[Avodah] How do Chazal calculate a king's reign?

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Zev Sero (and another respected listmember who wrote me offline) suggest that the kings of Bavel and Persia might have used varying methods for counting their years.

This is a good point, but it is relevant only to the beginning of this gemara, which explains how Belshatzar (inaccurately) calculated the 70 years, and to the following part, which explains how Achashverosh (inaccurately) calculated the 70 years.  But then the gemara gives its *own* explanation of how *we* calculate the 70 years.

As RMB pointed out, Mishnayos RH 1:1 seems to give it as a *halacha* that we must count the reigns of non-Jewish kings on a Tishrei-to-Elul basis. Now, I'll grant that this is specifically for the purposes of writing the date in a shtar, but if a different system were being used here, wouldn't someone point that out? -- That's why I think that when Rava pointed out that "Shanim m'kutaos havu!", what he meant was that the final year of one king and the first year of the next king ALWAYS happens in the same calendar year (except for the very rare case of one king ending at the very end of Elul and the next king starting at the very beginning of Tishrei).

>From what I can tell, the Gemara does not dispute the prior calculations, where it was said that Nevuchadnetzar reigned for 45 years, Evil Merodach for 23, and Belshatzar for 3. The differences lie in which year is the first of the 70, and the concept of "shanim m'kutaos - cutoff years" (and I think there were also some differences regarding Daryavesh and Koresh).

But everyone seems to agree that Belshatzar reigned for 3 years. This provides us with a very simple case for illustration. Belshatzar's calculation was that his first two years counted as the 69th and 70th years of our exile, and as soon as he entered his third year (the Gra is quoted as saying this was only a day or two into that third year), he figured that our time had come and gone and that it was safe to make use of the keilim of the Beis Hamikdash. And he was killed that very night.

Now, if Belshatzar died only a few days into his third year, then it is simply NOT POSSIBLE for his reign for his reign to have lasted more than two years and a few days, even if we *don't* use the "partial year" calculation at all! (And if we DO use the "partial year" calculation, then (regardless of when this "fiscal year" rolls over) it is possible for his reign to have been as short as 12 months plus a few days at either end!)

So why on earth would anyone think that Belshatzar's reign began in 3386 and lasted all the way into 3389?

Akiva Miller


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