TheArmenian calendar is the calendar traditionally used inArmenia, primarily during the medieval ages. Since 1918, thecivil calendar in Armenia is theGregorian calendar.
The Armenian calendar was based on an invariant year length of 365 days. Because asolar year is about 365.25 days and not 365 days, the correspondence between the Armenian calendar and both thesolar year and theJulian calendar slowly drifted over time, shifting across a year of the Julian calendar once in 1,461 calendar years (seeSothic cycle). Thus, the Armenian year 1461 (Gregorian & Julian 2011) completed the first Sothic cycle, and the Armenian Calendar was one year off.
In A.D. 352, tables compiled by Andreas of Byzantium were introduced in Armenia to determine the religious holidays. When those tables exhausted on 11 July 552 (Julian Calendar), the Armenian calendar was introduced.[1]
Year 1 of the Armenian calendar began on 11 July 552 of theJulian calendar.[1] The calendar was adopted at theSecond Council of Dvin.[2] Armenian year 1462 (the first year of the second cycle) began on 11 July 2012 of the Julian calendar (24 July 2012 of theGregorian calendar).
An analytical expression of the Armenian date includes the ancient names of days of the week, Christian names of the days of the week, days of the month, Date/Month/Year number after 552 A.D., and the religious feasts.[3]
The Armenian calendar is divided into 12 months (de facto 13) of 30 days each, plus an additional (epagomenal) five days, calledaweleacʿ ("superfluous").
Years in the Armenian era are usually given inArmenian numerals (written inArmenian letters) preceded by the abbreviationԹՎ, fort’vin (թուին, meaning "in the year"). For example,ԹՎՌՆԾԵ, which means "the year 1455." Another prefix isԹ.Հ., standing fort’vin Hayocʿ (թուին Հայոց "in the Armenian year").[4]
The Armenian month names show influence of theZoroastrian calendar[5] andKartvelian influence in two cases (2nd and 3rd months). There are different systems for transliterating the names; the forms below are transliterated according to theHübschmann-Meillet-Benveniste system:
Shushi Liberation Day - on May 8, 1992 Armenian forces freed the city from Azerbaijani military forces, marking an important milestone in Artsakh liberation war for Armenians.
Victory Day : 9 May (World War II) was a holiday throughout the USSR and is still an official holiday in Armenia.
Louis H. Gray,On Certain Persian and Armenian Month-Names as Influenced by the Avesta Calendar, Journal of the American Oriental Society (1907)
P'. Ingoroq'va, "Jvel-kartuli c'armartuli k'alendari" ("The Old Georgian pagan calendar"), in: Sakartvelos muzeumis moambe ("Messenger of the Museum of Georgia"), 6, 1929–30, pp. 373–446 and 7, 1931–32, pp. 260–336
K'. K'ek'elije, "Jveli kartuli c'elic'adi" ("The Old Georgian year"), in: St'alinis saxelobis Tbilisis Saxelmc'ipo Universit'et'is šromebi ("Working papers of the Tbilisi State University by the name of Stalin") 18, 1941, reprinted in the author's "Et'iudebi jveli kartuli lit'erat'uris ist'oriidan" ("Studies in the history of Old Georgian literature") 1, 1956, pp. 99–124.
