Editing Hour (section)

=== Counting from dawn ===
In ancient and medieval cultures, the counting of hours generally started with sunrise. Before the widespread use of artificial light, societies were more concerned with the division between night and day, and daily routines often began when light was sufficient.{{sfnp|Landes|1983|p=76}}

"Babylonian hours" divide the day and night into 24 equal hours, reckoned from the time of sunrise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/projects/sundials/dial_furniture_hours.html |title=Different Classification of Hours |publisher=Math.nus.edu.sg |access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref>  They are so named from the false belief of ancient authors that the Babylonians divided the day into 24 parts, beginning at sunrise.  In fact, they divided the day into 12 parts (called ''kaspu'' or "double hours") or into 60 equal parts.{{sfnp|Holford-Strevens|2005}}

==== Unequal hours ====
{{Main|Unequal hours}}

Sunrise marked the beginning of the first hour, the middle of the day was at the end of the sixth hour and sunset at the end of the twelfth hour. This meant that the duration of hours varied with the season. In the Northern hemisphere, particularly in the more northerly latitudes, summer daytime hours were longer than winter daytime hours, each being one twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset. These variable-length hours were variously known as temporal, unequal, or seasonal hours and were in use until the appearance of the mechanical clock, which furthered the adoption of equal length hours.{{sfnp|Landes|1983|p=76}}

This is also the system used in [[Jewish law]] and frequently called "[[Relative hour|Talmudic hour]]" (''Sha'a Zemanit'') in a variety of texts. The Talmudic hour is one twelfth of time elapsed from sunrise to sunset, day hours therefore being longer than night hours in the summer; in winter they reverse.

The Indic day began at sunrise. The term ''hora'' was used to indicate an hour. The time was measured based on the length of the shadow at day time. A ''hora'' translated to 2.5 ''pe''. There are 60 ''pe'' per day, 60 minutes per ''pe'' and 60 ''kshana'' (snap of a finger or instant) per minute. ''Pe'' was measured with a bowl with a hole placed in still water. Time taken for this graduated bowl was one ''pe''. Kings usually had an officer in charge of this clock.