cycle  of  the  Egyptians  as  a  solar  period  of  exactly  25 
years,  when  the  sun  and  moon  came  into  conjunction.  Plutarch,  de 
Isis;  Jablowski,  IV,  2;  Dupuis,  II,  i,  125.  This  is  not  accurate. 
309  lunations  equal  9i24d.  2  2h.  50m.  37.56s.,  while  25  equable  years 
equal  9125  days;  and  25  Julian  years  equal  9131^  days.  See  550 
years, 

360  lunations. — The  Moslem  cycle,  sometimes  called  the  cycle 
of  the  Hegira;  though  it  is  believed  to  be  much  older  than  the 
Hegira.  According  to  Suidas,  the  Egyptians  of  the  Ptolemaic  pe- 
riod had  a  30-year  cycle,  called  the  Mneius,  which,  although  it  has 
been  argued  was  a  solar  cycle,  yet  it  appears  more  likely  to  have  been 
a  lunar  one  of  360  lunations.  This  cycle  has  also  been  traced  to 
Medina  and  Mecca,  A.  D.  383.  In  A.  D.  630  the  Moslem  calendar 
was  reformed  by  Mahomet  and  its  epoch  changed  to  Moharram  ist 
(July  i6th)  A.  D.  622.  In  Hegira  211,  or  A.  D.  826,  it  was  again 
reformed.  Greswell.  About  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  of 
our  sera  the  Moslem  calendar  was  again  reformed  by  the  Caliph  Mu- 
tadid.  Albiruni.  The  Moslem  year  consists  of  12  lunar  months  of 
alternately  30  and  29  days,  aggregating  354,  sometimes  355  days. 
The  360  months'  cycle  is  employed  to  adjust  the  civil  to  the  natural 
months.  The  calendar  is  strictly  lunar,  the  12  months  in  the  aggre- 
gate being  reckoned  at  12  times  29d.  i2h.  44m.,  which  is  but  2.84 
seconds  short  of  the  truth.  It  takes  more  than  500  years  to  restore 
the  commencement  of  the  year  to  the  same  solar  day  of  the  Julian 
calendar;  meanwhile  the  dates  recede  ten  to  12  days  every  year. 


CYCLES.  253 

532  lunations. — The  twelfth  part  (roughly)  of  the  Dionysian,  or 
Paschal,  cycle  of  532  years,  q.  v. 

669  lunations. — Three  Ecliptical  cycles  of  223  lunations,  q.v.  It 
was  sometimes  used  in  place  of  the  former,  as  being  more  exact.  See 
19,756  days. 

730  lunations. — A  luni-solar  cycle  ascribed  by  Hellenic  tradition 
to  Pythagoras,  sometimes  to  Philolaus  of  Croton,  a  disciple  of  the 
Pythagorian  school.  It  is  contended  by  Greswell  that  this  cycle  was 
employed  by  CEnopides  of  Chios,  another  Pythagorian;  and  that  its 
epoch  was  afifixed  by  him  to  the  solar  term  of  the  Olympic  games,  on 
June  25,  B.  C.  544.  Cf.  ^lian  in  Greswell,  K.  H.,  I,  440,  andF.C, 
I)  557-  The  number  of  days  reckoned  to  this  cycle  was  21,557,  or 
a  few  hours  more  than  59  Julian  years. 

940  lunations. — The  Calippic  cycle,  invented  by  Calippus  of 
Cyzicus,  who  fixed  its  epoch  in  Hecatombeon  ist,  then  June  28th, 
B.  C.  330,  the  supposed  year  of  its  invention.  It  consists  of  four 
Metonic  cycles  and  was  employed  or  offered  for  the  same  purpose, 
for  which  it  was  somewhat  better  suited  than  the  former. 

1980  lunations. — Twenty  octasteric  cycles  each  of  99  lunations, 
q.  V.  This  cycle  has  been  deduced  from  an  inscription  (Corp.  In- 
scrip,  Grsecorum  No.  71)  which  Boeckh  attributes  to  about  B.  C.  445; 
Greswell  is  of  opinion  that  a  cycle  of  1979  lunations,  equal  to  58,441 
days,  40  minutes  and  12.7659  seconds,  was  used  in  Greece,  so  early 
as  and  perhaps  before  the  time  of  Solon,  as  the  equivalent  of  160 
Julian  years,  or  58,440  days,  leaving  a  fraction  over  of  one  day  and 
a  few  minutes  and  seconds  to  be  intercalated  at  the  termination  of 
the  cycle.  To  bring  the  1979  lunations  to  the  result  mentioned,  he 
uses  a  lunation  of  2gd.  i2h.  44m.  2.5532s.,  which,  according  to  Lock- 
yer,  is  incorrect.  If  it  be  admitted  that  Greswell's  standard  of  a 
lunation  was  actually  used  in  Greece  at  any  time — and  this  is  not  im- 
possible— this  fact,  coupled  with  the  use  of  a  cycle  of  1979  lunations, 
would  carry  a  knowledge  of  the  Julian  year  in  Greece  backward  to 
B.  C.  592,  the  year  indicated  by  Greswell,  K.  H.,  I,  41.  But  the 
discovery  of  a  tablet  which  records  a  cycle  of  1980  lunations  does  not 
prove  the  use  of  a  cycle  of  1979  lunations.  The  antiquity  of  the 
Julian  year  in  Greece  must  therefore  rest  for  the  present  with  CEnop- 
ides, who,  however,  possessed  no  means  of  enacting  it  into  lrf\v, 

3055  lunations. — See  247  years. 

3760  lunations. — See  304  years. 

4267  lunations. — By  comparing  the  observations  of  the  Chal- 
deans with  his  own,  Hipparchus  discovered  that  the  shortest  period 


254  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

in  which  the  lunar  eclipses  (this  does  not  include  the  solar)  return  in 
the  same  order  was  126,007  days  and  one  hour.  In  this  period  he  found 
4267  lunations.  From  this  he  concluded  that  the  lunar  month  con- 
tained 29d.  i2h.  44m.  syss.  It  is  not  known  that  the  cycle  of  the 
lunar  eclipses  was  ever  turned  to  religious  or  astrological  account. 

6585  months. — The  ancient  Brahminical  and  Hindu  Divine  Year, 
consisting  of  6585  civil  months,  (each  of  36  days,)  or  658  solar  years, 
or  ^6  Ecliptical  cycles.  Such  was  the  measure  of  this  cycle  at  the 
time  when  the  year  was  divided  into  ten  months.  When  afterwards 
the  year  was  divided  into  12  months  the  Divine  year  continued  to 
consist  of  658  solar  years,  but  it  was  upon  the  basis  shown  elsewhere 
herein,  At  the  beginning  of  each  of  these  periods  of  658  years  the 
Creator  was  expected  to  appear  on  earth  incarnated,  the  miraculous 
occurrence  being  called  an  avatar,  or  avatara.  The  dates  of  these 
periods  are  set  forth  in  Chap.  VI  of  Avatars.  The  use  of  this  Indian 
Divine  year  by  the  Assyrians  is  proved  by  the  intervals  between  the 
incarnation  of  Bel-Issus,  B.  C.  2064,  Nin-Ies,  B.  C.  1406,  andNebo- 
Nazaru,  B.  C.  748.  Its  use  by  the  Greeks  is  proved  by  the  intervals 
between  the  incarnation  of  Chres,  B.  C.  2064,  and  Jasius,  B.  C.  1406. 
Its  use  by  the  Jews  is  proved  by  their  Anno  Mundi,  B.  C.  3670,  which 
is  the  date  of  the  sixth  incarnation  of  lesnu,  01  just  one  Indian  Divine 
year  before  the  Calijoga.  Its  use  by  the  Romans,  both  before  and 
after  the  Christian  sera,  is  shown  by  the  numerous  pretenders  to  di 
vinity  who  appeared  at  or  near  the  beginning  of  the  Indian  Divine 
years,  and  proclaimed  themselves  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  predicted  in 
the  Sibylline  books.  Especially  is  it  shown  by  the  public  and  official 
recognition  and  impious  worship  of  Augustus  Quirinus  Dionysius, 
as  god  upon  earth,  theos,  divos,  the  living  god,  the  sacrosanct,  the 
messiah,  the  saviour,  the  promised  prince  of  peace,  who  it  was  pre- 
tended was  born  of  the  Virgin  Maia  and  who  at  his  death  ascended 
bodily  to  heaven.  Finally,  its  recognition  by  the  Latin  Sacred  Col- 
lege is  evinced  by  the  date  assigned  by  that  institution  to  the  Nativ- 
ity of  Jesus,  which  is  just  one  Indian  Divine  year  from  the  nativity 
of  the  Brahmo-Buddhic  incarnation;  it  is  also  proved  by  the  papal 
celebrations  of  the  Ludi  sseculares  and  by  numerous  other  astrol- 
ogical dates  and  features  of  the  Roman  Church. 

7491  lunations. — Cycle  mentioned  in  Higgins'  "Celtic  Druids," 
p.  48,  as  being  equal  to  600  Julian  years  of  365  days,  5  hours,  51 
minutes.  But  as  there  is  no  Julian  year  of  this  length,  which  is  known 
to  have  ever  been  in  use,  his  computation  appears  to  be  artificial  and 
constructed  to  support  theories  which  had  no  footing  in  actual  practice. 


CYCLES.  255 

Moreover,  it  makes  the  lunation  equal  to  agd.  6h.  6m.  37.92s.,  which 
is  not  within  six  hours  of  the  truth.  He  says:  "Supposing  this  cycle 
were  correct  to  a  second,  if  on  the  ist  of  January  at  noon,  a  new  moon 
took  place,  it  would  take  place  again  in  exactly  600  years,  at  the  same 
moment  of  the  day  and  under  all  the  same  circumstances."  Higgins 
believed  this  to  be  the  cycle  mentioned  by  Josephuj,  Antiq.,  I,  3;  but 
see  remarks  herein  under  600  years. 

7520,  lunations. — See  608  years. 

22,300  lunations. — One  hundred  Ecliptical  cycles  each  of  223 
lunations.  Jules  Oppert  says  the  Chaldeans  and  Egyptians  used  an 
Ecliptical  cycle  of  1805  years,  or  22,325  lunations,  "  during  which 
the  eclipses  return  to  the  same  order."  This  computation  exceeds 
the  fact  by  25  lunations,  the  true  multiple  of  the  Ecliptical  cycle 
consisting  of  22,300  lunations.  If  Oppert  is  correct,  and  he  is  very 
high  authority  in  such  matters,  then  the  Chaldean  and  Egyptian  di- 
vine year  consisted  of  659  instead  of  658  years,  as  with  the  Hindus, 
Greeks  and  Romans.     Cf.  Gustave  Oppert,  op.  cit.,  p.  331. 

1  year. — Formerly  it  meant  the  interval  occupied  by  the  sun  in  per- 
forming his  apparent  course  through  the  ecliptic.  It  now  means  the 
time  taken  by  the  earth  to  revolve  in  its  orbit  around  the  sun.  Bailly 
very  justly  remarked  that  the  precise  determination  of  the  year  was 
one  of  the  masterpieces  of  astronomy;  and  even  to-day  some  thirty- 
odd  different  determinations  could  be  adduced,  each  of  which  fur- 
nished the  foundation  for  theories  upon  which  the  learned  world  has 
been  content  at  one  time  or  another  to  rest  its  astrological  and  even 
its  astronomical  systems.  According  to  Dr.  Greswell,  the  word  "year" 
is  immediately  from  the  old  Saxon  z'ar.  But  it  is  in  fact  derived  more 
remotely  from  the  Greek  ver,  whence  vernal,  the  spring,  or  prime- 
time,  printemps,  the  ver  of  the  annus,  or  circle  (Haliburton,  41).  Its 
still  more  remote  origin  is  oriental.  The  Syrian  month  lyarandthe 
Hebrew  month  Jar,  lar,  or  lyar,  both  of  which  anciently  commenced 
either  on  the  vernal  equinox,  or  else,  like  the  Roman  Palalia,  about 
the  first  day  of  our  May,  were  probably  derived  from  the  same  word 
and  connected  with,  the  idea  that  henceforth,  from  this  moment,  the 
reckoning  of  time  commenced.  Greswell,  F.  C,  Introd.,  80,  fixes, 
with  confidence,  the  origin  of  the  Hebrew  names  of  the  months  in 
B.  C.  524.  Nevertheless  jar,  iar,  ear,  ver,  or  year,  meaning  the  prime- 
time,  may  have  been  of  far  more  remoter  origin  and  may  even  have 
preceded  the  computation  of  time  by  years ;  for,  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  time  was  anciently  computed  by  the  seasons. 


256  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Year  of  1,  2,  or  S  months. — Diodorus  says  that  at  one  time  the 
Egyptians  had  "years"  of  one  month;  Censorinus  says  they  had 
years  of  two  months.  Both  of  these  authors  may  be  correct.  They 
also  state  that  the  Egyptians  had  years  of  three  months,  correspond- 
ing to  the  seasons.  This  may  also  be  correct.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  years  of  one  or  two  months  may  be  merely  deductions  made 
in  the  attempt  to  accept,  or  account,  for  the  immense  antiquity  in 
"years"  which  the  Egyptians  claimed  for  their  royal  dynasties. 
For  example,  Diodorus  says  that  if  the  Egyptian  gods  reigned  from 
300  to  1200  years  each,  this  must  mean  months;  for  "even  at  this 
day,  now  that  there  are  twelve  months  to  the  year,  many  persons  live 
a  hundred  years. "  The  years  of  three  months  each  are  undoubtedly 
matters  of  fact.  The  year,  as  now  understood,  is  not  a  very  ancient 
measure  of  time,  simply  because  it  was  impossible  to  compute  or 
mark  the  year  with  precision.  The  earliest  form  of  the  calendar  was 
probably  lunar;  but  as  the  use  of  a  lunar  calendar  inevitably  leads  to 
the  ascendancy  of  hierarchs  and  the  slavery  and  degradation  of  the 
masses,  there  must  have  come  a  period  in  the  history  of  all  peoples 
when  the  computation  and  regulation  of  time  was  wrested  from  the 
temples  and  conferred 'upon  the  State.  That  period  has  never  been 
traced  higher  than  les  Chrishna,  or  the  first  Buddha  of  India,  and  it 
is  seriously  to  be  doubted  if  any  valid  evidence  exists  to  establish  a 
solar  year,  whether  of  365,  360,  or  any  other  number  of  days,  earlier 
than  the  date  assigned  to  that  mythical,  but  popularly  accepted  law- 
giver. The  earliest  form  of  the  solar  calendar  seems  to  have  been  a 
year  of  about  90  days.  After  the  mythical  period,  their  years,  says 
Diodorus,  writing  of  the  Egyptians,  were  the  same  as  our  seasons, 
(in  Greek,  hor-as,  of  which  there  were  four  to  the  year.)  Diogenes 
says  in  his  Life  of  Thales,  that  the  astronomer  confined  his  attention 
largely  to  the  tropics  (solstices)  and  equinoxes,  because  he  was  satis- 
fied from  the  most  searching  investigations  that  "nothing  else  could 
be  determined  positively."  As  Thales  was  a  Phoenician  by  extraction 
and  a  Greek  by  birth,  this  must  be  taken  to  roughly  express  the  limits 
of  both  Eastern  and  Western  experience  on  the  subject  at  this  period, 
namely,  that  no  better  measure  of  time  had  yet  been  discovered  than 
that  of  reckoning  it  by  seasons.  We  shall  presently  see  that  this 
practice  had  led  to  the  civil  year  of  360  days,  divided  into  eight 
months  each  of  45  days;  yet  the  civil  year  is  not  an  astronomical  in- 
terval and  therefore  is  not  embraced  in  the  remark  attributed  to 
Thales.  In  addition  to  the  years  first  above  mentioned,  Censorinus 
says  that  the  Arcadians  (like  the  Egyptians)  had  years  of  three 


CYCLES.  257 

months;  whilst  the  Carians  and  Acarnanians  had  years  of  six  months 
each.  These  last  probably  consisted  of  two  seasons,  or  horas,  the 
first  commencing  in  our  May,  the  other  in  our  November;  but  the 
practice  of  thus  dividing  time  is  comparatively  modern  and  belongs 
to  the  second  Buddhic  period.  Censorinus  also  asserts  that  under 
King  Ison  (whoever  he  was)  the  Egyptians  had  years  of  four  months 
each;  but  if  sOjthenit  was  when  the  year  was  divided  into  eight  months 
each  of  45  days.  Cf.  Dio.  Sic,  I,  26;  Censorinus,  XIX;  Varro,  in  Lac- 
tantius,  II,  12;  Pliny,  VII,  49;  Manetho,  apud  Eusebius,  "  Chron. ;  " 
Philostratus;  Diogenes;  Plutarch,  in  "Numa;  "  Solinus;  Macrobius; 
Augustin  of  Hippo;  etc. 

Year  of  8  months. — The  season  of  90  days  must  have  proved 
inconveniently  brief  for  long  reckonings  and  inconveniently  long  for 
short  reckonings.  Still,  anxious  to  avoid  the  trap  of  a  lunar  year, 
into  which  it  must  be  inferred  they  had  more  than  once  fallen,  the 
nations  of  antiquity,  instinctively  groping  their  way  toward  emanci- 
pation from  Brahminical  tyranny,  next  adopted  a  solar  year  of  360 
days,  divided  into  eight  half-seasons  each  of  45  days.  The  evidences 
which  establish  this  form  of  calendar  are:  i,  the  number  of  the  gods 
or  kabirim  who  presided  over  the  months,  of  which  gods  there  were 
remotely  but  eight,  (Euterpe,  46) ;  2,  the  ancient  eight-sign  zodiacs, 
of  which  one  is  now  in  the  British  Museum;  3,  and  the  days  of  the 
solar  festivals,  which  now  fall  on  such  odd  days  of  the  month  as  could 
only  have  been  occasioned  by  an  alteration  of  the  calendar  from  a 
year  of  eight  months  to  one  of  ten  months  and,  still  later,  to  one  of 
12  months. 

Year  of  10  months. — The  principal  evidences  which  support  an 
ancient  year  of  ten  months  are  as  follows:  i,  the  alteration  of  the 
zodiac,  which  previous  to  the  second  Buddhic  period,  contained  but 
ten  signs;  2,  the  dislocation  of  the  zodiac  and  the  constellations, 
which  formerly  agreed,  but  do  so  no  longer;  3,  the  numerical  names 
of  the  Roman  months,  wh'-^h  plainly  indicate  that  formerly  the  whole 
number  was  ten;  4,  the  repetition  or  duplication  of  two  names  in 
each  and  all  the  foreign  calendars,  which  indicates  that  formerly 
there  were  but  ten  months;  5,  the  present  appearance  of  many  an- 
cient stone  calendars  and  planispheres  which  shows  that  they  have 
been  altered  from  a  decimal  to  a  duodecimal  division;  6,  the  Roman 
method  of  dividing  the  month,  which  was  originally  by  ides,  (eighteen 
days),  and  nones  (nine  days),  but  was  afterwards  altered  to  ides, 
nones  and  calends,  of  unequal  lengths  and  awkward  arrangement; 
.7,  the  number  of  the  gods,  patriarchs,   dactyles,   laws,   prytanes, 


258  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

dicasts,  judices,  etc.,  which  anciently  was  ten  and  was  afterwards 
altered  to  12;  8,  the  epochs  of  the  solar  festivals,  which  now  fall  on 
days  that  from  their  oddity,  for  example.  Lady  Day,  St.  John's  Day 
and  Christmas,  on  the  25th  and  Michelmas  on  the  29th  of  a  month, 
imply  an  alteration  of  the  calendar  from  a  decimal  to  a  duodecimal 
division;  9,  the  cross-quarter  days,  which  unmistakeably  indicate  the 
alteration;  10,  the  explicit  testimony  of  several  ancient  authors;  be- 
sides many  other  evidences. 

It  may  here  be  remarked  that  the  peculiar  subdivision  of  the  Ro- 
man month  seems  to  have  had  its  precedent  in  India,  some  remains 
of  which  subdivision  were  observed  by  Sonnerat.  The  Hindu  days 
of  tb  f^  moon  were  called  Tides,  which  suggests  Ides.  The  first  of  these 
was  called  Predame,  the  analogue  of  Pridus.  The  ninth  was  called 
Naomi,  or  Navami,  the  analogue  of  nones.  "  Voyage  aux  Indes," 
I,  240-49.  The  Indian  months  began  sometimes  on  the  7th  and  at 
others  on  the  13th  of  the  Roman  months.  This  resembled  the  Ro- 
man ides,  which  fell  variously  on  the  15th  or  else  the  13th  of  the  30- 
day  month. 

Year  of  11  months. — See  Chap.  II,  herein. 

Year  of  12  lunar  months. — Livy  ascribes  the  12  months'  lunar 
year  of  Rome  to  Numa,  while  Julianus  Grsechianus  credits  it  to  Tar- 
quin.     Cf.  Censorinus. 

Year  of  12  civil  months. — The  earliest  form  of  this  year  was 
the  equable,  consisting  of  365  days,  of  which  360  were  apportioned 
to  12  civil  months  and  five  were  intercalated  annually,  or  at  some  less 
frequent  period.  In  the  latter  case  the  epagomence  were  usually 
formed  into  a  supernumerary  month  every  four,  five,  or  six  years. 
The  later  form  of  the  12  months'  year  was  the  Julian,  which  con- 
sisted and  still  consists  of  365^  days.  It  has  been  argued  that  be- 
fore the  calendar  reform  of  Caesar,  the  odd  5  %  days  were  intercalated, 
both  in  Greece  and  Rome,  in  the  same  manner  as  had  been  the  odd 
five  days  of  the  equable  year;  but  whether  this  was  the  fact  or  not, 
Caesar  distributed  five  of  these  days  among  the  various  months,  leav- 
ing only  one-quarter  of  a  day  to  be  intercalated.  This  was  and  is  still 
done  by  making  every  fourth  year  one  day  longer  than  the  others. 

The  exact  length  of  the  natural  tropical  year,  as  determined  by 
Pope  Gregory  in  1582,  is  365d.  ^h.  48m.  49. 7s.,  or  iim.  10.3s.  shorter 
than  the  Julian  year,  which  therefore  in  the  course  of  the  sixteen 
centuries  since  its  establishment  in  Rome,  had  advanced  the  calendar 
more  than  ten  days.  This  difference  formed  the  basis  (though  not 
the  pretext)  of  the  calendar  "reform"  of  Gregory,  one  feature  of 


CYCLES.  259 

which  consisted  of  dropping  ten  days  from  the  calendar,  or  counting 
October  5,  1582,  as  October  15,  1582.  Upon  Gregory's  basis  the 
difference  between  the  Gregorian  and  the  Julian  calendars  now  (A.  D. 
1900)  amounts  to  12  days.  This  is  shown  in  the  difference  between 
the  Christian  date  of  Western  Europe  and  the  Christian  date  of 
Greece  and  Russia,  both  of  which  states  still  employ  the  calendar  of 
Caesar.  Assuming  the  Gregorian  day  to  be  correct,  the  real  differ- 
ence exceeds  15  days.  But  modern  astronomical  investigation  proves 
that  Pope  Gregory  was  wrong  and  that  the  true  length  of  the  trop- 
ical year  is  3656.  ^h.  48m.  46s.  (Newcomb).  The  difference  is  too 
small  to  require  any  further  adjustment  of  the  calendar. 
Year  of  30  months. — Greswell,  F.  C,  II,  139. 

2  years. — The  dieteris,  a  solar  cycle  for  intercalating  an  extra 
lunar  month.  It  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  festival  to  Dionysius. 
Censorinus,  XVIII. 

3  years. — The  trieteris,  a  cycle  of  three  years.     Censorinus. 
4=year  Olympiads.    A  cycle  of  four  solar  years,  at  the  end  of  which, 

it  is  assumed  by  the  Augustan  historians,  that  the  epagomense  were 
intercalated,  and  the  added  interval  devoted  to  rejoicings.  These 
took  the  form  of  athletic  contests,  known  as  the  Olympian  games. 
According  to  their  account,  Coroebus  was  successful  at  the  first  games 
of  the  four-year  Olympiads:  therefore  this  series  was  called  by  his 
name,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  earlier  series  of  five-year  Olympiads, 
next  to  be  mentioned.  The  epoch  was  Hecatombian  ist,  which  cor- 
responded with  the  summer  solstice,  an  agreement  that  was  after- 
wards destroyed  by  the  degenerate  employment  of  lunar,  or  luni- 
solar,  calendars.  The  Romans,  who  would  have  nothing  to  do  with 
lunar  calendars,  reckoned  the  four-year  Olympiads  (in  their  twelve- 
months year)  from  July  ist. 

5=year  Vedic  cycle,  or  cycle  employed  in  the  Indian  Vedas,  or 
sacred  scriptures,  which  Max  Miiller  regards  as  the  most  ancient 
works  extant.  *'  The  month  is  lunar,  but  at  the  end  and  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  quinquennial  period  an  intercalation  is  admitted  by  doubling 
one  month.  Accordingly,  the  cycle  comprises  three  common  lunar 
years,  besides  two  others,  each  of  which  contains  thirteen  lunations, 
altogetherfive  yea^s.  The  year  is  divided  into  six  seasons  and  each 
month  into  two  half-months.  A  complete  lunation  is  measured  by 
30  lunar  days,  some  of  which,  of  course,  must  in  alternate  months 
be  sunk,  to  make  the  dates  agree  with  the  Nychthemera,  for  which 
purpose  the  62nd  day  appears  to  be  deducted.  Thus  the  cycle  of 
.five  years  consists  of  i860  lunar  days  or  1830  Nychthemera,  subject 


26o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY 

to  further  correction.  The  zodiac  is  divided  (in  the  Vedas)  into  27 
asterisms  or  signs,  the  first  of  which,  both  in  the  Jyotish  and  the 
Vedas,  is  Crittica,  or  the  Pleiades."  ....  The  measure 
of  a  day  by  30  hours  and  that  of  an  hour  by  60  minutes  are  ex- 
plained in  Colebrooke's  Essays,  I,  106.  The  cycle  of  five  years 
was  expanded  to  one  of  60  years.  Brennand,  "  Hindu  Astron.,"  60. 
This  was  probably  after  the  determination  of  the  period  of  Jupiter. 

5=year  Olympiads.  At  the  remotest  period  to  which  Greek  his- 
tory can  be  traced  the  epagomenae  were  intercalated  every  five  years 
and  the  supernumerary  month  (of  25  days)  was  devoted  to  a  festival, 
with  rejoicings  and  games,  which  became  the  origin  of  the  Ischenia, 
Crcnia,  or  Saturnalia.  The  establishment  of  the  five-year  Olympiads 
was  attributed  by  the  Greeks  to  Jasius  and  the  Ten  Dactyles,  B.  C. 
1406:  but,  in  fact,  they  cannot  be  traced  back  earlier  than  the  Vene- 
tian Ischenus,  after  whom  they  were  originally  named  and  whose  aera 
was  B,  C.  1 2 19.  Furgault,  199,  attributes  the  Greek  pentaeteris  to 
Bacchus.  In  B.  C.  884,  according  to  Eratosthenes,  or  B.  C.  828, 
according  to  Callimachus,  this  festival,  which  had  fallen  into  neglect, 
was  revived  by  King  Iphitus,  in  honor  of  Jupiter,  that  newly-dis- 
covered god,  for  whom  the  Greeks  had  forsaken  their  faithful,  but 
now  unfashionable,  Ischenus,  whose  later  name  of  Issus,  Nissus,  or 
Dionysius  is,  however,  still  firmly  attached  to  the  rivers  and  towns 
of  Greece  and  of  the  Greek  colonies  in  Asia  Minor.  The  festival 
was  held  at  Pisa,  on  the  banks  of  the  Alpheus,  near  the  great  temple 
of  Ischenus,  afterwards  dedicated  to  Jupiter  at  Olympia,  and  was 
observed  down  to  the  period  of  Augustus.  The  Scythians,  or  Goths, 
more  faithful  to  their  ancient  worship  than  the  Greeks,  observed  the 
quinquennial  Olympiads  down  to  the  last  days  of  Augustus.  "  In 
Scythia  nobis quinquennis  Olympias  acta  est."  Ovid's  Pontine  Epis- 
tles, IV,  6.  In  Rome  the  quinquennial  Olympian  festivals  were  prac- 
tically abolished  by  Augustus,  who  deprived  them  of  their  sacred 
character  and  gave  them  a  new  name.  They  lingered  until  abol- 
ished by  Theodosius,  A.  D.  394.  In  modern  times  the  Olympian 
games,  consisting  of  mere  athletic  contests,  having  no  connection 
with  the  calendar,  nor  with  astrology,  nor  religion,  were  revived  by 
Mr.  Zappas,  A.  D.  1858,  and  again  by  the  efforts  of  some  other 
wealthy  Greek,  in  A.  D.  1896,  on  which  last  occasion  they  were  cele- 
brated in  the  restored  stadium  of  Athens. 

5=year  lustrum.  A  cycle  of  five  solar  years,  the  end  of  which 
was  celebrated  by  the  Romans  with  expiatory  sacrifices.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  lustrum  was  similar  to  and  had  its  origin  in 


CYCLES.  261 

the  five-year  Olympiads.  It  is  said  to  have  been  instituted  in  Rome 
B.  C.  472.  Censorinus  XVIII  ascribes  its  origin  to  Servius  Tulhus 
(B.  C.  578).     The  lustra  were  last  celebrated  A.  D.  74. 

8  years. — The  octaeteris  of  99  lunations,  or,  approximately,  eight 
Julian  years.  The  discovery  of  this  cycle  is  attributed  by  Censori- 
nus, XVIII,  either  to  Cleostratus  of  Tenidos  (B.  C.  536),  or  else  to 
Eudoxus  of  Cnidus  (fourth  Century  B.  C.)  See  99  lunations.  The 
Dalmatae  of  the  Adriatic,  probably  connected  with  the  Veneti,  redi- 
vided  their  lands  every  eighth  year.     Strabo,  VII,  v,  5. 

11  years,  plus.  Cycle  of  the  Sun  Spots  as  determined  by 
Schwabe,  of  Dessau,  from  observations  made  during  the  period 
A.  D.  1826-72,  "  rather  more  than  11  years."  Am.  Cyc.  Brit.,  art. 
"Astronomy." 

12  years. — The  Cycle  of  Jupiter,  or  Jove,  and  the  orbital  period 
of  that  planet.  This  cycle  was  probably  known  in  India  so  early  as 
the  1 2th  Century  B.  C.  and  in  Chaldea  not  long  afterwards.  (See 
Chapter  V,  herein).  From  Chaldea  the  discovery  made  its  way  to 
Egypt  and  Greece,  in  both  of  which  countries  it  exercised  an  im- 
portant influence  upon  astrological  and  religious  belief.  The  Jovian 
cult  was  probably  introduced  into  Greece  before  the  time  of  Iphitus, 
because,  as  shown  above,  he  adapted  the  five-year  Ischenia  (Olym- 
piads) to  its  ceremonial;  yet  the  Jovian  cult,  under  another  name, 
e.  g.,  the  Isthenian,  Pelopian,  or  Cronian,  may  have  preceded  a 
knowledge  of  the  Jovian  cycle.  Censorinus  calls  it  "'the  Chaldean 
or  Great  year";  Pausanias,  "the  Great  Year."  The  more  exact 
period  of  Jupiter's  orbit  is  12  years  and  five  days.  Scaliger  shows 
that  "from  the  earliest  times"  the  12-year  cycle  was  common  to  the 
Taters  (Mongols,  Mantchus  and  Igurians),  the  Tibetans,  Chinese, 
Siamese  and  Japanese.  Plutarch  says  of  the  60-year  cycle,  "It  is 
the  original  cycle  known  to  all  astronomers,"  meaning  very  ancient. 

15  years. — Cycle  of  the  Indiction.  A  cycle  of  15  solar  years, 
equal  to  three  lustra,  employed  by  the  Romans  for  levying  taxes  and 
counting  the  population.  According  to  Gregory  VII.,  (A.D.  1073-80) 
and  as  set  forth  in  L'art  de  Verifier  les  Dates  and  in  the  various 
chronological  works  and  Dictionaries  of  Dates  based  upon  it,  the 
Indictions  commenced  with  the  sera  of  Constantine  the  Great,  Jan- 
uary I,  A.  D.  313;  but  they  really  had  a  much  more  ancient  origin. 
They  are  mentioned  by  Malala  and  the  Paschal  Chronicon  as  of  B.  C. 
45  and  by  Pliny  the  Younger  in  the  reign  of  Trajan:  Nee  novis 
indictionibus  pressi  ad  tributa  deficiant  Both  Scaliger  and  the  Abbe 
Lengletde  Fresnoy,  unwilling  to  mention  the  true  date  of  the  Roman 


262  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Indictions,  have  attributed  them  to  a  slightly  older  date  than  they 
merit,  namely,  the  Caesarian  aeraof  Antioch,  B.  C.  48.  Picot,  I,  151. 
The  history  of  this  cycle  is  preserved  in  the  New  Testament  and  the 
Monumentum  Ancyranum.  It  was  originally  established  B.  C.  45,  or 
30  and  permanently  confirmed  by  Augustus  after  the  pacification  of 
Syria  and  before  the  death  of  Herod.  This  was  Anno  Augusto  i, 
or  B.  C.  15.  Its  epoch  for  the  Oriental  provinces  was  September 
ist;  for  the  Occident,  September  24th.  The  Hebrew  lunar  calendar 
has  a  cycle  of  15  years,  during  which  the  days  of  the  septuary  week 
return  to  the  same  days  of  the  same  month. 

16  years. — Geminus  mentions  an  intercalary  cycle  of  16  and 
and  another  one  of  160  years,  to  correct  the  departure  from  the 
moon  in  the  octaeteric  period.  Dodv-ell,  de  Cyc. ,  p.  173,  cited  by 
Lewis,  p.  119. 

18  years.     (Approx.) — The  Ecliptical  cycle  of  :;23  lunations. 

19  years.     (Approx.) — Metonic  cycle  of  235  lunations. 

20  years. — Cycle  of  the  Chibchas.     See  A.  D.  i  in  Ch.  VII. 

24  years. — CyciC  mentioned  in  Livy,  I,  19.  Macrobius,  Sat.  I, 
13,  explains  it  by  supposing  that  Numa  was  aware  of  the  Julian  year 
and  used  a  triple  octaeteris,  /.  ^. ,  a  cycle  of  297  months,  or,  approxi- 
mately, 24  Julian  years,  to  adjust  his  calendar.  All  this  is  possible, 
but  it  ill  agrees  with  the  preposterous  304-day  year  which  the  chro- 
nologists  have  attributed  to  the  Roman  lawgiver. 

25  years. — Eikosipentaeteris,  or  Apis  cycle,  strictly  24  years  and 
359  days,  or  309  lunations,  q.  v.  Sapi  is  the  Hindu  word  for  a  cow, 
from  which  Haliburton  infers  that  Apis  and  Serapis  are  drawn. 
"Festival  of  the  Dead,"  p.  83.  Herodotus,  in  Clio  7,  evidently 
used  this  period  for  a  generation.  For  "  505  "  of  his  corrupt  text, 
read  550,  which,  being  divided  by  22,  gives  25  years. 

28  years. — Dominical  cycle.  If  it  were  not  for  leap-years,  every 
seventh  year  would  bring  the  New  Year  day  to  the  same  day  of  the 
septuary  week.  In  consequence  of  leap  year,  it  requires  28  years  to 
effect  this  return.  Hales,  I,  59.  It  cannot  be  older  than  tempo 
Nebo-Nazaru,  when  the  septuary  week  was  established  in  the  Occi- 
dent, and  it  may  not  be  older  than  than  the  Augustan  period,  when 
names  were  first  given  to  such  days  by  the  Romans. 

30  years. — Druidical  cycle  (Pliny,  N.H.,  XVI,  95);  probably  de- 
rived from  the  Jovian,  the  sexagesimal,  etc.  The  same  period  was 
reckoned  as  a  generation,  an  average  reign,  and  "an  Age,"  both  by 
the  Greeks  and  the  Northern  nations.  Dio.  Sic,  book  I,  p.  65  ;  Gres- 
well,  F.  C,  Intro.,  21;  Pliny,  II,  6;  and  Vettius  Valens,  lib.  iii,  p. 


CYCLES.  263 

90;  the  last  named  writers  also  call  it  the  period  of  Saturn,  which, 
however,  is  in  fact,  less  than  29^  years.  A  30-year  cycle  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Rosetta  stone.  A  30-year  cycle  also  belongs  to  the 
religion  of  les  Chrishna.  See  "  Story  of  the  Gods,"  IV,  4.  Also 
to  that  of  Mahomet.     See  A.  D.  622. 

33  years. — Lesser  Manvantara  cycle.  The  usual  lifetime  or  reign 
of  astrological  incarnations,  or  demi-gods,  founded  on  the  astrono- 
mical fact  that  it  requires  ;^;^  years  to  carry  the  beginning  of  the  lunar 
year  through  all  the  seasons  to  the  same  solar  point  and  conjunction 
again.  See  Tatius  under  B.  C.  769;  Pisistratus,  B.  C.  527;  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  B.  C.  332;  and  Theodoric,  A.  D.  493. 

S2  years. — Intercalary  cycle  of  the  Aztecs,  who,  every  52  years, 
added  sometimes  12,  sometimes  13,  days  to  the  equable  year,  to  bring 
it  to  the  Julian,     See  A.  D.  1090. 

54  years, — Three  Ecliptical  cycles,  aggregating  669  lunations, 
equal  to,  approximately,  54  years  and  one  month.  This  cycle  was 
used  by  the  Chaldeans. 

59  years. — The  cycle  of  730  lunations,  q.  v.  If  29)^  days  are 
reckoned  to  a  lunation,  730  lunations  would  make  21,535  days,  which 
is  exactly  equal  to  59  equable  years.  These  rude  equivalents  were 
employed  by  Philolaus  the  Pythagorian,  who  intercalated  21  months 
into  this  cycle,  to  adjust  the  equable  and  lunar  years.  Censorinus, 
XVIII.  Greswell  ascribes  this  cycle  to  (Enopides.  See  K.H.,  IV, 
639  n,  and  F.  C,  I,  577,  608.  Lewis  says  it  is  defective  and  prob- 
ably corrupt. 

60  years. — Sexagesimal  solar  or  sidereal  cycle,  a  multiple  of  the 
Jovian.  The  Jovian  cycle  appears  to  have  been  used  in  the  Orient 
as  early  at  least  as  the  12th  century  B,  C.,  but  in  Greece  not  earlier 
than  the  tenth  century  B.  C.     See  Chapter  V  on  the  Jovian  cycle. 

72  years. — A  "taurus."  The  period  of  72  years  measured  the 
manvatara  of  Manu.  It  is  the  interval  during  which  the  year  of  the 
Pleiades  gains  one  day  on  the  tropical  year.  Haliburton,  "  Festival 
of  the  Dead, "  p.  99.  On  p.  59  of  the  same  work  he  makes  the  Pleiades 
gain  one  day  in  71  years  and  elsewhere  one  day  in  71  3-7  years.  This 
uncertainty  hardly  justifies  him  in  applying  the  "  taurus, "  as  he  does, 
to  "the  72  sons  of  Noah." 

82  years. — Cycle  of  Democritus  of  Abdera,  into  which  he  inter- 
calated 28  months.  Censorinus,  XVIII.  The  a^ra  of  Democritus 
was  B.  C.  460-355,  for  he  lived  to  the  extreme  age  of  105  years.  The 
cycle  of  Democritus  seems  to  have  been  a  lunar  cycle  of  1050  luna- 
tions, having  for  its  equivalent  a  Julian  solar  cycle  of  about  82  years. 


264  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

As  shown  by  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis,  the  cycle  is  faulty;  never- 
theless it  corroborates  a  knowledge  of  the  Julian  year  at  this  early 
period. 

84  years. — The  Jewish  paschal  cycle  of  1039  lunations,  was  the 
equivalent  of  (approximately)  84  Julian  years.  It  consisted  of  four 
Metonic  and  one  octaeteric  cycle.  Greswell,  F.  C,  Intro.,  191 ;  I,  68. 
This  cycle  was  invented  by  the  Jews.  Brady.  I,  294.  It  was  invented 
by  the  Jews  before  the  Christian  aera,  in  order  to  determine  the  civil 
solar  date  of  the  Passover  festival  in  a  lunar  calendar.  Lyons,  op. 
cit. ,  p.  16.  It  was  invented  by  the  Jews  during  the  Roman  imperial 
age.     Appleton's  Cyc. ,  art.  "Chronology." 

90  years. — Graharparivritti  cycles  of  sourthern  India,  the  first 
one  of  which  was  fixed  in  the  3078th  year  of  the  Calijoga,  or  B.  C. 
24.  The  Pandits'  "Chronology."  This  appears  to  be  a  variation 
of  the  Jovian  and  sexagesimal  cycles.  The  Pandits  do  not  state 
whether  the  Graharparivritti  cycles  were  sidereal  or  solar. 

95  years, — Augustan  paschal  cycle,  consisting  of  five  Metonic 
cycles,  or  1175  lunations,  the  original  epoch  of  which  was  the  Ascen- 
sion Day  of  Divus  Augustus  Quirinus  Dionysius,  August  29th.  This 
cycle  has  been  employed  to  mark  the  return  and  week-day  of  Easter, 
by  means  of  the  Dominical  letter  in  the  series  A  to  G.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  mentioned  in  the  Chronicle  of  Bede  as  the  "laterculus  septi- 
zonii,"  or  septizodii.  The  date  of  Bede's  Chronicle  is  commonly 
fixed  in  A.  D.  731,  but,  as  shown  by  Wright  and  others,  no  certain 
reliance  can  be  placed  upon  this  date  as  a  guide  to  the  age  of  the 
matters  mentioned  in  the  Chronicle.  Rev.  Dr.  Greswell  has  proved 
that  there  is  no  historical  warrant  for  attributing  this  cycle  to  Cyril, 
the  "  Christian  patriarch  of  Alexandria,"  in  the  fifth  century,  nor  for 
attributing  it  to  the  particular  period  A.  D.  437-52,  as  is  done  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Hales.  Greswell  has  also  proved  that  the  original  epoch 
of  this  cycle  was  August  29th.  It  is  evidently  an  Augustan  paschal 
cycle,  vamped  by  the  Latin  church  at  some  period  later  than  the  eighth 
century,  by  removing  its  epoch  to  Easter  and  attributing  its  inven- 
tion to  an  imaginary  official. 

