How many Arabic numerals are there today? History of appearance

Arabic numerals, also known as Indo-Arabic, are the simplest, well-known signs-0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. That is, the answer to the question of how many Arabic numerals There is a number ten. To date, they are the most common symbolic representation of numbers around the world.

Prehistory of appearance

The first attempts to create a digital system were made in Babylon in the 2nd millennium BC. But in their number system there was no zero.

The emergence of Arabic numerals is associated with the Indo-Arab digital system, which was adapted by the Persians and was originally used in the Arab countries. There is information, thanks to which we can assume that the figures first appeared in the western regions of the Arab world.

In its current form, Arabic numerals appeared in North Africa, they were different from those used in the West. In the city of Bejaya, which is located in the north of Algeria, the famous Fibonacci scientist created a modern digital system, he is also the one who came up with Arabic numerals or, more correctly, made it possible to popularize them. His work became significant for their dissemination in Europe and for Europeans who propagandized them all over the world. Fibonacci, who invented Arabic numerals, did not even guess that later they would spread throughout the world thanks to trade, printing and colonialism.

How did zero appear

To some, it may seem obvious that zero is part of the positional system, but this is not true, since it appeared relatively recently in human history. But in fact, this ubiquitous symbol, which means "nothing", was not used in Europe until the XII century. It is believed that the first attempts to introduce zero into the positional system were made in ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerian scribes used different icons and symbols, which in their functions approached this figure, four thousand years ago. Although the first written documents on the appearance of such a sign date back to the III-II millennium BC. E. In Babylon. In a specific sixty-digit Babylonian digital system, there was a sign that helped to distinguish tens, hundreds and thousands, although it was not used separately. That is, this figure has not yet acquired all its modern functions.

The Indo-Arab digital system appeared in India around 500 AD. It was more revolutionary, because it had zero and a positional number system. This has become a significant advance in terms of mathematics. So the answer to the question "how many Arabic numerals exists" has changed, since zero has become another full-fledged figure.

Sometimes in the positional number system distinguish between numbers and glyphs, symbols that are used to graphically represent numbers or letters. The first record of zero in the form of a glyph dates back to the IX century (in central India). Numerous preserved Indian copper plates confirm the existence of a symbol, analogous in its functions to zero, already in the VI century. N. E.

Adaptation in Europe

Arabic numerals appeared in Europe in 976, this is confirmed by the Vigilan code.
Beginning in the 980s, Herbert of Aurillac, who later became Pope Sylvester II, promoted the popularization of figures in Europe. Leonardo Fibonacci, a well-known mathematician from Pisa who studied in Algiers, also promoted the spread of the new digital system by writing the "Abacha Book".

Numbers and numbers

The answer to the question of how many Arabic numerals exists in nature is simple, since there are only 10 of them, namely: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The interrelation between numbers and numbers is obvious, because Numbers are a symbolic representation of a number, and the number itself is a concept that displays quantity.

The reason for the adoption of Arabic numerals in Europe is not only the convenience of using them, but also the appearance of the first typographic machine, which made them popular in the 15th century.

Arab figures in Russia

The Old Slavonic system of reckoning dates back to the Old Slavonic alphabet, which was used by the southern and eastern Slavs. It was used until the XVIII century, when Peter I replaced it with Arabic numerals. By the way, Russia has become one of the first countries in which the Arabic figures were officially introduced.

To summarize, it should be noted: despite the fact that the answer to the question of how many Arabic numerals exists at the present time is very simple, the positional digital system has gone a long way of becoming. Thus, the symbols, that is, the figures once created by outstanding Indian scientists, first took their place in the Arab culture, and only then began to spread throughout the civilized world.

The creation of such a digital system has significantly accelerated the pace of development of both science and technology. The main reason for the rapid spread and adaptation of Arab numerals at the world level was migration and the emergence of printing, thanks to which they managed to acquaint the inhabitants of all continents with them.