The earliest and best know attempt to fix the date of the birth of Jesus Christ was by Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor.  He replaced the “Anno Diocletiani” Roman system of dating based upon the hated Emperor Diocletian with “Anno Domini” (the year of our Lord) in 525 AD.  Two centuries later, the Venerable Bede of Northumbria published his history which expanded the system to include the years before Christ (BC) with no zero year.  Historians and scholars soon recognized that the date was not consistent with the history revealed in the scriptures.  Attempts have been made over the years to fix the date of Christ’s birth more precisely but matching both the evidence of the Bible with known history and scientific evidence has been difficult.  So, does it really matter if we know the correct date?

Birth of Christ Article