if i say 6th century, what does it mean?

Question

from which yr to what?
and is it AD or BC?

Answer 1

Unless you say "BC" (or "BCE" in some circles) it means "AD". Since the "first century" was year 1 to year 100, "6th century" would be 501-600 AD.

Since there was no "year zero" the century should begin with a "1". So the first year of the 21st century was actually 2001 not 2000.

Answer 2

It would normally mean the years 501 through 600, inclusive. It would be understood as AD unless BC were specified, but to avoid any confusion it would never hurt to specify BC or AD.

The year 1BC was followed by 1AD, there was no Year 0, hence:

1st century = 1 - 100AD
2nd century = 101 - 200AD
3rd century = 201 - 300AD
4th century = 301 - 400AD
5th century = 401 - 500AD
. . .
21st century = 2001 - 3000AD

Because most people simply do not understand this, they think a millennium runs from a 00 year through a 99 year, such as 1900 through 1999, when in fact the millennum begins with a year numbered as 01. Thus the recent turn of the millennium was NOT Jan 1, 2000, as so many mistakenly assumed, but actually was Jan 1, 2001. People think the millennium changed because it went from 19xx to 20xx because the numbering changed from 19 to 20, and this is simply not true and results from a failure to understand exactly how centuries are numbered.

Answer 3

Generally if you just say the "6th century" it is understood to mean the 6th century of the current era - designated either AD (Anno Domini) or CE (Common Era).

It ran from the year 501 to the year 600.
(NOT 500-599! Think about it, our counting system is base-10: we count from 1-10, not from 0-9)

However, if the context is the ancient world, and the fact that the previous era (designated either BC "Before Christ" or BCE "Before the Common Era") was being discussed had already been established, then *from context* you can deduce that the 6th century BC in meant.

To avoid confusion, it's a good idea to designate whether you mean AD or BC.

Answer 4

From 501-599, if you mean AD (which is more than likely what you do mean) or 600-501 if you mean BC (I think - years were counted backwards in BC, so it's hard to figure out!). It could be either AD or BC - there's 6thCentury AD and 6thCentury BC. The change from BC to AD is generally taken to be the birth of Christ, so 6thC AD is the sixth century after (what's believed to be) Christ's birth, and 6thC BC is the sixth century before that date.

BC = Before Christ
AD = Anno Domini (Year of Our Lord)

But don't quote me on any of this.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
if i say 6th century, what does it mean?
from which yr to what?
and is it AD or BC?

Answer 6

6th century

Answer 7

It means AD. The 6th century was from 500-599AD

Answer 8

If it is said like that, it would mean the years from 500 to 599AD (although some pedants might say to 600AD) The number of the cnetury is always 1 ahead of the actual number - hence the 1900s were the 20th century and the 2000s are the 21st - because the 1st century AD was from 1AD to 99AD - the first answer is very wrong!

Answer 9

The 6th century AD would cover any time from the start of 500 AD to the end of 599 AD. As soon as it became the year 600 AD you would be in the 7th century.

Answer 10

6th Century = 500 to 599 A.D.

Today is 21st Century ( 2000 to 2099 A.D. )