Roman Mathematics
Roman Mathematics
Introduction
The system of Roman numerals that we know today is a numeral system that originated from ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. The system used in antiquity was slightly modified in the Middle Ages to produce the system being used today. The grandeur days of Rome did not emphasize on mathematics as a discipline and discover new abstractions. The Romans were more absorbed in applying mathematics in engineering and architecture to improve the quality of their lives. This chapter presents the developments in the history of Roman mathematics and the engineering feats of the Romans.
5.1 The Roman Numerals in Ancient Rome The Roman numerals of old were derived from the Etruscans. The Roman numerals that are now written with letters of the Roman alphabet were originally separate symbols.
THE ROMAN NUMERALS
I – it is descend from a notch scored across the stick or the tally sticks.
V – As well it is from the tally sticks but every fifth notch was double cut.
X – It is the cross cut form of the tally stick.
L – was written variously as N, И, K, Ψ, ⋔, etc., this had flattened to an inverted T by the time of Augustus.
C - was written as Ж, ⋉, ⋈, H, or as any of the symbols for 50 above plus an extra stroke then it is written as >I< or ƆIC, was then shortened to Ɔ or C, with C finally winning out because, as a letter, it stood for centum.
D - 500 were like a Ɔ becoming a struck-through D or a Ð by the time of Augustus, under the graphic influence of the letter D.
M - 1000 was a circled X: Ⓧ, ⊗, Some variants, such as Ψ and CD, were historical dead ends, while two variants of ↀ survive to this day. One, CIƆ, lead to the convention of using parentheses to indicate multiplication by 1000.
ZERO - In general, the number zero did not have its own Roman numeral.
Is it IIII or IV? Originally, it was common to use IIII to represent "four", because IV represented the God Jove.
Calendars and
Introduction
The system of Roman numerals that we know today is a numeral system that originated from ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. The system used in antiquity was slightly modified in the Middle Ages to produce the system being used today. The grandeur days of Rome did not emphasize on mathematics as a discipline and discover new abstractions. The Romans were more absorbed in applying mathematics in engineering and architecture to improve the quality of their lives. This chapter presents the developments in the history of Roman mathematics and the engineering feats of the Romans.
5.1 The Roman Numerals in Ancient Rome The Roman numerals of old were derived from the Etruscans. The Roman numerals that are now written with letters of the Roman alphabet were originally separate symbols.
THE ROMAN NUMERALS
I – it is descend from a notch scored across the stick or the tally sticks.
V – As well it is from the tally sticks but every fifth notch was double cut.
X – It is the cross cut form of the tally stick.
L – was written variously as N, И, K, Ψ, ⋔, etc., this had flattened to an inverted T by the time of Augustus.
C - was written as Ж, ⋉, ⋈, H, or as any of the symbols for 50 above plus an extra stroke then it is written as >I< or ƆIC, was then shortened to Ɔ or C, with C finally winning out because, as a letter, it stood for centum.
D - 500 were like a Ɔ becoming a struck-through D or a Ð by the time of Augustus, under the graphic influence of the letter D.
M - 1000 was a circled X: Ⓧ, ⊗, Some variants, such as Ψ and CD, were historical dead ends, while two variants of ↀ survive to this day. One, CIƆ, lead to the convention of using parentheses to indicate multiplication by 1000.
ZERO - In general, the number zero did not have its own Roman numeral.
Is it IIII or IV? Originally, it was common to use IIII to represent "four", because IV represented the God Jove.
Calendars and