Which came first? Reading a timeline
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What you will learn
By the end, you can put BC and AD years in order and say which event came first.
In a museum, a worn silver coin sits under glass. Its label says "about 100 BC". Next to it lies a gold ring: "AD 300". Which one is older, and by how much? A timeline can tell you in seconds.
Read the explanation
A timeline is a line of years. Long ago is on the left; now is on the right. Year 1 is where the counting starts. Years before it are BC; years after it are AD. BC years count down towards 1, then AD years count up. Some books write BCE and CE instead — same years, different letters.
- A decade is 10 years, a century is 100 years, a millennium is 1,000 years.
- A bigger BC number means longer ago. A bigger AD number means closer to now.
- There is no year 0: 1 BC is followed straight away by AD 1.