The band-edge excitonic properties of AlN are investigated using low-temperature ͑1.7 K͒ optical reflectance and transmission measurements of samples with various crystal orientations. The A, B, and C excitons are found to have energies of 6.025, 6.243, and 6.257 eV in unstrained material, which shift with strain. The results are compared to a calculation of exciton energies and oscillator strengths to yield a crystal-field splitting of −230 meV in unstrained AlN, in good agreement with previous ab initio calculations.