Reply to post: Madness

Madness

> Nowhere in the archaeological or historical record, however, is the madness recorded of two calendars installed side by side but showing different things.

I refer the author to the numerous ancient and not so ancient civilisations that have run the lunar and solar calendars side-by-side with even more numerous mechanisms to try and link them.

One particular event stands out:

The problem with lunar calendars is that the solar year is dominant. For example, the Ottoman empire used the lunar calendar as its official calendar for government expenditures. But unfortunately tax collection had to follow the solar year because revenue could only be collected following harvests. However, 32 solar years is 33 lunar years and, at the end of cycle, there is one less tax harvest compared to expenditure year so there is less revenue available to the government. The year 1448J was one such end of cycle year and - perhaps not entirely coincidentally - the Ottomans were invaded by Hungarian and Serbian troops just when there was financial pressure funding the army.