Disproving the Christian Chronology
Milchar
|
“If we remove all lies from history, |
Someone whose knowledge of history comes only from school can think that history is based on hard facts, and only their political interpretation is still a matter for discussion. This person will be very surprised if he can discover, how all that history that he has studied was created. Dubious at best assumptions of Renaissance era thinkers on the lifestyle of ancient Greeks and Romans were taken as facts by historians of 18th and 19th centuries. From several ancient texts that contradicted each other, one was chosen as the only true and the rest was ignored, if not destroyed. Nationalist fantasies of historians of earlier generations are now viewed as scientifically proven facts. Therefore, it's no wonder that the established chronology of Antiquity can also be called into question.
The objective of this work is to demonstrate that the problem of correspondence between the modern calendar and the calendars of Antiquity is not yet solved with certainty. I am going to show that the established (Scaligerian) chronology is based merely on fantasies of Christian theologians, and that it's possible to draw a better correspondence between the modern and the ancient calendars based on reports about solar eclipses in Greek and Roman sources.
First, some conventions on notation. Dates that I consider to be erroneous are given in quotation marks in BCE/CE format; for example, the established date for the foundation of the city of Rome is “753 BCE”, and for the fall of Western Roman Empire “476 CE”, but I think that both these events took place some time earlier. Dates that I consider correct are given in the astronomical format, e.g. before year 1 there was year 0, and even before was year –1, etc.; for example, Charlemagne was born in year +747, and in year –128 a solar eclipse was observed in Rome. To start with, I can say that it's not going to be a total rejection of all established history. I think that the chronology of the well-documented times, e.g. Europe since about +750 and the Middle East since about +650 is essentially correct; there can be errors in the date of some events, but the chronology in general is well proven. The problems begin when we look farther back in time, into the Dark Age and the times before.
To understand the causes of these problems, we need to remember that people who lived on the same territory in different times used different calendars. For example, ancient Romans began with a calendar that required priests to declare the first day of each new month based on astronomical observations. Later, Julius Caesar introduced a new calendar with predefined lengths of each month; we know it now as the Julian calendar. Years were counted since the foundation of the city of Rome, but the exact date of it was not really known even in Caesar's time. The presently established date of “753 BCE” was proposed by Roman author Marcus Terentius Varro, but it was by no means a consensus between the Romans. Some Roman authors believed that Rome was founded some years earlier or later than Varro claimed. It was first during the reign of Claudius that the year count from Varro's date of Rome foundation was officially established. However, this system was not the only one used by Romans; emperor Diocletian ordered to count years since his coronation, and this so-called Diocletian era kept on being used even after him and in early Christian times.
The situation about the chronology of ancient Greece is even more complicated, because different Greek cities used different calendars. Now, historians claim that ancient Greeks counted years since the latest Olympic games and knew the number of those Olympics. However, the presently established version of Olympiad count is the Athenian one, while people in some other Greek cities disagreed with Athenians on the issue of when the first Olympiad took place. Also, the very idea of counting years based on Olympics was introduced first by Timaeus of Tauromenium. This means that any Olympiad-based dates for events before Timaeus' life are unreliable.
In other places — Central Europe, Middle East, Iran, India, China — the situation is similar. If there is no unified empire with a huge bureaucratic apparatus, it comes often that neighboring cities use different calendars. And even in big stated with a standardazed system of time counting, the era of the calendar, e.g. what counts as year 1, is often changed with the change of rulers, cultures and religions. No one culture has been using the same calendar over the last 2000 years. This is why the problem of drawing a correspondence between the modern and ancient calendars is difficult.
What complicates it even more is the fact that ancient documents rarely specify the exact date when they were written. Very few sources from Antiquity explicitly state any dates in the format based on the foundation of Rome or the Olympics. In best cases, they say something like “Nth year of X's rule”, and the time when that ruler X was in power needs to be figured out from other sources. However, those sources often contradict on this very issue; this is what we have about Athenian archons and Roman consuls. It seems that Greek and Roman historians liked to fantasize (to put it mildly) not less than modern ones do…
So, ancient Greeks and Romans did not take the question of chronology so seriously as we now do. This is why even relative dating of events (e.g. how many years passed between two events) from the history of Antiquity is sometimes dubious. More or less sure we can say something only about the heyday of the Roman Empire, when the things there were in good order and officials from different provinces used the same calendar.
But that heyday did not last long, and then Chrisianity came and brought in its own ideas on calendar. Early Christians were thinking that years should be counted from the “creation of the world” according to their religion. The main problem, however, is that they failed to agree on when the world was “created”. Different Christian authors were taking out of thin air almost any date between “6000 BCE” and “3000 BCE”.
The first attempt (at least of what we know of) to build a consistent chronology based on the Christian “creation of the world” was made by Eusebius of Caesarea (“263 CE” – “340 CE”). According to him, our world was “created” in “5199 BCE”. But other Christian authors disagreed, and so we know of more than 200 versions of the date of “creation”. As a result, different Christian denominations and even different ecclesiastical provinces of the same church used diffenert dates for the “creation of the world”. The Catholic church established this date as “4713 BCE”, the Coptic Orthodox church held to “5492 BCE”, while other Orthodox churches were thinking differently: the Patriarchate of Constantinople believed that the world was “created” on “September 1st, 5509 BCE”, the Russian church believed in “March 1st, 5508 BCE”, and the Bulgarian church held to “5504 BCE”.
By the way, even if some date for the “creation” was officially established by church leaders, it did not ensure that all priests of that church followed it. For example, while the Catholic church believed that the world was “created” in “4713 BCE”, the Catholic priests in England before the Norman conquest used the date “3952 BCE” instead, and nobody was burned for such a heresy. Also, different medieval Russian chronicles have contradictions that can be explained simplest if we suppose that some chroniclers used the date of “creation” that differed by several years from the one officially established by the Russian Orthodox church.
To finalize the description of this unnavigable chaos in the early Christian calendar systems, it has to be mentioned that modern historians can be unaware of some really existed versions of the “creation” date. For example, the date of “creation” according to the Jewish calendar is now the same for the Jews of the whole world, but Eusebius of Caesarea noticed that in his time the Jewish communities in different cities disagreed on it. This can be yet another source of errors in convertion of dates from ancient calendars into the modern one.
Perhaps to make some order of things in time counting, shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Pope ordered to monk Dionysius Exiguus to calculate the date of Christ's birth. Dionisius did it using the Diocletian era and the dates of Easter in different years, supposing that those dates were always correct. However, it came up that Dionisius' results contradicted with the Bible: he came to the conclusion that Christ was born 4 years after the death of king Herod I, while the Bible said the Herod was alive by that time. This can mean either:
1) the whole story of Jesus Christ is fiction, and Dionisius found the only possible way to put it into the line of real events with minimum contradictions;
2) somewhen between the times of Diocletian and Dionisius (for example, under Constantine or Theodosius) the rules for determining the date of Easter had changed, but Dionisius was unaware of it and believed that Easter dates had been always calculated the way they were in his time.
Anyway, the Pope disregarded this contradiction in Dionisius' work. Maybe he knew something about the real history of Christianity that should not leak to ordinary people, or maybe he could not imagine that some day a copy of the whole Bible would be present at home of every Christian family.
For a long time, the work of Dionysius Exiguus was virtually unknown to anyone but Catholic theologians. New kingdoms that appeared on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire did not give any importance to the issues of chronology. That time is known as the Dark Age, since we have almost no written sources from it (first of all, because the literacy rate then was close to zero). And the exact length of this undocumented period of history is the main problem we need to solve in order to match our modern calendar with the calendars of Antiquity.
By the end of the Dark Age, first medieval states appear that we already can follow chronologically up to the present. In Europe it was, first of all, the Kingdom of the Franks and the Byzantine Empire. Here it's worth to notice those whose interest was to make the officially established length of the Dark Age as short as possible. First, these were all Christian churches that would like to understate the devastating effect of Christianity onto the Roman civilization. Second, the rulers of the new states wanted to proclaim themselves as the successors of the Roman emperors — which could be possible to some extent only if it weren't much time that had passed since the fall of Rome.
