CHRONOLOGY. 47 



XV. The Syriacyear agrees in all things with the 

 Julian, except that the months bear other names, 

 and that the beginning of this year falls in the 

 month of Oftober of the Julian year. Ulugh 

 Beigh, Albateignius, and other oriental authors, 

 count by Syriac years. 



XVI. The Attic year of the Greeks is a lunar 

 year, and confifts of 12 months, which have al- 

 ternately 29 and 30 days. But to prevent it from 

 beginning at all the feafons of the folar year, the 

 Greeks made a bifTextile of 13 months, and 

 counted the fixth month twice. So that in a re- 

 volution of 19 years, the 3, 5, 8, u, 14, 16 and 

 1 9th, were always Bifiextile years. The beginning 

 of this year was fixed to the day of the new moon 

 which immediately preceded the fummer folftice. 

 In the time of Meton and Eudoxus, they placed 

 it on the 8th of June , and, in the time of Timo- 

 charis and Hipparchus, it was fixed on the 2;th 

 of July. The Greeks were of all people the mod 

 wretched aflronomers, and their chronology is con- 

 fequently full of confufion. The lunar year of 

 the Macedonians agreed with the Attic, and the 

 folar year with the Julian. The Macedonians 

 fometimes divided the year, moreover, into four 

 equal parts, on the fun's entrance into the four 

 cardinal points, and they alloted to each quarter 

 91 (1 



'II. The Arabic or Mahometan year is a lu- 

 vear that has 354 days. But as the A 



ado : 