108  years, — A  generation;  according  to  some  ancient  authors. 
Nisard's  Censorinus,  note  to  chap.  XVII.     See  540  years,  herein. 

110  years. — The  Saccular  cycle,  celebrated  in  Rome  by  the  Ludi 
saeculares,  or  Saccular  games,  every  no  years.  They  are  alluded  to 
by  Horace,  Virgil,  Suetonius,  Pliny  and  numerous  other  Roman  au- 
thors. Herodian,  lib.,  II,  p.  405,  says  that  they  were  mentioned  in 
the  Sibylls.     Dupuis,  II,  ii,  47,  thinks  they  were  of  Bacchanalian 


CYCLES.  265 

(really  Buddhic)  origin.  These  games  celebrated  one-sixth  of  the 
Divine  year  (658  common  years)  of  the  Romans  and  Etruscans. 
Analogy  suggests — though  we  have  no  record  of  the  fact — that  the 
22-3  months  in  excess  of  one-sixth  of  the  Divine  year,  measured  by 
this  cycle,  were  anciently  sunk  from  the  calendar  every  no  years:  a 
suggestion  that  may  throw  some  light  on  the  80  days  deficiency  which 
Caesar  found  in  the  calendar  of  Syllaand  the  two  years  of  difference 
between  Piso's  sera  of  Romulus  and  the  Italiote  sera  of  Procas.  For 
a  similar  practice  see  cycle  of  116  years.  The  proper  periods  of  the 
Saccular  games  were  A.  U.  no,  220,  330,  440,  550,  660,  770,  etc.; 
and  until  the  time  of  Augustus  they  were  usually  celebrated  in  those 
years.  But  that  personage,  in  order  to  prove  that  he  was  the  Mes- 
siah and  Prince  of  Peace  fortold  in  the  Sibylls  in  connection  with 
the  sixth  Ludi  sseculares,  sank  78  years  from  the  Roman  calendar 
and  recelebrated  the  sixth  as  the  seventh  Ludi  in  A.  U.  738,  when 
he  was  apotheosised  and  proclaimed  in  Rome  as  the  Son  of  God,  or 
Mediator,  inter  dies  et  homines.  The  sunken  period  of  78  years  was, 
many  centuries  later,  reduced  by  the  Christian  church  to  63  years, 
possibly  by  introducing  the  followiug  superfluous  years  in  the  calen- 
dar, as  indicated  by  the  chronology  of  Nicephorus:  in  the  reign  of 
Tiberius,  i;  Nero,  i ;  Pertinax,  i;  Diocletian,  2;  Constantine  II.,  i; 
Valens,  2;  Theodosius,  i;  Arcadius,  i;  Leo,  i ;  Justin,  II,  4;  total 
15.  The  new  dates  were  then  probably  introduced  into  all  the  an- 
cient works  that  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sacred  College. 

116  years. — Intercalary  cycle  of  the  Southern  Indian  Kollam 
sera,  upon  whose  return  30  days  are  intercalated  into  a  Julian  Cal- 
endar.    See  A.  D.  825,  Southern  India. 

120  years. — If  instead  of  intercalating,  as  we  now  do,  one  day 
every  fourth  year,  to  bring  the  equable  to  the  Julian  year,  we  re- 
served these  odd  days  until  the  120th  year  and  then  added  a  civil 
month  of  30  days  to  the  Calendar,  the  final  result  would  be  the  same. 
This  sort  of  intercalation,  marked  by  a  great  festival,  is  asserted  by 
Prof.  Flinders  Petrie  to  have  been  practised  in  Egypt  at  a  remote 
period.  The  festival  is  quite  possible,  but  in  assuming  that  it  marked 
the  antiquity  of  such  an  intercalation,  that  eminent  Egyptologist  is 
evidently  mistaken.  He  quotes  with  approval  Prof.  Mahler  of  Vienna, 
who  believed  that  he  found  the  evidences  of  such  an  intercalation  in 
an  inscription  of  "  Thotmes  III.,"  whom  he  dates  in  "  1503  to  1449 
B.  C. "  It  is  plain  that  no  festival  which  celebrated  an  equation  of 
equable  and  Julian  years  could  have  been  celebrated  before  the  Julian 
year  was  known.     It  was  certainly  unknown  to   Herodotus,  who 


266  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Studied  in  Egypt;  and  there  is  as  yet  no  evidence  which  establishes 
a  knowledge  of  it  anywhere  previous  to  the  period  of  the  Second 
Buddha.  Albiruni,  p.  12,  says  that  the  Persians  of  his  time,  about 
A.  D.  1000,  intercalated  a  month  every  120  years.  Hyde  ascribes 
this  cycle  to  Giemshid;  but  a  Julian  year  of  such  antiquity  is  doubt- 
ful. As  a  Persian  discovery  it  may  have  been  ancient  enough  to 
have  been  carried  into  Egypt  when  that  country  was  conquered  by 
Cambyses.  But  this  is  mere  conjecture.  It  is  the  same  with  the 
thirty-day  civil  month,  which  the  use  of  the  120-year  cycle  and  the 
observance  of  the  festival,  implies.  There  is  no  evidence  of  its  use 
before  the  period  of  the  Second  Buddha.  On  the  contrary,  the 
archaological  and  literary  evidences,  prove  the  common  use  of  a  year 
o^'  ten  months  each  of  ;^6  days  bef,ore  that  period:  and  Egypt  was 
no  exception  to  this  rule.  As  to  the  credibility  of  Egyptian  dates, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Greswell,  who  examined  them  with  great  care,  long 
since  pronounced  a  verdict  which  every  fresh  archseoiogical  discovery 
has  only  tended  to  confirm:  they  are  utterly  false  and  unreliable. 
In  the  effort  to  exaggerate  their  own  antiquity  and  to  conceal  their 
racial  origin,  the  Egyptians  invented  hundreds  of  imaginary  gods 
and  kings,  whose  fabulous  exploits  they  commemorated  in  epigraphs 
of  a  long  subsequent  age.  They  were  the  worthy  forerunners  of  the 
classical  mythologists  and  the  medieval  monks.  Prof.  Petrie's  re- 
marks appeared  in  the  London  Times  of  October  10,  1897.  Prof. 
Lauth  says  that  the  Egyptian  cycle  of  120  years  was  called  Hanti,  a 
word  that  suggests  duality.  He  is  therefore  of  opinion  that  this 
cycle  was  merely  a  double  period  of  60  years.  Jules  Oppert  evi- 
dently regards  it  as  aggregating  24  lustra.  See  432,000  years,  in 
which  this  combination  appears.  The  reason  for  doubling  the  sossos 
or  Jovian  cycle  of  60  years  is  suggested  under  B.  C.  703,  Persia,  in 
Chap.  VII  hereof.  It  was  to  harmonise  the  ten  and  12  months' 
years.  It  had  previously  been  employed  for  this  purpose  in  China. 
Prof-  Lauth's  statement  is  from  Gustav  Oppert,  op.  cit.  p.  S33- 

160  years. — It  is  suggested  by  Geminus,  Dodwell,  Lewis,  and 
the  Encyc.  Brit.  Art  "  Calendar"  that  a  cycle  of  this  length  was  pro- 
posed by  the  Greek  astronomers  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  B.  C. , 
for  the  purpose  of  synchronizing  the  Solonic  lunar  year  of  6  X  30 
-[-  6  X  29  =  354  days  with  the  Julian  year  of  365^  days.  The 
octateris  actually  employed  consisted  of  354  X  8  -f-  3  X  30  =  2922 
days,  which  is  1.528  days,  or  about  36  hours  short  of  99  lunations. 
In  160  years,  an  interval  twenty  times  the  length  of  the  octaeteris, 
this  would  amount  to  about  30  days,  or  one  month,  which  it  is  further 


CYCLES.  267 

suggested  was  proposed  to  be  omitted  from  the  calendar.  The  pre- 
sumption that  the  exact  Julian  year  was  known  at  this  early  period 
is  explicitly  contradicted  by  the  testimony  of  Censorinus  and  it  can- 
not be  admitted  without  positive  proof.  The  nearest  approach  to  it 
was  the  year  of  OEnopides.  See  365^  days,  1980  lunations  and  16 
years. 

200  years, — Ducenarium,  or  "luni-solar  medieval  cycle"  of  Ar- 
menia.    Greswell,  F.  C. ,  I,  561. 

247  years.  (Approx.) — Thirteen  Metonic  cycles.  See  3055  lu- 
nations. 

304  years.  (Approx.) — Sixteen  Metonic  cycles.  See  3760  luna- 
tions. Censorinus,  XVIII,  attributes  this  cycle  to  Hipparchus,  who 
intercalated  in  it  112  months  and  called  it  the  Great  Year.  See  608- 
year  cycle.  Dr.  Greswell  believes  that  this  cycle  (which  implies  a 
division  of  the  year  into  12  civil  months  averaging  30  days  each,  with 
five  intercalaries)  can  be  traced  to  India  B.  C.  946;  but  this  is  very 
doubtful.  F.  C,  I,  68  n.  Its  attribution  by  Censorinus  to  Hippar- 
chus is  far  more  likely  to  be  correct. 

312  years. — Aztec  cycle,  composed  of  six  luni-solar  cycles  of  52 
years.  It  is  also  connected  with  the  luni-solar  cycle  of  200  years. 
Greswell,  F.  C. ,  I,  561. 

360  years. — The  Surya  Siddhanta,  I,  14,  says  that  six  times  60 
sidereal  years  make  a  "divine"  year.  This  interval  was  evidently 
used  as  a  means  of  harmonising  the  mean  sidereal  day  of  23h.  56m. 
(approx.)  and  the  mean  solar  day  of  24h.,  the  difference  being  4m. 
(approx.)  In  six  years  (not  60  years,  as  stated  by  Greswell,)  the  dif- 
ference would  be  24m.  and  in  360  years,  24  hours,  or  one  day.  It 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  connected  (as  Greswell  supposes)  with 
the  cycle  of  the  eclipses. 

418  years. — Cycle  used  by  Ptolemy.  It  consisted  of  five  and  a- 
half  Calippic  cycles,  each  of  (approx.)  76  years.    Albiruni. 

500  years. — Chinese  '"phen,"  corrupted  by  the  Greeks  to  "phen- 
ix,"  or  the  so-called  Phoenix  cycle  and  supposed  by  Greswell  to 
have  consisted  of  exactly  500  years;  but  this  period  is  as  fanciful  as 
the  tale  of  the  oft  reincarnated  phoenix  bird,  which  is  attached  to  the 
cycle  itself.  The  various  mss.  of  Pliny  relating  to  this  cycle  (N.  H.  X,  2,) 
read  540,  511  and  560  years.  Syncellus  and  Suidas  say  654  years. 
Tacitus  gives  one  of  the  phoenix  periods  at  146 1  years,  which  really 
is  the  Sothic  cycle,  q.  v.  Solinussays  the  phoenix  cycle  is  not  540  but 
12,954  years,  which  is  Cicero's  Great  Year  and  is  really  one-half  of 
the  Precessional  Year.     The  phen,  or  phenix  period  was  probably 


268  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  Oriental  manvantara,  or  one-tenth  of  the  Earth's  life,  which  the 
Egyptians,  when  their  year  was  altered  from  ten  to  12  months,  re- 
duced to  one-twelfth;  thus  6586-=-i2=55o  years,  (approx.)  the  prob- 
able Egyptian  phenix  cycle.  See  cycle  of  550  years,  below.  In  any 
case,  it  is  astrological  and  not  astronomical. 

504  years. — Cycle  of  Hipparchus.     Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339. 

509  years. — Divine  year  of  Manilius  cited  in  Pliny,  N.  H. ,  X,  ii,  i. 
This  is  one-twelfth  of  6108  years,  q.  v. 

511  years. — See  500  years.  See  also  the  pretended  Hyksos  pe- 
riod in  chap.  X. 

532  years. — The  Dionysian  cycle,  or  Divine  year  of  the  Dio- 
nysians,  at  the  end  of  which  Dionysius  would  return  to  earth  and 
i  '/augurate  a  new  sera  of  peace  and  happiness  to  mankind.  As  this  cycle 
was  afterwards  adopted  by  the  church  of  Rome,  called  the  Paschal 
cycle  and  employed  to  calculate  the  return  of  the  moon,  from  which 
Easter  is  dated,  its  history  may  repay  some  research. 

I.  The  Dionysian  cycle  consists  of  532  equable  years  and  140  days 
over;  or  of  532  Julian  years  and  seven  days  over;  or  of  194,320  days; 
or  of  28  Metonic  cycles;  or  of  6580  lunar  revolutions;  or  of  28  by 
19,  the  multiplication  of  a  solar  and  lunar  cycle  of  years. 

II.  It  is  a  compound  of  the  Metonic  and  solar  cycles;  so  that  it 
not  only  gives  the  moon  on  the  day  of  the  30-day  month;  it  also 
gives  the  day  of  the  septuary  week  of  such  moon. 

III.  It  was  not  used  by  the  Greeks  in  their  achme.  They  had  no 
septuary  week.  It  was  not  used  by  the  Romans  of  the  republic;  nor 
by  the  Romans  of  the  empire,  until  after  the  revival  of  the  Dionysian 
cult. 

IV.  It  is  pretended  by  the  church  of  Rome  and  repeated  by  Blair 
and  other  chronologists  that  this  cycle  was  employed  by  Victorius,  a 
Christian  monk,  in  A.  D.  463.  It  is  not  disputed  that  Victorius  em- 
ployed it;  but  no  valid  evidence  has  been  offered  to  prove  that  he 
was  a  Christian  and  not  a  Dionysian  monk. 

V.  It  is  pretended  by  the  church  of  Rome  that  this  cycle  was  em- 
ployed by  Dionysius  Exiguus,  a  Scythian  Christian  monk,  in  A.  D. 
524,  to  calculate  the  nativity  of  Christ.  To  this  pretension  it  is  to 
be  objected  that  Dionysius  Exiguus,  as  a  Christian  monk,  in  or  about 
A.  D.  524,  is  unknown  to  history;  and  that  the  chronological  canon 
which  goes  by  his  name  really  measures  a  Dionysian  Divine  year  from 
the  Egyptian  Apotheosis  of  Augustus  B.  C.  8, — who  was  worshipped 
as  the  incarnation  of  Dionysius — to  the  year  imputed  to  Dionysius 
Exiguus,  namely,  A.  D.  524;  a  circumstance  that  throws  suspicion 


CYCLES,  269 

on  its  Roman  and  rather  betrays  its  Alexandrian  origin.  Indeed 
some  chronologists  call  it  the  Alexandrian  cycle.  An  engraving  of 
Augustus  as  Dionysius,  taken  from  an  antique  statue,  will  be  found  in 
Duruy's  History  of  Rome.  Besides  this  one,  there  are  innumerable 
ancient  monuments  in  bronze  and  marble  which  attest  the  long  and 
widespread  existence  of  the  Augustan  cult. 

VI.  The  Dionysian  cycle,  or  divine  year,  is  mentioned  by  Albiruni, 
a  Moslem  writer,  A.  D.  973-1048,  who  says  that  "the  Jews  had  a  cycle 
of  532  years,  called  the  Major  Cycle,  consisting  of  6580  months." 
(Albiruni,  4to.  ed.,  1879,  p.  6^.)  This  is  unquestionably  the  same 
cycle.  It  is  the  degenerate  descendant  of  the  Buddhic  divine  year 
of  552  years.  This  Buddhic  interval  was  a  solar  divine  year;  whilst 
its  progeny  was  lunar. 

VII.  The  fact  that  the  Dionysian  divine  year  contains  almost  the 
same  number  of  lunar  months,  (6580),  as  the  Hindu  divine  year  con- 
tains of  astrological  months,  (6585?^),  maybe  merely  a  coincidence; 
yet  such  coincidence  could  hardly  have  been  without  its  influence  in 
persuading  the  Dionysians  to  accept  this  cycle  as  their  divine  year  in 
place  of  the  Oriental  one. 

VIII.  The  first  valid  mention  of  the  Dionysian  divine  year  as  a 
Christian  paschal  cycle  occurs  in  Argyrus,  who  wrote  A.  D.  1372  ;  but 
there  is  reason  to  believe  that  its  adoption  as  such  is  really  due  to 
Pope  Gregory  VII.,  A.  D.  1080,  in  whose  pontificate  had  occurred 
the  reform  of  the  Persian  calendar  by  Omar  Kayyam,  A.  D.  1079.  It 
is  also  to  be  noticed  that  within  a  year  or  two  of  this  date,  the  Ar- 
menians changed  their  divine  year  from  552  to  532  years,  that  is  to 
say,  from  the  ancient  or  Buddhic-Dionysian  to  the  Augusto-Diony- 
sian  standard.  This  last  mentioned  change  may  be  attributed  to  the 
influence  of  Rome. 

IX.  Dr.  Greswell  reluctantly  admits  that  the  canon  imputed  to 
Theophilus  of  Alexandria  was  "set  back  purposely  "  from  A.  D.  385 
to  A.  D.  380,  and  that  the  canon  of  Dionysius  Exiguus  "was  set 
back  a  paschal  period  of  532  years,  from  A.  D.  524  to  B.  C.  9." 
(Read  B,  C.  8.)  If  it  was  really  "  set  back  "  it  must  have  been  set 
back  from  the  end  of,  at  least,  the  second  Augusto-Dionysian  divine 
year,  A.  D.  1056;  because,  merely  to  set  it  back  from  the  end  of  the 
first  one,  A.  D.  524,  was  in  fact  not  to  set  it  back  at  all.  Dr.  Gres- 
well might  have  admitted  much  more  and  still  have  kept  safely  within 
the  lines  of  historical  candor  and  ecclesiastical  prudence. 

540  years. — See  500  years  and  2700  years;  also  108  years. 
550  years. — Twenty-two  Apis  cycles  each  of  25  years.  See  Herod., 


270  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Clio,  7,  and  read  550  for  505 ;  the  former  being  evidently  what  was 
meant  by  the  historian. 

552  years. — Buddhic  divine  year.  In  Armenia,  the  first  of  these 
cycles  began  B.  C.  552,  the  second  A.  D.  o,  or  A.  D.  i  (Greswell 
says  A.  D.  2)  and  the  third  one  A.  D.  552,  while  the  fourth  one  should 
have  begun  A.  D.  1104.  But  it  appears  that  two  or  three  years  after 
the  reform  of  the  Persian  calendar  by  Omar  Kayyam,  A.  D.  1079, 
the  Armenians  prefered  to  compute  time  by  Divine  years  of  532,  in- 
stead of  552  years,  thus  following  the  example  set  them  by  the  Jews, 
namely,  of  obliterating,  by  means  of  a  lunar  reckoning,  the  vener- 
able but  now  despised  memorials  of  Buddha.  Cf.  Greswell,  F.  C, 
Intro.,  17. 

555  years. — One-tenth  of  the  cycle  of  Aretes.      See  5^52  years. 

560  years. — See  550  years. 

600  years. — There  is  no  known  cycle  of  600  years,  either  astro- 
nomical or  astrological;  yet  this  measure  of  time  was  often  used  by 
ancient  writers,  for  example,  Herodotus,  Josephus,  Censorinus,  and 
others.  Bunsen  offers  an  explanation  of  this  period  as  used  bv  Jo- 
sephus, but  the  explanation  is  far  from  satisfactory.  See  "Egypt's 
place  in  History,"  III,  387,  406.  It  appears  rather  to  be  a  round 
statement  of  the  Divine  year,  whether  the  latter  consisted  of  666, 
658,  656,  608,  552,  550,  or  532  years,  which  it  did  at  various  times 
and  places.  The  dominant  measures  of  the  Divine  year  were  the 
Brahminical  of  658  common  years,  the  Buddhic  of  552  years  and  the 
later  Buddhic,  or  Dionysian,  of  532  years;  the  others  were  only  of 
local  or  transient  acceptance.  The  custom  of  employing  the  phrase 
"  600  years  "  for  the  Divine  year  may  have  arisen  from  the  Chaldean 
metrological  system,  which  was  based  on  the  fifth  multiple  of  the 
period  of  Jupiter,  thus,  12  x  5  =  60  x  10  =  600.  These  numbers 
appear  upon  our  clepsydras,  sun-dials  and  clocks,  the  origin  of  all  of 
which  was  Chaldean.  Haliburton,  "Festival  of  the  Dead,"  p.  99, 
says  that  "the  cycle  of  600  years  was  the  great  lunar  cycle  or  cycle 
of  the  Bull";  and  he  instances  its  employment  in  the  600  years  of 
Noah,  when  the  flood  of  waters  was  on  the  earth.  There  is  hardly 
sufficient  warrant  either  for  the  assertion  or  the  theory.  Consult 
note  to  Bohn's  Pliny  II,  9  (12),  and  see  7491  lunations  herein. 

608  years.  (Approx.) — Thirty-two  Metonic  cycles,  the  double 
of  the  304-year  cycle.  The  cycle  of  608  years  (really  7520  lunations) 
was  misleadingly  called  byHipparchus  the  Great  Year,  and  mistaken 
by  Gecdfrey  Higgins  for  the  Divine  Year.  The  undue  sanctity  which 
the  Greek  astronomer  attributed  to  this  cycle  was  derived  from  the 


CYCLES.  271 

same  source  as  the  sanctity  of  the  Metonic  or  Golden  Cycle:  both 
of  these  cycles  served  the  objects,  by  conserving  and  arranging  the 
lunar  festivals,  of  the  temples.  But  in  fact  the  608-year  cycle  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  With  the  Divine  year,  or  with  the  Messiah; 
the  years  of  whose  reincarnation,  sojourn  upon  earth,  etc.,  though 
deduced  from  the  lunar  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses,  were  invariably  solar, 
and  not  lunar,  nor  luni-solar  years.  The  priests  of  antiquity  used 
to  amuse  themselves  and  mystify  the  vulgar  by  em.ploying  the  nu- 
merical elements  of  this  cycle  (the  Greeks  expressed  their  numbers 
in  letters)  wi.h  which  to  spell  significant  names.  As  no  limits  were 
set  to  the  subdivision  of  the  whole  sum,  it  resulted  that  in  fact  almost 
any  names  could  be  spelled  from  it.  Numerous  examples  occur  in 
Higgins'  "Anacalypsis  "  and  Eadie's"  Biblical  Encyclopedia."  Fora 
similar  practice  in  more  modern  times  see  the  666-year  cycle  herein. 

630  years. — Divine  year  of  the  Etruscans,  as  shown  by  the  inter- 
val of  105  years  between  the  first  four  Ludi  Saeculares  known  to  Ro- 
man history.     See  chapter  III  herein. 

640  years. — Phenix  period,  or  Divine  year,  supposed  by  Greswell 
to  have  been  established  B.  C,  798.     Greswell  K.  H.,  VI,  644. 

649  years. — Divine  year  of  the  Second  Adventists.  If  the  Cycle 
of  the  Eclipses  be  multiplied  by  s^,  the  quotient  is  649  solar  years 
and  a  fraction,  thus  6585^  x  36  =  237,072  days  -^  365,  (or  365^ 
days)  ==  649  years  and  a  fraction.  This  is  the  Divine  year  of  the 
modern  Christian  sect  called  Second  Adventists.  It  is  as  fanciful  as 
any  of  the  rest.  It  ignores  the  astrological  construction  of  the  an- 
cient Divine  year  and  substitutes  for  it  a  basis  which  is  partly  astro- 
nomical; when,  in  fact,  astronomy  knows  nothing  of  Divine  years. 
It  arbitrarily  multiplies  the  Eclipse  cycle  by  36;  whereasit  might  with 
as  good  reason  be  multiplied  by  72,  or  any  other  number.  By  these 
means  the  Second  Adventists  predicted  with  confidence  the  end  of 
the  "  Gentile  times"  which  was  to  usher  the  Second  coming  of  Christ 
on  Easter  Day,  April  loth,  1898. 

654  years. — The  Phenix  cycle  of  Syncellus  and  Suidas.  See  500 
years. 

656  years. — Panionic  cycle,  or  Divine  year  of  the  lonians.  These 
years  fell  in  B.  C.  1248,  and  592  and  in  A.  D.  36.  Greswell,  K.  H. 
in,  373. 

658  years. — Divine  year  of  India,  Persia,  Chaldea,  Egypt,  Greece 
and  Rome.  This  year  is  based  on  the  Cycle  of  the  Eclipses,  which  con- 
sists of  223  lunations,  or  6585^  days.  Upon  this  astronomical  fact 
was  built  the  astrological  fancy  that  the  period  of  Days  must  be  com- 


272  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

plemented  by  one  of  Months  and  by  another  one  of  Years.  Hence 
a  system  of  6585^  days  called  "The  Period";  of  6585^  months, 
(ten  to  the  year,  or  658  solar  years),  called  the  manvantara,  or  else 
the  Divine,  or  Messianic  year;  and  of  6585^  years,  which  was  re- 
garded as  the  total  Lifetime  of  the  Earth,  or  of  Mankind,  when  the 
World  was  to  come  to  an  End.  Although  the  mischievous  zeal  of  the 
Hindu  priests  has  furnished  us  with  a  series  of  avatars  and  manvan- 
taras  running  back  to  the  68th  Century  B.  C,  there  is  no  reliable 
proof  that  the  Divine  year,  or  any  Divine  year,  was  used  before  the 
fifteenth  century  B.  C.  in  India,  (sera  of  Chrishna,)  or  before  the  12th 
century  B.  C.  in  the  Greek  states.  All  incarnations,  or  Divine  years, 
relating  to  those  countries  before  these  dates,  and  many  perhaps  of 
*ater  dates,  are  apparently  of  long  subsequent  invention. 

662  years. — A  Divine  year  which  is  gained  by  omitting  the  last 
figure  from  12  Armenian  cycles  of  552  years.  It  was  used  for  a  time 
in  Etruria.     See  Chapter  III. 

665  years, — A  Divine  year;  origin,  medieval.     See  9977  years. 

666  years. — The  Apocalyptic  cycle,  so  called  from  its  mention 
in  the  13th  chapter  of  Revelations.  This  is  apparently  an  Egypto- 
Buddhic,  or  Osirian,  form  of  the  Divine  year,  employed  in  Egypt 
and  in  the  Egyptian  dependency  of  Syria.  It  was  also  used  for  a 
brief  period  in  Etruria.  See  chapter  III.  This  cycle  results  from 
dividing  the  Earth's  Life  of  240  million  years  by  the  ancient  Hindu 
cycle  of  the  Solar  Precession,  which  was  36,000  years.  The  puerile 
practice  of  spelling  names  from  any  Greek  letters  which,  when  added 
together,  are  sufficient  to  compose  the  whole  number  666,  is  alluded 
to  in  Eadie's  "Biblical  Encyclopedia,"  art,  "Numbers."  It  appears 
that  the  names  of  Nero,  Mahomet,  Martin  Luther,  Napoleon  Buona- 
parte, and  other  "enemies"  of  the  Church,  have  thus  been  spelled 
out. 

1000  years. — The  Hindus  of  Southern  India  divide  the  Kollam 
age  (Parasurama)  into  cycles  of  1000  years,  or  millenials.  As  the 
Kollam  reckoning  began  in  Calijoga  1927,  equal  to  B.  C,  11 76,  the 
present,  or  current,  period  falls  into  the  fourth  millenial  cycle.  Thus: 
the  First  extends  from  B.  C,  11 76  to  B.  C.  176;  the  Second,  B.  C.  176 
to  A.  D.  825 ;  the  Third,  A.  D.  825  to  A.  D.  1825 ;  the  Fourth,  A.  D. 
1825  to  A.  D.  2825.  For  a  different  reckoning  of  these  millenials  see 
B.  C.  4825.  For  Abyssinian  millenium,  or  Year  of  Grace,  see  A.  D. 
1348  and  Greswell,  F.  C,  Intro.  16. 

1440  years. — Persian  cycle,  probably  sidereal.  Dupuis,  III, 
ii,  339. 


CYCLES.  273 

1460  years. — The  Sothic,  or  Canicular,  cycle  of  Egypt.  It  was 
a  sidereal  cycle,  which  was  reckoned  from  the  rising  of  the  dog-star 
at  Heliopolis  and  was  based  upon  the  difference  between  the  sidereal 
and  tropical  years,  which  in  the  interval  of  this  cycle  amounts  to 
exactly  one  year:  in  other  words,  1460  sidereal  years  equal  146 1  trop- 
ical. The  same  difference  exists  between  the  Julian  and  equable 
years;  hence  1460  Julian  equal  1461  equable.  An  intercalation  of 
one  year  at  the  end  of  the  Sothic  cycle  restored  the  tropical  to  the 
sidereal  and  the  equable  to  the  Julian  reckoning.  The  period  when 
this  cycle  was  first  employed  could  hardly  have  been  earlier  than  the 
employment  of  a  Julian  calendar  in  Egypt;  and  this,  as  shown  under 
"  3^5/i  days,"  was  about  B.  C.  547,  the  period  of  the  second  Hermes 
(Buddha).  According  to  Censorinus,  this  cycle  of  1460  years  was 
mentioned  by  Aristotle.  It  is  also  mentioned  by  Horapollo,  (Ptole- 
maic period),  Dion  Cassius,  Tacitus  and  Theon  of  Alexandria.  The 
last-mentioned  authority  states  that  the  Sothiacal  cycle  of  Egypt  be- 
gan in  the  reign  of  Menephres,  1605  years  before  the  termination  of 
the  ^ra  Augusti.  Upon  the  assumption  that  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  ^^ra  Augusti  the  latter  was  immediately  followed  by  the  JEra. 
Diocletiano,  A.  D.  284,  then  the  .^ra  Augusti  ended  with  A.  D.  283; 
and  1605  years  before  this  was  B.  C.  1322;  which  therefore  was  the 
epoch  of  the  Sothiacal  cycle  and  the  regnal  year  of  Menephres.  But  the 
calculation  is  open  to  a  question  of  several  years  concerning  the  be- 
ginning and  ending  (if  indeed  there  was  properly  any  ending,)  of  the 
-^ra  Augusti:  the  MSS.  of  Theon  are  somewhat  corrupt;  the  period 
of  the  author  is  not  certain ;  and  an  Egyptian  king  called  Menephres 
is  unknown  either  to  history  or  archaeology.  The  Sothiacal  period  of 
Theon  begins  with  the  aera  of  les  Chrishna  (see  B.  C.  1315);  and  as 
both  the  epoch  of  the  cycle,  Thoth  ist,  the  Seven  Stars  of  the  Pleiades 
and  the  ceremonies  observed  at  the  rising  of  Sothis,  were  connected 
with  the  worship  of  lesiris,  the  period  of  Theon  is  probably  nothing 
more  than  an  astrological  deduction  connected  with  the  pretended 
aera  of  the  first  Buddha,  Osiris,  or  Hermes.  However,  the  cycle 
itself  is  astronomical.  Though  it  may  be  older  in  Egypt  than  the 
worship  of  Isis  and  Osiris,  we  have  no  proof  of  the  fact.  Halibur- 
ton  connects  the  sidereal  year  with  the  worship  of  Osiris  and  makes 
the  dates  of  the  festivals  such  that  they  tally  with  our  Cross  Quarter 
days.  The  heliacal  rising  of  the  Pleiades  in  Egypt  took  place  about 
30  or  40  days  after  the  summer  solstice,  which  would  tally  with  Lam- 
mas; the  Festival  of  the  Dead  occurred  at  Martinmas;  and  the  feast 
of  Lanthorns  at  Candlemas. 


374  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

1800  years. — See  21,600  years. 

2300  years. — Du  Chesaux,  a  French  biblical  chronologist  and 
Second  Adventist  of  the  last  century,  constructed  a  cycle  of  2300 
solar  years  from  the  "  2300  days"  of  Daniel,  viii,  14.  Du  Chesaux's 
cycle  of  years  is  composed  of  122  Metonic,  (lunar,)  cycles  and  its 
equivalent  in  years  is  therefore  inexact,  because  no  whole  number  of 
lunar  cycles  will  make  any  whole  number  of  solar  years,  and  if  the 
2300  years  be  not  exactly  2300  years,  then  there  is  no  warrant  for 
translating  Daniel's  "days"  into  "years."  The  author  of  this  piece 
of  patchwork  invented  two  other  "cycles"  of  similar  construction 
and  thus  complacently  alluded  to  his  own  handiwork :  ' '  Who  can  have 
taught  their  author  (here  he  means  Daniel)  the  marvellous  relation 
between  the  periods  he  employed  and  the  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies?  ...  Is  it  possible,  considering  all  these  points,  to  fail  to 
recognise  in  the  Author  of  these  ancient  books,  the  Creator  of  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  and  of  the  sea  and  of  the  things  which  to 
them  belong?"     Chambers,  "Astron.,"  1890,  II,  463. 

2484  years. — Lifetime  of  the  World.  Aristarchus,  in  Censo- 
rinus,  XVIII. 

2520  years, — An  astrological  result  attained  by  multiplying  the 
number  of  eclipses  in  an  Ecliptical  cycle  by  the  number  of  days  in  an 
ancient  month,  thus  70X36=2520.  It  is  not  known  to  what  use,  if 
any,  this  "cycle"  was  put. 

2700  years. — Hindu  Cycle  of  the  Lokkal,  mentioned  in  the  Pu- 
ranas  and  by  Vridda  Garga,  an  astronomer,  whose  aera  is  placed  at 
the  period  of  the  Mahabharata  wars.  The  Lokkal  is  sometimes  called 
the  Line  of  the  Rishis.  Rishi  means  an  inspired  writer  (of  the  Vedas). 
The  term  Seven  Rishis  was  also  applied  to  the  seven  stars  of  Ursa 
Major,  of  which  Marisha  (Arcturus)  is  the  leader.  The  Lokkal  is  a 
period  of  2700  years,  during  which  Ursa  Major  is  supposed  in  the 
Puranas  to  make  the  revolution  of  the  ecliptic,  which  the  Hindus 
divide  into  27  lunar  mansions,  or  asterisms,  thus  giving  100  degrees 
of  movement  to  each  mansion.  This  cycle  of  2700  years  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Brahma  Siddhanta  of  Sacalya,  but  not  in  the  Surya 
Siddhanta.  The  supposed  rate  of  motion  was  rejected  by  Nrisinha, 
doubted  by  Bhascara  and  avoided  by  Muniswara  in  his  Siddhanta 
Sarvabauma.  Camalacara,  while  admitting  that  the  Puranas  affirmed 
the  cycle  and  the  rate  of  motion,  seems  piously  doubtful  about  en- 
dorsing it.  On  the  other  hand,  Lalla  and  Varaha  Mihira  affirm  its 
correctness.  Brennand,  "Hindu  Astron,,"  thinks  that  the  100  years 
solstice  to  an  asterism  is  a  mistake,  for  1000  years,  made  in  copying 


CYCLES.  275 

the  ancient  scriptures;  the  actual  movement  as  determined  by  later 
investigation,  being  -960  years  to  the  asterism,  or  25,920  years  to 
the  Precession  of  the  Equinoxes.  He  thinks  that  the  Line  of  the 
Rishis,  at  the  rate  of  27,000  years  to  the  Precession,  was  fixed  so 
early  as  1590  B.  C.  and  that  the  correct  period  of  the  Precession 
(25,920  years)  was  known  so  early  as  the  tenth  century  B.  C.  He 
goes  on  to  say  that  "Although  the  epoch  3102  B.  C.  was  probably 
arrived  at  by  calculation  backward,  yet  the  epoch  1590  B.  C.  (the 
Line  of  the  Rishis,  commencing  with  the  first  of  Magha)  was  one  fixed 
by  observation  of  the  then  astronomers  and  always  referred  to  sub- 
sequently as  the  '  Line  of  the  Rishis  '  then  established."  Op.  cit.,  82. 
According  to  Gen.  Cunningham,  the  epochs  of  the  Lokkals  are  fixed 
In  B.  C.  6777,  4077,  1377,  A.  D.  1323,  etc.,  while  Varaha  Mihira 
and  the  later  astronomers  fix  them  in  B.  C.  6077,  3377,  677,  A.  D. 
2023,  etc.     Consult  21,600  years,  farther  on. 

3000  years. — Imaginary  cycle  of  the  metempsychosis,  as  men- 
tioned by  the  Egyptian  priests  to  Herodotus.  See  Euterpe,  123. 
This  cycle  is  also  mentioned  by  Servius,  a  Latin  grammarian  of  the 
fourth  century  of  our  aera. 

3600  years. — An  astrological  cycle  mentioned  by  Dupuis  and 
Greswell,  the  last  of  whom  blunders  in  connecting  it  with  the  eclip- 
tical  cycle.  It  is  evidently  the  tenth  power  of  the  360-year  cycle 
mentioned  in  the  Surya  Siddhanta. 

5552  years. — An  astrological  cycle  mentioned  by  Aretes  of  Dyrr- 
achium,  cited  in  Censorinus,  XVIII. 

6000  years. — Lifetime  of  the  world,  according  to  the  ancient 
Hindu  astrologers.  This  period  has  been  variously  fixed  at  6000, 
6080,  6108  (Manilius),  6130,  6500,  6585^3,  6586,  6600  and  6666  years, 
in  each  case  the  determination  being  based  on  the  cycle  of  the  moon's 
node  as  computed  at  various  times.  The  notion  was  that  the  earth 
bore  to  the  sun  the  same  relation  that  the  moon  bore  to  the  earth; 
and  as  the  moon  completed  its  nodical  cycle  in  so  many  days,  so  the 
earth  ran  its  course  in  the  same  number  of  years.  During  this  life- 
time the  earth  would  be  regenerated  ten  times  by  the  incarnations  of 
the  Creator,  as  Vishnu  or  les  Chrishna. 

6585  2=3  years. — An  astrological  cycle  consisting  of  ten  Divine 
years,  which,  according  to  an  almost  universal  belief  among  ancient 
nations,  marked  the  Lifetime  of  the  World,  when  it  would  come  to 
an  end  and  mankind  would  be  summoned  to  Judgment  before  the 
Creator.  See  6585  days,  6585  months,  etc.  The  non-fulfillment  of 
this  prediction  may  have  given  rise  to  the  expression  in  the  liturgy 


276  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

of  "world  without  end."  The  ten  incarnations  of  Vishnu,  the  ten 
ages  of  Etruria,  etc.,  were  connected  with  this  astrological  conceit. 
Webster's  Dictionary,  article  "Cycles,"  mistakenly  alludes  to  it  as 
"a  period  of  about  6586  years,  the  time  of  the  revolution  of  the 
moon's  node,  called  saros."  This  cycle  was  evidently  known  to  the 
Hindus  at  the  period  of  the  Indian  expedition  of  Seleucus,  because 
their  Anno  Mundi,  as  reported  by  Megasthenes,  was  based  upon  it. 
Indeed  it  may  safely  be  carried  backward  to  the  period  of  the  first 
Buddha,  because  the  doctrine  of  the  ten  avatars,  or  avataras,  was 
derived  from  it,  or  else  from  its  teleological  basis,  which  was  the 
Cycle  of  the  Eclipses.  It  lost  credit  with  the  learned  after  the  dis- 
covery of  the  Precession  of  the  Equinoxes. 

7777  years. — Cycle  mentioned  by  Plutarch.     Dupuis,   III,   ii, 

339- 

7980  years. — So-called  "Julian  "cycle,  invented  by  Joseph  Scali- 

ger,  A.  D.  1583,  to  avoid  the  uncertainty  and  complexity  of  astrol- 
ogical and  religious  seras.  It  was  constructed  by  multiplying  a  solar 
cycle,  28  years,  an  indiction  15  years,  and  the  approximate  period  of 
a  Metonic  cycle  19  years,  thus  28  x  15  X  19=7980.  The  first  year  of 
this  cycle  was  Year  i  of  the  Sun,  Year  i  of  a  series  of  Indictions 
carried  backward  and  Year  i  of  the  Moon;  a  triple  conjunction  that 
only  happens  once  in  7980  years.  In  other  words,  during  this  inter- 
val "there  are  not  two  years  which  have  the  same  Golden  number, 
accompanied  with  the  same  Solar  cycle  and  the  same  Roman  Indic- 
tion." The  first  year  of  this  period  is  47 13  B.  C. ,  which  was  adopted 
because  each  of  the  three  other  cycles  had  the  value  of  "one"  in 
that  year.  This  period  will  continue  until  the  year  A.  D.  3267. 
Lockyer.  The  Julian  cycle  has  been  used  by  some  astronomers  and 
chronologists,  but  owing  to  its  employment  of  the  Metonic  cycle,  as 
though  it  were  a  solar  one,  which  it  is  not,  its  further  use  is  of  doubt- 
ful wisdom.  Its  only  practical  recommendation  is  that  of  avoiding 
the  inconvenient  and  confusing  "  A.  D."  and  "  B.  C."  periods,  whose 
influence  in  muddling  chronology  and  hiding  the  alterations  of  the 
Calendar  is  referred  to  elsewhere. 

9977  years. — An  astrological  cycle  of  15  Divine  years,  each  of 
665  common  years.  Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339,  ascribes  this  cycle  to  Sex- 
tus  Empiricus,  who  flourished  in  the  third  century  of  our  aera. 

10,800  years. — One-half  of  the  period  accorded  to  the  preces- 
sion of  the  equinoxes,  by  Heraclitus  of  Ephesus,  B.  C.  513.  See 
21,600  years.  Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339,  ascribes  this  cycle  to  both  Heracli- 
tus and  Linus. 


CYCLES.  277 

10,884  years. — One-half  of  the  equinoxial  precession,  according 
to  Dion,  in  Censorinus,  XVIII. 

