The **Common Era (CE)** calendar — also known as the **Gregorian calendar** — is the one used by most of the world today. It is rooted in the **Anno Domini (AD)** system developed by the 6th-century monk **Dionysius Exiguus**.
Roman: baseYear: 0
# CE Year 1 = Roman Epoch? - CE year **1** corresponds to what Dionysius calculated as **the year of the birth of Jesus Christ**. - However, historians widely agree he got the date wrong — Jesus was probably born between **6 BCE and 4 BCE**. - There is **no year 0** in this system. The sequence goes: `1 BCE → 1 CE`.
So the **Roman Epoch** (in your Hitchhiker-style epoch system) might best be symbolized by: ``` Roman Epoch = January 1, 0001 CE (Gregorian) ```
Even though this is not the literal founding of Rome or of the Roman calendar, it's the **epochal pivot point** for the **Common Era time standard** still in use.
# Alternate Roman Epoch
If we want something more aligned with **actual Roman history**, we might consider: * **753 BCE**: Traditional founding date of Rome * **45 BCE**: Introduction of the **Julian calendar** by Julius Caesar