11 BC
An overview of the year 11 BC: calendar peculiarities, Roman consular dating (the Year of the Consulship of Tubero and Maximus), and how modern chronology treats this date.
Overview
11 BC is a year of the late Roman Republic/early Principate era often identified in ancient sources as "the Year of the Consulship of Tubero and Maximus." In modern chronology it is placed eleven years before the epoch used by the Anno Domini system. Contemporary records name years by the two serving consuls rather than by a continuous count.
Calendar and dating
The year falls within the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. Because of early implementation errors and later corrections to leap-year practice, sources disagree about the exact weekday on which 11 BC began and whether it was treated as a leap year. Reconstructions offer several possibilities:
- common year starting on Monday
- common year starting on Tuesday
- leap year starting on Sunday
- leap year starting on Monday
- leap year starting on Tuesday
These alternative reconstructions reflect differences between the original Julian practice and later proleptic extensions used by modern historians and chronologists. For general introductions to the Julian system see further reading.
Roman political context
Naming the year after its consuls—here cited in surviving lists simply as Tubero and Maximus—was the standard Roman convention. Consuls were the highest elected magistrates and lent their names to annual dating. In the period around 11 BC Augustus held the ultimate authority as princeps, with consuls serving in a more ceremonial and administrative capacity within the imperial framework.
Historical significance and modern usage
11 BC is not widely marked by a single epochal event in surviving broad sources, but it sits within a decade of administrative consolidation and frontier activity that characterized the early Roman Empire. Modern historians treat the year using the Anno Domini era, Julian-calendar reconstructions, and cross-cultural synchronisms to relate Roman developments to events elsewhere in Eurasia and beyond. For chronology and calendar details, consult specialist works and chronicle lists linked above.
Questions and answers
Q: What year is being discussed in the text?
A: The year being discussed in the text is 11 BC.
Q: Was 11 BC a common year or a leap year?
A: 11 BC could have been either a common year starting on Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Q: What was the significance of the year 11 BC?
A: At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tubero and Maximus.
Q: Who were Tubero and Maximus?
A: Tubero and Maximus were two consul officers who held their position in the year 11 BC.
Q: What is the Julian calendar?
A: The Julian calendar is a calendar system introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC, which was widely used in Europe until the Gregorian calendar replaced it.
Q: What is a common year?
A: A common year is a year that has 365 days.
Q: What is a leap year?
A: A leap year is a year that has 366 days, with an additional day being added to the month of February.
Author
AlegsaOnline.com 11 BC Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/133437