12,000  years. — "The  modern  Parsee  books"  say  that  "12,000 
years  is  to  be  the  term  of  the  human  race."  Bunsen's  "  Egypt,"  ed. 
1859,  III,  519.  According  to  the  Aitareya  Brahmana,  VII,  15,  the 
terms  Kali,  Dvapara,  Treta  and  Krta  are  derived  from  the  ace,  deuce, 
tre,  and  quart  of  the  dice.  From  these  elements  the  priests  manu- 
factured the  1200,  2400,  3600  and  4800  years,  which  make  up  the 
12,000  years  of  these  four  ages.  Gustav  Oppert,  "  Bharatavarsa,  or 
India,"  1893,  p.  328.     All  this  is  post-Buddhrc. 

12,854  years. — One-half  of  the  equinoxial  precession,  according 
to  one  MS.  of  Cicero,  in  Hortensium.  See  12,954  years  and  cf.  Gres- 
well,  F.  C,  III,  211,  n. 

12,954  years. — One-half  of  the  equinoxial  precession,  according 
to  another  MS.  of  Cicero,  in  Hortensium.  Servius  ad^neid,  iii,  284, 
says  12,954,  while  ad  ^neid,  i,  269,  he  has  12,554  years. 

15,000  years. — One-half  of  the  equinoxial  precession,  according 
to  Macrobius.      Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339. 

18,000  years. — Brahminical  cycle  of  the  equinoxial  precession. 
This  appears  to  be  merely  an  inference  drawn  from  the  allowance  of 
1800  years  to  the  zodion,  as  explained  under  21,600  years,  q.  v.  If 
so,  it  belongs  to  the  period  of  the  Brahminical  restoration,  which 
succeeded  the  introduction  of  Buddhism.  Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339,  who 
ascribes  this  cycle  to  Heraclitus  (fl.  513  B.  C.)  cites  Plutarch,  de 
placit.  philos. ,  I,  ii,  c.  32,  and  Stobaeus,  phys.,  I,  i,  c.  11. 

19,440  years. — Hindu  equinoxial  precession  of  54  years  to  the 
degree.     Asiat.  Res.,  vol.  II,  238. 

21,000  years, — Cycle  of  the  Apsides.  "The  line  joining  the 
aphelion  and  perihelion  points  (of  the  earth's  orbit),  termed  the  line 
of  apsides,  changes  its  direction  at  such  a  rate  that  in  21,000  years 
it  makes  a  complete  revolution  .  .  .  In  A.  D.  6485  the  perihelion 
point  will  correspond  to  the  vernal  equinox."  Lockyer,  216.  In  B.C. 
4004  it  had  to  start  at  the  aphelion  .  .  .  This  was  the  year  when,  ac- 
cording to  Greswell,  the  Universe  was  created;  hence  from  B.  C. 
4004  to  A.  D.  6485  is  10,490  years,  which  is  one-half  of  the  cycle  of 
the  apsides.  The  full  cycle,  according  to  Greswell,  is  therefore  20,980 
years,  or  20  years  less  than  Lockyer's  cycle,  which,  if  Greswell  is 
right,  began  20  years  before  the  Creation  of  the  universe !  Accord- 
ing to  Andrew  Laing,  "  Human  Origins,  "  (pp.  301-310,)  21,000  years 
represents  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes.  In  this  statement  he  is 
opposed  to  all  modern  observation. 


278  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

21,600  years, — The  most  ancient  Greek  measurement  of  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoxes;  that  made  by  Heraclitus  of  Ephesus,  who 
flourished  B.  C.  513.  It  gave  2160  years  to  the  zodion,  equal  to 
21,600  years  to  the  zodiac  of  ten  zodions.  When  the  zodiac  was  di- 
vided into  twelve  zodions  the  precessional  movement  became  1800 
years  to  the  sign.  Higgins,  in  his  Anacalypsis,  II,  397,  has  evidently 
confused  these  details.  It  also  consists  of  eight  Indian  lokkals  each 
of  2700  years,  and  may  be  of  Oriental  origin.      See  129,600  years. 

24,000  years, — Indian  cycle  of  the  precession;  according  to 
Bailley,  Drummond,  LeGentil  and  Dupius  III,  ii,  289,  most  of  whom 
regarded  it  to  be  as  ancient  as  the  sera  of  the  first  Buddha.  See 
Buddha,  p.  6,  in  "  Story  of  the  Gods."  The  24,000-year  cycle  was 
r/ed  by  Aryabhala  and  other  Indian  astronomers,  A.  D.  499,  all  of 
whom  appeared  to  have  been  either  ignorant  or  disdainful  of  the  very 
different  determinations   of  the  Greeks.      (Cf.  Duff  Rickmers,  ^y.) 

24,800  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession  according  to  Cassini : 
eighteenth  century. 

24,925  years. — The  sum  total  of  the  reign  of  gods,  heroes  and 
kings  in  Egypt,  according  to  Manetho:  evidently  an  astrological 
farrago  based  on  the  cycle  of  the  equinoxial  precession. 

25,200  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession  as  determined  by  Ulugh 
Beg,  A.  D.  1447,  viz.,  one  degree  in  70  years. 

25,748  years. — According  to  Rev.  Dr.  Hales,  Chron.,  p.  78,  the 
cycle  of  the  precession  was  computed  by  Hipparchus  at  50^  s.  per 
year,  or  a  revolution  in  25,748  years.  Contrariwise,  Sir  Geo.  Corne- 
wall  Lewis  says  that  Hipparchus  computed  the  precession  at  not  less 
than  36  nor  more  than  59  seconds  to  the  year.  This  would  make  the 
cycle  vary  from  36,000  to  22,000  years,  and  render  the  computation 
of  little  value.     See  25,920  years. 

25,812  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession.  Dupuis,  I,  119.  Appar- 
ently modern. 

25,816  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession.  Tycho  Brahe :  sixteenth 
century. 

25,820  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession.  Riccioli:  17th  century. 
The  Hindus  are  also  said  to  have  had  the  same  determination :  date 
not  given.     Drummond  ascribes  it  to  the  "ancient  Persians." 

25,868  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession.     Sir  John  Herschel. 

25,908  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession.   Tacitus,  de  Orat.,  XVI. 

25,920  years. — Cycle  of  the  precession,  as  computed  by  Hip- 
parchus, according  to  Higgins,  Anacal.,  I,  194,  and  Hislop,  "666,"  p. 
192.     But  Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  460,  and  K.  H.,  II,  48,  says  that  Hip- 


CYCLES.  279 

parchus  reckoned  100  years  to  to  the  degree :  hence  100  x  360  = 
36,000  years  to  the  cycle,  while  Lewis  says  his  computation  varied 
from  22,000  to  36  000  years. 

25,972  years, — Cycle  of  the  precession,  according  to  Rambos- 
son,  one  of  the  most  recent  writers  on  the  subject. 

27,000  years. — Hindu  cycle  of  the  precession,  computed,  accord- 
ing to  Brennand,  in  1590  B.  C.  and  corrected  to  25,920  years  so  early 
as  the  tenth  century  B.  C.     See  2,700  years. 

36,000  years. — Hindu  cycle  of  the  precession.  Dupuis,  III,  ii, 
157.    For  its  attribution  to  Hipparchus,  see  25,748  and  25,920  years. 

36,525  years. — Astrological  Annus  Magnus  of  the  Ptolemaic 
Egyptians,  produced  by  multiplying  the  Sothiacal  cycle  of  1461 
equable  years  by  25  years,  the  measure  of  the  Apis  cycle.  Syncellus, 
in  Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  39;  Bunsen,  III,  67.  It  embraces  "30  dy- 
nasties in  113  descents."  Gustav  Oppert,  "Bharatavarsa,"  p.  331. 
"Among  the  Egyptians  there  is  a  certain  tablet  called  the  Old  Chron- 
icle, containing  30  dynasties  in  113  descents,  during  the  long  period 
of  36,525  years."  F.  Hall's  edition  of  the  Vishnu  Purana,  I,  49; 
Cory's  "  Fragments,"  p.  89.  This  is  mere  astrological  nonsense, 
which  could  hardly  have  been  invented  earlier  than  the  Ptolemaic 
period. 

39,180  years. — The  Babylonians  fixed  the  deluge  of  Adrahasis 
39,180  years  before  their  "historical"  period,  B.  C.  2517.  Jules 
Oppert  believes  the  first  figure  to  have  been  made  of  12  Sothiacal 
cycles,  each  of  1460  years,  plus  12  "  lunar  cycles, "  each  of  1805  years; 
or  of  653  sossos,  each  of  60  years.  The  last  is  possible;  the  first  is 
inadmissable  until  a  lunar  cycle  of  1805  years  is  established.  See 
22,300  lunations.     Gustav  Oppert's  "Bharatavarsa,"  p.  331. 

100,020  years. — Cycle  of  Orpheus,  in  Censorinus,  XVIII. 

129,000  years. — Cycle  of  Plato.     Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339. 

129,600  years. — Chinese  cosmic  cycle,  probably  modern  and 
evidently  composed  of  six  Hindu  precessions,  each  of  21,600  years. 
Messrs.  CroU  and  Laing  have  improved  on  this. 

210,000  years. — Cycle  of  the  eccentricity  of  the  equinoxial  pre- 
cession, consisting  of  ten  precessions,  each  of  21,000  years;  a  recent 
discovery  of  Croll,  cited  by  Laing,   "Human  Origins,"  311. 

300,000  years. — Astrological  Great  Year  of  Firmicus,  who  is 
said  to  have  flourished  A.  D.  334-55.      Greswell,  F.  C,  III,  38. 

350,635  years. — Cycle  of  the  "restitution  of  Saturn,"  accord- 
ing to  Achilles  Tatius,  an  Alexandrian  ecclesiastic  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury.    Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339. 


28o  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

400,000  years. — Astrological  Great  Year  of  the  Hindus,  which 
began  with  Calijoga  B.  C.  3102,  and  is  called  the  Age  of  Degeneracy. 
Halhed's  Hindu  Code  of  Manu,  p.  xxxviii. 

432,000  years. — Chaldean  astrological  cycle  mentioned  by  Bero- 
sus  in  Syncellus.  This  is  probably  12  precessions  of  36,000  years, 
or  else  one-tenth  of  the  Hindu  cycle  of  4,320,000  years.  Jules  Op- 
pert,  who  is  high  authority  in  oriental  religions  and  astrology,  says 
it  is  probably  gained  by  multiplying  two  sossos  by  twenty-four  lustra, 
thus  60  X  60  X  24 X  5=432, 000. ' 'La  poeme  Chaldeen  du  deluge, "  Paris, 
1885,  cited  approvingly  by  Gustav  Oppert,  librarian  of  Calcutta.  If 
this  is  correct  it  proves  the  use  of  the  lustrum,  pentseteris,  or  five- 
vear  period,  by  the  Babylonians  and  by  the  Hindus,  from  whom  the 
Babylonians  got  the  432,000-year  cycle. 

1,600,000  years. — Hindu  astrological  Dvapar  Joga,  ending  with 
the  commencement  of  the  Calijoga.      Halhed,  op.  cit. 

1,753,200  years. — "  Great  Year  "of  Nicetas  Acominatus,  a  By- 
zantine historian  who  died  A.  D.  1216.      Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339. 

2,400,000  years. — Hindu  astrological  Tirtah  Joga,  (Age  of 
Sin,)  the  institution  of  which  ended  with  the  commencement  of  the 
Dvapar  Joga.  This  cycle  implied  acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  Orig- 
inal Sin.     Halhed,  op.  cit. 

3,200,000  years. — Hindu  astrological  Age  of  Purity,  which  ended 
with  the  Downfall  of  Man  and  the  commencement  of  the  Tretajoga. 
Halhed,  op.  cit. 

3,600,000  years. — Astrological  cycle  of  Cassander,  in  Censo- 
rinus,  XVIII. 

4,320,000  years. — Hindu  astrological  cycle,  representing  the 
Lifetime  of  the  World.  Dupuis,  I,  164,  believed  that  this  was  gained 
by  adding  together  the  first,  second,  third  and  fourth  powers  of  432,000 
years. 

6,570,000  years. — Cycle  of  Diogenes.  Dupuis,  III,  ii,  339.  It 
appears  to  be  a  multiple  of  the  Divine  year, 

240,000,000  years. — Astrological  Lifetime  of  the  World,  con- 
sisting of  6666  precessions  of  36,000  years  each;  a  Hindu  concert, 
probably  ancient. 


28l 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  PROBLEMS  AND  SOLUTIONS. 

THE  chief  sources  of  error  in  chronology  and  of  confusion  in 
ancient  history  are,  First,  the  employment  of  lunar  calendars; 
Second,  the  alterations  in  the  year  of  Rome  and  the  Olympiads  which 
were  made  by  Augustus  as  afterwards  modified  by  the  Latin  Sacred 
College:  and  Third,  the  employment  of  "A.  D."  and  "  B.  C."  dates. 
The  confusion  produced  by  lunar,  or  luni-solar,  calendars  has  been 
of  so  varied  a  character  that  it  is  difficult  to  convey  an  adequate  ap- 
preciation of  it  to  persons  not  especially  skilled  in  chronology.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  such  calendars  have  been  used  as  artifices  to  shuffle 
out  of  view  the  most  significant  customs  and  important  events:  with 
the  object  to  substitute  in  their  places  the  myths  and  fables  of  su- 
perstition. The  ancient  priests  made  such  liberal  use  of  these  artifices 
that  it  may  be  asserted  with  little  fear  of  contradiction  that  history 
only  begins  with  the  establishment  of  solar  calendars;  and  that  pre- 
vious to  this  first  charter  of  human  progress,  for  such  it  is,  there  is 
nothing  recorded  which  possesses  any  historical  value.  The  confu- 
sion occasioned  by  alterations  of  the  calendar  will  be  illustrated  by 
some  examples  further  on.  The  inconvenience  of  "A.  D."  and 
"  B.C.  "dates  was  realised  three  centuries  ago  by  Scaliger,  who  sought 
to  remedy  it  by  offering  to  the  world  the  so-called  Julian  .^ra.  Al- 
though but  little  use  has  hitherto  been  made  of  his  suggestion,  it  can 
easily  be  shown  that  this  is  a  reform  which,  shirk  it  as  we  may,  must 
nevertheless  precede  any  attempt  to  establish  upon  a  sure  foundation 
such  literary  fragments  and  archaeological  monuments  of  the  past  as 
time  and  proscription  have  spared  to  the  modern  world. 

Take,  for  example,  the  text  of  the  present  work.  Chapter  VIII, 
year  1503.  There  it  says  that  "to  made  the  true  date,  deduct  the  78 
years  sunk  by  Augustus."  It  seems  strange  that  to  make  a  true  date 
we  should  have  to  deduct  a  number  of  years  which  have  in  fact  already 
been  sunk  from  the  tables  of  chronology ;  yet  this  is  quite  right.  In 
correcting  dates  thus  vitiated,  the  same  number  must  be  deducted irova. 
'  'A.  D. "  dates  which  have  to  be  added  to  * '  B.  C. "  dates.  The  proof 
of  this  is  readily  seen  by  referring  to  the  intervals  between  the  divine 


282  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

years  in  Tables  A  and  D.  Moreover,  the  reader  will  discover  that 
the  aerasof  lesChrishna,  Buddha,  Augustus  and  Jesus  are  all  one  and 
the  same;  and  that  they  have  only  been  made  to  see77i  different  through 
the  misleading  media  of  altered  calendars  and  seras. 

In  the  foregoing  Chronology  numerous  examples  have  been  given 
of  calendrical  alterations;  it  is  now  proposed  to  add  some  others  from 
extraneous  sources. 

Tacitus,  in  his  Annals,  XV,  41,  says  that  the  interval  of  time  be- 
tween the  Foundation  of  Rome  and  the  Burning  by  the  Gauls  was  pre- 
cisely the  same  as  that  between  the  Burning  by  the  Gauls  and  the 
conflagration  in  the  reign  of  Nero.    According  to  our  present  chron- 
ology the  Foundation  was  in  B.  C.  753  and  the  burning  by  the  Gauls 
\a  B.  C.  384.     This  is  an  interval  of  369  years.    From  the  burning  by 
the  Gauls  to  the  conflagration  in  the  reign  of  Nero,  July,  A.  D.  64, 
is  447  full  years  and  a  fraction.      Deduct  369  from  447  and  the  quo- 
tient is  78  years,  which  is  the  measure  of  the  excess  of  the  later  period 
over  the  earlier  one.     Tacitus  says  that  in  fact  the  two  periods  were 
exactly  equal:  our  chronology  makes  one  of  them  longer  than  the 
other  by  78  years.      It  is  impossible  that  78  years  of  chronology  and 
history  could  have  been  fabricated  and  stuffed  into  the  most  recent 
and  best  known  annals  of  Rome.     The  calendar  of  the  later  Repub- 
lican and  early  Imperial  periods  of  Rome  may  have  been  altered  to 
the  extemt  of  ten  or  15  years  without  attracting  attention;  but  not 
to  the  extent  of  78  years.     The  alteration,  whenever  it  was  made, 
must  therefore  have  been  attached  to  a  period  long  past,  that  is  to 
say,  to  the  earlier  period,  before  B.  C.  384.     The  nature  of  the  altera- 
tion was  therefore  to  sink  78  years  from  the  calendar.     Who  made 
this  alteration;  when  was  it  made;  what  was  its  object?    Remember 
that  Tacitus  was  a  priest  and  a  member  of  the  Sacred  College  of 
Rome,  and  therefore  one  whose  statement  on  this  subject  possesses 
the  full  force  of  official  authority.     The  subject  has  thus  far  been 
blinked  by  historians  and  churchmen,  but  it  should  be  blinked  no 
longer.     Where  are  those  78  years  of  Roman  experience  and  of  Ro- 
man history?     Is  mankind  to  be  perpetually  robbed  of  that  valuable, 
that  inestimable  portion  of  its  inheritance  which  is  to  be  found  in  the 
history  of  the  greatest  state  of  antiquity? 

Tacitus  Annals,  VI,  28,  says  that  from  the  third  Ptolemy  to  Ti- 
berius "the  interval  is  not  quite  two  hundred  and  fifty  years."  Ac- 
cording to  our  chronology  the  interval  between  the  first  regnal  years 
of  these  monarchs,  B.  C.  247  to  A.  D,  14,  is  261  years.  Here  is  a  dis- 
crepancy of  eleven  or  more  years,  probably  of  15  years,  the  number 


CHRONOLOGICAL  PROBLEMS  AND  SOLUTIONS.  283 

of  years  inserted  into  the  calendar  by  tlie  Latin  Sacred  College. 

In  the  first  example,  the  recensors  employed  by  the  Latin  Sacred 
College  evidently  made  no  alteration  of  the  dates  in  the  text;  prob- 
ably for  the  reason  that  not  being  specific,  their  significance  was  not 
perceived.  In  the  second  one,  the  dates  were  practically  specific;  and 
the  recensors,  in  order  to  make  them  conform  to  their  general  system 
of  chronology,  were  obliged  to  alter  them.  That  they  did  their  work 
badly  was  no  fault  of  the  men,  but  of  the  system. 

The  Ludi  Sseculares  were  required  to  be  celebrated  once  in  no 
years.    Augustus  celebrated  them  in  B.  C.  15.      They  were  next  due 
in  A.  D.  94,  or  95.      But   "  Claudius,"  (says  Suetonius,)    "assuming 
that  Augustus  had  wrongfully  anticipated  the  Ludi  Sseculares,  and 
that  he  had  celebrated  them  out  of  their  true  season,  caused  them  to 
be  re-celebrated,"  after  an   interval  of  78  years.'     Suetonius  says 
that  several  persons  took  part  in  both  of  these  Ludi,  which  could 
hardly  have  been  the  case  had  they  been  78  years  apart.   Pliny  even 
names  one  of  these  persons.     The  interval -between  the  Ludi  Sseecu-' 
lares  of  Augustus  and  Claudius,  which  was  really  78  years,  is  stated 
in  modern  editions  of  Pliny,  N.  H.,  VII,  49,  at  only  6;^  years.    This 
must  be  the  work  of  the  Latin  Sacred  College,  which  gave  us  our 
present  mutilated  mss.  of  the  Roman  encyclopedist.     The  reduction 
of  the  78  years  of  calendrical  alteration  effected  by  Augustus,  to  the 
6^  years  of  dislocation  shown  in  Pliny,  could  not  have  been  effected 
in  the  days  of  Pliny,  but  is  evidently  the  work  of  long  subsequent 
ages.     Tacitus  says  that  "the  chronology  of  Augustus  differed  from 
that  of  Claudius,"  which  is  precisely  what  we  are  endeavouring  to 
prove.     But  in  the  face  of  the  worship  of  himself  as  the  Son  of  God, 
which  Augustus  had  established,  the  true  chronology  of  Claudius  had 
no  chance  to  succeed ;  and  it  fell  before  the  false  chronology  of  Au- 
gustus; so  that  the  next  Ludi  were  celebrated  by  Domitian  in  A.  D. 
94,  or  95.   The  63  years  of  dislocation  in  the  calendar  of  Rome,  which 
was  mainly  created  by  Augustus  (/.  e.,  78  years,  less  15  years,  since 
restored)  and  which  Claudius  tried  in  vain  to  rectify,  still  remain. 
We  are  in  fact  63  years  farther  from  the  reputed  Foundation  of  Rome 
and  the  events  connected  with  that  period  than  what  our  chronology 
permits  us  to  believe.     As  Augustus  sunk  his  78  years  from  a  remote 
period  of  Rome's  history,  his  alteration  of  the  calendar  may  be  re- 
garded as  having  no  longer  any  practical  importance.    But  this  would 

'It  is  not  known  how  far  this  attempt  of  Claudius  to  restore  the  chronology  of  Rome 
was  carried.  It  evidently  failed  with  his  death,  when  the  Augustan  chronology  was 
everywhere  revived . 


284  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

be  a  mistake;  because  such  alteration  vitiates  all  foreign  dates  which 
have  to  be  converted  into  Roman,  The  15  years  restored  to  the 
calendar  by  the  Latin  authorities  stand  in  a  worse  category.  The 
canon  of  Nicephorus  perhaps  indicates  in  what  manner  these  15  years 
were  restored  to  the  calendar;  but  no  matter  how  or  when  it  was  done, 
it  has  robbed  us  of  the  knowledge  of  that  due  succession  of  historical 
events  which  would  enable  us  to  utilise  the  experience  of  the  past. 
Until  our  chronology  is  rectified,  Roman  history  will  have  to  be  writ- 
ten over  and  over  again,  without  its  being  able  to  impart  to  mankind 
any  convincing  lessons  in  either  religion  or  politics.  "  The  laws  rela- 
ting to  religious  matters  were  kept  secret  by  the  Pontiffs  that  they 
might  hold  the  minds  of  the  multitude  in  bondage,"  said  Livy  (VI,i). 
*'The  chronology  of  Augustus  differed  from  that  of  Claudius,"  said 
Tacitus.  "Roman  history  has  been  falsified  and  its  monuments  de- 
stroyed," said  Plutarch  (on  the  Future  of  the  Romans).  From  these 
deliberate  verdicts  of  antiquity  there  can  be  no  appeal,  except  to 
archaeology  and  a  scientific  arrangement  of  dates. 


Pausanias,  I,  379,  says  that  the  Third  Age  of  Greece  began  in  Olym. 
xxiii,  4,  that  is,  B.  C.  685.  But  the  Third  Age  was  the  aera  of  Nebo 
Nazaru  and  Phoroneus,  B.  C.  748;  (see  chapter  VI;)  a  difference  of 
just  63  years  from  the  date  in  Pausanias,  the  text  of  which  has  evi- 
dently been  altered  since  the  time  when  the  63  years  difference  was 
fixed.  As  previously  shown,  this  was  done  probably  during  the  pont- 
ificate of  Gregory  VII. 


Dunlop  calls  attention  to  several  anachronisms  and  chronological 
puzzles  some  of  which  appear  to  have  arisen  from  the  repeated  altera- 
tion of  the  Roman  calendar.  For  example,  Attius  the  comic  poet, 
was  born  B.  C.  170;  yet  this  same  Attius  refused  to  rise  from  his  seat 
in  the  College  of  Poets  upon  the  entrance  of  Julius  Caesar,  who  was 
not  born  until  B.  C.  100  and  would  hardly  have  entered  the  College 
until  B.  C.  70,  when  Attius  was  long  since  dead  and  buried.  Cicero, 
who  was  born  B.  C.  106  and  wrote  his  "Brutus"  in  B.  C.  45,  says 
that  he  consulted  this  same  Attius  concering  the  merits  of  that  work. 
According  to  the  received  chronology  the  dead  poet  was  still  living. 


Catullus,  the  poet,  died,  says  Eusebius,  in  A.  U.  696,  others  say 
A.  U.  705  ;  yet  Cicero  records  that  Catullus'  satire  upon  Caesar  and 
Mamurra  was  newly  written  in  A.  U.  708,  when  Caesar  rewarded  the 
deceased  poet  for  it  with  a  supper !     Other  instances  of  this  sort  are 


CHRONOLOGICAL  PROBLEMS  AND  SOLUTIONS.  285 

mentioned  in  Dunlop's  "Roman  Literature,"  vol.  II,  pp.  195,  ^04, 
220,  223,  231,  232,  239  and  275  and  in  the  last  chapter  of  Michelet's 
"Roman  Republic." 


The  chronology  of  Albiruni  gives  the  following  dates:  From  the 
"first  year"  of  Cyrus  to  the  "reign"  of  Alexander,  222  years;  to 
the  iith-century-Jewish-and-Christian  date  of  the  nativity  of  "  Mes- 
siah," 304;  to  the  "first  year"  of  lesdegird,  638^  years;  total,  from 
Cyrus  to  lesdigerd,  1164^,  or,  from  Alexander  to  lesdigerd,  942^ 
years.  The  discrepancy  between  this  and  the  chronology  which  is 
accepted  at  the  present  time  is  about  15  years. 


It  was  the  custom  of  the  Romans,  upon  a  general  and  permanent 
peace,  to  close  the  temple  of  Janus  Quirinus,  the  Prince  of  Peace, 
probably  as  a  sign  that  no  further  supplications  or  sacrifices  of  lambs 
were  to  be  exacted  or  required.  Ovid,  Fasti,  I,  283,  gives  the  poet- 
ical reason  that  Peace  was  locked  within,  that  it  might  not  escape; 
but  at  present  the  origin  of  the  custom  is  of  no  consequence.  The 
temple  is  said  to  have  been  first  closed  at  the  termination  of  the  first 
Punic  war,  when  Titus  Manlius  was  consul.  Livy,  I,  19;  Veil.,  II,  38; 
Serv.  Virg. ,  I,  294;  VII,  607.  Livy  fixes  this  date  in  A,  U.  519; 
Lenglet,  A.  U.  513;  and  Adams,  A.  U.  529.  Odd  as  it  may  seem, 
all  these  dates  appear  to  be  correct;  Livy's  date  being  the  basis  of 
the  others.  Adams'  date  is  due  to  the  ten  years'  difference  between 
the  Greek  and  Roman  Anno  Mundi;  while  Lenglet's  date  shows  the 
15  years'  alteration  of  the  Augustan  dates  effected  by  the  Latin  Sa- 
cred College.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Temple  of  Janus  was  closed 
a  second  time  before  Augustus  closed  it  thrice  at  short  intervals. 
Suet. ,  August. ,  21.  But  even  about  the  second  closing,  (to  say  nothing 
more  of  the  first),  there  is  a  contention,  which  is  due  entirely  to  the 
mischievous  and  perplexing  shifting  of  the  calendar,  already  so  often 
mentioned  in  this  work. 


Mionnet's  voluminous  work  on  Ancient  Coins,  Paris  ed.  1806-37, 
describes  a  number  of  Roman  imperial  coins,  commencing  with  Nerva 
and  ending  with  Alexander  Severus,  the  dates  upon  which  are  evi- 
dently in  the  regnal  year  of  Augustus,  B.  C.  28.  These  dates  should 
therefore  be  28  years  older  than  the  Christian  regnal  years  of  the 
sovereigns  whose  effigies  and  names  are  associated  with  them.  But 
in  fact  they  are  all,  without  exception,  just  43  years  older;  proving 
that  15  years  have  since  been  sunk  from  the  Christian  aera,  A.  D.,  by 


286  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

adding  that  number  of  years  to  the  Augustan  sera,  B.  C.  For  exam- 
ple, the  coins  of  Geta  are  dated  "255."  According  to  the  received 
chronology  this  sovereign  began  to  reign  and  died  A.  D.  211-12.  The 
difference  between  212  and  255  is  43  years,  making  it  appear  that  his 
coins  were  dated  in  an  sera  which  began  B.  C.  43;  whereas  no  such 
aera  is  known  and  it  is  evident  from  other  circumstances  that  the  sera 
intended  was  that  of  Augustus  and  the  Foundation  of  the  Empire. 

Diadumenianus  is  another  sovereign  who  reigned  but  a  single  year, 
which,  according  to  the  received  chronology  was  A.  D,  217-18.  Yet 
his  coins,  also  evidently  dated  from  the  regnal  year  of  Augustus,  bear 
the  figure  "261."  Deduct  218  from  261  and  the  remainder  is  43; 
whereas,  if  the  Christian  chronology  were  correct,  there  should  only 
be  a  difference  of  28  years,  that  being  the  number  of  years  B.  C.  when 
by  such  chronology,  the  Empire  was  founded  by  Augustus. 


From  the  first  year  of  the  last  Vicramaditya,  the  son  of  Bahram- 
Gur,  A.  D.  441  or  442,  (a  date  reckoned  from  the  Calijoga,)  to  the 
Hegira,  A.  D.  622,  (a  date  reckoned  from  the  Christian  sera,)  the  Hin- 
dus compute  196  years;  yet,  according  to  our  chronology,  the  differ- 
ence is  only  181  years:  a  discrepancy  of  15  years.  Col.  Wilford, 
Asiat.  Res.,  IX,  202. 


The  Hindu  date  when  the  Vernal  equinox  corresponded  with  the 
first  point  of  CarticaisB.  C.  1426;  while  according  to  "  modern  com- 
putation "  it  was  B.  C.  1350.  Brennand's  *' Hindu  Astronomy,"  p.  54. 
Here  is  a  discrepancy  of  76  years,  the  same  as  is  shown  in  our  chap- 
ter on  the  Ludi  Sseculares.  This  interval  leads  to  the  suspicion  that 
the  "modern  computation  "  cited  by  Brennand  is  based  on  an  Augus- 
tan, not  a  Christian  year. 

These  evidences  concerning  the  dislocation  ot  Roman  chronology 
could  be  continued  almost  indefinitely.  Enough  has  been  shown  to 
prove  to  the  most  unwilling  reader  that  the  calendar  has  been  altered 
and  that,  in  this  respect  and  the  important  consequences  that  flow 
from  it,  the  Christian  world  has  been  grossly  deceived. 


287 


CHAPTER    X. 
MANETHO'S  FALSE  CHRONOLOGY. 

MANETHO,  an  Egyptian  priest,  in  the  service  of  Ptolemy,  sur- 
named  the  "Saviour,"  one  of  the  minor  "incarnations,"  to 
whom  fell  a  portion  of  the  vast  empire  established  by  that  greater 
incarnation,  Alexander  of  Macedon,  has  left  us,  in  fragments  pre- 
served and  perhaps  altered  by  Berosus,  Josephus  and  Syncellus,  a 
list  of  Egyptian  dynasties  and  kings,  which,  if  correct  and  successive, 
and  if  to  each  were  allowed  twice  or  thrice  the  ordinary  regnal  period 
of  earthly  potentates,  would  carry  the  government  of  Egypt  back  to 
a  remote  antiquity.  Manetho's  list  gives  us  30  dynasties,  which  for 
convenience  have  been  divided  by  modern  commentators  into  the 
Old,  the  Middle  and  the  New  empires.  The  Egyptologists  accept  all 
this  as  authentic  and  fancy  they  see  a  confirmation  of  it  in  the  monu- 
ments. 

If  there  is  any  truth  at  all  in  Manetho,  such  truth  is  limited  to  the 
regnal  names  of  the  New  Empire;  for  his  kings  of  the  Old  Empire, 
as  such,  never  existed  at  all;  and  those  of  the  Middle  Empire  are 
largely  apochryphal.  Such  in  effect  was  the  opinion  of  Petavius,  who 
so  long  ago  as  1627  came  to  the  conclusion  that  "the  Egyptian  dyn- 
asties are  fabulous. "  Wilkinson,  Hincks,  Greswell  and  other  more 
modern  critics  have  come  to  the  same  conclusion:  the  chronology  is 
false  and  worthless.  Even  Bunsen,  who  attempted  to  restore  the 
chronology,  which  he  "analysed  in  connection  with  the  Scriptural 
data  "  (Egypt,  I,  253)  completely  failed.  Syncellus  said  that  Manetho 
was  "led  astray,"  while  Bunsen  condemned  both  Syncellus  and  Ma- 
netho, charging  the  latter  with  nothing  less  than  patchwork,  fraud 
and  imposture.      (I,  228.) 

Josephus,  who  was  anxious  to  prove  the  great  antiquity  of  the  Jews, 
and  to  corroborate  their  story  of  the  exile  in  Egypt,  very  cleverly 
made  use  of  Manetho's  account  of  the  conquest  of  that  country  by 
the  Hyksos,  in  assuming  that  the  latter  were  Jews;  but,  like  most 
casuists,  he  proved  to  much.  Here  is  his  statement:  "I  will  set 
down  Manetho's  very  words,  as  if  I  were  to  bring  the  man  hinself 
-into  court  as  a  witness.      'There  was  a  king  of  ours  (says  Manetho) 


288  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

whose  name  was  Timaus.  Under  him  it  came  to  pass,  I  know  not 
now,  that  God  was  averse  to  us,  and  there  came,  after  a  surprising 
manner,  men  of  ignoble  birth,  out  of  the  eastern  parts,  and  had  bold- 
ness enough  to  make  an  expedition  into  our  country  and  with  ease 
subdued  it  by  force,  yet  without  our  hazarding  a  battle.'  "  Manetho 
then  gives  the  names  and  regnal  periods  of  the  first  six  stranger 
kings,  viz.,  Salatis,  13;  Beon,  44;  Apachnas,  13^2;  Apophis,  61: 
Janus,  50;  Assis,  49;  altogether,  230^^  years.  "These  people,"  con- 
tinues Josephus,  still  quoting  Manetho,  "and  their  descendants  kept 
possession  of  Egypt  511  years.  Then  the  Egyptians  under  King 
Alisphragmuthosis  rose  against  them  and  in  the  reign  of  his  son,  Thum- 
mosis,  they  induced  them  to  depart  to  Judea,  where  they  built  Jeru- 
salem." Such  is  Josephus'  case.  As  to  his  own  account  of  the  period 
of  this  pretended  invasion  of  Egypt  by  the  Jews,  namely,  "393  years 
before  Danaus  came  to  Argos  "  and  of  their  removal  to  Judea,  namely, 
"almost  a  thousand  years  before  the  siege  of  Troy,"  it  adds  nothing 
whatever  to  his  case;  because  we  know  that  the  events  themselves 
never  took  place;  that  Danaus  was  merely  the  Hindu  sign  of  the  zodi- 
acal Archer  and  that  the  siege  of  Troy  was  a  mythos.  Egypt  was  not 
conquered  by  the  Jews,  but  by  the  Hyksos.  Nor  is  the  date  true  even 
when  applied  to  the  Hyksos,  for  "  Danaus  in  Argos  "  relates  to  the 
feigned  incarnation  of  les  Chres,  the  Son  of  God,  from  whom  and  his 
Eight  curetes  in  the  island  of  Crete,  Danaus  brought  the  Word  which 
made  him  (a  fabulous)  king  of  Argos.  The  date  of  this  incarnation 
was  approximately  B.  B.  2064.  That  of  the  next  one,  Jasius,  with  his 
Tendactyles,  also  of  Crete,  was  approximately  B.  C.  1406.  This  was, 
approximately,  the  date  of  the  actual  invasion  of  Egypt  by  the  Hyksos. 
By  confusing  the  two  incarnations,  the  shrewd  Josephus  added  658 
years  to  his  proofs  of  Jewish  antiquity.  But  the  whole  thing  is  fabu- 
lous; the  Exile,  the  Eis-o-dus,  or  Exodus,  the  incarnations  of  Chres 
and  Jasius,  and  the  six  kings  who  reigned  230)^  years,  these  are  all 
plainly  astrological.  Even  Timaus,  who,  according  to  Manetho,  lost 
Egypt  to  the  Hyksos,  was  obviously  meant  for  Tammuz,  Son  of  God, 
the  Mighty  in  battle,  the  Nissus  of  the  XXIVth  Psalm,  the  Jasius  of 
the  Cretans,  the  Dio-Nissos  of  the  Athenians,  the  god  who  was  wor- 
shipped by  Manetho's  royal  master:  in  other  words,  an  astrological 
myth,  in  whose  heavenly  character  it  is  evident  that  Manetho,  a  priest 
of  the  old  school,  did  not  entirely  believe.  This  is  the  witness  whom 
Josephus,  an  ancient  Roman  casuist  and  the  Egyptologists  who  are 
modern  casuists,  call  to  support  their  several  contentions :  a  Greek  fab- 
ulist, steeped  in  astrology  and  cunning,  ready,  even  out  of  the  word 


MANETHO'S    FALSE    CHRONOLOGY.  289 

* '  Hyksos  "  to  coin  the  lies  of  ' '  Shepherd  kings  "  and  '  *  Captive-kings, " 
whereas,  as  shown  by  Pococke,  it  was  merely  the  proper  name  of  the 
Scythian  tribe,  the  Hucsos,  who  issued  from  the  Euxine  and  overran 
Egypt.  To  crown  all,  Josephus  himself,  in  another  place,  calls  this 
same  Manetho,  his  own  witness,  an  arrant  liar.    (Contra  Apion  I,  27.) 

All  the  ancient  peoples  believed  themselves  to  be  autochthonous 
and  each  affected  to  trace  their  origin  from  the  gods.  The  Chinese,  the 
Indians,  the  Assyrians,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Jews,  the  Egyptians,  the 
Greeks,  and  even  the  Romans,  all  followed  the  same  practice.  Con- 
sequently they  carried  their  chronologies  back  to  the  remotest  pe- 
riods, when,  according  to  their  several  beliefs,  man  first  lived  in  civ- 
ilised communities.  The  Chinese  annals  begin  with  Fo-hi — a  Buddho- 
Solar  divinity — and  their  cycles  of  time,  with  the  accession  of  Yao,  an 
impersonation  of  the  planet  Jove,  whom  they  called  a  Son  of  God,  and 
whose  aera,  according  to  Father  Du  Halde  (I,  282),  was  B.  C.  ^337, 
or  according  to  Bunsen  (III,  388)  B.  C.  2163.  The  Calijoga  of  the. 
Brahmins  began  B.  C.  3102;  the  Buddho-Brahmins  carried  their  se- 
ries of  incarnations  far  beyond  this  period ;  and  their  successors  the 
Brahmo-Buddhists  (the  existing  Hindus)  carried  theirs  still  further. 
Neither  of  them  altered  the  Calijoga;  thev  merely  belittled  its  an- 
tiquity by  creating  still  more  ancient  seras. 

The  "History  of  Assyria,"  which  was  written  by  Herodotus  and 
to  which  he  refers  in  his  Clio,  184,  has  not  been  permitted  to  reach 
us.  It  is  abundantly  evident  that  his  surviving  work  was  tampered 
with,  both  before  and  after  the  sera  of  Christianity.  Yet  it  still  re- 
tains traces  of  the  incarnations  of  Bel,  or  Bel-Issus,  or  the  Lord  les, 
born  of  the  Virgin  Semiramis,  or  Semia-rama,  the  Divine  Token, 
which  Philo  Byblius,  following  Sanchoniathon,  fixed  about  the  end 
of  the  15th  or  the  beginning  of  the  14th  century  B.  C.  and  the  eccle- 
siastical writers  Eusebius,  Syncellus,  Helvicus  and  Petavius,  carried 
backward  a  Divine  Year  earlier,  to  about  B.  C.  2064.  The  earliest 
Assyrian  date  which  is  clearly  mentioned  by  Herodotus,  does  not 
carry  us  beyond  the  epoch  of  that  incarnation  of  the  deity  who  was 
known  in  Assyria  as  Tiglath  Pil-Esar  II.,  and  in  Babylon  as  Nebo- 
Nazaru,  or  Nabon-Issa,  B.C.  747.  The  astronomical  observations, 
which,  during  the  Alexandrian  sera,  were  carried  by  Berosus  from 
Babylon  to  Cos,  only  extend  backward  to  the  same  period.  This  was 
also  the  limit  of  Ptolemy's  astronomical  records.  Yet  Aristotle  is  made 
to  say  that  the  Chaldean  observations  extended  backward  twenty 
centuries  and  Rawlinson  assures  us  that  their  exact  date  is  inscribed 
upon  the  baked-clay  tablets  found  in  the  ruins.     He  says  they  com- 


290  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY 

menced  B.  C.  2234.  Unless  the  clay  tablets  were  fabricated  after  the 
period  of  Tiglath-pil-Esar  II.,  in  order  to  carry  the  Assyrian  line  of 
incarnations  one  Divine  Year  further  back  than  the  Belus  of  B.  C. 
1406  and  they  fell  under  the  observation  only  of  highly  privileged 
persons,  like  Aristotle,  it  is  inexplicable  that  they  were  but  imper- 
fectly known  to  Berosus,  who  had  been  a  priest  of  Belus  at  Babylon 
and  was  an  astronomer  and  the  author  of  a  history  of  Chaldea;  and 
it  is  astonishing  that  they  should  have  been  ignored  by  Ptolemy,  who 
was  also  an  astronomer.  It  was  Frcret's  suspicion  that  these  tablets 
were  anachronical  forgeries;  a  suspicion  that  is  reduced  almost  to  a 
certainty  by  their  duodecimal  division  of  the  year;  for,  at  the  period 
to  which  they  refer,  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  years  were  ir  point 
of  fact  divided  into  ten  months  and  not  into  12,  as  the  Egyptolo- 
gists imagine;  the  division  into  12  months  being  always  Buddhic  or 
Bacchic,  and  that  too  of  the  second  Buddhic  period. 

When  we  come  to  Graeco- Egyptian  chronology  it  is  evident  that 
the  subject  is  obscured  by  fables  and  impostures  of  the  grossest  de- 
scription. The  341  historical  kings  and  the  period  of  11,340  years, 
from  Menes  to  Sethon,  (Euterpe,  142,)  is  obviously  an  astrological 
mythos.  This  period,  if  WG  allow  26  years  for  the  reign  of  either 
Menes  or  Sethon,  amounts  to  an  average  of  exactly  33^  years,  to 
each  reign,  thus  341X33/^=11,366.  Now  deduct  this  number  from 
12,000,  which  according  to  Le  Gentil,  was  half  of  the  Prccessional 
Year  of  the  Hindus,  (and  therefore  also  of  the  Egyptians),  and  the 
remainder  is  what?  Precisely  660  years,  a  Great  Year,  the  period  of 
an  incarnation,  the  annualised  cycle  of  the  Moon's  node,  the  sixth 
power  of  the  ludi  saeculares.  In  other  words,  when  the  astrological 
dynasties  of  Egypt  ended  in  Sethon,  who  was  a  priest  of  Vulcan,  and 
when,  in  consequence  of  that  misfortune,  the  empire  split  up  into  a 
dodekarky,  the  rival  priests  of  Apis  hailed  as  their  incarnation,  the 
Over-lord  of  the  Twelve,  who,  when  he  had  overthrown  the  rest, 
reigned  as  Psammetichus.  To  complete  the  mythos  and  the  Great 
Year  the  priests  were  obliged  to  predict  another  incarnation  who  was 
to  come  one  divine  year  later.'  Herodotus  is  careful  to  tell  us  that 
these  dates  are  from  the  Egyptian  priests.  Manetho,  who  abused  him 
for  his  caution,  (Josephus  on  Apion,  I,  14,)  iills  up  the  idle  tale  with 
the  names  of  kings  who  never  existed  and  of  whom  no  genuine  re- 

'  One  divine  year  after  the  Psammetichus  brings  'he  computation  to  the  incarna- 
tion of  Augustus  ;  thus  673  less  658  equals  15,  the  year  B,  f".  c[  Augustus  ;  or  666 
(Bunsen)  less  658  equals  8,  the  year  B.  C.  of  Augustus  in  Egypt.  The  whole  thing  is 
astrological. 


MANETHO  S    FALSE   CHRONOLOGY.  291 

mains  have  ever  been  found.  Mr.  Laing,  in  "  Human  Origins,"  after 
dividing  this  nonsense  by  two,  accepts  a  moiety.  But  why  divide  it 
by  two;  why  not  accept  the  lot,  aye,  even  the  "fifteen  thousand  years 
since  Bacchus  "  of  the  Egyptian  priests  (Euterpe,  145;)  or  the  "sev- 
enteen thousand  years  before  the  reign  of  Amasis,"  when,  according 
to  the  same  mendacious  authority,  the  Egyptians  changed  their  gods 
from  Eight  to  Twelve  (Euterpe,  43  and  156;)  or  the  24,000  years  of 
gods,  heroes  and  kings,  which  make  up  Manetho's  full  precessional 
list?  Bunsen,  i,  69,  says  24,935;  but  in  being  thus  precise  this 
Egyptologist  has  overshot  his  mark.^ 

It  is  only  too  evident  that,  except  perhaps  a  name  here  and  there 
and  except  the  dynasties  of  the  New  Empire,  Manetho's  lists  are 
worthless.  The  supposed  corroborations  upon  the  monuments  found 
in  recent  years,  amount  to  nothing;  for  many  of  these  were  altered 
in  ancient  times  by  the  erasure  of  certain  names  and  the  substitution 
of  others.^  The  only  Egytian  date  which  has  survived  the  wreck  of 
time  is  the  so-called  ara  of  Menephres,  B.  C.  1322,  preserved  by 
Theon.  This  may  have  once  been  regarded  as  the  jera  of  the  so- 
called  New  Empire  which  began  immediately  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Hyksos.  But  we  now  know  that  the  pretended  ^ra  of  Menephres 
is  merely  astrological.  Bunsen  computes  that  during  the  (supposed) 
511  years  of  the  Hyksos  in  Egypt  they  had  65  kings;  an  average  of 
about  eight  years  to  each  reign.  Add  these  511  years  to  Theon's 
1322  and  we  have  B.  C.  1833  as  the  earliest  date  which  the  ancients 

^  Josephus  says  the  Hyksos  reigned  511  years  ;  Brugschsays  five  dynasties  aggrega- 
ting 500  years  ;  Laing  says  one  dynasty  of  259  years,  contemporaneous  with  the 
Theban  dynasty,  which  reigned  over  Upper  Egyyt  during  260  years.  Brugsch  shows 
that  during  the  strictly  historical  period,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
XXVIth  dynasty  B.  C.  666,  to  Alexander  the  Great,  B.  C.  332,  (an  interval  of  334 
years,)  there  reigned  in  Egypt  24  kings,  an  average  of  about  14^  years  to  each  reign. 
Previous  to  this  period  he  has,  besides  the  Hyksos,  106  kings  reigning  between  B.C. 
4400  (Menes)  and  B.  C.  666.  Deduct  the  Hyksos  interval  of  500  years,  leaves  3234 
years  with  106  kings,  an  average  of  ^O/i  years  each  ;  which  is  double  the  ordinary 
measure.  As  the  periods  of  the  106  kings  are  computed  by  assuming  their  reigns  in 
most  cases  to  have  lasted  33  years,  or  an  average  of  30j!^  years  each  for  all  of  them, 
and  as  the  actual  reign  during  the  historical  period  was  only  14^  years,  it  cannot  be 
regarded  as  unfair  if  Brugsch's  30^^  are  reduced  to  14)4  years.  In  such  case  106x14^ 
=1537  years,  will  cover  all  the  dynasties  except  the  Hyksos,  from  Psammetichus 
B.  C.  666  (or  B.  C.  673)  back  to  Menes.  Add  Mr.  Laing's  260  years  for  the  Hyksos 
and  we  have  the  following  result  :  666  plus  1537  plus  260=2463  B.  C.  for  the  a;ra  of 
Menes,  if  indeed  Menes  ever  existed  at  all,  which  is  much  to  be  doubted  ;  for  the  sera 
to  which  this  computation  assigns  him  is  itself  astrological.  It  is  that  of  les  Chres, 
the  Cretan  son  of  God. 

^  This  is  abundantly  shown  by  Perrot  and  Chipiez, "  Egyptian  Art.,"  I,  233,  244.   It 


292  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

preserved  of  any  supposed  historical  event  relating  to  Egypt,  beyond 
the  fact  that  some  kind  of  people  must  have  dwelt  there  whom  the 
Hyksos  conquered ;  and  that  some  of  these  may  have  left  monuments. 
But  all  these  dates  are  unsafe;  for  the  sera  of  Menephres  proves  to  be 
merely  a  Sothic  astrological  period  and  the  511  years  sojourn  of  the 
Hyksos,  a  fragment  of  the  Buddhic  astrological  circle  of  550  years.* 
Indeed,  the  invasion,  (not  the  sojourn)  of  the  Hyksos  is  about  the 
earliest  well  authenticated  event  that  we  know  of  concerning  ancient 
Egypt ;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  more  than  a  few  of  the  existing  monu- 
ments are  earlier  than  that  period.  Manetho,  indeed,  says  that  the 
Hyksos  destroyed  everything;  but  as  Josephus  himself  remarked, 
Manetho  is  not  to  be  trusted,  and  as  the  antiquarians  Perrot  and 
Chipiez  distinctly  assert,  this  is  false;  for  the  Hyksos  left  the  earlier 
monuments  unmutilated,  and  so  they  stand  to-day. 

The  oldest  jera  of  the  Greeks,  B.  C.  2064,  was  that  of  the  mythical 
Chres  and  his  Eight  curetes  or  apostles,  who  were  called  the  Danoi. 
This  was  a  legend  of  the  sun-worship,  the  date  of  its  invention  being 
unknown.  The  next  oldest  was  the  Brahminical  myth  of  Jasius  and 
the  Ten  dactyles  of  Mount  Ida,  whose  sera  was  one  Brahminical  cycle 
(658  years)  later  than  Chres,  or  B.  C.  1406.  Then  we  have  the  sera 
of  Ischenou,  B.  C.  12 19.  Finally,  in  B.  C.  748  (another  658-year  cycle) 
we  have  lacchus,  Inachus,  or  Bacchus,  and  the  Twelve  apostles:  only, 
be  it  observed,  that  these  dates  have  often  been  confused.  Chres  has 
been  put  for  Jasius  and  Jasius  for  Chres.  For  example,  Herodotus 
(Euterpe,  145)  shifts  Bacchus  into  the  period  of  Chres,  or  Cres,  by 
alleging  that  he  was  born  at  Nyssa  in  Ethiopia  (evidently  to  account 

has  also  been  shown  by  Maspero,  Naville,  Edwards  and  others.  "The  names  and 
titles  of  Rameses  II.  were  reengraved  over  the  erased  names  of  Usertesen  III.  and 
other  earlier  kings."  .  .  .  "The  royal  ovals  on  the  front  of  the  throne  (of  the  colossal 
Hyksos  statue  found  at  Bubastis  and  now  in  the  British  Museum)  had  been  erased  and 
reengraved  by  Rameses  II.,  the  vacant  spaces  at  each  side  being  filled  in  with  six  col- 
umns of  inscription  in  honour  of  Osorkon  II.  Here,  then,  was  a  twofold  usurpation 
(and  forgery)  and  no  trace  left  of  the  original  legend  "  (inscription,)  "  The  name  of 
Apepi  (a  Hyksos  king)  has  been  hammered  out,  but  is  still  traceable  on  the  right 
shoulder  (of  another  statue)  the  place  being  reengraved  with  the  cartouches  of  Mene- 
ptah."  .  .  .  "Maspero  has  discovered  that  the  cartouches  of  Piseb-khanu  are  also 
carved  over  an  erasure."  "  '  The  work  of  Ramesis  II.  at  Bubastis  (Tel  Basta)  was 
chiefly  a  work  of  usurpation,'  "  (wrote  M.  Naville,  who  in  1889  discovered  these  re- 
mains.) "  '  I  never  saw  so  many  erased  inscriptions.  I  have  very  carefully  examined 
all  the  large  architraves,  upon  which  the  hieroglyphics  measure  two  feet  in  height,  and 
tiere  is  not  one  which  is  not  engraved  upon  an  erased  surface.'  "  Amelia  B.  Edwards, 
in  the  Century  Magazine,  January,  1890. 

^  See  Chap.  VII,  under  '  500  years,"  for  a  "  phen  "  of  511  years  mentioned  by  Pliny. 


MANETHO'S    FALSE    CHRONOLOGY.  293 

for  his  woolly  head)  "about  1600  years  before  my  time  ";  whereas  it 
is  quite  evident  from  what  he  says  in  Euterpe,  43  and  145,  and  from 
what  Sanchoniathon  says  of  the  Cabirim,  that  the  system  of  Eight  gods 
preceded  that  of  Twelve,  and  that  Bacchus  was  connected  with  the 
latter  and  not  with  the  former/  It  is  also  evident  from  Euterpe,  51, 
that  Herodotus  himself  was  a  worshipper  of  Bacchus  and  an  initiate 
of  the  Eleusinian  mysteries. 

The  Hebrew  seras  and  chronology  were  based  upon  the  pedigrees 
and  lives  of  their  kings,  heroes  and  patriarchs,  until  they  ended  (or 
began)  with  Adam,  whose  sera  they  calculated  backward  to  the  year 
B.  C.  3760.  The  rabbis  even  gave  us  the  day  and  hour  of  his  birth. 
This  was  exactly  one  divine  year  before  the  Calijoga,  and  beyond  any 
doubt  whatever,  it  was  based  upon. that  sera. 

The  Roman  sera,  B.  C.  753,  is  evidently  another  perversion  of  one 
of  the  Bacchic  incarnations:  for  it  roughly  agrees  with  the  period 
when  Numa  is  said  to  have  changed  the  year  of  the  Romans  from  10 
to  twelve  months  and  added  two  more  gods,  Janus  and  Februus,  to 
their  theogony.  (Livy,  I,  19;  Plutarch  in  Numa,  I,  83).  The  Roman 
chronology  of  the  Augustan  sera  did  not  ascend  beyond  the  Bacchic 
period.  For  example,  Julius  Csesar,  who  was  annointed  in  the  Sera- 
pion  as  the  Son  of  God,  December  25,  B.  C.  48,  claimed  his  descent 
through  Venus,  the  Mother  of  God,  who  was  a  divinity  of  the  Bacchic 
cult. 

We  have  now  before  us  all  the  more  important  seras  and  chronolo- 
gies known  to  the  ancients.  Their  earliest  plausible  dates  in  the 
Orient  were  China,  2163,  and  Brahminical  India,  3102,  B.  C.  In  the 
Occident  the  earliest  plausible  dates  were,  Assyria,  2064;  Egypt,  2064; 
Greece  and  Rome,  2064,  and  Judea,  3760,  B.  C.  To  begin  with,  all 
these  dates  are  those  of  avatars  or  incarnations.  They  are  not  histo- 
rical, but  astrological;  and,  as  matters  of  fact,  are  not  worth  a  mo- 
ment's consideration.  As  matters  of  ancient  opinion,  however,  they 
furnish  us  with  useful  guides  to  chronology  and  an  important  histori- 
cal inference.  The  inference  is  that  when  they  were  offered  for  pop- 
ular belief  their  authors  knew  of  no  older  dates;  and  this  inference, 
if  well  founded,  completely  destroys  both  Manetho's  chronology  and 
the  deductions  which  have  been  drawn  from  it. 

For  example,  if  the  Greeks  before  the  Alexandrian  sera  had  any 
reason  to  suppose,  either  from  the  written  histories  or  monuments  of 
Egypt — both  of  which  were  familiar  to  them,  for  the  men  who  left  us 

^  The  text  of  Herodotus  omits  to  mention  the  intermediate  system  of  Ten  gods:  an 
almost  certain  indication  that  it  has  been  "revised." 


294  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  Rosetta  Stone  could  certainly  read  the  hieroglyphics  better  than 
we  can — that  there  was  any  Egyptian  history  earlier  than  their  own 
Cres  (or  lacchus),  they  would  most  likely  have  ascended  to  a  higher 
date,  in  order  to  prove,  as  Herodotus  says  the  Phrygians  did,  (Eu- 
terpe, 2,)that  their  own  incarnation  was  the  more  ancient  and  vener- 
able. If  the  Jews,  whose  sacred  books  are  credited  to  an  earlier  period 
than  the  Alexandrian  aera,  and  whom  it  must  be  supposed  were  also 
acquainted  with  Egyptian  literature  and  archaeology,  had  any  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Egyptian  annals  ascended  higher  than  their  own 
date  of  B.  C.  3760,  they  would  scarcely  have  been  content  to  place 
the  birth  of  Adam  in  that  year.  It  is  the  same  with  all  the  others. 
Each  nation  of  antiquity  went  back  far  enough  in  its  chronology  to 
prove  itself  to  be  heaven-descended.  It  results  that  none  of  them 
suspected  that  the  civilization  of  Egypt  or  Chaldea  was  believed  by 
anybody  to  be  more  ancient  than  the  date  affixed  to  their  own  civil- 
isation; and  as  they  lived  from  two  to  three  thousand  years  nearer  to 
the  beginning  of  Egypt  and  Chaldea  than  the  modern  Egyptologist, 
we  are  compelled  to  prefer  their  testimony  to  his.  That  testimony  is 
to  the  effect  that  Manetho's  dynasties  are  false;  and  that  few  or  none 
of  the  Egyptian  or  Chaldean  epigraphic  monuments  are  older  than 
about  B.  C.  1500  to  2000.  The  further  inference  to  be  drawn  from 
this  comparison  of  seras  is,  that  if  we  consider  the  Orient  and  Occident 
separately,  the  longest  or  most  ancient  chronologies  are  those  which 
were  probably  fabricated  latest;  and  the  longest  tale  of  all  was  that 
of  Manetho. 


295 


CHAPTER   XI. 

FORGERIES   IN    STONE. 

JUST  as  there  is  scarcely  a  writing  of  the  past  that  has  not  been 
corrupted,  so  there  is  scarcely  a  piece  of  ancient  sculpture  in  our 
museums  that  has  not  been  mutilated.     The  eminent  antiquarian 
Feuardent  accused  Gen.  Cesnola,  or  the  professors  and  artists  who 
worked  under  his  directions,  or  upon  his  advice,  of  "building  up" 
his  collection  of  Cypriote  antiquities,  or  at  least  a  part  of  it,  with  frag- 
ments belonging  to  originally  unconnected  figures.     The  curators  of  ' 
the  Roman  museums  did  all  this  and  much  more.     They  altered  the 
attributes  of  the  marble  deities  and  eifaced  the  names  of  the  artists 
who  sculptured  them;  they  forged  names  and  dates;  they  mutilated 
zodiacs  and  planispheres;  they  obliterated  some  inscriptions,  interpo- 
lated others,   and  deliberately  destroyed  those  which  they  did  not 
choose  to  alter  or  efface.      Dr.  Clarke  alleges  that  such  has  been  the 
fate  of  all  the  antiquities  of  the  Crimea.      In  1893  I  had  occasion  to 
examine  some  ancient  coins  in  the  Paris  Collection  and  while  doing 
so  I  alluded,  in  hearing  of  the  Assistant  Curator,  M.  Cazenove,  to 
the  ancient  year  of  ten  months.   To  this  M.  Cazenove,  albeitin  many 
respects  an  accomplished  numismatist,  replied  that  there  was  no  an- 
cient year  of  ten  months.      It  was  in  vain  that  I  cited  Livy,  Ovid, 
Virgil,  Censorinus,  the  numerical  names  of  our  months,  and  other 
evidences.     He  would  not  have  it.      Even  when  one  of  the  other 
Curators  came  to  my  support,  M.  Cazenove  continued  to  deny  the 
ancient  division  of  the  year  into  ten  months.     On  this  subject  there 
exists  such  an  ample  accumulation  of  evidences  that  only  he  who  does 
not  wish  to  believe,  can  fail  to  be  convinced  on  the  subject.   To  this 
evidence  I  propose  to  add,  by  way  of  example,  the  testimony  of  two 
stone  monuments  now  in  the  Louvre.   One  of  these  is  a  Roman  sun- 
dial and  calendar,  which  has  been  altered  from  ten  to  twelve  months, 
the  other  is  an  Egypto-Grecian  planisphere  similarly  altered,  but  con- 
taining more  convincing  evidences  of  the  forgery. 

Roman  Sun  Dial  and  Calendar,  Louvre,  Mu.,  No.  2.   This  is  a  work 
of  Pentilicon  marble,  discovered  in  the  spring  of  1792,  at  Gabies,  by 


296  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Gavin  Hamilton,  a  Scotch  painter.'  It  has  probably  been  altered  or 
restored  by  Franzoni  and  was  formerly  in  the  Villa  Borghese,  Salle 
de  Gabies,  No.  16. 

The  modern  parts  are  the  heads  of  Mercury,  Vulcan,  Neptune, 
Juno,  Apollo,  Minerva  and  Jupiter;  the  lance  and  a  piece  of  the 
table;  the  ends  of  the  noses  of  Venus,  Cupid,  Mars,  Diana  and  Ceres; 
Vesta's  chin;  nearly  all  of  the  lamp  belonging  to  Vesta;  the  screech 
owls;  the  ram;  the  dove;  finally  the  left  arm  of  the  Virgin. 

This  unique  monument  has  severely  tried  the  sagacity  of  the  learned, 
who  do  not  yet  agree  upon  its  signification.  It  is  apparently  com- 
posed of  two  different  parts,  independent  of  each  other.  In  the 
middle  of  a  circular  table,  is  a  sort  of  flat  hollow,  forming  a  patella, 
or  disc,  on  which  is  (now)  sculptured  the  heads  of  twelve  Olympian 
divinities.  All  these  heads  appear  full-faced  with  the  exception  of 
Ceres.     From  left  to  right  they  appear  in  the  following  order: 

Neptune;  on  his  left,  a  trident. 

Juno  crowned;  to  the  left,  a  sceptre. 

Apollo;  his  hair  wreathed  with  a  strophe;  on  his  left,  a  sceptre. 

Minerva,  helmeted;  on  her  right,  a  lance.  The  crown  of  the  hel- 
met is  decorated  with  a  seated  sphinx.  Two  screech  owls  are  perched 
upon  the  volutes  of  the  visor. 

Jupiter;  on  his  left,  a  thunderbolt. 

Venus  crowned;  on  her  left,  a  sceptre.  Between  Venus  and  Mars 
is  placed  a  nude  Cupid  with  its  arms  around  the  necks  of  the  couple. 

Mars,  beardless ;  his  helmet  ornamented  with  griffins. 

Diana;  with  bow  and  quiver  over  the  left  shoulder. 

Ceres;  (Visconti  says  Vesta;)  the  head  bound  with  a  strophe,  turned 
towards  Diana. 

Vesta,  (Visconti  says  Ceres). 

Mercury,  beardless;  a  winged  wand  on  his  left. 

Vulcan,  a  round  bonnet  on  his  head,  a  sceptre  on  his  left. 

Upon  the  edge,  or  periphery  of  the  table,  are  the  twelve  signs  of 
the  zodiac,  accompanied  by  the  emblem  of  the  tutelar  divinity  who 
presides  over  each  month  of  the  year.  These  signs  and  emblems  do 
not  correspond  with  the  heads  carved  upon  the  flat  of  the  disc;  and 
most  of  the  conjectures  that  have  been  brought  forward  to  establish 
their  connection,  have  only  served  to  complicate  the  subject.     The 

'  Gabies,  or  Gabii,  about  16  miles  E,  S.  E.  from  Rome,  possessed  a  temple  of  Juno, 
in  which  that  goddess  was  worshipped  with  peculiar  ceremonies,  the  priests  wearing 
their  dress  in  a  characteristic  manner.     Virgil's  .(Eneid,  vii,  612  and  682. 


FORGERIES    IN    STONE.  297 

eminent  antiquarian  Visconti  is  of  opinion  that  we  have  here  a  veri- 
table Roman  calendar. 

The  heads  of  the  five  divinities,  Jupiter,  Juno,  Minerva,  Ceres  and 
Diana,  seem  to  correspond  with  the  months  indicated  by  the  zodiac 
upon  the  edge;  but  not  so  the  other  seven  gods. 

Ceres  has  preserved  the  place  she  occupies  in  the  zodiacal  system; 
Mars  and  Mercury  have  changed  theirs;  the  union  of  Mars  with  Ve- 
nus and  of  Mercury  with  Vesta  (or  Ceres)  is  apparently  maintained 
with  design;  Diana  and  A.pollo  are  opposite  each  other.  Most  of  this 
is  the  result  of  modern  alterations. 

All  that  can  be  positively  affirmed  is  that  this  monument  belongs 
to  the  Roman  religion,  the  god  Mars  being  there  represented  by  a 
she-wolf;  that  it  was  probably  made  by  a  Roman  artist,  the  diameter 
of  the  patella  measuring  exactly  one  Roman  cubit,  or  about  17^ 
inches;  that  the  zodions  of  the  12-sign  zodiac  are  not  complementary 
with  the  heads  of  the  gods;  that  the  sculptor  apparently  wished  to 
create  an  astronomical  instrument,  the  moveable  surface  of  which 
could  be  turned  according  to  the  march  of  time,  or  the  wants  of  the 
operator;  that  the  hollow  in  the  middle  of  the  disc,  now  composed  of 
a  vast  number  of  small  pieces  not  all  of  them  antique,  served  as  a 
sun-dial,  because  traces  of  the  needles  that  pointed  out  the  divisions 
of  time  and  the  thin  plates  of  metal  that  upheld  the  hemisphere,  can 
still  be  seen. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  this  monument  was  originallp  sculp- 
tured with  ten  gods,  which  were  afterwards  altered  to  twelve;  hence 
the  incongruity  between  the  figures  on  the  disc  and  those  on  the  per- 
iphery: the  latter  being  probably  of  later  date  than  the  former. 
To  these  incongruities  the  modern  "  restorer  "  has  added  his  own. 


The  Egypto-Grecian  Planisphere,  Louvre  Mu.,  No.  4.  This  relic 
of  antiquity  consists  at  present  of  two  fragments  of  white  marble, 
which  were  excavated  from  a  trench  upon  Mount  Aventine  in  Rome 
during  the  year  1705.  It  was  formerly  in  the  Vatican  Museum.  It 
is  a  fragment  of  a  Greco-Egyptian  planisphere,  reconstructed  in  1705 
by  Francesco  Bianchini,  a  Catholic  antiquarian  and  astrologer  of 
Verona. 

The  engraving  is  traced  with  a  point  (a  graving  tool)  upon  a  slab 
of  square  marble,  each  side  of  which  measures  28^  inches,  that  is  to 
say,  exactly  two  Roman  feet. 

The  radius  taken  between  the  exterior  border  of  the  medallion  and 


298  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  inner  border  of  the  great  circle  measures  7^  inches,  or  exactly 
ten  Roman  digits.     The  diameter  of  the  large  circle  is  27  digits. 

Three-fourths  of  this  interesting  monument  are  lost  or  mutilated; 
the  remaining  portion  only  enables  us  to  conjecture  the  principal  de- 
sign, not  to  reconstruct  the  whole. 

B.  de  Montfaucon,  in  his  "Antiquity  Explained  "  (t.  I,  pi.  234,  and 
suppl. ;  t.  I,  17  b,  p.  43)  published  a  fragment  of  a  similar  planisphere, 
a  plan  for  the  restoration  of  which  he  found  among  the  manuscripts 
of  Peiresc,  1580-1637,  at  the  Saint  Victor  library. 

The  middle  medallion  represents  a  large  bearded  serpent,  or 
dragon,  turned  to  the  left,  the  head  turned  downwards.  In  the  folds 
of  the  serpent,  which  take  the  form  of  an  S,  are  seen  two  she-bears 
with  open  mouths,  a  little  one  running  to  the  right  and  a  larger,  and 
higher,  one  running  to  the  left.  It  is  easy  to  recognise  in  these  the 
two  familiar  constellations  of  the  Northern  heavens:  the  Little  and 
Great  Bear. 

This  medallion  is  surrounded  by  four  concentric  circles,  divided 
into  12  parts  (dodecatemoria)  by  means  of  12  straight  lines,  which 
start  from  the  centre.      These  lines  maybe  wholly  or  partly  modern. 

The  middle  zone  encloses  a  zodiac  of  ten  signs. 

Humboldt  discovered  in  these  signs  certain  analogies  with  the  an- 
cient Hiudu  zodiac.  The  Horse,  which  corresponds  with  our  sign  of 
the  Lion,  occupies  the  same  place  in  the  Tartar,  Hindu  and  Tibetan 
zodiacs.  The  Eagle,  (?)  Dog,  and  Serpent  are  miCt  with  not  only 
among  the  Oriental  zodiacs,  but  also  among  those  of  aboriginal 
Mexico;  while  the  Goat  occupies  one  of  the  lunar  mansions  of  Hin- 
dostan. 

The  two  other  circles  enclose  the  signs  of  two  Egypto-Greek  zo- 
diacs, one  of  12  and  one  of  ten  signs.  There  is  no  difference,  either 
in  the  figures  or  the  costumes.  The  marble  here  is  much  mutilated. 
The  omitted  signs  are  the  Archer  and  Fishes.  An  attempt,  however, 
has  been  made  to  insert  the  Archer,  so  that  there  are  permissably  11 
signs.  The  Ram  and  the  Bull  are  decorated  with  dorsal  bandelets, 
such  as  were  put  upon  the  victims  on  the  day  of  sacrifice.  The  Twins 
are  represented  by  a  nude  youth  carrying  a  club,  and  a  nude  girl  with 
dishevelled  hair,  who,  with  one  hand  holds  a  lyre,  resting  upon  a  cip- 
pus,  while  her  right  arm  is  locked  about  her  brother's  neck.* 

Cancer  has  the  usual  form  of  a  crab.     The  Balance  is  held  in  the 

^  The  Count  de  Clarac's  engraving  of  this  monument  is  not  exact.  See  Hugin,  As- 
tronomicon,  ii,  22,  p.  472. 


FORGERIES    IN    STONE.  299 

lowci-ed  right  hand  of  a  young  man,  clothed  with  a  chlamys.  The 
Archer  is  represented  by  a  Centaur  letting  fly  an  arrow.  The  double 
line  which  separates  these  two  zodiacs  may  signify  the  Equator. 

We  arrive  at  a  narrow  border  encumbered  with  Greek  numerical 
signs,  most  of  them  in  relief,  a  few  of  them  engraved  with  the  trait. 
As  there  are  five  such  signs  to  each  of  the  twelve  constellations  of 
the  inner  zodiac,  Bianchini  held  that  these  numbers  represented  the 
epagomenee,  which  the  Greeks  placed  under  the  special  guardianship 
of  the  five  planets:  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  and  Mercury.  M. 
Lebroune  treats  them  as  mere  gnostic  absurdities. 

With  one  exception,  the  signs  of  the  12-sign  zodiacal  planisphere 
agree  with  the  lists  of  Ptolemy  (Tetrabillon,  I,  21)  and  of  Julius  Fir. 
micus  Maternus,  (Astronomicon,  ii,  6.) 

The  letters  employed  differ  from  the  ordinary  alphabet,  e.  g.,  in  the 
form  of  the  st'gma,  which  is  replaced  by  a  Roman  S.  As  to  those  which 
are  engraved  with  the  trait,  (namely,  the  first  sigma  of  the  Ram, 
omega  of  the  Bull  and  omega  of  the  Balance)  their  object  is  not  dis- 
cernible. 

In  the  original  design  the  36  days  of  the  month  are  followed  by 
secondary  divinities  who  presided  over  the  ten  months  of  the  year. 
Of  these  divinities  only  eight  are  left,  differing  from  one  another  in 
form,  costume  and  attributes.  These  are  in  a  procession  towards  the 
right. 

Chontare  has  the  upper  part  of  the  body  naked  and  he  carries  a 
two-edged  sacrificial  axe  upon  the  left  shoulder,  as  if  he  were  going 
to  sacrifice  the  ram  of  the  zodiac.  Chontachre,  with  a  hawk's  head, 
holds  a  ring  in  the  lowered  right  hand.  Some  years  ago  this  ring 
held  a  cross,  but  this  has  recently  been  chiseled  away.  Seket,  clothed 
with  a  mantle,  holds  two  rings,  which  also  held  crosses,  which  have 
recently  been  chiseled  off.  Choon,  with  a  jackal's  head,  is  also  clothed 
with  a  mantle.  Ero,  nearly  all  destroyed,  carries  a  sceptre.  The 
fragment  of  the  lower  part  commences  with  the  i8th,  or  middle  day, 
of  the  month,  or  Aphoso,  the  upper  part  of  whose  body  is  naked.  He 
carries  a  ring  (which  some  years  ago  held  a  cross)  in  his  right  hand 
and  a  stick  in  his  left,  Souchoe  and  Ptechouli,  both  draped  in  the 
same  manner,  have  their  right  hands  advanced,  and  in  the  left,  each 
holds  a  ring,  from  which  the  pendent  cross  has  been  destroyed.  Chon- 
tare, again,  with  the  bull's  head,  the  upper  part  of  the  body  naked, 
carries  a  sceptre. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  these  figures  are  not  strictly 
Egyptian.     In  passing  into  the  domain  of  Greek  astrology  they  un- 


300  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

derwent  modifications  which  altered  their  previous  character.    Among 
the  later  modifications  is  the  mutilation  and  chiseling  of  the  crosses. 

The  proper  names  given  above  are  Grecianized  after  Hephistion's 
list.'  Upon  the  periphery  of  the  central  design  are  placed  the  busts 
of  the  seven  planetary  gods,  at  the  rate  of  three  gods  to  each  con- 
stellation. These  gods  can  be  easily  recognised  by  their  attributes. 
(See  Lersch,  Bonner  Jahrbiicher,  vol.  IV,  p.  163.) 

Cronos,  or  Saturn,  is  clothed  with  a  mantle;  the  head  is  veiled; 
he  holds  a  harp.  Zeus,  or  Jupiter,  carries  a  sceptre;  Ares,  or  Mars, 
is  helmeted;  he  has  a  large  belt  over  the  left  shoulder  and  is  armed 
with  a  lance.  Helios,  or  the  Sun,  wears  a  chlamys  over  the  shoulder; 
his  head  is  encircled  with  seven  rays.  Aphroditus,  or  Venus,  is  nude ; 
she  is  decorated  with  a  necklace  and  holds  in  her  left  hand  a  mirror. 
Hermes,  or  Mercury,  has  a  winged  head  and  a  wand  in  his  hand. 
Selene,  or  the  Moon,  has  a  crescent  above  the  forehead.  The  heads 
of  these  divinities  are  each  backed  by  a  disk,  halo,  or  nimbus,  similar 
to  those  of  the  later  Byzantine  saints. 

If  the  restoration  of  the  destroyed  parts  is  correctly  surmised,  it 
will  be  seen  that,  after  the  system  of  Ptolemy,  the  seven  gods  are  re- 
peated five  times.  Mars,  by  opening  and  ending  the  procession, 
makes  the  36th  god,  answering  to  the  36  days  of  the  month  in  the 
year  of  ten  months. 

Formerly  the  four  corners  of  the  marble  were  occupied  with  the 
effigies  of  the  four  principal  winds.  Only  one  is  left,  perhaps  the 
easterly  wind,  Subsolanus,  who  blows  to  the  right.  His  hair  is  di- 
shevelled and  upon  the  forehead  is  an  ornament  which  one  might  take 
for  a  pen.  An  analogous  bust  is  seen  among  the  fragments  of  Peiresc, 
previously  mentioned.  All  the  parts  engraved  with  traits  were  origin- 
ally painted  red.  As  to  the  age  of  the  monument  it  can  scarcely  be 
much  earlier  than  the  Ptolemaic  period. 

When  the  planisphere  was  reconstructed,  the  following  inscription 
was  put  upon  it:  " Fragmentum  planisphserii,  ursarum  et  draconis 
imaginibus  inscripti  iuxta  Phenicios  et  Grsecos,  necnon  XII  aster- 
ismis  borealibus  Chaldee  orum  et  signis  zodiaci,  decanis  ac  terminus 
^gyptiis vii planetarum.  Effossum in  monte Aventino,anno MDCCV. " 

The  following  table  shows  the  two  Ten-sign  zodiacs  of  this  calen- 
dar and  the  one  mentioned  by  Baron  von  Humboldt: 

^Biot,  "  Memoires  de  TAcademiedes  Inscriptions,"  1846,  vol.  XVI,  ii,  p,  88:  Abbil- 
dungen,  "  Symbolik,"  pi.  19.  The  hieroglyphic  groups  are  reunited  after  R.  Lepsius, 
"Chron.  Egyp.,"  I.  66-77,  55i. 


FORGERIES    IN    STONE. 


301 


Egyptian,  ten  signs, 

Chaldean,  ten  signs, 

Hindu,  ten  signs 

Exterior  zone. 

Middle  zone. 

Humboldt. 

Twins 

Serpent 

Fishes 

Crab 

Crab 

Bull 

Lion 

Horse 

Horse 

Virgin 

Lion?  5 

Virgin 

Balance 

Goat 

Balance 

Scorpion 

Cow 

Warrior  ? 

Goat 

Eagle 

Dwarf 

Aquarius 

Bear 

Man-lion 

Ram 

Quadruped  * 

Bear 

Bull 

Dog 

Tortoise 

The  Ten  Syrian  Months. 
Nicholas.   (4). 

Sabat 

Adar 

Nissan 

lyar 

Sivan 

Thamuz 

Ab 

Eloul 

Tesri 

Kanun 

Such  is  a  faithful  description  of  these  marbles  at  the  present  time. 
The  nature  of  the  alterations  makes  it  evident  that  a  portion  of  them 
were  effected  in  ancient  times  in  order  to  conceal  the  Ten  months 
year,  while  another  portion  were  made  in  modern  times  in  order  to 
efface  those  sacred  symbols  which  we  have  borrowed  from  obsolete 
religions  and  falsely  claim  to  be  peculiar  to  our  own.  Perrot  and 
Chipiez,  "  Egyptian  Art,"  I,  233,  241,  inform  us  that  King  Psousen- 
nes  carved  upon  the  sphinxes  of  a  Hyksos  monarch,  his  own  false 
and  anacronical  cartouch.  Are  we,  who  deface  and  pervert  the  re- 
ligious monuments  of  the  past,  any  better  than  the  royal  Egyptian 
forger? 

*  To  these  tgn  moiiths  were  afterwards  added  Tisf  i  II  and  Kanun  II,  making  twelve. 
These  duplicate  months  were  inserted  (at  least  they  so  appear  now)  immediately  after 
those  of  the  same  names.  The  Jews  had  the  same  months,  except  that  they  added 
Heshvan  and  Tebet,  after  Tisri  and  Kanun  and  changed  the  latter  to  Kislev.  In 
their  lunar  calendar  they  also  had  a  13th  month,  which  was  added  in  embolismic  years. 
This  was  called  Adar  Sheni,  The  solar  year  commenced  on  or  about  the  vernal  equi- 
nox and  with  the  suggestive  month  of  NTssan. 

'  Mutilated;  hind-part  only  remains  of  what  seems  to  be  a  lion. 

®  Mutilated:  possibly  a  deer. 


302 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE     MESSIAH. 

HISTORIANS  of  the  Roman  republic  have  too  commonly  betrayed 
a  tendency  to  find  the  cause  of  its  decline  in  the  working  of 
some  one  or  other  defective  institute  of  that  great  state,  some  insti- 
tute that  was  especially  inimical  to  the  writer,  as  the  establishment 
of  colonies,  the  unequal  distribution  of  opportunity,  wealth,  lands, 
or  political  power,  or  the  growth  of  slavery,  or  the  evils  of  the  mon- 
etary system.     But  a  broader  survey  of  the  subject  rather  leads  to 
the  conclusion  that  no  single  cause  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
devolution  of  events  which  followed  the  Punic  wars.     The  downfall 
of  the  republic  and  the  erection  of  the  empire  appear  to  have  been 
due  in  part  to  all  of  these  circumstances  and  perhaps  also  to  others, 
among  not  the  least  of  which  were  religion  and  the  various  branches 
of  knowledge  and  belief  upon  which  religion  was  founded.      After 
striving  in  vain  to  uphold  the  tottering  republic,  Cicero  lived  long 
enough  to  perceive  that  the  catastrophe  was  inevitable  and  that 
neither  could  he  retard  it,  nor  Caesar  accelerate  it.'      Rome  was  no 
longer  a  small  commonwealth  of  free  citizens,  rendered  more  or  less 
equal  in  rank  by  a  substantial  equality  of  fortune,  attainments  and 
political  power.      It  had  become  a  populous  and  unwieldy  empire, 
composed  of  many  conquered  nations  and  tribes,  differing  in  race, 
religion,  language,  history  and  degrees  of  social  development.     Th'^ 
republican  constitution,  which  had  sufficiently  well  fitted  the  infancy 
of  this  state,  and  which,  had  the  state  grown  less  rapidly,  might  have 
been  gradually  altered  to  suit  its  greatly  altered  manhood,  was,  under 
the  circumstances,  antequated  and  useless,  as  a  means  of  repressing 
disorder,  or  preserving  the  peace.    This  constitution  had  been  over- 
thrown by  Marius  and  Sylla.      The  Civil  Wars  had  supplemented  the 
existing  orders  of  priests,  patricians,  plebians  and  slaves,  with  what 
was  substantially  a  new  social  caste,  the  equites,  or  knights — the  fu- 
ture farmers  of  the  revenues  and  the  lords  of  feudal  manors.    When 

'  "  Csesar  is  no  less  under  the  control  of  circumstances  than  we  are  under  the  con- 
trol of  Caesar."     Letter  of  Cicero  to  Papirius  Patus,  dated  A.  U.  707? 


THE    MESSIAH,  303 

to  the  already  vast  territorial  possessions  of  the  Commonwealth  were 
afterwards  added  nearly  the  whole  of  Transalpine  Europe,  and  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Egypt,  the  republican  constitution  utterly  broke  down. 
The  year  that  saw  Ponipey  invested  with  the  supreme  power  of  the 
Roman  State,  added  further  dignities  and  privileges  to  the  new  order 
of  aristocrats.  *  These  developments  of  caste  were  sure  presages  of 
the  Empire.  " 

In  both  of  the  last  dictatorships  all  the  civil  powers  of  the  State 
had  been  entrusted  to  one  man,  in  the  hope  of  securing  order  and 
tranquility;  in  both  cases  the  trust  had  failed  to  secure  its  object. 
To  keep  together  so  vast  an  empire,  to  assimilate  under  one  govern- 
ment such  heterogeneous  populations  as  had  recently  been  brought 
under  its  sway;  to  command  the  respect  of  distant  kings;  to  curb 
the  ambition  and  repress  the  avarice  of  proconsuls  who  had  become 
mightier  than  kings;  and  to  conserve  the  private  fortunes  that  had 
been  carved  out  of  the  dying  republic;  some  greater  elements  of 
power  and  authority  and  some  more  efficacious  means  of  subordina- 
tion were  required  to  be  wielded  at  Rome  than  those  which  had  failed 
in  the  hands  of  Sylla  and  Pompey.  Take,  for  example,  the  case  of 
Parthia.  This  state  had  formerly  been  subject  successively  to  the 
divine  monarchs  of  Media,  Persia  and  Syro-Macedonia:  it  had  eman- 
cipated itself  from  their  controul ;  it  had  deified  its  own  sovereigns  and 
these  had  become  subject  to  a  Roman  proconsul.  The  involution  of 
heavenly  rank  therefore  stood  as  follows:  the  sovereign  of  Media  was 
a  god;  the  sovereign  of  Persia  was  a  higher  god,  because  he  had  over- 
thrown the  former  one  and  substituted  himself  in  his  place  as  an  ob- 
ject of  worship.  For  a  similar  reason  the  Seleucidae  and  Arsacidae 
were  gods,  of  still  higher  rank,  until  we  come  to  Pompey,  who  was 
by  parity  of  reasoning  the  highest  of  gods,  that  is  to  say,  the  god  of 
gods,  because  he  overthrew  the  entire  succession  of  these  divinities; 
he  was  mightier  than  them  all. 

