Introduction

Arabic numbers are the ten figures : 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and lastly 9. The term often provides a decimal number written using these figures, which is the most common system for the emblematic illustration of numbers in the world today, and is also called Hindu–Arabic numeral was developed by Indian mathematicians around AD 500, it was developed later in North Africa. It was in the North African city of Bejaia that the Italian scholar Fibonacci first fascinating with the numerals; his work was critical in making them known throughout Europe. European trades, educational books, magazines, and colonialism helped to spread the adoption of Arabic numerals around the world. The numerals have found worldwide use significantly beyond the contemporary spread of the Latin alphabet, intruding into the writing systems in regions where other variants of the Hindu–Arabic numerals had been in use, such as Chinese and Japanese writing.

Arabic figures

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The term Arabic numerals are unclear, as it may also be intended to mean the numerals used by Arabs, in which case it generally refers to the Eastern Arabic numerals. Although the phrase “Arabic numeral” is frequently capitalized, it is sometimes written in lower case: for instance in its entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, which helps to distinguish it from “Arabic numerals” as the Eastern Arabic numerals.

Where do the Arabic numbers originate from?

Many hypotheses claimed that Arab digits came from ancient India first then transferred to The Arabs, later on to Europe and rest of the world and their use is restricted to symbols and shapes only not the arithmetical systems for making equations.

2nd Evolutionary wave: arithmetic and numerals. Arithmetic is a number system (often in decimals) which allows easy operations for number. Numerals mean symbols for representation of the number. Numerals without arithmetic are very inefficient for numerical calculations compared to arithmetic ones. One example of it in Roman numerals. The widely used numerals with arithmetic today is Arab numerals. Arithmetic was discovered originally in several countries from as early as 1st century AD. For example, the Chinese discovered arithmetic with the decimal system of numbers and rules of numerical operations (Chinese numerals) in “The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art” in the 1st century. But they are not widely known to the rest of the world.

In 825 Al-Khwarizmi wrote an essay in Arabic, On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals, Which survives only as of the 12th-century Latin translation Algoritmi de numero Indorum., He was the translator’s version of the author’s name, gave rise to the word algorithm. From the 980s, Gerbert of Aurillac (later, Pope Sylvester II) used his position to spread knowledge of the numerals in Europe. Gerbert studied in Barcelona in his youth. He was known to have requested mathematical essays concerning the astrolabe from Lupitus of Barcelona after he had returned to France.

The reason the digits are more commonly known as “Arabic numerals” in Europe and the Americas is that they were introduced to Europe in the 10th century by Arabic-speakers of North Africa, who were then using the digits from Libya to Morocco-or Al-Andalus, Arabs, on the other hand, call the base-10 system (not just these digits) “Hindu numerals”, Referring to their origin in India. This is not to be confused with what the Arabs call the “Hindi numerals”, namely the Eastern Arabic numerals (٠‎ – ١‎ – ٢‎ – ٣‎ -٤‎ – ٥‎ – ٦‎ – ٧‎ – ٨‎ – ٩‎) used in the Middle East, or any of the numerals currently used in Indian languages