Roman Numeral | Chart & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

Roman numerals, a system of numerical notation based on the ancient Roman system. The symbols are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, standing respectively for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. A symbol placed after another of equal or greater value adds its value—e.g., II = 1 + 1 = 2 and LVIII = 50 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 58. Usually only three identical symbols can be used consecutively; to express numbers beginning with a 4 or a 9, a symbol is placed before one of greater value to subtract its value—e.g., IV = −1 + 5 = 4 and LIX = 50 + (−1 + 10) = 59. The exceptions are 4,000, which is sometimes written as MMMM, and clocks, which usually display 4 as IIII. A bar called a vinculum placed over a number multiplies its value by 1,000.

Roman numerals evolved from those of the Etruscans, who ruled Italy before the Romans. Beginning in the 5th century bce, the Romans adopted the Etruscan numerical system, but with the distinct difference that the Etruscans read their numbers from right to left whereas the Romans read theirs from left to right. I, V, and X, for 1, 5, and 10, respectively, were very similar or identical to the corresponding Etruscan numbers. The Etruscans often used a sign like an asterisk for 100 but also used C on rare occasions. However, the Roman C likely evolved from simplification of the asterisk sign. L, D, and M for 50, 500, and 1,000, respectively, evolved from the Etruscan numbers beginning about the 1st century bce. D and M existed alongside earlier characters, and M became the final form of 1,000 in the Middle Ages. The Romans were inconsistent in their use of additive and subtractive numbers; that is, both IIII and IV were used to represent 4, additive numbers being preferred in inscriptions.

Roman numerals were used in the West long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century ce. The earliest known European use of Hindu-Arabic numerals appears in a Spanish manuscript from 976, but that number system began to spread only after the publication of Fibonacci’s book Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), the first European work on Indian and Arabian mathematics, which introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europe. The introduction of the printing press in the mid-15th century and the emergence of capitalism in the early 16th century led to Hindu-Arabic numerals largely supplanting Roman numerals by the 17th century.

More From Britannica numerals and numeral systems: Roman numerals

Even though Roman numerals are no longer the dominant number system, there are some modern uses of them. Popes (e.g., Leo XIV) and monarchs (e.g., Charles III) use them in their names. Prefaces and introductions of books use Roman numerals to avoid confusion with Hindu-Arabic numerals, which are used in the main text. The NFL’s Super Bowl is designated by a Roman numeral; the 2025–26 NFL season will end with Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026. The Summer and Winter Olympics also use Roman numerals in their titles. The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, will be the XXV Olympic Winter Games, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will be the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad.

Below is a table of Arabic numerals and their Roman numeral equivalents.

Arabic and Roman numerals
Arabic	Roman
1	I
2	II
3	III
4	IV
5	V
6	VI
7	VII
8	VIII
9	IX
10	X
11	XI
12	XII
13	XIII
14	XIV
15	XV
16	XVI
17	XVII
18	XVIII
19	XIX
20	XX
21	XXI
22	XXII
23	XXIII
24	XXIV
30	XXX
40	XL
50	L
60	LX
70	LXX
80	LXXX
90	XC
100	C
101	CI
102	CII
200	CC
300	CCC
400	CD
500	D
600	DC
700	DCC
800	DCCC
900	CM
1,000	M
1,001	MI
1,002	MII
1,900	MCM
2,000	MM
2,001	MMI
2,002	MMII
2,100	MMC
3,000	MMM
4,000	IV or MMMM
5,000	V