Question

How do we calculate the difference between two dates one in BC and one in AD.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Well, unlike a typical number line in math, there is no ‘year zero’ and there are no negatives and positives. In other words, compared to a number line, everything’s an absolute value and there’s a discontinuity between 1 BCE and 1 CE.

1 BCE and 1 CE are right next to each other. So just add the years, then subtract ‘1’ for the ‘year zero’ that isn’t there.

<-12…11…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11…12…->

beginning of 5 BCE to beginning of 5 CE = 9 years

12 BCE to 12 CE = 23 years

9 BCE to 6 CE = 14 years

et cetera