The  additional  powers  and  discipline  which  for  these  reasons  were 
needed  to  maintain  the  ascendancy  of  Rome  were  found  in  the  pecu- 

^Dio.,  xxxvi,  25:  Juv.,  Ill,  159;  XIV,  324;  Adams,  21. 

^  So  far  was  Cicero  from  sharing  this  opinion  that  he  actually  regarded  the  new  or- 
der of  nobles,  when  they  should  unite  with  the  ancient  noblesse  of  the  Senate,  as  an 
additional  guarantee  for  the  permanency  and  security  of  the  Republic.  Cicero,  how- 
ever, as  his  letters  abundantly  prove,  was  a  poor  politician.  Indeed  this  Upas  tree 
of  caste  grew  so  rapidly  that,  in  his  second  philipic,  he  was  obliged  to  confess  that 
during  his  own  lifetime  he  had  witnessed  the  Dictatorship  of  Sylla,  the  Lordship  of 
Cinna,  and  the  Monarchy  of  Csesar.  But  even  here  his  vision  was  very  limited;  it  was 
not  a  Monarchy,  but  an  Hierarchy,  that  had  grown  up  under  his  eyes.  Orat.,  11. 105. 


304  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

liar  organization  and  privileges  of  the  Sacred  college  and  in  the  mys- 
teries of  religion.  These  the  ambitious  and  unscrupulous  Caesar  has- 
tened to  seize  with  the  office  of  high-priest  and  the  assumption  of 
sacerdotal  powers,  which,  in  proportion  as  they  exceeded  the  attrib- 
utes of  earthly  kings,  rivalled  those  of  gods.  To  this  discipline  and 
subordination  was  added  that  moral  influence  which  the  church  alone 
could  wield,  the  influence  of  blind  faith,  of  religious  myths  and  super- 
stition, the  respect  for  ecclesiastical  displeasure,  the  fear  of  commit- 
ting sacrilege,  and  the  dread  of  excommunication  and  anathema.  * 
These  are  elements  of  power  and  government  which  no  statesman, 
in  any  age,  can  afford  to  despise,  and  which  we  may  feel  assured  were 
not  permitted  to  lie  unused  by  so  profound  a  politician  as  Julius 
Caesar.  The  example  of  other  states  may  also  have  contributed  to 
bring  about  the  Roman  hierarchy.  Hindostan,  China,  Japan,  Persia, 
Chaldea,  Egypt,  Greece,  Etruria  and  numerous  other  states  of  an- 
tiquity had  been  hierarchies.  Archaic  Rome  itself  had  been  an  hier- 
archy. Gaul  was  an  hierarchy.  Many  of  these  hierarchies  survived 
to  Caesar's  time,  and  some  of  them,  although  all  were  decaying,  were 
among  the  richest  and  most  populous  states  then  in  existence. 

Caesar  has  left  us  in  no  doubt  with  regard  to  his  design.  The  con- 
quest of  India  by  Alexander  had  brought  anew  to  the  western  world 
the  entire  flood  of  Brahminical  myths.  ^  The  eleventh,  a  supplement- 
ary incarnation  of  Vishnu  (zodion  of  Pisces)  was  at  hand,  and  Caesar, 
(who,  among  his  many  gifts,  was  an  accomplished  master  of  astrol- 
ogy,) had  evidently  determined  to  become  its  hero,  for  he  publicly 
and  ostentatiously  proclaimed  his  descent  from  the  goddess  Maria  or 
Venus,  and  attested  his  official  acts  with  a  seal  which  bore  her  effigy. 
Marcus  Coelius,  writing  to  Cicero  in  A.  U.  704,  alluded  to  Caesar  as 
*' our  heavenly-descended  chief,"  a  proof  that  such  was  the  character 
of  his  pretensions.  *  But  there  are  many  more  proofs  to  come.  Caes- 
ar's further  plans  were  cut  short  by  the  dagger  of  his  friend  Brutus, 
but  they  are  clearly  discernible  in  the  constitution  which  was  devel- 
oped by  his  adopted  son,  Augustus,  and  which,  beyond  some  impair- 
ment of  the  first  article,  continued  to  remain  essentially  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  whole  empire,  until  the  Moslem  revolt  in  the  sev- 
enth century  withdrew  the  eastern  provinces  from  Rome,  the  revolt 
of  the  bishops  of  Rome  in  the  eighth  century  withdrew  the  western 

*  Cicero,  de  Legibus,  11,  7. 

*  It  is  to  these  myths,  many  of  which  reached  the  Romans  through  Assyria,  that 
Tacitus  seems  to  allude  by  the  term  "judicial  astrology."     Annals,  11,  27,  passim. 

^  Suet,  Jul.,  vi;  Dio.,  xliv;  Melmoth's  Letters  of  Cicero,  vii,  7. 


THE    MESSIAH.  305 

provinces,  and  the  Latin  conquest  of  Constantinople  in  the  13th  cen- 
tury destroyed  all  that  was  left  of  the  ancient  imperial  authority. 

The  first  and  most  important  article  in  the  constitution  of  this 
empire  was  the  extraordinary  one  of  the  Emperor's  deification.  Both 
in  Spain  and  Gaul  Caesar  must  have  heard  of  Hesus,  the  Messiah, 
whose  effigy  stood  at  every  cross-road,  whose  crosses  were  worn  upon 
the  breast  of  every  warrior,  and  whose  second  coming,  which  had 
been  long  predicted  by  the  Druid  astrologers,  coincided  very  closely 
with  the  period  of  his  own  invasion  of  those  countries.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that,  like  Musa,  Pizarro  and  Cortes,  of  later 
ages,  he  made  use  of  this  superstition  to  represent  himself  or  permit 
himself  to  be  regarded  as  the  Expected  One,  in  order  to  render  his 
march  of  conquest  the  more  easy  and  rapid.  However  this  may  be,  it 
was  probably  less  the  imaginary  incarnation  of  Hesus  than  the  actual 
example  of  Alexander  which  afforded  to  Julius  Caesar  the  precedent 
which  he  followed  in  his  own  deification.  "  When  he  was  in  Spain  he 
bestowed  his  leisure  hours  in  reading  the  history  of  Alexander,  and 
was  so  much  affected  by  it  that  he  sat  pensive  a  long  time,  and  being 
asked  the  reason,  he  said,  '  Is  it  not  sufficient  cause  for  concern  to  re- 
flect that  Alexander  at  my  age  reigned  over  numerous  conquered 
countries,  whilst  I,  as  yet,  have  not  one  glorious  achievement  to 
boast?'  "'  Not  only  the  example  of  Alexander,  but  the  similarity  of 
circumstances,  helped  to  make  a  divinity  of  Caesar.  After  the  battle 
of  Pharsalia  the  world  was  at  his  feet;  and  among  the  numerous  po- 
tentates who  were  swayed  by  his  nod  were  many  who  were  themselves 
gods,  and,  as  such,  were  worshipped  by  their  degraded  subjects.  * 

From  Pharsalia  Caesar  went  to  Egypt.  He  arrived  in  Alexandria 
October  6th,  B.  C.  48,  and  remained  there  until  the  month  of  March.' 
It  was  during  this  interval  that,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Macedonian  conqueror,  he  permitted  himself,  on  Brumalia,  or  the 
winter  solstice,  A.  U.  706,  to  be  deified  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Am- 
mon  and  hailed  by  its  subservient  priests  as  the  Son  of  God,  "  and  it 

''  Plutarch,  in  Julius  Caeasar.  The  official  seal  of  Augustus  was  an  effigy  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great.     Suetonius,  in  Aug.,  49. 

*  In  after  times  similar  empires,  whose  Asiatic  origin  is  plainly  stamped  upon  their 
religious  remains,  were  discovered  and  destroyed  by  the  astonished  Spaniards  in  dis- 
tant Mexico  and  Peru.  Mr.  Bryce  (Holy  Roman  Empire,  251,)  notices  the  resemblance 
between  the  sacred  empires  of  the  Caesars  and  the  Caliphs,  but  omits  to  mention  the 
most  important  respect  in  which  they  differed,  namely,  in  the  deification  and  adora- 
tion of  the  sovereign.  '  Simcox. 

'"  It  was  customary  with  the  pagan  Romans  to  bestow  a  new  name  upon  those  who 
were  honoured  with  the  rites  of  deification,  as  afterwards  it  was  with  the  Christians  to 


3o6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

was  in  this  same  temple,  after  his  death  and  pretended  ascension  to 
heaven,  (of  which  more  anon,)  that  Octavius,  the  Augustus,  his 
adopted  son  and  successor,  paid  him  the  reverence  due  to  God  the 
Father.  Caesar  returned  to  Rome  through  Syria,  and  on  the  way  he 
stopped  at  Piscenus,  or  Pesinus,  in  Galatia,  the  seat  of  the  religion 
of  Maia,  Mother  of  the  Gods.  Here,  if  we  can  place  any  faith  in  the 
accusation  which  both  Cicero  aad  Brutus  assisted  to  repel,  his  assas- 
sination was  planned  (though  the  plan  miscarried)  by  Deiotaurus,  the 
sacred  king  of  the  Galatians.  "  However,  it  was  not  in  Galatia  that 
a  tragic  and  untimely  death  was  destined  to  overtake  him,  but  in 
Rome. 

The  assumption  of  an  heavenly  origin  entirely  changed  the  char- 
acter and  demeanour  of  Julius.  Upon  his  return  to  the  capitol  he 
became  difficult  of  access  and  was  rarely  seen  in  public,  except  when 
affairs  of  state  rendered  it  necessary  for  him  to  consult  with  the  pat- 
ricians of  the  Senate.  He  placed  his  own  statue  on  a  sculptured 
horse  which  had  once  supported  the  figure  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
This  was  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Venus  Genetrix.  "  Other  statues 
of  himself  were  placed  among  those  of  the  gods  in  the  various  tem- 
ples and  carried  in  the  processions  of  the  circus.  Even  these  tokens 
scarced  sufficed  to  absorb  that  religious  fervour  and  popular  reverence 
for  his  person  and  name,  which  was  soon  to  become  the  scandal  of 
the  provinces  and  the  watchword  for  assassination  in  the  capital.  He 
was  presented  with  sacred  vestments,  with  a  sacred  image  of  himself 
to  be  borne  in  his  chariot,  with  a  sacred  throne  and  a  sacred  bed.'' 
To  mark  the  sacred  character  of  his  residence  it  was  surmounted  by 
a  steeple.  This  architectural  device  was  an  Egyptian  symbol  of  eccle- 
siastical and  sacerdotal  authority,  the  Roman  name  for  which  was 
fastigium.      "  Divus  Julius  habuit  pulvinar,  simulacrum,  fastigium, 

those  who  were  canonized  as  saints.  On  this  occasion  Caius  received  the  sacerdotal 
name  of  Julus,  or  Julius,  really  copied  from  the  Indian  Houli,  but  feigned  to  be  taken 
from  Julius,  the  son  of  ^neas,  from  whom  his  family  subsequently  affected  to  trace 
their  descent.  In  all  the  earlier  works  referring  to  him  he  is  called  Caius  Csesar,  and 
sometimes  simply  Caius.  Mr.  Higgins  has  collected  many  curious  observations  re- 
lating to  the  name  of  Julius,  which  he  connects  with  the  festival  of  Yule  and  the  cus- 
tom of  the  Yule-log.  Brumalia  is  from  Brouma,  or  Brumess,  one  of  the  names  or 
titles  of  Bacchus.  This  deity,  whom  the  medieval  monks  consigned  to  revelry  and  in- 
toxication, was  anciently  worshipped  as  the  pure,  the  chaste,  the  joyous  Messiah.  He 
was  the  Son  of  God,  immaculately  conceived  by  the  virgin  Maia,  or  Ceres,  sometimes 
called  Semele.  "  Cicero,  Letters,  iii,  25;  Orat.  pro  Deiotaurus. 

^^  Lanciani,  "Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,"  p.  54. 

'^Suet.,  in  Jul.,  76:  App.,  Bell.  Civ.,  Ill,  p.  494. 


1 


THE    MESSIAH.  307 

flaminem,  etc."  The  god  Julius  had  shrines,  an  image,  a  steeple, 
priests,  and  so  on.  '*  The  steeple  of  the  Regia  probably  also  con- 
tained a  chime  of  bells  like  the  temple  of  Jupiter.  '*  Speaking  of  the 
omens  that,  it  was  believed,  preceded  the  assassination  of  Julius, 
Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  that  divinity,  says,  "Calphurnia  dreamed  that 
the  steeple  fell  down,  which,  according  to  Livy,  the  Senate  ordered 
to  be  erected  upon  Csesar's  residence,  by  way  of  distinction."'^  The 
temples  of  Julius  Cassar  bore  the  appellation  of  Heroum  Juleum,  or 
Julian  chapels,  and  contained  his  efifigy  and  that  of  Venus,  Mother  of 
God.  "  "  On  certain  occasions,  in  the  exercise  of  his  high  pontifical 
office,  he  appeared  in  all  the  pomp  of  the  Babylonian  costume,  in 
robes  of  scarlet,  with  the  Crosier  in  his  hand,  v/earing  the  Mitre  and 
bearing  the  Keys."  " 

Of  the  numerous  statues  made  of  him  at,  or  shortly  after,  this  pe- 
riod, but  few  have  survived  the  devastation  of  the  iconoclasts,  or  the 
corroding  hand  of  time.  Among  them  is  the  magnificent  bust,  which 
still  adorns  the  Pontifical  palace  at  Rome.  Upon  the  head  of  the 
deity  is  seen  the  sacred  mantle,  or  peplum,  which  marks  his  heav- 
enly character. 

When  the  tremendous  commotion  caused  by  the  death  of  Julius 
Caesar  had  spent  itself  in  civil  wars,  and  in  the  firm  establishment  of 
the  Messianic  religion  and  ritual,  Augustus  ascended  the  sacred 
throne  of  his  martyred  sire  and  was  in  turn  addressed  as  the  Son  of 
God,  whilst  Julius  was  worshipped  as  the  Father.  "  The  flamens  of 
the  Sacred  college  erected  and  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  Julius 
Caesar  a  magnificent  temple  in  Rome,  and  for  its  services,  as  well  as 
for  those  of  the  provincial  temples  which  might  be  consecrated  to 
the  same  god,  they  organized  a  body  of  priests  called  the  Julii,  or 
Juliani.  '"'  These  priests  were  selected  from  the  most  ancient  order, 
the  Luperci,  of  whom  Ovid  says  that  they  were  instituted  by  Evan- 
der,  '^^  and  to  which  order  none  could  belong  but  the  members  of 
noble  families.  This  priesthood  was  not  abolished  until  the  time  of 
Anastasius  Silentiarius  in  the  sixth  century ;  ^"^  so  that  as  Juliani  they 

"Cic,  II  Philipic,  (Orat.,  11. 106.)  '^  Suet.,  Aug.,  91. 

'*  Plut.,  in  vita;  Pliny,  xxxv,  12,  s.  45;  xxxvi,  5;  Paus.,  54;  and  Cic.  Flor.,  iv,  2. 
>''  Rev.  A.  Herbert,  "  Nimrod,"  i,  455.    '^  Rev.  A.  Hislop,  "  Two  Babylons,"  p.  241. 
'8  Manilius,  "  Astronomica,"  quoted  farther  on;  Ovid,  Fasti,  iii,  155-9. 
'^"Dio.,  XLVii,  18;  Dio.  Cas.,  45;  Plut.,  in  Rom.;  Virgil,  Aen.,  viii,  663. 
^'  Fasti,  II,  279;  see-  also  Livy,  i,  5. 

^^  So  savs  Onuphrius  Panvinius,  a  learned  Augustine  monk  of  Verona,  1529-68,  the 
■authcr  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Popes  "  and  other  works. 


308  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

held  together  from  first  to  last  for  nearly  six  hundred  years.  The 
first  bishop  or  chief  priest  of  the  Julian  cult  was  Marc  Antony.  "  No 
person  who  fled  to  a  temple  of  Julius  for  sanctuary  could  be  taken 
from  it  for  punishment,  a  privilege  which  had  never  been  granted 
before,  not  even  to  the  temples  and  sanctuaries  of  Jupiter.  Except 
when  Augustus  caused  the  son  of  Marc  Antony  to  be  dragged  from 
one  and  slain,  **  the  shrines  of  Julius  were  always  regarded  as  invio- 
lable. ^^  Under  the  Triumvirate  and  during  the  early  portion  of  the 
reign  of  Augustus,  the  worship  of  Julius  Caesar  and  the  erection  of 
temples,  sanctuaries,  shrines  and  altars  consecrated  to  this  worship 
was  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  empire  and  enforced  by  precept,  ex- 
ample and  military  power.  Upon  these  altars  costly  offerings  and 
bloody  sacrifices  were  made.  One  of  the  latter  consisted  of  300 
senators  and  equites,  who  were  coldly  slaughtered  by  order  of  Au- 
gustus upon  the  ides  of  March,  A.  U.  713,  on  a  Julian  altar  at  Peru- 
gia, to  propitiate  the  god  Divus  Julius.  ^^  Official  oaths  were  formu- 
lated in  the  name  of  Julius  Caesar,  and  to  violate  them  was  deemed 
a  more  heinous  crime  and  punished  with  greater  severity  than  any 
other  perjury.  " 

The  naming  of  one  of  the  months  of  the  year  after  the  god  Julius,. 
which  was  done  during  the  consulship  of  Marc  Antony,  is,  by  itself, 
no  evidence  of  his  deification;  but  the  practice  of  other  nations,  the 
precedent  afforded  by  the  Athenian  god  Demetrius,  the  subsequent 
naming  of  a  month  after  the  deified  Augustus,  and  the  fact  that  the 
Romans  never  adopted  any  names  in  place  of  the  ancient  numerical 
names  of  the  months,  except  the  names  of  gods,  lends  it  great  sig- 
nificance. Many  attempts  were  made  to  name  the  months  after 
various  emperors  who  followed  Augustus,  but  they  all  failed.  April 
was  for  a  brief  time  called  Neronius;  May,  Claudius;  and  June,  Ger- 
manicus.  ^^   Tiberius,  who  refused  to  be  deifiea,  or  worshipped  as  a 

^^  "As  Jove,  as  Mars,  as  Quirinus  have  their  priests,  so  is  Marc  Antony  priest  of 
the  god  Julius."  "Est  ergo  flamen,  ut  Jovi,  ut  Marti,  ut  Quirino,  sic  Divo  Julio, 
Marcus  Antonius."     Cicero,  II  Philipic. 

'^^Suet.,  Aug.,  17.  25  Adams,  264, 

^*  Suet.,  Aug.,  15;  Die,  xlviii,  14;  Seneca  de  Clem.,  i,  11;  App.  de  Bell.  Civ.,  lib.. 

;    V.  This  horrible  rite  celebrated  the  conclusion  of  the  Civil  War,  the  Ascension  of  Julius 

p'"     fi    to  Heaven  and  the  Advent  of  Augustus  as  the  Prince  of  Peace.     In  the  time  of  Julius 

I'    Csesar  human  sacrifices  were  only  made  to  Mars;  in  that  of  Augustus  they  w^ere  made 

If',    to  Julius  the  Father. 

2'  Dio.,  XIV,  6  and  50;  Tac,  Ann.,  i,  73;  Codex,  iv,  i,  2;  Codex,  IL,  4,  41;  Digest^ 
XII,  2,  13;  Tertull.  Apol.,  18;  Cicero  de  Legibus,  11,  7, 
''^  Tacitus,  Ann.,  xv,  12  and  74. 


THE    MESSIAH.  309 

god,  also  refused  to  permit  his  name  to  be  substituted  for  Novem- 
ber. " 

In  remote  times  the  Roman  year  was  divided  into  ten  months, 
named  Primus,  Secundus,  Tertius,  Quartus,  Quintilis,  Sextilis,  Sep- 
tembris,  Octobris,  NovembrisandDecembris,  the  year  beginning  with 
the  vernal  equinox,  which  was  made  to  fall  on  the  first  day  of  March 
and  the  months  containing  36  days  each.  After  the  adoption  of  the 
gods  Mars,  Aphrodite,  Maia  and  Juno  into  the  Roman  pantheon 
their  names  were  conferred  upon  the  first  four  months  of  the  year, 
instead  of  Primus,  Secundus,  Tertius  and  Quartus.  This  calendar 
was  reformed  by  the  Decemvirs,  in  the  sacred  name  of  "Numa." 
They  divided  the  year  into  12  months  with  intercalary  days  and  con- 
ferred upon  the  supplementary  months  the  names  of  the  gods  Janus 
and  Februus.  '"  When  Julius  Caesar  was  deified  his  name  was  given  to 
what  was  originally  the  fifth  month  of  the  year,  or  Quintilis.  When 
Octavius  Augustus  Caesar  was  deified  his  sacerdotal  name  was  given 
to  the  original  sixth  month,  or  Sextilis.  "  The  remaining  months 
still  bear  their  ancient  ordinal  names. 

If  all  other  evidences  had  perished,  the  names  of  the  months  alone 
would  have  been  sufficient  to  afford  a  clue  to  the  worship  of  Julius 
Caesar.  The  inveteracy  of  custom,  the  respect  for  tradition,  the  prac- 
tical inconvenience  that  arises  from  changes  of  any  kind,  all  combine 
to  resist  innovation,  so  that  when  innovation  does  occur,  as  in  the  case 
of  changed  names  of  the  months,  it  may  be  tolerably  certain  that  pow- 
erful motives  or  irresistible  influences  lurk  beneath.  If  such  be  the 
case,  even  at  the  present  time,  when  intelligence  is  universally  dif- 
fused and  public  opinion  is  guided  by  an  unfettered  press,  it  may  be 
imagined  how  much  more  emphatically  it  was  the  case  when  mankind 
was  steeped  in  superstition,  when  every  life  was  in  danger,  and  when 
innovation  had  to  resist  not  only  the  inveteracy  of  custom,  but  the 
mandates  of  revengeful  and  absolute  power.  ^^ 

*®  In  796,  after  Pope  Leo  III.  had  sent  the  keys  and  standard  of  Rome  and  other 
tokens  of  his  submission  to  Charlemagne,  the  latter  gave  twelve  German  names  to  the 
months  of  the  year,  but  they  all  fell  flat;  the  people  M^ould  not  accept  them. 

^^  Brumalia,  or  the  winter  solstice,  was  anciently  the  first  day  of  the  year.  Begin- 
ning the  year  a  week  after  the  winter  solstice  was  an  innovation. 

^*  Macrobius,  Sat.,  i,  12,  says  the  change  was  made  in  the  Senate  on  motion  of  the 
tribune  Pacuvius  and  leaves  us  the  inference  that  it  was  done  during  the  lifetime  of 
Augustus.     The  inference  is  corroborated  by  John  of  Nikios. 

^■^  Other  attempts  have  been  made  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times  to  change  the 
RomaQ  names  of  the  months,  but  they  all  proved  abortive. 


3IO  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

If  the  reader  is  surprised  and  shocked  at  the  impiety  of  a  religion 
such  as  we  have  described,  let  it  be  remembered  that  the  minds  of 
the  Romans  were  prepared  for  it  by  the  familiar  worship  of  the  Lares 
or  the  manes  of  their  ancestors; ''  by  the  depravity  which  they  them- 
selves had  ascribed  to  many  of  their  Homeric  gods;  by  the  Messianic 
incarnations  which  had  gone  before,  among  them  that  of  their  own 
Janus  Quirinus;  ^*  and  especially  by  the  nearer  incarnations  and  wor- 
ship of  Alexander  the  Great,  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  and  Titus  Flam- 
ininus;  by  the  anarchy,  bloodshed  and  brutalizing  triumphs'^  and 
spectacles  which  civil  wars  and  foreign  conquests  had  recently  brought 
beneath  their  eyes;^^  by  the  transcendent  services,  both  military  and 
civil,  which  Julius  had  rendered  to  the  State;  and  by  his  illustrious 
descent,  his  alleged  miraculous  birth,"  his  brilliant  and  varied  attain- 
ments, ^*  his  extraordinary  courage  and  sagacity,  his  personal  mag- 
netism,  his  profuse  liberality,  the  magnificence  and  glamour  of  his 

surroundings  and  the  legitimate  authority  he  wielded  both  as  sover- 
eign and  high-priest.  '*  Even  Pompey's  triumph  had  helped  to  pave 
the  way  for  the  deification  of  his  rival  and  successor.  Among  the 
kings  who  had  paid  homage  to  Pompey  was  that  scion  of  the  Arsa- 

^*  Virgil,  Aeneid,  IX,  255;  Tooke's  Pantheon,  279. 

^*  Julius  Proculus  swore  that  Romulus  appeared  to  him  and  ordered  him  to  inform 
the  Senate  that  he  had  been  called  to  the  assembly  of  the  gods,  and  that  sacrifices 
should  be  made  to  him  under  the  name  of  Quirinus.  Plutarch,  in  Rom.;  Livy,  I,  16. 
and  Dio.  Halicar.  The  figures  of  Romulus  appear  clad  in  the  trabea,  a  robe  of  state, 
which  implies  an  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  secular  dignity.  The  lituus,  or  staff  of  augury, 
in  his  hand,  survives  in  the  crosier.     Bell's  Pantheon. 

^*  The  elation  produced  by  a  military  triumph  was  such  as  to  render  it  necessary  to 
place  behind  the  victor's  back,  a  slave,  whose  office  it  was  to  remind  him  that  he  was 
but  a  mortal!  Pliny,  xxiii,  i,  p.  4.  Was  it  the  victor's  elation,  or  a  popular  dread 
of  the  example  set  by  Scipio,  Sylla,  and  Pompey  ? 

^^  The  people  of  Paris,  scarcely  over  a  century  ago,  worshipped  a  Goddess  of  Rea- 
son, personified  by  a  beautiful  young  woman. 

^^  Julius  Csesar  was  born  exactly  658  years,  less  ten  years,  after  the  incarnation  of 
Nabon-Issus.  This  interval  was  the  celebrated  astrological  cycle  or  one-tenth  of  the 
annualized  cycle  of  the  moon's  node,  which  was  the  proper  time  for  the  recurrence  of 
an  incarnation.  The  sera  of  Mahomet  is  exactly  658  years,  plus  ten  years  after  the 
deification  of  Caesar.  These  differences  of  ten  years  may  be  due  to  the  subsequent 
alteration  of  the  Alexandrian  sera,  alluded  to  elsewhere  in  this  work.  The  accepted 
year  of  Caesar's  birth  and  that  of  Mahomet's  Flight,  were  probably  both  "adjusted" 
by  the  astrologers. 

^'  "Caesar  had  capacity,  sense,  memory,  learning,  foresight,  reflection  and  spirit." 
Cic,  II  Phil.,  45. 

^' "  The  deified  Julius,  a  most  perfect  specimen,  as  well  of  the  divinity  of  heaven, 
as  of  the  human  intellect."     Valerius  Maximus,  viil,  2. 


THE    MESSIAH.  3II 

cides,  whose  arrogant  line  had  exacted  a  worship  due  alone  to  the 
Creator.  Pompey,  as  though  persuaded  that  no  one  less  than  a  god 
could  receive  homage  from  a  god,  caused  an  image  of  himself,  in  gold 
and  pearls,  to  be  carried  in  the  most  brilliant  procession  that  the 
world  ever  saw;  leaving  his  son  Sextus  to  complete  the  impious  pre- 
tension which  the  father  had  perhaps  merely  suggested.  " 

The  Roman  dominion  was  no  longer  Italy,  no  longer  Europe,  but 
the  earth.  At  the  feet  of  Pompey  12  tributary  kings  had  laid  their 
crowns;  at  the  tread  of  the  Julian  legions  the  earth  seemed  to  trem- 
ble and  empires  fell  to  pieces.  Love,  admiration,  respect,  venera- 
tion, are  feelings  which  failed  to  express  the  idolatry  of  a  sensuous 
and  embruted  population,  toward  a  being  so  exalted,  so  gifted,  so 
brilliant,  so  god-like,  above  all,  so  powerful,  as  Julius  Caesar,  whose 
slightest  word  sufficed  to  condemn  a  kingdom  to  destruction,  whose 
merest  glance  of  favour  meant  fortune,  preferment,  power,  opportu- 
nity, livings,  endowments,  license,  satiety,  all  that  men,  that  hiero- 
phants,  that  nations,  coveted.  Adoration  was  alone  sufficient  to  ex- 
express  the  feelings  of  the  Roman  populace  toward  him  who  reigned 
over  the  vast  empire  which  they  had  acquired  and  the  innumerable 
kingdoms  they  had  enslaved.  But  a  few  years  later  Tiberius  was 
actually  upbraided  because  he  refused  to  be  deified  and  because  he 
persisted  in  reminding  the  Romans  that  he  was  but  a  mortal.  "  We 
may  be  certain  that  Julius  had  little  need  to  command  deification; 
his  crime  was  that  he  permitted  and  accepted  it. 

If,  after  all  these  evidences  and  considerations,  the  prevalence  of 
this  form  of  anthropomorphism  should  still  excite  his  incredulity,  let 
the  reader  turn  to  a  passage  in  Ezekiel,  and  read  of  that  prince  of 
Tyre  who  was  rebuked  and  devoted  to  destruction,  because  in  his 
pride  he  claimed  to  be  a  god.  Next  let  him  open  the  Antiquities  of 
Josephus,  XIX,  viii,  2,  and  he  will  learn  that  Agrippa,  the  tributary 
king  of  Judea,  etc.,  under  Claudius  Caesar,  appeared  at  a  public  fes- 
tival in  Caesarea  in  a  "  garment  made  wholly  of  silver  and  of  a  text- 
ure truly  wonderful,  and  coming  into  the  theatre  early  in  the  day, 
when  the  silver  of  his  garment,  illuminated  by  the  sun's  rays,  was  so 
resplendent  as  to  send  a  horror  over  those  who  looked  intently  upon 
him,  his  sycophants  cried  out,  some  from  one  place  and  some  from 

■*"  Among  the  kings  devoted  to  Pompey,  but  who  survived  him,  was  Deiotaurus  of 
Galatia,  whose  name  also  implies  the  assumption  of  a  divine  character.  The  abbe 
Lenglet  de  Fresnoy  dates  the  deification  of  Sextus  Pompey  as  the  "  Son  of  Neptune  " 
in  B.  C.  37.  Chronol.,  i,  474.  Neptune  was  the  god  who  presided  over  the  zodiacal 
Fishes.  *^  Tac.  Ann.,  iv,  38. 


312 


A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 


another,  that  he  was  a  god,  and  they  added,  '  Be  thou  merciful  to  us, 
for  though  we  have  hitherto  reverenced  thee  only  as  a  man,  yet  shall 
we  henceforth  own  thee  as  superior  to  mortal  nature.'"  Unfortu- 
nately for  this  would-be  deity,  he  was  shortly  afterwards  taken  with 
a  colic  and  died  in  great  pain,  perhaps  poisoned  by  some  obscure 
Brutus  of  Judea.  " 

It  is  not  necessary  to  account  for  such  a  worship  by  recalling  the 
depravity  of  the  age.  A  country  could  be  named  where  similar  de- 
pravity exists  to-day,  yet  where  there  is  no  worship  of  the  reigning 
sovereign.  It  was  due  to  faith,  habit,  custom,  example,  in  short,  to 
the  fact  that  the  Romans  lived  nearly  two  thousand  years  nearer  to 
the  Brahminical  myth  of  the  Incarnation  than  we  do.  Our  task  is  to 
relate  the  historical  fact;  we  leave  to  others  the  less  invidious  bur- 
den of  its  explanation;  only  let  them  take  heed,  in  such  explanation, 
of  other  phases  of  religion;  of  the  Hanging  Fakirs,  the  Stylites,  the 
Chainwearers  and  Grasseaters  of  the  imperial  sera;  of  the  Agapemonae 
of  England,  the  Shakers  and  Mormons  of  America,  and  the  other 
strange  rites  or  beliefs  that  mankind  have  practised  or  endured.  " 

*^  This  story  of  Agrippa,  or  Herod,  is  briefly  told  in  Acts  xii,  22,  where  the  scene, 
however,  is  changed  to  Tyre.  The  following  example  of  human-worship  belongs  to 
the  present  time  : 

Calcutta,  June  20,  1S94. — Yesterday  the  Queen's  statue  at  Madras  was  smeared  (annointed)  with 
Hindu  religious  marks  on  the  forehead,  neck  and  breast.  The  police  inquiry  has  resulted  in  the  opinion 
being  expressed  that  it  was  the  work  of  a  Hindu  who  desired  to  worship  the  statue.  This  is  not  the 
first  time  that  such  a  smearing  (annointing)  has  taken  place.  Some  time  ago  a  carpenter  was  caught  in 
the  act  of  decorating  the  statue  with  garlands,  and  marks  similar  to  those  now  found  were  detected  on 
that  occasion.  He  said  that  he  was  worshipping  the  Great  Maharanee,  who,  he  hoped,  would  protect 
him  and  give  him  plenty  of  work.  The  Inspector  of  Police,  in  whose  division  the  statue  is  situated, 
says  that  he  himself  has  noticed  people  burning  incense,  breaking  cocoanuts,  and  prostrating  themselves 
in  worship  before  it.     Correspondence  London  Times. 

*^  See  my  Essay  on  "  The  Druses  of  Galilee."  Materials  for  a  history  of  the  Druses 
will  be  found  in  Ezekiel,  Josephus,  Pausanias,  De  Sacy,  Didron,  Churchill  and  other 
works.  The  Jezites,  an  ancient  "Christian  sect  "  in  Persia,  are  described  by  Noel,  ar- 
ticle "  Jezd."  The  Stylites,  Grasseaters,  and  other  "Christian"  sects  of  a  later  period 
are  mentioned  in  most  of  the  early  ecclesiastical  "histories."  The  Galilean  Chainwearers 
are  described  by  the  Emperor  Julian,  in  the  fragment  preserved  by  Cyril  of  Alexan- 
dria. A  modern  incarnation  of  the  deity  in  the  kingdom  of  Ava  is  mentioned  by 
Upham.  A  re-incarnation  of  Salivahana  was  to  "  come  off"  in  1895.  So  late  as  1781, 
Sir  William  Hamilton,  the  English  ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Naples,  found  that 
phallic  symbols  were  publicly  worshipped  in  the  Christian  churches  of  Isneria  and 
Daniano.  Meredith's  pages  are  crowded  with  evidences  on  this  subject.  The  images 
of  the  Sibyls  were  retained  in  the  Christian  church  of  Sienna.  Bell's  Pantheon,  11,  237. 
The  Agapemonae  was  an  English  Christian  sect  of  the  present  century,  whose  abom- 
inable rites  are  alluded  to  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baring-Gould.  For  the  blasphemous 
monkish  tale  of  the  marriage  of  St.  Dunstan's  mother  to  the  Almighty,  see  Brady's 
Clavis  Calendaria,  i,  388. 


THE    MESSIAH.  313 

As  in  the  case  of  other  successful  deifications  or  apotheoses,  that 
of  Julius  Caesar  was  made  the  beginning  of  a  new  sera.  This  one  be- 
gan with  the  date  of  his  deification  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon, 
on  the  winter  solstice  of  the  year  B.  C.  48.  As  it  coincided  closely 
with  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  Tacitus  and  other  pagan  dis- 
senters from  Julianism,  who  could  not  change  the  sera,  called  it,  or 
have  been  made  by  their  redactors  to  call  it,  the  fera  of  that  battle; 
and  as  it  also  coincided  within  a  year  or  two  of  the  alleged  freedom 
of  Antioch,  the  Christian  monks,  who  could  not  change  it,  called  it 
by  the  name  of  that  event.  As  such  it  was  employed  by  the  putative 
Evagrius,  in  the  sixth  century,  and  explained  away  by  Pope  Gregory 
XIII.  in  the  i6th  century.  "* 

Even  after  the  deification  of  Julius  was  ratified  by  the  senate  of 
Rome,  two  years  later,  the  Julian  aera  was  reckoned  from  the  original 
deification,  and,  as  such,  it  was  introduced  into  all  parts  of  the  em- 
pire, with,  possibly,  the  exception  of  Antioch,  for  this  exception  is 
by  no  means  certain.  This  subject,  as  well  as  the  absence  of  all  men- 
tion of  the  Christian  sera  by  the  Christian  writers  down  to  the  pontifi- 
cate of  Gregory  II.,  has  received  attention  in  another  place. 

The  worship  of  Divus  Julius  was  encouraged  and  supported  both 
by  the  Triumvirate,  who  assumed  the  government  of  the  Roman  world 
after  his  death,  and  by  Octavius,  the  Augustus,  who  succeeded  the 
Triumvirate.  Nay  more,  Augustus  had  the  address  to  cause  his  own 
worship  to  be  added  to  that  of  Julius.  The  latter  was  now  impiously 
addressed  as  the  Supreme  Being,  the  former  became  the  Son  of  God, 
and  as  such  he  is  announced  upon  his  coins  and  other  monuments. 
But  this  did  not  last  long.  Even  the  Son  of  God  did  not  appear  to 
be  a  title  sufficiently  exalted  to  suit  the  devotees  of  the  Augustus; 
and  in  numerous  contemporary  inscriptions,  both  in  Rome,  Greece 
and  Asia,  he  is  termed  Deos,  or  Theos,  which  means  not  the  Son  of 
God,  nor  one  of  the  gods,  but  the  living  god,  the  Creator,  Optimo 
Maximo.  However,  Divus  Filius,  ^sar  and  Quirinus  seem  to  have 
been  the  titles  by  which  Octavius  himself  preferred  to  be  called. 

**  Says  Gregory:  "  Antioch,  in  honour  of  the  emperor,  fixed  its  sera  in  Caius  Julius 
Caesar  and  made  this  year  of  grace,  the  first."  "Works,"  London,  ed.  i66s,  p.  156, 
cited  in  Evagrius,  note  to  li,  12.  The  Holy  father  then  admits  some  instances  of  its 
use  (as  though  such  instances  were  rare)  and  ascribes  its  adoption  to  the  free  preroga- 
tives of  the  city,  secured  to  it  by  Julius  Caesar.  If  the  granting  of  such  freedom  to 
cities  was  sufficient  to  cause  a  change  of  the  aera  it  may  be  asked  why  is  it  that  Antioch 
stands  almost  alone  in  this  respect,  and  why  is  it  that  nearly  all  other  seras  are  those 
of  pretended  incarnations  or  deifications,  and  not  of  freedom  conferred  upon  cities  ? 


•-^ 


314  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

The  worship  of  Augustus  was  not,  as  the  ecclesiastical  schools  have 
insinuated,  a  mere  lip-service,  a  meaningless  mode  of  saluting  the 
sovereign-pontiff,    an  effusive  form   of  adulation  or  flattery  to  the 
emperor  of  Rome ;  it  was  the  worship  of  a  personage  who  was  believed 
to  be  supernatural,  omniscient,  all-powerful  and  beneficent,  the  re- 
incarnation of  Quirinus,  the  Son  of  the  god  Apollo  and  of  the  wife- 
virgin  Maia;  "  the  god  whose  coming  was  foretold  by  the  Cumsean 
Sibyl;  whose  sway  was  to  extend  over  the  whole  earth";  whose  Con- 
ception and  Birth  were  both  miraculous;  and  whose  Advent  was  to 
usher  in  the  Golden  Age  of  Peace  and  Plenty  and  to  banish  Sin  for- 
ever.  Such  was  his  character  in  Rome.   In  Greece  he  was  worshipped 
as  Dionysos;  in  Egypt  as  Thurinus;'  in  Iberia  and  Gaul  as  ^-sar,  or 
Hesus;  and  in  Germany  as  Baldir;  for  all  of  these  titles  and  many 
others  will  be  found  on  his  monuments,  or  have  been  preserved  by 
his  biographers. 

The  most  effective  reply  that  can  be  made  to  those  historians  who 
have  ignored  the  worship  of  Augustus — and  who,  when  they  have  not 
concealed  its  evidences,  have  passed  them  over,  or  sought  to  belittle 
them — is  to  read  a  letter  from  one  of  the  worshippers  of  this  god, 
written  from  Tomis,  a  Roman  outpost,  near  the  mouths  of  the  Dan- 
ube "  addressed  to  Graecinus,  in  Rome,  and  dated,  according  to  our 
chronology,  A.  D.  15,  or  shortly  after  the  death  and  Ascension  of 
Augustus.  The  writer  of  this  letter  was  no  less  a  person  than  the 
poet  Ovid,  or  Publius  Ovidius  Naso,  a  nobleman  of  the  equestrian 
order,  then  58  years  of  age  and,  as  his  other  writings  testify,  in  the 
full  possession  of  his  faculties. 

"Nor  is  my  piety  unknown:  this  distant  land  sees  a  shrine  of  our 
Lord  Augustus  erected  in  my  house.     Together  with  him  stand  his 
son  and  wife  (his  priestess),  deities  scarcely  less  than  our  Lord  him- 
self    ...     As  oft  as  the  day  arises,  so  often  do  I  address  my 
prayers  to  them,  together  with  offerings  of  frankincense.     Shouldst 
thou  enquire,  the  whole  of  Pontus  will  confirm  my  words,  and  attest 
my  sincerity;  nor  is  my  religion  less   known  to  strangers     . 
Though  fortune  is  not  equal  to  my  inclination  in  such  duties,  I  will- 
ingly devote  to  this  worship  such   means  as  I  command     . 
Caesar!     Thou,  who  art  summoned  to  the  gods  above,  thou   too, 
from  whom  nothing  can  be  concealed,  thou  knowest  this  to  be  true! 

