B.C.E. - a designation of time meaning "Before Common Era." This designation recognizes that the nations of the world now tend to follow the same calendar and dating scheme but that not all nations or religious faiths recognize Jesus Christ as divine or the savior of humankind. The use of B.C.E. rather than B.C. ("Before Christ") allows people of different religious faiths to find common ground for productive discussion and scholarship without allowing the theology of one to dominate.

BEHISTUN STONE - During the reign of Darius I of Persia an inscription was carved in stone on a mountainside recounting Darius's deeds. The inscription was written three times;once in Babylonian cuneiform, once in Elamite, and once in Persian. In the 18th century Sir Henry Rawlinson managed to unlock the secrets of Babylonian cuneiform using the inscriptions on the Behistun Stone.