Roman Numeral Converter

Understanding Roman Numerals

What are Roman Numerals?

Roman numerals are a number system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers in this system are represented by combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet.

Roman Numeral Symbols

The basic symbols used in the Roman numeral system are:

• I = 1
• V = 5
• X = 10
• L = 50
• C = 100
• D = 500
• M = 1000

Rules for Writing Roman Numerals

1. Repeating a numeral up to three times represents addition of the number. For example, III represents 1 + 1 + 1 = 3.
2. Writing numerals that decrease from left to right represents addition of the numbers. For example, VI represents 5 + 1 = 6.
3. Writing a smaller numeral to the left of a larger numeral represents subtraction of the smaller number from the larger one. For example, IV represents 5 - 1 = 4.

Conversion Formula

There isn't a single formula for converting between Arabic numerals and Roman numerals. Instead, the conversion is done through a series of substitutions based on the rules above.

Calculation Steps

To convert a number to Roman numerals:

1. Start with the largest Roman numeral symbol that's less than or equal to the number.
2. Subtract the value of that symbol from the number.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the number becomes 0.

To convert Roman numerals to a number:

1. Start from the leftmost symbol and move right.
2. If the current symbol represents a larger or equal value than the next symbol, add its value.
3. If the current symbol represents a smaller value than the next symbol, subtract its value.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until all symbols have been processed.

Example and Visual Representation

Let's convert the number 1984 to Roman numerals:

This diagram shows how 1984 is represented as MCMLXXXIV in Roman numerals, breaking it down into its constituent parts.