■*^  For  Maia,  Atia,  etc.,  see  the  author's  monograph  on  "  The  Mother  of  the  Gods." 
^*  The  Danube  was  originally  called  the  Issus;  afterward,  the  Matous.     Malte- 
Bmn's  Geog. 


THE    MESSIAH.  ^Xly 

In  thy  place  among  the  stars,  fixed  in  the  arch  of  the  skies,  thou 
hearest  my  prayers,  which  I  utter  with  anxious  lips!  " 

This  evidence  does  not  stand  alone.  Throughout  all  of  Ovid's 
Letters,  of  which  ^6  remain  to  us,  throughout  all  of  his  Elegies,  of 
which  50  remain,  throughout  all  his  Fasti,  of  which  six  entire  books 
remain,  he  repeatedly  addresses  the  then  living  Augustus  as  God,  or 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Great  Deity,  the  Heaven-born,  the  Divine,  the 
Omniscient,  the  beneficent,  the  Just,  the  Long-suffering,  the  Merciful 
God,  It  may  serve  the  purposes  of  perversion  to  explain  this  away, 
it  may  afford  a  refuge  for  obstinacy  or  delusion  to  dismiss  it  with 
affectations  of  incredulity  or  contempt;  but  this  is  no  answer  to  the 
fact;  for  fact  it  unquestionably  is,  not  alone  upon  the  testimony  of 
Ovid,  but  upon  that  also  of  numerous  other  intelligent,  respectable 
and  even  illustrious  witnesses,  that  is  to  say,  the  testimony  of  Virgil, 
Horace,  Manilius,  Pliny,  Suetonius  and  others.  What  is  insisted  upon 
is  that,  Augustus  Caesar,  by  his  contemporaries,  was  believed  to  be, 
and  was  actually  worshipped  as  a  god;  with  bell,  book,  candle, 
steeple,  frankincense,  rosary,  cross,  mitre,  temples,  priesthood,  ben- 
efices and  ritual;  in  short,  with  all  the  outward  marks  of  superstition, 
credulity,  piety  and  devotion.  There  is  nothing  impossible  about 
this;  and  the  evidence  of  this  worship  is  so  valid,  circumstantial  and 
overwhelming,  that  to  refuse  assent  to  it,  is  to  put  reason  out  of 
court  altogether.  The  witnesses  are  not  phantoms,  the  wild  cre- 
ations of  credulous  minds;  their  writings  are  not  anonymous  patch- 
works, undated,  unlocated  and  unsigned ;  they  do  not  stand  unsup- 
ported by  archaeology,  inscriptions,  coins,  calendars,  or  popular 
customs;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  corroborated  and  buttressed  by 
all  these  classes  of  evidence.  The  witnesses  are  men  of  reputation, 
their  writings  are  among  the  masterpieces  of  the  world,  which  it 
would  be  impossible  to  imitate  and  difficult  to  alter  without  detection, 
whilst  the  monuments  which  support  them  are  numbered  by  myriads 
and  found  in  every  conceivable  locality,  from  the  Roman  slabs  in 
the  mosque  of  Ancyra,  to  the  coins  rescued  from  buried  Pompeii; 
both  of  which,  as  well  as  a  vast  number  of  other  inscriptions  and 
coins,  proclaim  the  divinity  and  universal  worship  of  Augustus 
throughout  the  Roman  world. 

And  mark  this:  that  in  actual  history  great  events  do  not  occur 
alone.  They  appear  neither  unheralded  nor  unsung.  Minor  events 
start  forth  to  presage  them;  others  proclaim  their  occurrence;  still 
others  attest  and  exalt  their  significance;  whilst  a  numerous  progeny 
of  facts  remain  behind  to  corroborate  their  appearance  upon  the 


3l6  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY 

world's  stage  and  to  definitely  mark  their  sera.  The  presages  of  the 
Augustan  incarnation  were  the  previous  assumptions  of  divinity  by 
iilexander  the  Great,  the  Ptolemies,  the  Selucidse,  Demetrius  Pol- 
iorcetes,  the  Arsacidse,  Titus  Quinctius  Flamininus,  the  abortive  at- 
tempts of  Scipio,  Sylla,  Sertorius  and  Pompey,  and  the  successful 
one  of  Julius  Caesar.  It  was  the  bestowal  of  Csesar's  empire,  Spiritual 
and  Temporal,  upon  his  adopted  son  Augustus,  that  directly  led  to 
the  worship  of  the  latter.  The  assumption  of  divinit)^  by  the  various 
sovereigns  and  heroes  mentioned,  are  historical  facts  v»'hich  no  amount 
of  sophistry  can  belittle  or  set  aside;  they  are  the  historical  circum- 
stances that  presaged  and  led  up  the  worship  of  Augustus.  In  false 
history  and  false  philosophy  there  is  no  such  evolution.  Take  for 
example  the  incarnations  of  Nebo-Nazaru,  Hesus  and  Salivahana. 
What  preceded  these  fictions?  Nothing.  What  accompanied  them? 
Nothing.  What  followed  them?  Nothing,  but  other  fictions.  What 
evidences  of  their  occurrence  exists  within  two  hundred  years  of  the 
time  assigned  to  them?  None  whatever.  What  valid  evidence,  at 
any  ime?  None  at  all.  They  were  myths  of  the  cloisters,  uncon- 
nected with  any  real  event,  fabricated  centuries  after  the  date  as- 
signed to  them;  and  supported  only  by  forgery,  imposture  and  alter- 
ations of  the  calendar. 

When  the  tremendous  commotion  caused  by  the  assassination  of 
Julius  Cssar  had  spent  itself  in  civil  wars  and  in  the  firm  establish- 
ment of  the  Messianic  religion  and  ritual,  when  Actium  was  won,  and 
Egypt  and  Asia  were  reconquered,  Augustus  ascended  the  throne  of 
his  martyred  Sire  and  was  in  turn  annointed,  addressed  and  worship- 
ped as  the  Son  of  God;  whilst  Julius  was  tacitly  worshipped  as  the 
Father.  Most  of  the  ancient  books  were  now  destroyed;  the  writers 
of  the  old  school  were  executed  or  banished;  the  republican  calendar 
was  altered;  and  a  conclave  of  historians  and  mythological  poets  was 
encouraged  and  rewarded,  who  re-wrote  the  history  of  Rome  and 
erected  for  posterity  a  body  of  elegant  fiction  and  imposture,  which 
nineteen  centuries  of  time  have  not  yet  sufficed  to  wholly  overthrow 
or  eradicate. 

These  statements  are  not  mere  opinions;  they  are  based  upon  evi- 
dencesso  valid,  so  numerous  and  so  convincing  that  they  would  tri- 
umphantly withstand  the  severest  scrutiny  of  a  court  of  law. 

According  to  the  received  chronology,  Csepius,  or,  he  who  was  af- 
terwards called  Caius  Julius  Caesar  Octavianus,  and  still  later  the 
Augustus,  was  born  September  23,  A.  U.  692,  began  to  reign  Feb- 
ruary 26,  A.  U.  711  and  died  August  29,  A.  U.  768,  aged  76  years 


THE    MESSIAH.  317 

lacking  one  month.  "'  He  was  the  son  of  Maia,  as  she  was  called  by 
Horace  and  the  inscription  at  Lyons,  while  Suetonius  says  her  name 
was  Atia,  a  niece  of  Julius  Caesar.  His  putative  father  was  Caius 
Octavianus;  a  citizen  of  Rome  and  the  son  of  a  baker.  At  the  age 
of  four  years  Augustus  lost  his  father.  He  was  then  adopted  by 
Phillipusand  afterwards  at  the  age  of  puberty  by  Julius  Caesar,  as  his 

*''  The  chronology  is  based  on  the  dates  which  appear  in  the  Testament  of  Augustus, 
engraved  on  the  walls  of  his  temple  at  Ancyra.  According  to  Mr.  John  M.  Kinneir's 
"  Journey  through  Asia  Minor,"  ed.  1818,  p.  70,  this  monument  has  been  tampered 
with,  therefore  until  the  dates  are  corroborated  by  some  valid  monument,  as  yet  not 
exposed  to  the  work  of  forgers,  they  must  not  be  regarded  as  conclusive,  especially 
as  Josephus  says  that  Augustus  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  while  Eutropius,  vii,  8, 
says  that  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  The  monument  says  "  I  am  now  in  my 
seventy-sixth  year,"  which,  if  Josepus  is  right,  was  the  year  of  his  death.  Of  course 
this  is  possible;  but  in  view  of  the  testimony  of  Eutropius  and  Kinneir,  it  looks  sus- 
picious. The  Ancyran  monument  says  that  Augustus  was  nineteen  years  of  age  when 
Hirtius  and  Pansa  were  consuls  and  when — after  their  mysterious  death  during  the 
same  year — he  got  his  first  consulship.  This  was  the  year  following  the  assassination 
of  Julius  Ca:sar,  or  (by  our  chronology)  A.  U.  711.  As  it  is  from  this  year  that  the 
reign — not  the  Advent,  nor  the  Apotheosis,  nor  the  Ascension,  but  the  reign — of  Au- 
gustus is  commonly  reckoned  and,  as  according  to  Josephus,  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-six  years,  therefore  he  died  in  768  and  vvas  born  in  692.  If  the  student  will  take 
the  trouble  to  compare  thesedatcs  with  those  in  any  modern  date-book,  he  will  observe 
several  discrepancies  and  he  will  have  to  choose  between  the  monument  and  the  chro- 
nologists.  Suetonius  says  that  Augustus  was  born  the  day  when  the  conspiracy  of 
Catiline  was  debated  in  the  Senate,  but  this  does  not  help  us,  for  the  year  of  Rome 
is  wanting,  as  indeed  it  is  in  most  of  the  ancient  works  which  have  been  submitted  to 
the  scrutiny  of  the  Sacred  College.  Josephus  evidently  counts  Augustus'  reign  from 
February  26  of  the  year,  when,  according  to  Tacitus,  Hirtius  and  Pansa  were  con- 
suls. As  it  does  not  appear  that  Augustus  succeeded  Hirtius  and  Pansa  on  February 
26,  Josephus  probably  derived  this  particular  day  from  that  of  the  Apotheosis  of  A.U. 
738.  This  last  was  the  New-Year  day  of  the  Augustan  Aera,  which  was  observed 
during  the  lifetime  of  Augustus,  but  was  afterwards  superceded  by  an  sera,  the  year, 
(not  the  day,)  of  which,  was  counted  from  the  Ascension.  It  will  be  observed  that 
Eutropius,  Josephus  and  the  Treatise  on  Oratory  which  is  commonly  ascribed  to  Taci- 
tus, all  count  the  reign  of  Augustus  from  his  first  consulate,  or,  which  is  practically 
the  same  thing,  from  the  deaths  of  Hirtius  and  Pansa.  Although  Augustus  does  not 
claim  so  much  in  his  Testament,  he  begins  its  chronicles  at  the  same  time.  Strictly 
speaking,  he  was  at  that  time  a  consul  of  the  republic,  and  that,  too,  with  Pedius  for 
his  colleague.  The  Triumvirate  had  yet  to  be  formed  and  dissolved;  Greece,  Africa 
and  Asia  had  to  be  conquered;  and  the  empire  organised.  Until  these  objects  were 
achieved  Augustus  did  not  reign ;  and  when  he  did  reign  he  was  careful  rather  to  claim 
less  than  more  authority  than  he  had  really  acquired.  With  regard  to  his  Aera,  there 
is  no  evidence  that  it  was  employed  earlier  than  his  return  from  Syria  and  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Ludi  Saeculares  and  Ludi  Augustales.  The  date,  February  26,  is  from  the 
"  six  months  and  two  days  "  of  Josephus,  reckoned  backward  from  the  day  of  Augus- 
tus' death. 


3l8  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

own  son.  When  Csesar  was  assasinated,  Augustus  was  still  in  his 
teens.  When,  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  Brundusium,  Au- 
gustus divided  the  world  with  Marc  Antony,  giving  to  the  latter  the 
Eastern,  and  retaining  for  himself  Rome  and  the  Western  Empire, 
he  had  but  barely  attained  the  age  of  manhood.  After  the  departure 
of  Marc  Antony,  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Augustus  was  the  destruction 
of  Perugia,  a  city  which  refused  to  acknowledge  his  authority.  The 
fall  of  this  place  was  followed  by  the  sacrificial  Placation  of  Julius 
the  Father.  In  this  atrocious  rite,  some  authors  allege  that  the  con- 
sul, Lucius  Antony,  (brother  of  Marc)  besides  Cannutius  C.  Flavius, 
Clodius  Bithynicus,  and  the  principal  magistrates  and  council  of 
Perugia,  together  with  300  senators  and  knights,  were  immolated  as 
human  sacrifices,  upon  an  altar  of  Julius,  erected  for  the  occasion.  ** 
The  greater  part  of  the  abominable  auto  da  fe  was  executed  in  the 
presence  of  Augustus  himself,  whose  only  reply  to  those  who  im- 
plored and  shrieked  for  mercy,  was:   "You  must  die." 

Let  those  who  contend  that  the  worship  of  Julius  and  Augustus 
was  merely  a  form,  ponder  over  this  horrible  event.  So  soon  as  the 
gruesome  business  was  over,  Augustus  prepared  for  his  own  elevation 
to  the  godship.  Such  of  the  ancient  literature  as  was  not  destroyed, 
was  perverted,  the  Sibylline  books  "  being  among  those  preserved, 
because  they  were  found  to  contain  the  prophecy  of  his  Advent,  which, 
according  to  the  subservient  interpretation  of  Virgil,  was  to  occur 
this  same  year,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  consulate  of  Pollio,  A.  U.  713, 
when  the  world  would  be  at  peace,  the  temple  of  Janus  closed,  and 
the  Golden  Age  would  begin.  Unfortunately  for  this  pretty  scheme. 
Marc  Antony,  grown  jealous  of  Augustus,  made  war  upon  him;  and 
the  temple  of  Janus  had  to  be  re-opened;  so  that  the  god  of  the 
Western  world  was  fain  to  postpone  his  intended  elevation  until  the 
god  of  the  East  was  subdued.  The  memorable  victory  of  Actium 
was  won  in  A.  U.  723.  It  was  in  this  year  that  Herod  is  said  to  have 
paid  a  relief  of  800  talents  to  Augustus,  who  confirmed  him,  for  the 
second  time,  in  his  vassal  kingdom  of  Judea;  an  act,  which  the  Ro- 

*^  Suet.,  in  Aug, 

*^  There  were  ten  Sibyls  and  ten  books  and  ten  decemviri  to  take  charge  of  them. 
In  Roman  legend  the  books  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  Tarquin  the  Proud;  in 
Roman  history  they  first  explicitly  appear  in  the  consulate  of  Lucretius,  A.  U.  292, 
although  they  are  alluded  to  as  nothing  new.  Livy,  I,  7;  iii,  10;  v,  13,  etc.  In  the 
Augustan  age  it  was  pretended  that  they  had  been  destroyed  during  the  Marsic  war 
A.U,  670,  whereupon  new  copies  were  collected  from  the  Sibylline  oracles  throughout 
the  empire  and  deposited  by  Augustus  under  the  statue  of  Apollo  on  the  Palatine 
Hill.     Suet,,  Aug.,  31;  Dio.,  17. 


/^ 


THE   MESSIAH.  319 

mans  called  "the  Grace  of  God,"  but  which  the  Jews  attributed  to 
bribery  at  court.  In  the  following  year  Augustus  entered  Asia  and 
Egypt  at  the  head  of  an  immense  army ;  when  Antony  and  Cleopatra, 
in  despair,  committed  suicide.  In  this  year  the  conqueror  pretended  \  ^  ' 
to  have  opened  the  Suez  Canal  and  thus  placed  Rome  in  direct  com- 1 
munication  with  India;  whereas,  it  was  in  fact  done  several  years 
previously  by  Julius  Caesar;  although  in  the  meanwhile  the  canal  may 
have  filled  up  with  sand  and  have  required  dredging.  The  monument 
of  Ancyra  asserts  that  in  his  seventh  consulate  Octavius  was  recog- 
nised as  the  Augustus,  or  Holy  one ;  a  statement  that  agrees  with 
Censorinus,  who  says  that  he  received  the  title  of  Augustus  in  A.  U. 
726.  This  was  probably  true  as  to  the  Orient,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  title  was  assumed  in  Rome  until  the  year  known  to  us  as 
A.  U.  738.  "' 

In  A.  U.  730  Herod  is  said  to  have  rebuilt  the  temple  of  Jerusalem 
and  dedicated  it  to  Jehovah.  In  the  upper  city  he  erected  another 
edifice  of  greater  magnitude,  which  he  called  the  Csesarium,  and 
dedicated  it  to  Augustus.  He  also  built  a  temple  to  Augustus  in 
Strato's  Tower,  "which,"  says  Josephus,  "was  excellent,  both  for 
beauty  and  size;  and  therein  was  a  colossal  image  of  Augustus,  not 
less  than  that  of  Jupiter  Olympus,  which  it  was  made  to  resemble." 
Herod  rebuilt  Samaria,  renamed  it  Sebastos,  the  Greek  form  of  Au- 
gustus, and  erected  therein  a  temple  to  the  worship  of  that  god.  In- 
deed he  repaired  many  places  and  erected  temples  and  statues  of 
Augustus  in  them,  and  called  them  Cassarea,  Augusta  and  the  like. 
In  the  192nd  four-year  Olympiad,  answering  to  A.  U.  745,  Herod 
even  went  so  far  in  his  homage  of  Augustus,  as  to  revive  the  pana- 
geia  of  Jasius,   or   the  fifty-months  each  of  },(>  days,  or  five-year 

^^  According  to  the  monument  at  Ancyra,  which  was  erected  after  Octavius  had 
been  consul  14  times,  imperator  20  times  and  tribune  38  times,  therefore  according  to 
our  ojironology,  after  A.  U.  762,  Octavius  had  been  named  Sebastos  (at  least  in  the 
Orient)  in  his  sixth  consulate.  According  to  the  chronology  which  has  been  supplied 
to  us,  this  was  in  A.  U.  724;  yet  Eutropius,  vii,  8,  says  that  Augustus  returned  to 
Rome  in  the  12th  year  from  his  first  consulate,  which  agrees  with  A.  U.  723,  Cen- 
sorinus says  the  title  of  "  Augustus,  D.  F.,"was  conferred  by  the  Senate,  January  16, 
in  the  year  of  his  seventh  consulate,  when  his  colleague  was  M.  Vipsanius  Agrippa, 
Cos.,  III.  This  answers  to  our  A.  U.  725,  or  726;  so  that,  like  Julius  Csesar,  Octa- 
vius appears  to  have  been  deified  in  Egypt  first,  and  in  Rome  two  years  later.  Some 
authors  make  a  difference  of  three  years  between  these  dates.  The  Roman  deification 
seems  to  have  been  immediately  followed  by  the  Triumph  and  the  Saccular  games  of 
A.  U.  738  (Censorinus),  yet  there  are  14  or  15  years  between  the  two  dates,  during 
which  the  history  of  Octavius  is  barren  of  events. 


320  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

Olympian  games  and  to  call  them  "Caesar's  games."  For  the  expen- 
ses of  their  observance  he  devoted  certain  revenues  in  perpetuity. 
(Josephus,  Wars,  xxi.)  His  coins  were  stamped  with  the  Buddhic 
or  Osirian  sacred  monogram  p  which  was  afterwards  appropriated 
by  the  medieval  historians  of  Christianity, 

After  the  subjection  of  Egypt,  Augustus,  at  the  head  of  vast  forces, 
visited  Tyre,  Sidon,  Samos,  Ancyra,  Cyzicus  and  other  places  in  Asia; 
in  all  of  which  he  received  a  homage  due  alone  to  gods.  To  crown 
these  supernal  triumphs,  he  recovered  from  the  Parthian  king,  Phraa- 
tes,  the  Roman  standards,  captured  years  before  from  Crassus:  and 
thus  relieved  the  arms  of  Rome  from  the  only  stain  that  rested  upon 
them.  According  to  the  Ancyran  inscription,  Augustus  returned  from 
Syria  to  Rome  during  the  consulship  of  Q.  Lucretius  Vispillo.  The 
day  was  afterwards  celebrated  as  Augustalia,  October  12.  The  chro- 
nologists  place  this  consulship  in  A.  U.  737,  whereas  Eutropius  says 
that  Augustus  returned  12  years  after  his  first  consulship:  a  discrep- 
ancy of  14  or  15  years.  The  conqueror  brought  with  him  the  acknowl- 
edged empire  of  the  world.  He  was  therefore  fully  prepared  to  as 
sume  that  divine  elevation  for  which  every  preparation  had  been 
made  during  his  absence  from  the  capital. 

According  to  the  chronology  arranged  for  the  occasion,  it  was  just 
seven  cycles,  each  of  no  years,  from  the  apotheosis  of  Romulus,  by 
whose  sacred  name  of  Janus  Quirinus,  Augustus  desired  himself  to  be 
called.  The  pretension  was  that  Augustus  was  the  reincarnation  of 
Janus  Quirinus,  or  Romulus;  therefore,  the  temples  erected  to  his 
worship  in  the  west  were  commonly  dedicated  to  Augustus  and  Roma; 
the  images  of  the  latter  being  merely  those  of  a  beautiful  matron. 
With  the  street  effigies  of  Augustus,  of  which  Ovid  informs  us  there 
were  a  thousand  in  Rome  alone,  the  members  of  Augustus'  family, 
the  Holy  Family,  as  Ovid  calls  it,  namely,  his  wife,  Livia,  and  one  of 
his  adopted  sons,  Drusus — both  of  whom  were  canonized — were 
sometimes  associated.  Many  of  these  effigies  continued  in  use  for 
centuries,  and  some  of  them  are  possibly  doing  service  yet.  From 
the  year  of  the  apotheosis,  that  is  to  say,  A.  U.  738,  began  a  new 
sera.  It  was  in  this  year,  says  Lenormant,  that  Augustus  assumed 
those  rights  of  coinage  which  ever  afterwards  remained  the  preroga- 
tive of  the  sovereign-pontiff.  "  The  new  year  day  of  this  sera  was 
originally  February  26.    This  was  eventually  altered  to  December  25. 

^'  It  was  in  A.  U.  738  that  Augustus  assumed  those  rights  of  coinage  which  ever 
afterwards  remained  the  prerogative  of  the  sovereign-pontiff.     Lenormant,  11,  214. 


THE    MESSIAH.  321 

E:scept  in  the  Iberian  peninsular,  where  the  custom  of  employing 
the  Julian  aera  prevailed  down  to  a  recent  period,  the  Augustan  aera, 
since  masked  under  other  names,  served  for  the  dates  of  the  Roman 
world,  until  some  time  after  the  reign  of  Justinian  II. ,  when,  without 
any  unnecessary  disturbance  of  recorded  dates,  the  years,  which  were 
formerly  reckoned  from  A.  U.  738,  were  reckoned  from  A.  U.  753.  " 
When  the  chronology  of  the  Augustan  period  is  closely  examined  it 
will  be  found  to  have  been  altered  by  the  Latin  Sacred  College  to  the 
extent  of  15  years.  Proofs  of  this  alteration  of  the  calendar  appear 
upon  examining  the  Timaean  and  Ciceronian  sera  of  Romulus;  the 
dates  of  the  Ludi  Saeculares  given  by  Censorinus;  the  erroneous  seras 
ascribed  by  modern  chronologists  to  Augustus'  principal  Triumph; 
the  conflicting  dates  ascribed  to  the  consulates  of  Augustus  by  Sue- 
tonius and  Eutropius,  or  inscribed  on  the  monuments  at  Ancyra  and 
elsewhere;  the  dated  coins  of  Rome  audits  provinces;  besides  other 
circumstances,  which  it  would  be  tedious  to  rehearse  in  this  place. 

To  prepare  for  the  Apotheosis  of  A.  U.  738,  the  Augustan  histo- 
rians and  poets — bearing  in  mind  the  slaughter  of  Perugia;  the  un- 
grateful murders  of  Cicero  and  Lucius  Antony;  the  tragic  death  of 
Marc  Antony  and  Cleopatra;  the  mysterious  banishment  of  Ovid;  the 
condemnation  of  Afidius  Memla,  and  many  other  similar  circum- 
stances— now  tuned  and  struck  anew  their  mendacious  lyres.  Let  us 
listen  to  some  of  their  strains,  first  disposing  of  the  too  premature 
paeans  of  Virgil,  which  he  sang  in  his  Fourth  Eclogue: 

"The  last  Great  ^ra  foretold  by  the  Cumsean  Sibyl  is  now  ar- 
rived; the  Cycles  begin  anew.  Now  returns  the  Golden  Age  of 
Saturn,  now  appears  the  Immaculate  Virgin.  (This  was  Maia,  the 
virgin  mother  of  Augustus).  Now  descends  from  Heaven  a  divine 
Nativity.  O!  chaste  Lucina,  (this  was  the  goddess  of  maternity), 
speed  the  Mother's  pains,  haste  the  glorious  Birth,  and  usher  in  the 
reign  of  thy  Apollo.  In  thy  consulship,  O !  Pollio,  shall  happen  this 
glorious  Advent,  and  the  great  months  shall  then  begin  to  roll. 
Thenceforth  whatever  vestige  of  Original  Sin  remains,  shall  be  swept 
away  from  earth  forever,  and  the  Son  of  God  shall  be  the  Prince  of 
Peace!" 

As  before  intimated,  this  strain  was  sung  too  prematurely,  and  the 
battle  of  Actium  had  yet  to  be  fought  and  won  before  the  Messianic 
and  Apotheosis  project  could  be  realised.  Meanwhile  no  glorious 
Advent  is  recorded,  no  great  months  began  to  roll,  no  Great  ^ra 
was  commenced,  no  Cycles  were  renewed,  the  peace  was  postponed, 

"  See  "  Middle  Ages  Revisited,"  Appendix  on  "  Chronology  of  Augustus." 


322  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  temple  of  Janus  was  reopened,  and  Original  Sin  has  retained  its 
place  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Roman  church  to  the  present  day. 

The  Pollio  alluded  to  in  this  Eclogue  was  Caius  Asinius  Pollio, 
born  A.  U.  678,  died  A.  U.  757,  an  orator,  poet,  historian,  politician, 
warrior,  governor  of  Gaul,  courtier  and  time-server.  He  was  with 
Julius  Caesar  when  he  passed  the  Rubicon  and  again  at  Pharsalia. 
Pollio  was  named  as  consul  with  Cn.  Domitius  Calvinus,  for  the  year 
713,  but,  although  the  year  goes  by  their  names,  such  was  the  con- 
fusion of  the  times  that  neither  of  them  actually  filled  the  consular 
chair.  After  the  death  of  Caesar,  Pollio  took  sides  with  Marc  Antony, 
but,  either  from  the  desperate  circumstances  of  the  latter  or  because 
he  was  bribed  with  the  consulship,  Pollio,  before  the  slaughter  of 
Perugia,  went  over  to  Augustus.  It  was  he,  who,  introducing  Virgil 
to  Maecenas,  procured  for  the  poet  the  restitution  and  enlargement 
of  his  landed  estates  and  earned  for  himself  the  immortality  conferred 
by  the  mention  of  his  name  in  the  Eclogues.  His  own  works,  of 
which  there  were  several,  have  all  disappeared.  The  capitulation  of 
Perugia,  the  holocaust  of  human  victims  sacrificed  upon  the  altar  of 
Julius  the  Father,  the  Treaty  of  Brundusium,  and  the  departure  of 
Antony  for  the  east,  all  occurred  during  the  nominal  consulship  of 
Pollio,  and  they  marked  both  the  advent  of  Augustus  Caesar  and  the 
assumed  restoration  of  peace  to  the  Roman  world.  ^^ 

We  now  begin  with  the  literature  of  the  triumph,  deification  and 
Apotheosis,  which  followed  Augustus'  return  from  Asia.  In  pursu- 
ance of  the  astrology  which  Rome  had  gathered  from  Etruria,  Greece, 
Pontus,  Galilee,  Syria,  Egypt,  Spain  and  Gaul,  indeed  from  every 
source  whence  came  the  heterogeneous  materials  which  now  com- 
posed her  military  forces  and  her  millions  of  slaves,  it  was  necessary 
to  show  that  the  Incarnation  was  connected  with  previous  incarna- 
tions; that  it  occurred  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  divine  cycle;  that 
it  was  the  issue  of  a  divine  father  and  mortal  mother;  that  the  mother 
was  a  wife-virgin;  that  the  birth  happened  at  the  end  of  ten  solar 
months;  that  it  occurred  in  an  obscure  place;  that  it  was  foretold  by 
prophecy  or  sacred  oracle;  that  it  was  presaged  or  accompanied  by 
prodigies  of  Nature;  that  the  divinity  of  the  child  was  recognized  by 
sages;  that  the  Holy  One  exhibited  extraordinary  signs  of  precocity 
and  wisdom;  that  his  destruction  was  sought  by  the  ruling  powers, 
whose  precautions  were  of  course  defeated ;  that  he  worked  miracles; 
that  he  exhibited  a  profound  humility;  that  his  apotheosis  would 


63 


Appian,  de  Bell.  Civ.;  Dio.  Cass.;  Livy,  Ep.,  126;  Suet.,  in  Aug. 


THE    MESSIAH.  323 

bring  peace  on  earth,  and  that  he  would  finally  ascend  to  heaven, 
there  to  join  the  Father.  Accordingly,  the  Augustan  writers  furnished 
all  these  materials. 

The  first  day  of  the  Apotheosis,  February  26,  was  that  of  the  Nebo- 
Nazarene  nativity;  whilst  the  year  was  that  of  the  Ludi  Saeculares, 
dating  from  the  Apotheosis  of  Romulus.  Suetonius  tells  us  concern- 
ing the  Nativity  that  Atiaor  Maia  having,  in  the  absence  of  her  hus- 
band, gone  to  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  midnight,  there  fell  asleep; 
and  in  that  condition  was  approached  by  a  serpent.  Upon  awaken- 
ing, she  seemed,  for  reasons  stated  by  the  chronicler,  to  be  aware 
of  what  had  happened.  In  the  tenth  month  she  was  delivered  of 
Augustus,  who  became  known  as  the  Son  of  the  god  Apollo,  The 
birth  occurred  in  Velitre,  a  village  some  twenty  miles  from  Rome, 
and  in  a  small  and  humble  cottage,  which  ever  afterwards  was  held 
Sacred.  Even  the  owner  of  the  house,  having  incautiously  approached 
it,  w^as  blasted  by  lightning  from  heaven.  The  birth  of  Augustus  was 
foretold  not  only  by  the  Cumaean  Sibyl,  it  was  predicted  by  a  divine 
oracle  delivered  in  Velitre  and  by  a  prodigy  that  had  happened  pub- 
licly in  Rome  five  or  six  months  before  the  Nativity  and  was  the  oc- 
casion of  the  intended  Slaughter  of  Innocents  presently  to  be  men- 
tioned. Before  the  Nativity,  Maia  dreamt  that  her  body  was  scattered 
to  the  stars  and  encompassed  the  universe.  After  the  Nativity,  Oc- 
tavianus,  her  earthly  husband,  dreamt  he  saw  the  bright  beams  of 
the  Sun  emanate  from  her  person;  and  when  he  sacrificed,  where 
Alexander  the  Great  had  formerly  sacrificed  and  had  seen  a  miracle, 
namely,  at  a  temple  of  Dionysius  or  Bacchus  in  Thrace,  Octavianus 
saw  a  similar  miracle:  a  sheet  of  flame  ascended  from  the  altar,  en- 
veloped the  steeple  and  mounted  high  to  heaven.  On  the  following 
night  Octavianus  dreamt  he  saw  the  Infant  Augustus  grasping  the 
Thunderbolt  and  wearing  the  Sceptre  and  Robe  of  Jupiter,  his  head 
surrounded  by  a  radiance  of  glory,  and  his  chariot  decked  wi':h  laurel, 
while  yoked  to  it  were  six  steeds  of  purest  white.  When,  before  the 
Nativity,  the  divine  oracle  at  Velitre  predicted  that  "Nature  was 
about  to  bring  forth  a  Prince  over  the  Roman  people,"  the  Senate 
passed  an  Act,  A.  U.  692,  ordering  that  "No  male  child  born  that 
year  should  be  reared  or  brought  up."  Thus,  every  boy  born  within 
the  Roman  pale  was  devoted  to  destruction,  and  a  frightful  Slaughter 
of  Innocents  would  have  ensued,  had  not  those  who  expected  chil- 
dren, removed  the  tablets  of  the  law  from  the  walls  of  the  serarium; 
and  thus  defeated  the  atrocious  edict.  When  the  sage  and  astrologer, 
P.  Nigidius,   learnt  that  Atia  had  been  delivered  of  Augustus,  he 


/ 


324  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

openly  proclaimed  that  the  Lord  of  the  Universe  was  born.  While 
Augustus  was  yet  an  infant,  he  arose  from  his  cradle  at  night  and 
next  morning  he  was  found  upon  the  roof  of  the  house,  facing  Apollo, 
or  the  rising  Sun.  On  the  city  side  of  the  house  a  multitude  of  frogs 
maintained  a  deafening  clamour.  So  soon  as  Augustus  was  old 
enough  to  speak,  he  commanded  these  animals  to  keep  silence,  and 
from  that  moment  they  were  completely  hushed. 

When,  at  a  later  period,  Augustus  went  with  M.  Vipsanius  Agrippa 
to  the  study  of  Theogenes,  the  astrologer,  at  Apollonia,  and  there 
divulged  the  hour  of  his  nativity,  Theogenes  fell  down  and  worship- 
ped him  as  God,  (adoravitque  euni).  ^*  At  a  later  period  he  was 
worshipped  by  Lepidus,  the  Pontifex  Maximus  of  Rome.  **  Among 
the  miracles  that  Augustus  wrought,  his  merest  touch  was  sufficient 
to  cure  deformity  or  disease;  and  so  universally  was  his  divine  origin 
and  attributes  acknowledged  that  many  people,  in  dying,  left  their 
entire  fortunes  to  the  Sacred  fisc,  in  gratitude,  as  they  themselves 
expressed  it,  for  having  been  permitted  to  live  during  the  incarnation 
and  earthly  sojourn  of  this  Son  of  God.  Suetonius  (Aug.  100)  in- 
forms us  that  in  the  course  of  twenty  years  private  individuals  be- 
queathed to  Augustus  no  less  than  35  million  aurei,  equal  to  about  40 
million  sovereigns  or  half-eagles  of  the  present  weight  and  standard. 
In  addition  to  these  legacies,  numerous  vassal  princes  left  their  en- 
tire patrimonies  to  this  Messiah. 

To  evince  his  humility,  once  a  year,  Augustus,  veiled  in  the  sacred 
peplum,  stood  at  the  porch  of  the  Regia  and  received  alms  from  the 
pious.  His  Apotheosis  not  only  brought  profound  peace  to  the  Ro- 
man world,  so  that  the  temple  of  Janus  was  permanently  closed,  it 
marked  a  new  ^ra.  At  his  death,  concludes  Suetonius,  "there  was 
not  wanting  a  person  of  praetorian  rank  who  saw  his  spirit  ascend  to 
Heaven."  The  name  of  this  privileged  witness  was  the  senator 
Numericus  Atticus.  The  Ascension  of  Augustus  is  engraved  upon 
the  great  cameo,  from  the  spoils  of  Constantinople,  presented  by 
Baldwin  II.,  to  Louis  IX.,  and  now  in  the  Cabinet  of  France.  A  fac- 
simile of  it  is  published  in  Duruy's  "  History  of  Rome." 

Having  thus  briefly  sketched  the  history  of  the  Augustan  worship, 
it  is  next  in  order  to  call  those  contemporary  witnesses  who  attested 
this  worship,  or  who  sang  its  praises.  We  have  already  heard  Ovid, 
Virgil  and  Suetonius.  We  will  now  turn  to  a  later  work  of  Virgil; 
and  also  to  Horace,  Manilius,  Tacitus  and  others. 

^*  Suet.,  in  Aug.     The  Roman  term  for  astrologer  was  "  mathematician." 
**  Manning's  Xiphilinus,  i,  114. 


THE    MESSIAH.  325 

Says  Virgil  (^neid  VI,  789-93): 

This  is  Caesar  and  the  Holy  Family 

Spanning  the  spacious  axle  of  heaven, 

This  is  He,  whom  thou  hast  oft  heard  promised  thee, 

Augustus  Csesar,  Son  of  God,  who 

Shall  restore  the  Golden  Age  to  Latium. 

Says  Horace  (Book  I) : 

"  Come  we  entreat  thee.  Divine  Apollo,  thy  brilliant  shoulders  robed  in  clouds  .  .  . 
Kind  Maia's  winged  Child,  if  with  change  of  shape  thou  dost  take  on  earth  the  form 
of  a  Youth,  deigning  to  be  styled  the  Avenger  of  Caesar,  late  mayest  thou  return  to 
Heaven." 

Again: 

"  Father  and  Guardian  of  the  human  race,  mayest  thou  (great  Jove)  reign  with  Au- 
gustus, thy  second  in  power  .  .  .  Inferior  only  to  thee.  He  shall  rule  with  equity  the 
wide  world." 

And  as  if  not  satisfied  with  these  expressions,  Horace  elsewhere 
adds  that  of  "Prsesens  divus  habebitur  Augustus":  We  have  with 
us,  the  living  god  Augustus. 

Listen  to  Manilius,  (Astronomica,  I,  7-10:) 

"It  is  thee,  Augustus,  thyself  a  god,  and  the  Prince  and  Father  of  his  Country, 
who  by  divine  law  reigneth  over  the  universe,  and  who  awaiteth  his  place  in  heaven 
with  the  Father,  who  inspires  me  to  sing  these  sublime  themes." 

Again,  (I,  773-5  0 

"  The  Julian  family  sprung  from  Venus  and  descended  from  the  skies,  returns  again 
to  heaven,  where  reigns  Augustus  with  Jupiter  the  Father."^* 

Were  it  necessary,  these  testimonies  could  be  greatly  multipled ; 
but  they  would  fatigue  the  reader.  The  temples  at  Ancyra  and 
Ephesus,  besides  myriads  of  coins  and  inscriptions,  still  extant,  hail 
Augustus  as  Divus  Filius,  or  the  Son  of  God;  the  medal  published  by 
Father  Hardouin  in  his  work  on  Ancient  Coins,  pourtrays  the  pontifi- 
cal hat  of  Augustus  surmounted  by  a  Latin  cross;  whilst  Horace  and 
some  of  the  inscriptions  allude  to  the  god  as  the  Son  of  Maia,  who, 
as  we  know,  was  universally  recognized  as  the  Mother  of  God.  " 

Coveting  deification,  Augustus  neither  commanded  himself  to  be 
deified,  nor  to  be  worshipped ;  but  with  the  prudence  and  deviousness 
that  characterized  all  his  measures,  he  munificently  rewarded  those 

*^  It  did  not  appear  to  present  any  difficulties  to  the  Roman  mind  that  the  Augustus 
should  have  been  successively  regarded  as  the  Son  of  Julius  the  Father,  Apollo  the 
Father  and  the  coadjutor  of  Jupiter  the  Father.  Historical  incarnations  are  far  more 
intractable  than  mythical  ones,  and  demand  a  much  larger  degree  of  credulity  on  the 
part  of  the  worshipper. 

^^  At  Lyons  a  temple  was  erected  to  Mercurio  Augustoet  Maise  Augustae.  Duruy's 
Hist.  Rome. 


326  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

who  set  the  example  of  addressing  and  worshipping  him  as  the  Su- 
preme Being;  whilst  he  heavily  and  cruelly  punished  those  who  ne- 
glected this  impious  homage.  Arminius  complained  to  his  soldiers 
that  the  Romans  had  made  Augustus  a  god.  This  was  not  strictly  cor- 
rect: Augustus  had  made  himself  a  god;  as  Scipio  and  Sylla  had  at- 
tempted to  do,  and  as  Titus  Flamininus,  Sertorius  and  Julius  Caesar 
had  actually  done,  before  him. 

By  securing  and  uniting  in  his  own  person  the  tribunitian,  consular, 
censorial  and  sacerdotal  functions;  by  suppressing  the  quaestors;  and 
by  taking  the  appointment  of  the  praetors  into  his  own  hands,  Au- 
gustus stealthily  and  noiselessly  secured  all  those  powers  of  the  state 
which  Julius  had  grasped  with  ruder  hands,  but  had  suddenly  lost  at 
the  foot  of  Pompey's  statue.  These  usurpations  having  been  confirmed 
by  a  trembling  senate,  Augustus  was  raised  almost  in  fact,  as  well  as 
in  name,  to  that  deified  rank  which  Julius  had  established,  but  so 
briefly  enjoyed. 

With  the  consular  power  Augustus  acquired  lawful  command  over 
the  army,  navy  and  militia,  lawful  control  over  the  provinces  and  the 
right  to  deal  with  tributary  or  vassal  kingdoms;  with  the  censor- 
ial power  and  the  suppression  of  the  quaestors  he  obtained  control 
of  the  tithes  and  other  revenues,  the  administration  of  the  treasury, 
the  construction  and  repair  of  public  works  and  the  right  to  enquire 
into  the  private  affairs  of  citizens,  both  by  confession  and  otherwise; 
the  last  a  most  potent  instrument  of  tyranny.  With  the  acquisition 
of  the  tribunitian  power  his  person  became  Sacred  and  his  decrees 
Inviolable  and  Infallible.  Tremendous  as  were  these  powers,  they 
were  increased  by  the  law  of  sacred  treason,  or  Laesa  Majestas,  which 
made  it  a  capital  crime  even  to  speak  of  him  irreverently.  He  also 
acquired  the  lawful  right  to  arbitrarily  convene  or  dismiss  the  senate. 
Through  the  appointment  of  praetors  he  exercised  a  powerful  influ- 
ence upon  the  magistracy  and  the  administration  of  justice.  Finally, 
with  the  office  of  supreme-pontiff  he  acquired  lawful  authority  over 
the  priesthood,  the  flamens,  augurs,  bishops,  curates,  vestal  virgins, 
temples,  sanctuaries,  shrines  and  monasteries,  over  the  calendar,  over 
the  coinage,  over  the  fisc  and  over  all  sacerdotal  institutes,  preroga- 
tives, rites,  ceremonies,  festivals,  holidays,  dedications  and  canoni- 
zations; as  well  as  over  marriages,  divorces,  adoptions,  testaments, 
and  benefices,  or  church  livings;  in  short,  he  became  the  Supreme 
Lord  over  all  that  immense  class  of  subjects  embraced  by  the  Roman 
imperial,  censorial,  fiscal  and  ecclesiastical  systems. 

