Roman Numeric System Essay

When were roman numerals discovered you may ask? The history of Roman numerals has been questionable for many years. What is clear is that numerals were used by the ancient Etruscans an interesting aspect of the Etruscan numeral system is that some numbers are represented as partial subtractions. The Etruscan numeric system was adapted from the Greek Attic numerals providing ideas for the later Roman numerals. The Roman numeral system is probably very simple rather than the Etruscan system. The system is based on the number 10 counting system was originally based on a counting method using the fingers. One single stroke of the pen would represent one finger. The Latin word for 100 is centum and for 1000 is mille giving the numerals C and M.The …show more content…
However, their number system was flawed, it had no zero (0), and no single method for counting above several thousand units, (lines were often placed over numerals to indicate multiples of their value).The eventual fall of the Roman Empire by 300 A.D. saw the introduction and adoption of Arabic numerals, today we call them decimal numbers because they work consistently to a base of 10. The invention of zero (nothing) was a huge leap forward. Roman numerals today are used most frequently seen as list numbers, time pieces and historic Roman coins, art and antiquities in museums and antique shops. Nearly all computer word processing packages (Word, PDF) allow uppercase and lowercase Roman numerals as list item indicators. Roman numerals or numbers are also used in classic style watch and clock faces where the Roman number for 4 is often written as IIII rather than IV, to add symmetry and balance to the face. Quite often you can see numerals used to indicate the time on