A Roman Innovation

A Roman Innovation

The Roman system of recording numbers lasted considerably longer than the Roman Empire. As recently as 500 years ago, Roman numerals were still being used for addition and subtraction throughout Europe. But the Roman approach to numbers didn’t translate well to higher math, and by the late 1500s Arabic numerals were being adopted in the West.

The Roman system uses only seven symbols, individually or in combination. When more than one symbol is used to form a number, the value of each symbol generally is added together, reading from left to right.

To multiply a numeral by 1,000, place a bar over the symbol like a long vowel sound. For instance, X with a bar across its top would stand for 10,000.

Young Romans celebrate introduction of the Roman Numerals. Photo by Elenius

Roman Numerals

1 – I
2 – II
3 – IV
5 – V
6 – VI
7 – VII
8 – VIII
9 – IX
10 – X
15 – XV
20 – XX
25 – XXV
30 – XXX
40 – XL
50 – L
60 – LX
70 – LXX
80 – LXXX
90 – XC
100 – C
150 – CL
200 – CC
300 – CCC
400 – CD
500 – D
600 – DC
700 – DCC
800 – DCCC
900 – CM
1000 – M
1500 – MD
1900 – MCM or MDCCCC
1910 – MCMX
1940 – MCMXL
1950 – MCML
1960 – MCMLX
1990 – MCMXC
1996 – MCMXCVI
2000 – MM
3000 – MMM