Year 444 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar

Roman calendar

The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...

. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Atratinus, Siculus and Luscus and the Year of the Consulship of Mugillanus and Atratinus (or, less frequently, year 310 Ab urbe condita

Ab urbe condita

Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...

). The denomination 444 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini

Anno Domini

and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....

 calendar era

Calendar era

A calendar era is the year numbering system used by a calendar. For example, the Gregorian calendar numbers its years in the Western Christian era . The instant, date, or year from which time is marked is called the epoch of the era...

 became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Greece

• The conservative and democratic factions in Athens
  Athens
  Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
  
   confront each other. The ambitious new leader of the conservatives, Thucydides
  Thucydides (politician)
  Thucydides was a prominent politician of ancient Athens and the leader for a number of years of the powerful conservative faction. While it is likely he is related to the later historian Thucydides son of Olorus, the details are uncertain; maternal grandfather and grandson fits the available...
  
  , accuses the leader of the democratic faction, Pericles
  Pericles
  Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
  
  , of profligacy and criticises the way Pericles is spending money on his ambitious building plans for the city. Thucydides manages, initially, to gain the support of the ecclesia. Pericles responds by proposing to reimburse the city for all the expenses from his private property, on the condition that he would make the inscriptions of dedication in his own name. His stance is supported by the ecclesia, so Thucydides' efforts to dislodge Pericles from power are defeated.