The civic and religious system by which Romans organised months, festivals, courts, assemblies, and public memory.
Overview
The Roman calendar regulated political and religious life. Days could be marked for public business, assemblies, courts, festivals, or ritual restriction.
Why It Matters
By Caesar’s time the republican calendar had drifted badly from the solar year, partly because intercalation had been inconsistently managed. Caesar’s Julian reform created a more stable system.
In Roman Practice
Roman dates were commonly counted backward from the Kalends, Nones, and Ides rather than numbered sequentially as in modern calendars.