Dictionary term
Indiction
Direct answer
Indiction: An Indiction is a recurring fifteen-year numbering cycle used in late Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and ecclesiastical documents.
An Indiction labels a year position within a repeating fifteen-year cycle.
An Indiction labels a year position within a repeating fifteen-year cycle.
A cycle or timeline schematic for comparing the named timekeeping concept.Quick reference
- Use when
- Use Indiction in manuscript, charter, and church-calendar chronology with the regional starting rule specified.
- Do not use it for
- Do not assign a unique modern year from an indiction number alone.
- Reference category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Related terms
- Regnal Year, Anno Domini, Calendar, Julian Date
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The story behind Indiction
The cycle developed from Roman fiscal administration and continued long after its original tax function faded.
Indiction in spiritual tradition
Spiritually, the indiction is best treated as documentary context rather than a mystical fifteen-year pattern.
Indiction: fact and faith, kept distinct
This is a factual calendar, astronomy, Earth-science, cultural-history, or observational reference. It can support wonder and practical planning without becoming a claim of fate, spiritual causation, or private revelation.
Indiction in numerology
Indiction is not a numerology claim. Any numbers attached to it should retain their ordinary scientific, calendrical, navigational, or historical meaning unless a separate symbolic interpretation is clearly labeled.
Why Indiction matters
Because the cycle repeats, an indiction number helps date a document only when combined with an era, ruler, or other evidence.
Indiction at work: an example
A manuscript saying indiction 7 does not by itself identify which occurrence of year 7 is meant.
Where interpretation stops
Indiction is presented as sourced astronomy, calendrical, Earth-science, cultural, or instrument-history reference. Definitions should distinguish measured phenomena from civil convention and historical interpretation, preserve location and time dependencies, and avoid turning factual sky data into a deterministic personal claim.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Introduction to Calendars - Official overview of calendar systems, leap rules, eras, and historical calendar reform.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Also appears in
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Aliases
- None listed
- Last updated
- 2026-07-16
Combine the cycle with other evidence
Indiction in a book is one thing; Indiction in your own birth chart is your life. The Oracle casts your real chart and tells you what it means for your love, your work, and your year ahead, in conversation, free.
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Common questions
What is Indiction?
An Indiction is a recurring fifteen-year numbering cycle used in late Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and ecclesiastical documents.
How is Indiction used in an almanac?
Use Indiction in manuscript, charter, and church-calendar chronology with the regional starting rule specified.
What should I avoid when interpreting Indiction?
Do not assign a unique modern year from an indiction number alone.
