Ante Christum natum

Ante Christum natum is a Latin phrase meaning “before Christ was born.” It labels years counted backward from the traditionally assigned birth of Jesus, corresponding to BC or BCE dating.

Anno Domini: A Latin calendar designation for years counted from the traditionally assigned birth of Jesus. It names the era on the other side of the birth used as this phrase’s boundary.
Christian chronology: The organization and dating of historical time according to Christian events and theological frameworks. This phrase emerged within systems that organized years around the life of Jesus.
BCE: An abbreviation for Before the Common Era, numbering years before the conventional start of the Common Era. It is the widely used nonreligious equivalent for years designated ante Christum natum.
Anno Mundi: A family of calendar eras that number years from a traditional date of creation. It counts from creation rather than backward from the birth of Jesus.
Before Christ: An English calendar designation for years before the traditionally assigned birth of Jesus. It is the standard English equivalent of the phrase.
Eusebius of Caesarea: A fourth-century Christian historian whose chronicle arranged world history around biblical and imperial timelines. His chronicle helped shape Christian chronological practice before the Anno Domini system.
BC dating: A convention for numbering years before the traditionally assigned birth of Jesus, with numbers increasing into the past. It is the English-language dating practice expressed by the Latin phrase.
Hijri year: A year in the Islamic lunar calendar, counted from the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Its religious reference event and lunar year length differ from this phrase’s convention.
Common Era: A calendar era designation equivalent in year numbering to Anno Domini, without explicitly invoking Christianity. Its BCE counterpart preserves the same dates while avoiding explicitly Christian terminology.
Dionysian era: The year-numbering era associated with Dionysius Exiguus, later called Anno Domini. The phrase’s backward count depends on the era Dionysius established.

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