Bostran era

The Bostran era (also called the era of Bostra, the Arabian era or provincial era[1]) was a calendar era (year numbering) with an epoch (start date) corresponding to 22 March 106 AD. It was the official era of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, introduced to replace dating by regnal years after the Roman annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom.[2] It is named after the city of Bostra, which became the headquarters of the Sixth Legion stationed in the province.[3]

  1. ^ Other variants include "Bostrean era", "era of Arabia" [or "the Arabs"], "era of the province [of Arabia]" or "era of Provincia Arabia" (EPA). See Fiema 1988, passim; for the abbreviation EPA, see Mercier 2001, p. 102.
  2. ^ Fiema 1988, p. 109.
  3. ^ Bowersock 1970, p. 39.