Ancient Persian Calendar

Ancient Persian Calendar

The ancient Persian calendar was a lunisolar calendar used in ancient Persia, which is now Iran. It was based on the cycles of the sun and the moon and was used to determine the dates of festivals and other important events.

The ancient Persian calendar had 12 months, each with 29 or 30 days, making a total of 354 days in a year. To keep the calendar in sync with the solar year, an additional month was added every 120 years. This month, called “intercalary month” or “second Adar” was added after the twelfth month of the year.

The Persian calendar was divided into two seasons: the “season of growth” and the “season of hardship”. The first six months of the year, corresponding to the spring and summer, were considered the “season of growth” and were associated with agricultural activities. The remaining six months, corresponding to the fall and winter, were considered the “season of hardship” and were associated with the end of the agricultural cycle and preparations for the winter.

The Persian calendar was used during the Achaemenid Empire and was later adopted by the Arsacid and Sassanid empires. It was also used by the Zoroastrian community in Iran and India. Today, Iran uses the Solar Hijri calendar which is a solar calendar and it was introduced in 1925.

It should be noted that the ancient Persian calendar was not only used for administrative and religious purposes, but also in literature, poetry, and historical records, which made it an important element of the cultural heritage of ancient Persia.