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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chronology | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T14:48:33.010639+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Synchronism == The fundamental problem of chronology is to synchronize events. By synchronizing an event it becomes possible to relate it to the current time and to compare the event to other events. Among historians, a typical need is to synchronize the reigns of kings and leaders in order to relate the history of one country or region to that of another. For example, the Chronicon of Eusebius (325 A.D.) is one of the major works of historical synchronism. This work has two sections. The first contains narrative chronicles of nine different kingdoms: Chaldean, Assyrian, Median, Lydian, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, Peloponnesian, Asian, and Roman. The second part is a long table synchronizing the events from each of the nine kingdoms in parallel columns. By comparing the parallel columns, the reader can determine which events were contemporaneous, or how many years separated two different events. To place all the events on the same time scale, Eusebius used an Anno Mundi (A.M.) era, meaning that events were dated from the supposed beginning of the world as computed from the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Pentateuch. According to the computation Eusebius used, this occurred in 5199 B.C. The Chronicon of Eusebius was widely used in the medieval world to establish the dates and times of historical events. Subsequent chronographers, such as George Syncellus (died circa 811), analyzed and elaborated on the Chronicon by comparing with other chronologies. The last great chronographer was Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609) who reconstructed the lost Chronicon and synchronized all of ancient history in his two major works, De emendatione temporum (1583) and Thesaurus temporum (1606). Much of modern historical datings and chronology of the ancient world ultimately derives from these two works. Scaliger invented the concept of the Julian Day which is still used as the standard unified scale of time for both historians and astronomers. In addition to the literary methods of synchronism used by traditional chronographers such as Eusebius, Syncellus and Scaliger, it is possible to synchronize events by archaeological or astronomical means. For example, the Eclipse of Thales, described in the first book of Herodotus can potentially be used to date the Lydian War because the eclipse took place during the middle of an important battle in that war. Likewise, various eclipses and other astronomical events described in ancient records can be used to astronomically synchronize historical events. Another method to synchronize events is the use of archaeological findings, such as pottery, to do sequence dating.
== See also ==
== Notes ==
== References == Hegewisch, D. H., & Marsh, J. (1837). Introduction to historical chronology. Burlington [Vt.]: C. Goodrich. B. E. Tumanian, "Measurement of Time in Ancient and Medieval Armenia," Journal for the History of Astronomy 5, 1974, pp. 91–98. Kazarian, K. A., "History of Chronology by B. E. Tumanian," Journal for the History of Astronomy, 4, 1973, p. 137 Porter, T. M., "The Dynamics of Progress: Time, Method, and Measure". The American Historical Review, 1991.
== Further reading ==
=== Published in the 18th–19th centuries === Weeks, J. E. (1701). The gentleman's hour glass; or, An introduction to chronology; being a plain and compendious analysis of time. Dublin: James Hoey. Hodgson, J., Hinton, J., & Wallis, J. (1747). An introduction to chronology:: containing an account of time; also of the most remarkable cycles, epoch's, era's, periods, and moveable feasts. To which is added, a brief account of the several methods proposed for the alteration of the style, the reforming the calendar, and fixing the true time of the celebration of Easter. London: Printed for J. Hinton, at the King's Arms in St Paul's Church-yard. Smith, T. (1818). An introduction to chronology. New York: Samuel Wood.
=== Published in the 20th century === Keller, H. R. (1934). The dictionary of dates. New York: The Macmillan company. Poole, R. L., & Poole, A. L. (1934). Studies in chronology and history. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Langer, W. L., & Gatzke, H. W. (1963). An encyclopedia of world history, ancient, medieval and modern, chronologically arranged. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Momigliano, A. "Pagan and Christian historiography in the Fourth Century A.D." in A. Momigliano, ed., The conflict between paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century, The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1963, pp. 79–99 Williams, N., & Storey, R. L. (1966). Chronology of the modern world: 1763 to the present time. London: Barrie & Rockliffe. Steinberg, S. H. (1967). Historical tables: 58 B.C.-A.D. 1965. London: Macmillan. Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P. (1975). Chronology of world history: a calendar of principal events from 3000 BC to AD 1973. London: Collings. Neugebauer, O. (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy Springer-Verlag. Bickerman, E. J. (1980). The chronology of the ancient world. London: Thames and Hudson. Whitrow, G. J. (1990). Time in history: views of time from prehistory to the present day. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. Aitken, M. (1990). Science-based dating in archaeology. London: Thames and Hudson. Richards, E. G. (1998). Mapping time: the calendar and history. Oxford University Press.
=== Published in the 21st century === Koselleck, R. "Time and history." The practice of conceptual history: timing history, spacing concepts. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2002. Ronald H. Fritze; et al. (2004). "Chronologies, calendars, and lists of rulers". Reference sources in history: an introductory guide (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. pp. 4+. ISBN 978-0-87436-883-3. Olena V. Smyntyna (2009). "Chronology". In H. James Birx (ed.). Encyclopedia of time: science, philosophy, theology, & culture. Sage. ISBN 978-1-4129-4164-8. Daniel Rosenberg; Anthony Grafton (2009). Cartographies of time: a history of the timeline. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987637.
== External links ==
Dating the Past (archived 29 May 2005) Pragmatic Bayesians: a decade of integrating radiocarbon dates in chronological models (archived 5 April 2005) from the University of Sheffield at the Internet Archive. Accessed 2008-01-04. Open Library. Works related to chronology Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "General Chronology" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Chattopadhyay, Subhasis. Chronicity and Temporality: A Revisionary Hermeneutics of Time in Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India 120 (10):606–609 (2015). ISSN 0032-6178.