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Yes, pretty much every civilization that used a lunar calendar relied on an intercalary month getting added to keep the calendar in sync with the seasons. What
by antognini 4y ago
Yes, pretty much every civilization that used a lunar calendar relied on an intercalary month getting added to keep the calendar in sync with the seasons.
What made the Roman calendar unique was that it did not tie the months to the lunar phases. In the Hebrew and Babylonian calendars the month started on the first day that the lunar crescent was visible after a new moon. Since the synodic period of the Moon is about 29 and a half days this meant that the length of the month varied. In fact, much of the early development of Babylonian astronomy was likely motivated by the need to predict in advance how long a month was going to be (and whether a 13th month was going to be necessary).
But because the Romans didn't care what the phase of the Moon was (at least by the middle Republic), they could fix the lengths of the months to be same every year.