Next question is, when was the clock changed to start at midnight and
noon,
with all hours the same length, instead of at dusk and dawn, with
different
lengths of hours?
I would guess that having hours of the same length came about with the
invention of the mechanical clock using gears instead of sun dials. Having
the day begin in the middle of the night was probably done to prevent any
part of the business days accounting activities from being split into a
second day. If people farther north away from the equator where the
difference in seasonal days is more pronounced then in Jerusalem, would run
into some accounting difficulties if the day ended at dusk and they were
still conducting business past dusk. The chance of a business operating at
mid night was slim to none, so the shop keepers would be able to keep a more
precise record of his day to day transactions. Could also have been done
for tax purposes too.
Just a guess on my part. If I'm wrong, then tell me so.
Dan
