Ancient Egyptian Calendar

The river of Nile played important role in the life of the ancient Egypt. After its annual flood the Nile left fertile silt, on which wheat and barley grew quickly. Nile determined the rhythm of agricultural works and the whole life of Egypt. Even division of the year into seasons was connected with the Nile: the season of "flood" (flood of the Nile), season of "exit" (earth liberation from flood) and season of "absence" (low water level in the Nile). The ancient Egyptians paid attention to the fact, that the flood of the Nile began shortly after the brightest star Sirius (Sothis or Sopdet) could be seen (heliacal rising) in the rays of the rising Sun and before the Summer solstice. In any case, that was the situation in the 4^th millennium B.C.E. The first appearance of Sirius on the sky, which followed by the Nile flood Egyptians connected with the coming of the New Year of their calendar. And though the Summer solstice happened approximately at the same time, Sirius but not the Sun, became for Egyptians the celestial body, on which they based their calendar, i.e. their calendar was neither lunar, nor solar calendar, but so to say the Sirius calendar.

It is worth noting, that the duration of time between two appearances of Sirius under its heliacal rising was relatively close to the duration of the solar year. Probably that is why this calendar is called sometimes the solar calendar.

So, the first heliacal rising of Sirius foreshadowed the start of the Nile flood and marked the beginning of the New year. Egyptian year consisted of 365 days: 12 months with 30 days each and 5 additional days after the 12^th month.

The seven days week was not in use in ancient Egypt, and the month was divided into three big weeks with 10 days each and six small weeks with 5 days (in Greek language: decades and pentads).

That was how the famous ancient Egyptian calendar was formed.

Ordinal number of the month	Name of the month	Number of days in the month
1	Thoth	30
2	Phaophi	30
3	Athyr	30
4	Choiak	30
5	Tybi	30
6	Mechir	30
7	Phamenoth	30
8	Pharmauthi	30
9	Pachon	30
10	Payni	30
11	Epiphi	30
12	Mesori	30
Days of extra period of year	Epagomen	5
	Total days in the year:	365

Accuracy of this calendar suited ancient Egyptians, though for many centuries of further observations they established, that approximately every 130 years the time of Nile flood shifted and came one more day earlier before heliacal rising of Sirius.

Years' counting was made by the years of Pharaohs rulings. In the Hellenic epoch the era of Nabonassar was used (Wednesday February 26, 747 B.C.E.), according to which Ptolemy�s "Canon of Kings" was composed. Rome chronologists prolonged Ptolemy's Canon, putting down the years of rulings of Rome emperors Diocletian including.

The Calendar Converter realizes the ancient Egyptian calendar with calculation of years exactly from the era of Nabonassar, but without division of months into Egyptian weeks (decades and pentads).

Try converting dates using the Calendar Converter.