The Byzantine Empire was the most successful in claiming its succession from the Roman Empire. The established narrative now is that the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire are different names of the same state. However, if we look at their culture, we can see that these were two very different societies that shared almost nothing but territory and religion. What we can see is:
– the Eastern Roman Empire used Latin as its official language, while the Byzantine Empire used Greek;
– the Eastern Roman calendar counted years since the foundation of Rome, while the Byzantine calendar was based on the Christian “creation of the world” date;
– the people of the Eastern Roman Empire mostly kept on using the ancient Roman and Greek clothing style, while the Byzantines wore clothes similar to the ones of other medieval Christian peoples. (Today you can see the authentical Byzantine clothes on the guards at the Parliament of Greece. They definitely have nothing in common with either ancient Greeks or Romans.)
In order to strengthen its claims on the succession from Rome, the Byzantine Empire needed to compile its chronology since Roman emperors. This work was given to a monk from Constantinople, George Syncellus, who had been studying ancient manuscripts and was treated as a well educated scholar. Somehow (he did not explain the details) he calculated the correspondence between the Byzantine calendar and the calendars of ancient Rome and Greece. Syncellus mentioned Eusebius' chronology, but we don't know whether he was aware of the diffenence between the dates of “creation of the world” in the Byzantine calendar and according to Eusebius, which is greater than 300 years. Ironically, George Syncellus' own biography is an example of the bad state of the business of time recording in the Byzantine Empire: although he was a very important person and his name is mentioned in many documents from that time, neither the year of his birth, nor of his death, is known.
Some centuries after that, at the Catholic West, the year count from the birth of Christ, the so called A.D., was introduced. It's important to keep in mind that it was many centuries after the work of Dionysius Exiguus that “calculated” the birth date of Jesus. The Diocletian era, which had been the base for Dionysius' calculations, was long forgotten by that time. Therefore, the only possible connection between the “A.D.” era and the pre-Christian eras (such as the foundation of Rome, Diocletian, etc.) that remained then was the eras based on the Christian “creation of the world”. But we know, how many various versions of that “creation” date the Christians had. Therefore, we have all possible reasons to doubt that the date of Jesus' birth that Dionisius stated is the same as the one that the Catholic church has been promoting since +10th century.
What is also important: only a few ancient texts (including early Christian ones, such as Dionisius') that we have are original. Most of them are copies made manually during the Middle Ages. Before the invention of bookprinting, most texts existed only in several copies, and that were monks who were making these copies. This situation created wide opportunities both for annihilation of “unsuitable” texts and for falsification. No “conspiracies”, even no orders from the Pope or Patriarch were needed; merely one especially fanatical abbot was enough to insert false content into an ancient document. If this censored copy turned to be the only one that survived the troubles of the Middle Ages, nobody would know that the original of that text had been different. If there were more copies that survived, it would be the situation of the “Primary Chronicle”, which exists in 11 contradictory copies and historians have just arbitrarily chosen one of them and declared it to be the only true. This all is not just speculations; when I'm going to talk about the dates of solar eclipses, I'll show an example of falsification of an ancient text by the church.
Anyway, people of the Middle Ages did not show any significant interest to the history of Antiquity. The situation change in the Renaissance epoch. It was first then that the question about the correspondence between the Christian and the pre-Christian calendars was seriously posed. The established answer on it was given by Joseph Scaliger (+1540 – +1609), and some details were refined by Dionisius Petavius (+1583 – +1662). Everything is clear about the latter: he was a member of the Jesuit order and, therefore, deserves special distrust. But can we trust Scaliger to any extent?
As already mentioned, even in the earliest documented period of the Middle Ages (the end of +8th century) no one pre-Christian calendar era (such as foundation of Rome, Diocletian, Olympics, etc.) was any longer in use. What was available for Scaliger were early Christian documents that could link the “creation” date with the calendars of Antiquity, and medieval documents specifying both the “creation” and “A.D.” year. He did not have any means to prove that different texts use the same version of the “creation” date. Nor could he verify that an ancient document was genuine and not a falsification. (There were many fake “ancient Greek” and “Roman” manuscripts fabricated during the Renaissance, and some of them are probably still undetected.)
It's fairly possible that Scaliger faithfully made logical conclusions from the unreliable data that was available to him. The present standards of scientific proofs did not exist yet in his time; so, he does not deserve harsh criticism for the errors he made. But modern historians, who have access to sources unavailable to Scaliger and technologies that Scaliger could not even dream of, are fully accountable for not even having tried to verify Scaliger's results.
One of the possible approaches to this was mentioned by Scaliger himself: the dates of solar eclipses can be calculated for many years into the past and future. Also, since some eclipses aren't visible in the Mediterranean region, a sequence of 10 to 15 eclipses observed with particular time intervals can be a unique marker of that period.
Here is a list of solar eclipses for the period from year –1500 to year +500. The data is taken from NASA website: https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html, and I have manually selected the eclipses that could be visible in the Mediterranean region. Dates before year +1 are notated in proleptic Julian calendar with astronomical year numbering, e.g. year 0 is “1 BCE”, year –1 is “2 BCE”, etc.. The list is long; I have divided it into four columns covering 500 years each:
|
–1500 … –1000 |
–1000 … –500 |
–500 … 0 |
0 … +500 |
|
–1489 Jul.12 –1477 Jun.01 –1475 Oct.04 –1474 Mar.30 –1468 May 22 –1463 Aug.23 –1459 Jun.11 –1437 Apr.10 –1435 Aug.13 –1430 Nov.15 –1421 Nov.06 –1413 Jun.14 –1410 Apr.11 –1409 Sep.25 –1405 Jul.15 –1390 Sep.24 –1388 Feb.09 –1381 Sep.15 –1377 Jul.05 –1374 May 03 –1365 May 23 –1361 Mar.12 –1359 Jul.15 –1355 Oct.27 –1351 Aug.15 –1339 Jan.08 –1337 May 14 –1336 Oct.26 –1334 Mar.13 –1331 Dec.30 –1327 Oct.17 –1311 Jun.24 –1305 Aug.17 –1300 Nov.17 –1289 Apr.24 –1285 Feb.10 –1283 Jun.15 –1280 Apr.14 –1273 Nov.19 –1261 Apr.14 –1260 Sep.27 –1257 Jul.27 –1250 Sep.07 –1246 Dec.20 –1231 Mar.14 –1222 Mar.05 –1220 Aug.07 –1217 Jun.06 –1210 Jul.18 –1207 May 16 –1206 Oct.30 –1196 Oct.09 –1191 Jan.21 –1182 Jan.12 –1177 Apr.16 –1168 Apr.06 –1156 Aug.19 –1153 Jun.18 –1152 Dec.01 –1137 Feb.23 –1131 Apr.17 –1130 Sep.30 –1128 Feb.14 –1123 May 18 –1108 Jul.29 –1105 May 29 –1102 Sep.21 –1090 Aug.09 –1089 Dec.25 –1083 Mar.27 –1077 May 20 –1074 Mar.18 –1067 Oct.23 –1059 May 30 –1048 Oct.23 –1044 Aug.10 –1040 Nov.23 –1037 Mar.29 –1036 Sep.10 –1034 Jan.26 –1032 Jun.30 –1014 Jul.11 –1013 Nov.25 –1011 May 09 –1010 Apr.29 –1008 Sep.01 –1004 Jun.20 |
