2nd millennium
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Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
The second millennium was a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1001, and ended on December 31, 2000. This is the second period of one thousand years in the Common Era.
The Julian calendar was used in Europe at the beginning of the millennium, and all countries that once used the Julian calendar had adopted the Gregorian calendar by the end of it. So the end date is always calculated according to the Gregorian calendar, but the beginning date is usually according to the Julian calendar (or occasionally the Proleptic Gregorian calendar).
This millennium is perhaps more popularly (albeit incorrectly) thought of as beginning and ending a year earlier, thus starting at the beginning of 1000 and finishing at the end of 1999. Many public celebrations for the end of the millennium were held on December 31 1999–January 1 2000 — with few on the actual date a year later. The inaccuracy stems from the assumption that there is a year zero, however this is not the case for this calendar.
