Roman Numerals

Roman numerals are a numeral system of ancient Rome based on letters of the alphabet, which are combined to signify the sum (or in some cases, the difference) of their values. The first ten Roman numerals are:

:\mathrm{I,\;II,\;III,\;IV,\;V,\;VI,\;VII,\;VIII,\;IX,\;X}

The Roman numeral system is decimalOr more precisely, "a decimal system in which the number 5 is an auxiliary base" (Ifrah 200:193) but not directly positional and does not include a zero. It is a cousin of the Etruscan numerals, and the letters derive from earlier non-alphabetical symbols; over time the Romans came to identify the symbols with letters of the Latin alphabet. The system was modified slightly during the Middle Ages to produce the system used today.

Roman numerals are commonly used in numbered lists (such as the outline format of an article), clock faces, pages preceding the main body of a book, chord triads in music analysis, dated notices of copyright, months of the year, successive political leaders or children with identical names, and the numbering of annual events. See modern usage below.

For arithmetic involving Roman numerals, see Roman arithmetic and Roman abacus.

Category: Image - :Colosseum-Entrance LII.jpg|thumb|Entrance to section LII of the Colosseum, with numerals still visible