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THE SOLANKI PERIOD
great founder of Islam from Mecca to Medina. The Prophet actually commenced his departure from the cave near Mecca on the ninth day of the month Rabia I, corresponding to the 22nd Sept., 622 A.C. But it seems that when an era was started from the year commemorating the departure of the Prophet, the year was naturally counted from the first day of the first month Muharram among the lunar months that were current there since long. This day corresponds to Thursday76, the 2nd lunar day of the bright half of Śrāvaṇa, V.S. 67877 i.e. 15th July, 622 A.C. Accordingly, the commencement of the Hijri Era does not actually coincide with the very day of the flight, but preceeds it by sixty-eight days.78
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It is now established that the Hijri Era was originally luni-solar and not purely lunar. Upto the last year of the life of the Prophet i.e. A.H. 10 (632 A.C) a thirteenth month was intercalated whenever necessary. Astronomically such intercalations were necessary 3 times in 8 years or 7 times in 19 years. But as the Arabs were not well-conversant with astronomical calculations, the system of intercalation caused great confusion79. This led to the abandonment of that system. Henceforth, the Hijri year uniformly consisted of twelve lunar months,
76. Friday according to the Arab reckoning 77. V.S. 679 according to the Caitrādi system 78. Encyclopaedia Britanica, Vol. VI, p. 317 79. According to this view the epoch of the Hijri Era should be dated March 19, 622 A.C. (i.e. Caitra, su di. 2), as 4 intercalary months were inserted between the new year day of A.H. 1 and that of A.H. 11.
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