–989 Mar.09 –983 Apr.30 –960 Aug.12 –957 Jun.11 –954 Oct.04 –950 Jul.23 –931 Jan.27 –922 Jan.18 –917 Apr.21 –910 Jun.02 –907 Mar.31 –906 Sep.14 –900 Nov.05 –884 Jul.23 –880 May 01 –878 Sep.04 –877 Mar.01 –856 Jul.04 –853 May 03 –852 Oct.16 –831 Mar.02 –830 Aug.15 –824 Oct.06 –823 Apr.02 –816 May 13 –808 Jun.13 –804 Apr.02 –802 Aug.06 –790 Jun.24 –777 Apr.04 –770 Nov.08 –764 Feb.10 –762 Jun.15 –743 Dec.09 –736 Jul.26 –732 May 15 –723 May 06 –714 May 26 –710 Mar.14 –708 Jul.17 –704 May 05 –703 Oct.19 –699 Aug.06 –690 Jul.28 –688 Jan.11 –661 Jan.12 –660 Jun.27 –656 Apr.15 –650 Jun.07 –649 Nov.21 –647 Apr.06 –645 Sep.08 –640 Nov.11 –636 Aug.29 –635 Aug.19 –634 Feb.12 –632 Jun.17 –609 Sep.30 –607 Feb.13 –606 Jul.30 –602 May 18 –596 Jul.09 –595 Dec.23 –587 Jul.29 –586 Dec.15 –584 May 28 –581 Sep.21 –556 May 19 –555 Nov.01 –553 Mar.18 –551 Aug.20 –541 Jul.31 –533 Aug.31 –531 Jan.15 –530 Jun.30 –516 Mar.28 –508 Apr.28 –506 Sep.01 –502 Jun.21 –501 Dec.04 |
–492 Nov.24 –487 Sep.01 –479 Oct.02 –477 Feb.17 –476 Aug.01 –462 Apr.30 –436 Jun.10 –432 Mar.30 –430 Aug.03 –423 Mar.21 –408 Jun.01 –403 Sep.03 –401 Jan.18 –399 Jun.21 –393 Aug.14 –379 Nov.05 –378 May 02 –363 Jul.13 –360 May 12 –356 Feb.29 –350 Apr.22 –349 Oct.06 –347 Feb.19 –339 Sep.15 –336 Jul.14 –335 Jul.04 –323 May 23 –316 Jan.08 –309 Aug.15 –306 Jun.14 –302 Apr.02 –296 May 24 –295 Nov.07 –281 Aug.06 –262 Feb.09 –256 Apr.03 –255 Sep.16 –251 Jul.05 –241 Jun.15 –233 Jul.16 –229 May 05 –227 Sep.07 –220 Apr.25 –216 Feb.11 –208 Mar.13 –189 Mar.14 –187 Jul.17 –182 Oct.19 –179 Aug.17 –173 Oct.10 –169 Jul.28 –162 Mar.15 –157 Jun.17 –135 Apr.15 –132 Feb.13 –128 Nov.20 –125 Sep.19 –124 Sep.07 –119 Nov.11 –115 Aug.29 –104 Feb.03 –103 Jul.19 –93 Jun.29 –77 Mar.06 –72 May 08 –63 May 28 –61 Oct.01 –50 Mar.07 –49 Aug.21 –37 Jan.14 –35 May 19 –34 Nov.01 –23 Apr.07 –21 Aug.11 –10 Jan.15 –9 Jun.30 –6 Oct.23 |
+4 Apr.08 +17 Feb.19 +19 Jun.21 +24 Sep.21 +26 Feb.06 +29 Nov.24 +34 Sep.01 +45 Aug.01 +49 May 20 +59 Apr.30 +67 May 31 +71 Mar.20 +75 Jan.05 +80 Mar.10 +83 Dec.27 +88 Oct.03 +110 Aug.03 +113 Jun.01 +118 Sep.03 +121 Jul.02 +125 Apr.21 +131 Jun.12 +138 Jan.28 +143 May 02 +145 Sep.04 +158 Jul.13 +164 Sep.04 +172 Oct.05 +174 Feb.19 +176 Jul.23 +183 Mar.11 +185 Jul.14 +186 Jul.04 +186 Dec.28 +197 Jun.03 +199 Oct.07 +207 May 14 +212 Aug.14 +218 Oct.07 +228 Mar.23 +234 Jun.14 +237 Apr.12 +240 Aug.05 +241 Jan.29 +265 Apr.03 +266 Sep.16 +272 Nov.08 +291 May 15 +292 May 04 +294 Sep.07 +295 Mar.03 +301 Apr.25 +303 Sep.27 +305 Feb.10 +306 Jul.29 +319 May 06 +320 Oct.18 +324 Aug.06 +334 Jul.17 +346 Jun.06 +349 Apr.04 +355 May 28 +359 Mar.15 +364 Jun.16 +378 Sep.08 +386 Apr.15 +393 Nov.20 +402 Nov.11 +410 Jun.18 +413 Apr.16 +418 Jul.19 +421 May 17 +433 Sep.29 +443 Mar.17 +447 Dec.23 +453 Feb.24 +458 May 28 +464 Jul.20 +472 Aug.20 +484 Jan.14 +486 May 19 +487 Nov.01 +497 Apr.18 |
Table 1.
Then, this is a list of solar eclipses mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman sources. The list in table 2 has been compiled from the following sources:
http://hbar.phys.msu.su/gorm/atext/ginzele.htm
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html
http://www.mreclipse.com/Special/quotes1.html
Each solar eclipse in this list is given an identifier that shows also the religious affiliation of the author: Pagan (Pag.) or Christian (Chr.); later I'll explain, why it's needed. (Pag.14a and Pag.14b are probably different reports of the same eclipse.)
|
ID |
Established date |
Did an eclipse happen that year? |
Source |
Quote (original) |
Quote (translated) |
|
Pag.1 |
“769 BCE” |
Yes |
Plutarch, Romulus, 12 |
|
Romulus was conceived in his mother's womb the first year of the second Olympiad, the twenty-third day of the month the Aegyptians call Choeac, and the third hour after sunset, at which time there was a total eclipse of the sun. |
|
Pag.2 |
“715 BCE” |
Yes |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
Superiores solis defectiones reputatae sint usque ad illam quae Nonis Quinctilibus fuit regnante Romulo. |
The dates of previous eclipses of the sun have been reckoned, all the way back to that which occured on the Nones of July in the reign of Romulus. |
|
Pag.3 |
“648 BCE” |
Yes |
Archilochus, fragment 74 |
Χρημάτων ἄελπτον οὐδέν ἐστιν οὐδ ̓ ἀπώμοτον οὐδὲ θαυμάσιον, ἐπειδὴ Ζεὐς πατὴρ Ὀλυμπίων ἐκ μεσημβρίης ἔθηκε νύκτ ̓, ἀποκρύψας φάος ἡλίου λάμποντος· λυγρὸν δ ̓ἦλθ ̓ ἐπ ̓ ἀνθρώπους δέος. |
Nothing is unexpected, nothing can be sworn untrue, and nothing amazes since father Zeus the Olympian has veiled the light to make it night at midday even as the sun was shining: now dread fear has overtaken men. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
Yes |
Herodotus, History, I, 74-103 |
διαφέρουσι δέ σφι ἐπὶ ἴσης τὸν πόλεμον τῷ ἕκτῳ ἔπεϊ συμβολῆς γενομένης συνήνεικε ὥστε τῆς μάχης συνεστεώσης τὴν ἡμέρην ἐξαπίνης νύκτα γενέσθαι· τὴν δὲ μεταλλαγὴν ταὐτην τῆς ἡμέρης Θαλῆς ὁ Μιλήσιος τοῖσι Ἴωσι προηγόρευσε ἔσεσθαι, οὖρον προθέμενος ἐνιαυτὸν τοῦτον, ἐν τῷ δὴ καὶ ἐγένετο ἡ μεταβολή. |
As, however, the balance had not inclined in favour of either nation, another combat took place in the sixth year, in the course of which, just as the battle was growing warm, day was on a sudden changed into night. This event had been foretold by Thales, the Milesian, who forewarned the Ionians of it, fixing for it the very year in which it actually took place. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
Yes |
Pliny, Natural history, II, 53 |
Apud Graecos autem investigavit primus omnium Thales Milesius Olympiadis XLVIII anno quarto praedicto solis defectu, qui Alyatte rege factus est urbis conditae anno CLXX. |
Among the Greeks, Thales of Miletus, who explained the eclipse of the Sun which occured in the 4th year of the 48th Olympiad when Alyattes was king, that is, in the 170th year from the founding of Rome, was the very first to make inquiry. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
Yes |
Cicero, De Divinatione, I, 111 |
Non plus quam Milesium Thalem… quidem idem primus defectionem solis, quae Astyage regnante facta est, praedixisse fertur. |
Thales of Miletus… is said to have been the first man to predict the solar eclipse which took place in the reign of Astyages. |
|
Pag.5 |
“557 BCE” |
Yes |
Xenophon Anabasis 3:4:12 |
ταύτην δὲ πόλιν βασιλεὺς ὁ Περσῶν, ὅτε παρὰ Μήδων τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐλάμβανον Πέρσαι, πολιορκῶν οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ ἑδύνατο ἑλεῖν· ἥλιον δὲ νεφέλη προκαλύψασα ἠφάνισε μέχρι ἐξέλιπον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ οὕτως ἑάλω. |
This city was besieged by the king of the Persians at the time when the Persians were seeking to wrest from the Medes their empire, but he could in no way capture it. A cloud, however, overspread the sun and hid it from sight until the inhabitants abandoned their city; and thus it was taken. |
