Question

How many years separate the end of the Roman Empire (476 CE) and the beginning of Buddhism as a religion (480 BCE)?

a) 4 years
b) 956 years
c) 956 BCE
d) 1956 years

Answer 1

There are 956 years between the end of the Roman Empire (476 CE) and the beginning of Buddhism (480 BCE), as calculated by adding the absolute value of the BCE date to the CE date. The correct option is B.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the number of years that separate the end of the Roman Empire (476 CE) and the beginning of Buddhism as a religion (480 BCE), we have to consider the time span across two eras: before Common Era (BCE) and Common Era (CE).

First, we convert the BCE date to a negative number to make it easier to calculate the total span of years:

• 480 BCE = -480 (years before CE)

Next, we add the absolute value of the negative BCE number to the CE number:

• -480 (for 480 BCE) + 476 (for 476 CE) = 956

Therefore, there are 956 years separating the beginning of Buddhism and the fall of the Roman Empire.

The correct answer is: b) 956 years.