what was the first month of the roman calendar
Roman calendar The Romans did not have records of their early calendars but, like modern historians, assumed the year originally began in March on the basis of the names of the months following June. The consul M. Fulvius Nobilior (r. 189 BC) wrote a commentary on the calendar at the Temple of Hercules Musarum that claimed January had been named for Janus because the god faced both ways,[65][where?] suggesting it had been instituted as a first month.[citation needed] It was, however, usually said to have been instituted along with February, whose nature and festivals suggest it had originally been considered the last month of the year. The consuls' term of office—and thus the order of the years under the republic—seems to have changed several times. Their inaugurations were finally moved to 1 January (Kal. Ian.) in 153 BC to allow Q. Fulvius Nobilior to attack Segeda in Spain during the Celtiberian Wars, before which they had occurred on 15 March (Eid. Mart.).[66] There is reason to believe the inauguration date had been 1 May during the 3rd century BC until 222 BC[citation needed] and Livy mentions earlier inaugurations on 15 May (Eid. Mai.), 1 July (Kal. Qui.), 1 August (Kal. Sex.), 1 October (Kal. Oct.), and 15 December (Eid. Dec.).[67][where?] Under the Julian calendar, the year began on 1 January but years of the Indiction cycle began on 1 September.
Julian calendar The Romans later renamed months after Julius Caesar and Augustus, renaming Quintilis as "Iulius" (July)[8] in 44 BC and Sextilis as "Augustus" (August) in 8 BC. Quintilis was renamed to honour Caesar because it was the month of his birth.[68] According to a senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, Sextilis was renamed to honour Augustus because several of the most significant events in his rise to power, culminating in the fall of Alexandria, occurred in that month.[69]
July July is the seventh month of the year (between June and August) in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar, it being the month of his birth. Prior to that, it was called Quintilis, being the fifth month of the 10-month calendar.
Sunday On 7 March 321, Constantine I, Rome's first Christian Emperor (see Constantine I and Christianity), decreed that Sunday would be observed as the Roman day of rest:[10]