|
Pag.6 |
“480 BCE” |
Yes |
Herodotus, History, VII, 37 |
ὁρμημένῳ δέ οἱ ὁ ἥλιος ἐκλιπὼν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἕδρην ἀφανὴς ἦν οὔτ ̓ ἐπινεφέλων ἐόντων αἰθρίης τε τὰ μάλιστα, ἀντὶ ἡμέρης τε νὺξ ἐγένετο. |
At the moment of departure, the sun suddenly quitted his seat in the heavens, and disappeared, though there were no clouds in sight, but the sky was clear and serene. |
|
Pag.7 |
“478 BCE” |
Yes |
Herodotus, History, IX, 10 |
ἀπῆγε δὲ τὴν στρατιὴν ὁ Κλεόμβροτος ἐκ τοῦ Ἰσθμοῦ διὰ τόδε· θυομένῳ οἱ ἐπὶ τῷ Πέρσῃ ὁ ἥλιος ᾀμαυρώθη ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. |
A prodigy had caused him to bring his army home; for while he was offering sacrifice to know if he should march out against the Persian, the sun was suddenly darkened in mid sky. |
|
Pag.8 |
“431 BCE” |
Yes |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
Atque eius modi quiddam etiam bello illo maximo quod Athenienses et Lacedaemonii summa inter se contentione gesserunt. Cum obscurato sole tenebrae factae essent repente, Atheniensiumque animos summus timor occupavisset. |
And a similar story is told of an event in that great war in which the Athenians and Lacedaemonians contended so fiercely. For when the sun suddenly obscured and darkness reigned, and the Athenians were overwhelmed with the greatest terror… |
|
Pag.8 |
“431 BCE” |
Yes |
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, II, 28 |
Τοῦ δ ̓ αὐτοῦ θέρους νουμηνίᾳ κατὰ σελήνην ... ὁ ἥλιος ἐξέλιπε μετὰ μεσημβρίαν καὶ πάλιν ἀνεπληρώθη, γενόμενος μηνοειδὴς καὶ ἀστέρων τινῶν ἐκφανέντων. |
The same summer, at the beginning of a new lunar month, the only time by the way at which it appears possible, the sun was eclipsed after noon. After it had assumed the form of a crescent and some of the stars had come out, it returned to its natural shape. |
|
Pag.9 |
“424 BCE” |
Yes, but not in summer |
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, IV, 52, III, 116 |
Τοῖ δ ̓ ἐπιγιγνομένου θέρους εὐθὺς τοῦ τε ἡλίου ἐκλιπές τι ἐγένετο περὶ νουμηνίαν. |
In first days of the next summer there was an eclipse of the sun at the time of new moon, and in the early part of the same month an earthquake. |
|
Pag.10 |
“404 BCE” |
Yes |
Xenophon, Hellenica, II, 3, 2 |
Κατὰ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν περὶ ἡλίου ἔκλειψιν Λυκόφρων ὁ Φεραῖος, βουλόμενος ἄρξαι ὅλης τῆς Θετταλίας, τοὺς ἐναντιουμένους αὐτῷ τῶν Θετταλῶν, Λαρισαίους τε καὶ ἄλλους, μάχῃ ἐνίκησε καὶ πολλοὺς ἀπέκτεινεν. |
It was near this date, and at about the time of an eclipse of the sun, that Lycophron of Pherae, who wanted to make himself ruler of all Thessaly, defeated in battle those among the Thessalians who opposed him, namely the Larisaeans and others |
|
Pag.11 |
“400 BCE” |
Yes |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
Id autem postea ne nostrum quidem Ennium fugit, qui ut scribit, anno trecentesimo quinquagesimo fere post Romam conditam. Nonis Iunis soli luna obstitit et nox. |
Ennius was not ignorant of it, for he wrote that, in about the three hundred and fiftieth year after Rome was founded: on the Nones of June the moon and night obscured the shining sun. |
|
Pag.12 |
“394 BCE” |
Yes |
Xenophon, Hellenica, IV, 3, 10 |
ὄντος δ ̓ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐμβολῇ εἰς τὰ Βοιωτῶν ὅρια ὁ ἥλιος μηνοειδὴς ἔδοξε φανῆναι. |
When he was at the entrance to Boeotia, the sun seemed to appear crescent-shaped. |
|
Pag.13 |
“364 BCE” |
Yes |
Diodorus, Historical Library XV 80 |
Τοῦ δὲ Πελοπίδου ταχέως μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐξιόντος συνέβη τὸν ἥλιον ἐκλιπεῖν. |
But as Pelopidas was hastening to leave with his army, the sun, as it happened, was eclipsed. |
|
Pag.13 |
“364 BCE” |
Yes |
Plutarch, Vita Pelopidae XXXI.2 |
Ψηφισαμένων δὲ τῶν Θηβαίων προθύμως καὶ ταχὺ πάντων ἑτοίμων γενομένων καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ περὶ ἔξοδον ὄντος, ὁ μὲν ἥλιος ἐξέλιπε καὶ σκότος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τὴν πόλιν ἔσχεν. |
The Thebans readily decreed what they desired, and soon everything was in readiness and the commander about to set out, when the sun was eclipsed and the city was covered with darkness in the day-time. |
|
Pag.14a |
“361 BCE” |
Yes |
Plutarch, Vita Dionis XIX.4 |
Οὕτω δὲ διακειμένων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ λανθάνειν πάντας οἰομένων, Ἑλίκων ὁ Κυζικηνὸς, εἷς τῶν Πλάτωνος συνήθων, ἡλίου προεῖπεν ἔκλειψιν· καὶ γενομένης, ὡς προεῖπε, θαυμασθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ τυράννου δωρεὰν ἔλαβεν ἀργυρίου τάλαντον. |
In the time they thought that everything is covered, one of Plato's pupils Helicon from Kuziki the Sun eclipse had foresaw. And when it become tyrant of this town was surprised and Dionis get a talant of silver. |
|
Pag.14b |
“357 BCE” |
Yes |
Fabius Quintilianus, Institutionis Oratoriae I, 10, 47 |
An uero, cum Pericles Athenienses solis obscuratione territos redditis eius rei causis metu liberauit, aut cum Sulpicius ille Gallus in exercitu Lucii Pauli de lunae defectione disseruit, ne uelut prodigio diuinitus facto militum animi terrerentur, non uidetur esse usus oratoris officio? Quod si Nicias in Sicilia scisset, non eodem confusus metu pulcherrimum Atheniensium exercitum perdidisset: sicut Dion, cum ad destruendam Dionysi tyrannidem uenit, non est tali casu deterritus. |
When Pericles dispelled the panic caused at Athens by the eclipse of the sun by explaining the causes of the phenomenon, or Sulpicius Gallus discoursed on the eclipse of the moon to the army of Lucius Paulus to prevent the soldiers being seized with terror at what they regarded as a portent sent by heaven, did not they discharge the function of an orator? If Nicias had known this when he commanded in Sicily, he would not have shared the terror of his men nor lost the finest army that Athens ever placed in the field. Dion for instance when he came to Syracuse to overthrow the tyranny of Dionysius, was not frightened away by the occurrence of a similar phenomenon. |
|
Pag.15 |
“340 BCE” |
Yes |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, VII, 28 |
Prodigium extemplo dedicationem secutum, simile vetusto montis Albani prodigio; namque et lapidibus pluit et nox interdiu visa intendi. |
The dedication was immediately followed by a prodigy like the one which had happened long before on the Alban Mount, for a shower of stones fell, and a curtain of night seemed to stretch across the sky. |
|
Pag.16 |
“310 BCE” |
Yes |
Diodorus, Historical Library ХХ 5 |
Τῇ δ ̓ ἱστεραίᾳ τηλικαύτην ἔκλειψιν ἡλίου συνέβη γενέσθαι, ὥστε ὁλοσχερῶς φανῆναι νύκτα θεωρουμένων τῶν ἀστέρων πανταχοῖ. |
On the next day there occurred such an eclipse of the sun that stars appeared everywhere, it was like at a complete night. |
|
Pag.17 |
“217 BCE” |
Yes |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXII, 1, 8 |
Arpis parmas in caelo visas pugnantemque cum luna solem. |
At Arpi that shields were seen in the heavens, and the sun fighting with the moon. |
|
Pag.18 |
“203 BCE” |
Yes, but was not visible in Cumae |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXX, 38, 8 |
