Who was born on AD 1?

Answer 1

Of course, millions of people were born on AD (or CE) 1. It is also the traditional date for the birth of Jesus. However, both Matthew and Luke say that Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod the Great, who died in 4 BCE. So the latest possible date for the birth of Jesus is also 4 BCE. The common belief that Jesus was born on the year 1 is the result of an innocent mistake made in 533 by the Roman abbott Dionysus Exiguus. He knew that it was impossible to say when Jesus was born, but he knew, or thought he knew, when Herod died. So, he devised the new Christian calendar to begin on the year of Herod's death. He based the date of Herod's death on the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus, but was unaware that Augustus only adopted that name four years after his reign began, going by his birth name of Octavius until then. So, Exiguus commenced his calendar just 4 years too late.