Cifre vechi în Transilvania
Old Numbers in Transylvania

Summary/Abstract: We use numbers daily, not only mathematicians, but everybody. We have been using them so much that we have forgotten what a big discovery numerals have been for humanity. Some people consider that this was the biggest discovery of humanity for the last 2000 years. Roman numerals have spread throughout Europe because of the Roman empire, for almost one and half millennia. But it was very difficult to perform calculations with these early numerals, people used the abacus instead. When Hungarians came into Europe (896 A.D.), they had their own runic writing. But when St.Stephan I. converted Hungarians to Christianity (about 1000 A.D.), they began to use the Roman numerals. Today we use the Hindu-Arabic numerals. These were introduced into Europe by Fibonacci (by 1200 A.D.), because it was much easier to do calculations with these ones, than with the Roman numerals. It took about 200 300 years before Europe became convinced of the usefulness of Hindu-Arabic numerals. From where, how and when did these numerals spread in Transylvania? This article aims to answer these questions, by examining old books and paintings, coins, old churches, church bells and baptismal fonts.

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