Prodigia quoque nuntiata sub ipsam famam rebellionis terrorem attulerant: Cumis solis orbis minui visus et pluit lapideo imbri. |
The accounts also of prodigies, which arrived just at the time of the news of the revival of the war, had occasioned great alarm. At Cumae, the orb of the sun seemed diminished… |
|
Pag.19 |
“190 BCE” |
Yes |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXXVII, 4, 4 |
Per eos dies, quibus est profectus ad bellum consul, ludis Apollinaribus ante diem quintum idus Quinctiles caelo sereno interdiu obscurata lux est, cum luna sub orbem solis subisset. |
At the time of the consul's departure, whilst the Games of Apollo were being celebrated, the daylight was obscured, though the sky was clear, by the moon passing under the orb of the sun. |
|
Pag.20 |
“188 BCE” |
Yes |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXXVIII, 36, 4 |
Priusquam in provincias novi magistratus proficiscerentur, supplicatio triduum pro collegio decemvirorum imperata fuit in omnibus compitis, quod luce inter horam tertiam ferme et quartam tenebrae obortae fuerant. |
Before the new magistrates set out for their provinces, a supplication, of three days’ continuance, was ordered by the college of decemvirs to be performed in every street, on account of a darkness having overspread the light of day, between the third and fourth hours |
|
Pag.21 |
“183 BCE” |
Yes |
Plutarch, Romulus, 27 |
|
He disappeared on the Nones of July… the face of the sun was darkened, and the day turned into night. |
|
Pag.22 |
“104 BCE” |
Yes |
Julius Obsequens, De prodigiis, 43 |
Hora diei tertia solis defectus lucem obscuravit. |
At the third hour of the day an eclipse of the sun brought on darkness. |
|
Pag.23 |
“62 BCE” |
Yes |
Julius Obsequens, De prodigiis, 62 |
Die toto ante sereno circo horam undecimam nox se intendit, deinte restitutus fulgor. |
The whole day it was quiet until about the 11th hour, when it became dark night until the brightness reappeared. |
|
Pag.24 |
“48 BCE” |
Yes |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, XLI, 14 |
ὅ τε ἥλιος σύμπας ἐξέλιπε. |
The sun, too, suffered a total eclipse. |
|
Pag.25 |
“3 CE” |
No |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LV, 22 |
Τότε δ ̓ οὖν ἐπὶ τε τοῦ Κορνηλίου καὶ ἐπὶ Οὐαλερίου Μεσσάλου ὑπάτων σεισμοί τε ἐξαίσιοι συνέβησαν ... τοῦ τε ἡλίου τι ἐκλιπὲς ἐγένετο. |
At this time, in the consulship of Cornelius and Valerius Messalla, violent earthquakes occurred and the Tiber carried away the bridge and made the city navigable for seven days; there was also a partial eclipse of the sun, and famine set in. |
|
Pag.26 |
“14 CE” |
No |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVI, 29 |
|
For in the following year, when Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Pompeius were consuls, Augustus set out for Campania, and after superintending the games at Neapolis, passed away shortly afterward at Nola. Indeed, not a few omens had appeared, and these by no means difficult of interpretation, all pointing to this fate for him [Augustus]. Thus, the sun suffered a total eclipse and most of the sky seemed to be on fire. |
|
Pag.27 |
“32 CE” |
No |
Phlegon, Olympiades, 17 |
|
In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, an eclipse of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day, so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Nicea. |
|
Pag.28 |
“45 CE” |
Yes |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LX, 25, 26 |
Καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τοῖς γενεθλίοις αὐτοῦ ἐκλείψειν ἔμελλεν, ἐφοβήθη τε μή τις ἐκ τούτου ταραχὴ γένηται, ἐπεὶ ἄλλα ἄττα τέρατα συνεβεβήκει, καὶ προέγραψεν οὐ μόνον ὅτι τε ἐκλείψει καὶ ὁπότε καὶ ἐφ ̓ ὁπόσον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς αἰτίας δι ̓ ἅς ἀναγκαίως γενήσεσθαι τοῦτ ̓ ἔμελλεν. |
Since there was to be an eclipse of the sun on his birthday, he feared that there might be some disturbance in consequence, inasmuch as some other portents had already occured; he therefore issued a proclamation in which he stated not only the fact that there was to be an eclipse, and when, and for how long, but also the reasons for which this was bound to happen. |
|
Chr.1 |
“57 CE” |
No |
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicon |
[Ol.209.1,
3 Nero] Terraemotus Romae, et solis defectio. |
[Ol.209.1,
3 Nero] Earthquake at Rome and eclipse of the sun. |
|
Pag.29 |
“59 CE” |
Yes |
Plinius, Natural History, 80 |
Solis defectum Vipsano et Fonteio cos., qui fuere ante paucos annos, factum pridie kalendas Maias Campania hora diei inter septimam et octavam sensit, Corbulo dux in Armenia inter horam diei decimam et undecimam prodidit visum, circuiti globi alia aliis detegente et occultante. |
An
eclipse of the sun that occured in the consulship of Vipsanus and
Fonteius a few years ago was visible in Campania between the
sevenths and eighths hour of the day, but was reported by Corbulo
commanding in Armenia as observed between the tenths and elevenths
hour: this was because the curve of the globe |
|
Pag.29 |
“59 CE” |
Yes |
Tacitus, Annales, XIV 12 |
Iam sol repente obscuratus et tactae de caelo quattuordecim urbis regiones. |
Then the sun was suddenly darkened and the fourteen districts of the city were struck by lightning. |
|
Pag.30 |
“98 CE” |
No |
Sextus Aurelius Victor, De vita et moribus imperatorum Romanorum |
Eoque die, quo Nerva interiit, solis defectis facta est. |
On the day on which Nerva died, the eclipse of the sun took place. |
|
Chr.2 |
“118 CE” |
Yes |
Fasti Vindobonenses priores. - MGH AA, IX, 285 |
Adriano et Salinatore. His cons. sol eclipsim passus est. |
Hadrian and Salinator. Under these consuls an eclipse of the sun took place. |
|
Pag.31 |
“218 CE” |
Yes |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXIX, 28 – 30 |
ἡλίου τε γὰρ ἔκλειψις περιφανεστάτη ὑπὸ τὰς ἡμέρας ἐκείνας ἐγένετο. |
For a very distinct eclipse of the sun occurred just before that time and the comet was seen for a considerable period. |
|
Pag.32 |
“238 CE” |
No |
Julius Capitolinus, Gordiani III, XXIII |
Et hic finis belli intestini fuit, cum esset delatus Gordiano puero consulatus. Sed indicium non diu imperaturi Gordiani hoc fuit, quod eclipsis solis facta est, ut nox crederetur neque sine luminibus accensis quicquam agi posset. |
And an end of the civil war strife was made when the boy Gordian was given consulship. There was an omen, however that Gordian was not to rule for long, which was this: there occured an eclipse of the sun, so black that men thought it was night and business could not be transacted without the aid of lanterns. |
|
Chr.3 |
“291 CE” |
Yes |
Consularia Constantinopolitana (Patr. Lat. v.51. - MGH AA, IX, 230) |
His cons. tenebrae fuerunt inter diem, et eo anno leuati sunt Constaninus. et Maximinus Cesares die kal. Mart. |
Tiberianus an Dione consuls. Under these consuls there was a darkness in the middle of the day, and this year Constantius and Maximinus were elevated to Caesars on the calends of March. |
|
Pag.33 |
“316 CE” |
No |
Sextus Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus, XII |
Quod equidem vix diurturnum neque his, qui assumebantur, felix fore defectu solis foedato iisdem mensibus die patefactum. |
