How do you read a number according to Roman Numerals?

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OThe Roman Numerals system (Roman Figures or Roman Numbers) was developed in the Ancient Rome and it was used all over its empire. It is composed by seven capital letters of the Latin alphabet: I, V, X, L, C, D and M. The Roman Figures are mainly used in the following situations: chapters of a literary work, scenes of a theatre, names of Popes and Kings, dates of historical events, designation of conferences, olympics, meetings and so on.

Each one of the letters used in the Roman Numerals has also a certain value according to the following list:

SymbolCorrespondance
IIt corresponds to number 1
VIt corresponds to number 5
XIt corresponds to number 10
LIt corresponds to number 50
CIt corresponds to number 100
DIt corresponds to number 500
MIt corresponds to number 1000
roman numbers

Roman Numbers are formed according to the following set of rules:

  • If on the right of the roman cipher you write another one that is equal or inferior, the value of this one is added to the value of the previous one. For instance: `XII = 12` or `LV = 55`.
  • If on the left of the roman cipher you write an inferior one, the value of this one is subtracted to the value of the following one. For instance: `IX = 9` or `XIV = 14`.
  • `I` is only placed on the left of `V` or `X`.
  • `X` is only placed on the left of `L` or `C`.
  • `C` is only placed on the left of `D` or `M`.
  • None of the Roman Numbers accepts you to consequently write the same letter more than three times. For instance, the number `XXXX` is not valid.
  • The letters `V`, `L` and `D` cannot be doubled, this is, number `VV` is not valid.
  • In order to multiply a Roman Number by a thousand, you put a slash above it. For instance: `bar(VI) = 6000`.

Roman people didn’t know about zero which was introduced by the Arabic people after them. Thus, there is no way of representing this value. In some clocks, which show the time by means of Roman Figures, sometimes number 4 is written according to a more archaic way: IIII instead of IV. It happens due to several possible causes such as aesthetic or even because of religious reasons.



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