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What were the three seasons in the ancient Egyptian civil calendar?
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calendar
First complete printed title page for the Kalendarium (“Calendar”) by Regiomontanus, 1476.
The ancient Egyptian civil calendar was organized into three distinct seasons, each consisting of four months of 30 days each. These seasons were based on the agricultural and environmental cycles associated with the Nile River and are commonly translated as follows:1
- Inundation: The period when the Nile overflowed the agricultural land.1
- Going Forth: The time of planting, occurring after the Nile returned to its bed.1
- Deficiency: The time of low water and harvest.1
These seasons were integral to the civil year, which totaled 365 days when combined with five additional intercalary days at the end of the year.1