Re: Concalendrical reference point

Tim May wrote:
>Note that this thread is of marginal topicality, but I can't think of
>a better place to ask.
>
>I've been trying to develop a calendar.  It's just a standard calendar
>for use on Earth, with no speacal concultural associations.  I'm
>fairly happy with the mechanics of the thing, but one question
>troubles me - from what date to start the long count of years?  I
>could just start it from when I finish the calendar (or that year,
>anyway - I'm thinking of having the year start at the vernal equinox,
>like the Vorlin calendar) but that seems to perhaps attach too much
>importance to the creation of the calendar itself.  I'm unable to
>decide on any one event of such importance in history.  So one idea I
>had was to simply take the earliest recorded event which can be
>precisely dated (at least to the year) with a reasonable degree of
>certainty. So my question is, does anyone know what that event is?
>(Preferably not an astronomical observation, as we only know these
>with accuracy because we can project them back in time, and could do
>this in theory regardless of contemporary records - but another event
>recorded with reference to an astronomical event would be fine.)
A battle between the Lydians and the Medes that took place on the 28th of
May 585 BC is at least a good contender - it was interupted by a total solar
eclipse. Seen it mentioned as "earliest reliably dated historical event" in
a couple different books.

                                                Andreas


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