Who developed the idea of B.C.E and C.E.?

looney_tunes

The year numbering system used with Common Era notation was devised by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525 to replace the Diocletian years, because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used world-wide for numbering the year part of the date. The numbering of years using Common Era notation is identical to the numbering used with Anno Domini (BC/AD) notation, 2009 being the current year in both notations and neither using a year zero. Common Era is also known as Christian Era and Current Era, with all three expressions abbreviated as CE. (Christian Era is, however, also abbreviated AD, for Anno Domini.) Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for "Before the Common Era", "Before the Christian Era", or "Before the Current Era". Both the BCE/CE and BC/AD notations are based on a sixth-century estimate for the year in which Jesus was conceived or born, with the common era designation originating among Christians in Europe at least as early as 1615 (at first in Latin). Common Era notation has been adopted in several non-Christian cultures, by many scholars in religious studies and other academic fields, and by others wishing to be sensitive to non-Christians, because Common Era does not explicitly make use of religious titles for Jesus, such as Christ and Lord, which are used in the BC/AD notation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Era Nov 11 09, 12:04 AM