Proleptic Julian calendar (AUC or by reference to consuls). The year 46 BC itself is a special case, because of the historical introduction of the Julian calendar in that year, it was allotted 445 days. Before then, the Roman Republican calendar used a system of intercalary months rather than leap days, but the Julian system of leap days had already been in use since 238 BC in Ptolemaic Egypt, since the Decree of Canopus reforming the Egyptian calendar. Proleptic Julian calendar The proleptic Julian calendar is produced by extending the Julian calendar backwards to dates preceding AD 4 when the quadrennial leap year
Leap year In 1825, Ideler believed that the lunisolar calendar was abandoned about 450 BC by the decemvirs, who implemented the Roman Republican calendar, used until 46 BC. The days of these calendars were counted down (inclusively) to the next named day, so February 24 was "ante diem sextum Kalendas Martias" ("the sixth day before the calends of March") often abbreviated a. d. VI Kal. Mart. The Romans counted days inclusively in their calendars, so this was actually the fifth day before March 1 when counted in the modern exclusive manner (not including the starting day). The Republican calendar's intercalary month was