ad before or after the date?
Because of its literal Latin meaning, 'in the year of the Lord', ad is traditionally put before the numeral to which it relates, so that it makes grammatical sense if understood in its expanded form: ad 1453. In practice, ad is usually put after the numeral, and it is also acceptable to put it after the identification of a century, as in the fifth century ad. Some writers prefer to use pe (Present Era) or ce (Common Era) as alternatives in order to avoid the association with Christianity.
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