The Seleucid Era and Rhythms of Time Consciousness in Modern Jewish Yemen

Abstract The Seleucid era was the first to introduce continuous counting of years, a system adopted by many societies for over a millenium. Its usage gradually declined during the Middle Ages and early modern period, and today it is preserved only by a small group of Yemenite Jews for religious purposes. This article explores the preservation of this calendar within the Jewish community of Yemen, where it was referred to as the “Era of Contracts” ( Minyan ha-Shetarot ). It also examines how the Seleucid era’s status diminished even in Yemen, particularly in the twentieth century, when a significant portion of Yemenite Jews emigrated—primarily to Palestine and other countries—where the use of the “Era of Creation of the World” (Anno Mundi) prevailed. Drawing on hundreds of documents from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, this study reveals a gradual process of change over time and the sophisticated use of multiple time systems. The analysis offers a deeper understanding of the layered time consciousness of Yemenite Jews in the modern era.