It was, in fact, made clear that this would hardly be a long-lasting agreement, or propitious for those who were adopted, since daylight was obliterated by a solar eclipse during those same months. Accordingly six years later peace was broken. |
|
Chr.4 |
“348 CE” |
Yes |
Hyeronimus, Chronicon |
[2363 Ab, Ol.281.3, 10 Constantius] ... Solis facta defectio. |
[2363 Ab, Ol.281.3, 10 Constantius] ... An eclipse of the sun happened. |
|
Chr.5 |
“348 CE” |
Yes |
Cassiodori Chronica. - PL, LXIX |
|
Philippus and Sallia. Under these consuls an eclipse of the sun happened. |
|
Chr.6 |
“393 CE” |
Yes |
Fasti Vindobonenses priores. - MGH SS, IX, 298 |
Theodosio III et Abundantio. His cons. tenebre facte sunt die Solis hora III, VI kal. Novemb. |
Theodosius III and Abundantius. Under these consuls was darkness on the day of the Sun at the 3rd hour on the 6th calends November. |
|
Chr.7 |
“402 CE” |
Yes |
Consularia Constantinopolitana (Patr. Lat. v.51. - MGH AA, IX, 230) |
CCLXLV OLYMPI II, Archadius et Honorius VII. Solis facta defectio III idus Nouembris. |
Ol.295.2 7 regnal year of Arcadius and Honorius. Under these consuls there was an eclipse of the sun on the 3rd ides November. |
|
Chr.8 |
“418 CE” |
Yes |
Fasti Vindobonenses priores. - MHG, IX, 300 |
Honorio XII et Theodosio VIII conss. Sol eclipsim fecit XIIII. kl. Aug. et a parte Orientis apparuit stella ardens per dies XXX. |
Consuls Honorius, 12th time, and Theodosius, 8th time. The sun suffered an eclipse on the 14th calends August and in the eastern region a fiery star appeared for 30 days. |
|
Chr.8 |
“418 CE” |
Yes |
Hydatii episcopi chronicon |
CCLXCIX OLYMPI II, Arcadius et Honorius XXIII, Solis facta defectio die XIIII kl. Aug., qui fuit quinta feria. |
Ol.299.2, 23 regnal year of Arcadius and Honorius. There was an eclipse of the sun on 14 calends of August, which was a Thursday. |
|
Chr.9 |
“447 CE” |
Yes |
Hydatii episcopi chronicon |
CCCVI OLYMPI IIII, Theodosius XXIII. Solis facta defectio die X kl. Ianuarias, qui fuit tertia feria. |
Ol.306.4, 23 regnal year of Theodosius. There was an eclipse of the sun on 10 calends of January, which was a Tuesday. |
|
Chr.10 |
“458 CE” |
Yes |
Hydatii episcopi chronicon |
CCCX OLYMPI I, Maiorianus in Italia et Constantinopolim Leo II. Quinto kal. Iun., die quarta feria, ab hora quarta in horam sextam, ad speciem lunae quintae uel sextae, sol de lumine orbis sui minoratus apparuit. |
Ol.310.1. On Wednesday, 5 calends of June, 2 regnal year of Maiorian in Italy and Leo in Constantinople. from the forth hour to the sixth, the sun appeared to be diminished in the light of its orb to the appearance a crescent moon on the fifth or sixth day |
|
Chr.11 |
“464 CE” |
Yes |
Hydatii episcopi chronicon |
CCCXI OLYMPI III, Severus III, XIII kal. Aug., die, secunda feria, in speciem lunae quintae sol de lumine suo ab hora tertia in horam sextam cernitur minoratus. |
Ol.311.3. On Monday, 13 calends of August, 3 regnal year of Severus, from the third hour to the sixth, the sun was perceived to be diminished in its light to the appearence of the moon on the fifth day. |
Table 2.
What can we see from this table? In the oldest, semi-legendary, times, when neither Rome foundation, nor Olympics era, nor any accurate calendar was known, — all mentioned eclipses can be matched somehow (though some matches are doubtful). It's clear, why: if the date of any event from that time can be determined with accuracy of plus-minus a couple of decades at best, there certainly will be a solar eclipse that falls into that period. But as soon as a calendar with workable accuracy (the Julian one) appeared, and a consistent year count (from the foundation of Rome) started, — since that time and until the establishment of Christianity about one half of the eclipses fail to be matched. However, just after the official introduction of Christianity, some magic has happened and even exact dates of all eclipses match perfectly…
Now, it's time for human brain to rest a bit and call a computer for help. I wrote a program that compares the lists of eclipses from table 1 and table 2 and searches for the best possible match between them, e.g. for a value of dY, which is the shift of chronology between the official Christian one and the true one that we are looking for. My program considers chronology shifts for the one that matches the first eclipses from both lists up to the one that matches the last ones, e.g. from –721 to +79; it also takes the season, if it's stated in the source, into account. (As mentioned before, the Roman calendar until Caesar's time was not hardwired to seasons; the beginning of each month was proclaimed by priests. Therefore, if a source from that time states an exact date of a solar eclipse, in practice it can mean any astronomical date from a couple of months before to a couple of months after that date.)
First, let's check the degree of matching by the established chronology. It's not brilliant: mere 71% of eclipses match with the theoretical calculations. And this is the best that Scaliger and his followers have been able to do: at any dY ≠ 0 the percentage of matching eclipses is even lower.
Let's take the possibility of errors in relative dating of events into account. We can assume that events that happened after the introduction of the Julian calendar are dated with an error of ε = ±1 year, and that the dates from the times before any consistent calendar can have an error of as much as ε = ±20 years. (This is the error in relative dates, e.g. time intervals between the events. In other words, the true date YR that we want to calculate falls between YO + dY – ε(YO) and YO + dY + ε(YO), where YO is the official date, dY is the chronology shift being considered, and ε(YO) is the dating error for that epoch.)
It may seem that anything can be matched with anything under such assumptions. However, it's not actually the case: the matching percentage according to the official chronology rises just to 85%. Some chronology shifts with slightly better matching can be found so (under the best one, dY = –520, the matching degree is 90%), but none of them is able to match all the eclipses. This means that the sources we use are contradictory, and some of them can be plain falsehood. Let's try to separate the truth from lies and search for causes of errors that have not been noticed before.
The first thing that looked strange for me was the tendency of church authors from the Eastern Roman Empire to use the Olympiad era. This era was rarely used even in the pre-Christian Roman Empire. It looks even more suspicious because Christian church authors obviously did not like such a feast of beauty and strength of human body as the Greek Olympics were. A simple check confirms these suspicions: emperor Theodosius banned Olympic games, and they weren't organized anymore since his reign. The last Olympiad that really took place was the 293th (by Athenian count). It means that all Olympics-based dates for times after Theodosius are fraudulent. Probably it was George Syncell and other Byzantine authors who forged ancient documents with dates based on Olympics in order to fabricate evidence of the Byzantine Empire's succession from Rome. The story of the ban on Olympic games was long forgotten then, and the Byzantine authors tried to attach onto the Byzantine Empire as many attributes of ancient Rome and Greece as possible.
