The numeric system represented by Roman numerals originated in ancient Rome and remained
the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers in
this system are represented by combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet. Roman numerals,
as used today, are based on seven symbols:[1]
Symbol I V X L C D M
5 50
1 5 10 100 1,000
0 0
Value
The use of Roman numerals continued long after the decline of the Roman Empire. From the
14th century on, Roman numerals began to be replaced in most contexts by the more
convenient Hindu-Arabic numerals; however, this process was gradual, and the use of Roman
numerals persists in some minor applications to this day.
The numbers 1 to 10 are usually expressed in Roman numerals as follows:
I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X.
Numbers are formed by combining symbols and adding the values, so II is two (two ones)
and XIII is thirteen (a ten and three ones). Symbols are placed from left to right in order of value,
starting with the largest. Because each numeral has a fixed value rather than representing
multiples of ten, one hundred and so on, according to position, there is no need for "place
keeping" zeros, as in numbers like 207 or 1066; those numbers are written as CCVII (two
hundreds, a five and two ones) and MLXVI (a thousand, a fifty, a ten, a five and a one).
In a few specific cases,[2] to avoid confusing and hard to read numbers with four characters
repeated in succession (such as IIII or XXXX), subtractive notation is used: as in this table:[3][4]
Number 4 9 40 90 400 900
Notation IV IX XL XC CD CM
I placed before V or X indicates one less, so four is IV (one less than five) and nine is IX (one
less than ten)
X placed before L or C indicates ten less, so forty is XL (ten less than fifty) and ninety
is XC (ten less than a hundred)
C placed before D or M indicates a hundred less, so four hundred is CD (a hundred less
than five hundred) and nine hundred is CM (a hundred less than a thousand)
For example, MCMIV is one thousand nine hundred and four, 1904 (M is a thousand, CM is nine
hundred and IV is four).
Some examples of the modern use of Roman numerals include:
[6]
1954 as MCMLIV, as in the trailer for the movie The Last Time I Saw Paris
1990 as MCMXC, used as the title of musical project Enigma's debut album MCMXC a.D.,
named after the year of its release.
2014 as MMXIV, the year of the games of the XXII (22nd) Olympic Winter Games (in Sochi)
Roman Numerals Chart
M=1000 D = 500
I 1 XXXII 32 LXIII 63 XCIV 94
II 2 XXXIII 33 LXIV 64 XCV 95
III 3 XXXIV 34 LXV 65 XCVI 96
IV 4 XXXV 35 LXVI 66 XCVII 97
V 5 XXXVI 36 LXVII 67 XCVIII 98
VI 6 XXXVII 37 LXVIII 68 XCIX 99
VII 7 XXXVIII 38 LXIX 69 C 100
VIII 8 XXXIX 39 LXX 70
IX 9 XL 40 LXXI 71 EX.
X 10 XLI 41 LXXII 72 DI 501
XI 11 XLII 42 LXXIII 73 DL 550
XII 12 XLIII 43 LXXIV 74 DXXX 530
XIII 13 XLIV 44 LXXV 75 DCCVII 707
XIV 14 XLV 45 LXXVI 76 DCCCXC 890
XV 15 XLVI 46 LXXVII 77 MD 1500
XVI 16 XLVII 47 LXXVIII 78 MDCCC 1800
XVII 17 XLVIII 48 LXXIX 79 CM 900
XVIII 18 XLIX 49 LXXX 80
XIX 19 L 50 LXXXI 81
XX 20 LI 51 LXXXII 82
XXI 21 LII 52 LXXXIII 83
XXII 22 LIII 53 LXXXIV 84
XXIII 23 LIV 54 LXXXV 85
XXIV 24 LV 55 LXXXVI 86
XXV 25 LVI 56 LXXXVII 87
XXVI 26 LVII 57 LXXXVIII 88
XXVII 27 LVIII 58 LXXXIX 89
XXVIII 28 LIX 59 XC 90
XXIX 29 LX 60 XCI 91
XXX 30 LXI 61 XCII 92
XXXI 31 LXII 62 XCIII 93
