Eli5 why is 0 AD onwards called “The year of our lord” when Jesus was born in 6BC – 4BC?

Question

Eli5 why is 0 AD onwards called “The year of our lord” when Jesus was born in 6BC – 4BC?

In: 0

Answer 1

First, there’s no year 0AD. The year goes from 1BC to 1AD.

Secondly, it’s not like they started counting right when Jesus was born. The Anno Domini system was developed only 500 years later by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus, and it didn’t even catch on until about 300 years later. Sure, hundreds of years later historians figured out he might have been off by a few years, but by now it’s too late to fix anything.