When Ancient Rome established the Roman numerals, they became the standard method of numerical communication in Europe for 1,500 years.
It wasn’t until the 15th Century that Europe began to adopt and use the Hindi-Arabic numbers we all know and use today. The base-ten (decimal) system is highly logical and structured, and allows for faster and more complex calculations than the Roman kind.
I had three reflections on this:
- I had no idea the numbers we use today were of Hindu-Arabic origin. Early versions were developed in India, and following Islamic incursions into Northern India, the Arabs adopted the numerals in the the 8th Century and were responsible for their rapid propagation, including to Spain.
- I’ve taken the numbers we use today for granted. It’s easy to assume they’ve always existed in their current form, but they’ve been on an arduous journey over millennia to get to where they are today.
- It was amazing to learn how te Hindu-Arabic numbers have only been in Europe for a relative short period of time! Despite being the main numerical system for the past 500 years, the Roman system was the dominate set for more than 3x this length.