So, if anybody has been still in doubts about Christian priests being liars, now we have more evidence of this. Let's discard all Christian authors from the list and run the program again with data from Pagan sources only.
Unfortunately, no miracle happens; the best result now is 91% (at dY = –20, –53, –81, –107, –108, –135, –353, and –640). Looking thoroughly into details, we can see which eclipses fail to match under “good” values of dY: it appears to be those dated from Olympics. This can mean that the established correspondence between the Greek and Roman calendars, e.g. that year 1 from the foundation of Rome is year 4 from 6th Olympiad may be erroneous.
Let's try to search a correspondence for Olympiad-based dates and for the rest of the eclipses separately. For those date by Olympics (these are eclipses Pag.1, Pag.4, Pag.19 and Pag.27; the games of Apollo used to take place two years after the Olympics, so the Pag.19 eclipse can be also treated as dated by Olympics) two values of dY that match all these eclipses get found: these are dY = –110 and –135. For the rest of the eclipses reported by Pagan authors except these four, there is one value of dY that manages to match all of them: it's dY = –108.
So, it seems that the optimal correspondence between the modern and the ancient calendars is found. Supposing that all events dated by Olympic games took place 110 years earlier than the official history claims, and that events dated from the foundation of Rome took place 108 years earlier than their official date, we get all the solar eclipses reported by Pagan (but not Christian church) authors to match with astronomical calculations (see table 3). And this also means that the Dark Age that began with the triumph of Christianity in the late Roman Empire lasted 110 years longer than the official history claims.
|
ID |
Established date |
Search boundaries for a real date |
Calculated date |
Source |
Quote (translated) |
|
Pag.1 |
“770 BCE” |
from –899 to –859 |
–878 Sep.04 |
Plutarch, Romulus, 12 |
Romulus was conceived in his mother's womb the first year of the second Olympiad, the twenty-third day of the month the Aegyptians call Choeac, and the third hour after sunset, at which time there was a total eclipse of the sun. |
|
Pag.2 |
“715 BCE” |
from
–842 to –802, |
–808 Jun.13 |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
The dates of previous eclipses of the sun have been reckoned, all the way back to that which occured on the Nones of July in the reign of Romulus. |
|
Pag.3 |
“648 BCE” |
from –784 to –744 |
–762 Jun.15 |
Archilochus, fragment 74 |
Nothing is unexpected, nothing can be sworn untrue, and nothing amazes since father Zeus the Olympian has veiled the light to make it night at midday even as the sun was shining: now dread fear has overtaken men. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
from –716 to –668 |
–688 Jan.11 |
Herodotus, History, I, 74-103 |
As, however, the balance had not inclined in favour of either nation, another combat took place in the sixth year, in the course of which, just as the battle was growing warm, day was on a sudden changed into night. This event had been foretold by Thales, the Milesian, who forewarned the Ionians of it, fixing for it the very year in which it actually took place… He it was who fought against the Lydians on the occasion when the day was changed suddenly into night, and who brought under his dominion the whole of Asia beyond the Halys. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
from –716 to –668 |
–688 Jan.11 |
Pliny, Natural history, II, 53 |
Among the Greeks, Thales of Miletus, who explained the eclipse of the Sun which occured in the 4th year of the 48th Olympiad when Alyattes was king, that is, in the 170th year from the founding of Rome, was the very first to make inquiry. |
|
Pag.4 |
“585 BCE” |
from –716 to –668 |
–688 Jan.11 |
Cicero, De Divinatione, I, 111 |
Thales of Miletus… is said to have been the first man to predict the solar eclipse which took place in the reign of Astyages. |
|
Pag.5 |
“557 BCE” |
from –684 to –644 |
–660 Jun.27 |
Xenophon Anabasis 3:4:12 |
This city was besieged by the king of the Persians at the time when the Persians were seeking to wrest from the Medes their empire, but he could in no way capture it. A cloud, however, overspread the sun and hid it from sight until the inhabitants abandoned their city; and thus it was taken. |
|
Pag.6 |
“480 BCE” |
from –607 to –567 |
–587 Jul.29 |
Herodotus, History, VII, 37 |
At the moment of departure, the sun suddenly quitted his seat in the heavens, and disappeared, though there were no clouds in sight, but the sky was clear and serene. Day was thus turned into night; whereupon Xerxes, who saw and remarked the prodigy, was seized with alarm. |
|
Pag.7 |
“478 BCE” |
from –605 to –565 |
–584 May 28 |
Herodotus, History, IX, 10 |
A prodigy had caused him to bring his army home; for while he was offering sacrifice to know if he should march out against the Persian, the sun was suddenly darkened in mid sky. Pausanias took with him, as joint-leader of the army, Euryanax, the son of Dorieus, a member of his own family. |
|
Pag.8 |
“431 BCE” |
from
–558 to –518, |
–541 Jul.31 |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
And a similar story is told of an event in that great war in which the Athenians and Lacedaemonians contended so fiercely. For when the sun suddenly obscured and darkness reigned, and the Athenians were overwhelmed with the greatest terror… |
|
Pag.7 |
“431 BCE” |
from
–558 to –518, |
–541 Jul.31 |
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, II, 28 |
The same summer, at the beginning of a new lunar month, the only time by the way at which it appears possible, the sun was eclipsed after noon. After it had assumed the form of a crescent and some of the stars had come out, it returned to its natural shape. |
|
Pag.9 |
“424 BCE” |
from
–551 to –511, |
–530 Jun.30 |
Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, IV, 52, III, 116 |
In first days of the next summer there was an eclipse of the sun at the time of new moon, and in the early part of the same month an earthquake. |
|
Pag.10 |
“404 BCE” |
from –531 to –491 |
–508 Apr.28 |
Xenophon, Hellenica, II, 3, 2 |
It was near this date, and at about the time of an eclipse of the sun, that Lycophron of Pherae, who wanted to make himself ruler of all Thessaly, defeated in battle those among the Thessalians who opposed him, namely the Larisaeans and others |
|
Pag.11 |
“400 BCE” |
from
–527 to –487, |
–502 Jun.21 |
Cicero, "De Republica", I, 25 |
Ennius was not ignorant of it, for he wrote that, in about the three hundred and fiftieth year after Rome was founded: on the Nones of June the moon and night obscured the shining sun. |
|
Pag.12 |
“394 BCE” |
from –521 to –481 |
–492 Nov.24 |
Xenophon, Hellenica, IV, 3, 10 |
When he was at the entrance to Boeotia, the sun seemed to appear crescent-shaped. |
|
Pag.13 |
“364 BCE” |
from –491 to –451 |
–479 Oct.02 |
Diodorus, Historical Library XV 80 |
But as Pelopidas was hastening to leave with his army, the sun, as it happened, was eclipsed. |
|
Pag.13 |
“364 BCE” |
from –491 to –451 |
–479 Oct.02 |
Plutarch, Vita Pelopidae XXXI.2 |
The Thebans readily decreed what they desired, and soon everything was in readiness and the commander about to set out, when the sun was eclipsed and the city was covered with darkness in the day-time. |
|
Pag.14a |
“361 BCE” |
from –488 to –448 |
–462 Apr.30 |
Plutarch, Vita Dionis XIX.4 |
In the time they thought that everything is covered, one of Plato's pupils Helicon from Kuziki the Sun eclipse had foresaw. And when it become tyrant of this town was surprised and Dionis get a talant of silver. |
|
Pag.14b |
“357 BCE” |
from –484 to –444 |
–462 Apr.30 |
Fabius Quintilianus, Institutionis Oratoriae I, 10, 47 |
When Pericles dispelled the panic caused at Athens by the eclipse of the sun by explaining the causes of the phenomenon, or Sulpicius Gallus discoursed on the eclipse of the moon to the army of Lucius Paulus to prevent the soldiers being seized with terror at what they regarded as a portent sent by heaven, did not they discharge the function of an orator? If Nicias had known this when he commanded in Sicily, he would not have shared the terror of his men nor lost the finest army that Athens ever placed in the field. Dion for instance when he came to Syracuse to overthrow the tyranny of Dionysius, was not frightened away by the occurrence of a similar phenomenon. |
|
Pag.15 |
“340 BCE” |
from –467 to –427 |
