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Hindu-Arabic numeral system
A numeral-writing tradition based on decimal place-value notation, invented in the Indian subcontinent, absorbed and standardized in the Islamic worl…
Timeline
- c. 400–700Indian subcontinent · Indian subcontinentIndian mathematicians developed a decimal place-value system including a zero symbol, laying the core structure later known to Arabic scholars as the "Indian numerals."
- c. 780–1000Baghdad · IraqInstitutions such as the House of Wisdom systematically translated Sanskrit and Pali mathematical texts; Indian numerals and algorithmic texts entered Arabic scholarly circles and merged with the Greek astronomical tradition.
- c. 1030–1040Córdoba · Al-AndalusBy the early 11th century, Hindu-Arabic numerals were in common use in the Islamic world's astronomical calculation, tax records, and merchants' accounts, forming a regional standard written form distinct from Roman numerals.
Sources
- The Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer — Georges Ifrah (2000)
- Hindu-Arabic numerals https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hindu-Arabic-numerals