Overview

The numeral system developed by the Romans was used by most Europeans for nearly 1800 years, far longer than the current Hindu-Arabic system has been in existence. Although the Roman numeral system provided for easy addition and subtraction, other arithmetic operations proved more difficult. Combined with the lack of an effective system for utilizing fractions and the absence of the concept of zero, the cumbersome nature of the Roman numeral system, while it served most of the needs of the Romans, hindered future mathematical advances.

Background

The Roman numeral system for representing numbers was developed around 500 B.C. As the Romans conquered much of the world that was known to them, their numeral system spread throughout Europe, where Roman numerals remained the primary manner for representing numbers for centuries. Around A.D. 1300, Roman numerals were replaced...