These include a bar over the number to multiply by 1000, brackets to imply multiplication by 10, or simply digits in front of the larger symbols to denote simple multiplication of the small vs the large VM=5000 There are various means of denoting larger numbers. Notice how the brackets in question were very curved, more like a letter “C”. Simple when you understand why: Brackets around a I mean “multiply by 1000” which makes it look like an “M”. Notice how the “I” and half bracket looks like a D! A bracket on one side only is which only multiplies the I by half of 1000″, ie 500.

Simple when you understand why: Round brackets which look like a capital “C” around a I mean “multiply by 1000” which makes it look like similar to an “M”. The C can be used just like the “I”, the “X” or the “M”: II=2 XX=20 CC=200 MM=2000 Note how the 1 finger before the 1 hand denotes “-1”. Note that there is no number “0”! 0 was an Arabic invention which came much later. “Should the decurions grant any person the right to public trade in the colony, such person will maintain and make trustworthy accounts available to the decurions within 150 days of the business’ completion” Roman Numerals Chart “ Quot cuique negotii publice in colonia de decurionum sententia datum erit, is cui negotium datum erit eius rei rationem decurionibus reddito referto que in diebus CL proximis quibus it negotium confecerit quibusve it negotium gerere desierit, quot eius fieri poterit sine dolo malo.” Not surprisingly it relates to Roman trade and maintaining financial accounts. The earliest “L” equivalent to the number “50” is found in an inscription (CIL I 594) from 44BC in a law written out under the authority of Marc Anthony (and Julius Caesar) on bronze plaques found in Spain. The earliest D & M number forms date to an inscription in 89BC (CIL IV 590). The forms L, D, M of the numbers 50, 500, 1000 are from around the 1st century BC only! ie >700 years later than the earliest founding of Rome by Romulus. To represent Roman numerals, we must use these letters, combining and ordering them. The symbols we know of Roman numbers were not the earliest forms they used: Older forms were not related to the alphabet at all and gradually modified. But beware (!!!) if Roman numerals were written as letters and if writing was only a later development of Roman society, how could early Romans count and record numbers? The Roman numerals chart helps us convert the Roman numerals into numbers (see the table of Roman numerals below.

Roman letters