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Roman numerals were invented by the Romans. It is a numeral system that was used by Romans for calculations. Basically, Romans infused numbers with different symbols and letters. The letters denote certain bases, however, the symbols denote arbitrary numbers. The combination of these symbols and numbers represents certain numbers. To understand Roman Numerals, you need to understand the meaning of letters and symbols. The following table shows Latin letters that were used by Romans as well as the corresponding numerical values.

Character Numerical Value

Suppose you want to find the Roman numeral of . Let's break it into unit, ten, hundred, and thousand. The number has one thousand, three hundred, one fifty, one ten, and five unit. Now find the character of the Roman numeral and write it in ascending order. For , the numeral will be . However, there is a small twist. Roman numerals are not entirely additive number system. For example, the number is denoted as instead of , and the number is denoted as instead of . On the other hand, this rule isn't followed on the faces of clocks.

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Rules of Thumb

The roman numerals are multiplied by a thousand when a line is drawn over the figure, and by one million when two lines are drawn over the figure.

M =

No figure of a roman numeral can be repeated more than three times in succession.

III =  XXX =   CCC =

In roman numerals the letters V, L and D can not be duplicated because twice the values of each can be represented by: X, C and M.

If a figure is placed to the right of another with a value less than or equal to it, the values are added together.

VII = XX =   CLXVIII =

If a lower figure is placed to the left of another, the value is subtracted from the larger figure to the right.

IV = IX = XL =

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Emma

Emma

I am passionate about travelling and currently live and work in Paris. I like to spend my time reading, gardening, running, learning languages and exploring new places.