The Arabic names of the months of the Gregorian calendar are usually phonetic Arabic pronunciations of the corresponding month names used in European languages, or in the case of the Gulf Countries and Jordan, their numbers. A main regional exception is the Assyrian calendar names used in Iraq and the Levant, whose month names are inherited via Classical Arabic from the Babylonian and Aramaic lunisolar calendars and correspond to roughly the same time of year.
Though the lunar Hijri calendar and solar Hijri calendar are prominent in the Middle East, the Gregorian calendar is and has been used in nearly all the countries of the Arab world, in many places long before European occupation. All Arab states use the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes.Saudi Arabia was the last Arab country to adopt usage of the Georgian calendar in all official dealings, which took place in 2023. The names of the Gregorian months as used in Egypt, Sudan, and Yemen are widely regarded as standard across the Arab world, although their Classical Arabic names are often used alongside them. In other Arab countries, some modification or actual changes in naming or pronunciation of months are observed.
Iraq and the Levant These names are used primarily in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Classical Arabic inherited the Aramaic names from the Babylonian and Assyrian calendars, which are lunisolar. Although the Arabic names are cognate, they do not refer to the lunar months, but rather name the Julian calendar months (and also Gregorian) of the Greek Orthodox liturgical calendar, which serves as a guide post for the old agricultural calendar. Nine of these names were also used in the Ottoman Turkish calendar, of which five remain in use in the modern Turkish calendar.
No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Syriac cognate Transliteration 1 January 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 June 7 July 8 August 9 September 10 October 11 November 12 December
Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and the Gulf The names of the Gregorian months in Egypt, Sudan and the Gulf are based on the old Latin names.
No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Latin name Egyptian pronunciation 1 January 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 June 7 July 8 August 9 September 10 October 11 November 12 December
Libya (1969–2011) The names of months used in the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011) were derived from various sources, and were assembled after Muammar Gaddafi's seizure of power in 1969 and abolished in 2011 after the 17 February Revolution. The decision of changing calendar names was adopted in June 1986. The Libyan calendar, which followed the same sequence of renamed Gregorian months, counted the years from the death of Prophet Muhammad.Libyan Months and Years (historic)
Middle East Librarians Association This reckoning was therefore ten years behind the Solar Hijri calendar used in Iran and Afghanistan.
No. Month Arabic name Transliteration Meaning 1 January that of the fires 2 February the blooming 3 March the spring was also used 4 April the bird 5 May the water 6 June the summer 7 July from Gamal Abd el-Nasser 8 August from Hannibal Barca 9 September referring to al-Fateh Revolution 10 October the dates 11 November the tillage 12 December the canon
Algeria and Tunisia
The names of the Gregorian months in Algeria and Tunisia are based on the French names of the months, reflecting France's long colonisation of these countries (1830–1962 in Algeria; 1881–1956 in Tunisia).
No. Month Arabic name Transliteration French name 1 January 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 June 7 July 8 August 9 September 10 October 11 November 12 December
Morocco As Morocco was long part of the Roman Empire, the long-standing agricultural Berber calendar of the country preserves the Julian calendar and (in modified form) the names of its months. There are regional variations of the Berber calendar, since some communities did not recognise the Julian 29 February in century years where the Gregorian calendar had no equivalent date. When Morocco adopted the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes, the names of the months were taken from this local tradition.
No. Month Arabic name Transliteration 1 January 2 February 3 March 4 April 5 May 6 June 7 July 8 August 9 September 10 October 11 November 12 December
See also Gregorian calendar Islamic calendar Solar Hijri calendar Assyrian calendar Hebrew calendar Iranian calendars Babylonian calendar Pre-Islamic Arabian calendar Rumi calendar
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