# Coptic Calendar

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/coptic-calendar — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

The Coptic calendar preserves the Alexandrian year, with twelve thirty-day months and five or six additional days, and remains in use in Coptic liturgy and Nile Valley agriculture.[^1][^2]

## Origins and structure

The Coptic year is the Alexandrian year, an adaptation of the ancient Egyptian solar year coordinated with the Julian calendar. It consists of twelve months of thirty days each, followed by five additional days, called *epagomenai*, with a sixth added every fourth year.[^1]

The Alexandrian year became Egypt’s civil year in either 30 or 26 B.C.; the source describes the evidence for its precise introduction as ambiguous. Year 1 of the Alexandrian Era, also called the Era of Augustus, is nevertheless reckoned as 30/29 B.C.[^1]

## Era of the Martyrs

Since the fourth century, Copts have regularly numbered Alexandrian years according to the Era of Diocletian, usually called the **Era of the Martyrs** among Christians. Its starting point is the year of Diocletian’s military election as emperor in November 284. In Western texts, the abbreviation **A.M.**, from *anno martyrum*, conventionally identifies this reckoning.[^3]

A.M. 1 ran from 29 August 284 to 28 August 285 in the Julian calendar. Years whose A.M. number is divisible by four begin on Julian 30 August rather than 29 August.[^3]

## Months and leap days

The twelve regular months retain ancient Egyptian names in Copticized or Arabized forms.[^4] In their Arabic forms, their order is:

1. Tut
2. Babah
3. Hatur
4. Kiyahk
5. Tubah
6. Amshir
7. Baramhat
8. Baramudah
9. Bashans
10. Ba’unah
11. Abib
12. Misra.[^5]

The additional period following these months is called *al-Nasi* in Arabic. Its sixth day is inserted only at the end of a Coptic-Alexandrian year immediately preceding an A.M. year divisible by four. This additional day falls on Julian 29 August, before the following Julian leap day of 29 February.[^6]

The historical Egyptian year was divided into three equal seasons, each comprising four months. The names of the twelve Coptic months are connected with deities or festivals of ancient Egypt.[^7]

## Days and religious observance

Early Egyptian Christians adapted existing systems of timekeeping to their own observances. Their civil day began in the morning, whereas their liturgical day began at sunset. They adopted the seven-day week from the Jews, making its first day the Lord’s Day.[^8]

Despite extensive use of Gregorian and Islamic calendars, the Coptic Church continues to observe Alexandrian years and to number them according to the Era of the Martyrs.[^4]

## Agricultural use

The Coptic calendar has also survived in the agricultural life of the Nile Valley, providing a schedule for farmers’ work. Rhyming maxims and aphorisms serve as reminders of seasonal tasks, while almanacs give directions concerning the Nile, winds, crops, fieldwork, health, and everyday life.[^2]

For Tut, traditional sayings emphasize irrigation at the time when the Nile flood reaches its maximum. The source notes that this advice reflected basin irrigation before the construction of the Aswan Dam changed irrigation methods.[^9]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 301)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 318)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 302)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 302)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 304)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 304)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 313)
[^8]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 301)
[^9]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 318)