(b.) reckoning forward brings us to 1879 a.d., when, by the Treaty of Berlin, Ottoman power received a blow from which it has never recovered, and which has prepared the way for its extinction.
(3.) If we take Solar years, then—
(a.) reckoning backward, we get to b.c. 624 (a.m. 3376), the beginning of the Babylonian kingdom, the “head of gold.”
(b.) reckoning forward we get to 1896-7 a.d., which is yet future.
These reckonings in their beginnings and endings form an introversion, or Epanodos, thus:—
587 b.c. ... 606 b.c. ... 624 b.c. ... dates increasing.
1860 a.d. ... 1879 a.d. ... 1896-7 a.d. ... dates increasing.
The Solar reckonings are the more important dates; the Lunar are next in significance; while Zodiacal reckonings furnish us with dates which, to say the least, fit neatly into their places.
In passing from b.c. dates to a.d. dates, one year must always be deducted, e.g., from b.c. 2 to a.d. 2 is only three years, not four! Thus—
From Jan. 1 b.c. 2 to Jan. 1 b.c. 1 is one year.