After  he  had  acquired  these  powers  he  appointed  a  new  set  of  of- 


THE    MESSIAH.  327 

ficers,  of  his  own  creation  and  dependent  upon  himself,  to  whom  he 
assigned  their  execution  or  enjoyment.  In  carrying  out  these  meas- 
ures, Augustus  was  evidently  guided  by  legal  advice.  Force  was 
seldom  manifested;  injustice  was  not  openly  displayed;  and  the  rights 
of  property,  office,  title,  privilege,  or  custom,  were  rarely  violated 
without  a  plausible  pretext.  The  forms  of  law,  which  had  grown  up 
under  the  republican  constitution,  were  employed  to  destroy  the  last 
vestiges  of  liberty;  and  the  empire  was  enchained,  subdued  and 
crushed  as  completely  as  though  its  master  was  indeed  endowed  with 
the  supernatural  powers  attributed  to  him  by  his  sycophants  and 
devotees. 

The  college  of  Augusine  priests  was  elevated  to  the  same  rank  as 
the  four  other  great  religious  colleges ;  the  function  of  the  first-named 
one  being  to  establish  rites,  offer  prayers,  chaunt  hymns  and  accept 
sacrifices,  in  the  temples  sacred  to  Augustus.  The  worship  of  Augus- 
tus, Son  of  God,  was  officially  incorporated  into  the  religion  of  the 
empire ;  every  city  of  the  empire  had  an  augustal  flamen,  every  house 
an  augustal  shrine;  succeeding  emperors  themselves  sacrificed  to  Au- 
gustus, and  irreverence  to  this  deity  was  visited  with  the  severest 
penalties.  Afidius  Memla,  for  refusing  to  take  his  oath  of  office  in  the 
name  of  the  divine  Augustus,  was  ejected  from  the  senate,  and  the 
ancient  city  of  Czyicus,  for  neglecting  the  worship  of  Augustus,  the 
Son  of  God,  was  deprived  of  its  privileges.  During  the  reign  of  Ti- 
berius the  head  was  removed  from  an  image  of  Augustus  and  placed 
upon  another  image,  possibly  of  the  same  god.  This  offense  was  re- 
garded with  such  profound  horror  that  it  was  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  senate,  who  ordered  several  persons,  suspected  of  knowing  its 
author,  to  be  put  to  the  torture  until  they  confessed  his  name.  When 
this  was  discovered  the  offender  was  summarily  executed.  For  chang- 
ing one's  clothes  in  the  presence  of  an  image  of  Augustus  the  penalty 
was  death.  For  whipping  a  slave  near  the  shrine  of  Augustus  the  pun- 
ishment was  death.  For  defacing  a  coin  which  bore  the  effigy  of  Au- 
gustus the  penalty  was  death,  not  because  it  was  a  coin,  but  because 
it  bore  the  image  of  the  god.  This  is  proved  by  the  next  instance. 
For  defacing  the  effigy  of  Augustus  on  a  ring  the  penalty  was  death. 
For  accepting  honours  in  a  colony  on  the  same  day  that  somewhat 
similar  honours  had  been  decreed  to  Augustus  the  penalty  was  death. 
It  has  been  insinuated  that  the  worship  of  Augustus  was  an  idle  form, 
an  empty,  meaningless  ceremony,  a  m.ode  of  flattery,  like  that  alleged 
to  be  still  rendered  to  some  eastern  potentates.  To  complete  this  as- 
surance it  will  be  necessary  to  prove  that  the  thumbscrew,  the  rack, 


i 


328  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

the  headsman's  block,  the  axe,  and  the  bloody  remains  of  Roman 
citizens  stuck  upon  lances  at  the  city  gates,  the  remains  of  men  who 
had  been  executed  for  sacrilege  to  the  god  Augustus,  were  also  illu- 
sions; that  Suetonius,  Tacitus,  Josephus,  Pliny  and  the  other  post- 
Augustan  writers  on  this  subject  have  transmitted  to  us  a  mass  of 
falsehoods  without  the  extenuating  motive  of  either  religion,  interest, 
or  ambition;  that  the  myriads  of  Roman  coins,  found  in  the  most 
distant  places,  stamped  with  the  rayed  image  of  Augustus  and  pro- 
claiming him  in  explicit  words  the  Theos,  or  living  god,  the  Sebastos, 
or  Holy  One,  or  else  the  Son  of  God,  are  forgeries ;  and  that  the  tem- 
ples erected  in  his  honour  and  in  which  worship  and  sacrifices  to  him 
were  conducted  by  a  hired  priesthood  and  enforced  upon  the  people, 
were  so  many  figments  of  the  imagination.  ^^ 

Costly  temples,  altars  and  images  were  erected  to  Augustus  in 
Rome,  Nola,  Pompeii,  Athens,  Piscennus,  Proconnesus,  Tomis,  By- 
zantium, Cyzicus,  Antioch,  Ancyra,  Samaria,  Jerusalem,  Alexandria, 
Lyons  and  Vienne,  (in  Gaul,)  Leon  and  Terracona,  (in  Spain,)  and 
numerous  other  cities,  the  remains,  in  some  cases  almost  complete 
remains,  of  which  are  still  extant;  the  worship  of  Augustus  was  regu- 
larly conducted  in  all  these  places;  and  all  classes  of  men  were  com- 
pelled to  bow  to  his  images  and  to  worship  them,  upon  the  penalty  of 
death.  ^^  In  Italy  no  such  compulsion  was  necessary.  Indeed,  this 
worship  stood  in  such  high  estimation  that  petty  images  of  Augustus 
were  used  as  charms,  which  were  suspended  or  worn  upon  the  person; 
and  the  larger  images  of  his  incarnation,  which  were  erected  in  high- 
ways and  public  places,  were,  inthe  absence  of  a  temple,  resorted  to 
for  sanctuary  and  respected  as  such. 

On  the  numerous  votive  tablets  and  other  monuments  erected  to 
the  worship  of  Augustus  he  is  variously  addressed  asLiber  Pater  Au- 
gustus, with  the  thyrsus  of  Bacchus  (3046),  Jupiter  Optimus  M-.xi- 
mus  Augustus  (6423),  Apollo  Augustus  (534),  Serapis  Augustus  (4044), 
Saturnus  Augustus  (1796),  Savus  Augustus  (3896),  Savus  Adsalluta 
(5134),  Sedatus  Augustus  (3922),  Salus  Augustus  (4162),  Mercurius 
Augustus  (1434),  ^sus,  Baldir,  etc.,  the  numbers  being  those  of  the 

^*  The  coins  with  the  rayed  images  and  sacred  titles  of  Augustus  are  depicted  and 
described  in  Cohen's  "  Monnaies  Imperiales,"  i,  107,  etc.  They  are  also  mentioned 
in  Lenormant,  li,  170,  and  in  many  other  numismatic  works. 

^®  Soranus,  a  Latin  poet,  in  the  reign  of  Julius  Caesar,  was  put  to  death  upon  the 
charge  of  betraying  a  secret.  He  acknowled  no  god  but  the  Soul  of  the  Universe, 
Lempriere,  in  "  Valerius."  It  is  therefore  likely  that  his  real  offence  was  the  refusal 
to  worship  the  sovereign-pontiff. 


THE    MESSIAH.  329 

inscriptions  in  Mommsen's  "Corpus  Inscriptionum  Latinorum." 
Lanciani  informs  us  that  of  the  vast  number  of  structures  on  the 
Palatine  Hill  which  comprised  the  palaces  of  he  Caesars  "  but  one 
section  alone  remained  unaltered  throughout  all  the  ages."""  This 
was  the  section  built  by  Augustus;  the  one  in  which  he  dwelt.  It 
was  destroyed  in  1549.  To  this  may  be  added  the  fact  that  of  all 
the  memorials  of  the  distant  past  which  the  Vatican  preserves  with 
the  most  jealous  care  is  the  marble  image  of  Divus  Augustus.  Like 
reverence,  however,  has  not  been  extended  by  the  Italian  govern- 
ment to  his  sepulchre,  which,  it  is  stated,  has  recently  been  subjected 
to  indignity.  " 

The  church  of  Augustus  tolerated  no  rivalry  and  permitted  no  here- 
sies. Agrippa,  whose  great  services  to  the  state  might  have  evoked  a 
popularity  inconvenient  to  the  Augustus,  died  suddenly  at  the  age  of 
51  years.  After  the  death  of  Augustus,  and  by  order  of  Livia,  the 
innocent  sons  of  Agrippa  were  put  to  death.  ^'^  In  the  reign  of  Tiber- 
itrs;"^aTus  Silanus,  proconsul  of  Asia,  being  accused  of  irreverence  to 
the  god  Augustus,  was  excommunicated  and  banished  to  Cythera.  ®' 
The  Egyptians  and  Jews  in  the  city  of  Rome  were  ordered  to  re- 
nounce their  impious  worship  or  leave  Italy  at  short  notice.  Four 
thousand  of  them  were  transported.  "  Junius,  who  pretended  to  be 
able  to  raise  the  dead,  was  forbidden  to  practice  his  art.  The  Chal- 
dean astrologers,  and  afterwards  all  astrologers,  magi,  and  worship- 
pers of  strange  gods,  were  banished  out  of  Italy.  " 

After  the  death  of  the  Augustus,  which  occurred,  according  to  the 
received  chronology,  in  A.  D.  14,  the  army  of  office-holders,  priests, 
sycophants  and  panders,  who  filled  the  capital,  hastened  to  transfer 
their  scandalous  homage  to  Tiberius,  his  successor.  For  this  they  were 
at  once  rebuked  by  Tiberius,  who  reminded  them  that  he  was  no  god, 
but  like  themselves  a  mere  human  being;  and  he  forbade  them  to  ad- 
dress him  by  any  sacred  title,  or  even  to  swear  by  his  name.  Yet  such 
an  impetus  had  this  worship  received  that  his  edict  was  evaded,  and 
the  courtiers  swore  by  the  emperor's  Genius.  It  was  perhaps  to  avoid 
a  homage  which  he  was  powerless  to  prevent  that  Tiberius  removed 
to  Capri,  where  he  resided  until  he  died.     In  Rome  he  sternly  en- 

*"  Lanciani's  "Ancient  Rome,"  p.  109. 
®'  London  Weekly  Graphic,  Nov.  14,  1874. 

*^  In  like  manner  Tiberius  permitted  his  favorite,  Sejanus,  to  erect  images  of  him- 
self in  Rome:  then  he  destroyed  him. 

63  Tacitus,  Ann.,  iii,  68.  «*  Tacitus    Ann.,  11,  86. 

*^  Tacitus,  Ann.,  11,  28-32. 


? 


330  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

forced  the  worship  of  Augustus,  although  in  the  provicces  he  added 
or  permitted  that  of  himself.  He  must  have  reduced  the  number,  or 
else  the  emoluments,  which  Augustus  had  awarded  to  the  Roman 
ecclesiastics,  ^^  for,  without  any  other  assignable  cause  of  offense,  the 
works  written  after  his  death,  most  of  which  were  the  product  of 
their  busy  pens,  sought  to  blacken  his  memory  with  hints  of  crimes 
which  it  was  impossible  for  a  man  of  his  venerable  age  to  commit. 

After  the  death  of  Tiberius  the  superstition  of  Rome  attached 
itself  to  Caligula,  and  made  him  a  god.  Philo  of  Alexandria  affords 
us  a  glimpse  of  this  impious  worship  in  his  account  of  an  embassy 
which  he  headed  on  behalf  of  the  Jews.  The  Alexandrians  sent  a 
counter  embassy  to  thwart  him,  and  they  met  in  the  imperial  pres- 
ence under  the  following  circumstances: 

"  Caius  (Caligula)  was  engaged  at  this  time  in  transforming  the 
garden  of  the  Lamias  into  a  royal  residence;  and  the  rival  embassies 
were  summoned  thither.  They  found  him  hurrying  from  room  to 
room,  surrounded  by  architects  and  workmen,  to  whom  he  was  giving 
directions;  and  they  were  compelled  to  follow  in  his  train.  Stopping 
to  address  the  Jews  he  asked :  '  Are  you  the  god-haters  who  deny  my 
divinity,  which  all  the  rest  of  the  world  acknowledges? '  The  Alex- 
andrian envoys  hastened  to  put  in  their  word:  'Lord,  these  Jews 
alone  have  refused  to  sacrifice  to  your  welfare.'  Said  the  Jews: 
*  Nay,  oh  Lord,  this  is  a  slander.  We  sacrificed  for  you  not  once, 
but  thrice;  first,  when  you  assumed  the  empire;  then,  when  you  re- 
covered from  your  illness;  and  again,  for  your  success  against  the 
Germans.'  'Yes,'  observed  Caligula,  'You  sacrificed /ic'r  me;  but 
not  to  me,'  and  thereupon  he  hurried  to  another  room,  the  Jev/s 
trembling  and  their  rivals  jeering,  as  in  a  play. "  A  similar  avoidance 
of  this  worship  at  Jerusalem  is  mentioned  by  Josephus;  and  when 
the  procurator  of  Judea  attempted  to  set  up  a  statue  of  Caiigula  in 
the  Temple,  the  dagger  of  some  Judean  Brutus  alone  prevented  the 
profanation. 

After  Caligula  came  Claudius.  He  also  demanded  to  be  worship- 
ped as  a  god.  Josephus  has  preserved  the  text  of  an  edict  in  which 
Claudius  admits  that  the  Jews  had  been  unjustly  treated  by  Caligula, 
because  they  had  refused  to  worship  him  as  god,  contrary  to  the 
charters  of  privileges  which  they  claimed  to  have  obtained  from  Ju- 
lius and  Augustus;  and  Claudius  orders  these  charters  to  be  respect- 
ed. "  This  edict  was  no  doubt  procured  through  bribery  of  the 
court  officials;  for  Claudius  soon  forgot  all  about  it  and  demanded 

*^  Suet.,  Aug.,  30.  "  Josephus,  Ant.,  xix,  v,  2, 


THE    MESSIAH.  33I 

from  the  Jews  similar  worship  to  himself.  Rather  than  submit  to  it, 
the  Jewish  people  came  before  Petronius  en  masse  and  told  him  he 
might  slay  them  all,  for  they  would  never  yield  to  such  a  demand; 
whereupon  he  wrote  to  Claudius  that  if  he  insisted  upon  being  wor- 
shipped in  Judea,  he  would  soon  reign  over  a  desert.  Before  Pe- 
tronius received  the  reply  of  Claudius,  the  dagger  had  also  dispatched 
the  latter;  but  not  before  his  insistence  upon  being  worshipped  in 
Britain  had  sacrificed  the  heroic  Boadicea  and  the  entire  nation  of  the 
lesini;  who  were  as  resolute  as  the  Jews  on  this  subject.  The  levity 
of  Nero  and  the  short  reigns  of  Galba,  Otho  and  Vitellius,  diverted 
the  worship  of  the  reigning  sovereigns  to  the  dead  and  canonized 
Augustus,  Son  of  God.  But  it  appeared  again  in  the  reigns  of  Ves- 
pasian and  Titus,  who  were  also  worshipped  as  incarnations  of  the 
deity.  In  the  reigns  of  Domitian  and  Nerva,  both  of  whom  assumed 
to  be  the  Creator  and  demanded  and  received  divine  homage,  this 
blasphemous  and  happily  always  declining  worship  received  a  fur- 
ther check;  so  that  when  Trajan  ascended  the  throne,  Tacitus 
was  enabled  to  write  the  passage  already  quoted  concerning  the  reign 
of  Augustus:  "  The  reverence  due  to  the  gods  was  no  longer  exclu- 
sive. Augustus  claimed  equal  worship.  Temples  were  built  and 
statues  were  erected  to  him;  a  mortal  man  was  adored;  and  priests 
and  pontiffs  were  appointed  to  pay  him  impious  homage." 

Following  Trajan  were  Hadrian,  Antoninus,  Marcus  Aurelius, 
Commodus,  Pertinax  and  Aurelian,  all  of  whom  demanded  and  ac- 
cepted divine  homage.  But  this  was  almost  the  last  of  it.  The 
repugnance  and  resistance,  which  had  begun  in  the  provinces,  after- 
wards manifested  itself  in  the  intellectual  centres  of  the  empire;  and 
though  it  was  attempted  again  and  again  to  return  to  the  worship  of 
Augustus,  the  attempt  failed;  so  that  in  the  place  of  an  odious  and 
degrading  religion,  Elagabalus  deemed  it  feasible  to  revive  the  an- 
cient worship  of  the  Sun.  The  theogonies  of  Hesiod  and  Homer,  *' 
of  Virgil  and  Ovid,  were  obsolete;  the  Julian  and  Augustan  worship 
had  become  obsolete;  and  the  worship  of  living  emperors  was  repug- 
nant to  the  spirit  of  the  West.  Although  this  was  the  period  of  those 
numerous  Mithraic  monuments  which  now  appear  in  the  archaeolog- 
ical museums  of  Rome,  Paris,  London,  York  and  Newcastle,  the 
religion  of  the  Sun  made  but  little  headway.  The  legions  ac- 
cepted it,  but  that  was  all.  Mithraism,  too,  was  obsolete.  Its  vital 
force  was  long  since  spent.  Elagabalus  was  supported  by  some  of 
the  best  families  of  Rome,  but  the  weakness  of  his  cause  and  the 

**  Cicero  de  Div.,  17,  38,  67,  126,  248,  262,  especially  126. 


332  A    NEW    CHRONOLOGY. 

opposition  and  hatred  of  the  Augustan  priesthood,  whose  livings  it 
endangered,  thwarted  his  object ;  and  have  since  loaded  his  name  with 
obloquy.  His  plan  of  directing  into  a  purer  channel  the  superstition 
and  religious  fervour  of  his  countrymen,  though  delayed  for  three- 
fourths  of  a  century  by  the  Roman  ecclesiastics,  was  nevertheless 
carried  out  more  successfully  by  Diocletian,  who  revived  the  Sun- 
worship  which  Elagabalus  had  established.  But  the  revival  was  only 
accomplished  at  the  cost  of  dividing  the  empire  into  four  satrapies; 
and  with  this  division,  what  remained  of  the  worship  of  Augustus  fell, 
to  rise  no  more.  In  its  place  and  in  the  place  of  the  ephemeral 
Mithraism  and  of  the  Dionysian  worship,  which,  according  to  the  coins 
of  the  period,  succeeded  it  for  a  brief  interval,  arose  that  later  re- 
ligion of  the  West,  which  conserved  the  fruits  of  military  conquests, 
that,  without  it,  might  have  been  made  in  vain  and  that  absorbed  all 
the  other  religions  which  these  conquests  had  brought  together. 

Emperor- worship  is  not  so  much  the  product  of  the  Orient  as  it  is 
of  those  vast  hierarchies  which  could  only  arise  in  the  Orient,  so  long 
as  the  Occident  remained  comparatively  destitute  of  population.  The 
agglomeration  of  an  extensive  empire,  embracing  numerous  races  and 
tribes  of  men,  differing  from  each  other  in  origin,  aptitudes,  mythol- 
ogy and  religion — especially  when  such  an  agglomeration  is  followed 
by  the  practice  of  transplantation  and  fusion,  the  whole  empire  being 
governed  by  a  single  hierarch — has  always  been  followed  by  emperor- 
worship. 

The  empires  of  India,  Persia,  Assyria,  Egypt,  Macedon  and  Rome, 
were  all  of  this  character;  they  all  practiced  the  transplantation  and 
fusion  of  the  people  whom  they  conquered;  they  were  all  governed 
by  hierarchs;  and  these  hierarchs  were  always  worshipped  by  thieir 
subjects.  Some  traces  of  the  Oriental  tendency  to  worship  human 
gods  is  observable  even  in  modern  times.  To-day,  in  Madras,  the 
the  statue  of  the  British  queen-empres'^  is  annointed  with  consecrated 
oil,  strewn  with  flowers,  propitiated  with  offerings  of  frankincense, 
and  worshipped  on  bended  knees  by  the  natives;  who  call  it  the  great 
Maharanee,  or  Queen  of  Queens,  the  Holy  One,  the  Supreme  God. 
That  these  are  acts  of  piety  and  not  of  flattery,  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  they  are  done  furtively  and  in  defiance  of  the  police;  who 
are  instructed  to  prevent  them. 

If  on  the  one  hand,  extensive  empire  and  hierarchical  government 
furnished  the  ground  of  emperor-worship,  on  the  other  hand,  the  my- 
thology of  the  Orient  supplied  the  seed.  The  incarnations  of  Bel- 
Issus,  Nin-Ies,  Tiglath-pil-Esar,  Cyrus,  Darius,  Rhamses,  Alexander 


THE    MESSIAH. 


333 


the  Great,  the  Ptolemies,  the  Selucidae,  and  the  other  personages  al- 
luded to  herein,  formed  a  series  of  Asiatic  gods  as  well  marked  as 
any  generation  of  monsters  traced  by  the  philosophic  eye  of  Darwin. 
Even  this  line  of  gods,  which,  with  perhaps  one  or  two  doubtful  ex- 
ceptions, consisted  of  actual  historical  personages,  was  complemented 
by  another  series  of  wholly  mythological  beings.  Such  were  the  in- 
carnations of  Vishnu,  les  Chrishna,  and  the  Brahminical  Buddha  of 
the  Hindus;  Assur,  of  Assyria;  Nebo-Nazaru,  of  Babylon;  Osiris  and 
Horus,  of  Egypt;  Ormudz,  of  Persia;  and  Ischenou,  Chres,  Jasius 
and  Bacchus,  of  Greece. 

Water  will  not  rise  above  its  own  level.  Man  will  not  worship  a 
god  who  is  either  above  or  below  the  poise  of  his  own  comprehen- 
sion. The  gods  have  therefore  this  useful  function:  they  furnish  an 
infallible  barometer  of  the  human  intellect.  Measured  by  this  scale, 
the  worship  of  Augustus  was  not  at  the  period  of  his  advent  below 
the  comprehension  of  the  West,  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  stub- 
born Northmen,  we  hear  of  no  dissatisfaction  with  it.  Rural  Italy, 
Gaul,  Spain,  Pannonia  and  Southern  Germany,  all  accepted  or  en- 
dured it;  Britain,  Saxony  and  Scandinavia  alone  rejected  it.  Nor 
was  it  below  the  comprehension  of  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor,  for  only 
in  Judea  do  any  serious  revolts  against  it  appear  in  the  chronicles  of 
the  times.  But  if,  with  the  heroic  exceptions  mentioned,  the  rural 
populations  endured  it  without  repugnance,  the  great  cities  of  the 
empire,  such  as  Antioch,  Alexandria,  Athens  and  Rome,  found  it  too 
degrading  for  continued  acceptance.  It  was  these  centres  of  intel- 
lectual activity  that  gave  effect  to  the  revolts  which  emperor-worship 
had  provoked  in  Britain,  Frisia,  Saxony  and  Judea;  and  it  was  out  of 
this  combination  of  popular  resistance  and  intellectual  disgust  that 
arose  a  long  and  deadly  struggle  against  the  worship  of  Augustus  and 
the  wide-spread  and  firmly-rooted  superstitions  upon  which  it  was 
founded;  a  struggle  which  finally  ended  in  the  adoption  of  Chris- 
tianity. " 

*'  The  coins  of  Augustus  commonly  have  the  rayed  image  of  that  personage,  with 
the  legend  DIVVS  AVGVSTVS;  or  AVGVSTVS  DIVVS  FILIVS.  This  style  was 
afterwards  followed  on  the  coins  stamped  with  the  effigy  of  Christ,  the  first  one  of 
which  was  issued  by  Justinian  II.,  Rhinotmetus,  about  the  year  A.  D.  705,  with  the 
legend  d.  N.  IhS.  CPS  REX  REGNANTIVM.  There  were  several  issues  of  these 
coins  and  some  slight  variations  in  the  spelling.  The  small  "  h  "  is  really  a  Greek  "  e," 
while  the  capital  "  P"  is  really  a  Greek  "R."  Sabatier's  Byzantine  Coins,  Justinian 
II.,  No.  2.  For  Divos  and  Divus  on  Coins  of  Julius  and  Augustus,  see  Humphreys' 
"Coin  Collector's  Manual,"  plate  8. 

FINIS. 


335 


INDEX. 


Abd-el-Melik,  204. 

Abd-el-Raman,  60,  "Zog. 

Abraham,  81. 

Abubeker,  203. 

Abul  Fazl,  89. 

Abulfeda,  153,  166. 

Abyssinia,  69,  188,  194,  2l8,  220. 

Achaia,  162. 

Acrisius,  97. 

Actium,  battle,  28,  181. 

Adonis,  120,  128. 

Adrastus  of  Sicyon,  136. 

Adventists,  {see  Second  Adventists,)  2,  40. 

Adzatathat,  142. 

^gina,  115,  120. 

JEra,  etymology  of,  17. 

^ras,  18,  19,  29,  62  to  236. 

^sclepiades,  143. 

^sclepiades  of  Mendes,  170. 

^sculapius,  120. 

^sus,  328. 

Africa,  234. 

Agapemone,  231. 

Agron,  130. 

Ahmed,  (caliph,)  208. 

Akbar,  (mogul,)  200,  224. 

Ala,  (king,)  217. 

Alaric,  196. 

Alba,  116. 

Albiruni,  71,  74,  152,  182. 

Alexander  the  Great,  33,  66,   109,   137, 

151,  152,  310. 
Alexandria,  {see  also  Egypt,)  68,  182. 
Alfonso  X.,  63. 
Alfred  the  Great,  208. 
Al-Mansur,  (caliph,)  206. 
Althea,  160. 
Amasia,  184. 
Amazon,  (river,)  228. 
Amazons,  lOO,  139. 
America,  {see  also  Mexico,)  209,  212,  220, 

221,  228,  229. 
American  Messiahs,  2,  113. 
Amisus,  130. 
Amli,  200,  201,  225. 
Amogavarsha,  207. 
Amsuvarman  of  Nepal,  200. 
Anachronisms,  historical,  23,95,  97,  119, 

125,  152.  157-  158,  159.  160,  161,  162, 

165,  167,  168,  192.  193,  196,  197,  204, 

215,  281. 


Anaitis,  103. 

Anaxagoras,  39. 

Anaximander,  83. 

Anazarba,  183. 

Ancyra,  monument  of,  20,  317,  319. 

Anjana,  128. 

Annus  Magnus,  192. 

Ansonius,  poet,  30. 

Antimachus,  29. 

Antioch,  65,  69,^  156, 157,  167,  176,  178. 

Antiochus,  157,  159,  160,  162**. 

Antonio  of  Brazil,  234. 

Antoninus,  Pius,  emp.  Rome,  31,  192. 

Apamea,  157. 

Apis,  {see  also  les-iris,)  191, 

Apis  cycle,  250,  262,  269. 

Apocalyptic  cycle,  272. 

Apollo,  134,  167. 

Apollonius  of  Tyana,  185. 

Apulia,  126. 

Aquilsea,  126. 

Arabia,  65,  163,  194,  196,  197,  198,  201,^ 

202,  203,  204,  206. 
Arakan,  204. 
Arcadia,  99,  150. 
Ardishir,  192.^ 

Argonautic  expedition,  94,  loi. 
Argonauts,  The,  46,  loi. 
Argos,  79,  81,  97,  loi,  106,  120,  148. 
Argyrus,  67. 
Ark,  (Bacchic,)  97,  134. 
Armenia,  129, 135, 137,  142,198,  199,  215. 
Arnold  of  Brescia,  216. 
Arsaces,  159.^ 
Arsinoe,  160. 
Ascalon,  139,  162. 
Asia,  Major,  222. 
Asia  Minor,  167,  181. 
Asmonean,  162. 
Asoka,  loi,  143,  158. 
Assassins,  215. 

Assurbanipal  II.,  91,  131,  132. 
Assyria,  78,  79,  84,  86,  118,  132. 
Astrology,  2. 
Astronomy,  2,  206. 
Astyges,  144. 
Athens  {see  Attica). 
Atia,  {see  also  Maia,)  167,  169,  317. 
Attica,  79,  83,   85,2   100,  106,  115,   116, 

117,  135,  136.^  140,  145,  146,^  149.  155, 
158,  165,  191. 


336 


INDEX. 


Attila,  197. 

Attis,  100,  105. 

Augustan  games,  105,  116,  173. 

Augustine  St.,  140,  193. 

Augustus,  20,  6g,^  106,  108,  116,  117, 
118,  119,  120,  122,  140,  150,  165,  167, 
169  to  175,  179,  180, 181, 182,  183,  184, 
185,  187, 188,  189,  193,  197,  198,2 199,2 
307  to  333. 

Augustus  Csesar,  14,  20,  22,  27,  29,  52  to 
61,  307. 

Aurguti  Tirounal,  165,  168,  198. 

Austria,  235. 

Ava,  143,  204. 

Avarsha,  103. 

Azaraica  (see  Armenia). 

Aztec,  (jft' America  and  Mexico,)  263,  267. 

Baal  {see  Bel-Issus). 

Baal-time,  5. 

Bab,  {see  also  Barko,  Barko-bab,  Barco- 

cheba,  Barkham,  etc.,)  230,  233. 
Babylon,  65,  78,  no,  120,  139,  143. 
Babylonian  Table,  6. 
Bacchus,  9,  10,  56,  63,  43,   64,2  65,  96, 

97,2  98,  99,  107,   108,  109,3  no,  119, 

120,  130,  131,  132,  136,  146,  160. 
Bacob,  113, 

Bactria,  96,  161,  196,  197,  211. 
Baddukal,  (a  black  stone,)  92. 
Baghdad,  206,  208^,  209,  211,  219. 
Baharum-Gur,  196. 
Balabhi,  194.2 
Balli,  191. 
Baptism,  141. 

Barhaspatya,  {see  also  Vrihaspati,)  75. 
Barkham,  {see  also  Buddha,)  113,2  192. 
Barko,  or  Barco-Cheba,  59,  191. 
Barko-bab,  {see  Barko). 
Begapoor,  22S. 
Bel-Issus,  78,  79,  86,  132. 
Belus,  44,  53. 
Bemrillah,  {see  Hakem). 
Bengal,  {see  also  India,)  200,  201,  204, 

215,  216,3  224. 
Berenice,  160. 

Bhagayad  Gita,  3,  n,  42,  43. 
Bhartrihari,  63. 
Bible,  {see  Scriptures,)  14, 
Bisharee  Mines,  194. 
Bitanna  {see  Bithynia). 
Bithynia,  132,  157,  162. 
Bithynium,  157. 

Black  Gods,  91,  95,  128,  133,  165,  166. 
Black  stone  idols,  92,  96,  166, 
Bleeding  Heart,  92,  loi,  igg. 
Bod  {see  Fod  and  Buddha), 
Boeotia,  218. 

Bombay,  {see  also  India,)  218. 
Boniface  VIII.,  pope,  32. 
Bosphorus,  {see  also  Cimmerian,  Crimea, 


Pontus,  etc.,)  106,  126,  130,  138,  147, 

156,  165. 
Brahma,  40,  52-61,  66,  74, 191-2,  207,  223. 
Brahmo-Buddhic,  63,  64,  65,  70,  71,  77, 

119,  123,  128,  217,  223. 
Brazil,  228,  234. 

Bride  of  Christ,  232. 

Britain,  126. 

British  Museum,  159. 

Bronze  images,  106. 

Brumalia  {see  Brumess). 

Brumess,  10,  in,  116,  119,  120,  123,151, 
187,  195,  207. 

Budantsar,  199. 

Buddha,  3,  18,  33,  52  to  61,  63,  64,2  65, 
66,  70,  74,  77,  78,  80,  83,  86,  87,2  89,2 
91,  97,  98,  loi,  ni,2 112, n3,  117,  n8, 

120,  123,  125,  126,  128,  129,  130,  131, 
132,  133,  135,  139,  140,  141,  142,  143. 
156,  163,  164,  166,  185,  189,  192,  199, 
209,  218,  235. 

Buddhisatvas  {see  Buddha). 

Buddhso  {see  Buddha). 

Budi  Ela,  87. 

Budini,  The,  130. 

Bukovina,  The,  235. 

Burmah,  126,  128,  135,  142, 143, 191,203. 

Burning  of  Rome,  24,  282. 

Busentius,  (river,)  196. 

Busiris,  82,  100. 

Byzantium  {see  also  Constantinople  and 
Eastern  Empire,)  66,  67,  68,  69,  194, 
ig8,  199,  204,  216,  220,  221. 

Caaba,  102,  166,  189. 

Cabiri,  106. 

Cadiz,  106. 

CiKsar,(j^e' also  Augustus,  Julius, etc.), 1 51. 

CiKsaria  {see  Khazaria). 

Caesar's  games,  106,  174. 

Cai-fong-fu,  146. 

Calendars : 

American,  228. 

Chaldean,  62,  140,  30I. 

Egyptian,  15,  143. 

English,  228. 

French,  225. 

Gothic,  163. 

Greek,  15,  89,136, 140,  149,  154, 165. 

Gregorian,  220,  225,  228. 

Hebrew,  262,  301. 

Hindu,  165,  167,  190,  216,224,  301. 

Japanese,  219,  232. 

Mexican,  215. 

Moslem,  16,  202. 

Persian,  202,  214. 

Peruvian,  209. 

Roman,  15,  62,144,  149,  155,160,2 
162,  165,  169,  190,  194,  195,  202, 
206,  210. 

Syrian,  155,  301. 


INDEX. 


337 


Calends  of  August  (see  Lammas). 

Calijoga,  74,  75,81,^83,87,  103,111,151, 
200,  277,  280,  293. 

Calippus,  149,  253. 

Callimachus,  37,  107. 

Cambyses,  6,  144,  145. 

Candia  {see  Crete). 

Candlemas,  4,  12. 

Canopus,  loi. 

Cantharus,  (sacerdotal  cup,)  102,  128, 

Canya,  (Chrishna,  Pococke,  292,)  q.  v. 

Cappadocia,  132,  139. 

Caracalla,  emp.  Rome,  32,  192. 

Carchemish  {see  Karchemish). 

Cardea,  159. 

Caria,  144. 

Carthage,  116. 

Caspian  Sea,  138. 

Cashmir,  74,  iii. 

Caubul,  211. 

Caucasia,  129,  130. 

Celeres,  (^eealso  Selecti,)  118,  142,  145, '^ 
146,  219. 

Cerasus,  189. 

Ceres,  10,  97. 

Change,  Roman  Year  of,  13. 

Chaldea  {see  Babylon). 

Chaluka  (see  Seljuk). 

Ceylon,  136,  143,^  204. 

Chalice  {see  Cantharus). 

Chandra  Gupta,  64,  143,  152,  153.^ 

Chandra-manu,"  lunar  reckoning,"  175. 

Charlemagne,  60,  207. 

Charles  IX.,  (of  France,)  225. 

Chedi,  193. 

Cherronesus  (see  Chersonesus). 

Chersonesus,  126,  130,  180. 

Chesh  (see  Chedi). 

China,  65,  70,  77,  «  78, «  iii,  =*  113,  116,^ 
117,  129,135,  136.  142,  146.  164,  189, 
212,  214,  216,  222,  229,  231,  235. 

Chittagong,  204. 

Choiseul  Marble,  7. 

Chorasmia,  (Kharezm,  or  Khwarizm,  cap- 
ital, Khiva,)  96,  132. 

Chorassan,  146. 

Chorazia  (see  Khazaria), 

Chow  (see  Tcheou). 

Chozaria  ({see  Khazaria). 

Chres  (see  Cres). 

Chrestonians,  132. 

Chrishna  (see  les  Chrishna). 

Christ  (see  Jesus  Christ). 

Christian  ^ra,  {see  Jesus  Christ,)  62,  187. 

Christian  Age,  41. 

Christianity,  218,  220. 

Christians,  67,  127. 

Christmas,  (see  also  Brumess,)  5. 

Chronological  problems,  281. 

Chrysis,  148. 

Cicero,  Marcus  Tullius,  37,  116,  140. 


Cilicia,  183. 

Cimmerian  Bosphorus,  (see  also  Crimea,) 

106,  126,  130,  156. 
Cipar-issa,  (see  also  Samos,)  106. 
Circumcision,  127,  228. 
Circus  Maximus,  147. 
Citium,  159. 

Claudius,  emp.  of  Rome,  25,  31. 
Cleostratus  of  Tenedos,  14. 
Clisthenes  of  Athens,  146. 
Colchis,  106,  219. 
Columbus,  220  to  222. 
Comana,  189. 
Commodus,  192. 
Confucius,  117,  164. 
Confusion,  Roman  Year  of,  12. 
Conjunction,  astronomical,  29. 
Constantine,  194. 
Constantinople,  (j-^^also  Byzantium,)  199, 

204,  211,  216,  220. 
Consular  Year,  (see  Lammas,)  149,^  161. 
Copper  (see  Bronze  and  Money). 
Coptic,  (see  also  Abyssinia,  Egypt,  Nubia 

and  Ethiopia,)  69,  151. 
Corea,  219. 
Corfu,  106. 
Coroebus,  33,  37. 
Cortes,  151,  221. 
Cosentia,  (city,)  196. 

Cres,  (see  les  Chrishna,)  78,  79,  106,  292. 
Crestos,  140,  144. 
Crete,  83,  85.  _ 
Creusa  (see  Crissa). 
Crimea,  (see  also  Cimmeria,)48,  106, 130, 

132,  147,  i56,_  181. 
Crimisus  (see  Crimea). 
Crissa,  133,  134,  163. 
Croesus,  124. 
Cronia,  104, 
Cronos  (see  Saturn). 
Cross,  (j'^d'alsoSvastica,)96,  102,109,140, 

144,  148,  160,  325. 
Cross-quarter  days,  4,  II. 
Crotona,  144. 
Crucifixion,  96,  140,  149. 
Crusades,  211,  215. 
Cukulcan,  113. 
Cumaricu  Chandra,  167,  184. 
Cup  of  wine  (see  Cantharus). 
Curetes,  in,  117. 
Cyaxares,  124,  135,*  137,  138. 
Cybele,  Mt.,  83,  85,  103. 
Cycles,  18,  31,  49,  214,  237. 
Cyprus,  159. 
Cyrus,  18,  124,  138,  144, 

Dactyles  (see  Jasius). 

Daicles,  104. 

Dalai-Lama,  (j^^also  Tibet,)  206. 

Dalhani,  (see  also  Deccan,)  224. 

Danas,  97. 


338 


INDEX. 


Danaus,  97. 

Danes,  212. 

Dardanos,  106. 

Darius  Hystaspes,  14,  40,46,135,145,147, 

191. 
David-el-David,  215. 
Day,  237,  260. 
Day  of  Judgment,  40. 
Deccan,  218,  224. 
Decemviri,  6,  9. 
De  Gama,  Vasco,  222. 
Deiotaurus,  176. 
Dejanira,  160. 
Dekkan  (see  Deccan). 
Delos,  184. 
Delphos,  148. 
Deluge,  79,  224,  279. 
Demeter,  106. 
Demetor,  loi. 
Demetrius  Poliorcetes,  155. 
Dennus,  {see  also  Dionysius,)  87,  95,  97, 

108. 
Deo,  (island,)  215. 
Deoki,  loi. 

Devil,  The,  100,  124,  126,  133. 
Dhanaus,  {see  Danaus), 
Diana,  99,  116,  132,  141,  159,  193. 
Digambara,  {see also  Jains,)  loi,  108,  no, 

111,2  129,  J35^  j^j^  j^4^  J45^  207. 

Diocletian,  (emp.  Rome,)  69,  194. 

Diognetus,  158,  159. 

Diomede,  loi. 

Dion^us-Mater,  ilg. 

Dion-assa,  116. 

Dionysian  Age,  41. 

Dionysius,  {see  also  Buddha,  Bacchus,  les 
Chrishna,  Osiris,  Thammuz,  Serapis, 
etc.,)  63,  64,  97,  loi,  106,  109,  129, 
133,  139,  142,  156,  165,  167.  193,  195. 
197,  198,2  235. 

Dionysian  Cycle,  268. 

Dionysius  Augustus,  {see  Augustus). 

Dionysius  Exiguus,  33,  187,  198,  206. 

Dioscurias,  136. 

Dioscurii,  106. 

Dirce  {see  Deoki). 

Divine  Year,  {see  also  Eclyptical,)  32,  39, 
40,  268  to  272. 

Divitiacus,  175. 

Diemchid  {see  Giemchid). 

Doge  of  Venice,  219. 

Dominican  Cycle,  262. 

Domitian,  emp.  Rome,  30. 

Dorian  Conquest,  97. 

Draco,  140. 

Druids,  148. 

Druid  Cycle,  262. 

Druses,  212,  312. 

Durgha,  87,  97,  108. 

Durmuki  Kali,  77. 

Dutch  Republic,  225. 


Dyaus-pitar  {see  Jupiter). 

Easter,  {see  also  Houli,)  187. 

Eastern  Empire, (jfi?  also  Byzantium,)  194. 

Eclipses,  117,  124,  137,  138. 

