Did romans have the number 0?

Question

How would you write 0 in roman numerals?

It's curious, because Mayan Civilization(c. 250 to 900), did have number 0.

Answer 1

The simple answer is "No".

The question you raise is usually about who came up with "the CONCEPT of zero" --that is, the ability to use zero as a number in a mathematical system. This we owe to INDIAN mathematicians beginning about AD 600, and in particular, to the work of the Indian mathematicians Brahmagupta (7th century AD) --see http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Brahmagupta.html -- and later to Mahavira (8th c.) and Bhaskara (12th c)

"A history of Zero"
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Zero.html

(This, along with other features of their system, was then diffused to China, and to the Western world through Arab mathematicians... whence our "Arabic numerals". Note, it was NOT the Arab mathematicians who first came up with it.)

But the history of zero is a fitful one. There is some evidence that it was conceptualized earlier... but seemingly then forgotten.

At any rate, there are certainly ancient examples of a "place marker" zero. We find one among later Babylonian mathematicians (about 700 B.C.) and then the Greeks.

It has also been claimed that ancient Egyptians had an even earlier use of zero (as early as 2600 B.C. !?), though the author of this little article mistakenly confuses their possible use of some sort of zero place marker with the (numerical) CONCEPT of zero (a careless mistake, apparently driven by eagerness to prove that the 'Africans' had it first).

"The Ancient Egyptian Concept of Zero and the Egyptian Symbol for Zero: A Note on a Little Known African Achievement"
http://www.ethnomath.org/resources/ISGEm/084.htm

We also know that the Mayans had a "zero" that was operative in their "Classic Period" (AD 250-900). They used as a place holder. (As we saw above, others made this type of use of it earlier.)
http://everyschool.org/u/logan/culturalmath/zero.htm
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Mayan_mathematics.html

Also note that, whatever the Mayans or Egyptians may have done with zero died out before it spread to the rest of the world. Thus the discovery and use that has helped shape modern mathematics throughout the world is attributable to India (with an important assist from later Arabs/Muslims).

Answer 2

Sorry - I'm afraid your first correspondents are wrong.

The Ancient Romans, nor the Greeks before them had the number 0.

The number, as a representation of no value, did not come into usage until probably 650AD in Indian mathematics. This date is well after the Roman Empire had disappeared. There is some evidence that could put this date as early as 200AD, but this is subject to speculation.

The Roman system of numerals simply does not contain a representation of 0 - you can't write 0 in Roman numerals.

See the attached link for a history.

Answer 3

There really was not the concept of zero in any number system until it was
invented in various different places, I think around 500-1000 A.D. Until then, numbers were used in ways that were for the most part independent of where the numbers actually were in the expression. So, like the Romans, they had to come up with a different symbol for successively larger numbers,
rather than carrying lots of I's around. But still counting was sort of like adding up poker chips - add up the number of 1's, add on the number of 10's, then the number of 100's etc. The Roman system was a little more advanced (maybe) in having a more systematic system, involving 5's also, and
numbers were always put together in the same order, with the big counters (M etc.) coming first. But they never figured out zero, and actually they did not really need it, since the counting system was complete without it. But addition and especially multiplication becomes an awful lot easier with
the Arabic place-holding system we use now, and zero is essential to it.

Answer 4

NO! Emphatically no!

The zero enters into the Western World via the Arabic traders and thus we call them Arabic numerals. However, they are not Arabic numerals, they are India numbers. There was a lot of trade between Arabic countries and India and then there was a lot of trade between Arabic countries and S. Europe, Italy in particular.

Roman numerals kept capitalism down becuase without a zero, there was not way to really balance the books using what we call today a double entry book keeping system.

Answer 5

Roman numerals did no longer incorporate a nil. the 1st numbering platforms to have a nil have been from India and between the Maya. The Romans indicated 0 with "nil" or "nullo" this might have developed into utilising N for 0, as C derived from "Centum" and M derived for their notice for thousand, besides the fact that if it did no longer.

Answer 6

In general, the number zero did not have its own Roman numeral, but the concept of zero was known to Roman mathematicians.

Answer 7

No. The Romans did not have a zero or nought. The zero in mathematics was cleverly invented by Arab mathematicians - it allowed them to do astronomical calculations. They needed to know [predict] exactly the phases of the moon, for example and not just a vague guess.

God is Great.

Answer 8

No, the concept of 0 was intoduced via India and the Near East.

Answer 9

No. The concept of "zero" (usually shown by "0") was invented by (or at least widely put forward by) Arabic mathematicians after Roman times. The words "algebra" and "algorithm" also come from Arabic scholars - Muslims!

The Romans has a very awkward form of expressing mathematical quantities in writing.

Answer 10

one answer : NO
they had a comically elaborate system of representing numbers but the concept of '0' never occured to them.
'0' was proposed by an Indian mathematician 'Aryabhatta' and was incorporated in the arabic numeral system.