Centuries?

Question

right now we're in the *21*st c. A.D. b/c we're in the yr *20*07

What would you call the yr 800 B.C.??? Would it be the 8th century B.C. or 9th.....7th??? I'm confused, I know this should be basic knowledge, but I'm confused ^_^

Thanks for the help!

Answer 1

This is not so confusing.

There is no such thing as "year 0"--Christ was born on Christmas Day in 1 BC, or so said tradition. So, according to the monk Dionysius Exiguus who started our dating system, from 100BC- 1BC, people were living in the "first century BC" (count the years from 100 to 1 BC, and you'l see you get 100). From 1 AD to 100 AD, people were living in the "first century AD" (count the years from 1 AD to 100 AD, and you'l see you get 100). The "21st century" we are in now lasts from 2001 to 2100 AD; the 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000. (This is counter-intuitive, because "1900" seems like it should be in the 20th century, not the 19th, but it's actually the last year of the 19th, just like 2000 was the last year of the 20th--remember, there was no year zero).

So, here's a test to see if you understand this:

101 BC: This is the second century BC
100 BC: This is the first century BC
1 BC: This is the first century BC
1 AD: This is the first century AD
100 AD: This is the first century AD
101 AD: This is the second century AD

I hope this helped.

PS 800 BC would NOT be the end of the eighth century BC, contrary to the post above. It would actually be the START of the eighth century BC, which would last all the way to 701 BC.

Answer 2

The first century goes from 1 to 100
second is from 101 to 200
third is from 201 to 300

so the 8th century is from 701 to 800
and the 9th century starts in 801.

Edit: oops. I missed the fact that you said B.C. rather than A.D. Well everything I said still stands except for the word "start". When you're in B.C. it runs backwards, so 801 B.C. is the *end* of the 9th century B.C., not the start.

I agree, it is very confusing.

Answer 3

simply:
1 to 100 was first Century
101 to 200 was second Century

in other side:
1 B.C to 100 B.C was first Century B.C
101 B.C to 200 B.C was second Century B.C

so as you asked 800 B.C should be in 8th Century

Answer 4

This is a very good question. The guys above have it figured out correctly though you did ask for BC. 800 BC would be the
end of the eighth century BC.
This is VERY confusing. I teach world history in college.
I always try to say "in the 800s BC rather than "in the 9th century BC" because this confuses so many people including me.

Answer 5

A century is one hundred consecutive years.

EXAMPLE: The year 1900 is still 19th century. The year 1901 is 20th century. The year 2000 is 20th century. The year 2001 is 21st century.

So, 800BC is 8th Century BC.