Editing Census (section)

===Rome===
[[File:Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche in Istanbul 005.jpg|thumb|An early 13th-century mosaic in the [[Chora Church]] depicting the [[Virgin Mary]] and [[Saint Joseph]] registering for the [[Census of Quirinius]]]]
{{see also|Roman censor|Indiction}}

The English term is taken directly from the [[Latin]] ''census'', from ''{{linktext|censere}}'' ("to estimate"). The census played a crucial role in the administration of the Roman government, as it was used to determine the class a citizen belonged to for both military and tax purposes. Beginning in the middle republic, it was usually carried out every five years.<ref>[[Walter Scheidel|Scheidel, Walter]] (2009) ''Rome and China: comparative perspectives on ancient world empires''. Oxford University Press, p. 28.</ref> It provided a register of citizens and their property from which their duties and privileges could be listed. It is said to have been instituted by the Roman king [[Servius Tullius]] in the {{nowrap|6th century BC,<ref>[[Livy]] ''[[Ab urbe condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]]'' 1.42</ref>}} at which time the number of arms-bearing citizens was supposedly counted at around 80,000.<ref>[[Livy]] ''[[Ab urbe condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]]'' 1.42, citing [[Fabius Pictor]]</ref> When the Romans conquered Judea in AD{{nbsp}}6, the legate [[Publius Sulpicius Quirinius]] organized a [[Census of Quirinius|census]] for tax purposes, which was partially responsible for the development of the [[Zealot]] movement and several failed rebellions against Rome ultimately ending in the [[Jewish Diaspora]]. The [[Gospel of Luke]] makes reference to Quirinius' census in relation to the [[birth of Jesus]];<ref>{{bibleref|Luke|2:1–2}}</ref> based on variant readings of this passage, a minority of biblical scholars, including [[N. T. Wright]], speculate that this passage refers to a separate registration conducted during the reign of [[Herod the Great]], several years before Quirinius' census.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wright |first=Nicholas |author-link=N. T. Wright |title=Who Was Jesus? |date=9 March 1993 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. |isbn=978-0802806949 |pages=88–89}}</ref> The 15-year [[indiction]] cycle established by [[Diocletian]] in AD{{nbsp}}297 was based on quindecennial censuses and formed the basis for dating in late antiquity and under the [[Byzantine calendar|Byzantine Empire]].