Imperial Dating System

The dating system of the Imperium is fairly complex in nature, and has been made so to deal with the vast amount of recorded history that exists in the forty first millenium and the massive ditances between worlds, which can lead to long periods of isolation. Also the vagaries and time warping effects of the warp 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 "Anno Domini", 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 	Year Fraction 	Year 	Millennium

Check Number

The check number refers to the accuracy in the date, with 0 being the most accurate and 9 being the least. Class 0 or 1 refers to events that occurred in the Sol system, with each increasing number being a further degree of separation from Terra.

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