–436 Jun.10 |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, VII, 28 |
The dedication was immediately followed by a prodigy like the one which had happened long before on the Alban Mount, for a shower of stones fell, and a curtain of night seemed to stretch across the sky. |
|
Pag.16 |
“310 BCE” |
from –437 to –397 |
–401 Jan.18 |
Diodorus, Historical Library ХХ 5 |
On the next day there occurred such an eclipse of the sun that stars appeared everywhere, it was like at a complete night. |
|
Pag.17 |
“217 BCE” |
from –344 to –304 |
–323 May 23 |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXII, 1, 8 |
At Arpi that shields were seen in the heavens, and the sun fighting with the moon. |
|
Pag.18 |
“203 BCE” |
from –330 to –290 |
–309 Aug.15 |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXX, 38, 8 |
The accounts also of prodigies, which arrived just at the time of the news of the revival of the war, had occasioned great alarm. At Cumae, the orb of the sun seemed diminished… |
|
Pag.19 |
“190 BCE” |
from –321 to –273 |
–296 May 24 |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXXVII, 4, 4 |
At the time of the consul's departure, whilst the Games of Apollo were being celebrated, the daylight was obscured, though the sky was clear, by the moon passing under the orb of the sun. |
|
Pag.20 |
“188 BCE” |
from –315 to –275 |
–295 Nov.07 |
Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita, XXXVIII, 36, 4 |
Before the new magistrates set out for their provinces, a supplication, of three days’ continuance, was ordered by the college of decemvirs to be performed in every street, on account of a darkness having overspread the light of day, between the third and fourth hours |
|
Pag.21 |
“183 BCE” |
from
–310 to –270, |
–306 Jun.14 |
Plutarch, Romulus, 27 |
He disappeared on the Nones of July… the face of the sun was darkened, and the day turned into night. |
|
Pag.22 |
“104 BCE” |
from –231 to –191 |
–216 Feb.11 |
Julius Obsequens, De prodigiis, 43 |
At the third hour of the day an eclipse of the sun brought on darkness. |
|
Pag.23 |
“62 BCE” |
from –189 to –149 |
–173 Oct.10 |
Julius Obsequens, De prodigiis, 62 |
The whole day it was quiet until about the 11th hour, when it became dark night until the brightness reappeared. |
|
Pag.24 |
“49 BCE” |
from –159 to –157 |
–157 Jun.17 |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, XLI, 14 |
The sun, too, suffered a total eclipse. |
|
Pag.25 |
“3 CE” |
from –106 to –104 |
–104 Feb.03 |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LV, 22 |
At this time, in the consulship of Cornelius and Valerius Messalla, violent earthquakes occurred and the Tiber carried away the bridge and made the city navigable for seven days; there was also a partial eclipse of the sun, and famine set in. |
|
Pag.26 |
“14 CE” |
from –95 to –93 |
–93 Jun.29 |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LVI, 29 |
For in the following year, when Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Pompeius were consuls, Augustus set out for Campania, and after superintending the games at Neapolis, passed away shortly afterward at Nola. Indeed, not a few omens had appeared, and these by no means difficult of interpretation, all pointing to this fate for him. Thus, the sun suffered a total eclipse and most of the sky seemed to be on fire. |
|
Pag.27 |
“32 CE” |
from –77 to –75 |
–77 Mar.06 |
Phlegon, Olympiades, 17 |
In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, an eclipse of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day, so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Nicea. |
|
Pag.28 |
“45 CE” |
from –64 to –62 |
–63 May.28 |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LX, 25, 26 |
Since there was to be an eclipse of the sun on his birthday, he feared that there might be some disturbance in consequence, inasmuch as some other portents had already occured; he therefore issued a proclamation in which he stated not only the fact that there was to be an eclipse, and when, and for how long, but also the reasons for which this was bound to happen. |
|
Pag.29 |
“59 CE” |
from –50 to –48 |
–50 Mar.07 |
Plinius, Natural History, 80 |
An
eclipse of the sun that occured in the consulship of Vipsanus and
Fonteius a few years ago was visible in Campania between the
sevenths and eighths hour of the day, but was reported by Corbulo
commanding in Armenia as observed between the tenths and elevenths
hour: this was because the curve of the globe |
|
Pag.29 |
“59 CE” |
from –50 to –48 |
–50 Mar.07 |
Tacitus, Annales, XIV 12 |
Then the sun was suddenly darkened and the fourteen districts of the city were struck by lightning. |
|
Pag.30 |
“98 CE” |
from –11 to –9 |
–10 Jan.15 |
Sextus Aurelius Victor, De vita et moribus imperatorum Romanorum |
On the day on which Nerva died, the eclipse of the sun took place. |
|
Pag.31 |
“218 CE” |
from +109 to +111 |
+110 Aug.03 |
Cassius Dio, Roman History, LXXIX, 28 – 30 |
For a very distinct eclipse of the sun occurred just before that time and the comet was seen for a considerable period. |
|
Pag.32 |
“238 CE” |
from +129 to +131 |
+131 Jun.12 |
Julius Capitolinus, Gordiani III, XXIII |
And an end of the civil war strife was made when the boy Gordian was given consulship. There was an omen, however that Gordian was not to rule for long, which was this: there occured an eclipse of the sun, so black that men thought it was night and business could not be transacted without the aid of lanterns. |
|
Pag.33 |
“316 CE” |
from +207 to +209 |
+207 May 14 |
Sextus Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus, XII |
It was, in fact, made clear that this would hardly be a long-lasting agreement, or propitious for those who were adopted, since daylight was obliterated by a solar eclipse during those same months. Accordingly six years later peace was broken. |
Table 3.
Can we now say that the problem of correspondence between the modern calendar and the calendars of Antiquity is solved? I'm not sure. It will be advisable first to verify all the sources that we are working with. It cannot be excluded that some of them may be fake, while others can contain additional useful information, which will lead us to a different result.
Also, it will be strongly advisable to work with the originals of the texts, because translators cannot be fully trusted. I encountered this while looking into details of the report on eclipse Pag.10. The English translation of Xenophon's “Anabasis” says: “In the following year — in which was celebrated an Olympiad, wherein Crocinas the Thessalian was victorious in the stadium…”; therefore, I treated this eclipse as dated by Olympics. Since Crocinas was a winner of two different Olympiads, I tried to find: which of them Xenophon actually mentioned. But… the Greek original of this chapter of “Anabasis” mentions neither any Olympiad nor Crocinas. Are you still wondering why I treat official historians as liars? If they insert their own bullshit into Xenophon's text and then cite just this bullshit under Xenophon's name…
Anyway, some useful conclusions can be made.
1) The offcially established correspondence between the modern calendar and the calendars of Antiquity has absolutely no factual evidence and is based purely on fantasies of Christian theologians (such as the date of the “creation of the world”, the date of Jesus' birth, and counterfeiting of late Roman manuscripts done by George Syncell and his Byzantine colleagues). Solely because of the domination of Christianity in the Western culture this totally unconfirmed chronological correspondence is still treated as a proven fact, although it will not stand up to criticism from a really scientific position. In particular, the established dates for solar eclipses reported in ancient sources disagree with astronomical calculations.
2) From the assumption that all sources from Antiquity written by Pagan authors are genuine and tell the truth, and sources written by Christian authors can be lying or forged, a different correspondence follows: all dates from the foundation of Rome should have been 108 years earlier, and all dates by Olympics been 110 years earlier than the official history claims. This is the only correspondence that can match all solar eclipses mentioned in trustworthy (e.g. Pagan) sources with the astronomical calculations.
3) However, a possibility for some known ancient text to be a falsification cannot be excluded. This can lead to different solutions to the problem of correspondence between the modern and the ancient calendars and chronology.