Zero and the decimal system
India treats nothing as a number, and arithmetic becomes tractable.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 200 years
- Known to
- ± 100 years
- Era
- Classical, Holocene
Indian mathematicians develop a place-value decimal system with a symbol for zero, and — crucially — treat zero as a number to be operated on rather than merely a gap. Brahmagupta later sets out rules for arithmetic with zero and negative numbers. The system reaches the Islamic world and then Europe, where it replaces Roman numerals and makes written calculation possible for ordinary people rather than specialists. It is arguably the most consequential notation ever devised.