| Millennium: | 1st millennium BC |
|---|---|
| Centuries: | 2nd century BC – 1st century BC – 1st century |
| Decades: | 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC – 10s BC – 0s BC 0s 10s |
| Years: | 15 BC 14 BC 13 BC – 12 BC – 11 BC 10 BC 9 BC |
| 12 BC by topic | |
| Politics | |
| State leaders – Sovereign states | |
| Birth and death categories | |
| Births – Deaths | |
| Establishments and disestablishments categories | |
| Establishments – Disestablishments | |
| Gregorian calendar | 12 BC |
| Ab urbe condita | 742 |
| Armenian calendar | N/A |
| Assyrian calendar | 4739 |
| Bahá'í calendar | -1855–-1854 |
| Bengali calendar | -604 |
| Berber calendar | 939 |
| English Regnal year | N/A |
| Buddhist calendar | 533 |
| Burmese calendar | -649 |
| Byzantine calendar | 5497–5498 |
| Chinese calendar | 戊申年 (2625/2685) — to —
己酉年(2626/2686) |
| Coptic calendar | -295–-294 |
| Ethiopian calendar | -19–-18 |
| Hebrew calendar | 3749–3750 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 45–46 |
| - Shaka Samvat | N/A |
| - Kali Yuga | 3090–3091 |
| Holocene calendar | 9989 |
| Iranian calendar | 633 BP – 632 BP |
| Islamic calendar | 652 BH – 651 BH |
| Japanese calendar | |
| Korean calendar | 2322 |
| Minguo calendar | 1923 before ROC 民前1923年 |
| Thai solar calendar | 532 |
Year 12 BC was either a common year starting on Saturday, Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) and a common year starting on Friday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Quirinius (or, less frequently, year 742 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 12 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.