Imperial Dating System

Overview
The dating system of the Imperium is fairly complex in nature, and has been structured so as to deal with the vast amount of recorded history that exists in the 41st Millenium and the massive distances between settled human worlds, which can lead to long periods of isolation. Also the vagaries and time-warping effects of the Immaterium can make it almost impossible to keep accurate track of time over long journeys.

The Imperium has developed its own method of recording dates, which needs a bit of explanation. Most importantly, the years are always "Anno Domini" using the system of our own Gregorian Calendar, so the dates themselves are the ones that we are familiar with now. A typical date as Imperial scholars write it, would look something like 0123456.M41. Let's divide this code up to explain each part:

0 123 456 M41 = Check Number/Year Fraction/Year/Millennium.

Check Number
The check number refers to the accuracy in the date, required for clarity due to distortions of linear time while within the Warp, and innacuracies in timing on remote or isolated worlds and star systems. Check numbers are listed using the following numeric classes:


 * Class: 0/1 - Earth standard date. Referring to an event which happened within the Sol system. '0' is most commonly used to refer to an event which actually occured on Terra.
 * Class: 2 - Direct. The source for the event the date records was in direct psychic contact with Terra when date reference was made.
 * Class: 3 - Indirect. The source for the event the date records was in direct contact with a Class 2 source, though not Terra itself.
 * Class: 4 - Corroborated. The source for the event the date records was in contact with a Class 3 source.
 * Class: 5 - Sub-Corroborated. The source for the event the date records is in direct psychic contact with a corroborated source.
 * Class: 6 - Non-referenced, 1 year. The source for the event the date records is not in contact with a Class 0 to 5 source when the date reference was made, though it is a continuation of a timeline referenced by a Class 0 to 5 source.
 * Class: 7 - Non-referenced, 10 years. As with Class 6 sources, but with a greater time span to allow for larger inaccuracies.
 * Class: 8 - Non-referenced, 11+ years. As Class 7, though unsourced for a longer period of time.
 * Class: 9 - Approximation. For when worlds using a non-Imperial calendar must reference an event in that world's history.

Year Fraction
For record-keeping, each year is divided into 1000 equal parts, numbered 000-999. Note that this is not generally used by Imperial citizens, but is simply for administrative use.

Year
This is the year within the millennium, running from 001-000. For general dates, often only the year and millennium are included.

Millennium
This is the millennium in which the event took place [[Category:I]]