Historical chronology: What you need to know

Historical chronology

The very first step in grasping History is to understand chronology.

Chronology in history refers to the arrangement of events in the order in which they occurred. It is the study of how time is organised and divided in relation to historical events.

The goal of chronology in history is to place events in their proper order, so that they can be studied and understood in their historical context.

There are several rules that have been developed over time to achieve this and they are outlined below. The terms and concepts outlined here can be used in your own historical writing to improve your academic vocabulary.

How time is ordered in history

The measurement of time is traditionally based around the birth of Jesus Christ.

For events that occurred before Jesus’ birth, type ‘BC’ (an abbreviation for ‘Before Christ’) after the number of the year.

For example: 48 BC.

For events that happened after Jesus’ birth, type ‘AD’ (an abbreviation for the Latin phrase anno domini, which means “Year of our Lord”) before the number of the year.

For example: AD 120.

For those who prefer a non-religious version, the following alternatives are placed after the number of the year: