Spanish era facts for kids
The Spanish era was a special way of counting years. People in Spain and Portugal used it for a long time, from the 400s to the 1400s. It was like their own calendar system.
This system started counting from January 1, 38 BC. That's 38 years before the year 0! To figure out a year in the Spanish era, you just add 38 to the year we use today (called Anno Domini or AD). So, if it was AD 903, in the Spanish era it would be 903 + 38 = Era 941.
When people wrote dates using this system, they used the word era (meaning "era" or "age") before the year. This was different from the AD system, which uses anno (meaning "year").
Why 38 BC?
No one is completely sure why the year 38 BC was chosen as the start of the Spanish era. Some people think it might have been linked to a special calendar used to figure out when Easter would happen.
A wise man named Isidore of Seville, who lived a long time ago (in the early 600s), wrote about the word "aera." He said it came from the Latin word "aes," which means bronze or copper. He thought it was because the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus started a big tax in 38 BC. Everyone had to pay with copper coins. So, the "era" was named after this "bronze" tax.
However, historians now think the word "aera" actually came to mean "period of time" because people used small bronze counters when they did calculations.
Where and When It Was Used
The Spanish era was used all over the Visigothic Kingdom. This kingdom covered most of what is now Spain and Portugal, and even parts of North Africa.
Over time, people slowly stopped using the Spanish era. Different places switched to the AD system at different times:
- Catalonia stopped using it around 1180.
- Aragon switched in 1349 or 1350.
- Valencia changed in 1358.
- Castile stopped in 1382 or 1383.
- Portugal switched in 1420 or 1422.
- Navarre stopped in the early 1400s.
When the Spanish era was used, the new year always started on January 1st. But when they switched to the AD system, the new year often started on December 25th in some places.
The Spanish Era in Al-Andalus
In the parts of Spain ruled by Muslims, called al-Andalus, the Spanish era was known as taʾrīkh al-ṣufr. This name might mean "European era" or "Bronze Era."
One old story says that Emperor Augustus taxed everyone in bronze coins in 38 BC. He then melted these coins down to make plates. He used these plates to cover the banks of the Tiber River in Rome!
Example
See also
In Spanish: Era hispánica para niños