Eclipses,  Cycle  of,  i,  39,  137,  247,  251, 

253.  255. 
Edessa,  153, 

Eetzana,  124,  126,  135,  142. 
Eight  Gods  {see  Zodiac), 
Eis,  {see  also  les,)  133. 
Eisis,  146. 
Egypt,  81,  82,2  86,  88,  95,  no,  128,  130, 

139,  143,  145,  151,3  152,  158,  166,  181, 

184,  189,  191,  208,  212,  216,  219,  266, 

287. 
Elagabalus,  (emp.  Rome,)  150,  193,  331. 
Elam,  132. 

Elephants,  Year  of  the,  196,  198. 
Eleusinia,  85,  86. 
Elis,  49,  103. 

Emperor-Worship,  29,  302  to  333. 
End  of  the  World,  40,  211,  216,  275,  280. 
England,  208,  212,   228,  229,  231,   232, 

236.* 
Ennius,  116. 
Enoch,  107. 
Epagomenas,  36. 
Ephesus,  141,  193. 
Epirus,  160. 

Equable  Year  {see  Year). 
Equinoxes,  Precession  of  the,  276  to  279. 
Eratosthenes,  37,  107. 
Eric  the  Red,  109. 

Ericthonius  or  Erictheus,  56,  85,  134. 
Esa,  (j'^i?also  Esus  and  les  Chrishna,)  148. 
Esculapius  {see  .(Esculapius). 
Esurbanipal,  135. 
Esus,  (j-^^also  Hesus  and  les  Chrishna,) 

100. 
Etiocles,  109. 
Etruria,  35,  116,  164, 
Eudoxus,  36. 
Eugenius,  195. 
Eumolpides,  85. 
Eupatoria,  130. 
Eupolemos,  106. 

Europe,  150,  211,  215,  2i6,  224.  229. 
Ezra,  149. 

Fa-Hian,  123. 

Fasali,  199,  200,  201,  224. 

Fasti  Consulares,  146,  148,  149. 

Fawn-skin  mantle,  105. 

Festival  of  the  Dead,  5,  212. 

Finistere,  (cape,)  126. 

Fishes,  Zodion  of  the,  103,  151. 

Fish-God,  151,  228. 

Five  Planets,  System  of,  44. 

Flagellation,  116. 

Flamininus,  160. 


INDEX. 


339 


Florence,  216. 

Fod,  (j-if^  also  Buddha,)  iii,''  113,^  128, 

189. 
Fo-hi,  (see  also  Buddha,)  77,  189. 
Forgeries  in  stone,  295,  317. 
Foundation,  Year  of  the  Corean,  219. 
France,  225,  229. 
Fuslee  {see  Fasali). 

Gallaicans  {see  Gaul) 

Gallicia  in  Austria,  235. 

Gallicians  {see  Gaul). 

Gama,  Vasco  de,  220,  222,  232. 

Games: 

Augustan,  36. 

Cffisarian,  36. 

Olympian,  17. 

Soeculares,  17. 
Gatty,  Mrs.  A.,  9,  157. 
Garibaldi,  232. 
Gaudalquiver,  (river,)  106. 
Gaul,  148,  175,  195. 
Gazi,  {see  also  Ghasi,)  214. 
Gebel-Eisis,  146. 

Gelalean,  {see  also  Jul-al-addin,)  214. 
Geloni,  130. 
Generation,  264. 
Genethliam,  100. 

Genghis  Khan,  199,  207,  216,^  217. 
Genoa,  220. 
Geoponica,  213. 
Germanicopolis,  184. 
Gesenius,  119. 

Ghasi-Das,  {see  also  Gazi,)  231. 
Ghazni,  211,  216. 
Giemschid,  125,  135. 
Girling,  Mrs.,  232. 
Gjemschid  {see  Giemschid), 
Gordon,  Col.  Chas.  G.,  232. 
Gotama,  {see  also  Buddha,)  141,  142. 
Gothic  sera,  204. 
Goths,  145,  197,  204. 
Gotland,  142,  145,  163. 
Graecorum,  (aera,)  153. 
Granada,  209,  215. 
Gratian,  emp.  Rome,  30. 
Great  Year,  {see  Annus  Magnus,)  40. 
Greece,   79,  80,  85,  89,  97,  98,  107,  109, 

115,  148,  153,  155- 
Greek  monuments,  47,  295,  317. 
Gregorian  Calendar,  {see  also  Calendar,) 

225,  228,^  232. 
Gregory  VII.,  pope,  41,  63. 
Gregory  XIII.,  pope,  6,  12,  258. 
Guimet  Museum,  159. 
Gupta,  59,  192,^  194. 
Gustasp,  150. 
Guzerat,  194,*^  215. 

Habeas  Corpus,  136,  147,  152,  162. 
Hadrian,  (sov.-pont.,)  29,  191. 


Hadrian,  (pope,)  206. 

Haicana,  199. 

Hakem,  (caliph,)  212. 

Hakon,  163. 

Halcyon  Days,  137,  163.  195. 

Halys,  (river,)  125. 

Hannibal,  159. 

Hansa,  126. 

Har-Esa,  {see  also  les  Chrishna,)  148. 

Harsha,  201,^  202. 

Hassan-ben-Saba  {see  Assassins). 

Hegira,  70,  199,  200,  202,  218,  224. 

Helios,  {see  also  the  Sun,)  104. 

Hell,  100,  127,  134. 

Henry  II.,  132. 

Hera,  103,  106. 

Heraclea,  126. 

Heracleam,  130. 

Heracleotes,  38,  126,  160. 

Heraclidoe  {see  Heracleotes). 

Herat,  211. 

Hercules,  131. 

Heri-Chrishna,  {see  also  Hesus  and  les 

Chrishna,)  148. 
Hermes,  {see  also  les  Chrishna,  Buddha, 

Dionysius,  etc.,)  7,  106,  137,  14S. 
Herod,  169,  179. 
Hesa  {see  Esa). 
Hesham,  230. 
Hesiod,  46,  115. 
Hes-Iris  {see  les  Iris) 
Hesus,  {see  also  les  Chrishna,)  59,  146, 

148,  163,  305. 
Hia  dynasty,  78. 
Hindu  avataras,  {see  also  Brahmo-Budd- 

ha,)  77. 
Hipparchus,  138. 
Hippias,  the  Elean,  135. 
Hippolytus,  68. 
Hittites,  109. 
Hoang-ti,  77,*  80. 
Hoguera  {see  Hokeday). 
Hokeday,  212. 
Hokunott,  163. 
Holland,  225. 
Horn,  or  Hoomo,  136. 
Homer,  46,  115,  145. 
Horse,  sacrifices.  96,  loi. 
Houli,  {see  also  Yule,)  104,  163,  167. 
Huayna  Capac,  223. 
Human  sacrifices,  129,  147,  163. 
Huns,  126,  196,  197. 
Hwui-Shan,  113. 
Hycsos,  or  Hyksos,.83,  IIO. 
Hyder  Ali,  75,  228. 
Hyperboreans,  251. 
Hystaspes,  145. 

lanus  {see  Janus), 
lasius,  134. 
Icelan(J,  208,  209. 


340 


INDEX. 


Ichthys,  the  Fish,  103. 

Ida,  Mt.,  83. 

Ides,  258. 

les,  7,  106,  133,  134. 

lesac,  158. 

lesanara,  {see  also  Zanara,)  129. 

les  Chrishna,  {see  also  Vishnu,  Cres,  Eis, 
Esus,  Eisis,  Hesus,  lasius,  les,  lesnu, 
Ischenou,  Jain,  Janus,  Jasius,  Jasus, 
Maia,  Matrem  Deorum,  Maryamma, 
etc.,)  3,  19,  33,  42,  43,  48,  52  to  61,  64, 
82,  93,  95,2  96,  97,"  99,  100,  loi,  103, 
106,  108,  III,  123,2  126,  130,  132,  133, 
137,  138,  139.  142,  146,  147. 148,  163, 
164,  165,  167,  199,  202,  217,  233. 

lesdigerd,  202,  203,  204,  217. 

lesha,  196. 

lesiges,  (j^^also  Iesygia,)48,  56,  106,126. 

lesiris,  or  Osiris,  5,  59,  82,  86,  88,  99, 
130,  131,  134,  156,  191,  192. 

lesnu,  or  Vishnu,  (q.  v.,)  40,  41,  58. 

les-saca,  134. 

lesu-chri,  199. 

lesyges,  48,  56. 

lesygia,  106,  126. 

leus,  164. 

Ilali,  224.2 

Illyria,  126. 

Immortality,  112,  134. 

Inachus,  {see  also  Bacchus,)  81,  98,  107, ^ 
109,  120. 

Incarnation  mythos,  22,  34,  40,  51  to  61, 
302  to  333. 

India,  55,  78,  80,   81,   83,'  86, ^  87,^  88, 

89,2       91,      95,      97,2        106,       107,       108,5        JOg     2 

IIO,'-'    III,^    112,    116,    123,-    128,    129, 

131,2 133, 136, 141,2 1435 144, 145, 148, 
149,  152,  153,  158, 159, 160,2165, 167, 

175,"  183  to  185,  189,  igo,^  191,  192,* 
193,  194,199,200,^201,''  202,  204,207,* 
208,'*  209,2  214,  215,2  216,2  217,2  218,2 
220,  221,  222,2  223,  224,2  228,*  229,5 
231,  233,^  234. 

Indictions,  181,  194,  206,  261. 

Indradryumna,  201. 

Innocents  {see  Slaughter  of). 

Ionia,  99,2  106,  137,2  145. 

Iphitus,  33,  36,  37,  104, 107,  115,116,120. 

Iron,  discovery  of,  83  to  86,  119. 

Isagoras,  146. 

Ischenia,  48,  197. 

Ischenou,  {see  also  les  Chrishna,)  48,  56, 
103,  197. 

Ischenus  {see  Ischenou). 

Isis,  {see  also  lesiris),  159,  192. 

Isskander  {see  Alexander  the  Great). 

Issmarus,  148. 

Issus,  (Bel,)  78,  79. 

Issus.  son  of  Mariam,  182. 

Isthmian  Games,  (j^^f  also  Ischenou,)  100, 

Italy,  232. 


Jain,  {see  also  Digambara  and   Swetam- 
bara,)49,  75,  loi,  106,  no,  133,  136, 

141,  143,  144,  145- 
Jaloos-san,  228. 

Janus,  10,  29,  48, 49,  97,  99,  122,  134, 159- 
Janus,  Temple  of,  159. 
japan,  112,  124,  129,  199,  219,  232. 
Jaryna,  Jeryernkowna,  235. 
Jasion,  106. 
Jasius,  49,  56,  86,  lOi,  105,  106,  134,  164, 

167,  260, 
Jason,  loi. 
Jasus,  loi. 
Java,  190,  191. 
Jemshid  {see  Giemschid). 
Jesiges  {see  lesiges). 
Jesus  Christ,  18,  27,  33,40,60,63,158,163, 

182,2  187,  204,  206,  211,  217,  230,  236.^ 
Jews,  {see  also  Judea,)  59,  62,  66,  69,  70,2 

71,3  72,  -75,  81,  83,  107,  139,  160,  191, 

203,  220,  222. 
Jezide,  {see  also  les  Chrishna,)  126. 
Jimmu,  {see  also  Sin-mu,)  124,  129. 
Joanna  Southcott,  229. 
John  of  Nikios,  15  «. 
Joss,  or  Josh,  III. 
Josephus,  70,  no. 
jove,  or  Jovian,  {see  also  Jupiter  and  Vri- 

haspati,)  74,2  75, ^  77,6  78, ^  82,108,116, 

183,   189,   190,2  200,  202,  208,209,  212, 

213,  214,  228,  229,5  261. 
Judea  {see  Jews,  Yadu,  etc.) 
Juggernaut,  75. 
Julali  {see  Jul-al-addin). 
Jul-al-addin,  70,  214,2  217,  224, 
Julian  sera,  176,  178,  225. 
Julian  period,  70,  276.  y 

Julian  year,  103,  125.    ^V^'' 
Julius  Africanus,  67,  68. 
Julius  Caesar,  12,  15,  19,  22,  33,  36,  58, 

68,  151,  162,  178,2  192,  225,  304. 
Julius  Caesar  Dionasus,  (Venus,)  119. 
Jumsheed  {see  Giemschid). 
Juno,  148. 

Jupiter,  the  planet,  (jf^also  Jove),4,44,83. 
Jupiter,  the  god.     {See  also  Jove,)  4,  10, 

43,  46  to  50,  83. 
Jury,  136. 
Justinian  I.,  198. 
Justinian,  II.,  163,  204.  333. 
Jyotistava,  190,  209,  213. 

Kab-ben-Luayy,  163,  197. 

Kagoobie,  234. 

Kalachakra,  209. 

Kalachuri,  {see  also  Chedi,)  193. 

Kali  {see  Calijoga). 

Kalpa,  41,  42. 

Kalpi,  82. 

Kanauj,  201,  202,  217. 

Kandra  Gupta,  {see  Chandra  Gupta,)  153. 


INDEX. 


341 


Kang-ti,  146, 

Kanouj  (see  Kanauj). 

Kanya  (see  les  Chrishna). 

Karchemish,  no,  124,  139. 

Kharezm  (see  Chorashmian). 

Khazaria,  126,  129,  138,  139,  142,  160. 

Khiva,  (see  Chorasmian). 

Kiao-chao,  2,  235. 

Kien-long,  77. 

Kollam,  108,  207. 

Konkan,  218,  228. 

Koran,  203,  204,  233. 

Korassan,  214.^ 

Kumbum,  (city,)  219. 

Kung-f u-tsu, (^^^ also  Confucius,)  il 7, 164. 

Lady  Day,  5. 

Lagus,  (father  of  Ptolemy,)  160. 

Laid  Aladin,  216. 

Lakshmana  Sena,  215,  216. 

Lamas  of  Tibet,  202,  217,  218,  228. 

Lammas  (festival,)  4,  8,  10,  12,  146,  148, 

149,  161. 
Lanfranc,  (bishop,)  214. 
Laodicea,  178. 
Lao-kiun,  129. 
Lao-tsze,  129,  136. 
Last  Supper  and  Supper  of  the  Twelve 

Gods,  142,  173. 
Laukika,  77. 
Leap  year,  loi. 
Legislatures,  136. 
Leleges,  144. 

Leo  III.,  (pope,)  206,  207. 
Leucas,  181. 

Leuco-Syrians,  103,  126,  130. 
Lex  Regia,  182. 

Liber  Pater,  {see  also  Bacchus,)  63,  147. 
Libraries  destroyed,  23. 
Liberty,  political,  in  India,  55. 
Lifetime  of  the  world,  40,  211,  216,  275, 

280. 
Lissa,  103. 
Lissus,  148. 
Literature,  destruction   of   Roman,   (see 

also  Libraries,)  23. 
Liu-Shu,  116. 
Livy's  Hist,  of  Rome,  155. 
Lokakala,  77. 
Lokkals,  54,  64,  66,  274. 
Lotus  flower,  112. 
Logou  Pater  (see  Bacchus). 
Loyangin,  iii. 

Ludi  Sseculares,  17,  33,  160,  264. 
Lunar  Mansions,  249. 
Lustra(.y^^  Pentseteris  and  Quinquennales). 
Lustrum,  five  yrs.,  35, 147,  148,  259,  260. 
Lycurgusof  Sparta,  37,48,105,11510  117. 
Lycurgus  of  Thrace,  109. 
Lydia,  145. 
Lyksea,  99. 


Maccabasus,  162. 

Macedon,  154,  162. 

Madras,  190. 

Madya,  (see  also  Madyes,  etc.,)  98. 

Madyes,  98. 

Magadha,  152,  153. 

Magi,  142,  144,  203. 

Magi  San,  199. 

Magianism,  114. 

Mahabharata,   i,  56,  82,  83,  86,  87,  108. 

Mahavira,   102,   103,   no,  129,  136,  141, 

143,  144,  145. 
Mahdi  of  the  Soudan,  (see  also  Messiah,) 

42,  208,  236. 
Maherat,  218. 
Ma-Hesa,  148. 
Mahmoud,  211. 

Mahomet,  53,  151,  199,  200  to  202,  230. 
Mahomet  II. ,  (caliph,)  220. 
Mahratta  Sur-San,  201. 
Mai,  Maia,  or  Maya,  7,  103,  in,  117,  123, 

134,  142,  167,  169,  176,  182,  183,  317. 
Maimonides,  135,  140, 
Makala,  218,  219. 
Malabar,  207. 
Mandane,  144. 
Manes,  59,  112,  192,  193. 
Manetho,  66,  no,  278,  287. 
Mani  (see  Manes). 
Mania,  112,  144,  159,  194. 
Mansur,  208. 
Manu,  112. 

Manvantara,  Greater,  272. 
Manvantara,  Lesser,  263. 
Mara,  (the  Evil  One,)  124. 
Marathon,  145. 

Marc  Antony,  28,  58,  179,  181. 
Maria,  (see  also  Mai,)  209. 
Mariam  (see  Mai). 
Mariana  (see  Mai). 
Mariandynia,  (see also  Mai  and  Maryam- 

ma,)  144,  148,  159. 
Marina,  (see  also  Mai,)  86,  144. 
Marissus,  126. 
Marriage  customs,  128,  136. 
Marrying  the  Sea,  94,  219. 
Mars,  7. 

Martanda  Varna,  228, 
Martinmas,  4,  7,  12,  123,  163,  167,  188, 

195,  199. 
Maryamma,   (see  also  Mai  and  Marian- 
dynia,) 56,  89,  144. 
Mashonaland,  234. 
Masonry,  73,  75. 
Massacres,  212. 
Massin-issa,  160. 
Mater  Deorum,  (see  also  Mai,  Mother  of 

God,  etc.,)  83. 
Maura,  Sta.,  106,  126,  181. 
Mauretania,  189. 
Maya.(see  Mai). 


342 


INDEX. 


Mecca,  i66,  199. 

Mecklenberg,  196. 

Media,  134,  139. 

Mediterranean,  138. 

Medusa,  gi,  138. 

Megasthenes,  55,  64,^  65,  69,  152. 

Meiji,  219,  232. 

Mekha-g}'a-tsho,  202. 

Melek  Shah,  {see  also  Seljuk,)  214,^  217. 

Menapia,  126. 

Mencius,  164. 

Menephrcs,  95. 

Menophres  {see  Menephres), 

Mercury,  {see  also  Bacchus,  Buddha,  Dio- 
nysius,  les  Chrishna,  Ischenus,  etc.,) 
7.  10.  61,  132,  137;  148. 

Merk,  (market,)  10. 

Meroe,  109. 

M'eshadi,  {see  also  Messhiahs  and  Messi- 
anic.) 201. 

Meshdak,  198,  199. 

Messa;  10. 

Messapia,  126. 

Messenia,  119,  126. 

Messiahs.  106,  109,  126,  129,  201,  208, 
220,  223,  231,  233  to  236,  302. 

Messianic,  201.  233,  302. 

Messo,  9. 

Messo  Theos,  9. 

Metempsychosis  cycle,  275. 

Meton,  Metonic  cycle,  149,  251. 

Mexico,  70,^  204,  205,  215,  222,  234. 

Michelmas,  5. 

Mikado,  124. 

Millenial  cycle,  116,  218,  229,  272. 

Millenium,  211,  212,  221,  229,  230,  236. 

Millerites,  42,  230. 

Mingrelia,  94. 

Minius  leus,  164. 

Mirzi  Ali  Mahomet,  {see  Bab.)  233. 

Mirza  Ghulam  Ahmad,  42,  233. 

Mistletoe,  148. 

Mithra,  10.  56,  133,  193,  331. 

Money,  100,  115,  120,  134. 

Mongols,  {see  also  Scythia,  Tartary,  etc.,) 
219. 

Months  : 

Assyrian,  10. 

Babylonian,  10. 

Civil,  248. 

Egyptian,  10. 

Greek,  10. 

Hebrew,  10. 

Hindu,  225. 

Persian,  225. 

Roman,  5,  149,  239,  308. 

Syrian,  10. 

Months,  shifted,  149,  300. 

Mooltan,  197. 

Mormons,  229, 

Moses,  83,  146. 


Moslems,  202,  220,  221. 
Mother  of  God,  {see  also  Mai,  Maryamma, 
Matrem  Deorum,  Virgo  Paritura,  etc.,) 
83,  86,  89,  96,  97,  104,  106,  108,  127, 
130,  132,  134,  139,  144,  159,  175. 
Muggee  San,  199. 
Mundane  seras  : 

Alexandrian,  66.'' 

Antiochsean,  66,  69.^ 

Arabian,  75. 

Byzantine,  66, '^  67,*  68.2 

Caesarian,  70. 

Chinese,  70. 

Dionysian,  44,  63. 

Graeco-Egyptian,  66. 

Hindu,  64. 

Jewish,  62,  66,  70,  71,^  72,  74. 

Masonic,  73,  75. 

Mexican,  70. '^ 

Persian,  44. 

Protestant,  62. 

Roman  65,  69,  71^ 

Russo-Grecian,  66. 

Second-Adventitian,  71. 

Turki,  44. 
Musaeus,  13. 
Musailima,  201. 
Muscovy  {see  Russia). 
Mutadid,  (caliph,)  202, 
Mysore,  202,  208. 
Mysteries,  Religious,  106,  154. 

Nana-sab-esia,  132,  159. 

Nanek,  (messiah,)  220. 

Nara-Sin,  (or  Naram  Sin,  79. 

Natalis  Solis  Invicti,  (Christmas,)  120. 

Nauroz,  41. 

Nazaratus,  137. 

Nazarene,  {{see  Nazareth,  Nebo  Nazaru, 

etc.,  187. 
Nazareth,  187. 

Nazaru,  {seeaXso  Nebo  Nazaru,)  119. 
Nebo,  {see  also  Mercurv,)  118,  119. 
Nebo-chadn-Izza,  (Issa,)  6,  139. 
Ncbo-pol-Izza,  (Issa,)  139, 
Nebo-Nazaru,  18,  19,  22,  31,  33,  61,  Il8 

to  120,  163,  289,  323. 
Necho,  106,  139. 
Neo  Caesaria,  189. 
Neo  Claudiopolis,  178,  184. 
Nepal,  2oS.^ 

Neptune,  {see  Poseidon,)  95,  99,  100. 
Netherlands,  225. 
Newar,  208.^ 

Newcomb,  (Amer.  astronomer,)  215,  226. 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  117. 
New  Year  Day,  6,  11,  109,  130,  147,  149, 

161,  174,  225,  226,  230,  317. 
Nicaea,  157,  214. 
Nicephorus,  67,  68. 
Nicomedes,  157. 


INDEX. 


343 


Nicomedia,  157. 

Nimroud,  44. 

Nineveh,  139. 

Nin-Ies,  {see  Ninus,)  84. 

Ninus,  53,  84,  130. 

Nissa,  {see  Nicsea,)  98,  109. 

Norsemen,  163,  212,  220. 

Notre  Dame,  147,  148. 

Numa  Pompilius,  122,  135,  144. 

Numidia,  160. 

Nundinum,  238,  239. 

Nychtherema,  259. 

Nysa,  or  Nissa,  (Nicsea,)  98,  109. 

Obeidallah,  (caliph,)  208. 
Odin  {see  Woden). 
Ogyges,  (Deluge  of,)  79. 
Old-man-of-the-Mountain  {see  Assassins). 
Olympiads,  17,  18,  35,  36,  62,  80,  85, 100, 

104  to  107,  115  to  117,  120,  197,  199, 

203,  259,  260. 
Olympus,  49. 
Om,  3. 

Omar,  (caliph,)  202. 

Omar  Khayyam,  (astron.  and  poet,)  215. 
Orestes,  133. 

Orissa,  {see  also  India,)  201.^ 
Ormuzd,  10,  137. 
Or-om-esus,  {see  Orm»zd,)  137, 
Orpheus,  poet,  46,  112. 
Osiris  {see  les-iris). 
Osurt-Esen,  86. 
Othman,  (caliph,)  203. 
Ourgouti  Tirounal  {see  Aurguti). 
Ovid,  314. 

Psetelian  law,  152. 

Pagi,  (cardinal,)  199. 

Palalia,  71,  118. 

Palamedes,  100. 

Palus-Mseotis,  131. 

Pan,  100, 

Panadorus,  69. 

Panathenaea,  (j-^^  Pentseteris,)  85,100,105, 

Panathenaic  calendar,  89. 

Panini,  (Hindu  grammarian,)  151. 

Panionic  cycle,  99,  108,  137,  271. 

Papacy,  the  Latin,  {see  also  Popes,)  197, 

206,  232. 
Paper,  felted,  invented,  164. 
Paraclete,  201,  202,  219,  230. 
Parasara,  (astronomer,)  45,  86,  108,  141. 
Parasurama,  4,  59,  60,  70,  io6, 107,^  108,^ 

116,  160.2 
Parav,  97. 

Parian  marbles,  38,  117,  158. 
Parilla,  or  Pariliana,  32. 
Parsavanasa,  102. 
Parthenise,  126. 
Parthia,  159.^^ 
Parvati,  97. 


Paschal  cycle,  41,  153,  264. 

Paschal  eggs,  114. 

Passion  flower,  148. 

Pedigrees,  132,  164. 

Pegu,  63,  135,  203,  204. 

Pelasgians,  48,  93,  99,  loi. 

Peloponnesus,  97. 

Pelops,  104. 

Pentseteris,  or  Panathenaea,  44,  48,  85, 

89,  100,  105,  115,  147. 
Perisades,  155. 
Perseus,  98,  131,  139. 
Persia,  65,  70,  74,  iii,  114,  125,  135,  137, 

139.   144.   145,   148,  150  to  152,  192,2 

193,  198,  202,  203,  214,*  215,  216,  219, 

230. 
Peru,  209,  223. 
Peter,  the  Hermit,  211. 
Petrouma,  (the  Book  of,)  gg. 
Pharsalia,  48,  178. 
Pheidon,  115,  120. 
Phen,  267. 
Philippi,  179. 
Philippica,  (sera,)  152. 
Vho{see  Fo.or  Fo-hi  and  Fod,Woden,etc.) 
Phoenicia,  107,  150,  151. 
Phoenicians,  58. 
Phoenix,  81,  153,  267. 
Phoinikes  (see  Phoenicia). 
Phoroneus,  120. 
Phralaong,  142. 
Phraortes,  139. 
Picts,  126. 

Ping  Vang,  1 17,  123. 
Pisa,  {see  also  Piscenus,)  49,  103. 
Piscenus,  {see  also  Pisa,)  132,144,159,176. 
Pisistratus,  47.  115,  140,  144,  145. 
Pizarro,  223. 
Plato,  150. 
Pleiades,  123,  273. 
Pollio,  180,  322. 
Polycrates,  94. 
Pompey,  58,  167,  311. 
Pontus,  58,  96,  130,  132,  133,  135,  i55to 

157,  165,  176,  178,  180,  184,3  i89.» 
Popes,  197,  206,  207,  211,2  220,  221,  225, 

232. 
Poseidon,  7,  10. 
Pouppa-Azan,  204. 
Prince,  Henry  James,  231. 
Prithiri,  97. 

Procas,  17,  18.  23,  26,  33    116,  243. 
Prodis,  106. 
Prome  sera,  191. 
Prototh-ies,  138. 
Prusa,  157. 

Prytanes  of  Athens,  7,  146,  154. 
Psammitichus,  47,  135,  139, 
Ptolemy  I.,  33. 
Ptolemy  IV.,  160. 
Ptolemy  IX.,  166. 


344 


INDEX, 


Punic  Wars,  159. 

Punjab,  152,  153,  220,  232.^ 

Pythagoras,  I22,  144,  147,  150. 

Quetzalcoatl,  60,  113,  205. 
Quichena,(jd'<'also  les  Chrishna.Ischenou, 

Janus,  Quirinus,  etc.,)  20,  91,  113,  133, 

167,  174,  198. 
Quilon  sera,  108. 

Quinquennales,  (see  Pentseteris,)  35,  197. 
Quintus  Sertorius,  166. 
Quirinus,  {see  also  Quiche-na,)  118,  133, 

165,  167, 

Rada-gaisus,  196. 

Raja-saka,  228. 

Rajputana,  loi,  108,  133. 

Rameses,  6,  143. 

Ram  Singh,  233, 

Rayed-heads,  141. 

Reformation,  222,  223. 

Religious  Collections  in  Mu.  Guimet  and 
British  Museum,  159. 

Republics,  no,  118,  136,  146,  190,  208, 
216,  218,  225,  227,  229.' 

Revolutions,  190,  225, '^  239. 

Rhea  Silvia,  118. 

Rhodes,  179. 

Rishis,  the  Seven,  64. 

Romana,  or  Roma,  (Virgin  Mother,)  118. 

Rome,  71,3  Ii6,»  118, ^  121,  122,  134, 136, 
141,  144,  146  to  149,152,155,2 157,159.'' 
160,^  161  to  163,  166,  167,  169,2  176, 
179  to  184,  188,  190,  192,^  193,2  195  to 
198,  206,2  209,  214,  216,  217,  220,  225, 
232,  293. 

Rome,  Calendar,  12,  15,  24,  28. 

Foundation,  21,  26,  29,  33,  47,  293. 
Chronology,  25,  293. 

Romulus,  18,  26,  28,  29,  33,  116,^  117, 
118,  122,  134,  144. 

Roum,  209,  214. 

Rubigalia,  122. 

Runes,  212. 

Russia,  130,  219,  226, 

Sabinia,  117. 

Sacae,(j^^  also  Zacu-tai,)  130, 135,138, 145. 

Sacerdotal  cup  (see  Cantharus). 

Sacred  aera,  143. 

Saecular  cycle  {see  Ludi  Saeculares). 

Saka,  190,2  194. 

Sakya  Muni,  {see  also  Buddha,)  143. 

Salians,  140. 

Salivahana,  20,   58,   123,   165,   167,  175, 

184,  190,  197,  204,  208,2  216,  232.2 
Samarcand,  146,  219. 
Samolus,  {see  also   Samos   and  Passion 

Flower,)  148. 
Samos,  94,  183. 
Samothrace,  {See  also  Samos,)  148. 


Samvat  {see  Sumbat). 

Sandracottus  {see  Chandra  Gupta). 

Santa  Maura  (see  Maura). 

Sappho  {see  Maura). 

Saptarshi,  77. 

Saracens,  194. 

Saracus,  139. 

Sardanapalus,  135. 

Sargon  I.,  79. 

Sargon,  II.,  no,  124. 

Sassanian,  192,  193. 

Saturn,  (the  planet,)  45,  47,  104,  279. 

Saturn,  (the  god,)  lO,  47,  48,  49,  300. 

Saturnalia,  {see  also  Pentaeteris,)  260. 

Schlatter,  Francis,  42,  234. 

Scipio  Africanus,  160. 

Scriptures,  (the  Hebrew  and  Greek,)  81, 

139,  146,  149,  153,  214,  224,  229, 
Scylax  of  Caryanda,  14. 
Scylax,  160. 
Scythia,  {see  Mongolia,  Tartary,  etc.,)  83, 

86,  117,  129,  135,  139,  145,  199- 
Sebastica  {see  Svastica). 
Sebastopol,  129,  184. 
Sebastos,  169. 

Second  Adventists,  71,  236,^  271. 
Selecti,  {see  also  Celeres,)  118,  142,  144, 
145, 219. 

Seleucias,  156. 

Seleucus  Nicanor,  33,  150,  153,  156. 

Seljuk,  60,  209,  214,*  217. 

Semiramis,  5^. 

Sempronian  law,  162. 

Septimius  Severus,  emp.   Rome,  30,  32. 

Septuary  week,  120,  135. 

Serapis,  {see  also  Hermes,  etc.,)  156. 

Sergius,  207. 

Sermon  on  the  Mount,  142. 

Sertorius,  58. 

Servius  Tullius,  136,  140,  141,  148. 

Sevajee,  228. 

Sextus  Pompeius,  179,  180, 

Shahur,  218. 

Shakers,  232. 

Shamash,  44,  116. 

Siaka  {see  Buddha). 

Siam,  143,  203,  204.* 

Sibyls,  8,  169,  318. 

Sicily,  179,  234. 

Sicyon,  136. 

Sidon,  150, 151,  162. 

Sikhs,  220. 

Silver  money,  115,  120. 

Simla,  215. 

Sinmu,  {see  also  Jimmu,)  124. 

Sinope,  156,  167,  178. 

Sippara,  79,  116. 

Siva-diva,  200. 

Sivaji  {see  Sevajee). 

Siva-Sinha-Samvat,  215. 

Slaughter  of  the  Innocents,  118, 144, 169. 


INDEX, 


345 


Smith,  Joseph  {see  Mormons). 

Solon,  6,  112,  135,  136,''  140,  147. 149. 

Sothic  cycle,  273. 

Southcott  {see  Joanna). 

Spain,  220, 

Spanish  sera,  180. 

Sparta,  115. 

Srong-Tsau-Sgampo,  202,  217. 

Sulpitius  Serveus,  69. 

Sumbat,  141,  175,  190,  200. 

Summons,  The,  201. 

Sun,  The,  {see  also  Helios,)  99,  229,  331. 

Sun-dial,  155, 

Sun-worship,  331. 

Suparswa,  102. 

Surya  Siddhanta,  the,  (cited,)  45,  69,  74,^ 

108,  213,  229. 
Suttee,  132. 
Svastica,  102. 

Swetambara  Jains,  103, iii,"''  143,144,145. 
Switzerland,  218. 

Sylla,  dictator,  31,  58,  165,  166,  302. 
Synoecia,  100. 

Syria,  129,  135.  158,  159.  183,  215,  218. 
Sze-ma-ts'ien,  (astron.,  B.C.  86,)  46,116. 

Taat,  {see  Tat,)  loi,  117,  122,  128. 

Taiping  rebellion,  231. 

Tamerlane,  145,  219,  224. 

Tamil  Durmuki  Kali,  77. 

Tanagra,  105,  126. 

Tanaquil,  141. 

Tao,  (Taoists,)  129,  212,  214. 

Taras,  {see  also  Neptune,)  126. 

Tarentum,  106,  126. 

Targitaus,  46,  83. 

Tarquinius  Priscus,  140,  141. 

Tarquinius  Superbus,  141. 

Tartary,  {see  also  Scythia,)  113,  I17,  207, 

216,^  217,  219. 
Tartessus,  106,  135. 
Tasi  (a  Buddhisatva,)  218. 
Tat,  {see  Taat,)  3. 
Tathagata,  83. 

Tattoo,  {see  also  Picts,)  114,  126. 
Tauri,  130, 
Tauribolia,  130. 

Taurica  Chersonesus  {see  Crimea). 
Taurus  cycle,  263. 
Ta-yu,  78. 

Tcheou,  (Chow,)  no,  146. 
Tel-el-Amarna,  83. 
Telinga  system,  213. 
Temporal  kingdom,  197. 
Ten-months'  children,  133,  142. 
Ten-months' year,6,i33,i54,i55,i57,i63. 
Tennes,  151. 
Teshi-lunpo,  202. 

Thales,  2,  3,  6,  39,  49,  125,  138,  256. 
Thamoez,  or  Thammuz,  5,  56,  128,  135, 

137,  139.  140. 


Thebes,  (Boeotia,)  109,  151,  218. 

Theo  Alexandrinus,  95. 

Theodosius,  195.* 

Theophanes,  69. 

Theseus,  59,  100,  106. 

Thessaly,  178. 

Thestius,  160. 

Thirty-year  cycle,  (of  the  Druids, Veneti, 

etc.,)  148. 
Thirty-three-year  cycle,  117,  145,151,152. 
Thoodandana,  142. 
Thor,  163. 
Thoth,  {see  also   Thor,   Taat,    Buddha, 

Osiris,  etc.,)  128. 
Thracia,  132,  145,  146. 
Three  Hundred  Selecti,  145. 
Thursday,  49. 
Tibet,  {see  also  Cashmir,)  113,  116,  202,^ 

206,  208,  213,  217,  218,^  219,  228,  234, 

235. 
Tiglath-pil-Esar  I,,  118,  130. 
Tiglath-pil-Esar  II.,  18,  19,  53,  61. 
Ti-Hoang,  77.* 
Timaeus,  (historian,)  21,  116.^ 
Timur-beg  {see  Tamerlane). 
Tippoo  Saib,  200. 
Tirthankaras,  (Jains,)  102. 
Ti-ssu,  (lama,)  217. 
Titus,  {see  also  Flamininus,)  160. 
Toltecs,  113,  204. 
Toroman,  197. 
Trapesus,  189. 
Travancore,  228, 
Treason,  Year  of,  197. 
Trebizond  {see  Trapesus). 
Trieterica,  or  Trieterides,  131,  259. 
Trinity,  220. 
Tripolis,  150. 
Troja  Capta,  38,  48,  56,  89,  99,^  107,^  108, 

109,  132. 
Troy,  Capture  of  {see  Troja  Capta). 
Tsong-Kapa  Lama,  218,  219. 
Tugluk  Khan,  218. 
Turcomans  {see  Turkestan). 
Turkestan,  70,  132,  209,  214,  220,  225. 
Turki  {see  Turkestan,  etc.) 
Turks  {see  Turkestan). 
Twelve  Apostles,  {see  also  Messiahs,)  144, 

169,  193,  202. 
Tyana,  185. 
Typhon,  (winter,)  120. 
Tyre,  150,  162,  178. 

Ugrians,  130. 

Ulpian,  140. 

Ulugh-beg,  225. 

United  States  of  America,  229,  234. 

Urturki,  132. 

Urukh,  132. 

Usher,  (archbishop,)  62. 

Utah,  229. 


346 


INDEX. 


Varaha  Mihira,  (astronomer,)  54,  64. 

Varro,  118. 

Vedas,  The  Indian,  48. 

Veneti,  The,  48,  loi,  104,  126,  132,  219. 

Venetia,  loi,  104,  219,  220. 

Venice  {see  Veneti). 

Venus,  (the  planet,)  122. 

Venus  Melinaea,  140. 

Venus  de  Mile,  no. 

Venus  Urania,  119,  139. 

Vicramaditya,  123,  129,  141, 144,165,167, 

175,- 190, 194,  197,^  208,  216,  216,  233. 
Vicrama-varsha,   (see   also   Vicramaditya 

and  Seljuk,)  214. 
Vilayuty,  200,  201,^  225. 
Vine  cultivation,  134,  193. 
Vineland,  (America,)  209. 
Viracocha,  (messiah.)  223. 
Virgil,  321,  325. 
Virgin  {see  Mai,  Venus,  etc.) 
Virgo  Paritura,  {see  Mai,  Mother  of  God, 

etc.,)  148. 
Vishnu,  {seelesnu,  lesChrishna,  etc.,)  82. 
Volga,  (the  river,)  131. 
Votan,  {see  also  Woden,)  113. 
Vridda  Garga,  64. 
Vrihaspati,  {see  Jove,)  45,  49,  74,  75,  209, 

213,  214,  238. 
Vulgar  sera,  62. 

Week,  237. 

Weeping  images,  140, 

Weeping  for  Thammuz,  140. 

White  Huns,  196. 

Whitsuntide,  4,  12,  147,  161,  188,  211. 

Woden,  58,  113,  116,  120,  132,  163. 

Woolly-haired  Messiahs,  96,112,133,293. 

Woote,  116,  163  to  165. 

Wu-wang  {see  Yeu  Yang). 

Xanthus,  in,  137. 
Xerxes,  in,  137. 


Yadu  {see  Judea). 

Yao,  (or  Jove,  q.  v.,)  58,  78,^  82,  96. 

Year,  civil,  255  to  257 

Acarnanian,  257. 

Babylonian,  255. 

Carian,  257. 

Divine,  242. 

Egyptian,  255. 

Equable,  36, 122,  125,  134,  161,  240, 
243,  248. 

Equable,  chronol.  of  the,  244. 

Greek,  6,  240. 

Hebrew.  255. 

Hindu,  255,  259. 

Julian,  36,   125,  215,  226,  240,  245. 

Julian,  chronol.  of  the,  246. 

Lunar,  135,  225. 

Moslem,  6. 

Roman,  6,  240,  309. 

Sidereal,  207. 

Solar,  255. 

Tropical,  258. 
Yesu-Kai,  199. 
Yeu  Yang,  in,  117.** 
Yule,  163,  168,  188. 

Zacutai  {see  Zagatai). 

Zagatai,  (Tartary,)  219. 

Zalmosis,  146. 

Zanara,  {see  lesanara,)  129. 

Zela,  189. 

Zendavesta,  {see  also  Zosoaster,)  109. 

Zeus-pater,  {see  also  Jove,)  44. 

Zinghis  Khan  {see  Genghis  Khan). 

Zodiac  : 

Eight  signs,  6. 

Ten  signs,  6,  298. 

Eleven  signs,  12,  13. 

Twelve  signs,  14,  71,  78,  298. 

Twenty-seven  asterisms,  260,  274. 
Zoroaster,  6,  59,  65,  109,  III,  114,  125, 
135.  137,  150. 


CORRIGENDA. 


PAGE, 

LINE 

12 

39 

26 

4 

38 

II 

42 

14 

44 

I 

47 

31 

51 

19 

58 

12 

98 

20 

135 

30 

148 

II 

158 

24 

162 

I 

162 

3 

181 

38 

186 

22 

249 

30 

255 

39 

261 

6 

For  remins  read  reminds. 

After  appears  insert  «j  ^.  C.  816. 

After  return  insert  of. 

After  annualized  insert  nodical. 

After  at  insert  the. 

For  P sanimeticus  read  Psainmetichus. 

After  Rama  insert  or. 

Divitiacus  B.  C.^7  should  precede  Deiotaurus  B.  €.33, 

For  ^48  read  584. 

For  348  read  384. 

For  at  read  about. 

For  ^/  read  of. 

For  Achczn  read  Ach(zan. 

For  Maccabean  read  Maccabcean. 

For  6>J9'^^i'  read  <9^7^<?^. 

For  ^/</(?^  read  jzV*?^. 

For  calendar  year  read  j'^<3!r  calendar. 

For  re?noter  read  remote. 

For  Tenidos  read  Tenedos. 


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