Indeed, we have all seen these symbols at some point: Roman numerals have a fascinating history, and their use continues today.
For example, the number 91 in roman numerals is XCI, and the number 99 in roman numerals is XCIX. But how does this roman number system work?
In this article, you will learn the origin of this numbering system and the rules for writing roman numerals. Finally, we will show the list of numbers from 1 to 100 in Roman notation as an example.
What are Roman numerals?
Roman numerals are a system for writing numbers invented during the Roman Empire to represent numerical values using capital letters of the Latin alphabet. They have been used for centuries throughout the Western world until the late middle ages.
This numbering system is based on seven letters of the alphabet: I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. These letters can be used alone or in combination with each other to represent whole numbers.
The main drawback of this system is the difficulty of converting large numbers into this notation.
The first ten number numerals are: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X.
Roman numerals chart from 1 to 100
Below we show the chart to convert numbers in hindu-arabic system into roman numerals and vice-versa from one to one hundred.
|
1 |
I |
|
2 |
II |
|
3 |
III |
|
4 |
IV |
|
5 |
V |
|
6 |
VI |
|
7 |
VII |
|
8 |
VIII |
|
9 |
IX |
|
10 |
X |
|
11 |
XI |
|
12 |
XII |
|
13 |
XIII |
|
14 |
XIV |
|
15 |
XV |
|
16 |
XVI |
|
17 |
XVII |
|
18 |
XVIII |
|
19 |
XIX |
|
20 |
XX |
|
21 |
XXI |
|
22 |
XXII |
|
23 |
XXIII |
|
24 |
XXIV |
|
25 |
XXV |
|
26 |
XXVI |
|
27 |
XXVII |
|
28 |
XXVIII |
|
29 |
XXIX |
|
30 |
XXX |
|
31 |
XXXI |
|
32 |
XXXII |
|
33 |
XXXIII |
|
34 |
XXXIV |
|
35 |
XXXV |
|
36 |
XXXVI |
|
37 |
XXXVII |
|
38 |
XXXVIII |
|
39 |
XXXIX |
|
40 |
XL |
|
41 |
XLI |
|
42 |
XLII |
|
43 |
XLIII |
|
44 |
XLIV |
|
45 |
XLV |
|
46 |
XLVI |
|
47 |
XLVII |
|
48 |
XLVIII |
|
49 |
XLIX |
|
50 |
L |
|
51 |
LI |
|
52 |
LII |
|
53 |
LIII |
|
54 |
LIV |
|
55 |
LV |
|
56 |
LVI |
|
57 |
LVII |
|
58 |
LVIII |
|
59 |
LIX |
|
60 |
LX |
|
61 |
LXI |
|
62 |
LXII |
|
63 |
LXIII |
|
64 |
LXIV |
|
65 |
LXV |
|
66 |
LXVI |
|
67 |
LXVII |
|
68 |
LXVIII |
|
69 |
LXIX |
|
70 |
LXX |
|
71 |
LXXI |
|
72 |
LXXII |
|
73 |
LXXIII |
|
74 |
LXXIV |
|
75 |
LXXV |
|
76 |
LXXVI |
|
77 |
LXXVII |
|
78 |
LXXVIII |
|
79 |
LXXIX |
|
80 |
LXXX |
|
81 |
LXXXI |
|
82 |
LXXXII |
|
83 |
LXXXIII |
|
84 |
LXXXIV |
|
85 |
LXXXV |
|
86 |
LXXXVI |
|
87 |
LXXXVII |
|
88 |
LXXXVIII |
|
89 |
LXXXIX |
|
90 |
XC |
|
91 |
XCI |
|
92 |
XCII |
|
93 |
XCIII |
|
94 |
XCIV |
|
95 |
XCV |
|
96 |
XCVI |
|
97 |
XCVII |
|
98 |
XCVIII |
|
99 |
XCIX |
|
100 |
C |
Rules to convert Roman numerals into Arabic numbers
Roman numerals are written using a combination of seven capital letters of the Latin alphabet whose values are as follows:
-
Ⅰ = 1
-
V = 5
-
X = 10
-
L = 50
-
C = 100
-
D = 500
-
M = 1000
To obtain the other expressible integers it is necessary to combine, that is to say, juxtapose, these symbols to obtain strings that respect the following rules.
-
The symbols are read from left to right.
-
Within a Roman numeral, the symbols I, X, C, and M can typically be repeated three times consecutively. On the other hand, the symbols V, L, and D can never be inserted more than once consecutively.
-
A sequence of symbols that never have increasing values denotes the total obtained by adding the values of the indicated symbols; For example, if the X is repeated, each X represents ten units: XXI = 11.
-
When a symbol is found followed by a second symbol of greater value, the result is the difference between them. Therefore, if between any two figures, there is a smaller one, it will subtract its value from the next one, such as IV = 4, IX = 9.
-
Strings made up of pairs of the above type and symbols are also acceptable, as long as you go from a pair to a pair of lesser value, from a symbol to a pair of both lower symbols, and from a pair to a lower symbol of both members of the couple
-
Only I, X, and C can be used subtractively.
-
The value of the Roman numerals is multiplied by a thousand times as many horizontal lines as are placed on top.
These rules mean that specific numbers can be expressed in more than one way: for these cases, the most concise writing is preferable.