Coin of Philip V of Macedon (ruled 221–179 BC). The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ ([coin] of King Philip). The date ΕΡ is year 105 of the Seleucid era, corresponding to 208–207 BC.

The Seleucid era was system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic civilizations. The era dates from the return of Seleucus I Nicator to Babylon in 311 BC after his exile in Egypt, considered by Seleucus and his court to mark the foundation of the Seleucid Empire. The introduction of the new era is mentioned in one of the Babylonian Chronicles, the Chronicle of the Diadochi (BCHP 3; obverse, line 4). Image File history File links Kings_of_Macedon,_Philip_V_221-179_BC.jpg Coin of Philip V of Macedon (ruled 221 BC to 179 BC). ... Image File history File links Kings_of_Macedon,_Philip_V_221-179_BC.jpg Coin of Philip V of Macedon (ruled 221 BC to 179 BC). ... Coin of Philip V of Macedon (r. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... The Seleucid Empire was one of several political states founded after the death of Alexander the Great, whose generals squabbled over the division of Alexanders empire. ... The term Hellenistic (derived from Héllēn, the Greeks word for themselves) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of various ethnicities, and from the political dominance of... Silver coin of Seleucus. ... For other uses, see Babylon (disambiguation). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 316 BC 315 BC 314 BC 313 BC 312 BC 311 BC 310 BC 309 BC 308... Nabonidus Chronicle, British Museum, London The Babylonian Chronicles are series of tablets recording major events in Babylonian history. ...

Two different uses were made of the Seleucid years:

1. The natives of the empire used the Babylonian calendar, in which the new year falls on 1 Nisanu (3 April in 311 BC), so in this system year 1 of the Seleucid era corresponds roughly to April 311 BC to March 310 BC.
2. The Macedonian court adopted the Babylonian calendar (substituting the Macedonian month names) but reckoned the new year to be in the autumn (the exact date is unknown). In this system year 1 of the Seleucid era corresponds to the period from autumn 312 BC to summer 311 BC.

These differences in the beginning of the year mean that dates may differ by 1. Bickerman gives this example: In the Babylonian calendar a year consisted of 12 lunar months, each beginning when a new crescent moon was first sighted low on the western horizon at sunset. ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ...

For instance, the restoration of the temple of Jerusalem by Judas Maccabaeus, approximately 15 December 164 BC, fell in the year 148 of the Seleucid Era according to Jewish (and Babylonian) calculation, but in the year 149 for the court.^[1]

Judas Maccabeus (also called Judah the Maccabee) was the third son of the Jewish priest Mathathias. ...

References

1. ↑ Elias J. Bickerman (1943). "Notes on Seleucid and Parthian Chronology". Berytus 3: 73–84.