Study Avodah Zarah folio 9A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
The Persian Empire, which ruled the world before the construction of the Temple, continued to do so for 34 years in the presence of the Temple, i.e., after the Temple was built; the Greek Empire ruled for 180 years in the presence of the Temple; the Hasmonean dynasty ruled for 103 years in the pre
According to this statement of R' Yosei, evidently when the Greek rule over the Jewish people ended and the Roman rule began it was 206 years before the Second Temple was destroyed, i.e., the two sets of 103 years of the Hasmonean dynasty and the Herodian dynasty. But you said that when the Roman Em
§ Apropos the above baraita, the Talmud relates that Rav Pappa said: If this tanna, i.e., one who dates years in reference to the destruction of the Temple, forgot and did not know the details of the date with regard to exactly how much time had passed since the destruction of the Temple, e.g., he
Similarly, if a scribe forgot the exact year, let him ask the tanna how much time he calculates has passed since the Temple’s destruction, and he should deduct from the number 20 years, and in this manner he will find his number. And your mnemonic to remember that the tanna adds 20 to the date of th
In relation to the discussion on the calculation of years, the Talmud states that one of the rabbis of the school of Eliyahu taught: The world is destined to exist for 6,000 years. For 2,000 years the world was waste, as the Torah had not yet been given. The next set of 2,000 years are the time pe