"In Christian societies, historical dating divides between years "before the birth of Christ" (b.c.) and after (a.d., anno Domini, or "year of our Lord"). This system came into wide acceptance in Europe in the eighteenth century, as formal historical consciousness increased (although ironically, 1 A.D. is a few years late for Jesus' actual birth). China, Islam, Judaism, and many other societies use different dating systems, referring to their own history. This text, like many recent world history materials, uses the Christian chronology (one has to choose some system) but changes the terms to b.c.e. ("before the common era") and C.E. ("of the common era") as a gesture to less Christian-centric labeling." -from Textbook
Cite: Stearns, P., Adas, M., Schwartz, S., & Gilbert, M. (2003). Chapter I From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations. In World civilizations: The global experience (Advanced placement ed.). New York: Longman.
Cite: Stearns, P., Adas, M., Schwartz, S., & Gilbert, M. (2003). Chapter I From Human Prehistory to the Early Civilizations. In World civilizations: The global experience (Advanced placement ed.). New York: Longman.