BCE and CE are terms applied to years....

BCE and CE are terms applied to years. Historians and others use these terms to indicate whether something took place a very long time ago, including ancient times, or whether it happened more recently. BCE stands for “before the Common Era” and refers to the years that happened a very long time ago. CE stands for “of the Common Era,” which refers to more recent years, including the current year. The Common Era begins with 1 CE; years prior to that are referred to as BCE. The years in the Common Era are counted in the usual way: 1, 2, 3, and so on. Years in BCE, however, are counted backward from 1. Because of this backward counting, something that happened in 1000 BCE occurred before something that took place in 500 BCE. Think of this timeline like a number line that you use in math. the years that occurred “before the Common Era” (or labeled “BCE”) are counted backward. As a result, the events with the highest numbers BCE occurred earlier and will be placed farther on the left side of the timeline. Look at the labels “Ancient Times” and “Modern Times” above the timeline. Some historians use those labels to divide history into general time periods so it is easier to study and talk about. Not all historians agree on the specific end date of ancient times and beginning date of modern times, but they generally agree that, in Europe, the Middle Ages that occurred between the two. Many historians use the term Middle Ages to refer to the time between the years 450 and the late 1400s CE.